Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by
meruizh 
I ask myself every now and then why I love music so much? Why has it become some sort of an addiction? To listen to new albums every chance I get, with every minute of my spare time trying to get my hands on my favorite records. I have come to realize that I am submerged in this crazy world of music, in which the last thing I am thinking off before going to bed is: “What album am I going to play tomorrow?”
I once read an article that mentioned that obsessive music listeners tend to be depressive people. At first it had me questioning me if this was really true. Am I just listening to stuff in order to give some sort of meaning to life? But music is not meant to give definition to your life; music is just part of it. When you play a specific album that creates a scenery in your head of a romantic night, or when you play some “depressive” album when you are in a down mood, music will always give you a hand.
In my case, music has something special I cannot find in anything else. I often find myself in the desperate need for it. It is a sort of “click” a song or an album can have in you. It is something I cannot describe with words. This “click” comes in rare occasions, but when it happens, it is like magic. It is an incredible feeling.
Music wakes me up and accompanies me throughout my day. Every single album, song or lyric are part of me. However, at the end, I think nothing gives me more pleasure than to share this passion, this small treasure I get from music, with the people I care about the most.
I am trying to give a comment on each album, not an album review, but a reflection, which tells you a bit of my experience with the album, or why I like it so much.
- Chart updated: 12/12/2018 18:45
- (Created: 12/30/2010 22:51).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 75 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 108 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 1990s. (Remove this filter)
The album starts with "Airbag", something about this song that feel incredibly refreshing, you feel some kind of relief. It's a weird kind of an uplifting song, without it having any of the characteristics of one.
Right after this killer opener you get "Paranoid Android", which may not only qualify as one of Radiohead's best, but as one of the best songs ever. It's not my favorite song of the album, but it's just incredible. You get the feeling of being safe, without a problem in your life, when suddenly it attacks you out of nowhere. It's a song about fearing for your safety while all the time remaining true to yourself and taking comfort in that.
"Subterrean Homesick Alien" it's a song about alienation, not being comprehended by the World. You feel like a stranger with your own friends.
You want to show them your vision but they'll just cut you out. "I'd show them the stars and the meaning of life. They'd shut me away, but I'd be all right all right.."
"Exit Music (For A Film)" is the movie love story, the forbidden love. You want to fight your oppressors to finally embrace your love peacefully. It's like a Romeo and Juliet story. You get drowned in hate to others, you just want to be left alone. The 3:21 marks one of the most incredible moments in the album. "We hope that you choke, that you choke".
"Let Down" Beautiful, haunting, affecting, powerful, thematically dense, lyrically insightful. Another of Radiohead's greatest. Although the lyrics make seem sad, the song it's incredibly relieving. It's like being stuck in traffic for hours, you feel the pain, the sorrow of being there. As the minutes pass you see the light at the end of the tunnel, you know comfort lays ahead, happiness is on the way.
Ok, now with "Karma Police" I have to take a minute to appreciate what's happening. Although it is a cliche choice, for many years this was my all time favorite song. But it's fucking amazing. One of my greatest memories of my lifetime came in my second Radiohead concert, I've never heard this song live. When they started playing it, I almost cried. The song was played and it was an incredible experience, the band started preparing for the next song, when 60,000 people started singing "For a minute there, I lost myself". To get to feel those 60,000 voices screaming their heart out, with Thom Yorke taking the microphone and joining the crowd.. my heart skips a beat.
"Fitter Happier".... I love this lyric "Fond but not in Love"
"Electioneering" Thom Yorke get all political. It's a good song to move around, to pretend you are a rockstar blaming the whole World from your problems.
"Climbing Up the Walls" One of the most insidious and sinister songs on the album that's musically and lyrically incredibly dark and bleak. It a hell of a scary song, I feel terrified throughout the whole song, an uneasy kind of feeling.
"No Surprises" Is one of the most existential and despairing songs on the album. It's a slow killer filled with sad emotions but a many time the ugly reality. "A handshake of carbon monoxide"
"Lucky" makes you want to escape again, you are feeling annoyed by everything; I want to get out, experience freedom. You just need a hand to get out of your misery."Pull me out of the air-crash. Pull me out of the wake"
"The Tourist" the final ride, the last bite when you are full. It's a reflective closer, like watching from the other side of the window. You see the World crumbling around, but there's nothing you can do. Just sit there and watch.
In conclusion there are not enough words to explain what this album means to me.It's mental, insane, its gets you to scream, smile, cry, forget about life for a while. Beauty could be a word that describes the album. [First added to this chart: 12/30/2010]
Beth Gibbon’s voice, sexy but worn-down by disappointment. It’s a woman who is bleak, vulnerable, fragile, beautiful and full of despair. As the each chord is being played the more it becomes clearer there’s no way forward, no redemption, no future. It’s desolate and beautiful…
There's a real sense of being at the end of the world here, a desolation that brings to mind that lonely Saturday night. I wish I could have heard Dummythat night. It would have been a perfect soundtrack for that end of the world feeling.
This album is a complete fantasy [First added to this chart: 12/22/2011]
I dont know, for me, I remembering listening this for the first time in a classic rainy-cold weather in Belgium, just walking through the streets of the campus. A genuine smile came out of me, not really thinking about something in special, but just feeling really happy for no reason in that particular moment.
Is that type of album that tells you, "everything is fine". The way they are telling you a story, grabs your attention completely and doesnt let you go for the whole length of the album. It's quite perfect.
I cant choose a favorite song at the moment, but "If You're Feeling Sinister" and "The Stars Of Track And Field" are definite highlights. [First added to this chart: 04/19/2014]

