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

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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.

• Chart updated: 02/20/2024 14:45
• (Created: 10/20/2014 19:43).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 23 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 54 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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7. (=)

Substance 1987 
Compilation

 New Order

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Best Songs: Blue Monday, Thieves Like Us, Bizarre Love Triangle

Substance is more than just a compilation or 'best of' album; it's the New Order bible.

100/100 [First added to this chart: 06/26/2015]

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

309 charts

Rank Score:

2,921

Rank in 1987:

11

Rank in 1980s:

94

Overall Rank:

609

Average Rating:

 83 (460 votes)

Comments:

36

32. (=)

On The Radio 
Compilation

 Donna Summer

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Best songs: Love To Love You Baby, I Feel Love, Hot Stuff

Her best hits, mixed to perfection. As reliable a Friday night just-got-off-work-pour-me-a-drink soundtrack as it gets. Affirms my queerness and my undying love of disco. [First added to this chart: 12/12/2022]

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

20 charts

Rank Score:

130

Rank in 1979:

136

Rank in 1970s:

1,379

Overall Rank:

9,212

Average Rating:

 77 (27 votes)

Comments:

0

86. (85) 1

Galore 
Compilation

 Kirsty MacColl

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Best songs: They Don't Know About Us, A New England, He's On The Beach

The first album I ever had. Was given as a CD by my dad when I was probably 5 or 6. Scratched it to high hell and have since had to re-buy it. Never got bored of listening to a moment of it. One of the greatest women in alternative music summed up effortlessly. [First added to this chart: 11/12/2023]

Year of Release:

1995

Appears in:

10 charts

Rank Score:

55

Rank in 1995:

328

Rank in 1990s:

3,136

Overall Rank:

18,977

Average Rating:

 78 (10 votes)

Comments:

1

Total albums: 3. 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	%
	51	51%
	38	38%
	5	5%
	2	2%
	2	2%
	1	1%
	1	1%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

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

New entries
The White Room by The KLF

Leavers
You're A Woman, I'm A Machine by Death From Above 1979

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 54 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
90/100	03/30/2024 17:17	Johnnyo	2,011	79/100
100/100	07/26/2022 00:35	Rm12398	99	89/100
90/100	07/25/2022 12:05	wizardalien	31	88/100
90/100	12/07/2021 12:35	Cytoma	171	90/100
85/100	06/12/2021 14:46	bobnickmad	23	88/100

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 7.1.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites

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Top 100 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?

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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!

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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.

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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) | +1 votes (1 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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