Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by jhuik

I am now in my 60'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: 06/12/2025 23:45
• (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 133 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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1. (=)

Born To Run 

 Bruce Springsteen

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Bruce Springsteen had reached a point in his career where he had to step forward into greatness. So he did, perfecting his street poetry and pushing his band of brilliant players to give it all. I first listened to this well over 20 years ago and slowly fell in love with it. So many listens so many years later, and still so essential. Bruce is the best ever imho. I love the lyrics, the vision, the amazing live performances, and the guy. And this is the guy's greatest moment, mixing youthful earnestness, artistic ambition and assured mastery. [First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

1,602 charts

Rank Score:

15,932

Rank in 1975:

3

Rank in 1970s:

22

Overall Rank:

76

Average Rating:

 83 (1,971 votes)

Comments:

132

2. (=)

Illinois 

 Sufjan Stevens

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Intimate meditation, experimental success, rich lyrical exploration in a banquet of epic song craft. Beautiful song piled upon beautiful, beautiful song. This is admirable for its many individually stirring moments and the overall cohesiveness of the vision and the ambition. [First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

1,654 charts

Rank Score:

20,942

Rank in 2005:

1

Rank in 2000s:

5

Overall Rank:

43

Average Rating:

 86 (1,904 votes)

Comments:

169

3. (=)

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Fully Completely 

 The Tragically Hip

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Great CanCon, like great CanLit put to music then sung by one of the best frontmen ever. An epic step forward in being proudly Canadian, with references to everyone from Hugh MacLennan to Bill Barilko to David Milgaard and more. Non-Canadians say, "Who?" Well, Google them all, then... or maybe it really would be better for us if you don't understand. We're a great country; this is our best band, arguably at their very best. [First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]

Year of Release:

1992

Appears in:

139 charts

Rank Score:

988

Rank in 1992:

28

Rank in 1990s:

319

Overall Rank:

1,727

Average Rating:

 78 (148 votes)

Comments:

14

4. (=)

Astral Weeks 

 Van Morrison

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A visionary troubadour creates a meandering masterpiece of poetical celt folk. Eight of the most beautiful songs ever. One of the most perfect works of art ever recorded. Decades later I love this more than ever. [First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]

Year of Release:

1968

Appears in:

1,531 charts

Rank Score:

16,968

Rank in 1968:

3

Rank in 1960s:

17

Overall Rank:

65

Average Rating:

 84 (1,704 votes)

Comments:

138

5. (=)

Boxer 

 The National

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Matt Berninger and his brothers in arms play a lights-down late night conversation on the couch that lingers forever. Resonant, rich, dark and moody. Absolutely abidingly one of my favourite listens of recent years. Rich with beautiful songs and uniquely visionary music-making. [First added to this chart: 01/03/2012]

Year of Release:

2007

Appears in:

996 charts

Rank Score:

9,719

Rank in 2007:

4

Rank in 2000s:

21

Overall Rank:

147

Average Rating:

 82 (1,208 votes)

Comments:

92

6. (=)

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 

 The Beatles

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A turn in the studio that turned album creation into an art form all its own. This was a gift from having older siblings. I still listen to this at least once every few months and it remains a striking collection of widely varied songs... a burst of joy here, a bold love song there, a melancholy dabble here, a miniature comic play there – all of it pulled together in a cohesive work of art. [First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]

Year of Release:

1967

Appears in:

3,480 charts

Rank Score:

44,756

Rank in 1967:

1

Rank in 1960s:

3

Overall Rank:

8

Average Rating:

 90 (4,582 votes)

Comments:

491

7. (=)

Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) 

 Led Zeppelin

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Four horsemen of rock godhood ride through the sonosphere led by a true avatar named Jimmy Page. Reread that track list... wow. Stairway, Rock and Roll, Goin to California, Levee, Evermore. Sure, even I have times where want to dismiss this as dad rock or something like that... but come on, let's get real. And then listen to Battle of Evermore again. [First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

3,150 charts

Rank Score:

40,285

Rank in 1971:

1

Rank in 1970s:

4

Overall Rank:

12

Average Rating:

 90 (3,988 votes)

