Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by dihansse

This list is based on scoring of individual tracks but with the adagium of one album per artist and no best ofs.

I have now also added at the end of each entry all the regular albums of the artist in question that would appear in my top 250 if I don't apply the one album per artist rule; to that I've added the year of issue, my personal score and all the tracks on the album with a score of 95 or 100 (roughly my top 1000 of favorite songs ever).

There are 53 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 96 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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I'm always on a limbo on the choice between this album and "Flip Your Wig" but finally have to choose for this one because of its sprawling immensity.
In any case I like everything from this band from the earlier punk songs to the more elaborate pop songs on their latter albums. I know it's maybe a bit exaggerated but to me Bob Mould and Grant Hart (who died in 2017) are the Lennon/McCartney of the indie scene. Their hard edged tracks always had a melodic and adventurous side to them.

After the band broke up through all kind of drugs problems, the follow ups were nearly as good: Grant Hart solo and with Nova Mob and Bob Mould solo and with Sugar.

Favorite tracks on this album (1984): Something I Learned Today, Indecision Time, Beyond The Treshold, I'll Never Forget You, What's Going On, Masochism World, Somewhere, Whatever

Favorite tracks on other albums:
Flip Your Wig (1985): Flip Your Wig, Makes No Sense At All, Hate Paper Doll, Green Eyes, Divide And Conquer, Games, Find Me, Flexible Flyer, Private Plane
New Day Rising (1985): Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill, Celebrated Summer
[First added to this chart: 05/01/2019]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,318
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Buy album United States
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The Saints were a famous and very good Australian punk band (especially with the semi-hit "Stranded" with especially Chris Bailey and Ed Kuepper).
When the Saints broke up, Ed Kuepper proceeded with the Aints. Although they built on the Saints legacy, they had a very own sound with beautiful guitars and a lot of jazzy influences. This led to very long and winding but incredibly good songs like the ones on their debut album "Ascension" and its follow-up "Autocannibalism".
However "Ascension" is somewhat better and includes real (and I mean REAL) guitar and saxophone solos based songs like "It's Still Nowhere" and "Like an Oil Spill".

After that I kept following the solo career of Ed Kuepper which was more based on singer songwriter-like accoustic songs.

Favorite tracks on this album (1991): It's Still Nowhere, What's It Like Out There?, A Good Soundtrack, Like An Oil Spill, Ascension

Favorite tracks on other albums:
Autocannibalism (1992): You Can't Please Everybody, Linda And Abilene, Ill Wind, The Aints Go Camping
[First added to this chart: 10/30/2015]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
179
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Buy album United States
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When Lou Barlow left (or maybe better was thrown out of) Dinosaur Jr he formed Sebadoh. While J Mascis was certainly the best guitar player, Lou was definitely the best song writer of the two as this band has proven over and over and is one of my favorite bands ever.

The CD I most cherish is in fact a compilation of the ep "Rocking the Forest" (which contains fantastic tracks like "Gimme Indie Rock" and "It's so Hard to Fall in Love") and "Sebadoh vs Helmet" not in the least because it contains one of my favorite songs "Brand New Love". I have seen Sebadoh a few times live and finally they played it live as an encore in their 2019 tour: I was in heaven. The way this songs sets of very slowly and the way it ends in absolute chaos is beyond words.

This album is the quintessential indie album to me and is my absolute favorite in this top 100. It has very rough feeling but it's so honest it almost makes you cry. Most of other tracks are also not less than fantastic, eg the duo Mean "Distance" (again slow beginning erupting in chaos) and "...Burned" (slow start going over in beautiful guitar part).

The 1994 album Bakesale nearly matches the quality of this album and the 1996 Harmacy is a good third.

Favorite tracks on this album (1992): Gimme Indie Rock, It's So Hard To Fall In Love, Vampire, Mind Meld, Notsur Dnuora, Selcric, Brand New Love, Mean Distance, ...Burned, Good Things Proud Man

Favorite tracks on other albums:
III (1991): The Freed Pig
Bubble & Scrape (1993): Soul And Fire, Sacred Attention
Bakesale (1994): Magnet's Coil, Not A Friend, Not Too Amused, Skull, Rebound, Mystery Man, Together Or Alone
Harmacy (1996): On Fire, Ocean, Beauty Of The Ride, Zone Doubt, Too Pure, Open Ended)
The Sebadoh (1999): Weird, Flame, Thrive, Sorry
[First added to this chart: 10/31/2015]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
124
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Buy album United States
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This is the album where Hüsker Dü's Bob Mould wanted to reinvent himself as the rocker he was (still is) after a more singer-songwriter solo career. There's absolutely no filler on this album and I suppose this is one of the reasons it is ranked so high.

Please also check out the mini album Beaster where he's even more hard-edged.

