Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Fade2Black

My Favourite Albums - by no means a list of the greatest albums ever. A kind of awkward mix of albums that had a big impact on my life and those that are current favourites. Respect to the albums and artists that make the popular and commonly voted / accepted lists.... but music is a personal and subjective thing. We are all different, and there are no rules governing taste.

• Chart updated: 08/27/2023 07:15
• (Created: 11/06/2015 12:04).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 8 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 88 out of 100 (from 17 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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11. (=)

Throwing Copper 

 Live

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Another album from this mid 90's period, which for me was one of the very best periods for music. (Everyone has their own based on age I guess) Pillar of Davidson, I Alone, Selling the Drama and of course Lightning crashes are the standout tracks. [First added to this chart: 11/06/2015]

Year of Release:

1994

Appears in:

354 charts

Rank Score:

2,652

Rank in 1994:

21

Rank in 1990s:

115

Overall Rank:

678

Average Rating:

 75 (479 votes)

Comments:

40

12. (26) 14

Ride The Lightning 

 Metallica

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My preference for Metallica albums changes often. Typically this sits near the top. Fade to Black is one of my favourite tracks ever. Add for whom the bell tolls and creeping death into the mix and you have a truly great album. [First added to this chart: 11/06/2015]

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

870 charts

Rank Score:

9,214

Rank in 1984:

2

Rank in 1980s:

22

Overall Rank:

175

Average Rating:

 84 (1,307 votes)

Comments:

78

13. (12) 1

Back In Black 

 AC/DC

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In Australia, ACDC have a bit of a 'Bogan' or trashy following and this culture can detract from their music. I have often labelled their albums as power chord heavy, simple riff pub rock embraced by boof heads, but that would be underselling them. This album is a work of genius by some very talented individuals that know exactly how to write a catchy, powerful rock track. A brilliant album from start to finish. [First added to this chart: 07/03/2017]

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

1,235 charts

Rank Score:

11,156

Rank in 1980:

3

Rank in 1980s:

18

Overall Rank:

136

Average Rating:

 80 (1,834 votes)

Comments:

139

14. (15) 1

10,000 Days 

 Tool

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After being somewhat disappointed in Lateralus, my response to 10,000 days was initially similar, but for different reasons. I loved the opening tracks but felt the album went no where after that. How wrong was I? Like all great records, and in particular Tool records, the reward from multiple deep listens is massive. Vicarious - probably my favourite Tool track alongside Pushit (off AEnima), then add Wings 2 (10,000 days) and Right in Two and you have 3 brilliant tracks. Add The Pot and Jambi and you have one hell of a brilliant record. It's got beauty, passion, darkness and depth. It sucks you in, takes you on a journey and then releases you a changed person. Is it their best work? No. But it is an immensely satisfying record. [First added to this chart: 06/08/2016]

Year of Release:

2006

Appears in:

359 charts

Rank Score:

2,974

Rank in 2006:

9

Rank in 2000s:

97

Overall Rank:

594

Average Rating:

 78 (649 votes)

Comments:

35

15. (17) 2

Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) 

 Led Zeppelin

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Wow... Whilst never being a big Zeppelin fan,far from it, this album is a classic. Whilst many may view this as sacrilege, Plant's vocals never worked for me and is a big part of the reason I simply don't enjoy listening to Zeppelin. This album is pure genius and even my dislike for Plant fails to kill my enthusiasm. Best tracks, going to California, black dog, stairway. [First added to this chart: 12/12/2015]

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

3,070 charts

Rank Score:

44,292

Rank in 1971:

1

Rank in 1970s:

4

Overall Rank:

12

Average Rating:

 90 (3,901 votes)

Comments:

300

16. (14) 2

Metallica 

 Metallica

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As much as I prefer the 7min song almost classical nature of the big 3 albums, this came at a time when I was passionate about discovering new music. Just too many great songs to ignore. Really takes me back. Best tracks - The Unforgiven, God that failed, sandman, nothing else matters [First added to this chart: 11/06/2015]

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

918 charts

Rank Score:

7,202

Rank in 1991:

9

Rank in 1990s:

47

Overall Rank:

240

Average Rating:

 78 (1,508 votes)

Comments:

89

17. (16) 1

Dire Straits 

 Dire Straits

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This little beauty gets spun a lot.... it's just a great easy listening album.. Sultans is obviously the standout, but the two openers, waterline and water of love are fantastic. The voice, the guitar tone. Love it. [First added to this chart: 11/08/2015]

Year of Release:

1978

Appears in:

425 charts

Rank Score:

2,786

Rank in 1978:

13

Rank in 1970s:

148

Overall Rank:

640

Average Rating:

 78 (611 votes)

Comments:

33

18. (=)

