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.
There are 29 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 91 out of 100 (from 53 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

View the complete list of 57,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.

Share this chart
Collector's summary (filtered)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
This chart is currently filtered to only show soundtrack albums. (Remove this filter)
Sort by
5. (=)
Super Fly 
Soundtrack
United States Curtis Mayfield
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Chicago Soul • Film Soundtrack • Funk

Score: 95.8

Further Listening:

2. Curtis 93.2
3. Back To The World 89.2
4. Got To Find A Way TBD 4.5/5
5. There's No Place Like America Today TBD 4.5/5
6. Sweet Exorcist TBD 4/5
7. Roots TBD 4/5
8. Curtis / Live! TBD 4/5

~ [First added to this chart: 02/21/2016]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
526 charts
Rank Score:
3,233
Rank in 1972:
14
Rank in 1970s:
119
Overall Rank:
539
Average Rating:
 81 (576 votes)
Comments:
View 19
Total albums: 1. Page 1 of 1
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!

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%
Country Albums %


United States 53 53%
United Kingdom 17 17%
Canada 9 9%
Nigeria 8 8%
Norway 3 3%
Australia 2 2%
Mixed Nationality 2 2%
Show all
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 99 99%
Yes 1 1%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

There have been no changes to this chart.
TitleSourceTypePublishedCountry
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums SandinistarOverall chart2019
Top 100 Greatest Music AlbumsDrewCox2Overall chart2018Unknown
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums Space-DementiaOverall chart2019
PPV Overall RankingbeaCustom chart2021Unknown
Top 100 Greatest Music Albumsjuanr1096Overall chart2025
Top 100 Greatest Music AlbumsTidus1997Overall chart2020
BEA 100 (One Album per Artist) BozoTyrannusCustom chart2020
Top 100 Greatest Music AlbumsLisandroOverall chart2023
Top 100 Greatest Music Albumsjdizzle123456Overall chart2025
RYM Average RatingImaybeparanoidCustom chart2016Unknown

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


Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!


Why register?


Register now - it only takes a moment!

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Average Rating: 
91/100 (from 53 votes)
  Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
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 53 ratings for this chart.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberChart ratingsAvg. chart rating
The chart has been updated since this rating was assigned   
85/100
 !		04/07/2025 03:44 slatsheit   2688/100
The chart has been updated since this rating was assigned   
85/100
 !		02/17/2025 10:35 SomethingSpecial   1,10485/100
The chart has been updated since this rating was assigned   
100/100
 !		01/15/2025 17:04 Exist-en-ciel   14798/100
The chart has been updated since this rating was assigned   
80/100
 !		12/15/2024 19:05 BorderFreeAndrew   10381/100
The chart has been updated since this rating was assigned   
90/100
 !		12/15/2024 10:15 Tamthebam   64985/100

Rating metrics: Help 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 90.5/100, a mean average of 91.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 91.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.4.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites

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

seb7
Thad
Cheboygan74
Rockdrigo
ERadio
travelful

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 29 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
85/100
From 04/07/2025 03:45 | #308376
Interesting and broad-ranging list!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 12/15/2024 19:09 | #306521
A solid collection of classics from a diversity of genres and eras. My only gripe: 8 Fela albums on an All-time Top 100 is at least 5 too many IMO. On the plus side, I was very pleasantly surprised to see "(For God's Sake) Give More Power To The People" by The Chi-Lites, one of my favorite forgotten soul masterpieces, here!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 12/15/2024 10:24 | #306515
A great chart full of diversity we only have 7 artists in common but your " Further Listening" is a revelation and very helpful thanks.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 11/12/2023 22:42 | #299949
Fantastic chart
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 10/19/2021 04:45 | #275171
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 04/24/2020 21:44 | #250485
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 11/22/2019 08:43 | #245075
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 11/16/2019 08:23 | #244909
"4 artists in common"

this is a cursed image
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 09/27/2019 18:07 | #243119
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 10/26/2018 15:09 | #223342
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)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Top 100 Greatest Music Albums

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this chart.
Best Albums of the 1980s
1. The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths
2. Doolittle by Pixies
3. Remain In Light by Talking Heads
4. Disintegration by The Cure
5. The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses
6. The Joshua Tree by U2
7. Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush
8. Thriller by Michael Jackson
9. Purple Rain by Prince And The Revolution
10. Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth
11. Closer by Joy Division
12. Master Of Puppets by Metallica
13. Surfer Rosa by Pixies
14. Rain Dogs by Tom Waits
15. Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses
16. Graceland by Paul Simon
17. Spirit Of Eden by Talk Talk
18. Murmur by R.E.M.
19. Back In Black by AC/DC
20. Ride The Lightning by Metallica
 
Back to Top