Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by 
Onater 
I've been listening to music as albums rather than individual songs since July 2015, and every album on this list is one I have discovered in that time. I previously had 3 favourite tracks from each album in chronological order. I changed that to 2-5 favourite tracks from each in order from best to worst, but now I've decided that I don't need any limit on how many favourite tracks.
I've pretty much moved this over to Rateyourmusic at https://rateyourmusic.com/list/Onater/onaters-top-however-many-albums-2/ because they allow more than 100 there.
Just updated this for the first time in a while and good god was it out of date. The comments and favourite tracks probably still are but whatever. I may have cheated a bit and snuck in a compilation or two.
My Top 20 songs of all time:
20. Tim Buckley - Song To The Siren (Starsailor, 1970)
19. Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come (Ain't That Good News, 1964)
18. Kermit - The Rainbow Connection (The Muppet Movie, 1979)
17. Television - Marquee Moon (Marquee Moon, 1977)
16. Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road (Born To Run, 1975)
15. Joanna Newsom - Peach, Plum, Pear (The Milk-Eyed Mender, 2004)
14. LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends (Sound Of Silver, 2007)
13. Animal Collective - Fireworks (Strawberry Jam, 2007)
12. Sonic Youth - The Diamond Sea (Washing Machine, 1995)
11. Gordon Lightfoot - If You Could Read My Mind (If You Could Read My Mind, 1970)
10. Car Seat Headrest - Beach Life-In-Death (Twin Fantasy, 2018)
9. Joanna Newsom - Cosmia (Ys, 2006)
8. R.E.M. - Nightswimming (Automatic For The People, 1992)
7. Joanna Newsom - Sawdust & Diamonds (Ys, 2006)
6. The Tragically Hip - Escape Is At Hand For The Travellin' Man (Phantom Power, 1998)
5. David Bowie - "Heroes" ("Heroes", 1977)
4. Talking Heads - This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) (Speaking In Tongues, 1983)
3. The Tragically Hip - Bobcaygeon (Phantom Power, 1998)
2. Joanna Newsom - Only Skin (Ys, 2006)
1. The Tragically Hip - Ahead By A Century (Trouble At The Henhouse, 1996)
- Chart updated: 07/26/2019 07:15
- (Created: 04/30/2016 05:27).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 31 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 92 out of 100 (from 88 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 56,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
Buy album 
- #Sponsored
"And if the love of a woman or two, dear, couldn't move you to such heights, then all I can do is do, my darling, right by you."
I used to have a big blurb here about how this is the greatest piece of art ever created by humans but every time I read it over I cringe so I'll just let you fill it out for yourself from the fact that it's at the top of the list.
First listen August 2016
Favourite Tracks: Only Skin, Sawdust & Diamonds, Cosmia [First added to this chart: 08/25/2016]
I used to have a big blurb here about how this is the greatest piece of art ever created by humans but every time I read it over I cringe so I'll just let you fill it out for yourself from the fact that it's at the top of the list.
First listen August 2016
Favourite Tracks: Only Skin, Sawdust & Diamonds, Cosmia [First added to this chart: 08/25/2016]
Year of Release:
2006
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,812
Rank in 2006:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
87
Buy album
- #Sponsored
"It'll take some time, but somewhere down the line, we won't be alone."
If you had told me a year ago that a straighforward indie rock album released in 2018 could make my top 3 albums of all time, I wouldn't believed you. Especially not one from Car Seat Headrest. For a long time my only exposure to this band was through 2016's Teens of Denial, an album that I thought that, despite having some great high points, was a very bland, unexciting, commercial Strokes knockoff. It wasn't until late 2017 that I heard the original 2011 Twin Fantasy, and I immediately fell in love with it, and my opinion on the band changed completely - and when I heard that they were going to re-record it, I was upset. I was sure that it would be turned into a watered-down commercialized Teens of Denial-esque version, and that wasn't what I wanted for that album at all. So the original continued growing on me, and it finally made it to that glorious 5 star rating just a week before the new version came out. And I never would have expected to say this, but the new version is better. In almost every way. I've barely listened to the 2011 one since this came out - the only real advantage that it has over this is Will's vocal performance, the monologue on Nervous Young Inhumans (I miss galvanism!) and the whole 'sincerity' factor. I mean, they're both 10/10 albums, but, in addition to the better production, this one also has the extended version of Famous Prophets, which alone is enough to push it above the original, and the different/more optimistic monologue at the end of the title track. I still think that the original is essential to listen to before hearing this, but I definitely consider this the superior version. But even setting aside the differences between the versions, I didn't expect to like this album, either version, as much as I did. But the themes, the lyrics, the angst, oh that glorious angst, it was exactly what I needed during that first half of 2018, my final year of high school. I can't begin to count the times I screamed along to Beach Life-In-Death while driving to school, or the amount of hope I found in the simplicity of My Boy, or how strongly I could relate to almost every song on the album as much as I despise myself for it. I guess there's a bit of gay furry in all of us.
