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.
View the complete list of 57,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
Recently this album has become an addiction in some way, it's so emotional, perfectly constructed to deliver an amazing flow for the ten songs. It starts with "15 Step" and "Bodysnatchers", both being an instant hit. They'll get you moving, they'll get you dancing, you are at the doors of oblivion.
"Nude", a perfect song. The lyrics are so crude but the melody so real. It's like you are feeling the touch a women who is gently undressing you. You cant move and the only exit is to let yourself go.
In "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" I feel locked in somewhere, I feel comfortable inside but I know I want to get out. I know there's something out there I want to escape.
"All I Need" works as a perfect centerpiece. It's a disturbing sad song. Might get really depressing and gets you thinking if you are a attached to someone or something just for the fact that you have no one else or nothing else. "It's all wrong, it's all right", Thom Yorke screams at the end of this piece.
"I am all the days that you choose to ignore. You are all I need"
“Faust Arp” is as a wake up call in the album. It’s a two-minute get out of jail free card.
“Reckoner”, is probably my favorite Radiohead song. It’s absolutely brilliant in so many ways. From the first notes you close your eyes and drift in space and time with this song. It’s incredibly emotional. Thom Yorke’s voice sounds so deep and honest. But it is exactly in 2:31 mark shit gets brutal; those next seconds make me feel every single part of my body, an explosion of ecstasy.
“House of Cards” is another great one. It has an incredible flow; I can even say it gets sexy in some parts. You wan to slow dance to this song. Hold your lover and never let go.
“I don’t want to be your friend, I just want to be your lover”
In “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” you are in a club looking for the girl of the night. You find her; everything is in its place, the music, the alcohol and the dance floor. The girl is your mission, your one nightstand. The girl responds, you are close to achieving your goal, when suddenly a bump. The girl starts drifting away. Another man? We are all playing the same game. You can’t beat the system you can’t win.
“Videotape” works as a subtle closer; you are tired of this experience. You want to go to bed. It has been a long ride, with a lot of memories, some will stay some will vanish.
“No matter what happens now I shouldn't be afraid because I know today has been the most perfect day I've ever seen” [First added to this chart: 12/30/2010]
"Politik" it's one hell of an opening song, and with "In My Place" they both deliver an instant climax from the first notes. "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face", "The Scientist" and "Clocks" are the most intense songs in the album. "The Scientist" marks the one of the most sad stories out there. Live it's one of those sing alongs that gets you to hug who ever is standing next to you.
But my favorite two song in the album come next, "Green Eyes" and "Warning Sign" are beautiful in every sense. The difference from being in love to the mourning of your lost love. I mean "Warning Sign".. it's so fucking damn good. In a rainy day, alone in you car, with your windows down and with the volume all up, you'll see me screaming the lyrics.
But what about the ending of the album, "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" and "Amsterdam", the perfect acoustic songs to achieve greatness. "Amsterdam" is definitely one of my all time favorite songs, and the final chapter in this amazing ride. [First added to this chart: 12/30/2010]
Rock music rarely comes is such a delightful package. The first thing the listener will notice about ‘Whatever People Say I Am…’ is how kinetic the album is. All of the songs are full of distorted guitars, intense structures and irresistible delivery, making it one of the first real rock albums in a long time. Something about the energy the band has makes it one of the most sincere sounding rock albums ever.
It narrates the tales of many teenage kids, picking up girls, getting into clubs, fucking with the cops. In fact it is incredible that the lyrics constructed around this scenarios are ingenious. It is observations like "love’s not only blind but deaf" or "just because he’s had a couple of cans he thinks it’s all right to act like dickhead" that really draw the listener in because of the simple truth behind those lyrics.
This album is a complete success in every way, it's flawless. The energy transmitted through every song makes you want to play on repeat. [First added to this chart: 01/21/2012]
This fairly explains my attachment to this album. It's a calm, even somewhat soothing album. Of the band's children it's the characteristically quiet one, leaving the big rock songs and faster moments to the other albums. When I refer this album as relaxing or calm it’s because the “Boxer” has accompanied me in very long nights, were anxious waiting moments were killing me, a lot of moments where nothing else works.
It took a fair while for Boxer to reach the position it is now. A grower as many other The National albums, filled with gems that can only be discovered with several listens. When I first listened to this album, back in 2010 it was less of a five-star experience and more general confusion over the praise over it. At first the album sounds nothing special, even ordinary. You don't really think much about it. But each listen you find something new there - a particular musical detail that sounds too good to have ever been missed out on, a piece of lyrics that hits fast and hard all of a sudden, the revelation that Matt Berninger’s mumbly voice is an incredible weapon, and so forth. Each listen a different song opens up in a way that one doesn't even realize some of this stuff was there on the previous listens. The final result becomes a hypnotic curve of looking for a reward - you feel compelled towards the album because you begin to realize that each and every listen you’ll find something new and you desire to hear that new experience. It becomes impossible to stop playing the album and by the time things begin to rationalize again, you're already deep in the album's world. From an album that started out as one incredible song and 11 not so impressive follow-ups, it's become an incredible 12-song journey.
“Boxer” is the perfect capsulation of worn and bittersweet loneliness, the sort of music you listen to while you gaze out of the window at night, look at the world outside and think about the moment and life around you. The lyrics, the textual capsulations of wasted moments, crushed hopes, realizations that things aren't as good as they used to be, mid-life apathy in incredibly strong words with a strong helping of desert-dry dark sense of humor to them.
