Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by corenfro Unknown

*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.

There are 36 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 72 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

View the complete list of 53,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.

Share this chart
Share | |
Collector's summary (filtered)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!

This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from United States. (Remove this filter)

Sort by
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
“In the morning, I’ll be alright my friend, but soon the night will bring the pain. Flying high in the friendly sky”

What do you get when you combine the smoothest voice in the history of music with the greatest bass lines in the history of music, and hotbox a Motown studio full of marijuana? An album that is better than anything in its genre and in its decade - which is saying a lot when you consider all that happened in the 1970’s.

If heroin could sing, it still wouldn’t sound as good as Marvin Gaye. I stand very firmly behind my opinion that Marvin Gaye possessed the greatest voice of all time. There are countless things to love about this album musically. There are entire albums' worth of super tight bass lines in like 8 bars of James Jamerson's mastery of the instrument. The smooth aesthetic is the quintessential soul sound. For 1971, it is a crazy well mixed assortment of wind and stringed instruments, and the variety of percussion. However, it’s Marvin’s show, and it’s his voice that carries the listener through the album. The man clearly had enormous talent, and it is displayed in its entirety on “What’s Going On”.

Listening to Marvin Gaye perform live must have been similar to watching Michael Jordan make the final shot of the 1998 NBA finals, or watching Aaron Rodgers play quarterback except better by several orders of magnitude because music is clearly a domain of excellence far superior to sports. One of his studio assistants was questioned at one point what the most difficult thing was when working with Marvin Gaye. The response was that it was so difficult to select which takes of his voice to keep and which to discard, because they were all so beautiful that it felt wrong to delete anything that he recorded.

“What’s Going On” is about discontent - with culture, with politics, with discrimination, with the imperfect self. It came at a time when the Barry Gordy’s Motown record label was interested only in pumping out radio hits for profit and wasn’t interested in any of this introspective, challenging music. Gaye demanded it be released as he envisioned it and was nearly close to breaking ties with the record label.

Marvin Gaye had a wild and remarkable career, plagued by the internal conflict which is was clear from his art, as well as his ongoing struggle with depression and multiple suicide attempts and drug addiction. It’s this struggle that fuels the beauty that is his music. His angelic voice carries just enough of a painful undertone to send shivers down the listener’s spine. That’s “What’s Going On”
[First added to this chart: 06/07/2015]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,730
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
I've had encounters with Jimi through this album, through his other albums through documentaries and experiences that I simply can't describe with words. It's cliche to say that an artist lives on through their music, but it's the truth because Jimi is the truth. His confidence that oozes out of every measure of his music has been rebirthed inside of me, and the countless people who have connected so intimately with his music.

Establishing the connection is so easy because it's so clear that Jimi was doing exactly what he was meant to do. Because he was so obviously fulfilling his divine purpose, if you will, he was able to put so much of his personality into his music and convey everything he needed to so effectively in such a short period of time.

Jimi's lesson was so poignant: find what you are meant to do and do it because it's all you can do. You are a part of radiant cosmic energy that is unstoppable there is no birth or death or life there is only being. Birth, death and rebirth are only heuristics to help us understand the essence of being.

I may or may not have been tripping hard upon this discovery, but I don't think I'm wrong.
[First added to this chart: 01/01/2019]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
24,274
Rank in 1967:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
I believe this is possibly the most underrated album of all time. This album seemed quirky at first, but like other "quirky" albums that are actually classics, it becomes the new normal when I now listen. This is an acoustic-guitar driven / orchastra / horns driven pop album trying to be psychedelic.

Wonderfully crafted songs, with mysterious well-written lyrics, this was the last album featuring both Arthur and Bryan. Forever Changes requires the listener to adjust, but doing so pays off greatly. Some of the greatest moments from this genre and the 60's in general lie on this piece and most people have never heard of it.

Move over Sloop John B - Andmoreagain is the best Carol Kaye bass line and I will take that to my grave.
[First added to this chart: 06/07/2015]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,163
Rank in 1967:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
This thing rocks! You get hit by a sample Boris Gardiner sample proclaiming "Ever ni**a is a star" which is a introduction to the listener that Kendrick's is going to be going further through the black experience than he did in his 2012 release of the out-of-order concept album "Good Kid Madd City" of the story of losing his virginity to a girl in a different gang, then commandeering his Mom's van to meet up with his friends then get peer pressured into a drive by shooting, later exploring the death of a family member related to gang violence.

