Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by brent13 
This is my 100 favorite albums of all time. No greatest hits compilations. The chart is updated periodically as music grows on me and my tastes change. Since it is a list of favorite albums, many of my favorite artists are heavily represented.
- Chart updated: 01/13/2026 06:15
- (Created: 12/14/2014 07:22).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 20 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 51 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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It's December 2024 and after maybe 25-years since first hearing it, I'll finally admit to myself and the world that 'Hejira' is my favorite album.
I love 1970's Joni Mitchell albums. It took a while for 'Hejira' to work it's way up to the top of Joni albums let alone this chart. 'Coyote', 'Amelia', Hejira', 'Song For Sharon' and 'Refuge of the Roads' are not only some of Joni's best songs, they are many of my favorite songs ever recorded.
Released the year I was born, this album speaks to a life fully lived and contemplated like few albums before or since. Jaco Pastorius plays fretless bass hauntingly on several tracks tying the sound together like a warm blanket and cementing it even further into my favorite best ever album. [First added to this chart: 01/19/2015]
I love 1970's Joni Mitchell albums. It took a while for 'Hejira' to work it's way up to the top of Joni albums let alone this chart. 'Coyote', 'Amelia', Hejira', 'Song For Sharon' and 'Refuge of the Roads' are not only some of Joni's best songs, they are many of my favorite songs ever recorded.
Released the year I was born, this album speaks to a life fully lived and contemplated like few albums before or since. Jaco Pastorius plays fretless bass hauntingly on several tracks tying the sound together like a warm blanket and cementing it even further into my favorite best ever album. [First added to this chart: 01/19/2015]
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,825
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Comments:
No weak points...just solid from top to bottom. Sufjan is my favorite artist of the last 25-years.
[First added to this chart: 12/15/2014]
Year of Release:
2005
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,786
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Every song is outstanding. 'Range Life' and 'Fillmore Jive' are probably best. 'Range Life' was alt country before alt country was really a thing. Leave it to Pavement to dis other bands (Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots) in one of their best songs. Very hip hop of them to record a beef for posterity.
[First added to this chart: 12/14/2014]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,439
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Rank in 1990s:
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Comments:
The Lamb just keeps getting better and more relevant with age. The most Peter Gabriel driven of any Genesis album, and the last before he left the band because of creative differences. Gabriel’s amazing voice and lyrics work perfectly with the highly melodic and sometimes very heavy progressive rock grooves. Songs flow from one to the next as well as side two of Abbey Road. The atmosphere and texture at times could be mistaken for the best of Radiohead, before you are brought back by the sound of a flute, and you remember this was recorded in 1974.
[First added to this chart: 12/15/2014]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,363
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Most songs on Revolver have been favorites at one time or another. Currently, 'And Your Bird Can Sing', 'I Want To Tell You', 'Got To Get You Into My Life', and 'Tomorrow Never Knows are my faves. Well, 'Tomorrow Never Knows' has always been a favorite.
[First added to this chart: 12/15/2014]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
48,049
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[First added to this chart: 12/20/2014]
Year of Release:
2010
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,491
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Rank in 2010s:
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[First added to this chart: 12/14/2014]
Year of Release:
1999
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,555
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[First added to this chart: 12/18/2014]
Year of Release:
2002
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,384
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Comments:
Overlooked and underrated. A staple of my college years that hasn't seemed to age a day. Save this one for a warm summer night.
[First added to this chart: 12/19/2014]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,083
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I was 8-years old when Purple Rain was released. I remember ‘Lets Go Crazy’, ‘When Doves Cry’ and ‘Purple Rain’ were immediate radio hits and I liked all three songs, even at 8 or 9 years old. Over the years since, and after seeing the movie a bunch of times, most of the songs have become my favorite at one point or another. After 30+ years, I can definitively state that 'Baby I'm a Star' is my favorite track...well except for ‘Purple Rain’ sometimes. Nope…I picked ‘Baby I’m a Star’ and I’m going to stick with it.
