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 2000s. (Remove this filter)
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This album is a concept album about having a kid and how it changes your life.
This was taken from another user, but I find it accurate:
1. Everything In its Right Place - that moment when you find out you're going to have your first kid and you need to get everything together.
2. Kid A - the baby is born.
3. The National Anthem - everything is crazy, as the kid gets older.
4. How To Disappear Completely - feeling out of control of your teenager.
5. Treefingers - Trying to switch off, from the pressures of life.
6. Optimistic - Feeling optimistic as your child has left home to build their own life.
7. In Limbo - Missing your child, not sure how to feel.
8. Idioteque - Doing things you couldn't do as your child controlled your life, everything is random!
9. Morning Bell - getting a divorce because nothing is keeping you together anymore.
10. Motion Picture Soundtrack - You have come to the end of your life and look back on old times and say goodbye to everyone.
At first, I was skeptical about this album. I didn't see the appeal. Now I see it. And wow. Just wow is all I can really say. It took a long time for me to recognize it, but now I truly can appreciate an absolute work of art. How To Disappear Completely leaves me speechless.
Key Track(s): Everything In Its Right Place, Kid A, The National Anthem, How to Disappear Completely, Optimistic, Idioteque, Morning Bell, Motion Picture Soundtrack
Key Lyric: "Stop sending letters
Letters always get burned
It's not like the movies
They fed us on little white lies
I think you're crazy, maybe
I think you're crazy, maybe
I will see you in the next life" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
This was taken from another user, but I find it accurate:
1. Everything In its Right Place - that moment when you find out you're going to have your first kid and you need to get everything together.
2. Kid A - the baby is born.
3. The National Anthem - everything is crazy, as the kid gets older.
4. How To Disappear Completely - feeling out of control of your teenager.
5. Treefingers - Trying to switch off, from the pressures of life.
6. Optimistic - Feeling optimistic as your child has left home to build their own life.
7. In Limbo - Missing your child, not sure how to feel.
8. Idioteque - Doing things you couldn't do as your child controlled your life, everything is random!
9. Morning Bell - getting a divorce because nothing is keeping you together anymore.
10. Motion Picture Soundtrack - You have come to the end of your life and look back on old times and say goodbye to everyone.
At first, I was skeptical about this album. I didn't see the appeal. Now I see it. And wow. Just wow is all I can really say. It took a long time for me to recognize it, but now I truly can appreciate an absolute work of art. How To Disappear Completely leaves me speechless.
Key Track(s): Everything In Its Right Place, Kid A, The National Anthem, How to Disappear Completely, Optimistic, Idioteque, Morning Bell, Motion Picture Soundtrack
Key Lyric: "Stop sending letters
Letters always get burned
It's not like the movies
They fed us on little white lies
I think you're crazy, maybe
I think you're crazy, maybe
I will see you in the next life" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank Score:
44,048
Rank in 2000:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
561
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I used to be a massive critic of this, but then I saw the light. It may take a few listens, but it is so worth it. An amazing album about growing up.
Key Track(s): Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), Neighborhood #2 (Laika), Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), Crown of Love, Wake Up, Rebellion (Lies), In the Backseat
Key Lyric: "Then, we tried to name our babies
But we forgot all the names that,
The names we used to know
But sometimes,
We remember our bedrooms and our parent's bedrooms and the bedrooms of our friends
Then we think of our parents...
Well, whatever happened to them?!" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Key Track(s): Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), Neighborhood #2 (Laika), Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), Crown of Love, Wake Up, Rebellion (Lies), In the Backseat
Key Lyric: "Then, we tried to name our babies
But we forgot all the names that,
The names we used to know
But sometimes,
We remember our bedrooms and our parent's bedrooms and the bedrooms of our friends
Then we think of our parents...
Well, whatever happened to them?!" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Year of Release:
2004
Appears in:
Rank Score:
35,689
Rank in 2004:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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I never would've guessed cartoons could write amazing music, but here we are...
Key Track(s): Kids With Guns, Dirty Harry, Feel Good Inc., Every Planet We Reach is Dead, Dare, Demon Days
Key Lyric: "I lost my leg like I lost my way
So no loose ends
Nothing to see me down
How are we going to work this out?" [First added to this chart: 06/02/2021]
Key Track(s): Kids With Guns, Dirty Harry, Feel Good Inc., Every Planet We Reach is Dead, Dare, Demon Days
Key Lyric: "I lost my leg like I lost my way
So no loose ends
Nothing to see me down
How are we going to work this out?" [First added to this chart: 06/02/2021]
Year of Release:
2005
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,053
Rank in 2005:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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All I have to say about this album is it starts at 100 and never lets up.
Key Track(s): Intertiatic ESP, Roulette Dares, Drunkship of Lanterns, Eria Tarka, Televators, Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt
Key Lyric: "Dolls wreck the minced meat of pupils
Cast in oblong arms length
The hooks have been picking their scabs
Where wolves hide in the company of men" [First added to this chart: 06/25/2016]
Key Track(s): Intertiatic ESP, Roulette Dares, Drunkship of Lanterns, Eria Tarka, Televators, Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt
Key Lyric: "Dolls wreck the minced meat of pupils
Cast in oblong arms length
The hooks have been picking their scabs
Where wolves hide in the company of men" [First added to this chart: 06/25/2016]
Year of Release:
2003
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,566
Rank in 2003:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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For a while, I just thought of this as the "spaceman album". It deserves more than that. A lot more. Each song perfectly transitions into the next.