First listen February 2018
Favourite Tracks: Beach Life-In-Death, Famous Prophets (Stars), Bodys, My Boy (Twin Fantasy), Sober To Death, Nervous Young Inhumans [First added to this chart: 03/23/2018]
If you had told me a year ago that a straighforward indie rock album released in 2018 could make my top 3 albums of all time, I wouldn't believed you. Especially not one from Car Seat Headrest. For a long time my only exposure to this band was through 2016's Teens of Denial, an album that I thought that, despite having some great high points, was a very bland, unexciting, commercial Strokes knockoff. It wasn't until late 2017 that I heard the original 2011 Twin Fantasy, and I immediately fell in love with it, and my opinion on the band changed completely - and when I heard that they were going to re-record it, I was upset. I was sure that it would be turned into a watered-down commercialized Teens of Denial-esque version, and that wasn't what I wanted for that album at all. So the original continued growing on me, and it finally made it to that glorious 5 star rating just a week before the new version came out. And I never would have expected to say this, but the new version is better. In almost every way. I've barely listened to the 2011 one since this came out - the only real advantage that it has over this is Will's vocal performance, the monologue on Nervous Young Inhumans (I miss galvanism!) and the whole 'sincerity' factor. I mean, they're both 10/10 albums, but, in addition to the better production, this one also has the extended version of Famous Prophets, which alone is enough to push it above the original, and the different/more optimistic monologue at the end of the title track. I still think that the original is essential to listen to before hearing this, but I definitely consider this the superior version. But even setting aside the differences between the versions, I didn't expect to like this album, either version, as much as I did. But the themes, the lyrics, the angst, oh that glorious angst, it was exactly what I needed during that first half of 2018, my final year of high school. I can't begin to count the times I screamed along to Beach Life-In-Death while driving to school, or the amount of hope I found in the simplicity of My Boy, or how strongly I could relate to almost every song on the album as much as I despise myself for it. I guess there's a bit of gay furry in all of us.
First listen February 2018
Favourite Tracks: Beach Life-In-Death, Famous Prophets (Stars), Bodys, My Boy (Twin Fantasy), Sober To Death, Nervous Young Inhumans [First added to this chart: 03/23/2018]
Year of Release:
2018
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,845
Rank in 2018:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
"Pick up here and chase the ride, the river empties to the tide. All of this is coming your way."
Really, this shouldn't be this high on the chart. It is a very straightforward pop rock album. Yet memories connected to it have, as they so often do, made it mean something to me that it doesn't quite mean to anyone else, and that alone justifies its place.
First listen March 2016
Favourite Tracks: Nightswimming, Find The River, The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite, Man On The Moon [First added to this chart: 05/17/2016]
Really, this shouldn't be this high on the chart. It is a very straightforward pop rock album. Yet memories connected to it have, as they so often do, made it mean something to me that it doesn't quite mean to anyone else, and that alone justifies its place.
First listen March 2016
Favourite Tracks: Nightswimming, Find The River, The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite, Man On The Moon [First added to this chart: 05/17/2016]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,590
Rank in 1992:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
"Elation. Elegance. Exaltation. All from God. Thank you God. Amen."
First listen June 2016
Favourite Tracks: Psalm, Acknowledgement [First added to this chart: 10/07/2016]
First listen June 2016
Favourite Tracks: Psalm, Acknowledgement [First added to this chart: 10/07/2016]
Year of Release:
1965
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,261
Rank in 1965:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
"At some point it stops."
