Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by 
imimesis 
There are (still) so many albums that I want to hear, so I have undoubtedly missed something that will someday be in this list. As such, this reflects what I intentionally and carefully listened to and what stands apart from the crowd in some artistic or classic sense.
While I would like to keep the list to one album per artist, that just isn't possible when an artist is so good that they put out consistently excellent albums.
One final note: I recently moved Revolver to the top of the list and moved Modern Vampires of the City from #1 to #4. Absolute ranking is hard and anything in the top 10 could be arguably #1.
That is all for now.
- Chart updated: 09/25/2026 13:45
- (Created: 12/30/2015 17:08).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 21 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 54 votes). Please log in or create an account to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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[First added to this chart: 12/30/2015]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
46,089
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[First added to this chart: 12/30/2015]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,158
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[First added to this chart: 12/30/2015]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank Score:
38,492
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Available from
I surprised myself in putting this at the very top. Really, the "best album of all time"? Well, I'll just say that if the guiding principles of The Beatles, Paul Simon, Radiohead and Spoon mean anything (which they do in my book), then Vampire Weekend has somehow synthesized the pop/rock band, singer-songwriter, album-as-art elements so well as to give us this absolute gem, with perfect or near-perfect song from very beginning to very end.
[First added to this chart: 12/30/2015]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,719
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Rank in 2010s:
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[First added to this chart: 12/30/2015]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
26,306
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[First added to this chart: 12/30/2015]
Year of Release:
1965
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11,232
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Available from
[First added to this chart: 01/07/2016]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
35,044
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[First added to this chart: 12/31/2015]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,375
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[First added to this chart: 12/30/2015]
Year of Release:
1998
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,234
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Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,269
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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 | 2 | 2% | |
| 1960s | 14 | 14% | |
| 1970s | 23 | 23% | |
| 1980s | 10 | 10% | |
| 1990s | 18 | 18% | |
| 2000s | 17 | 17% | |
| 2010s | 12 | 12% | |
| 2020s | 4 | 4% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Beatles | 4 | 4% | |
| Bob Dylan | 3 | 3% | |
| Joanna Newsom | 3 | 3% | |
| Radiohead | 3 | 3% | |
| Joni Mitchell | 2 | 2% | |
| Arcade Fire | 2 | 2% | |
| Michael Jackson | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
48 | 48% | |
 |
34 | 34% | |
 |
6 | 6% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
Up 1 from 100th to 99th |
Up 1 from 99th to 98th |
Up 1 from 98th to 97th |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
Down 1 from 10th to 11th |
Down 1 from 11th to 12th |
Down 1 from 12th to 13th |
| New entries |
|---|
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Top 100 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 3 ratings for this chart. | Show all 54 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 8 hours ago |  CA Dreamin | 135 | 88/100 |
| ! | 10/27/2025 16:32 | stangetzaway | 175 | 89/100 |
| ! | 10/27/2025 08:56 |  MadhattanJack | 356 | 86/100 |
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 3% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.4/100, a mean average of 89.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.1/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 8.0.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums forum mentions
This chart has been referenced 12 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From 
BestEverAlbums 05/06/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5304): By imimesis
BestEverAlbums 05/06/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5304): By imimesis“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by ) 1. Revolver by The Beatles (1966) 2. I Never Loved A Man, The Way I Love You by Aretha Franklin (1967) 3. Kid A by Radiohead (2000) 4. Modern Vampires Of The City by Vampire Weekend (2013) 5. Remain In Light by Talking Heads (1980) 6.…”
View forum post →From BestEverAlbums 10/27/2025 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5114): By imimesis
BestEverAlbums 10/27/2025 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5114): By imimesis“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by () 1. Revolver by The Beatles (1966) 2. I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You by Aretha Franklin (1967) 3. Kid A by Radiohead (2000) 4. Modern Vampires Of The City by Vampire Weekend (2013) 5. Remain In Light by Talking Heads (1980) 6.…”
View forum post →From BestEverAlbums 04/15/2025 08:00 in Chart of the day (#4920): By imimesis
BestEverAlbums 04/15/2025 08:00 in Chart of the day (#4920): By imimesis“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by imimesis () 1. Revolver by The Beatles (1966) 2. I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You by Aretha Franklin (1967) 3. Kid A by Radiohead (2000) 4. Modern Vampires Of The City by Vampire Weekend (2013) 5. Remain In Light by Talking Heads…”
View forum post →Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From
LedZep TOP 100 COMMENTER 03/27/2019 23:02 | #234099
LedZep TOP 100 COMMENTER 03/27/2019 23:02 | #234099
Some of my 2nd tier favourites here, bands that aren't in my top 100 but could be on a different day. From Yo La Tengo and St. Vincent to Aphex Twin and Glass. Seems like the only thing I'm not a fan of here is Vampire Weekend lol. A great chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2
From
flyingcitrus 03/27/2019 15:16 | #234084
flyingcitrus 03/27/2019 15:16 | #234084
I like the amount of female artists here and I think that's an underrated aspect of a good chart and honestly something mine could be more inclusive of, too. I appreciate how much non-western music here too--a lot of good stuff to dig into!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2
From
ForegroundNoise 05/24/2018 10:39 | #215506
ForegroundNoise 05/24/2018 10:39 | #215506
Though I've got to say I'm really not a fan of Vampire Weekend this chart rules! Love the repping of female artists, I know I say this on every chart but some more notes maybe? :)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2
From
mianfei 12/08/2020 08:00 | #262250
A very good chart, Steeleye Span is particularly noteworthy. Although I have not fully heard them, the Books, Ella Fitzgerald and Wanda Jackson are worth noting as well. There are a few over-familiar choices here, but they are more than balanced by the number of exceptional records like ‘Divers’, ‘Lift Your Skinny Fists like Antennas to Heaven’, ‘Dummy’, ‘Hounds of Love’, and ‘Hejira’.
Some you may not have heard of but really would be worth your time to listen to:
— ‘New York Tendaberry’ by Laura Nyro
— ‘Parallelograms’ by Linda Perhacs
— ‘The Christ Tree’ by the Trees Community
— ‘St. Radigunds’ by Spirogyra
— ‘Swing the Statue’ by Victoria Williams
— ‘Native Speaker’ by Braids
— ‘Love Agenda’ by Band of Susans
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 1
From
thepurplemartin 09/12/2024 16:53 | #305255
Not enough Beatles
In all seriousness though, I see the IDM near the bottom, curious as to how early Amon Tobin stacks against Boards and Aphex with you. Also I’m a bit surprised to see Wish You Were Here that high but no Dark Side. Great list though, much respect to the classics (definitely my biggest gap in music knowledge) but some good contemporary stuff as well. (Edited)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 1
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