Top 40 Greatest Music Albums
by devonjaz 
These are my person favorite albums, not a definitive ranking of the best records of all time.
- Chart updated: 10/10/2017 19:15
- (Created: 04/07/2015 01:54).
- Chart size: 40 albums.
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While there are albums that mean more to me and I would technically rank higher than Stevie Wonder's Innervision, there is not an album that I have listened to in my life that is so ridiculously perfect. I hate the term perfect, as nothing can have absolutely no flaws, but Stevie Wonder's Innervisons come damn close. Every track on this album is grade, and something I could listen to at any time. The best part about Innervisions is the flow and connectivity the whole thing posses. The one track that seems a little bit out of place with the tone of the album is Higher Ground which comes smack in the middle of the record. Higher Ground makes up for that and then some by being such a fucking great track, and it also makes sense in a way as it adds some variety to split the record in half. Innervisions is phenomenal; perfect.
[First added to this chart: 05/17/2015]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,534
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To Pimp A Butterfly does what the Beatles' best selling album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band did to rock and roll, to rap. If this statement was said to anyone who knows anything about music, this is a bold assertion. Kendrick Lamar not only delivers the best album of the past five years, but also quite possibly the most solid, and artistic rap album in history. To Pimp A Butterfly is beautiful, scary, has a sexy jazzy beat, kaleidoscopic, and psychedelic all at the same time. These are all terms rarely associated with the rap genre, but Lamar truly delivers with this album. Lamar tells the story of an inner psychological breakdown by being trapped inside the ghetto, or his roots, and being followed by "Lucy" or Lucifer. Lamar's story is both deeply personal and yet everyone who listens to it, can someone find a way to apply the message to their life. It is easily up their with Pink Floyd's The Wall as one of the great concept albums. One of the most impressive parts of TPAB is Lamar's constantly changing tone while rapping. The emotion found in Lamar's voice is staggering, a feat most rappers would only dream of achieving. TPAB is clearly meant to be listened to as a whole, one big long story that tells the tale of a man struggling, who begins to find his way. Listening to the album this way holds the most merit, but also proves to be the most enjoyable way of listening to Lamar's masterpiece. Every song shows a new side to the artist, while still fitting the jazzy, sax and base filled album. To Pimp A Butterfly has proved to be one of my favorite works of music of all time, and this is coming from someone who is mainly a rock fan. Recommended to anyone and everyone looking for more substance to their music in 2015.
[First added to this chart: 04/06/2015]
Year of Release:
2015
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Rank Score:
31,478
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Comments:
14. (=)
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The Strokes' freshman classic Is This It? is one of the greatest albums I have listened too. Period. This album both sounds so modern and sleek, but so classic and nostalgic. That is actually the perfect word to describe Is This It; nostalgic. Even the first time I listened to this record I felt a nostalgic vibe. The Stokes were an indie band both 15 years ahead of their time, and a product of the 70s. Outstanding.
[First added to this chart: 02/08/2016]
Year of Release:
2001
Appears in:
Rank Score:
28,331
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Nas' Illmatic is not only a pinnacle of New York hip-hop, but story-based music in general. Illmatic is dark, gritty, jazzy, and soulful. Listening to this album makes me feel as if Nas is taking me on a tour, through cold, rainy New York City as he tells me how people in the hood survive. Nas has a way with words that is unbelievable. Illmatic makes me feel at home with jazzy backing beats, but it excites and scares me with the tales from NYC. Illmatic is a pure classic.
[First added to this chart: 04/11/2017]
Year of Release:
1994
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Rank Score:
16,373
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Microphone check, one, two, who is this? Tribe is my absolute favorite rap group of all time and 90s New York had possibly the most lucrative rap scene ever. I feel the pure innovation and sleekness of NY 90s hip hop gets out shined by west coast artists like 2Pac and NWA. However I feel artists like Nas, Tribe and Biggie delivered album after album that was sonically more interesting and consistent than most west coast artists. The Low End Theory is a perfection of a sub-genre. Artists like D'Angelo invented the jazz-rap scene, and Tribe delvers an incredible iteration of this sound. There is no smoother, sexier, funnier, or politically more aware record from the era besides maybe Nas' seminal masterpiece Illmatic. I love this album dearly and will never forget the bliss that Tribe provided us. RIP Phife Dawg.
