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.
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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 | ObsoleteEntity | 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 |  StefanR10 | Overall chart | 2020 |  |
| TOP 100 IN THE FUTURE |  exileonthehell | 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... |  covecove | Custom chart | 2017 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  RFNAPLES | 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)
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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 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 |  SomethingSpecial | 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 |  desh79 | 1,278 | 93/100 |
| ! | 09/08/2021 11:23 |  Cytoma | 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.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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salahshoori 07/29/2021 00:47 | #272026
Great chart! Any chart with July on it, is lovely.
seb7 12/10/2020 19:56 | #262496
Interesting list
Like the chart
Electric Ladyland is my favorite Hendrix as well
ForegroundNoise 11/21/2018 09:16 | #225382
Really great picks and love the notes you've put to (almost) all the albums. Keep it up!
patriciatoledo 12/23/2017 20:54 | #203780
I think I'm in love
MW19704U 10/09/2017 17:42 | #199316
Inspiring Collection!
Repo 07/11/2017 18:59 | #194078
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!
LedZep 02/12/2017 13:21 | #185461
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
corenfro 01/29/2017 22:55 | #184538
Love the comments. Lots of great stuff from the 60's / 70's.
SaulCortes1992 12/21/2016 02:00 | #180636
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