Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by hahol 
I think personal charts always are feelings,combined with nostalgic connections to your youth and childhood favourites melted together with lifeexperiences and strong impressions from the past. I can not point at classic albums from the near past, because defining classics takes time! A great example is Nick Drake!
Some 25 years passed before his genius was rediscovered! I hope there are still several other artists out there to be appreciated and yet are to be discovered from the hidden past!
- Chart updated: 03/21/2025 14:15
- (Created: 09/24/2014 20:22).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 32 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 58 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 1980s. (Remove this filter)
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Along with Purple rain (Prince), this is my favourite eighties' album. The first 4 tracks are stunning. With or without you and Running to stand still are emotional and moving songs with an overall sound that is outstanding! Love this album.
[First added to this chart: 10/02/2014]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,330
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A melancholic and quite dark mood on this album, but it is deeply emotional and beautiful in all its sadness. The moon is a harsh mistress tells it all. Radka Toneff had a vulnerable feel in her voice that is irresistible and wonderful at the same time. So sad she passed away a couple of months after this album was fulfilled. A truly great record .
[First added to this chart: 10/02/2014]
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His most commercial effort, including the sublime title track and When doves cry. His most famous work and the soundtrack to the movie with same name. Prince was a magnificent source of weird sounds and rhythms coloured by potent musical ambitions, always in front of magical new inventions and explorations. A magician and a genuine original and an absolutely stunning stage-performer. He was a liveartist in the same vein as Jimi Hendrix at his best. His guitarwork was joyous and inventive with lots of feeling and attitude.
[First added to this chart: 10/23/2014]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,895
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A personal favourite from my own country! Lars Lillo Stenberg produces lyric that touches you with metaphoric goodies, and melodies and songs in the same vein as Neil Young, his biggest influence! Translated the title is "The brain is alone"! All the tracks are excellent, but I prefer Vår, Sveve over byen and the title track. Check out thir debut album too: Suser avgårde . This is a peculiar sound ! Avant garde pop.
[First added to this chart: 10/23/2014]
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Tom Petty is a very underrated artist in the rock history. As a composer and singer he has had an enormous influence on the rock scene in the seventees, eighties and ninetees! This is one of his most intimate and minimalistic masterpieces, executed at the same time as he was involved in the oldies supergroup Travelling Wilburys.
[First added to this chart: 10/23/2014]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,314
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A true original and an artist with attitude. Very difficult to choose a favourite from his discography, but I ended up on this album from the mideightees. A breath of fresh air from an otherwise muddy musical period.
[First added to this chart: 10/23/2014]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11,719
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A more commercial side from this worldmusic campaigner. Listen to the sparse and beautiful duet with Kate Bush on "Don't give up" and Tony Levin's wonderful basswork. Touching and moving lyrics too!Other superb songs: Red rain, Sledgehammer,In Your voice. One of the best albums from the eightees!
[First added to this chart: 10/23/2014]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,017
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Kate Bush was only a youngster when she was discovered by David Gilmour in the late seventees. Her theatrical attitude combined with her unique sound and voice, resulted in something new and spellbounding. She was a multitalent performer, but also a gifted composer and producer. "Hounds of love" ranks as one of the eightees mostloved albums. She stretches out and gives us a mature and conceptual work on serious matter. She never quite could follow this up, but this marked her statement for eternal life.
[First added to this chart: 10/23/2014]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,106
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Comments:
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A musical genius along with another black artist:Prince. "The king of pop" had a sense for melodic finesse and "fingerspitzgefühl" that has never been bettered.
Not groundbreaking in his style, but absorbing moves from "the Godfather", James Brown, he made liveperformances in the upperclass. Naive and childish, perhaps, but with a musical flair for catchy songs and exciting productions he could never fail to deliver the goods. "Thriller" is a gas and with no fillers. [First added to this chart: 10/26/2014]
Not groundbreaking in his style, but absorbing moves from "the Godfather", James Brown, he made liveperformances in the upperclass. Naive and childish, perhaps, but with a musical flair for catchy songs and exciting productions he could never fail to deliver the goods. "Thriller" is a gas and with no fillers. [First added to this chart: 10/26/2014]
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,167
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A very promising artist from my homecountry.
