Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by baystateoftheart

How I Stopped Worrying And Learned To Love The Chart (Sort Of)

It would be fair to label me a perfectionist. So naturally, making this chart has been a time-consuming process. Since creating it in 2015, I’ve tested out dozens of different rating criteria, inclusion criteria, note styles, and so on. None of this experimentation has been satisfying, because a chart that represents one’s personal taste is not something that can be perfected unless that taste is static. I guarantee I couldn’t listen to all 100 albums in this chart without my preferences changing in the process, let alone assess recorded music more broadly without radical turnover. So here we are: as a perfectionist, I have come to terms with the fact that this chart will never approach perfection. It will remain a laggy approximation of the music I love. And truthfully, that is all it needs to be. BEA has given me a valuable nudge to let a project be simply good enough.

This introductory reflection serves in place of written notes describing what I love about each of these records. Because while musical preferences ebb and flow, insights and thoughts generated by a piece of music feel more ephemeral still, and that is perhaps as it should be.

Edits to the chart I'm working on:

1. Scoring more of my favorite albums to add them
2. Creating a further listening section for each artist

Now for our regularly-scheduled programming.

• Chart updated: 11/19/2023 15:45
• (Created: 10/09/2015 21:56).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 26 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 91 out of 100 (from 49 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

• Summary
• Composition
• Ratings
• Favourites
• Comments
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21. (=)

Odessey And Oracle 

 The Zombies

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Psychedelic Pop • Baroque Pop

Score: 92.6

Further Listening:

1. Begin Here TBD 3/5

~ [First added to this chart: 10/09/2015]

Year of Release:

1968

Appears in:

1,257 charts

Rank Score:

15,339

Rank in 1968:

4

Rank in 1960s:

21

Overall Rank:

87

Average Rating:

 85 (1,312 votes)

Comments:

118

22. (=)

Trouble Will Find Me 

 The National

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Indie Rock

Score: 92.4

~ [First added to this chart: 07/13/2017]

Year of Release:

2013

Appears in:

624 charts

Rank Score:

6,064

Rank in 2013:

7

Rank in 2010s:

38

Overall Rank:

296

Average Rating:

 79 (935 votes)

Comments:

88

23. (=)

Donuts 

 J Dilla

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Instrumental Hip Hop

Score: 92.4

Further Listening:

1a. Jay Deelicious 95-98: The Delicious Vinyl Years TBD 4/5

~ [First added to this chart: 02/21/2016]

Year of Release:

2006

Appears in:

439 charts

Rank Score:

4,515

Rank in 2006:

7

Rank in 2000s:

65

Overall Rank:

396

Average Rating:

 81 (509 votes)

Comments:

23

24. (=)

The Hissing Of Summer Lawns 

 Joni Mitchell

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Singer/Songwriter • Jazz Pop

Score: 92.2

~ [First added to this chart: 10/09/2015]

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

300 charts

Rank Score:

2,359

Rank in 1975:

11

Rank in 1970s:

169

Overall Rank:

756

Average Rating:

 80 (389 votes)

Comments:

25

25. (=)

What's Going On 

 Marvin Gaye

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Soul

Score: 92.0

Further Listening:

2. Let's Get It On 89.0
3. Here, My Dear TBD 4.5/5
3a. The Very Best Of Marvin Gaye TBD 4.5/5
4. You're The Man TBD 4/5
5. You're All I Need - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell TBD 3.5/5
6. United - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell TBD 3.5/5
7. I Want You TBD 3.5/5
8. Easy - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell TBD 3.5/5

~ [First added to this chart: 01/21/2017]

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,567 charts

Rank Score:

19,711

Rank in 1971:

4

Rank in 1970s:

16

Overall Rank:

53

Average Rating:

 85 (1,884 votes)

Comments:

143

26. (=)

Untrue 

 Burial

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Future Garage • Dubstep

Score: 91.8

Further Listening:

1. Rival Dealer TBD 4.5/5
2. Truant / Rough Sleeper TBD 4/5
3. Street Halo TBD 4/5
4. Kindred TBD 3.5/5

~ [First added to this chart: 11/07/2018]

Year of Release:

2007

Appears in:

493 charts

Rank Score:

5,159

Rank in 2007:

8

Rank in 2000s:

55

Overall Rank:

350

Average Rating:

 81 (600 votes)

Comments:

38

27. (=)

The Smile Sessions 

 The Beach Boys

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Baroque Pop • Psychedelic Pop • Progressive Pop

Score: 91.8

~ [First added to this chart: 10/02/2017]

Year of Release:

2011

Appears in:

458 charts

Rank Score:

6,313

Rank in 2011:

4

Rank in 2010s:

36

Overall Rank:

279

Average Rating:

 85 (807 votes)

Comments:

74

28. (=)

The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars 

 David Bowie

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Glam Rock • Pop Rock

Score: 91.8

Further Listening:

