Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by YikYak 
Music is really cool. Because no two people ever have the exact same favorites and rankings. It's not like ranking baseball teams, where the number of World Series wins and Hall-of-Famers really determine how legendary your team is. Music is completely open to interpretation and opinion, which is amazing.
I chose my favorites and did not take albums specifically based on commercial success, critical acclaim, or legacy. Everything on here is my personal opinion. Of course, I haven't listened to everything and there is still a lot I have on my album bucket list.
I have a personal bias to guitar-based rock and concept albums.
I considered limiting my chart to one album per artist, but I didn't want to do that. I love a lot of albums by a few artists, like Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age, Nirvana, The Beatles, and Pink Floyd, where I have at least 4 of their albums on my list. I wouldn't be able to choose just one album for these artists. A one album per artist limit would not show what I truly consider the 100 greatest albums of all time.
My tastes have changed considerably since I started really listening to music, so this chart will always evolve. Right now, I feel pretty satisfied with it, but tomorrow, I may not. The chart is going to change again and again. It is pretty much impossible to rank my favorites, so this is essentially the 100 albums that have stuck with me the most. And even these I could easily switch out for others, especially ones near the bottom.
Chart of the Day on: July 20th, 2016, March 15th, 2018, April 20th, 2022, February 18th, 2023, September 7th, 2023
- Chart updated: 12/02/2023 23:15
- (Created: 05/06/2016 12:45).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 39 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 92 out of 100 (from 85 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 1990s. (Remove this filter)
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In my opinion, the best metal album ever made. It's essentially the only metal album I find relaxing, so I consider it a stoner metal album, if that's a thing. QOTSA frontman Josh Homme used to play guitar here.
Key Track(s): Gardenia, Asteroid, Super Scoopa and Mighty Scoop, Space Cadet, Demon Cleaner, Whitewater
Key Lyric: "If only one thing that you'll know
Impostors from the show,
They'll try to trick you into,
Normal treatment,
Oh don't you listen to them say,
Shush them all away
I am the demon cleaner,
Madman saver,
I am the the freedom bleeder,
Standing naked here to say,
I'm the only way" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Key Track(s): Gardenia, Asteroid, Super Scoopa and Mighty Scoop, Space Cadet, Demon Cleaner, Whitewater
Key Lyric: "If only one thing that you'll know
Impostors from the show,
They'll try to trick you into,
Normal treatment,
Oh don't you listen to them say,
Shush them all away
I am the demon cleaner,
Madman saver,
I am the the freedom bleeder,
Standing naked here to say,
I'm the only way" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,666
Rank in 1994:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
17
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I still remember my first listen to OK Computer: just 20 seconds into Airbag, I knew that I had found something special. The rest of the album was no Let Down (yes the pun was intended haha). The A-side is the best ever in my opinion, but the B-side definitely has a drop in quality. It's still good, but doesn't maintain the greatness.
The 12 songs on this album are the 12 most frequently played songs on my laptop. Seriously.
Key Track(s): Airbag, Paranoid Android, Subterranean Homesick Alien, Exit Music (For a Film), Let Down, Karma Police, No Surprises, Lucky
Key Lyric: "You know, you know where you are with
You know where you are with
Floor collapsing
Floating, bouncing back
And one day....
I am going to grow wings
A chemical reaction
Hysterical and useless" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
The 12 songs on this album are the 12 most frequently played songs on my laptop. Seriously.
Key Track(s): Airbag, Paranoid Android, Subterranean Homesick Alien, Exit Music (For a Film), Let Down, Karma Police, No Surprises, Lucky
Key Lyric: "You know, you know where you are with
You know where you are with
Floor collapsing
Floating, bouncing back
And one day....
I am going to grow wings
A chemical reaction
Hysterical and useless" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
67,330
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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The first scream in Them Bones sets the tone right away and it never lets up.
Key Track(s): Them Bones, Dam that River, Down in a Hole, Rooster, Dirt, Angry Chair, Would?
