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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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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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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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 | % | |
---|---|---|---|
|
|||
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 | 454 | 84/100 | |
01/26/2023 02:03 | Rm12398 | 99 | 89/100 | |
01/25/2023 20:56 | MadhattanJack | 155 | 84/100 | |
01/25/2023 13:11 | Tamthebam | 550 | 85/100 | |
01/25/2023 10:42 | Johnnyo | 2,013 | 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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