Favourite Tracks: Pile! No Pile! Pile!, Bug-Infested Floorboards — Can We Please Just Leave This Place Now, Please Don't Cry They Stopped Hours Ago, A Highway Got Paved Over My Future I Drive It Getting To School, The Blah Blah Blahs [First added to this chart: 05/31/2019]
Favourite Tracks: Pile! No Pile! Pile!, Bug-Infested Floorboards — Can We Please Just Leave This Place Now, Please Don't Cry They Stopped Hours Ago, A Highway Got Paved Over My Future I Drive It Getting To School, The Blah Blah Blahs [First added to this chart: 05/31/2019]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
"And now we rise, and we are everywhere."
First listen August 2016
Favourite Tracks: From The Morning, Pink Moon, Place To Be, Road, Which Will, Things Behind The Sun [First added to this chart: 08/01/2017]
First listen August 2016
Favourite Tracks: From The Morning, Pink Moon, Place To Be, Road, Which Will, Things Behind The Sun [First added to this chart: 08/01/2017]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,451
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
"Myself, I long for love and light, but must it come so cruel, and oh so bright?"
First listen November 2016
Favourite Tracks: Sing Another Song Boys, Famous Blue Raincoat, Joan Of Arc, Avalanche, Last Year's Man [First added to this chart: 12/19/2016]
First listen November 2016
Favourite Tracks: Sing Another Song Boys, Famous Blue Raincoat, Joan Of Arc, Avalanche, Last Year's Man [First added to this chart: 12/19/2016]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,720
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
"Why can't we all just walk away."
I'm considering this as the entire Inmost Light trilogy 'cause you just can't separate them from each other.
Favourite Tracks: The Starres Are Marching Sadly Home, The Blood Bells Chime, Calling For Vanished Faces II, The Frolic, Patripassian, The Inmost Light Itself [First added to this chart: 04/15/2019]
I'm considering this as the entire Inmost Light trilogy 'cause you just can't separate them from each other.
Favourite Tracks: The Starres Are Marching Sadly Home, The Blood Bells Chime, Calling For Vanished Faces II, The Frolic, Patripassian, The Inmost Light Itself [First added to this chart: 04/15/2019]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
"Because when you see the face of God, you will die, and there will be nothing left of you, except the God-man, the God-woman, the heavenly man, the heavenly woman the heavenly child."
First listen October 2016
Favourite Tracks: She Dreamt She Was A Bulldozer She Dreamt She Was Alone In An Empty Field, Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven, Gathering Storm / Il Pleut À Mourir (+Clatters Like Worry), Broken Windows Locks Of Love Pt. III / 3rd Part [First added to this chart: 11/03/2016]
First listen October 2016
Favourite Tracks: She Dreamt She Was A Bulldozer She Dreamt She Was Alone In An Empty Field, Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven, Gathering Storm / Il Pleut À Mourir (+Clatters Like Worry), Broken Windows Locks Of Love Pt. III / 3rd Part [First added to this chart: 11/03/2016]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,280
Rank in 2000:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
"That is all, that is all, there is nothing else."