Key Lyric: "Down in a hole and I don't know if I can be saved
See my heart I decorate it like a grave
Oh, you don't understand who they thought I was supposed to be
Look at me now I'm a man who won't let himself be" [First added to this chart: 05/13/2016]
Key Track(s): Them Bones, Dam that River, Down in a Hole, Rooster, Dirt, Angry Chair, Would?
Key Lyric: "Down in a hole and I don't know if I can be saved
See my heart I decorate it like a grave
Oh, you don't understand who they thought I was supposed to be
Look at me now I'm a man who won't let himself be" [First added to this chart: 05/13/2016]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,586
Rank in 1992:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
22. (=)
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Perfect album for pretty much every situation: driving, studying, relaxing, working out, partying. So many classics on here. I almost started to think that I didn't like this album as much. Well, I was wrong.
Key Track(s): Smells Like Teen Spirit, In Bloom, Come As You Are, Breed, Lithium, Drain You, Something in the Way
Key Lyric: "Underneath the bridge
The tarp has sprung a leak
And the animals I've trapped
Have all become my pets
And I'm living off of grass
And the drippings from the ceiling
It's okay to eat fish
'Cause they don't have any feelings" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Key Track(s): Smells Like Teen Spirit, In Bloom, Come As You Are, Breed, Lithium, Drain You, Something in the Way
Key Lyric: "Underneath the bridge
The tarp has sprung a leak
And the animals I've trapped
Have all become my pets
And I'm living off of grass
And the drippings from the ceiling
It's okay to eat fish
'Cause they don't have any feelings" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
39,447
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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This is one of those albums that needs to be heard. Not that well known, except among major music fans.
Key Track(s): King of Carrot Flowers Pt. I, King of Carrot Flowers Pts. II & III, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, Two-Headed Boy, Holland, 1945, Oh Comely, Two-Headed Boy Pt. II
Key Lyric: "And I know they buried her body with others,
Her sister and mother and five-hundred families.
And will she remember me fifty years later?
I wished I could save her in some sort of time machine.
Know all your enemies.
We know who our enemies are." [First added to this chart: 05/11/2016]
Key Track(s): King of Carrot Flowers Pt. I, King of Carrot Flowers Pts. II & III, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, Two-Headed Boy, Holland, 1945, Oh Comely, Two-Headed Boy Pt. II
Key Lyric: "And I know they buried her body with others,
Her sister and mother and five-hundred families.
And will she remember me fifty years later?
I wished I could save her in some sort of time machine.
Know all your enemies.
We know who our enemies are." [First added to this chart: 05/11/2016]
Year of Release:
1998
Appears in:
Rank Score:
34,656
Rank in 1998:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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One of my favorite debuts, and for good reason. I have always liked it more than (What's the Story) Morning Glory? but now it's becoming more of a toss up. Live Forever is a personal favorite song of mine.
Key Track(s): Rock n Roll Star, Live Forever, Up in the Sky, Supersonic, Cigarettes and Alcohol, Slide Away
Key Lyric: "Maybe I just wanna fly
Want to live I don't wanna die
Maybe I just wanna breathe
Maybe I just don't believe
Maybe you're the same as me
We see things they'll never see
You and I are gonna live forever" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Key Track(s): Rock n Roll Star, Live Forever, Up in the Sky, Supersonic, Cigarettes and Alcohol, Slide Away
Key Lyric: "Maybe I just wanna fly
Want to live I don't wanna die
Maybe I just wanna breathe
Maybe I just don't believe
Maybe you're the same as me
We see things they'll never see
You and I are gonna live forever" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11,516
Rank in 1994:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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This is the album that got me into Radiohead and for good reason. I used to do a college radio show and I liked to pick potential songs that I could play on my show. This was the only album where I picked every song as a potential for the show. When I want to introduce some to Radiohead, this is the album I show them. Street Spirit (Fade Out) may be the greatest album closer of all time.
