Top 50 Greatest Music Albums
by ThingsOnFire

Every list is the result of subjective opinion, and yet, many lists are presented like they are objective. I tried to be objective myself, I truly did, but I simply couldn't. I decided to delete my previous chart and re-start again completely fresh as my musical tastes have changed since last time. This time I wanted to rank the albums according to how often I listened to them, how creative I felt they were, and how good I felt when I listened to them - even if I ended up not listening to a particular album that often in the end. A lot of my decisions I simply did on feeling, so a couple of odd results pop up - I've ranked some classic albums lower than many obscure ones, and I have multiples of a couple of artists. Oh well. If I were to be objective, I admit the rankings would be different, but my subjectivity felt more honest.

I really want anyone who reads this chart to not think I think the albums low on the chart are bad. Actually, I've listened to every single album on this list many times and enjoyed each thoroughly. This list only encompasses a fraction of the total number of albums I have ever listened to afterall.

• Chart updated: 10/02/2015 21:15
• (Created: 03/04/2015 05:57).
• Chart size: 50 albums.

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1. (=)

Loveless 

 My Bloody Valentine

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Loveless just had to be my favorite album of all time. Few albums are unique. Few albums are catchy. Loveless is both unique and very catchy. There isn't a single song on it that I dislike. Listening to it for the first time was an awakening for me. I had never heard anything that made me feel the way it made me feel. This is the first album I ever bought from a record store. I got it my first week of college, and it's basically the soundtrack to my college years. [First added to this chart: 03/04/2015]

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

2,160 charts

Rank Score:

28,255

Rank in 1991:

2

Rank in 1990s:

5

Overall Rank:

23

Average Rating:

 86 (2,488 votes)

Comments:

312

2. (=)

Doolittle 

 Pixies

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The first time I listened to Doolittle I wasn't sure what to think of it. I listened to it just that once and I didn't try listening to it for months, but then I went back to it and I was like, "what was I thinking?" Doolittle is a highly influential album that was a necessary precursor to bands like Nirvana and Radiohead - for good reason. [First added to this chart: 03/04/2015]

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

2,546 charts

Rank Score:

31,373

Rank in 1989:

1

Rank in 1980s:

2

Overall Rank:

18

Average Rating:

 88 (2,963 votes)

Comments:

293

3. (=)

Funeral 

 Arcade Fire

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The Arcade Fire have held a place in my heart for many years, they were the first band that really got me into modern indie music. I only listened to classic rock and classical music before them, but they really opened my eyes. Like how Loveless stimulated my love of shoegaze, the Arcade Fire stimulated my interest in very artsy/orchestral rock music. [First added to this chart: 03/04/2015]

Year of Release:

2004

Appears in:

2,887 charts

Rank Score:

33,871

Rank in 2004:

1

Rank in 2000s:

3

Overall Rank:

15

Average Rating:

 88 (3,672 votes)

Comments:

401

4. (=)

Pink Moon 

 Nick Drake

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One thing I dislike about folk music sometimes is that every song is a strummer, and a bit too simplistic. Pink Moon features a single acoustic guitar save for the first track, but the guitar playing is really complex. On a lot of the tracks, it sounds like two guitars are playing at the same time, but there's actually only one. Seriously, look on youtube, there's a guy who plays many of the tracks off of Pink Moon, and just one guitar is needed. O.o How the hell did Nick Drake compose this? It's astounding, and so easy on the ears. I keep on hearing Nick Drake compared to Jack Johnson, but it's really the other way around. Nick Drake died before Jack Johnson was even born. [First added to this chart: 03/04/2015]

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

1,560 charts

Rank Score:

17,457

Rank in 1972:

3

Rank in 1970s:

17

Overall Rank:

58

Average Rating:

 86 (1,861 votes)

Comments:

144

5. (=)

Merriweather Post Pavilion 

 Animal Collective

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Merriweather Post Pavilion is one of the most creative albums I have ever heard. The levels of detail is incredible. MPP has a lot of samples, of things I don't recognize, of chattering crowds of people.... It feels like the album is background music for a place distant and beautiful. [First added to this chart: 03/04/2015]

Year of Release:

2009

Appears in:

1,141 charts

Rank Score:

9,085

Rank in 2009:

1

Rank in 2000s:

24

Overall Rank:

158

Average Rating:

 82 (1,594 votes)

Comments:

157

6. (=)

The Dark Side Of The Moon 

 Pink Floyd

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I first started listening to The Dark Side of the Moon around the time I started to suffer from the worst nervous breakdown in my entire life. I just laid around different public places listening to the album over and over again. I can't really listen to the album again, but it still holds a place in my heart. [First added to this chart: 03/04/2015]

