Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by corenfro
*Not necessarily in order yet beyond the top 10-20 or so*
I'm going to try to do the "one album per artist" as much as it pains me to do so. Shoutout to the many albums by The Who, The Beach Boys, Miles Davis, Radiohead, Marvin Gaye, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, David Bowie, Yes, Genesis, and Kendrick Lamar. Some of them were VERY hard to pick a "only album from X artist" since some have 2 (or more) really important albums w/ vastly different stories that deserve inclusion (smile vs. pet sounds, tommy vs. who's next, kid a vs. ok computer, to pimp a butterfly vs. good kid madd city, lonerism vs. currents, sgt. pepper vs. others, kind of blue vs. bitches brew). But until I can unlock decade charts I must do this to fit a wider variety of music (there are well over 100 great albums that I really want to consider a top 100 album).
On a site littered with contrarians I actually tried to make a "top greatest music albums" list as opposed to a "top obscure albums you've never heard of" list. Because of this, when choosing which album from an artist to include, I generally err on the side of the more euphonic record when in doubt.
Hipsters and snobs: feel free to downvote at how mainstream I am.
- Chart updated: 09/15/2023 13:45
- (Created: 06/07/2015 21:31).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
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It should also set the benchmark for great vocal melodies, harmonies and terrific songwriting. The notes that she hits are the notes that you want to hear and not in a way that they're predictable or trite. The notes will be nice and then a couple quick accent notes will come along and just propel the song into a higher dimension. Or a good little melody will come in and then go to another part w/ another different melody and then they will combine them together with great success and synergy. Unlike other artists who attempt this technique, it's not done in a way that makes the build up to the climax seem like a chore. [First added to this chart: 03/30/2018]
Is there a more life-affirming album than The Joshua Tree? Bono’s soaring voice and with The Edge’s great guitar delays and effects take the listener through a spiritual, socially conscious atmosphere of the most intense of human feeling. The Joshua Tree is like breathing clean air. It was meant to be listened to while driving across America, and has an intensely personal meaning to me as the album first came to life for me while driving through Colorado’s mountains after a breakup. Songs like “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “With or Without You” paint a picture of someone in transition.
But in all the desolation of some of the topics of the album: death, loss, heroin addiction, discontent, there is one unbreakable theme of this album: hope. U2’s unbreakable mission of hope is on full display on this album. The songs are dripping with a sense of seeking spiritual renewal. If you close your eyes and listen to Bono’s beautiful tenor, and some of the best guitar work in rock that doesn’t distract with lengthy solos, you might just find some spiritual renewal on the Joshua Tree. [First added to this chart: 06/07/2015]
I don't have an explanation for why I like this album so much, I honestly don't. There's nothing musically original or stylistically profound on here, it just has this soul-wrenching quality to it I can't explain. Even on the less profound songs on the back end I feel my spirit moved.
To me this is heads over heels his best record and the Bon Iver sound at it's finest. [First added to this chart: 06/07/2015]
As much as I've tried to hold to my "Beatles are overrated" mantra, their music is too good and their place history in music too significant for me to not have a Beatles album in the top 10.
This is their response to Wilson's "Pet Sounds" and they experiment with so many ideas on here. For the most part they pan out: "Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" is a tremendous exploration of new concepts and "studio as instrument" whereas "Within you or Without you" is Harrison's follow up to a similar song on Revolver (Love you to) and it attempts to incorporate strings with Indian classical styles - overstays it's welcome slightly even if it's ultimately successful overall.
Paul is at the top of his songwriting prowess with the infections melodies, catchy bass lines and a nice assist by George with some great guitar work on "Fixing a Hole". Similarly John is at the top of his game on "A Day in the Life" with it's string arrangements and psychedelic feel of the vocals and an assist from Paul in the middle section keeping it from being too ominous.
And the pop-songs on here are just what you expect from the Beatles: super catchy. Beatle-esque pop-sensibilities have spawned hundreds of thousands of trite imitators over the decades following the release. However, the Beatles are mostly unsurpassed in their solid discography of mostly-successful blending of pop and high art. On top of that this is the quintessential psychedelic experience. I wouldn't go so far as to say they are the greatest musical act ever, or the 20th century modern beethoven or mozart, but there's a reason others think that, and a reason they're the best selling band in history. [First added to this chart: 05/15/2016]
Oh, and did I mention it's a concept album? I think it works decently well (the mercurial world) but what's even more impressive than the thematic cohesion is how MUSICALLY the tracks fit and transition so well together that we really get something that feels like it's greater than a collection of tracks.
The production (done by Magdalena Bay themselves, including the mixing and mastering) is also top notch, the arrangements are fantastic. Want to know how a Mag Bay song is produced? They stream nearly every week, often go into the raw DAW mix, then upload them to youtube, in addition, they have a really unique social media presence with the aesthetic of their TikTok's and videos uploaded to youtube. They nearly have a music video for every song, and despite this being their debut album, they have a ridiculous amount of EP's and associated videos that are really well done and creative.
