Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by DeusExMackia

Yo! Thanks for checking out my list of my favourite albums ever. Like most people on BEA, I listen to an absolute ton of music, a lot of which isn't on here. This then is a list of what I consider to be give or take the best music ever made (in my humble opinion).


As of 28th November 2022, this is the rough outline:
- Positions 1 to 20 are as good as it gets. Ordered based on what I'd choose with a gun to my head, so the ones nearer the top are 'better', but it's all relative.

- 20 to ~60 are the albums I'd consider "runner-up best albums ever", a.k.a. "there's not enough room to fit everything into the top 10" and really might as well just be one big joint position.

- Everything below is structured to reflect how highly I regard it, but all can be considered "albums to listen to before you die (in my humble opinion)".


Also, the comments I have made about each album; for some records I could wax lyrical about them for days, and for others I can barely say a word. This, however, in no way determines whether I like a record more than another. And for quite a few of them, I can't even properly articulate why I love them.

For something extra, here are my favorite artists of all time. It's not properly reflected in my choice of albums.
In a rough-but-no-particular order:
The Smiths, David Bowie, Sonic Youth, Joy Division, Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, Fleetwood Mac, R.E.M., Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Diana Ross, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Idles, Fontaines D.C., Lou Reed, Nirvana, Radiohead, New Order, The Doors, The Clash, Prince, Gorillaz, Pet Shop Boys, Suede, The Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, Madonna, Squid, Little Simz, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, Pavement, Sophie, Beyoncé, Grace Jones, Lana Del Rey, Kraftwerk, FKA twigs, Slowdive, MBV, Missy Elliott

----
Update 12/11/23: Some big ol' changes in the midfield. With the leaves falling off the trees I've conveniently remembered how obsessed with Slowdive I've always been, so welcome Souvlaki to the top 20 at last. A few other big moves.

Update 21/09/23: Welcome back Wish You Were Here, gone for 2.5 years, and now back on here because I don't think life is quite right without it. Far lower than before, but that's okay. A recent spur of 60s and 70s listening for me has led to the Stones gaining a new entry, and OK Computer making a return too. Two 2010s EPs from some of the most exciting artists living today - Miss Azealia and Miss Twigs - join the mid-pack in the form of 1991 and M3LL155X respectively.

Update 28/11/22: A great purge has occurred. Wholesale reorder. New entries from across the universe. Shock and Awe in the top 20 - I've finally let go of DSOTM's number 2 spot. It better reflects who I am now and what I love. The beautiful thing with a having a list like this is the work it takes to cultivate it and keep it in tune with who you are. See the previous versions of this chart for my older notes :)

Update 21/01/22: Things continues to move with the addition of albums from 2020 and 2021. We're well on the way to seeing the records from the last 30 years outweighing the records older than 30 years.

Update 30/03/21: It's a shock twist! The Top 10 has been updated for the first time since December 2017. Truly glacial pace of change up there, and not without good reason. Lou Reed's Transformer drops 1 place to 11, and still means the world to me. Welcome in our new Number 10 album, Loveless by My Bloody Valentine. A long time in the climbing for this position, I've finally accepted that I love this album more than ranking will ever be able to quantify, and that it deserves to be up there.

Update 09/02/21: Farewell to Wish You Were Here. Tough decision, but I haven't revisited it for so long now. Having it in the Top 20 seemed hard enough, but to be honest, my taste has changed. Welcoming in Bowie's Glastonbury 2000 set and Talking Heads's Stop Making Sense. Two pieces of absolute live perfection to enjoy whilst we aren't allowed to go to real gigs.

There are 22 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 53 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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Buy album United States
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Best Songs: The Bends, High & Dry, Fake Plastic Trees

Bounding, striding, lightyears ahead of almost any other alternative rock album. It's creative, it's changeable, it remains focused, it's remarkably enjoyable to listen to and Fake Plastic Trees has the power to split atoms apart. I think that's all the boxes ticked?
[First added to this chart: 09/11/2015]
Year of Release:
1995
Appears in:
Rank Score:
33,390
Rank in 1995:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
40. (=)
Buy album United States
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Best Songs: How To Disappear Completely, Optimistic, Motion Picture Soundtrack

What is Kid A?
It might be a concept album about the first human clone, or a reality check for the 21st century. Or a cynical look at capitalism. Or Thom Yorke's life conceptualised into music. I don't know. The music is hard enough to decipher, let alone the lyrics. In fact it's hard to distinguish between them at points. What.