Favorite track on this album (1992): The Act We Act, A Good Idea, Changes, Helpless, If I Can't Change Your Mind, Fortune Teller, Slick, Man On The Moon

Favorite tracks on other albums:
Beaster (1993): Tilted, Judas Cradle, JC Auto
File Under Easy Listening (1994): Explode And Make Up
[First added to this chart: 02/11/2017]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,643
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Buy album United States
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If not my absolute favorite, this is certainly my favorite metal album of all times. All tracks on this album are just so fantastic that it cannot but excel on all fronts. Although it is often said that it mimics nearly exactly the different tracks of its predecessor "Ride the Lightning" every single piece on "Master of Puppets" and not in the least the title song which is like a kind of metal opera with all its twists and turns (a bit like "One" which doesn't appears on this album but on the next one "... And Justice for All". Also "Battery" is an absolute favorite of mine.

Favorite track on this album (1986): Battery, Master Of Puppets, The Thing That Should Not Be, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Disposable Heroes

Favorite tracks on other albums:
Kill 'Em All (1983): Seek & Destroy
Ride The Lightning (1984): Fade To Black, Creeping Death
... And Justice For All (1988): Blackened, ...And Justice For All, One
Metallica (1991): Enter Sandman, Sad But True
[First added to this chart: 10/30/2015]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,329
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Buy album United States
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I can't even begin to praise this band which has known three lives: one with Lou Barlow (which I haven't experienced at the time itself), one without Lou Barlow (which I discovered by Green Mind) and again one with Lou Barlow.
When I would pick a song I would pick The Wagon from Green Mind also because that was the track that drew me into the band, when I would follow my heart I would probably choose Where You Been but when I take the scores of all tracks together it is this one which is the first of their third period and which really blew my mind (after ten long years of waiting) when I first heard it.

Favorite tracks on this album (2007): Almost Ready, Pick Me Up, Back To Your Heart, This Is All I Came To Do, Been There All The Time, It's Me

Favorite tracks on other albums:
You're Living All Over Me (1987): Little Furry Things, Raisins
Bug (1988): Freak Scene
Green Mind (1991): The Wagon
Where You Been (1993): Out There, Start Choppin', Get Me
Without A Sound (1994): Feel The Pain
Hand It Over (1997): Alone
Farm (2009): Plans, Said The People, There's No Here
Give A Glimpse Of What Yr Not (2016): Lost All Day, Knocked Around
I Bet On Sky (2012): Watch The Corners
Sweep It Into Space (2021): none
[First added to this chart: 02/11/2017]
Year of Release:
2007
Appears in:
Rank Score:
580
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Buy album United States
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Sonic Youth are again one of my heroes who have a very extensive album catalogue with nearly not one bad album in it (although the SYR series is maybe a bit boring).
Daydream Nation is definitely the best of their albums with Sister and Dirty as excellent second and thirds.

Favorite tracks on this album (1988): Teenage Riot, 'Cross The Breeze, Eric's Trip, Total Trash, Candle, Trilogy

Favorite tracks on other albums:
Bad Moon Rising (1985): Death Valley '69
Evol (1986): Expressway To Your Skull
Sister (1987): (I Got A) Catholic Block, Stereo Sanctity, Tuff Gnarl, Hot Wire My Heart, Kotton Krown, White Kross
Goo (1990): Cinderella's Big Score, Titanium Expose, Dirty Boots
Dirty (1992): 100%, Sugar Kane, Chapel Hill, Purr
Washing Machine (1995): Becuz, The Diamond Sea
A Thousand Leaves (1998): Sunday
Murray Street (2002): Rain On Tin
[First added to this chart: 10/30/2015]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,870
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Buy album United States
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One of the first newly issued CD's I bought when I bought my first CD player in the beginning of 1989 was "Doolittle" by the Pixies and it was a real discovery for me because I hadn't even heard yet of Hüsker Dü or Sonic Youth or other indie bands at the time yet.
A bit after that I bought the CD reissue of "Surfer Rosa" which also included the EP "Come On Pilgrim" and I liked this album even better because and all the 22 tracks had an immediate appeal and a bonus: it contained a few tracks sung (Gigantic) or co-sung (River Euphrates) or with some sexy spoken comments (I'm Amazed) by Kim Deal, a real indie heroin only comparable to that other Kim of Sonic Youth. When the Pixies split, the Breeders were in my opinion better than the solo efforts of Frank Black.

Favorite track on this album (1987): , Holiday Song, Nimrod's Song

Favorite tracks on other albums:
Surfer Rosa (1988): Bone Machine, Break My Body, Broken Face, Gigantic, River Euphrates, Where Is My Mind?,
Doolittle (1989): Debaser, Tame, Wave Of Mutilation, Crackity Jones, No. 13 Baby, Gouge Away
Complete 'B' Sides (2001): Winterlong
[First added to this chart: 09/15/2019]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,107
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Buy album United States
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Bettie Serveert is a Dutch band which has issued many good CD's and one outstanding one, their first. The singer, Carol Van Dijk, has both a sensitive/beautiful and at the same time very powerful voice which give an absolute plus to the beautiful and layered guitar songs on the album like the title song and especially the epic "Brain-Tag".

