Top 40 Greatest Music Albums
by 
craola 
changes were made. out with the novelty collection. in with the desert island selection.
- Chart updated: 07/13/2026 06:15
- (Created: 02/11/2016 20:44).
- Chart size: 40 albums.
There are 26 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 40 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 91 out of 100 (from 65 votes). Please log in or create an account to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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Available from
Manic
[First added to this chart: 03/29/2016]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,141
Rank in 1963:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
Peaceful
[First added to this chart: 06/26/2018]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,339
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
Anxious
[First added to this chart: 07/11/2016]
Year of Release:
2003
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,854
Rank in 2003:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
Passionate
[First added to this chart: 10/03/2018]
Year of Release:
1965
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,088
Rank in 1965:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
Spiritual
[First added to this chart: 01/26/2022]
Available from
Wild
[First added to this chart: 01/15/2024]
Available from
Earnest
[First added to this chart: 01/30/2022]
Available from
Longing
[First added to this chart: 12/06/2021]
Available from
Heartbreaking
[First added to this chart: 01/13/2017]
Available from
Visceral
[First added to this chart: 02/12/2020]
Total albums: 40. Page 1 of 4
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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 6 | 15% | |
| 1970s | 1 | 3% | |
| 1980s | 4 | 10% | |
| 1990s | 8 | 20% | |
| 2000s | 9 | 23% | |
| 2010s | 10 | 25% | |
| 2020s | 2 | 5% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Gidon Kremer | 1 | 3% | |
| Jeff Buckley | 1 | 3% | |
| Broadcast | 1 | 3% | |
| Björk | 1 | 3% | |
| Jerusalem Quartet | 1 | 3% | |
| Harold Budd / Simon Raymonde / Robin Guthrie / Elizabeth Fraser | 1 | 3% | |
| The Blue Nile | 1 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
15 | 38% | |
 |
9 | 23% | |
 |
6 | 15% | |
 |
2 | 5% | |
 |
2 | 5% | |
 |
2 | 5% | |
 |
1 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
Down 15 from 19th to 34th |
Down 1 from 34th to 35th |
Down 1 from 35th to 36th |
| New entries |
|---|
| Leavers |
|---|
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 20 Music Albums of the 2010s | craola | 2010s decade chart | 2023 | |
| Live / In Concert | craola | Custom chart | 2024 | |
| Top 20 Music Albums of the 1960s | craola | 1960s decade chart | 2022 | |
| Top 20 Music Albums of 2019 | craola | 2019 year chart | 2023 | |
| Top 25 Music Albums of the 1960s |  mickilennial | 1960s decade chart | 2023 |  |
| Top 20 Music Albums of 1997 |  imjoebro | 1997 year chart | 2019 |  |
| Top 20 Music Albums of 1997 | craola | 1997 year chart | 2023 | |
| Top 30 Music Albums of the 1990s | RealSlimFatty | 1990s decade chart | 2020 | |
| Top 20 Music Albums of the 2000s | craola | 2000s decade chart | 2024 | |
| Top 20 Greatest Music Albums | music1957 | Overall chart | 2010 |  |
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)
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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 3 ratings for this chart. | Show all 65 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 03/05/2025 18:28 | DrewHamster | 314 | 79/100 |
| ! | 03/02/2025 11:20 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,090 | 86/100 |
| ! | 01/15/2025 17:00 | Exist-en-ciel | 166 | 97/100 |
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 90.6/100, a mean average of 89.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 91.3/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 14.0.
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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums forum mentions
This chart has been referenced 8 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From craola 11/24/2021 20:29 in DRIvel(s) circa 2015-2026
craola 11/24/2021 20:29 in DRIvel(s) circa 2015-2026“finally updated my . capped it off at 20, as i do all my charts. was a pretty tough list to prune down. toughest cuts to make included larry coryell, autechre, modest mouse, sonny sharrock, spartan fidelity, drexciya, amon tobin, rahsaan roland kirk, alice coltrane, u2, shye ben-tzur, najma, pram,…”
View forum post →From 
BestEverAlbums 10/19/2021 08:00 in Chart of the day (#3647): By craola
BestEverAlbums 10/19/2021 08:00 in Chart of the day (#3647): By craola“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by craola () 1. The Return Of The 5000 Lb. Man by Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1976) 2. Afro-Harping by Dorothy Ashby (1968) 3. Love And Devotion by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1988) 4. New Heroin by A Neon Rome (1986) 5. Baabel by Leïla Martial (2016) 6.…”
View forum post →From BestEverAlbums 02/03/2021 09:00 in Chart of the day (#3390): By craola
BestEverAlbums 02/03/2021 09:00 in Chart of the day (#3390): By craola“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by craola () 1. The Return Of The 5000 Lb. Man by Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1976) 2. Afro-Harping by Dorothy Ashby (1968) 3. Love And Devotion by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (2013) 4. New Heroin by A Neon Rome (1986) 5. Baabel by Leïla Martial (2016) 6.…”
View forum post →Top 40 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From
doubleA 10/03/2019 21:11 | #243362
doubleA 10/03/2019 21:11 | #243362
An immensely lovely and grabbing list! Could use a bit more from the 70's and 60's, but that's definitely not a problem. The diversity along with the sense of personality really makes this one stand out in the best way possible. Really digging this! (Edited)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 3
From
Thad 11/24/2019 23:05 | #245144
I had commented before but here again because I really enjoyed your bandcamp. Cool to see where the influences lie -- could definitely guess you were a Modest Mouse fan from "Wither w/o Her" for example! Wasn't surprised to see our tastes were similar. You do some really cool stuff with sound design, I like that your diversity too.
95/100 just because there are a handful of artists that dominate the chart, but I really love those acts so not much of a detriment.
(Edited)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2
From
JulianR TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/13/2017 20:54 | #203069
JulianR TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/13/2017 20:54 | #203069
Interesting list. There are definitely some good picks buried in there. I can't get behind the unranked nature of it, I'm sure you understand. I also understand it can be very hard to rank them. I would be intrigued to know how you would though.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2
From
buzzdainer TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/21/2019 21:46 | #245061
buzzdainer TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/21/2019 21:46 | #245061
I appreciate your efforts to put into words the ineffable qualities of music, even though it might feel like a futile gesture. I'm also glad to see Arcade Fire's Funeral on your overall list--just emphasizes what a truly great, genre-defying record it is. (Edited)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2
From
ForegroundNoise 03/11/2019 09:30 | #233372
ForegroundNoise 03/11/2019 09:30 | #233372
Wanted to leave a new comment since it's chart of the day again-
This chart really is beaut; I like your style and some notes would really top it off for me. Only thing that maybe could do with some touching up is for someone who has rated so many albums, you've comparatively rated not so many from the 60s & 70s? Those decades deserve a little more recognition and diversity in my book ... here's a few underground favourites of mine from that era which hopefully you enjoy:
The Red Crayola - The Parable Of Arable Land (1967)
Amon Duul II - Phallus Dei (1969)
Nico - Desertshore (1970)
Alice Coltrane - Journey In Satchidananda (1971)
Sun Ra - Lanquidity (1978)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 1
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