But back to TPAB: this is wider in scope than his earlier work. He addresses the identity politics of race and a more sociopolitical level, but also addresses his personal experience of coping with fame and the life of materialistic abundance. There is a tension between his newfound life of wealth, fame, and touring the world and his obligations to his friends and family back in Compton. As a white male in a yuppie affluent utopia tech city I can say with 100% certainty that I don't fully appreciate the lyrical themes on this album, but it expands my consciousness of his world, and somehow it weirdly resonates with me still.

What I can respond to is the music though. This is a perfectly eclectic mix of hip hop, jazz, funk, neo-soul, and experimentation. He literally has the father of funk, George Clinton himself, on the first track (which is a banger by the way) along with a variety of expert producers: thundercat, flying lotus, pharrell williams, terrance martin, and not least the great saxophonist kamasi washington.

Kendrick is the hottest rapper in the industry now, and one of the greatest of all time, and his rapping is not even close to my favorite part of this record. The songs are just - good. It takes all it's influences from the genres it does, and the samples it uses (which is another review entirely) but there is a distince "kendrick" sound to it. Imitators (anderson paak?) and the industry as a whole are already starting to take influence from this eclectic "all of the above" blend of genres that's itself become a staple of how experimental jazz hip hop can, and will sound.

Just take a look at 2016: Beyonce's "Lemonade", Solange's "A Seat at the Table", Bowie's "Blackstar", Kanye's "Pablo", Frank Ocean's "Blonde", Tribe's "We got it" all take influence from this in some way or another (if not having directly having Kendrick on one of their tracks).

There's much more that could be said about this album, and this was all from memory I'm sure a little research could spawn several more paragraphs of material for me to suffice it. But let's face it to say Kendrick is taking this decade by storm for better or for worse, and the TPAB is so far the pinnacle of that. The TPAB recording sessions were so great that the untitled unmastered b-sides got released a year later and made many top albums lists. They had an outstanding group of producers and musicians in on this. Unreal.
[First added to this chart: 06/07/2015]
Year of Release:
2015
Appears in:
Rank Score:
37,240
Rank in 2015:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Pet Sounds was a classic and a monumental album. No offense to Rubber Soul but Pet Sounds is to my ears the first *great* art album. I was able to see one of the final performances of pet sounds and it was played with a more modern mix w/ a punchier bass guitar, it sounded great with the upgrade in technology even if Brian's voice isn't what it once was.

Pet sounds is the best album of the 60's - and it was all Wilson. Plagued with mental health issues his whole life, there was a time period where he was able to utilize his wonderfully unique brain to create just some very stunning art. Three things drive this album: vocal harmonies, chord progressions, and aesthetic.

The voice of Brian Wilson along with the other beach boys are just tremendous. They weave through the chord progressions adding and subtracting different notes, it's just wonderful. The mostly major chord progressions will change key without the uncritical listener noticing much of a difference because Wilson does it so smoothly. I'm no music theory expert, but the "God Only Knows" has such a beauty in how it moves between different keys. When I go to play it on piano I'm amazed by it's beautiful simplicity.

Pet Sounds was revolutionary as far as the recording technology that went into it. It sounds a little dated, but there are so many bands today trying to get a similar aesthetic that it's hard to knock him for that. So many different instruments were used for various purposes. You will get a 7 million part harmony on the hook from "You still believe in me" then occasionally music will cut out and have just a bass and piano along Brian's vocals like in the "Here Today" pre-chorus.

This thing is trippy! The debate rages on whether this is psychedelic or pre-psych or whatever but there are many parts on this where you just want to zone in and feel your body reverberate with the music. "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" was WAY more psychedelic live and I felt like I was tripping my balls off when they played it.

Pet Sounds MADE the Beatles start to be more artistic (they took influence from Zappa as well for this) The Beatles, Animal Collective, Tame Impala, Radiohead, Brian Eno, and may others have the Beach Boys to thank.

SHOUT OUT TO SMILE - BEST UNRELEASED ALBUM OF ALL TIME. IT PAINS ME TO NOT INCLUDE THAT IN THIS LIST!!
[First added to this chart: 05/15/2016]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
45,123
Rank in 1966:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
"Are you really going to put 2 hip hop albums from the 2010s in your top 10?"

No.

Igor is not a hip hop album plain and simple. Yes there's rapping at times but this is a synth pop / RnB / soul album at it's core and to categorize it as hip hop doesn't do it justice.

1 part in a 3 part trilogy of really great albums from Tyler the Creator to solidify him in the hip hop album trilogy hall of fame along with Kanye, Outkast, and Kendrick Lamar.

