Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by calsper

The difficult task of turning something as subjective as the power of music into an objective measure seems both arbitrary and heuristic if one is to avoid leaving readers with an undifferentiated overview.

In this chart I try to take into consideration certain aspects that I regard as crucial in order to rank the top 100 albums in music history, in which I believe a multifaceted approach is needed.

I rank by taking into account components of the individual album related to:
- Memories: my personal testemonies, confessions and experiences related to the music album as a listener, musician and human being
- History: the significance of music history and the vast impact and ways that single recordings have echoed throughout time as seminal artistic testamonies
- State-dependent emotion: the creative impact that I experience in listening and the emotional states that emerge during the course of the album's runtime
- Production: the soundstage, instrumentation, transparency and mastering of certain albums inducted into this chart as musical detail and presence to me is a highly enriching aspect of experiencing music.

This is a wonderful website. I am honored to be part of it and to have the privilege of being inspired by the whole-hearted music lovers in it. ..Enjoy

Best Casper

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Aja 
Buy album United States
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You know that something's up with an album if you name your first born after it, and mine is named Aja. This is flat out the album that I'd listen to the rest of my life if I could only choose one. So groovy, so sophisticated, so well-produced, so many mind-bending musicians, so elaborate compositions - the list goes on.

My father, being a radio host for 30 years, mostly played rock and pop "On Air". But at home, Steely was among what was constantly played - to my immediate adoration. I clearly remembered listening to these guys as a young kid and an aspiring drummer and losing all sense of hope of ever being a genuine musician while doing this.

Be that as it may, Steely have long been notorious for being among if not the most perfectionist band in music history. If anyone would question that statement, take a look through the liner notes of their releases with up to 40 of the world's leading session musicians participating on single releases.

From the complex arrangement on the title track, which is hugely progressive and evolving, to the slick "Peg" that sounds like pure recorded happiness, the album is a true masterpiece in my opinion.

"Aja" was the record that brought Steely to their commercial peak with great tracks. People who might listen and grow fond of this album really should listen to the rest of their discography.

Their signature and reference production method is no exception on "Aja". it simply sounds fantastic as all their records do with the sleekest and most stellar production. Special credit to Gary Katz, the magnificent and leading producer of Steely's years from '72 to '80.
[First added to this chart: 03/25/2015]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,314
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Buy album United States
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Is this the sneakiest masterpiece in pop music? Fagen took a huge risk in clashing with the monopoly of analogue recording when he created what would become perhaps the very reference album in terms of production and execution.

Being the ever early bird to be entirely digitally recorded, "The Nightfly" channels the courage, the wit and ever-determined will to produce this stellar pop record.

With a legendary personnel including Abraham Laboriel Sr., Larry Carlton, Marcus Miller, Greg Phillinganes and legendary Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro, this record is ruthless in its precision and effortless execution.

The lyrical themes are sophisticated and autobiographical, drawn from Fagen's fantasies from his time in the late 50's when fantasizing about his future days, as described in the booklet of the LP.

The liner notes of the record denotes 31 session musicians included in the album, a typical example of Fagen's extreme perfectionist approach to the recording process - this tendency didn't just end with Steely Dan's Gaucho in '80 but continued into his debut solo album that truly is fantastic in the daring exploration in perfect sound and sophistication (and only beaten by one album; "Kamakiriad" from '93 which is the best sounding recording I have ever laid my ears on).
[First added to this chart: 03/25/2015]
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,546
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Buy album United States
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1959 was the year when hard bop turned last year on the genre defining release of Kind of Blue. This album's past and present influence on jazz, rock, classical, funk -the list goes on and on- makes this one of the most important albums ever recorded.

Miles' personnel had just become stabile: the recording with his usual sixtet including Evans, Cobb and Coltrane set a standard with this album of the execution that is improvised on all parts in an effortless and perfect manner.

Miles had just gone modal (the jazz theoretical movement away from major and minor chord driven improvisation towards a scale driven improvisation style) thanks to pianist George Russell.

This was clear in that the genius of Miles had only given his band members sketches of scales and melody lines which is why this record sounds so fantastic and free from the shackles of theorems and convention.
[First added to this chart: 03/10/2015]
Year of Release:
1959
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Rank Score:
23,114
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Buy album United States
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1982 was the year where the reference popular music record was born.
Genius Michael, driven by a learned ferocity and perfectionist approach to music at his artistic peak, mixed with the technical accomplishment and production of genius Quincy Jones, and the absolute musical precision of Toto members Steve Lukather, David Paich and Jeff and Steve Porcaro made this the defining album as being taylored for anyone at anytime.

The production is fearless, ferociously precise and simply lovable, and Michael's energy is unrivalled.