Key Track(s): Planet Telex, The Bends, High and Dry, Fake Plastic Trees, (Nice Dream), Just, My Iron Lung, Black Star, Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Key Lyric: "She looks like the real thing
She tastes like the real thing
My fake plastic love
But I can't help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling
If I just turn and run" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Key Track(s): Planet Telex, The Bends, High and Dry, Fake Plastic Trees, (Nice Dream), Just, My Iron Lung, Black Star, Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Key Lyric: "She looks like the real thing
She tastes like the real thing
My fake plastic love
But I can't help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling
If I just turn and run" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Year of Release:
1995
Appears in:
Rank Score:
30,435
Rank in 1995:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Iconic classic. Generally considered their best, but I think it's a toss-up between this and their debut. Essentially Oasis' greatest hits save a few from Definitely Maybe.
Key Track(s): Don't Look Back In Anger, Some Might Say, Cast No Shadow, Morning Glory, Champagne Supernova
Key Lyric: "So I'll start a revolution from my bed
'Cause you said the brains I had went to my head
Step outside, summertime's in bloom
Stand up beside the fireplace
Take that look from off your face
You ain't ever gonna burn my heart out" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Key Track(s): Don't Look Back In Anger, Some Might Say, Cast No Shadow, Morning Glory, Champagne Supernova
Key Lyric: "So I'll start a revolution from my bed
'Cause you said the brains I had went to my head
Step outside, summertime's in bloom
Stand up beside the fireplace
Take that look from off your face
You ain't ever gonna burn my heart out" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Year of Release:
1995
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,883
Rank in 1995:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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This feels like an instrumental journey with some sporadic vocals, kinda like a movie in sound form. Definitely an influence for Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Key Track(s): Yes! I Am a Long Way from Home, Like Herod, Tracy, Summer (Priority Version), R U Still in 2 It, Mogwai Fear Satan
Key Lyric: "We should go into town and spend some money
We could go to the pictures and see something funny
We'd share a popcorn and we can go to the pub at night
We can get right tanked up and and go home and have a fight" [First added to this chart: 02/24/2017]
Key Track(s): Yes! I Am a Long Way from Home, Like Herod, Tracy, Summer (Priority Version), R U Still in 2 It, Mogwai Fear Satan
Key Lyric: "We should go into town and spend some money
We could go to the pictures and see something funny
We'd share a popcorn and we can go to the pub at night
We can get right tanked up and and go home and have a fight" [First added to this chart: 02/24/2017]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,824
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Before Kyuss hit it big with Welcome to Sky Valley, they broke through to the mainstream with this classic. Everything Josh Homme has a hand in is always really good.
Key Track(s): Thumb, Green Machine, 50 Million Year Trip, Freedom Run, Mondo Generator
Key Lyric: "I see pretty flowers at my feet
cool breeze, clean air, hospitality,
pretty please, a pretty please, pretty please,
get the hell away from me" [First added to this chart: 05/13/2016]
Key Track(s): Thumb, Green Machine, 50 Million Year Trip, Freedom Run, Mondo Generator
Key Lyric: "I see pretty flowers at my feet
cool breeze, clean air, hospitality,
pretty please, a pretty please, pretty please,
get the hell away from me" [First added to this chart: 05/13/2016]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
870
Rank in 1992:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 27. Page 1 of 3
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 15 | 15% | |
| 1970s | 11 | 11% | |
| 1980s | 6 | 6% | |
| 1990s | 27 | 27% | |
| 2000s | 30 | 30% | |
| 2010s | 11 | 11% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Queens Of The Stone Age | 6 | 6% | |
| Radiohead | 5 | 5% | |
| Pink Floyd | 5 | 5% | |
| The Beatles | 5 | 5% | |
| Nirvana | 4 | 4% | |
| Muse | 3 | 3% | |
| Cage The Elephant | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 63rd to 64th Black Holes And Revelations by Muse |