Key Track(s): Sic Transit Gloria ... Glory Fades, I Will Play My Game Beneath the Spin Light, Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't, The Quiet Things that No One Ever Knows, The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot, Jaws Theme Swimming, Play Crack The Sky
Key Lyric: "My lungs are fresh and yours to keep,
Kept clean and they will let you breathe.
Is this the way a toy feels when its batteries run dry?
I am the watch you always wear but you forget to wind." [First added to this chart: 03/10/2017]
Key Track(s): Sic Transit Gloria ... Glory Fades, I Will Play My Game Beneath the Spin Light, Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't, The Quiet Things that No One Ever Knows, The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot, Jaws Theme Swimming, Play Crack The Sky
Key Lyric: "My lungs are fresh and yours to keep,
Kept clean and they will let you breathe.
Is this the way a toy feels when its batteries run dry?
I am the watch you always wear but you forget to wind." [First added to this chart: 03/10/2017]
Year of Release:
2003
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,517
Rank in 2003:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
16. (=)
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...Speaking of the Strokes-Everyone's favorite garage rock record - one of the best debuts of all time.
Key Track(s): Is This It, Barely Legal, Someday, Last Nite, Hard to Explain, Take It or Leave It
Key Lyric: "I say the right things but act the wrong way
I like it right here but I cannot stay
I watch the TV; forget what I'm told
Well, I am too young, and they are too old
Oh, man, can't you see I'm nervous, so please
Pretend to be nice, so I can be mean
I miss the last bus, we take the next train
I try but you see, it's hard to explain" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Key Track(s): Is This It, Barely Legal, Someday, Last Nite, Hard to Explain, Take It or Leave It
Key Lyric: "I say the right things but act the wrong way
I like it right here but I cannot stay
I watch the TV; forget what I'm told
Well, I am too young, and they are too old
Oh, man, can't you see I'm nervous, so please
Pretend to be nice, so I can be mean
I miss the last bus, we take the next train
I try but you see, it's hard to explain" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Year of Release:
2001
Appears in:
Rank Score:
29,413
Rank in 2001:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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For a while, this was my favorite. It has such a cool concept: it's the story of a man who gets trashed, goes out, does a lot of stuff (good and bad), then gets a hangover, which goes away. This album took a few listens, but soon grew to become a favorite of mine.
Key Track(s): Feel Good Hit of the Summer, The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret, Auto Pilot, Better Living Through Chemistry, Monsters in the Parasol, In the Fade, I Think I Lost My Headache
Key Lyric: "The blue pill opens your eyes
Is there a better way?
A new religion prescribed
To those without the faith
A hero holding a knife
And blood is not enough
Is it too late to go back?
Is it too late to go?" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Key Track(s): Feel Good Hit of the Summer, The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret, Auto Pilot, Better Living Through Chemistry, Monsters in the Parasol, In the Fade, I Think I Lost My Headache
Key Lyric: "The blue pill opens your eyes
Is there a better way?
A new religion prescribed
To those without the faith
A hero holding a knife
And blood is not enough
Is it too late to go back?
Is it too late to go?" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,897
Rank in 2000:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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These guys are just so good and never stop creating amazing music. Consistent, song after song is just great. ...And the fact that they released this as a "Pay-What-You-Want" album...
Key Track(s): 15 Step, Nude, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, All I Need, Reckoner, Jigsaw Falling Into Place, Videotape
Key Lyric: "Everybody leaves
If they get the chance
And this is my chance
I get eaten by the worms
And weird fishes
Picked over by the worms
And weird fishes" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Key Track(s): 15 Step, Nude, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, All I Need, Reckoner, Jigsaw Falling Into Place, Videotape
Key Lyric: "Everybody leaves
If they get the chance
And this is my chance
I get eaten by the worms
And weird fishes
Picked over by the worms
And weird fishes" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Year of Release:
2007
Appears in:
Rank Score:
45,159
Rank in 2007:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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One of the best debuts of the 21st century. If only they could have kept this up...
Key Track(s): I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, Mardy Bum, When the Sun Goes Down, A Certain Romance
Key Lyric: "Oh, there ain't no love, no Montagues or Capulets
Are just banging tunes and DJ sets and...
Dirty dance floors, and dreams of naughtiness!" [First added to this chart: 05/11/2016]
Key Track(s): I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, Mardy Bum, When the Sun Goes Down, A Certain Romance
Key Lyric: "Oh, there ain't no love, no Montagues or Capulets
Are just banging tunes and DJ sets and...
Dirty dance floors, and dreams of naughtiness!" [First added to this chart: 05/11/2016]
Year of Release:
2006
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,443
Rank in 2006:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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The guitar, piano, and vocals of Matthew Bellamy can only be described as "criminally underrated". This album proved that these guys were not a Radiohead copy-cat. Plug In Baby has such a great riff.
Key Track(s): New Born, Bliss, Space Dementia, Plug In Baby, Citizen Erased, Dark Shines, Feeling Good
Key Lyric: "Link it to the world
Link it to yourself
Stretch it like a birth squeeze
The love for what you hide
The bitterness inside
Is growing like the new born
When you've seen, seen
Too much, too young, young
Soulless is everywhere" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Key Track(s): New Born, Bliss, Space Dementia, Plug In Baby, Citizen Erased, Dark Shines, Feeling Good
Key Lyric: "Link it to the world
Link it to yourself
Stretch it like a birth squeeze
The love for what you hide
The bitterness inside
Is growing like the new born
When you've seen, seen
Too much, too young, young
Soulless is everywhere" [First added to this chart: 05/09/2016]
Year of Release:
2001
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,620
Rank in 2001:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 30. 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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