The depth and production-wise thoughtfulness shown in this masterpiece have inspired thousands of artists and producers, and has facilitated an entirely new way of approaching popular music.
[First added to this chart: 03/10/2015]
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,499
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Buy album United States
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The progressive nature of Pet Sounds as a pop album is unparalleled.
Brian Wilson, the genius and the producer behind the composition and writing of this album did the inevitable for him as an artist by using Coca-Cola cans and barking dogs as a medium for revolutionizing the ways of producing music.

Wide symphonic arrangements and the signature vocal harmonies is proof of the evolution that Brian brought to The Beach Boys (and inspired The Beatles with).

McCartney drew heavily upon this album for Sgt. Peppers, just as Wilson drew heavily on Rubber Soul for this album. Just try to imagine the creative reciprocity of this era where music was evolving so rapidly and was challenged in every sense of the term. Among others at the time, this was driven by the genius of Wilson. Simply fantastic.
[First added to this chart: 03/10/2015]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
40,501
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Buy album United States
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I once visited Compton on a journey to L.A.. The feeling of driving through Rosecrans and Crenshaw and imagining how N.W.A, Snoop, Ice-T, Cypress Hill, 2Pac, and Kendrick have wrote their material on behalf of experiences from these streets was amazing.

2012 was the year that my friends, critics and myself had the mutual certainty of acclaiming a modern classic from day one.

Kendrick Lamar made every hip-hop artist rethink his game as vulnerability was taken back into the picture after a long commercial stretch of Blings and "G" Thangs dominating the nature and cultural heritage of hip-hop.

Back in 2012 Kendrick took his hurting and huge wisdom learned from the streets of notorious Compton and turned into it into one of music history's most vulnerable concept albums. In doing just this, Kendrick took hip-hop back to its historical roots.

Nothing states it more clearly than the real ending to the album, "Real", in which Kendrick sings "Should I hate street credibility I'm talkin' about hating all money, power, respect in my will, or hating the fact none of that shit make me real?".

Through the continuous phone calls from his parents trying to reach him on that night of gang banging back in 2005, the depth of love, family-ties and grudges become evident and makes this album larger than the sum of its parts.

Indeed, 2012 was the year when the genius saved hip-hop and turned the genre in a new direction - this album will echo loudly into the future.
[First added to this chart: 03/10/2015]
Year of Release:
2012
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Rank Score:
23,274
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Buy album United States
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Sufjan Stevens' "Carrie & Lowell" is is testament to a brilliant artist who inhabits the utmost sense of vulnerability.

When I saw him perform his album on his 2015 tour in Copenhagen, one of his opening gigs, Sufjan broke down in tears throughout the concert. He was deeply moved by processing his newfound loss of his mother.

This comes across clearly across the album, with Sufjan's whispering voice channeling these complex emotions in the most beautiful manner.

Highly recommended.
[First added to this chart: 04/11/2015]
Year of Release:
2015
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,690
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Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 04/05/2022]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,985
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Buy album United States
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Adam Granofsky, tired from touring on The War On Drugs' break-through record, "Slave Ambient", was suddenly caught in a state of emotional and personal turmoil, facing severe social anxiety (couldn't even stand in a supermarket queue without becoming hugely uncomfortable) and a deep state of depression, made one of the most anxiety-driven and at the same time hopeful records ever made, in my opinion.

On this recording, the musical compositions and execution can, in my opinion, be seen as an inspired clash between Knofler, Springsteen and Dylan, driving an unprecedented effort in terms of energy, wholeheartedness and anguish.

The lyrics are complex and metaphoric, revolving around the concept of a man (Granduciel) caught in his own mental state, striving towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

This is clearly exemplified in the strongest track "Burning", in which Granduciel shortly expresses seeing this beam of light, before finally surrendering to his own detrimental state of mind on the culminating closure track "In Reverse".

A magnum opus, a modern classic born, a revelation in sound and songwriting in 2014.
[First added to this chart: 03/10/2015]
Year of Release:
2014
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,080
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Buy album United States
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Hugely affected by his brother's participation in the Vietnam war, Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. did to pop and soul music what, dare I say, no one have done either before or since.

Gaye must have had an epiphany about the tense political situation that drove his own fantasies behind himself in serving the greater cause to writing songs that would reach, literally, the souls of people.

With this unbelievably important release, Gaye was forcing all Americans to take a stand at what was happening (goin' on) in the world.

The masterpiece, which followed Gaye's awakening, truly revolutionised soul music.

Musically, it is rich, groovy and hugely conceptual in its approach, synergising the boundless sense of responsibility that he urged people to acknowledge.

