Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by brent13 
This is my 100 favorite albums of all time. It excludes most "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: 07/04/2026 04:45
- (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 52 votes). Please log in or create an account 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:
3,685
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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:
19,103
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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]
[First added to this chart: 12/14/2014]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,166
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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:
6,366
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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
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Rank Score:
46,069
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[First added to this chart: 12/20/2014]
Year of Release:
2010
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,259
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[First added to this chart: 12/14/2014]
Year of Release:
1999
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,366
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[First added to this chart: 12/18/2014]
Year of Release:
2002
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Rank Score:
5,220
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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:
1,030
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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:
15,237
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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 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1970s | 25 | 25% | |
| 1980s | 12 | 12% | |
| 1990s | 23 | 23% | |
| 2000s | 19 | 19% | |
| 2010s | 12 | 12% | |
| 2020s | 1 | 1% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Sufjan Stevens | 5 | 5% | |
| Pavement | 5 | 5% | |
| The Beatles | 4 | 4% | |
| The Flaming Lips | 4 | 4% | |
| Bob Marley | 4 | 4% | |
| Joni Mitchell | 4 | 4% | |
| Phish | 4 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
56 | 56% | |
 |
19 | 19% | |
 |
9 | 9% | |
 |
6 | 6% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
Up 68 from 100th to 32nd |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
Down 5 from 94th to 99th |
Down 5 from 95th to 100th |
Down 4 from 55th to 59th |
| New entries |
|---|
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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 3 ratings for this chart. | Show all 52 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 04/30/2026 13:54 |  Bach | 971 | 78/100 |
| ! | 07/25/2025 20:42 |  MadhattanJack | 358 | 86/100 |
| ! | 03/07/2025 09:58 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,090 | 86/100 |
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 89.8/100, a mean average of 89.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.3.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums forum mentions
This chart has been referenced 8 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From 
BestEverAlbums 04/30/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5298): By brent13
BestEverAlbums 04/30/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5298): By brent13“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by ) 1. Hejira by Joni Mitchell (1976) 2. Illinois by Sufjan Stevens (2005) 3. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain by Pavement (1994) 4. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis (1974) 5. Revolver by The Beatles (1966) 6. The Age Of Adz by Sufjan…”
View forum post →From BestEverAlbums 07/25/2025 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5020): By brent13
BestEverAlbums 07/25/2025 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5020): By brent13“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by brent13 () 1. Hejira by Joni Mitchell (1976) 2. Illinois by Sufjan Stevens (2005) 3. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain by Pavement (1994) 4. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis (1974) 5. Revolver by The Beatles (1966) 6. The Age Of Adz by…”
View forum post →From BestEverAlbums 12/09/2024 09:00 in Chart of the day (#4793): By brent13
BestEverAlbums 12/09/2024 09:00 in Chart of the day (#4793): By brent13“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by brent13 () 1. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis (1974) 2. Illinois by Sufjan Stevens (2005) 3. Revolver by The Beatles (1966) 4. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain by Pavement (1994) 5. The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips (1999) 6. Animals…”
View forum post →Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From
babyBlueSedan TOP 100 COMMENTER 01/19/2015 01:49 | #131895
babyBlueSedan TOP 100 COMMENTER 01/19/2015 01:49 | #131895
If I keep seeing Genesis at the top of charts I might need to listen to them. Great start, I like that you're relistening to things before adding them here, I'm shocked at how much my opinions change from listen to listen. Good mix here too; you mentioned the preference for older albums but still ended up with lots of variety. Nice to see Pavement a couple times in the top ten.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2
From
buzzdainer TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/30/2016 17:26 | #170198
buzzdainer TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/30/2016 17:26 | #170198
Outstanding chart! Love to see some less familiar titles listed among my favorites, including Illinois and Funeral. I guess maybe it's time for me to give seventies Genesis a chance, huh?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 1
From
sageamagoo TOP 100 COMMENTER 08/15/2015 19:17 | #147731
sageamagoo TOP 100 COMMENTER 08/15/2015 19:17 | #147731
Animals for best Pink Floyd album, and Clouds Taste Metallic in the top 20?
This guy knows what's up.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 1
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
From
vancevisuals 12/27/2016 02:12 | #181042
Joe's Garage (all the acts) kicks ass!
glad somebody else apprieciates it as much as I do
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 1
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