Favourite Tracks: Turn the Light On, Words I Hear, I Shall Love 2, I Shall Love 1, Underneath The Moon [First added to this chart: 05/31/2019]
Favourite Tracks: Turn the Light On, Words I Hear, I Shall Love 2, I Shall Love 1, Underneath The Moon [First added to this chart: 05/31/2019]
Year of Release:
2018
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,349
Rank in 2018:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 4 | 4% | |
| 1960s | 9 | 9% | |
| 1970s | 16 | 16% | |
| 1980s | 11 | 11% | |
| 1990s | 24 | 24% | |
| 2000s | 23 | 23% | |
| 2010s | 13 | 13% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Joanna Newsom | 4 | 4% | |
| Radiohead | 3 | 3% | |
| Swans | 3 | 3% | |
| Tom Waits | 3 | 3% | |
| Kendrick Lamar | 2 | 2% | |
| John Coltrane | 2 | 2% | |
| Joy Division | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 14 from 19th to 5th Just Got Back From The Discomfort - We're Alright by The Brave Little Abacus |
| Up 11 from 88th to 77th Dummy by Portishead |
| Up 11 from 72nd to 61st F♯ A♯ ∞ [F-Sharp, A-Sharp, Infinity] (LP Version) by Godspeed You! Black Emperor |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 14 from 68th to 82nd The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady by Charles Mingus |
| Down 12 from 71st to 83rd Since I Left You by The Avalanches |
| Down 11 from 74th to 85th For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver |
| Leavers |
|---|
 In A Silent Wayby Miles Davis |
| Blood On The Tracks by Bob Dylan |
| Push The Sky Away by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds |
| At The Mountains Of Madness by Electric Masada |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The BEA Friendly Chart |  alelsupreme | Custom chart | 2015 |  |
| BEA forum regulars top 100 |  HigherThanTheSun | Custom chart | 2014 | |
| BEA Forum Regulars' Top 100 (2015) | HigherThanTheSun | Custom chart | 2015 | |
| BEA+RYM Overall Rank | Imaybeparanoid | Custom chart | 2017 |  |
| TOP 100 IN THE FUTURE |  exileonthehell | Custom chart | 2016 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | bcaie16 | Overall chart | 2013 | |
| An Objective Ranking Of BEA'S Top 100... |  covecove | Custom chart | 2017 |  |
| Albums with the Best Songs | Imaybeparanoid | Custom chart | 2017 | |
| Top 92 Greatest Music Albums | ross93 | Overall chart | 2017 | |
| essential dank memes for all you plebs |  HazeyTwilight | Custom chart | 2015 |  |
Top 100 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 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
92/100 (from 88 votes)
where:
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 88 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 90/100  | 03/25/2025 20:14 | DrewHamster | | 79/100 |
85/100 | 03/20/2025 15:23 | SomethingSpecial | | 85/100 |
100/100 | 01/15/2025 16:35 | Exist-en-ciel | | 99/100 |
95/100 | 03/30/2021 01:12 |  DriftingOrpheus | | 91/100 |
| 100/100 | 11/29/2019 15:48 |  ForegroundNoise | | 87/100 |
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 1% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 91.9/100, a mean average of 92.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 92.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 6.9.
Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
Showing all 14 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 31 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
100/100
From ForegroundNoise 11/29/2019 15:49
ForegroundNoise 11/29/2019 15:49
Not sure why I hadn't already given this 100, since your chart is obviously a brilliant labour of love. One of my faves on this site for sure!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From Timooosterink 11/29/2019 10:27
nice
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From pctrooper 10/04/2019 19:14
Great choices. you crushed it.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From Timooosterink 08/12/2019 11:06
Nice chart! I like the effort you have put into this
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
gidgidi 06/14/2019 13:34
gidgidi 06/14/2019 13:34
Great picks!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From mianfei 06/14/2019 07:10
It is rare to see a chart with so many as sixteen artists in common with my own (this figure includes Steven Osborne for his Messiaen works). Moreover, there are others in my large backlog of recordings to listen to , including ‘Escalator Over the Hill’.
One recording I would recommend you that it seems you haven’t heard is ‘I’m the One’ by Annette Peacock. Little-known on this site, ‘I’m the One’ is undoubtedly a masterful work of soul power that surpasses most black artists at soul music. The title track and ‘Pony’ turn funk into lush soundscapes of both beauty and personal power.
Two other recommendations are the Trees Community’s ‘The Christ Tree’ and Victoria Williams’ ‘Swing the Statue’. These in many ways predate the “freak folk” of the mid-2000s by thirty and fifteen years respectively, with the former being the most beautifully transcendent psalms as communitarian music-making and the latter a deeply personal work of wonder at the beauty of little things.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
Glitterboiii 01/26/2019 18:36
Glitterboiii 01/26/2019 18:36
Fantastic chart! So many of my favorites up here!
Please update this like in any way so Twin Fantasy gets its points.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
100/100
From ForegroundNoise 12/10/2018 09:29
ForegroundNoise 12/10/2018 09:29
Absolutely love the notes you've added and the lyrics from each album too, really great stuff :)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Azbest2000 05/13/2018 17:54
Professionaly made list. You have an eclectic taste and it's clear to see that you are really interested in music.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
DommeDamian 11/24/2017 07:05
DommeDamian 11/24/2017 07:05
By any means one of the greatest charst, man. The descriptions really hits hard, as of how well-written and well-structured they are. Keep up the phenomenal work :)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment
Your feedback for Top 100 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.