So, "What's Going On" is, in my opinion, one of the best records ever made, and was truly genre-defining in soul, political involvement and heartfelt musical expression, touching the souls of "God's people" as he probably would have said it himself.
[First added to this chart: 03/10/2015]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,536
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Total albums: 51. Page 1 of 6

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade Albums %


1930s 0 0%
1940s 0 0%
1950s 3 3%
1960s 17 17%
1970s 27 27%
1980s 14 14%
1990s 9 9%
2000s 11 11%
2010s 19 19%
2020s 0 0%
Artist Albums %


The Beatles 5 5%
Radiohead 4 4%
Steely Dan 3 3%
Kendrick Lamar 2 2%
Bon Iver 2 2%
Arcade Fire 2 2%
Bob Dylan 2 2%
Show all
Country Albums %


United States 51 51%
United Kingdom 31 31%
Mixed Nationality 5 5%
Canada 5 5%
France 3 3%
Australia 1 1%
Ireland 1 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 99 99%
Yes 1 1%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 99 99%
Yes 1 1%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest fallers
Faller Down 1 from 25th to 26th
Histoire De Melody Nelson
by Serge Gainsbourg
Faller Down 1 from 26th to 27th
Skylarking
by XTC
Faller Down 1 from 27th to 28th
The Doors
by The Doors
New entries
New entryAfrica
by Toto
TitleSourceTypePublishedCountry
BEA Top 100 Reorganized According To My TastebonnequestionCustom chart2025
Ya joking? Should've been higher! All Time edition PurplepashCustom chart2025
Top 100 Greatest Music Albumstim0505Overall chart2025
My Personal Ranking of Best Ever Albums' Top 100 Xxnu99etxXCustom chart2022
Going With My Gut: The Overall Chart Top 100 Re-ranked CharlieBarleyCustom chart2024
BEA's Top 100 - The Correct Order babyBlueSedanCustom chart2020
Overall for yours truly RoundTheBendCustom chart2020
Rearrange Top 100 Larcx13Custom chart2020
BEA's Top 100 re-ranked EyeKanFlyCustom chart2020
BEA top 100 reranked - 2020 LedZepCustom chart2023

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Average Rating: 
90/100 (from 67 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
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.

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03/20/2025 22:50 SomethingSpecial  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,10885/100
 
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11/08/2022 02:33 Larcx13  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,14186/100
 
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11/07/2022 21:53 Moondance  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 47585/100
 
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11/07/2022 14:04 flamingyesdept  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 10384/100
  
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01/03/2022 17:10 Goliath  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 34886/100

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 2% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 90.4/100, a mean average of 90.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 91.1/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 9.0.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

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Rating:  
80/100
From 11/07/2022 21:57
Some terrific comments that I enjoyed reading. The chart reads like a reshuffling of the best of the best BEA rated albums - which is fine....but the chart didn't excite me like the more adventurous charts do.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 04/28/2022 12:13
Nærmest endnu bedre end 4 år siden.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/03/2022 17:11
22 in common, contains many classics, as it should.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 09/02/2018 11:20
The most PC chart I have ever seen on this site, and that’s saying something. Do you even have a taste of your own?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (1 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 11/23/2017 11:09
11 albums og 18 kunstnere. Vi har virkeligt meget til fælles. Fed liste og endnu bedre beskrivelser, homie
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 11/16/2017 19:57
Good chart like the notes plenty of heavy hitters
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 11/16/2017 18:33
very nice chart
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 08/02/2017 22:33
A lot of great albums and some albums I will have to check out! I liked reading your album reviews. Very good stuff!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 05/01/2017 12:18
It's got all the classics but that's just it, not a single choice I didn't see on basically every chart ever. This is good and bad at the same time. The second thing is that I don't like some of the choices, but descriptions compensate for that. Not that diverse, but still very charming. I'm confused.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 04/28/2017 07:52
Too many albums that everybody seems to like, for my taste. No wonder it resembles the Top 100 rearranged most. Only 2 2digits albums (in less than 100 charts). This is hard too understand for me. There is joy in loving albums that are obscure.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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Best Albums of the 1990s
1. OK Computer by Radiohead
2. Nevermind by Nirvana
3. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel
4. The Bends by Radiohead
5. Loveless by My Bloody Valentine
6. Automatic For The People by R.E.M.
7. Ten by Pearl Jam
8. In Utero by Nirvana
9. Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins
10. Grace by Jeff Buckley
11. (What's The Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis
12. Illmatic by Nas
13. Dummy by Portishead
14. Ágætis Byrjun by Sigur Rós
15. Weezer (Blue Album) by Weezer
16. Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins
17. Homogenic by Björk
18. Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by Wu-Tang Clan
19. Spiderland by Slint
20. Violator by Depeche Mode
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