Top 99 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:

David Bowie, Lady Gaga, The Smiths, Kate Bush, Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Prince, R.E.M., Lana Del Rey, Slowdive, FKA twigs, Kylie Minogue, New Order, The Doors, Suede, Beyoncé/Destiny's Child, The Prodigy, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Joy Division, Fontaines DC, Charli XCX, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Nina Simone, Diana Ross/The Supremes, Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys, The Clash, Gorillaz, Pet Shop Boys, The Rolling Stones, Chet Baker, Oscar Peterson, George Michael, The KLF, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Idles, Lou Reed, Talking Heads, Madonna, Squid, Little Simz, Kendrick Lamar, The Notorious B.I.G., Girls Aloud, Bruce Springsteen, Paramore, Pavement, SOPHIE, System Of A Down, Grace Jones, Kraftwerk, MBV, Missy Elliott

----
Update 10/01/25: WOAH, Nelly!!! This is a real time of change. Lots of movers and shakers. Plenty of stalwarts of the 30-50 positions making way for new stuff. This list must reflect how I'm feeling about music and this is how I feel right now!

Update 06/01/25: Woah, Nelly! So 2024 was casually one of the best years for music in a hot minute, good grief. Five albums of which I couldn't get enough of, and all of which have earned a place in my heart. Some loved ones had to be chucked out for them to make room on this list, but I long since let go of historical weighting. This is about what I want at the end of the day, and the music I'm living with right now is the music that matters to me most.

Update 23/04/24: Welcome Hounds Of Love to the top 10. It's been a long time coming. Kate Bush is never far from my rotation at any given point, but something about my recent listening to her has hit harder than before. 'The Big Sky' is genuinely insane, and that alone might be why I've finally decided the album deserves to be here. I love it so much.

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 :)

• Chart updated: 06/21/2025 01:15
• (Created: 10/20/2014 19:43).
• Chart size: 99 albums.

There are 23 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 99 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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7. (=)

Loveless 

 My Bloody Valentine

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Best Songs: Only Shallow, To Here Knows When, Sometimes

̶H̶a̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶p̶e̶r̶l̶y̶ ̶l̶i̶s̶t̶e̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶L̶o̶v̶e̶l̶e̶s̶s̶,̶ ̶I̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶f̶u̶l̶l̶ ̶w̶e̶l̶l̶ ̶I̶'̶m̶ ̶g̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶p̶e̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶n̶e̶x̶t̶ ̶f̶e̶w̶ ̶y̶e̶a̶r̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶l̶i̶f̶e̶ ̶f̶u̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶u̶n̶t̶a̶g̶g̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶g̶a̶r̶g̶a̶n̶t̶u̶a̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶d̶e̶e̶p̶ ̶t̶a̶n̶g̶l̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶d̶ ̶g̶u̶i̶t̶a̶r̶s̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶h̶o̶l̶y̶ ̶h̶e̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶g̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶f̶u̶n̶.̶ ̶S̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶i̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶h̶a̶r̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶l̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶o̶i̶n̶t̶?̶

Edit: Ignore my previous comments, it all makes sense now. Loveless makes you feel things music shouldn't be allowed to make you feel, in ways that words will never be able to convey. Hence I'm moving it from 44 to 25.

Edit: and now to 22! Ranking it seems obsolete to be honest; it deserves to be in a separate category titled "Incomparable to anything else humans will ever be able to create".

Edit: AND NOW TO 10! Once again would like to iterate that ranking doesn't really matter with Loveless, it's entirely without contemporary or comparison. I've spent a lot of time wraggling over putting Loveless this high on my list, it takes a lot of courage to change yer Top 10 afterall. As well as that, I've been scared of disregarding all the hours and love I've poured into the records this high up simply for the sake of acknowledging *how* Loveless makes me feel. Guess all it took was one relisten. 3 years on from first discovering this thing and here it is, where it deserves to be, among my most treasured albums of all time.

100/100 (although that's arbitrary in this case) [First added to this chart: 05/13/2018]

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

2,157 charts

Rank Score:

29,849

Rank in 1991:

2

Rank in 1990s:

5

Overall Rank:

23

Average Rating:

 86 (2,472 votes)

Comments:

312

8. (=)

Endtroducing..... 