2. Station To Station 91.2
3. Low 85.6
4. Hunky Dory 83.8
5. "Heroes" TBD 4/5
6. Space Oddity TBD 4/5
7. ★ (Blackstar) TBD 4/5
8. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) TBD 3.5/5
9. Lodger TBD 3.5/5
10. The Man Who Sold The World TBD 3.5/5

~ [First added to this chart: 10/09/2015]

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

2,934 charts

Rank Score:

50,098

Rank in 1972:

1

Rank in 1970s:

3

Overall Rank:

9

Average Rating:

 90 (3,447 votes)

Comments:

299

29. (=)

Apocalypse, Girl 

 Jenny Hval

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Art Pop • Experimental

Score: 91.6

Further Listening:

2. The Long Sleep (EP) 87.6
3. The Practice Of Love 87.2
4. Blood Bitch TBD 4.5/5
5. Classic Objects TBD 4.5/5
6. Innocence Is Kinky TBD 4/5
7. Viscera TBD 4/5

~ [First added to this chart: 11/17/2019]

Year of Release:

2015

Appears in:

124 charts

Rank Score:

728

Rank in 2015:

35

Rank in 2010s:

370

Overall Rank:

2,230

Average Rating:

 72 (149 votes)

Comments:

8

30. (=)

Illmatic 

 Nas

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East Coast Hip Hop • Boom Bap • Hardcore Hip Hop

Score: 91.4

~ [First added to this chart: 10/09/2015]

Year of Release:

1994

Appears in:

1,311 charts

Rank Score:

18,501

Rank in 1994:

2

Rank in 1990s:

12

Overall Rank:

65

Average Rating:

 86 (1,536 votes)

Comments:

109

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Total albums: 100. Page 3 of 10

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade	Albums	%
1930s	0	0%
1940s	0	0%
1950s	0	0%
1960s	15	15%
1970s	29	29%
1980s	8	8%
1990s	11	11%
2000s	10	10%
2010s	27	27%
2020s	0	0%

Artist	Albums	%
Fela Kuti & Africa 70	8	8%
Jenny Hval	3	3%
Curtis Mayfield	3	3%
Joni Mitchell	3	3%
Kendrick Lamar	2	2%
The Beach Boys	2	2%
The Magnetic Fields	2	2%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	53	53%
	17	17%
	9	9%
	8	8%
	3	3%
	2	2%
	2	2%
Show all

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest climbers
Up 1 from 100th to 99th Give Up by The Postal Service

New entries
The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding

Leavers
Outside Your Room EP by Slowdive

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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 49 ratings for this chart.

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• Date updated
• Member

Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
95/100	11/12/2023 22:42	Johnnyo	2,014	80/100
95/100	01/09/2022 23:23	AAL2014	163	92/100
95/100	10/19/2021 04:43	seb7	105	91/100
100/100	02/17/2021 05:53	pjohnsongolf	273	89/100
100/100	12/03/2020 18:06	RoundTheBend	374	92/100

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 2% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 90.6/100, a mean average of 91.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 91.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.4.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites

Showing all 6 members who have added this chart as a favourite

seb7

Thad

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ERadio

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 26 comments |
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Rating:  

95/100

From Johnnyo 11/12/2023 22:42

Fantastic chart

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

Rating:  

95/100

From seb7 10/19/2021 04:45

Great list of a lot of awesome albums spanning basically all years and genres. Love it! Thanks for your rating on my chart 😊

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

Rating:  

95/100

From pctrooper 04/24/2020 21:44

This is an excellent chart and I like your soul and hip-hop picks. Thanks for recommending Kate Tempest to me.

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

Rating:  

95/100

From ForegroundNoise 11/22/2019 08:43

Really fascinating mix of classic and contemporary side-by-side. I love the approach you take to your chart making as well, a few written notes and this would be a top-rated chart for me!!

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

Rating:  

90/100

From mickilennial 11/16/2019 08:23

"4 artists in common"

this is a cursed image

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

Rating:  

95/100

From Jameth 09/27/2019 18:07

I had a blast surveying your chart Bay! You're genre selection is rangier than most, keep it up. Even with all of the genres on display, you obviously have an underlying predilection for the sugary, yet you do a great job of separating the good from the saccharine. I don't think I do a very good job of letting pop work its magic, but I do know where I'm coming if I'm in need of something sweet.

There are a bunch of picks from the back half of your chart that I'm gonna queue up, that I haven't already...Blowout Comb, Construção, and a few others.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From DommeDamian 10/26/2018 15:09

Your diversity's on top. Illmatic, Blood On The Tracks, SILY, etc. Check out my chart.

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

Rating:  

95/100

From Boltzmann 03/17/2018 13:55

I saw you put Here’s Little Richard at no. 1 in your ‘50s chart, so I thought your all time chart must be good. I was not wrong.
Nice to see Carly Rae Jepsen and The Ronettes unironically on a chart.
Great work!

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

Rating:  

70/100

From C_Krug2009 03/15/2018 19:15

Glad to see FlyLo!

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

Rating:  

95/100

From LedZep 02/02/2018 21:14

Love the way you rate songs on albums and rank all the albums of a certain band. Also Pet Sounds is so good!

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

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