| Down 1 from 64th to 65th Lullabies To Paralyze by Queens Of The Stone Age |
| Down 1 from 65th to 66th Boston by Boston |
| New entries |
|---|
 Fever To Tellby Yeah Yeah Yeahs |
| Let England Shake by PJ Harvey |
| Leavers |
|---|
 Stories From The City, Stories From The Seaby PJ Harvey |
| The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
92/100 (from 85 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 85 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 90/100  | 02/19/2023 04:28 | Moondance | | 85/100 |
| 90/100 | 02/18/2023 16:15 | Johnnyo | | 80/100 |
| 85/100 | 04/25/2022 17:09 |  Cytoma | | 90/100 |
| 95/100 | 04/20/2022 13:50 | wizardalien | | 88/100 |
| 95/100 | 11/30/2021 19:44 |  Mercury | | 95/100 |
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 92.2/100, a mean average of 91.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 93.0/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 9.2.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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90/100
From Moondance 02/19/2023 04:38
With 17 artists and 10 albums in common, there is a shared love of certain artists/albums. There is also a big divide between us in other music preferences - which to quote you: "Music is completely open to interpretation and opinion, which is amazing".
That said, I find this chart and the comments within it to be some of the best I have seen on this site ~ & I greatly appreciate the time & effort required to make insightful, considered commentary.
Love that you have 3 albums from Australia, including a few outliers. Although not in my top 100, I do have Atlas Genius in my year chart ~ so we are in quite a distinguished minority group there ~ all power to us!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From Johnnyo 02/18/2023 16:16
Really great chart. Great comments too. I keep on trying to get my act together to add more description to my charts but always get distracted. Great job
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From 
sssvnnn 02/28/2021 18:37
sssvnnn 02/28/2021 18:37
good chart.
Very good top 10.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From mrmcrook 02/17/2021 03:52
Well done. Best of all lists I've looked at. Know and love 80% of whats on it. Will be checking out that which I haven't heard. Double thumbs up. Great notes as well.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
jdenny2018 11/06/2018 17:52
jdenny2018 11/06/2018 17:52
"Music is really cool" should be the motto for this website.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From 
ForegroundNoise 11/06/2018 09:42
ForegroundNoise 11/06/2018 09:42
I'd already given this chart a rating but since it's chart of the day I'll leave a comment.
Love the passion that comes through on your chart. Even though I'd disagree with that interpretation of Kid A (I'd give that distinction to HTTT since it was the album that Thom Yorke wrote a lot of lyrics about shielding yuor child from the cruelty of the world after the birth of his firstborn) I share your love of that album and our chart's descriptions are spookily similar! - nice to see a like-minded music fan.
Since you are a self-professed lover of 'guitar-based rock and concept albums' then I'll give you a rec in that order: The Microphones' 'The Glow Pt.2' has a loose concept of a figure who feels disconnected from the world of modernity (I Want Wind To Blow, My Roots Are Strong And Deep, I Want To Be Cold, I Felt My Size) who experiences love and loss (I Am Bored, I Felt Your Shape) before resolving to reconnect to the elemental world through his suicide (Samurai Sword) with the album closing to the sound of the narrator's blood pouring back into the earth from whence he came (My Warm Blood).
This one's a personal favourite I think you'd enjoy but feel free to check out my chart since I think there's a number of things there you might like!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
60/100
From 
Boltzmann 03/16/2018 15:42
Boltzmann 03/16/2018 15:42
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -4 votes (1 helpful | 5 unhelpful)
90/100
From n8rob 03/16/2018 15:34
Dang, good stuff!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
80/100
From SamNassiri98 03/16/2018 14:48
A lot of albums in common which is good but the ranking leaves a lot to be desired. I appreciate the effort you took in writing above each album.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From Ulf 03/16/2018 09:56
Really great stuff with great descriptions!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.