Magdalena Bay has unlimited talent and potential and I can't wait to see what they do next. [First added to this chart: 11/07/2022]
It goes from being enormously complex, to being musically quite simple. One of the highlights: "Two Weeks" is 3 predictable chords, but her vocal melodies and dense production makes it feel much more mysterious. Other times (Pendulum) she will keep the song fairly simple, then open it up with a couple new chords in a progression or modulate the key briefly and that opens up the song and the soundscape immensely.
This is a personal record, and I don't expect to be able to defend this against some of the timeless classics I have it ranked above, but to me it's a fantastic sounding groundbreaking record. [First added to this chart: 05/15/2016]
Could have gone with "Bitches Brew" - while quite different in it's impact is was almost as revolutionary. [First added to this chart: 06/07/2015]
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Why?
I don't *want* to like Kanye. His public persona is so polarizing, and lets be honest, he says some pretty crazy stuff. BUT, when I listen to his music I get a different story. Each Kanye album has lyrics that are both abysmal and genius, sometimes simultaneously. This is true. However, he clearly sees music in color, and the production on this thing is great. From King Crimson to Aphex Twin his ability to make unlikely samples work together well is on full display here.
I think MBDTF was the pinnacle of his career, the perfect in-between from thoughtful, socially aware Kanye, to completely insane self-obsessed Kanye Kardashian whose rants have eclipsed almost anything useful that he can say. That said, Kanye is the artist who I want to dislike but secretly love. He deserves a spot on this list. I even want myself to pick a more "appropriate" Kanye album like Late Registration or College Dropout, but I picked Beautiful Fantasy because it best represents my love/hate Kanye. I hope he gets the support he needs. [First added to this chart: 06/07/2015]
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
Decade | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
1930s | 0 | 0% | |
1940s | 0 | 0% | |
1950s | 1 | 1% | |
1960s | 14 | 14% | |
1970s | 24 | 24% | |
1980s | 10 | 10% | |
1990s | 14 | 14% | |
2000s | 18 | 18% | |
2010s | 17 | 17% | |
2020s | 2 | 2% |
Artist | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
|
|||
Massive Attack | 1 | 1% | |
Jethro Tull | 1 | 1% | |
The Who | 1 | 1% | |
Simon & Garfunkel | 1 | 1% | |
Brand New | 1 | 1% | |
Marvin Gaye | 1 | 1% | |
Beyoncé | 1 | 1% | |
Show all |
Country | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
|
|||
57 | 57% | ||
28 | 28% | ||
5 | 5% | ||
3 | 3% | ||
2 | 2% | ||
1 | 1% | ||
1 | 1% | ||
Show all |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
Biggest climbers |
---|
Up 2 from 8th to 6th To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar |
Up 1 from 10th to 9th Igor by Tyler, The Creator |
Up 1 from 6th to 5th Forever Changes by Love |
Biggest fallers |
---|
Down 3 from 4th to 7th Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys |
Down 2 from 9th to 11th Heaven Or Las Vegas by Cocteau Twins |
Down 1 from 7th to 8th The Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd |
New entries |
---|
How I'm Feeling Now by Charli XCX |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
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Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
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01/01/2024 07:49 | Moondance | 455 | 84/100 | |
01/26/2023 02:03 | Rm12398 | 99 | 89/100 | |
01/25/2023 20:56 | MadhattanJack | 156 | 84/100 | |
01/25/2023 13:11 | Tamthebam | 553 | 85/100 | |
01/25/2023 10:42 | Johnnyo | 2,014 | 80/100 |
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This chart is rated in the top 2% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 90.2/100, a mean average of 89.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.8/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 13.8.
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Love the note accompanying this entries. Don’t agree with the one album per artist thing but that’s a personal choice. Not going to criticise you for that. Great chart
Nice chart with a fairly even split across the decades (which is not something you see that often). Overall, a bit too USA focussed ~ and only one album from south of the Equator....
Very good selection of classic rock albums. Particularly Tommy and Moody Blues. I don't know why you never see Tommy too much anymore. I guess it's not as popular as it used to be for some strange reason.
I find it difficult to condone the one album per artist thing, seems arbitrary to me, what's the rational? I agree with you on the 'top obscure albums you've never heard of' comment, this site is full of charts containing albums that make me think, can those albums really be favorites or just 'clever' picks?
YOU GET A FAVORITE FROM ME!
Remarkable descriptions, great chart!
27 artists in common! That's a bunch! Great chart!
A lot of work has clearly gone into this. incredible
I don't really think this is "too mainstream" or anything. Cocteau Twins & Love in the top ten prove that enough on their own. Not sure where you're getting the idea that everyone is having an obscurity contest, this chart is pretty standard -- especially considering the most similar chart to it is "If the BEA chart had a one album per artist rule"
No problems or anything, I just think your hostility towards obscure music seems a bit unwarranted.
Brilliant, detailed, and varied. Maybe not my taste but it is exactly the kind of chart this site needs more of. Fantastic!
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