Top 40 Greatest Music Albums
by b00st 
This is my list of 40 favourite albums of all time. It is in other words a list with the 40 albums I like listening to the most. To me a truly great album must challenge the listener in some way, be full of surprises, yet be beautiful.
I abide by the "one album per artist-rule", although I try to comment if there's anything else worth checking out by that artist. And no 2011 in the list yet.
- Chart updated: 11/03/2011 04:25
- (Created: 02/21/2011 16:20).
- Chart size: 40 albums.
There are 17 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 40 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 82 out of 100 (from 16 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
The entries in this chart have a zero rank score because the chart has not been updated within the last ten years (points from overall charts are decayed over a ten year period).
View the complete list of 58,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
Buy album 
- #Sponsored
Not just the best album I've ever heard, but the album that opened up a new world of music to me. More: Lateralus, Aenima.
[First added to this chart: 02/27/2011]
Year of Release:
2006
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,131
Rank in 2006:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
The only serious contestant for the top spot. More: Themata
[First added to this chart: 02/27/2011]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
More: Deadwing, The Incident, In Absentia, Lightbulb Sun, Stupid Dream, Signify, Up The Downstair.
[First added to this chart: 02/27/2011]
Year of Release:
2007
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,884
Rank in 2007:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
More: No More Stories...
[First added to this chart: 02/27/2011]
Year of Release:
2003
Appears in:
Rank Score:
602
Rank in 2003:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 02/27/2011]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
More: Self Preserved While The Bodies Float Up
[First added to this chart: 02/27/2011]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 02/27/2011]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 02/27/2011]
Year of Release:
2009
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,719
Rank in 2009:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
More: Amputechture
[First added to this chart: 03/11/2011]
Year of Release:
2003
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,521
Rank in 2003:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
10. (=)
Safe Mode: On Certain images on this site may contain sensitive content and are flagged as 'unsafe'. BestEverAlbums.com does not display these images by default, but you may choose to show or hide these images from your profile page. If you choose to hide these images, you'll see an image with a warning message instead of the actual image. If you choose to show them, you'll see these images no differently than regular (safe) images.
Buy album
- #Sponsored
More: Lazarus Bird
[First added to this chart: 02/27/2011]
Total albums: 40. Page 1 of 4
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 1 | 3% | |
| 1970s | 1 | 3% | |
| 1980s | 1 | 3% | |
| 1990s | 3 | 8% | |
| 2000s | 32 | 80% | |
| 2010s | 2 | 5% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Cult Of Luna | 1 | 3% | |
| Coldplay | 1 | 3% | |
| Karnivool | 1 | 3% | |
| Damien Rice | 1 | 3% | |
| Sounds Like Violence | 1 | 3% | |
| Millencolin | 1 | 3% | |
| Porcupine Tree | 1 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
11 | 28% | |
| |
11 | 28% | |
 |
9 | 23% | |
 |
2 | 5% | |
 |
2 | 5% | |
 |
1 | 3% | |
 |
1 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 3 from 26th to 23rdParachutes by Coldplay |
| Up 1 from 21st to 20thFor Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver |
| Up 1 from 20th to 19thPanopticon by Isis |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 4 from 17th to 21stWish You Were Here by Pink Floyd |
| Down 1 from 23rd to 24thLife On A Plate by Millencolin |
| Down 1 from 24th to 25thIn The Court Of The Crimson King (An Observation By King Crimson) by King Crimson |
| New entries |
|---|
| Elementary by The End (CA) |
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 40 Greatest Music Albums | joshls | Overall chart | 2016 |  |
| Top 40 Greatest Music Albums | UomoGZR | Overall chart | 2018 |  |
| Top 40 Greatest Music Albums | magpie369 | Overall chart | 2016 |  |
| Top 25 Greatest Music Albums | thedobeshow | Overall chart | 2010 | |
| Top 25 Greatest Music Albums | andresbejar | Overall chart | 2010 | |
| Top 35 Greatest Music Albums | payam_tommy | Overall chart | 2011 | |
| Top 40 Greatest Music Albums | strep | Overall chart | 2010 | |
| Top 40 Greatest Music Albums | 95rosem | Overall chart | 2025 | |
| Top 40 Greatest Music Albums | BassHead82 | Overall chart | 2021 | |
| Top 40 Music Albums of the 2000s | VINYLGUY7788 | 2000s decade chart | 2025 | |
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!
