Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by zgarrison88
Music ought to serve us. It ought to help us explore ourselves and the world we live in. It ought to express the true excitements of life. It ought to bring clarity to our lives by capturing a moment, an emotion, something beyond ourselves.
These are the Top 100 Albums, in my opinion, that do that best--combining high quality music with the ability to leave the listener better off than when they started.
- Chart updated: 04/26/2021 15:15
- (Created: 01/24/2015 19:20).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 14 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 88 out of 100 (from 30 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 1970s. (Remove this filter)
Top Track: Brain Damage/Eclipse
Parental Advisory: EXPLICIT - (Speak to Me, Money)
Wonderfully crafted and horribly depressing. This album explores themes of struggle and madness via some of the best songs you've ever heard. Certainly worth a listen, if only to have a black backdrop for the light.
Best Line: “And all that is now and all that is gone
And all that's to come and everything under the sun is in tune
But the sun is eclipsed by the moon” [First added to this chart: 03/22/2016]
Top Tracks: Stairway to Heaven, When the Levee Breaks
A (if not THE) quintessential rock-n-roll album. Energetic, creative perfection.
Best Line: “Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on.” [First added to this chart: 03/24/2016]
Top Track: Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts I-V
A beautiful tribute to former band member Syd Barrett (whose initials are referenced in the title Shine on You crazy Diamond), who left the band after their first album due to mental health issues. A five-song masterpiece.
Best Line: “Remember when you were young
You shone like the Sun
Shine on, you crazy diamond” [First added to this chart: 03/27/2016]
Top Tracks: Tangled Up in Blue, Simple Twist of Fate, You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go, Buckets of Rain
Hands down, the best breakup album there ever was.
Best Line: “I like your smile
And your fingertips
I like the way that you move your hips
I like the cool way you look at me
Everything about you is bringing me misery” [First added to this chart: 03/27/2016]
Top Track: Pink Moon, Place to Be, From the Morning
As bleak an album as they come. An immensely talented and lonely artist created in this both a pure expression of melancholy and one of the most influential folk albums of all time. Not an album to play on repeat, but I believe one to sit and really hear.
Best Line: “Lifting the mask from a local clown
Feeling down like him
Seeing the light in a station bar
And travelling far in sin” [First added to this chart: 05/14/2020]
Top Tracks: Pigs (Three Different Ones), Dogs
Parental Advisory: EXPLICIT - (Pigs (Three Different Ones))
An ultra-creative, Orwellian display with a statement to make: humanity's condition makes us no better than animals.
Best Line: “Everything's done under the sun
But you believe at heart everyone's a killer” [First added to this chart: 01/20/2018]
Top Tracks: Band on the Run, Jet, Mrs. Vanderbilt, Let Me Roll It, Mamunia
By all rights, this album seems like it shouldn't be this high. But from the opening guitar lick to the closing reprise, it's one big party that just doesn't seem to get old.
Best Line: “The next time you see L.A. rain clouds
Don't complain, it rains for you and me” [First added to this chart: 03/22/2016]
Top Tracks: See No Evil, Venus, Marquee Moon
A polished, massively influential punk album incorporating elements of jazz for a near perfect product.
Best Line: “I spoke
To a man down at the tracks
And I ask him
How he don't go mad
He said ‘Look here, Junior
Don't you be so happy
And for Heaven's sake
Don't you be so sad.’” [First added to this chart: 08/13/2020]
Top Tracks: Too Many People, Smile Away, Monkberry Moon Delight
A real, "don't forget to enjoy life while you live it" kind of album. Paul takes you to the party once again.
Best Line: “Too many people going underground
Too many reaching for a piece of cake
Too many people pulled and pushed around
Too many waiting for that lucky break” [First added to this chart: 03/27/2016]
Top Tracks: The Outlaw, Why Don’t You Look Into Jesus, The Great American Novel, Reader’s Digest
Larry Norman sought to reach the flower children of the 70s with this album, bringing with it the “abrasive, urban reality of the gospel". Musically, it holds its own with much of the music of its time and otherwise, it just ain’t too shabby.
Best Line: “Beatles said ‘all you need is love’
And then they broke up” [First added to this chart: 02/16/2021]
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
Decade | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
1930s | 0 | 0% | |
1940s | 1 | 1% | |
1950s | 3 | 3% | |
1960s | 13 | 13% | |
1970s | 20 | 20% | |
1980s | 5 | 5% | |
1990s | 12 | 12% | |
2000s | 24 | 24% | |
2010s | 21 | 21% | |
2020s | 1 | 1% |
Artist | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
|
|||
Bob Dylan | 5 | 5% | |
Radiohead | 5 | 5% | |
Josh Garrels | 4 | 4% | |
Switchfoot | 4 | 4% | |
Sufjan Stevens | 3 | 3% | |
Pink Floyd | 3 | 3% | |
U2 | 3 | 3% | |
Show all |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
Biggest climbers |
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Up 1 from 96th to 95th Where The Light Shines Through by Switchfoot |
Biggest fallers |
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Down 1 from 95th to 96th Vice Verses by Switchfoot |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 30 ratings for this chart.
Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
12/25/2021 07:00 | craab | 14 | 95/100 | |
11/29/2021 12:42 | Cytoma | 171 | 90/100 | |
11/25/2021 16:40 | Tamthebam | 552 | 85/100 | |
11/25/2021 13:20 | desh79 | 1,281 | 93/100 | |
02/25/2021 02:51 | RoundTheBend | 374 | 92/100 |
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This chart is rated in the top 12% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 87.8/100, a mean average of 85.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 17.1.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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I love the values vision of your chart. Thank you! I LOVE Switchfoot, and am glad to see another fan out there on BEA! Based on your chart, I think you should check out the Hold Steady album: Separation Sunday.
Illinois is so deserving of a number 1 spot. Nice chart
What a beautiful and honest chart! Love it!!
Strong to your beliefs this is good.
Also enjoyed seeing Switchfoot getting the credit they deserve. Cheers
The joy of music is how varied it is and how different people's tastes are. Fascinating list. I've never seem one before with so many Christmas based albums in it. I liked your notes indicating what genre each album was in. And as you said, 'what makes the best music for each one of us is it's ability to leave us feeling better off than when they started'.
You like it epic.
Good list
what is Switchfoot?
the rest good
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Pretty good! You cant go wrong with these albums
you have alot of great albums and a few surprises.
im definitely going to have to listen to switchfoot- since you give it such high value.
i think all the critics/members will be faced with this observation.
But, thank you, for making me aware of switchfoot. i hope it is as good as you think it is.
Love your list. Need to check out Switchfoot, though
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