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

4,139 charts

Rank Score:

59,751

Rank in 1973:

1

Rank in 1970s:

1

Overall Rank:

2

Average Rating:

 92 (5,342 votes)

Comments:

592

7. (=)

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Is This It 

 The Strokes

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The Strokes have filled a niche in rock music that, when you think about later, really should have been filled a lot sooner. Their music is very simple, often following the song structures of pop music, their guitars are undistorted, and Julian Casablancas' vocals are slightly raspy. They're garage rock, and their sound is so basic, but I can't think of a single band that sounded quite like them before they existed. [First added to this chart: 03/04/2015]

Year of Release:

2001

Appears in:

2,467 charts

Rank Score:

28,118

Rank in 2001:

1

Rank in 2000s:

4

Overall Rank:

24

Average Rating:

 86 (3,040 votes)

Comments:

277

8. (=)

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea 

 Neutral Milk Hotel

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In The Aeroplane Over the Sea is an interesting combination, it has elements of folk music, grunge, and who the fuck knows. And it's all about Ann Frank. And it features seaman staining mountaintops. Yeah. It's that kind of album. There is a lot of variety in the instrumentation, and I haven't heard anything quite like it since. [First added to this chart: 03/04/2015]

Year of Release:

1998

Appears in:

2,431 charts

Rank Score:

32,434

Rank in 1998:

1

Rank in 1990s:

3

Overall Rank:

17

Average Rating:

 87 (2,966 votes)

Comments:

431

9. (=)

Streethawk: A Seduction 

 Destroyer

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I've listened to and enjoyed every single Destroyer record that Dan Bejar ever made. They're not a heavy metal band. Their sound is relaxed and folky in fact. Most people these days know about Destroyer because of the album Kaputt, which is a lot more ambient. Streethawk is from an era of Destroyer's history few people pay attention to, but it has some of their best songs: "Farrar, Strouse, and Giroux", "The Sublimation Hour", "Streethawk I" and the absolutely fantastic "The Very Modern Dance". I've heard Streethawk being compared to David Bowie's "Hunky Dory" a lot, but I really don't think they sound that similar. [First added to this chart: 03/04/2015]

Year of Release:

2001

Appears in:

76 charts

Rank Score:

363

Rank in 2001:

71

Rank in 2000s:

675

Overall Rank:

3,965

Average Rating:

 78 (91 votes)

Comments:

3

10. (=)

Helplessness Blues 

 Fleet Foxes

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One of my favorite folk albums, I like this album because of just how detailed it is. The orchestration is beautiful, the songs are well fleshed out and varied, and the lyrics are absolutely gorgeous. [First added to this chart: 03/04/2015]

Year of Release:

2011

Appears in:

934 charts

Rank Score:

8,487

Rank in 2011:

1

Rank in 2010s:

16

Overall Rank:

175

Average Rating:

 82 (1,326 votes)

Comments:

104

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Total albums: 50. Page 1 of 5

Top 50 Greatest Music Albums composition

Country	Albums	%
	27	54%
	10	20%
	5	10%
	4	8%
	1	2%
	1	2%
	1	2%
Show all

Top 50 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

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

Top 50 Greatest Music Albums ratings

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
95/100  !	01/04/2017 23:17	Seab	2,005	93/100
75/100  !	10/03/2015 08:44	Davy	441	87/100
90/100  !	08/13/2015 19:58	CanadianGuy	26	90/100
85/100  !	08/13/2015 16:19	Granny-Smith	140	88/100
80/100  !	05/25/2015 05:24	AMEIER	79	84/100

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CanadianGuy

Top 50 Greatest Music Albums comments

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Rating:  

85/100

From Granny-Smith 08/13/2015 16:23 | #147621

Interesting chart, like to see Kaputt so high in your chart. I hear it for a few month and i like it very much in some special moments but i had not listen the other albums of him and nice to see women in your chart another interesting Album. I expect a cool top 100, first you get 85 ;)

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Rating:  

80/100

From AMEIER 05/25/2015 05:24 | #142358

very interesting..

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Rating:  

90/100

From CanadianGuy 05/16/2015 20:53 | #141626

Even if I may not agree with your number one pick, you did a great job on this list man and I am sure that I will make some wonderful finds on it. (and who am I for judging somebody else's taste)!

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Rating:  

100/100

From Ollie 04/04/2015 09:56 | #138788

One of the most wonderful charts i've come across. Thanks for posting notes, they're very interesting.

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