Why register?
- Join a passionate community of over 50,000 music fans.
- Create & share your own charts.
- Have your say in the overall rankings.
- Post comments in the forums and vote on polls.
- Comment on or rate any album, artist, track or chart.
- Discover new music & improve your music collection.
- Customise the overall chart using a variety of different filters & metrics.
- Create a wishlist of albums.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- ... And lots more!
Register now - it only takes a moment!
Top 40 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 16 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 01/23/2017 01:19 | Seab | 2,005 | 93/100 |
| ! | 08/07/2013 00:14 |  sssvnnn | 2,866 | 83/100 |
| ! | 09/10/2012 21:58 |  Bach | 956 | 78/100 |
| ! | 10/18/2011 20:21 |  btener11 | 291 | 80/100 |
| ! | 07/18/2011 22:25 |  Triple Seis | 1,251 | 79/100 |
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 has a Bayesian average rating of 81.9/100, a mean average of 79.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 17.1.
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums favourites
Showing all 4 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 17 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)
From btener11 10/18/2011 20:22 | #28652
btener11 10/18/2011 20:22 | #28652
oh yeah...dirty projectors too!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From btener11 10/18/2011 20:21 | #28651
btener11 10/18/2011 20:21 | #28651
Let's see...I don't know some of the albums on your chart, dislike a few others, but the ones I love overshadow everything else. Props for Cult of Luna, Pain of Salvation, Tool, King Crimson, and especially, Talk Talk and Katatonia. Very nice!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
deadhouse 05/23/2011 01:27 | #22146
deadhouse 05/23/2011 01:27 | #22146
definite props for katatonia, gorgoroth, and mastodon! very nice list.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Zoso 05/19/2011 17:46 | #21990
Zoso 05/19/2011 17:46 | #21990
Man I could not get off Themata, only recently properly giving sound awake a go haha.. but it is incredible def a step up...
Will have to check out other stuff on your chart, any of it like Vool and DLC?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
dfulfo01 04/11/2011 05:49 | #20244
dfulfo01 04/11/2011 05:49 | #20244
yeah the almost! very nice
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Omid 03/25/2011 22:25 | #19563
Omid 03/25/2011 22:25 | #19563
I've checked out most of your list,and I really liked it,but I disagree with you on some of your choices,specially "Sound Awake".It lacks creativity and ambition(in comparison with Porcupine Tree).
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
AnthraxHamRadio 03/22/2011 18:18 | #19452
AnthraxHamRadio 03/22/2011 18:18 | #19452
Right! I'm revisiting your chart as promised. Partly due to your awesome choices and partly due to Mr 'buttfuck' Leonar, I'm raising your rating, buddy. You not a fan of Undertow and Frances the Mute?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Leonar 03/14/2011 22:45 | #19193
Cardigans, Coldplay, F-Mac along Gorgoroth, Opeth??
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Omid 03/11/2011 17:02 | #19127
Omid 03/11/2011 17:02 | #19127
Thrilled to see Blank Planet,but I'm still unfamiliar with some of your choices,so I like to check them out before rating.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From AnthraxHamRadio 02/21/2011 17:04 | #18604
AnthraxHamRadio 02/21/2011 17:04 | #18604
Seiously killer chart. Thanks for sharing. Gonna take a slightly different approach and give you a high rating based on albums I have listened to. If after listening to those I don't know there are some I don't like, I'll revisit and lower your rating. Happy with that?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Your feedback for Top 40 Greatest Music Albums
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