 DJ Shadow

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Best Songs: Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt, Midnight In A Perfect World, Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain

Just thinking about Endtroducing gives me gooesbumps. I was listening to this in the car late one night on a quiet, long drive, and it just dropped for me. No other music could have suited that drive better. The more I listen, the more I realise every song on here is complete and utter genius.

100/100 [First added to this chart: 10/11/2015]

Year of Release:

1996

Appears in:

981 charts

Rank Score:

9,495

Rank in 1996:

3

Rank in 1990s:

34

Overall Rank:

153

Average Rating:

 84 (1,115 votes)

Comments:

66

15. (=)

Dog Man Star 

 Suede

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Best songs: We Are The Pigs, The Wild Ones, The Power

Queerness with the campiness turned entirely negative and positively dystopian. Suede's second outing reaches the very highest heights of Britpop perfection. An industrial, grey-washed look at nineties Britain, led by Brett Anderson's dark flamboyance and backed by the band's unrivaled instrumentation. An underground force seems to be the backbone of this record, leaving you to journey with the band to find its source. Dog Man Star is like lifting the veil to reveal a whole different world you didn't even realise you were already in. [First added to this chart: 07/07/2020]

Year of Release:

1994

Appears in:

442 charts

Rank Score:

3,642

Rank in 1994:

13

Rank in 1990s:

85

Overall Rank:

478

Average Rating:

 79 (539 votes)

Comments:

31

16. (=)

Souvlaki 

 Slowdive

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Best songs: Alison, When The Sun Hits, Dagger

Aching, soaring, delicate chaos. Some of the greatest torrents of emotion that guitar music has ever produced. A soundtrack for love, heartbreak, for being stoned, for autumnal days and lowly nights. Speaks to me in a way no other record quite can, and I wish I could express even a gram of how it makes me feel to other people. [First added to this chart: 04/09/2020]

Year of Release:

1993

Appears in:

927 charts

Rank Score:

11,221

Rank in 1993:

4

Rank in 1990s:

24

Overall Rank:

119

Average Rating:

 85 (1,017 votes)

Comments:

79

25. (=)

Automatic For The People 

 R.E.M.

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Best songs: The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight, Man On The Moon, Find The River

I think it's wrong to try and divide R.E.M. into their albums; personally, their discography is such a complete, infinitely intriguing overall work, and its why its taken me literally years to put one of their records on here.

But if I had to pick one, it has to be this one. Automatic For The People reaches for something above us, above our culture and yet reaches deep into the psyche. Personal yet distant, dramatised yet honest. A numbness of modern living no one seems able to address, bottled into am album. [First added to this chart: 01/14/2021]

Year of Release:

1992

Appears in:

1,817 charts

Rank Score:

19,474

Rank in 1992:

1

Rank in 1990s:

6

Overall Rank:

49

Average Rating:

 84 (2,201 votes)

Comments:

177

32. (=)

In Utero 

 Nirvana

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Best Songs: Heart Shaped Box, Milk It, All Apologies

I know that I love In Utero because I couldn't stand it when I first listened to it. 11ish years on from first trying it, that Steve Albini rawness shines through brighter than much of their other studio material – which is not to even remotely say any of that other stuff is poor. Nirvana feel at their most expressive and fluid here, every track packing a rich, elegant underbelly that scratches off to reveal wicked roughness and aggression. Perhaps the most competent summation of their ability to make the loudest music the most listenable. [First added to this chart: 10/23/2014]

Year of Release:

1993

Appears in:

1,775 charts

Rank Score:

18,156

Rank in 1993:

1

Rank in 1990s:

9

Overall Rank:

56

Average Rating:

 84 (2,673 votes)

Comments:

178

33. (=)

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Nevermind 

 Nirvana

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Best Songs: Smells Like Teen Spirit, In Bloom, Endless Nameless

O̶n̶ ̶r̶e̶f̶l̶e̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶,̶ ̶N̶e̶v̶e̶r̶m̶i̶n̶d̶ ̶d̶o̶e̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶q̶u̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶h̶i̶t̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶h̶a̶r̶d̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ ̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶r̶e̶l̶e̶a̶s̶e̶s̶.̶ ̶B̶u̶t̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶w̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶N̶i̶r̶v̶a̶n̶a̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶'̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶f̶a̶r̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶ ̶o̶f̶f̶-̶p̶u̶t̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶m̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶l̶o̶u̶d̶ ̶m̶u̶s̶i̶c̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶c̶c̶e̶s̶s̶i̶b̶l̶e̶,̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶g̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶m̶ ̶c̶r̶e̶d̶i̶t̶.̶ ̶

Edit: Loooooooooooool nope! Who the fuck am I kidding. Save for personal tastes, this is a pretty much perfect record. Nevermind turning 30 very soon has put back front and centre of my listening, I intend to ignore everything else and restart my Grunge phase for the third time in my life.