Favorite tracks on this album (1992): Leg, Palomine, Brain-Tag, Tom Boy, Balentine

Favorite tracks on other albums:
Lamprey (1995): Tell Me Sad
[First added to this chart: 10/30/2015]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
222
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Comments:
Buy album United States
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Of course this is a classic that can't be left out of any top chart for someone who has a heart for amped up guitar music with a heart. For me it's a close call between Nevermind and In Utero although in fact it's their MTV Unplugged album where the songwriting and absolutely gorgeous (although that's maybe not the best word) singing voice of Kurt Cobain comes out best. But since I didn't wanna pick a live album but one of their regulars, this comes out as best anyway if only for the cultural impact this album made on the rock music at that time.

Favorite tracks on this album (1991): Smells Like Teen Spirit, In Bloom, Drain You, Stay Away, On A Plain, Something In The Way

Favorite tracks on other albums:
Bleach (1989): About A Girl
Incesticide (1992): Aneurysm
In Utero (1993) Dumb, Pennyroyal Tea, All Apologies

But the better versions of many of these songs are on The live MTV Unplugged in NY album which also contains The Man Who Sold The World and Where Did You Sleep Last Night not on a regular album.
[First added to this chart: 02/11/2017]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
42,311
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Total albums: 100. 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 4 4%
1970s 16 16%
1980s 20 20%
1990s 40 40%
2000s 10 10%
2010s 8 8%
2020s 2 2%
Country Albums %


United States 44 44%
United Kingdom 36 36%
Australia 6 6%
Canada 5 5%
Mixed Nationality 4 4%
Belgium 2 2%
Sweden 1 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 97 97%
Yes 3 3%
Live? Albums %
No 99 99%
Yes 1 1%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 99 99%
Yes 1 1%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest fallers
Faller Down 1 from 96th to 97th
X&Y
by Coldplay
Faller Down 1 from 97th to 98th
No Quarter: Jimmy Page And Robert Plant Unledded
by Jimmy Page & Robert Plant
Faller Down 1 from 98th to 99th
Live Through This
by Hole
New entries
New entryRumours
by Fleetwood Mac

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Average Rating: 
90/100 (from 96 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 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).
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95/100
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11/06/2023 22:10 DaaN  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1086/100
  
100/100
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04/16/2023 22:47 jlinville  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 591/100
  
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04/15/2023 10:07 melisandre  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 5988/100
  
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09/10/2022 16:23 Thearei30ee  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1888/100
  
100/100
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02/01/2022 01:03 Larcx13  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,07286/100

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 90.0/100, a mean average of 89.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 8.3.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

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Rating:  
95/100
From 11/06/2023 22:10
Great list and nice to read all the commentaries!
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Rating:  
100/100
From 04/16/2023 22:51
I LOVE your Top 100 chart. It is unabashedly a tribute to the 90's, yet you aren't afraid to throw in some classic rock just because it's good. AC/DC and Belle and Sebastian on the same chart? Brilliant! I own so many of these albums, and there are others I've never even heard of. Bravo.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 06/28/2021 19:15
Nice personal chart that privileges a certain generation and rock scene, though there are many nice surprises. Love seeing love for The Saints. And any list with Zen Arcade at the top can't be bad.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 06/28/2021 09:30
Well, that's one hell of a chart. There are probably only 3 or 4 charts that have ever got 100 from me but you get it hands down. This is top notch. Love the variety and having Eleventh Dream Day's Prairie School Freakout @ 37 is a great pick. Stunning chart
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Rating:  
90/100
From 05/05/2021 06:26
Well done! Very nice chat with super descriptions. ( a little too focused on early '90s)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 05/02/2021 23:37
Now we're talking! Some of the definitive music from the american underground scene right here
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 10/13/2020 02:27
Really cool chart! I appreciate how different it is. There's some early 90s stuff on here I need to check out because I'm not as familiar with late 80s and early 90s like I am with other years/decades.
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Rating:  
90/100
From 07/17/2020 16:42
Love it. Loads of fantastic indie rock pioneers.
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Rating:  
85/100
From 05/27/2020 18:11
I give you 85 points because i like some of your selection and others i don´t know but you have a good choice.
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Rating:  
75/100
From 05/15/2020 02:05
Interesting concept and very good wording. A few interesting choices, even with a lot that is very familiar and rather focused on 1980s and 1990s indie music.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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Best Ever Artists
1. The Beatles
2. Radiohead
3. Pink Floyd
4. David Bowie
5. Bob Dylan
6. Led Zeppelin
7. The Rolling Stones
8. Arcade Fire
9. The Velvet Underground
10. Kendrick Lamar
11. Nirvana
12. Neil Young
13. The Smiths
14. Miles Davis
15. The Beach Boys
16. Kanye West
17. Pixies
18. R.E.M.
19. Jimi Hendrix
20. Bruce Springsteen
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