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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 | 11 | 11% | |
1970s | 8 | 8% | |
1980s | 8 | 8% | |
1990s | 23 | 23% | |
2000s | 31 | 31% | |
2010s | 19 | 19% | |
2020s | 0 | 0% |
Artist | Albums | % | |
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Radiohead | 5 | 5% | |
The Beatles | 4 | 4% | |
Arcade Fire | 3 | 3% | |
The National | 3 | 3% | |
Coldplay | 3 | 3% | |
Pink Floyd | 3 | 3% | |
Nirvana | 2 | 2% | |
Show all |
Country | Albums | % | |
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41 | 41% | |
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40 | 40% | |
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6 | 6% | |
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5 | 5% | |
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3 | 3% | |
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2 | 2% | |
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1 | 1% | |
Show all |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
Biggest climbers |
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![]() Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven by Godspeed You! Black Emperor |
Biggest fallers |
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![]() † [Cross] by Justice (FR) |
![]() Parachutes by Coldplay |
![]() Selected Ambient Works 85-92 by Aphex Twin |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

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Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 108 ratings for this chart.
Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
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85/100 ![]() | 03/20/2025 17:25 | SomethingSpecial | ![]() | 85/100 |
90/100 ![]() | 03/12/2019 22:17 | ![]() | ![]() | 87/100 |
95/100 ![]() | 03/09/2019 03:39 | bkogz | ![]() | 92/100 |
85/100 ![]() | 03/08/2019 18:47 | ![]() | ![]() | 80/100 |
100/100 ![]() | 03/08/2019 16:20 | ![]() | ![]() | 99/100 |
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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 89.9/100, a mean average of 89.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.3/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 10.0.
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God I am astounded by your notes, truly something to be proud of. That said you seem to be someone much more comfortable in the modern era, with many of your older pics being slanted towards the classics. The 70s and 80s (the former especially!!) I think could do with a little more love, so here's a couple from those decades I think you might enjoy:
The Stooges - Fun House
Vashti Bunyan - Just Another Diamond Day
Brian Eno - Another Green World
Hiroshi Yoshimura - Music For Nine Postcards
Dinosaur Jr - You're Living All Over Me

well done!

Great chart!

I like the descriptions very much, but it's not that diverse (not talking about Radiohead, more about the lack of pre 90s albums). It's a great chart nontheless

You're obviously still young but you write like you've been a music connoisseur for 30+ years. A shit load of time and effort put into this and I really enjoyed reading your summaries on the impact each album has had on you.

I normally don't give a 100/100-rating, but your chart deserves every single point. You manage to explain what everyone on this website is feeling about music and the amount of effort you put into this chart and these comments is amazing. Chapeau, señor

Helllll yeah. Love this. Love the comments- Even longer than mine! Very well constructed list, can tell the music on this chart is very important to you.

props on the album comments. really well put together with lots to say.

These Notes Are On Point and the album choices are good as well (You Said a lot of Radiohead..pfft...i have the whole discography and thier live album), but also i saw a good amount of post-rock and you're right it's quite an interesting genre. I don't know if i'd put any on my list because as good as i know it is i just don't give the albums much listens...its something i listen to while lying on bed or when looking up at the cloud's or something, but Mogwai's Young Team or Sigur Ros' Agaetus Byrjun...Tied To be my favorite chart on this website...If you haven't already i reccomend Smashing Pumpkins

Great chart! Love your notes as well, (though I haven't read them all yet) especially those for Doolittle - they're spot on!
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