Comments:

305

8. (=)

Chutes Too Narrow 

 The Shins

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James Mercer's melodic, melancholic masterpiece. Choke-me-up, eye watering beauty abounds from start to finish. So many years later, this still rings out as a simply epic turn in the studio, an indie legend that holds one of the best love songs and the best country and western song ever, along with so much other pure musical joy. [First added to this chart: 05/06/2012]

Year of Release:

2003

Appears in:

625 charts

Rank Score:

4,863

Rank in 2003:

5

Rank in 2000s:

58

Overall Rank:

354

Average Rating:

 80 (778 votes)

Comments:

41

9. (=)

Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness 

 The Smashing Pumpkins

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The first disc alone is one of the twenty best albums ever and then there's the second, which is hardly any lesser. As much as I love the music, I admire this, two hours of music that goes from moving to ballsy and back around again too many times to count. So many amazing songs: Zero, 1979, Love, Here is no Why, Jellybelly, Muzzle, 33, Stumbleine, on and on and on. I bought this soon after it came out and it was an absolutely smashing success -- still is, I think. It's Billy Corgan's All-In, an earbusting work of stirring genius. [First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]

Year of Release:

1995

Appears in:

1,492 charts

Rank Score:

15,060

Rank in 1995:

3

Rank in 1990s:

16

Overall Rank:

84

Average Rating:

 83 (1,854 votes)

Comments:

168

10. (=)

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 

 Wilco

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Tweedy and posse create a great album of new essential songs on essential themes of war, nostalgia, religion and love. The very first time I heard this, I thought, if I could make an album, I would make something like this. It's catchy yet original and odd -- even jarring; widely-varied in theme yet so easily flowing; intelligent and progressive-minded, yet so down-to-earth. [First added to this chart: 12/24/2010]

Year of Release:

2002

Appears in:

1,669 charts

Rank Score:

17,715

Rank in 2002:

1

Rank in 2000s:

6

Overall Rank:

60

Average Rating:

 85 (1,955 votes)

Comments:

172

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Total albums: 99. Page 1 of 10

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade	Albums	%
1930s	0	0%
1940s	0	0%
1950s	0	0%
1960s	5	5%
1970s	22	22%
1980s	12	12%
1990s	22	22%
2000s	21	21%
2010s	17	17%
2020s	1	1%

Artist	Albums	%
Bruce Springsteen	4	4%
Van Morrison	3	3%
Porcupine Tree	3	3%
Red Hot Chili Peppers	3	3%
The Tragically Hip	3	3%
Rage Against The Machine	2	2%
The National	2	2%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	55	55%
	27	27%
	11	11%
	3	3%
	2	2%
	1	1%
	1	1%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest climbers
Up 30 from 95th to 65th If I Should Fall From Grace With God by The Pogues
Up 2 from 77th to 75th Tupelo Honey by Van Morrison
Up 2 from 76th to 74th The Joshua Tree by U2

Biggest fallers
Down 32 from 67th to 99th The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest
Down 14 from 63rd to 77th Are You Experienced by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Down 11 from 65th to 76th Bee Thousand by Guided By Voices

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

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 133 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
85/100	03/24/2025 22:09	Moondance	475	85/100
85/100	03/24/2025 08:46	NowhereMan	288	82/100
90/100	02/09/2025 10:25	SomethingSpecial	1,109	85/100
80/100	08/11/2024 11:56	Tamthebam	628	85/100
90/100	06/22/2024 09:39	dihansse	309	84/100

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 11.2.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites

Showing all 14 members who have added this chart as a favourite

WillyMac

DJENNY

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Lgk21

dihansse

BraddlesHendo

HoldenM

vinnid127

Fedfan

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Triple Seis

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 85 comments |
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Rating:  

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)

Rating:  

95/100

From 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)

Rating:  

80/100

From 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)

Rating:  

100/100

From 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

@scotsindie lol.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

5/100

From scotsindie 11/22/2017 10:33

This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -9 votes (0 helpful | 9 unhelpful)

Rating:  

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)

Rating:  

80/100

From 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

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)

Rating:  

90/100

From 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

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