Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by
ObsoleteEntity 
I began this chart by trying to remain as objective as possible. I wanted to make a chart that highlighted the most influential music of all time, but I quickly realized that music is anything but objective. It is personal. So, simply stated, this chart is the soundtrack of my life, balanced against the objective measures of its impact on the future, the influence on others, the overall message (as I believe greatness must have a message), the consideration of being "ahead of its time", and the talent/genius it took to create and implement the vision of sound.
FYI: I could add, but will not, all the albums from Led Zep, Beatles, Hendrix, Marley, Doors, and Smiths.
There is more than one album per artist.
- Chart updated: 04/17/2021 14:45
- (Created: 03/22/2015 22:28).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
View the complete list of 57,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 2 | 2% | |
| 1960s | 23 | 23% | |
| 1970s | 38 | 38% | |
| 1980s | 23 | 23% | |
| 1990s | 7 | 7% | |
| 2000s | 6 | 6% | |
| 2010s | 1 | 1% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Beatles | 6 | 6% | |
| The Cure | 3 | 3% | |
| The Smiths | 3 | 3% | |
| Neil Young | 3 | 3% | |
| Bob Dylan | 3 | 3% | |
| The Doors | 3 | 3% | |
| Miles Davis | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 21 from 92nd to 71st July by July |
| Up 21 from 91st to 70th Breathe Awhile by Arcadium |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 2 from 70th to 72nd The Stooges by The Stooges |
| Down 2 from 71st to 73rd Blood On The Tracks by Bob Dylan |
| Down 2 from 72nd to 74th Songs About Fucking by Big Black |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | 1970s decade chart | 2021 | ![]() | |
| AllMusic's Greatest Albums | musicologist97 | Custom chart | 2019 | ![]() |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | album guru joe | Overall chart | 2013 | ![]() |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | Overall chart | 2020 | ![]() | |
| TOP 100 IN THE FUTURE | Custom chart | 2016 | ![]() | |
| BEA+RYM Overall Rank | Imaybeparanoid | Custom chart | 2017 | ![]() |
| Most Acclaimed Music Albums | Imaybeparanoid | Custom chart | 2015 | ![]() |
| An Objective Ranking Of BEA'S Top 100... | Custom chart | 2017 | ![]() | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | Overall chart | 2013 | ![]() | |
| An Objective Ranking of the BEA Top 100 | PaperVinnie | Custom chart | 2018 | ![]() |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!
Why register?
- Join a passionate community of over 50,000 music fans.
- Create & share your own charts.
- Have your say in the overall rankings.
- Post comments in the forums and vote on polls.
- Comment on or rate any album, artist, track or chart.
- Discover new music & improve your music collection.
- Customise the overall chart using a variety of different filters & metrics.
- Create a wishlist of albums.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- ... And lots more!
Register now - it only takes a moment!
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 47 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 03/20/2025 15:23 | 1,106 | 85/100 | |
| ! | 02/27/2022 18:47 | dougcummings | 22 | 70/100 |
| ! | 09/08/2021 19:49 | RioBravo | 201 | 84/100 |
| ! | 09/08/2021 19:02 | 1,278 | 93/100 | |
| ! | 09/08/2021 11:23 | 171 | 90/100 |
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 4% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.1/100, a mean average of 88.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.8/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 14.8.
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
Showing all 8 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 14 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
Great chart! Any chart with July on it, is lovely.
Interesting list
Like the chart
Electric Ladyland is my favorite Hendrix as well
Really great picks and love the notes you've put to (almost) all the albums. Keep it up!
I think I'm in love
Inspiring Collection!
Insanely great chart. Love seeing MBM, Ministry and DRI so high!!! Camping with Kevvvy is always a good idea. lol. Really awesome chart. Feel free to leave me some mellow recs in The Mellow Zone (it;s in the Music Diaries portion of the forum.) I LOVE your taste, Peace, brother!
Diverse, and I haven't listened to many albums here but I like the outlook. I'm also a metal fan (at least for the criteria on this page) so I like most of your choices
Love the comments. Lots of great stuff from the 60's / 70's.
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Your feedback for Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
| Email Address | |
|---|---|
| Forgotten passwords and other site notifications are sent to the email address saved on your profile. If you've changed your email address recently, please remember to update it on your profile page. (If you can't remember your password, and your email address is out of date, please contact us for assistance getting back into your account). |