‘The Beautiful Ones’, ‘Computer Blue’, and ‘Baby I’m a Star’ are the most underrated tracks. [First added to this chart: 12/26/2014]
‘The Beautiful Ones’, ‘Computer Blue’, and ‘Baby I’m a Star’ are the most underrated tracks. [First added to this chart: 12/26/2014]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,754
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Rank in 1980s:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 9 | 9% | |
| 1970s | 27 | 27% | |
| 1980s | 11 | 11% | |
| 1990s | 24 | 24% | |
| 2000s | 20 | 20% | |
| 2010s | 8 | 8% | |
| 2020s | 1 | 1% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Sufjan Stevens | 5 | 5% | |
| Pavement | 5 | 5% | |
| Bob Marley & The Wailers | 4 | 4% | |
| Joni Mitchell | 4 | 4% | |
| Frank Zappa | 4 | 4% | |
| Phish | 4 | 4% | |
| The Beatles | 4 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
52 | 52% | |
 |
22 | 22% | |
 |
11 | 11% | |
 |
6 | 6% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 1 from 100th to 99thOn The Beach by Neil Young |
| Up 1 from 99th to 98thApostrophe (') by Frank Zappa |
| Up 1 from 98th to 97thLet It Bleed by The Rolling Stones |
| New entries |
|---|
| One Size Fits All by Frank Zappa And The Mothers Of Invention |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 51 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07/25/2025 20:42 |  MadhattanJack | 298 | 86/100 | |
| 03/07/2025 09:58 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,089 | 85/100 | |
| 08/10/2023 17:43 | Johnnyo | 2,581 | 80/100 | |
| 07/18/2021 22:02 | Giant2015 | 102 | 91/100 | |
| 01/10/2020 21:11 | pctrooper | 332 | 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).
(*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 89.9/100, a mean average of 90.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.7/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.3.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From Johnnyo 08/10/2023 17:43 | #298559
Ace chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From pctrooper 01/10/2020 21:11 | #246684
Splendid chart. Genesis reigns supreme. The Lamb is a formidable work. I also love screaming along to "It". One of the greatest songs of all time. They always knew how to end an album right (The Knife, Fountain of Salmacis, Los Endos, etc.).
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From CJMishellsan 01/10/2020 19:13 | #246677
Probably the chart I identify the strongest with, at least when it comes to the top 20. I've also been noticing Lamb on a lot of peoples lists lately, it's certainly an album that requires multiple listens to get and it gets better every time. I think Supper's Ready is still their best song, but Lamb is their best album overall. You got some crazy stuff out of left field too I wasn't expecting, so I better check some of it out! I've seen the Flaming Lips live yet I haven't cared much for their actual music.....I know, it's weird. I'm gonna keep trying though.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
salahshoori 01/10/2020 09:41 | #246663
salahshoori 01/10/2020 09:41 | #246663
Interesting chart, with interesting choices, though I think its better to introduce more bands. Your descriptions show how much effort you put in your chart.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
sssvnnn 06/30/2019 22:39 | #238700
sssvnnn 06/30/2019 22:39 | #238700
Very good chart, very good music.
My only criticism: I´d like to have more different artists and not too many albums of the same artists.
congratulations anyway.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
gidgidi 06/30/2019 17:01 | #238684
gidgidi 06/30/2019 17:01 | #238684
Nice Sufjan inclusions!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From BraddlesHendo 06/30/2019 11:40 | #238670
Here’s to Joni Mitchell
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
ForegroundNoise 06/30/2019 08:31 | #238666
ForegroundNoise 06/30/2019 08:31 | #238666
Sure there might be a few albums here that aren't really my thing but I am really impressed with the effort you have gone into with your notes!! Some jazz and electronic albums sneaking in would up this to a perfect score from me!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
bobbyb5 03/24/2018 21:41 | #211638
bobbyb5 03/24/2018 21:41 | #211638
Nice to see something by Joni Mitchell besides fuckin Blue. And Mars Audiac is indeed Stereolab best album.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
authorunknown 07/19/2017 17:06 | #194609
authorunknown 07/19/2017 17:06 | #194609
Fantastic chart! Many of my all-time favorites, which means I need to check out some of the other stuff.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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