Nevermind 

 Nirvana

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I think the hype carries this album a bit. Nirvana did take the Seattle sound to the masses but their albums I personally don't believe were as great as their fellow Seattle folk at the time. I don't buy into the Cobain guitar / songwriter genius stuff as they had one good, no, great album. As it turns out most of the iconic riffs are borrowed. But who can not love this album? It was exactly what mainstream music needed and marked a big shift away from hair metal and 80s cringe rock. I guess there is genius in simplicity. Nevermind is a classic however that is hard to fault. Lithium, teen spirit and in bloom are brilliant tracks. [First added to this chart: 11/06/2015]

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

3,109 charts

Rank Score:

41,986

Rank in 1991:

1

Rank in 1990s:

2

Overall Rank:

14

Average Rating:

 87 (4,234 votes)

Comments:

407

19. (=)

Weezer (Blue Album) 

 Weezer

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Yup, another album from that golden period of music for me. The buddy holly single had me hooked and every song on this record had me just as excited. This album got listen after listen on my CD player at home and in the car. Not as quirky as their later albums, this worked, in my mind as a straight up alt rock record. Great riffs, great vocals, great melodies. Undone, Buddy Holly and Say it aint so are the picks. [First added to this chart: 11/06/2015]

Year of Release:

1994

Appears in:

1,430 charts

Rank Score:

16,871

Rank in 1994:

4

Rank in 1990s:

15

Overall Rank:

78

Average Rating:

 84 (1,894 votes)

Comments:

138

20. (=)

Paranoid 

 Black Sabbath

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Yes, just yes! Wow. I was a latecomer to the wonders of Sabbath - and what I had been missing all these years. Every track just works... War Pigs!!! Says enough really. [First added to this chart: 12/12/2015]

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

1,645 charts

Rank Score:

19,379

Rank in 1970:

1

Rank in 1970s:

18

Overall Rank:

56

Average Rating:

 86 (2,030 votes)

Comments:

136

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade	Albums	%
1930s	0	0%
1940s	0	0%
1950s	0	0%
1960s	7	7%
1970s	20	20%
1980s	14	14%
1990s	39	39%
2000s	17	17%
2010s	3	3%
2020s	0	0%

Artist	Albums	%
Pearl Jam	4	4%
Metallica	4	4%
Powderfinger	3	3%
The Beatles	3	3%
The Offspring	3	3%
Live	3	3%
Tool	3	3%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	55	55%
	25	25%
	9	9%
	4	4%
	4	4%
	1	1%
	1	1%
Show all

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest climbers
Up 14 from 26th to 12th Ride The Lightning by Metallica
Up 2 from 17th to 15th Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) by Led Zeppelin
Up 1 from 15th to 14th 10,000 Days by Tool

Biggest fallers
Down 9 from 13th to 22nd Saturation by Urge Overkill
Down 2 from 14th to 16th Metallica by Metallica
Down 1 from 12th to 13th Back In Black by AC/DC

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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 17 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
80/100	08/25/2022 10:08	joedec	71	83/100
90/100	06/27/2022 22:40	Rm12398	99	89/100
90/100	06/27/2022 18:44	Johnnyo	2,014	80/100
85/100	06/27/2022 08:35	wizardalien	31	88/100
90/100	04/10/2022 04:16	Moondance	455	84/100

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 10% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 87.9/100, a mean average of 89.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.1/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 5.5.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

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Rating:  

80/100

From joedec 08/25/2022 10:09

Pretty cool list overall. I'm pleasantly surprised that you ranked Metallica's And Justice For All in your top 5.

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

Rating:  

90/100

From Johnnyo 06/27/2022 18:44

Excellent chart

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

Rating:  

90/100

From Moondance 04/10/2022 04:21

Fabulous chart Fade2Black. Loved your opening comment - 'there are no rules to govern taste'. I really liked seeing Boy & Bear & Jeff Buckley and some golden oldies - Sticky Fingers, Tapestry, Tea For The Tillerman, Harvest (ie my vintage). You have canvassed all the decades and found lots of musical gems.

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

Rating:  

90/100

From AlvaroIesus 09/17/2021 02:59

interesting.

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

Rating:  

95/100

From mrmcrook 09/16/2021 22:18

Great list. 7 albums in common but so many other albums and artists that never quite made my top 100 but are on my decade and year lists. Love that Powderfinger & The Tea Party are in there. Like your notes as well.

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

Rating:  

90/100

From LedZep 07/10/2017 16:41

This is extremely interesting to browse. Your 3 favourite bands judging by the number of albums are some of my favourites too! Lots of things to discover here, and a strong possibility I'll rerate chart when I try Powderfinger and Live.

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

Rating:  

85/100

From vancevisuals 11/20/2016 17:26

Let It Bleed my favorite Stones
Love Sabbath and The Beatles of Course and Metallica has turned into one of the most underated bands of all time

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

Rating:  

90/100

From LordMark 01/26/2016 01:00

13 albums and 12 artists in common! And I'm happy to see that you've just added Soundgarden's Superunknown to your list.

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

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