And on a side note, a big thank you to Endless, Nameless for shaving at least two years off my hearing. [First added to this chart: 10/23/2014]

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

3,212 charts

Rank Score:

39,138

Rank in 1991:

1

Rank in 1990s:

2

Overall Rank:

13

Average Rating:

 87 (4,322 votes)

Comments:

413

39. (=)

Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) 

 Wu-Tang Clan

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Best songs: Bring Da Ruckus, C.R.E.A.M., Protect Ya Neck

Loving this album is thinking your flatmate said "Shaolin" when he said "I'm getting the towels in" (they were drying outside) and quoting the whole intro of Bring Da Ruckus. Resets the standard for lyricism after you let it into your life. More lore than the Lord of the Rings. Beats beyond all comprehension. Mad fucking dangerous. [First added to this chart: 06/29/2018]

Year of Release:

1993

Appears in:

1,130 charts

Rank Score:

12,821

Rank in 1993:

3

Rank in 1990s:

18

Overall Rank:

96

Average Rating:

 84 (1,278 votes)

Comments:

70

50. (44) 6

The Bends 

 Radiohead

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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:

2,672 charts

Rank Score:

30,068

Rank in 1995:

1

Rank in 1990s:

4

Overall Rank:

22

Average Rating:

 87 (3,908 votes)

Comments:

315

51. (48) 3

OK Computer 

 Radiohead

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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:

4,407 charts

Rank Score:

66,467

Rank in 1997:

1

Rank in 1990s:

1

Overall Rank:

1

Average Rating:

 92 (5,620 votes)

Comments:

852

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Total albums: 15. Page 1 of 2

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Top 99 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade	Albums	%
1930s	0	0%
1940s	0	0%
1950s	0	0%
1960s	3	3%
1970s	19	19%
1980s	18	18%
1990s	15	15%
2000s	8	8%
2010s	23	23%
2020s	13	13%

Artist	Albums	%
David Bowie	7	7%
Radiohead	4	4%
Fontaines D.C.	3	3%
Nirvana	3	3%
Lana Del Rey	3	3%
The Smiths	3	3%
Sonic Youth	3	3%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	49	49%
	37	37%
	6	6%
	3	3%
	2	2%
	1	1%
	1	1%

Top 99 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest climbers
Up 8 from 51st to 43rd Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey
Up 8 from 49th to 41st ★ [Blackstar] by David Bowie
Up 5 from 52nd to 47th M3LL155X by FKA twigs

Biggest fallers
Down 8 from 53rd to 61st In Rainbows by Radiohead
Down 6 from 43rd to 49th Kid A by Radiohead
Down 6 from 44th to 50th The Bends by Radiohead

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Top 99 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)

Top 99 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 58 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
35/100	01/31/2025 01:58	BorderFreeAndrew	89	81/100
90/100	01/30/2025 10:40	MadhattanJack	231	85/100
90/100	01/25/2025 14:14	SomethingSpecial	1,109	85/100
90/100	11/07/2024 09:39	eclab	43	79/100
50/100	07/24/2024 19:58	bwoodlan	32	70/100

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 3% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.3/100, a mean average of 88.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.9/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 11.1.

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Top 99 Greatest Music Albums favourites

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Top 99 Greatest Music Albums comments

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Rating:  

90/100

From Johnnyo 03/30/2024 17:17

Great chart. Lovin the accompanying notes

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

From AlvaroIesus 11/02/2023 09:12

So no Beatles?

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From Rm12398 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 Keatownrodriguez 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 Timooosterink 12/02/2019 12:17

Gorillaz! I love every chart with gorillaz!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From rnanderson8 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 DeusExMackia 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.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

From Sandinistar 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) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From ramthecowy 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 ramthecowy 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)

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