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.

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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 1980s. (Remove this filter)

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12. (11) Down1
Ireland U2
Buy album United States
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Disclaimer, I had listened to this album a substantial number of times before I saw visual evidence of the terribleness of Bono’s mullet in the 80’s. I try to keep my opinion of things unbiased by things as silly as a terrible mullet, but I can’t unsee what I’ve seen.

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]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,942
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Buy album United States
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Oh man, Glassworks is intense. The "pop music" variant of modern avant garde composer "Philip Glass" this thing is a wild ride and if I can put Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" and Eno's "Another Green World" on here then Glassworks gets on here. [First added to this chart: 05/15/2016]
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,050
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Buy album United States
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I need to add some stuff here about how great this album is and how much it influenced bands from the 90's and was ahead of it's time and how oasis and flaming lips took a lot from here. Also add a section about how it has a great balance of vocals and freeform instrumentation without any instrument dominating. [First added to this chart: 01/24/2017]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
26,015
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Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 05/15/2016]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
30,857
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Comments:
51. (50) Down1
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 06/09/2016]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,714
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Buy album United States
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Bob Marley is an artist that when you are in the mood for Bob Marley nothing will satisfy your taste like actual Bob Marley. He was the single most influential person in the creation of and popularization of reggae. If you're like me, in the same way that you don't save $0.50 by buying generic cheese sticks, you can't stand listening to reggae that is not Bob Marley. Just stick with the good stuff when it comes to this sound.

I'm not an expert on his solo albums nor do I intend to become one. This is a compilation album and it shows that indeed - Marley did have a collection of really great songs that he wrote throughout his career, and all the highlights are on here
[First added to this chart: 05/15/2016]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,799
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Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 06/09/2016]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,305
Rank in 1985:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 01/24/2017]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
39,257
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Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 01/24/2017]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,802
Rank in 1988:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
99. (=)
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 02/24/2017]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
37,696
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 10. Page 1 of 1

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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%
Country Albums %


United States 57 57%
United Kingdom 28 28%
Canada 5 5%
Mixed Nationality 3 3%
Iceland 2 2%
Germany 1 1%
Japan 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

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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
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01/25/2023 10:42 Johnnyo  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,00579/100

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).
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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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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 36 comments |
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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)

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