Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by carpents 
I realized I'm not very good at giving commentary on albums, because I don't always understand why I like what I like. (I can usually tell you why I *don't* like something though, which is more often.) I tried to comment on something relevant, maybe not insightful to the record but explaining why I like it.
- Chart updated: 03/09/2019 20:15
- (Created: 04/06/2016 22:51).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 14 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 88 out of 100 (from 35 votes). Please log in or create an account to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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I remember listening to 'Washer' (on cassette, no less) on the way to band practice, and being blown away. We were one of the many bands which heard it and shifted from power-chord garage rock to something deeper. I'm still amazed at how young these guys were when they wrote this music.
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11,548
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Got this album in the late 90s along with hundreds of other CDs. The first couple listens it felt abrasive. It finally broke through and I connected to the emotion in this album; I still don't even understand what he's saying all the time, but with this album you don't have to.
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1998
Appears in:
Rank Score:
29,789
Rank in 1998:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Sparse and beautiful.
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
2004
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,273
Rank in 2004:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
An entire album which feels like a nightmare. (In a good way.)
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
25,552
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
The height of the Pixies, and the height of Black Francis, which is a way better name than 'Frank Black'.
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
29,996
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
The final third of this album blows me away.
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,672
Rank in 1994:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
No one knows what is coming
or who will harvest what we have sown
or how I've been dulling and dumbing
in the service of the heart alone
2 hours of something which defies explanation. It's an extraordinary mixture of instruments and sounds, piano, harp, drums, clapping, sticks rattling, tambourines, horns, strings, something else? My first listen on headphones had my brain twitching from side to side hearing all of the cacophony in amazement of how seamlessly it all works. There are sparse songs too which are hauntingly beautiful and instantly transport me to this strange world that Joanna Newsom creates with tiny twists of phrase.
Her voice is smoother here than on her other works, but like all the random instrumentation it just fits. I wouldn't change a single word.
I was tired of being drunk
My face cracked like a joke
So I swung through here
like a brace of jackrabbits
with their necks all broke
God, you can't drop even one song lest you'd be left with a hollowed-out husk.
I try to reserve enough space to make it all the way through this album, and then feel like starting it right over.
It does not suffice for you to say I am a sweet girl
Or to say you hate to see me sad because of you
It does not suffice to merely lie beside each other
As those who love each other do [First added to this chart: 03/09/2019]
or who will harvest what we have sown
or how I've been dulling and dumbing
in the service of the heart alone
2 hours of something which defies explanation. It's an extraordinary mixture of instruments and sounds, piano, harp, drums, clapping, sticks rattling, tambourines, horns, strings, something else? My first listen on headphones had my brain twitching from side to side hearing all of the cacophony in amazement of how seamlessly it all works. There are sparse songs too which are hauntingly beautiful and instantly transport me to this strange world that Joanna Newsom creates with tiny twists of phrase.
Her voice is smoother here than on her other works, but like all the random instrumentation it just fits. I wouldn't change a single word.
I was tired of being drunk
My face cracked like a joke
So I swung through here
like a brace of jackrabbits
with their necks all broke
God, you can't drop even one song lest you'd be left with a hollowed-out husk.
I try to reserve enough space to make it all the way through this album, and then feel like starting it right over.
It does not suffice for you to say I am a sweet girl
Or to say you hate to see me sad because of you
It does not suffice to merely lie beside each other
As those who love each other do [First added to this chart: 03/09/2019]
Year of Release:
2010
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,533
Rank in 2010:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
So sad that he killed himself, I love where this album was going. Elliott Smith was brilliant and haunted, and so is his music.
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
2004
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,316
Rank in 2004:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
I never got into BTS in the 90s even though I listened to some of them. Maybe it was Doug Martsh's vocals, or the odd song structure. Re-discovered their albums in the 00s and something clicked. If I had to pick one song which encapsulates Built To Spill it would be 'Randy Described Eternity'.
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,795
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
I liked Pablo Honey, not initially but after a year or so. Then I loved The Bends, which seemed like a natural progression from Pablo. And then OK Computer came out, and I was amazed. It was anything but a natural progression, but something entirely new built upon their previous work.