And good holy lord, it just sounds so good. As the band guide you through their quaint dystopia, the soundscape they create captures you entirely. A gloriously saddening world to lose yourself in.
[First added to this chart: 03/02/2016]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank Score:
51,673
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Comments:
Buy album United States
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Best songs: Exit Music (For A Film), Karma Police, The Tourist

Welcome back old friend. You're not the all-time great iconoclast often showered on through endless praise, and yet you're undeserving of being drowned by over-hype. At the end of the day, 'OK Computer' still affirms the waking terror of the technological society we live in. At once both a time capsule of what the internet was about to do to the world, and an ever-present reminder of what it's still doing to us. I have always felt at home in their dystopia, and it always makes me want to watch Children Of Men whenever I listen to it.
[First added to this chart: 10/23/2014]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
77,370
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Best Songs: 15 Step, Nude, Reckoner

As creative and bright as a 5 year old's experiments with poster paints, sugar paper and glitter glue.
[First added to this chart: 08/08/2016]
Year of Release:
2007
Appears in:
Rank Score:
51,533
Rank in 2007:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 4. Page 1 of 1

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade Albums %


1930s 0 0%
1940s 0 0%
1950s 0 0%
1960s 3 3%
1970s 20 20%
1980s 18 18%
1990s 20 20%
2000s 7 7%
2010s 25 25%
2020s 7 7%
Artist Albums %


David Bowie 7 7%
Radiohead 4 4%
The Smiths 3 3%
Sonic Youth 3 3%
Pink Floyd 3 3%
Kendrick Lamar 3 3%
Nirvana 3 3%
Show all
Country Albums %


United Kingdom 51 51%
United States 38 38%
Mixed Nationality 5 5%
Germany 2 2%
Ireland 2 2%
Canada 1 1%
Australia 1 1%
Compilation? Albums %
No 97 97%
Yes 3 3%
Live? Albums %
No 95 95%
Yes 5 5%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 97 97%
Yes 3 3%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest fallers
Faller Down 1 from 83rd to 84th
新しい日の誕生 [Birth Of A New Day]
by 2814
Faller Down 1 from 84th to 85th
Goo
by Sonic Youth
Faller Down 1 from 85th to 86th
Galore
by Kirsty MacColl
New entries
New entryThe White Room
by The KLF

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Average Rating: 
89/100 (from 53 votes)
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01/05/2021 22:37 Keatownrodriguez  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 7894/100

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).
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This chart is rated in the top 4% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.3/100, a mean average of 89.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.9/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.2.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

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From 11/02/2023 09:12
So no Beatles?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 07/26/2022 00:35
Picks are absolutely fantastic and the commentary on how your music taste changes throughout must be great to look back on from a personal perspective. Great list!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/05/2021 22:37
Any chart with this much commentary attached to it is an amazing one in my book!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 12/02/2019 12:17
Gorillaz! I love every chart with gorillaz!
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Rating:  
90/100
From 06/05/2019 17:15
Nice chart, I like a lot of your picks for best tracks, crazy how you're so into Bowie, only think a couple of his albums are really up there with the best of all time
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/13/2018 09:04
@Sandinistar very good question, they're up there mainly for personal reasons, as in they have personal meaning to myself. They all mean a lot to me in one way or another.
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From 11/13/2018 01:34
I'm intrigued, because almost all of your Top 10 are highly regarded albums that I like okay and think are good but think are overrated because they fail as cohesive albums. Would like to understand why you think they're all great, because I'm not opposed to that view I just don't fully get it.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 10/08/2018 14:42
Ha it's taken me long enough to figure out how this site works, but here I am bby xoxo
Love your music, you're such an inspiration, I can't wait for Saturday Night Alternative to start up again.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 10/08/2018 14:40
Ha it's taken me long enough to figure out how this site works, but here I am bby xoxo
Love your music, you're such an inspiration, I can't wait for Saturday Night Alternative to start up again.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 09/11/2018 21:54
A well curated collection with good descriptions. The "best songs" for every album are very helpful.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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Best Albums of the 2010s
1. To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar
2. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West
3. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City by Kendrick Lamar
4. The Suburbs by Arcade Fire
5. Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens
6. A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead
7. Lonerism by Tame Impala
8. Blond by Frank Ocean
9. ★ (Blackstar) by David Bowie
10. Modern Vampires Of The City by Vampire Weekend
11. High Violet by The National
12. Teen Dream by Beach House
13. Currents by Tame Impala
14. Channel Orange by Frank Ocean
15. Lost In The Dream by The War On Drugs
16. Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes
17. Bon Iver, Bon Iver by Bon Iver
18. AM by Arctic Monkeys
19. This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem
20. Random Access Memories by Daft Punk
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