Like a crystalclear mountainstream her voice is meandering. Her debut is a stunning musical achievement. [First added to this chart: 10/26/2014]
Like a crystalclear mountainstream her voice is meandering. Her debut is a stunning musical achievement. [First added to this chart: 10/26/2014]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,292
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Total albums: 10. Page 1 of 1
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 2 | 2% | |
| 1960s | 26 | 26% | |
| 1970s | 53 | 53% | |
| 1980s | 10 | 10% | |
| 1990s | 7 | 7% | |
| 2000s | 2 | 2% | |
| 2010s | 0 | 0% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Bob Dylan | 6 | 6% | |
| Pink Floyd | 4 | 4% | |
| The Beatles | 4 | 4% | |
| The Byrds | 3 | 3% | |
| Little Feat | 3 | 3% | |
| Radiohead | 2 | 2% | |
| Joni Mitchell | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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|||
| |
42 | 42% | |
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41 | 41% | |
 |
6 | 6% | |
 |
6 | 6% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
There have been no changes to this chart.Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 58 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 04/01/2025 21:53 | Moondance | 476 | 85/100 |
| ! | 04/01/2025 13:54 |  Tamthebam | 649 | 85/100 |
| ! | 03/20/2025 16:47 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,104 | 85/100 |
| ! | 12/16/2021 10:37 |  Goliath | 351 | 86/100 |
| ! | 12/16/2021 05:55 | weston | 80 | 87/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some charts can have several thousand ratings)
This chart is rated in the top 6% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.6/100, a mean average of 89.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.0/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 8.7.
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From tk421ucopy 12/15/2021 15:40 | #277527
I respect your comment that "defining classics takes time," but I don't find my favorite albums are always classics. And to take that a step further, sometimes I'm just worn out on the classics. I wish there was more outisde of the 60s and 70s, but regardless nice chart with the best descriptions I've read in a while.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From areminder 08/01/2020 04:38 | #256549
Wonderful chart, I enjoyed your annotations. Going to check out Hjernen Er Alene.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
StefanR10 07/31/2020 19:08 | #256529
StefanR10 07/31/2020 19:08 | #256529
Some interesting picks. Great to see some unknown artist and some classics I give 90 points for that.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
DommeDamian 07/31/2020 17:10 | #256526
DommeDamian 07/31/2020 17:10 | #256526
Favorited!
Not only do you have amazing albums included (from MJ to The Byrds), your descriptions are short and perfect, showing off your emotional intelligence and intellectuality. Don't let NE1 tell otherwise :)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Larcx13 07/31/2020 17:05 | #256525
Larcx13 07/31/2020 17:05 | #256525
Yes! Blonde on Blonde #1!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From DommeDamian 11/30/2019 14:54 | #245280
DommeDamian 11/30/2019 14:54 | #245280
Really amazing chart, but damn that #1 description (and choice) hit hard man ;)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
ForegroundNoise 11/30/2019 10:22 | #245275
ForegroundNoise 11/30/2019 10:22 | #245275
Even if the music is not generally my cup of tea, the care you've taken in writing for each of these albums is astonishing and impressive. That said, I don't think I agree with your statement: "I can not point at classic albums from the near past, because defining classics takes time!" - this shouldn't be a list of albums you 'think' are classics, these are just your favourite albums!! The whole idea of 'classics' is a subjective construction anyway, I fear that some underground picks might miss your radar because of this standardisation of the rock canon. Would be nice to see some more of your fringe tastes come through!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Juneof44 03/13/2019 22:46 | #233473
Very impressive, i love the comments for every album.
Just a little lack of nowadays records.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From platus 11/11/2017 08:37 | #201157
Great chart! I agree completely. Excellent comments, by the way.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From vancevisuals 11/11/2017 01:28 | #201147
to our children's children's children brst Moody Blues
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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