Tyler is cooking up what other people can't do and the combination of sounds here ends up being entirely unique. Do I agree with every mixing decision? No. But ultimately this is a musical masterpiece that you'd be deaf to not head bang too.

Oh and those chord progressions and synth arrangements? To die for.
[First added to this chart: 10/24/2022]
Year of Release:
2019
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,737
Rank in 2019:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
The first half of this album is absolutely incredible. This album was instantly nostalgic for me even after only a few listens. A unique and immensely emotional indie art rock record that has no equal.

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]
Year of Release:
2011
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,265
Rank in 2011:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Magdalena Bay are crazy underrated. Think Charli XCX / PC Music hyperpop, but remove some of the more annoying parts and keep the parts that make hyperpop so great, then combine them with the best elements of vaporwave and house, and get a great modern sounding synthpop album, with all the adornments of the 2010s Grimes sound, with a little Caroline Polachek sprinkled in.

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]
Year of Release:
2021
Appears in:
Rank Score:
782
Rank in 2021:
Rank in 2020s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Could just as easily gone with "Songs in the Key of Life" - Stevie Wonder's colorful soul and stretch of music from 72-76 is absolutely phenomenal. [First added to this chart: 06/07/2015]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,903
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
My favorite Jazz artist. First time I heard this I thought "this is the best jazz has to offer" and despite may great jazz records by Mingus, Coltrane, Dave Brubeck, and others, this is still as good as it gets.

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]
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
25,068
Rank in 1959:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 57. Page 1 of 6

Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!

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 %


Funkadelic 1 1%
Philip Glass 1 1%
Todd Rundgren 1 1%
Fleet Foxes 1 1%
Genesis 1 1%
Anberlin 1 1%
Cocteau Twins 1 1%
Show all
Country Albums %


United States 57 57%
United Kingdom 28 28%
Canada 5 5%
Mixed Nationality 3 3%
Iceland 2 2%
Australia 1 1%
Germany 1 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 99 99%
Yes 1 1%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 98 98%
Yes 2 2%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest climbers
Climber Up 2 from 8th to 6th
To Pimp A Butterfly
by Kendrick Lamar
Climber Up 1 from 10th to 9th
Igor
by Tyler, The Creator
Climber Up 1 from 6th to 5th
Forever Changes
by Love
Biggest fallers
Faller Down 3 from 4th to 7th
Pet Sounds
by The Beach Boys
Faller Down 2 from 9th to 11th
Heaven Or Las Vegas
by Cocteau Twins
Faller Down 1 from 7th to 8th
The Dark Side Of The Moon
by Pink Floyd

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)


Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!


Why register?


Register now - it only takes a moment!

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Average Rating: 
90/100 (from 72 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
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 72 ratings for this chart.

Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberChart ratingsAvg. chart rating
  
85/100
 Report rating
01/01/2024 07:49 Moondance  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 45484/100
  
90/100
 Report rating
01/26/2023 02:03 Rm12398  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 9989/100
  
85/100
 Report rating
01/25/2023 20:56 MadhattanJack  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 15584/100
  
90/100
 Report rating
01/25/2023 13:11 Tamthebam  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 55085/100
  
90/100
 Report rating
01/25/2023 10:42 Johnnyo  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,01380/100

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 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.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites

Showing all 7 members who have added this chart as a favourite

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 36 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)

Rating:  
90/100
From 01/25/2023 10:43
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
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/25/2023 10:06
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....
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 08/15/2020 13:53
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.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 07/25/2020 16:39
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?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 07/19/2020 09:54
YOU GET A FAVORITE FROM ME!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 07/19/2020 09:52
Remarkable descriptions, great chart!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 03/08/2020 04:24
27 artists in common! That's a bunch! Great chart!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 01/02/2020 00:45
A lot of work has clearly gone into this. incredible
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 01/02/2020 00:09
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.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/01/2020 19:58
Brilliant, detailed, and varied. Maybe not my taste but it is exactly the kind of chart this site needs more of. Fantastic!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Top 100 Greatest Music Albums

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this chart.
Best Artists of 1994
1. Jeff Buckley
2. Nas
3. Portishead
4. Weezer
5. Oasis
6. Nine Inch Nails
7. Nirvana
8. Pavement
9. Soundgarden
10. Blur
11. Green Day
12. The Notorious B.I.G.
13. Manic Street Preachers
14. Suede
15. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
16. Nick Cave
17. Guided By Voices
18. Pink Floyd
19. Alice In Chains
20. Pearl Jam
Back to Top