"Boxer" becomes a personal love for you despite so many others who are fawning over the album elsewhere. It sounds close to your soul and the music seems like it was written for you, about you even when the lyrics are nowhere near your life. Despite all the melancholy and moments of defeat throughout the album, still reaches the feeling of relaxation, feeling at ease with yourself. It's like falling asleep in the arms of someone you love. [First added to this chart: 12/30/2010]
“Zitilities” is for me their best album to date. It’s a weird jewel that 10 years after its release date still manages to sound fresh and have an impact. The album is the product of a long process of preparation, conditioned largely by the success the band had with The Good Life, their previous album, in Denmark, where they got many awards and a direct entry into third place in the local charts. This actually made a dent in the minds of Kasper Eistrup , lead singer of the group who went through a harrowing creative slump while preparing the album. These troubles are visible in one of the best songs in the album, and their third single, “Surfing in the Warm Industry”; where Eistrup even considered leaving the music world for a career in the corporate world to avoid the constant questions about his creative work.
The album does offer a series of different stories in which the potential of the group's leader as a composer is evident. Kashmir masters the two important musical elements that bands like these often rely on: a melancholy intensity that fuels the more mid-tempo and energetic moments, and the weary textured atmosphere that powers the slower moments. In particular the latter category offers the best parts of "Zitilites". "The Aftermath" gives you a bittersweet cuddle of defeatist comfort and "Petite Machine" which starts with the most blissfully pretty guitar that jangles out of nowhere in the empty space and then continues to weave its beautiful melody throughout the ache of the rest of the four and a half minutes.
"Zitilites" is special, perhaps because it reflects the breaking point of a band, that moment in which everything seems to be going against you, the darkest hour that comes before dawn. The album is, above all, a superb set of songs that, 10 years after its creation , it has preserved the glow of novelty. Therefore, it is one of those albums that are worth discovering and rediscovering every so often. [First added to this chart: 12/30/2010]
Oh! But I was mistaken, "Turn On The Bright Lights" is just magnificent, they remind me of a kind of a modern version of Joy Division, with great lyrics and a really peculiar sound. I was in love with the album. The singles are really good, but for me the most standing out part of the album is Obstacle 2, Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down and Roland. They are a perfect set of three songs, they just hit me.
The only sad part after falling in love with this album is the reminder of the rest of their albums. I wonder what happened, how did they lost their spark so fast. I don't think they will ever getting back, but this album will prevail in history. [First added to this chart: 11/09/2013]
The synthesis of styles and sources are amazing. Yes, Brian Wilson is clearly present, as are Simon & Garfunkel, as well as Americana, among other, more subtle influences. What makes this record truly special is its blending of all of these sources in a completely unself-conscious, very personal way. It is songs like “Your Protector” and “Oliver James”, that stumble upon Fleet Foxes at their very best. The former stacks harmony after harmony on a single infectious, poetic hook with a lovely sugary melody. Everything about this album is special and after listening to this several time in a day after that really weird urge to listen to the album, I feel at ease and profoundly in love with this album like it was the first time I listen to it. [First added to this chart: 08/06/2015]
Modest Mouse previous albums had that “something missing” element. First thing I noticed with “Good News For People Who Love Bad News” is how clean and perfect every detail about it is. Even the album title is perfect. The story behind the album , accepting the good with the bad and not letting downers become the highlight of your day is all part of it, but what is more striking to me are Brock’s statements of how theoretical thinking is a dead end and maybe life learned isn’t life lived.
The fact that Good News for People Who Love Bad News propelled Modest Mouse to greater mainstream exposure, combined with the maturation of their sound resulted in considerable backlash from their fanbase. This is not a departure of emotional understanding or modern obscurity, it simply applies the hooks and tones of the mainstream that propel themselves to the emotional heights the band’s past albums are known for. [First added to this chart: 08/06/2015]
I had to start with that quote, because well, the album starts with it but it basically represents what the album is going to be.
I want to thank @Dingerbell for involuntarily leading me to this album. Through out the thread, "Your # 1 album on the overall chart historically - today" he posted that The Meadowlands has increased from 1,155 to 851. I dont know why that lead me to his chart; read his decription of the album; listened to "Boys, You Won't" and decided to give a listen.
It took me a while to find the album, but still I was anxious to get it. For a complete day I listened to the whole thing over and over again. I was in shock, not only it was musically wonderful, but the lyrics.. the fucking lyrics.
It's one of the best musical journeys I've ever had. Just after my first listen, a friend came over, played the album in the background, and suddenly he was saying, dude this is brilliant! Who the hell are them? And we started analyzing the whole album with lyrics and shit, and came to the conclusion it was a masterpiece.
Each song stands out on its own, yet, as a whole the record simply becomes enormous. I don't know which song is my favorite, because there are so many, but I have a favorite lyric, which is a perfect closer for this comment.
"I’m a footnote at best… I envy who comes next" [First added to this chart: 01/17/2014]
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Radiohead | 5 | 5% | |
| The Beatles | 4 | 4% | |
| Arcade Fire | 3 | 3% | |
| The National | 3 | 3% | |
| Coldplay | 3 | 3% | |
| Pink Floyd | 3 | 3% | |
| Daft Punk | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
|
41 | 41% | |
|
40 | 40% | |
|
6 | 6% | |
|
5 | 5% | |
|
3 | 3% | |
|
2 | 2% | |
|
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 14 from 99th to 85th Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven by Godspeed You! Black Emperor |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 85th to 86th † [Cross] by Justice (FR) |
| Down 1 from 86th to 87th Parachutes by Coldplay |
| Down 1 from 87th to 88th Selected Ambient Works 85-92 by Aphex Twin |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 108 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 03/20/2025 17:25 | 1,105 | 85/100 | |
| ! | 03/12/2019 22:17 | 473 | 87/100 | |
| ! | 03/09/2019 03:39 | bkogz | 45 | 92/100 |
| ! | 03/08/2019 18:47 | 906 | 80/100 | |
| ! | 03/08/2019 16:20 | 1,456 | 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 3% 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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