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,204
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Vampire Weekend is a band I have been aware about for a long time but never took the time to sit down and listen to. Now I put them up with The Strokes and the Arctic Monkeys as one of the greatest rock bands of the new millennium. I still believe that their debut album is their crowning master piece. This album posses such a New England chilled out, classical rock vibe. The New England influence speaks to me in particular as I have lived in that region all my life. Simply great.
[First added to this chart: 04/13/2016]
Year of Release:
2008
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Rank Score:
6,661
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Here is a album I hope everyone can agree with it's placement. Jimi Hendrix was a fucking genius. While Stevie Ray Vaughn had more technical skill, Hendrix made up for with shear innovation and musical voice. This fact is no more prevalent than on his first studio album Are You Experienced? While my personal favorite Hendrix song is probably Little Wing off of the amazing Axis: Bold As Love, Experience is an overall more solid, and influential record. Every song on this record just radiates influence to ever guitarist and musician out there. Oh yeah, also has a little song called Purple Haze.
[First added to this chart: 04/06/2015]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
21,554
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The inspiration for one of the most important albums of all time. This album is a masterpiece. It is still as impressive and awe-inspiring to listen to the insane instrumentation and orchestral sound of this album in 2016 as it was in 1966. Like many albums on this list, the album has a clear tone and sound that it holds throughout the album. While the album does not vary in sound or style much, consistency is certainly something to be praised.
[First added to this chart: 11/15/2016]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
38,886
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This is a bit of a modern pick unlike the rest of what is present on this list, but it rightfully deserves it in my heart. Channel Orange is not a perfect album, but it is damn near close. Frank Ocean gave us in 2012 one of the most original concept albums of the new millennium. He weaves a narrative about the first time he fell in love through R&B, soul, jazz, and psychedelic sounds. The album is both jazzy and trippy. Frank Ocean is not just a great song writer, but an outstanding singer and performer. The stand out track on this album (which should have been the final track instead of Forrest Gump, while still a good track) is Bad Religion. This track is beautiful and haunting while giving an interesting message.
[First added to this chart: 07/13/2016]
Year of Release:
2012
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,804
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Blonde is one of the best albums of 2016, which is easily on of the best years in recent music history. Blonde is interesting, laid-back, and heartfelt. Over a year later this album will still make me tear up while listening to it. In many respects I feel it is superior to Channel ORANGE, however I prefer Frank's more R&B crooner style on that record. Blonde is nonetheless outstanding even with a second half that does not quite live up to it's first.
Year of Release:
2016
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Rank Score:
12,819
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Total albums: 18. Page 1 of 2
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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 1 | 3% | |
| 1960s | 5 | 13% | |
| 1970s | 9 | 23% | |
| 1980s | 3 | 8% | |
| 1990s | 4 | 10% | |
| 2000s | 9 | 23% | |
| 2010s | 9 | 23% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Radiohead | 6 | 15% | |
| The Smiths | 3 | 8% | |
| Kendrick Lamar | 2 | 5% | |
| Frank Ocean | 2 | 5% | |
| Tame Impala | 2 | 5% | |
| Kanye West | 2 | 5% | |
| The Beatles | 2 | 5% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 16 from 28th to 12thIn Rainbows by Radiohead |
| Up 1 from 21st to 20thHunky Dory by David Bowie |
| Up 1 from 20th to 19thVampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 9 from 31st to 40thContinuum by John Mayer |
| Down 7 from 30th to 37thRumours by Fleetwood Mac |
| Down 5 from 18th to 23rdAM by Arctic Monkeys |
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Top 40 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).
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N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing all 2 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/29/2017 08:01 | TheSmiths82-87 | 1,831 | 83/100 |
| ! | 05/09/2015 12:31 | LittleMatt | 107 | 80/100 |
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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From LittleMatt 05/09/2015 12:31 | #141136
Good start, keen to see more
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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