Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by 
jhuik 
I am now in my mid 50's. Music has meant many, many different things to me over the years, but these days it often means 'tinged with pain' as I have hearing loss and tinnitus. But I still love music ... that love just has a new form, some of it based on the memory of PURE LOUD NOISE (no longer possible for me) or just memory, and some of that love still able to thrive and evolve.
As I have said for over ten years on this site: Below are albums that have meant a lot to me, albums I have listened to innumerable times, albums that are duly classic or that I just fuckin like a lot for whatever reason. I have loved music for decades, have followed other lovers, and no one has perfect taste uncorrupted by bias or other limitations. When rating or commenting don't ever forget that any list of 'best ever' is ALWAYS a ridiculous exercise.
- Chart updated: 11/04/2019 01:15
- (Created: 12/24/2010 02:29).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 85 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 129 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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"They shot a movie once, in my hometown..." So Gord Downie and a bunch of his best friends initiated their own rock revival with proudly Cancon classic rock storytelling (and some classic rock riffing) that oft-surpassed predecessors. In my era, in my home and native land, this album saved rock and roll. My most-listened-to album of all time. Maybe this did not reinvent rock and roll, but it completely, utterly re-invigorated it... still does, in fact. Damn you all, this really is my favourite album of all time. Yes, Gordie baby, I do know exactly what you mean.
[First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]
6
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One of the most beautiful, saddest, most thoughtful and melodic things ever recorded, by a guy who might be the most underrated rock musician in history.
[First added to this chart: 03/31/2017]
Year of Release:
2015
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,217
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Can you hear the merry gypsy play? This whole album is a mystic music caravan celebrating life, a collection of songs like splinters of sunshine on a path through the forest of life: let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic! This was the first great Van I loved when I was just a kid. Does it peeter out a bit in the end or is that ending just overshadowed by the amazing opening songs?
[First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,332
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A complilation, yes, but one that is also arty in itself: a really great collection of some of his more beautiful, less appreciated songs. It's the right stand-in for all my love for one of the world's most deservedly-loved artists.
[First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]
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Song for song, the best CD by the band that is, player for player, the quintessence of modern rock. After Ten, they grew confident they were one of the greats. A collection of excellent musicians sets out to create a classic and succeeds phenomenally.
[First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]
Year of Release:
1993
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,516
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Busted down Bruce collected 10 songs that purged his own darkness. I first listened to this when I was 14 years old (soon after it came out) and it was an initiation for me: for the first time, I realized people could say meaningful things with rock music. He reached my naive mind with songs like Factory and Promised Land and all the rest. I will love this album til the day I die: gritty, grainy, angry and great.
[First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,171
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A deep, dark, rich and varied collection of music centered on the best postmodern rock song ever. This is the Hip at their Hippest, riding their peak. How can you not hear greatness in this? Each song is strikingly different from the one before, your favourite song changes over the years (and there have been many for me). Nautical Disaster, the gorgeous centerpiece of this epic turn in the studio, is a beautiful nightmare that many of us rock fans, up here in the GWN, have loved passionately for ages.
[First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]
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Exploratory, experimental and original, but accessible and assured. One of my favourite artists currently. It does fitzpleasure, it really is something good. Splashes of sonically rich, successful artistic creation throughout. A sound for the decade.
[First added to this chart: 10/03/2015]
Year of Release:
2012
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,446
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Bruce's celebratory, unapologetically exuberant leap forward into rock superstardom. A more honest top 100 of mine would have more Bruce for sure.
[First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,254
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Jeff Mangum creates wave upon wave of eye-watering beauty. From the first strum of that F chord through him setting the guitar down at the end, this is the album every Saturday afternoon acoustic-head thinks he could make if he had this talent and this raw, raw passion. I found this sometime in the oughts and it is far and away the most profoundly cathartic album ever, for me.
[First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]
Year of Release:
1998
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Rank Score:
39,524
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Total albums: 100. Page 2 of 10
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
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|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 6 | 6% | |
| 1970s | 23 | 23% | |
| 1980s | 12 | 12% | |
| 1990s | 22 | 22% | |
| 2000s | 21 | 21% | |
| 2010s | 16 | 16% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Bruce Springsteen | 4 | 4% | |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers | 3 | 3% | |
| Van Morrison | 3 | 3% | |
| The Tragically Hip | 3 | 3% | |
| Porcupine Tree | 3 | 3% | |
| Pink Floyd | 2 | 2% | |
| Kendrick Lamar | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
There have been no changes to this chart.Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
89/100 (from 129 votes)
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 129 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 80/100  | 12/13/2018 16:51 | hailey | | 81/100 |
| 95/100 | 12/07/2018 11:24 |  Julelios | | 90/100 |
| 95/100 | 08/21/2018 23:08 |  CharlieBarley | | 94/100 |
| 75/100 | 08/21/2018 14:40 |  Boltzmann | | 79/100 |
| 100/100 | 08/21/2018 14:05 |  Rhyner | | 99/100 |
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 6% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.6/100, a mean average of 88.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.8/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 11.4.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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80/100
From hailey 12/13/2018 16:52
Really good chart in my opinion, I like all the descriptions you gave each album and i agree with most of the albums you have on there. Well, of the ones that i have listened to.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From CharlieBarley 08/21/2018 23:09
CharlieBarley 08/21/2018 23:09
Refreshingly good. Great notes and some top picks. And some to check out too. Great stuff.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
80/100
From 
JulianR 03/13/2018 04:04
JulianR 03/13/2018 04:04
Haha I've come back to this chart for whatever reason, and that comment was supposed to have an exclamation mark. Anyway, tons of great stuff! Props for Hand Cannot Erase, its such an underappreciated album
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
ForegroundNoise 01/20/2018 09:17
ForegroundNoise 01/20/2018 09:17
It's a shame there's not more emphasis on experimental and electronic music but each to their own I guess! Still, astounding chart - love the bios and the careful picks so can appreciate a good taste when I see one
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From jhuik 11/30/2017 01:47
jhuik 11/30/2017 01:47
@scotsindie lol.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
5/100
From scotsindie 11/22/2017 10:33
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -8 votes (0 helpful | 8 unhelpful)
80/100
From PaperVinnie 11/08/2017 16:14
The only pick I strongly disagree with is Ten, but nice still.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
80/100
From JulianR 10/07/2017 05:00
JulianR 10/07/2017 05:00
good stuff?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From jhuik 04/23/2017 22:55
jhuik 04/23/2017 22:55
You're right LedZep. I think they are prog-influenced, though, and others see it, too (e.g. http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=94658) but yes, it is a bit obtuse to call them prog. I edited that comment as per yours. (y)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From 
LedZep 04/23/2017 13:23
LedZep 04/23/2017 13:23
Totally agree with Mellon Collie description, listened to that album for the first time a several days ago, it's fantastic. Love the chart, but what you wrote about Alt-J really upset me, they aren't prog rock at all :/ As a prog fan I had to notice that sorry, it's a great chart all in all
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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