Top 50 Greatest Music Albums
by 
jlancast1996 
This is very much a work in progress, but these are my favorite 50 albums at the moment. As I discover new music things are bound to move around a little bit. Let me know what you think, and any suggestions are much appreciated.
- Chart updated: 08/17/2021 17:15
- (Created: 04/14/2015 12:45).
- Chart size: 50 albums.
There are 19 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 50 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 88 out of 100 (from 45 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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The album that changed it all for me. Through high school, I pretty much listened to rap music and whatever my friends were listening to. Then, watching Parks and Rec, April mentioned Jeff Mangum and Neutral Milk Hotel. Out of curiosity to see if it was a real band, I found them on YouTube. When I heard that acoustic guitar come on in King Of Carrot Flowers, I was hooked. I was in love. This album is what made me explore and find music for myself, and is the reason I have heard the vast majority of albums on this list. After seeing them at Kalamazoo State Theatre, my love for the band and this album only grew. I may not listen to it as much as I used to, but it will always be number 1 to me for it's profound impact on my life. This is also the best album to sing along to in the car by yourself. So much power in Jeff's voice.
[First added to this chart: 04/15/2015]
Year of Release:
1998
Appears in:
Rank Score:
32,470
Rank in 1998:
Rank in 1990s:
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Average Rating:
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Perfection. Very few albums can be described that way, but this is one of them. This album can be listened to any time, anywhere. It has humor, sadness, and melancholy wrapped into one fantastic album.
[First added to this chart: 04/15/2015]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
33,634
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An album that instantaneously grabbed me with a first half of beautiful pop hits, and then blew me away with in the second half that was almost scary on first listen. Truly gorgeous music.
[First added to this chart: 09/10/2018]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,107
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Everything that can be said about Radiohead has already been said, so I won't repeat it. Perfect album, 10/10.
[First added to this chart: 04/15/2015]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank Score:
41,748
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Rank in 2000s:
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The most emotionally powerful album I've ever heard. Pictures Of You brought me to tears when I heard it after my dog died. I sobbed the whole song, but it made me feel better.
[First added to this chart: 09/10/2015]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
26,299
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Average Rating:
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The best album of the 2010s for me. Good Kid is an instant classic also, but the jazz beats really put this one over the edge for me. The best hip-hop/rap album ever created.
[First added to this chart: 04/15/2015]
Year of Release:
2015
Appears in:
Rank Score:
31,290
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Heard the song at the end of Fight Club off of Surfer Rosa. I knew it was the Pixies because my dad is a fan, but I had never listened to any other songs. I decided to listen to their albums, and Doolittle was on repeat for a few weeks.
[First added to this chart: 04/20/2015]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
31,413
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Rank in 1980s:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
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It has blown me away how much this album has grown on me. I absolutely love every song, and it always sounds great, no matter how many times I hear it.
[First added to this chart: 11/04/2020]
Year of Release:
2020
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,385
Rank in 2020:
Rank in 2020s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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My girlfriend introduced me to John Frusciante's solo material, and I'm so grateful she did. I think this blows away anything the Chili Peppers did.
[First added to this chart: 08/17/2021]
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My first dive in a more punk direction of music. I wasn't a big fan of Ian's voice on first listen, but I loved everything about this record when I gave it another chance.
[First added to this chart: 12/04/2015]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
21,641
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Total albums: 50. Page 1 of 5
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Top 50 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1970s | 4 | 8% | |
| 1980s | 11 | 22% | |
| 1990s | 6 | 12% | |
| 2000s | 11 | 22% | |
| 2010s | 16 | 32% | |
| 2020s | 2 | 4% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Arcade Fire | 2 | 4% | |
| Kendrick Lamar | 2 | 4% | |
| Pixies | 2 | 4% | |
| R.E.M. | 2 | 4% | |
| Queens Of The Stone Age | 2 | 4% | |
| Joy Division | 2 | 4% | |
| The Smiths | 2 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 50 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
There have been no changes to this chart.Top 50 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
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Top 50 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 45 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 03/25/2025 20:04 | DrewHamster | 316 | 79/100 |
| ! | 09/05/2021 01:06 | mrmcrook | 775 | 93/100 |
| ! | 01/09/2021 05:35 | areminder | 52 | 79/100 |
| ! | 01/08/2021 20:17 | Brando1788 | 40 | 85/100 |
| ! | 01/08/2021 18:01 |  pjohnsongolf | 272 | 89/100 |
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 9% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.1/100, a mean average of 88.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 9.3.
Top 50 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 50 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 19 comments |
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From mrmcrook 09/05/2021 01:07 | #273320
Love the chart. Good mix of bands and genres. Good little footnotes as well
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From areminder 01/09/2021 05:40 | #264089
Great picks, love to see REM and Protomartyr on the same list. I'm probably echoing what others have said but there many amazing rock albums out of the 60s-70s. Also many great jazz albums out of the 50s-60s.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From pjohnsongolf 01/08/2021 18:01 | #264043
pjohnsongolf 01/08/2021 18:01 | #264043
Great chart!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From leniad 11/05/2020 02:23 | #260200
good chart,
i hope you can dig into 60s (john coltrane, beatles, velvet undergound, love, jimi hendrix, beach boys )
and the 70s (pink floyd, led zeppelin, neil young, genesis, stevie wonder, marvin gaye, supertramp, joy division)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
gidgidi 08/13/2019 18:08 | #241125
gidgidi 08/13/2019 18:08 | #241125
This is great!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
DommeDamian 09/30/2018 09:49 | #221877
DommeDamian 09/30/2018 09:49 | #221877
Great chart, full of excellent albums. My suggestions:
-Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (basically any Eminem album outside of Revival, Encore, and Relapse). - I saw you love Kendrick, so...
-P.M. Dawn - of The Heart of The Soul And of The Cross: The Utopian Experience (icy rap album full of introspective, philosophical lyrics - and nothing less of a eminent album to play in the winter).
-Soundgarden - Superunknown (grunge rock about depression, at its finest).
-The Calling - Camino Palmero (simply a worthwile rock album, jampacked of quintessential subjects)
-Coldplay - A Rush of Blood To The Head / X&Y (anyone with Interpol's debut on their list, needs to listen to these two classics. And oppositely).
PS: Your descriptions are very nice. Check out my chart! =)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
brunotp 02/16/2018 17:42 | #208463
brunotp 02/16/2018 17:42 | #208463
That's a very fine selection!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
mdbaxter 02/16/2018 17:39 | #208462
mdbaxter 02/16/2018 17:39 | #208462
Good list!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
flyingcitrus 02/16/2018 17:15 | #208457
flyingcitrus 02/16/2018 17:15 | #208457
Excellent chart. I love it
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Luciano1962 02/16/2018 12:35 | #208439
Luciano1962 02/16/2018 12:35 | #208439
Very Good...
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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