Top 50 Greatest Music Albums
by CW Martin

Just to make things perfectly clear, I am a dyed in the wool 70's head, and if the world ended in 1985, my music collection would still be about 80% intact. What did the guy say when she told him, "who you think you gonna please with THAT?" Answer: myself! and so this chart.
There are 18 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 50 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 70 out of 100 (from 16 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
The entries in this chart have a zero rank score because the chart has not been updated within the last ten years (points from overall charts are decayed over a ten year period).

View the complete list of 57,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.

Share this chart
Collector's summaryLog in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
Sort by
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 07/29/2010]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
39,170
Rank in 1966:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (88/100 - 3277 votes)  88 (3,277 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 07/29/2010]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
133
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 07/29/2010]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
30,828
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (87/100 - 2644 votes)  87 (2,644 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 07/29/2010]
Year of Release:
1993
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,629
Rank in 1993:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 07/29/2010]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,075
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 07/29/2010]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,343
Rank in 1974:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 07/29/2010]
Year of Release:
1993
Appears in:
Rank Score:
114
Rank in 1993:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 07/29/2010]
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,837
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 07/29/2010]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,460
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 07/29/2010]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
43,263
Rank in 1967:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (90/100 - 4592 votes)  90 (4,592 votes)
Comments:
Total albums: 50. Page 1 of 5
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!

Top 50 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade Albums %


1930s 0 0%
1940s 0 0%
1950s 0 0%
1960s 5 10%
1970s 24 48%
1980s 12 24%
1990s 6 12%
2000s 3 6%
2010s 0 0%
2020s 0 0%
Country Albums %


United States 24 48%
United Kingdom 14 28%
Mixed Nationality 9 18%
Canada 3 6%
Compilation? Albums %
No 40 80%
Yes 10 20%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 49 98%
Yes 1 2%

Top 50 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest fallers
Faller Down 1 from 47th to 48th
Face The Music
by Electric Light Orchestra
Faller Down 1 from 48th to 49th
Head First
by The Babys
TitleSourceTypePublishedCountry
Top 50 Greatest Music AlbumspawufOverall chart2010
The Definitive 200National Association of Recording MerchandisersOverall chart2007United States
The Top 100 AlbumsVH1Overall chart2001United States
Top 50 Greatest Music AlbumsthesteinOverall chart2010Unknown
Greatest 100 Albums of All TimeThe Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME Overall chart2006United Kingdom
Virgin All-Time Top 1000 AlbumsVirginOverall chart2000United Kingdom
Top 40 Greatest Music AlbumsmyermaniaOverall chart2010Unknown
Top 50 Greatest Music Albumsgalileo1957Overall chart2010
Top 50 Greatest Music Albumsshim1Overall chart2010Unknown
Top 50 Greatest Music AlbumsTheBondOverall chart2010

Top 50 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)


Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!


Why register?


Register now - it only takes a moment!

Top 50 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Average Rating: 
70/100 (from 16 votes)
  Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
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 16 ratings for this chart.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberChart ratingsAvg. chart rating
 
80/100
 !
02/19/2025 15:43 DommeDamian   1,00489/100
 
80/100
 !
01/19/2025 21:49 BorderFreeAndrew   10281/100
 
75/100
 !
04/19/2018 20:34 paladisiac   11977/100
 
90/100
 !
02/12/2012 15:58 TrekkiELO   7588/100
 
70/100
 !
08/03/2011 19:35 Johnnyo   2,56080/100

Rating metrics: Help 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 has a Bayesian average rating of 70.1/100, a mean average of 60.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 60.3/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 19.9.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Top 50 Greatest Music Albums favourites

Showing all 3 members who have added this chart as a favourite

Top 50 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 18 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
80/100
From 01/19/2025 21:49 | #307088
I may not agree with some of your choices, but the fact that you're not trying to be a hipster elitist is very refreshing.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 08/03/2011 19:37 | #25637
Like most of the chart & most of the artists but I have a problem with Best Of in a top 50 chart. Just my own preference but they don't fit. An album is a moment in time not a collection of songs over 10 - 15 years but I do like the artists that you have picked.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 01/28/2011 22:15 | #17901
How is it stubbornness, Omid? These are my favorites, the stuff I like. I neither said they were the best of all time, or that I had listened to all the music of all time to pick them. I'm not trying to tell you what to like; only telling you what I like.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 01/28/2011 20:51 | #17896
No offence,but it's like stubbornness.your're denying some great music,cause they're up to date,and ignoring new stuffs your've limited yourself to some pioneers,im against these kind of assessments.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 01/28/2011 13:13 | #17882
"Fair" would indicate an impartial judgement. My list is my favorites. I'm not being unfair, just expressing what I like.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 01/28/2011 12:06 | #17879
Your are underestimating the modern music,that's not fair.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 01/08/2011 04:23 | #17415
Thanks Gary. I liked your chart, too. Eyebrows (of surprise) went up at Holy Diver. Can't knock Dio.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/28/2010 04:49 | #16673
Yes, seriously Asia. My memory is that when it came out it was by far better than a lot of crap coming out then. It may not have stood the test of time for some (most?) people, but the memory has for me. Thankls for writing.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 09/01/2010 14:17 | #14826
Chrisey22 is rude. I hate when people on this site try to "school" others. Some of these users should be banned or given strikes for unnecessary taste bashing. Your list seems honest. I'm curious about Rosanne Cash.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
20/100
From 08/06/2010 07:33 | #14098
Sorry over the top.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Top 50 Greatest Music Albums

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this chart.
Recognised  Year Charts (2025)
1. Top 40 Albums of 2025 by Decibel (2025)
2. Albums of the year 2025 by Rough Trade (2025)
3. Albums of the year 2025 by The Line Of Best Fit (2025)
4. 50 Best Albums of 2025 by The Alternative (2025)
5. Albums of the year 2025 by Uncut (2025)
6. BrooklynVegan's Top 58 Albums of 2025 by BrooklynVegan (2025)
7. Albums of the year 2025 by Piccadilly Records (2025)
8. Albums of the year 2025 by Pitchfork (2025)
9. Top 50 Albums of 2025 by The Needle Drop (2025)
10. Albums of the year 2025 by Stereogum (2025)
11. The 20 Best Records of 2025 by Deep Cuts (2025)
12. The 50 best albums of 2025 by Paste (2025)
13. Albums of the year 2025 by Dork (2025)
14. Top 100 Listener Voted Albums of 2025 by KEXP (2025)
15. The best southern albums of 2025 by The Bitter Southerner (2025)
16. Albums of the year 2025 by Eel Pie Records (2025)
17. Best Albums of 2025 by The New Yorker (2025)
18. Albums of the year 2025 by Badlands Record Shop (2025)
Back to Top