Top 40 Greatest Music Albums
by Timhop

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There is simply no way this could NOT be my number one album. I was lucky enough to have three older brothers who had great taste in music. I first heard this album when I was 7 years old, and from the first listen was totally captivated by its sound. I would listen to it extremely loud when no-one else was at home. I got a peverse thrill in thinking it was unsettling the neighbours. A masterpiece. [First added to this chart: 12/05/2014]
Year of Release:
1973
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Rank Score:
58,596
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Top rated album (92/100 - 5358 votes)  92 (5,358 votes)
Comments:
In the mid eighties I lost all interest in current music. It all seemed so lame: Modern Talking, OMD, AHA, all that junk. Only a few eighties bands like Talking heads and the Waterboys really held interest for me. I went back in time and began digging around in record shops to expand the musical grounding my brothers had left for me: Dylan, Neil Young, Van Morrison, David Bowie, Rodriguez, Floyd. This album changed everything. I’ll never forget where I was and who I was with when I first heard it. [First added to this chart: 12/05/2014]
Year of Release:
1997
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Rank Score:
62,048
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Top rated album (92/100 - 5670 votes)  92 (5,670 votes)
Comments:
A truly remarkable record of deep introspection, layered with all kinds of transcendental imagery from his Belfast childhood. Nothing quite like it had ever been done before, and he never did anything quite like it again, except perhaps on snatches of Veedon Fleece. [First added to this chart: 12/06/2014]
Year of Release:
1968
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Rank Score:
15,984
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Quite a few friends at university had been into REM and I don’t know why but I just didn’t get it. I heard this album a bit and it also didn’t do much for me. Then one day we were at a party at the photographic studio I shared with two other guys. One of our friends put this album on. I’d had a toke or two of a joint and suddenly everything fell into place and what they were doing with their sound all made perfect sense. I’ve become a huge fan of theirs especially the older stuff like Murmur and Fables of the Reconstruction, but this one will always remain one of my all-time favourite albums. Just one song jars for me though: Ignoreland, although less so now than it did at first. [First added to this chart: 12/05/2014]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,198
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This guy and Nick Drake were introduced to the older generation of guitarists in the town I live in South Africa in the early 70's, and had a huge influence on many of them, and later on me too. A great, hugely under-rated album, dark, woozy and brooding, with fantastic double-bass by Danny Thompson. [First added to this chart: 12/05/2014]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,436
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After hearing lots of early Waits and not liking it much, I finally clicked with him after hearing this album. You have to chuckle a bit while listening to Waits. There's a comic element on this and Swordfish that I just love. [First added to this chart: 12/05/2014]
Year of Release:
1985
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Rank Score:
11,452
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By far my favourite Dylan album. Can't stand the pronounced nasal whine on all his earlier stuff. Amazing what a decade or two of smoking did for both his and Joni's voices. [First added to this chart: 12/05/2014]
Year of Release:
1975
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Rank Score:
20,351
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Top rated album (87/100 - 2215 votes)  87 (2,215 votes)
Comments:
This album really was a vindication for me. It took all that bland 80s junk and blew it right out the water. Listening to it was an intense, cathartic, almost spiritual experience. Its banks of layered acoustic guitars, violins, pianos and brass set it apart from anything else in 1987. That was the year I first heard it, although it was released in 85. It remains one of my all-time favourites, and I think Mike Scott and Karl Wallinger were one of Britain’s all-time great song-writing teams, even though their partnership was all-too brief. Just listening to it now and realise I really have to bump it up my chart a bit... [First added to this chart: 12/05/2014]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,979
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This album stunned me. Prophetic, apocalyptic, tender and dark. It made me realise just how powerful music can be when it has poetry in the lyrics, and just how lame most song lyrics really are. I read an interview with Mogwai once. They asked them why they don’t write lyrics for their music. They said, “Who can compete with Leonard Cohen?” [First added to this chart: 12/05/2014]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
660
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This guy and a few musician mates turned the Afrikaner establishment on its head with their music, just before the collapse of Apartheid. The Bob Dylan of South Africa. I rate him up there with Dylan and Cohen as a lyric writer. His dark and scandalous reworking of the national album (the song Swart September on this album) is the bravest thing I've ever heard on record. A hero and inspiration to me and many, many white South African musicians. The album was released as Niemandsland, only on vinyl. Niemandsland and Beyond is a later CD re-release. [First added to this chart: 12/05/2014]
Year of Release:
1993
Appears in:
Rank Score:
39
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Total albums: 40. Page 1 of 4
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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums composition

Top 40 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest climbers
Climber Up 13 from 31st to 18thLost In The Dream
by The War On Drugs
Climber Up 3 from 20th to 17thNaturally
by J.J. Cale
Climber Up 3 from 19th to 16thPoetic Champions Compose
by Van Morrison
Biggest fallers
Faller Down 6 from 13th to 19thCold Fact
by Rodriguez
Faller Down 3 from 17th to 20thSo
by Peter Gabriel
Faller Down 3 from 18th to 21stLondon Calling
by The Clash
New entries
New entry Bloom
by Beach House
Leavers
Leaver Murmur
by R.E.M.
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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Average Rating: 
86/100 (from 4 votes)
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RatingDate updatedMemberChart ratingsAvg. chart rating
 
85/100
 
06/12/2021 12:19 Goliath  Ratings distribution  35086/100
The chart has been updated since this rating was assigned   
85/100
 
04/14/2018 08:21 Ulf  Ratings distribution  18580/100
The chart has been updated since this rating was assigned   
85/100
 
12/24/2014 02:43 benpaco  Ratings distribution  14285/100
The chart has been updated since this rating was assigned   
90/100
 
12/18/2014 16:40 BasdeWit97  Ratings distribution  44889/100
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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums comments

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Rating:  
85/100
From 04/14/2018 08:21 | #212856
Great chart and comments
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 02/15/2017 19:01 | #185699
Any chart with Naturally in it is alright with me
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 12/24/2014 02:43 | #130022
While largely generic, there's a lot here, even in your top 10, that is surprising and interesting. Will be cool to see where it goes!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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