Looking back it doesn't seem possible that Radiohead would be a 'one-hit' band, but with the Bends and OK Computer, Radiohead said "we don't care" and changed the game. I'm sure there was pressure for them to make another 'Creep' and I'm glad they didn't. [First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Looking back it doesn't seem possible that Radiohead would be a 'one-hit' band, but with the Bends and OK Computer, Radiohead said "we don't care" and changed the game. I'm sure there was pressure for them to make another 'Creep' and I'm glad they didn't. [First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
59,446
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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 | 4 | 4% | |
| 1970s | 7 | 7% | |
| 1980s | 9 | 9% | |
| 1990s | 38 | 38% | |
| 2000s | 23 | 23% | |
| 2010s | 17 | 17% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Smiths | 3 | 3% | |
| Built To Spill | 3 | 3% | |
| Radiohead | 2 | 2% | |
| The Afghan Whigs | 2 | 2% | |
| Suede | 2 | 2% | |
| Neutral Milk Hotel | 2 | 2% | |
| PJ Harvey | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
Up 23 from 88th to 65th |
Up 15 from 86th to 71st |
Up 8 from 29th to 21st |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
Down 15 from 31st to 46th |
Down 10 from 25th to 35th |
Down 7 from 17th to 24th |
| New entries |
|---|
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | carpents | 1990s decade chart | 2017 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | carpents | 2000s decade chart | 2019 | |
| Top Alternative Pop/Rock Albums | nas062080 | Custom chart | 2013 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | pdapperens | 1990s decade chart | 2015 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s |  flyingcitrus | 1990s decade chart | 2018 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | NamibiaStarr | 1990s decade chart | 2016 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s |  TheHolyKiwi | 1990s decade chart | 2015 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s |  calsper | 1990s decade chart | 2015 |  |
| JMGL95's Top 100: One Album per Artist Ver. |  JMGL95 | Custom chart | 2020 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s |  Montpejo | 1990s decade chart | 2025 |  |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)
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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 35 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 01/05/2026 16:21 | jnmayles | 34 | 91/100 |
| ! | 09/27/2025 19:45 | Johnnyo | 2,688 | 80/100 |
| ! | 03/24/2025 10:06 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,089 | 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 9% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.1/100, a mean average of 89.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.8/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 9.0.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
Showing all 4 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Forum mentions
This chart has been referenced 2 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From 
BestEverAlbums 02/26/2020 09:00 in Chart of the day (#3048): By carpents
BestEverAlbums 02/26/2020 09:00 in Chart of the day (#3048): By carpents“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by carpents () 1. Spiderland by Slint (1991) 2. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel (1998) 3. Seven Swans by Sufjan Stevens (2004) 4. Disintegration by The Cure (1989) 5. Doolittle by Pixies (1989) 6. The Downward Spiral by Nine…”
View forum post →From BestEverAlbums 12/24/2018 09:00 in Chart of the day (#2619): By carpents
BestEverAlbums 12/24/2018 09:00 in Chart of the day (#2619): By carpents“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by carpents () 1. Spiderland by Slint (1991) 2. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel (1998) 3. Seven Swans by Sufjan Stevens (2004) 4. Disintegration by The Cure (1989) 5. Strangeways, Here We Come by The Smiths (1987) 6. OK…”
View forum post →Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From
jnmayles 01/05/2026 16:21 | #312479
We're the only two on this site with Fuzz in our top 100 of all time. Had to check your chart out. You've got some stuff in here I've never heard that I'll have to check out. (Edited)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From
Johnnyo 09/27/2025 19:45 | #311116
Really, really like this chart. Great stuff (Edited)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From
Amirkhosro 02/27/2020 07:59 | #248281
Amirkhosro 02/27/2020 07:59 | #248281
I love this chart's vibe. Spiderland FTW
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From
bonnequestion 02/27/2020 01:09 | #248274
Very interesting chart with nice comments and a lot of personal picks, just like I love them! Good job!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From
gidgidi 10/12/2019 14:07 | #243677
gidgidi 10/12/2019 14:07 | #243677
Great chart. I feel like I don’t any more explanations, I think I got everything you said here :)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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