Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by BorderFreeAndrew 
Over the years I've listened to about 20,000 albums. These are the ones that I'm most likely to keep coming back to, i.e. - the 100 that I'd take to a desert island. Sorry for the lack of reviews/descriptions for each listing. For me, music is a visceral experience, so I try not to intellectualize it too much.
Some have asked why I don't have more from the 2010's and 2020's. Well, if BEA allowed a Top 300 list, you would see several from the last 10 years, as I do still enjoy discovering newer music. There just hasn't been anything recent that I love enough to take the place of these 100. When there is, I will edit the list to reflect that.
- Chart updated: 04/19/2025 20:45
- (Created: 06/07/2016 00:46).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 18 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 87 out of 100 (from 32 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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Fave song: Ballerina (my all-time favorite song)
[First added to this chart: 06/06/2016]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,102
Rank in 1968:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Fave song: Nighttime
[First added to this chart: 06/06/2016]
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,300
Rank in 1978:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Fave song: Hounds of Love
[First added to this chart: 06/08/2016]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,032
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Fave song: Love
[First added to this chart: 06/08/2016]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,378
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Fave song: Alone Again Or
[First added to this chart: 06/08/2016]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,326
Rank in 1967:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Fave song: Baba O'Riley
[First added to this chart: 06/02/2024]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,905
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Fave song: Fruit Tree
[First added to this chart: 06/08/2016]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,807
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
8. (=)
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Fave song: Out of the Blue
[First added to this chart: 06/08/2016]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,573
Rank in 1974:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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Fave song: Animal Zoo
[First added to this chart: 06/08/2016]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
805
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Fave song: Johnny Too Bad
[First added to this chart: 06/08/2016]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,107
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
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 | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 25 | 25% | |
| 1970s | 39 | 39% | |
| 1980s | 8 | 8% | |
| 1990s | 15 | 15% | |
| 2000s | 12 | 12% | |
| 2010s | 1 | 1% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Roxy Music | 2 | 2% | |
| Big Star | 2 | 2% | |
| Gene Clark | 2 | 2% | |
| Super Furry Animals | 2 | 2% | |
| Julian Cope | 2 | 2% | |
| Lisa Germano | 2 | 2% | |
| Chris Bell | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
57 | 57% | |
 |
30 | 30% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 4 from 73rd to 69thNo More Shall We Part by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds |
| Up 2 from 61st to 59thFuzzy Logic by Super Furry Animals |
| Up 2 from 60th to 58thUp In Flames by Manitoba |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 44 from 49th to 93rdMarjory Razorblade by Kevin Coyne |
| Down 3 from 57th to 60thWalk Away Renée / Pretty Ballerina by The Left Banke |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | BorderFreeAndrew | 1970s decade chart | 2020 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s | BorderFreeAndrew | 1960s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Artists |  flamingyesdept | Custom chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | BorderFreeAndrew | 1990s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s |  Norman Bates | 1960s decade chart | 2025 |  |
| Greatest Albums of All Time (2000) | flamingyesdept | Custom chart | 2023 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | badger | 1970s decade chart | 2021 |  |
| One Album Per Artist | flamingyesdept | Custom chart | 2022 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | davidhuret | Overall chart | 2017 | |
| Best Artists | flamingyesdept | Custom chart | 2024 | |
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 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 32 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/27/2025 12:28 | Johnnyo | 2,574 | 80/100 |
| ! | 07/08/2025 18:10 |  Applerill | 973 | 75/100 |
| ! | 03/05/2025 15:46 |  slatsheit | 26 | 88/100 |
| ! | 02/08/2025 18:08 |  DeusExMackia | 133 | 82/100 |
| ! | 02/08/2025 11:03 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,096 | 85/100 |
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 has a Bayesian average rating of 86.8/100, a mean average of 82.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 87.2/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 20.8.
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
Showing all 3 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 18 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First |
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(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
From Johnnyo 09/27/2025 12:28 | #311112
Very nice chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From slatsheit 03/05/2025 15:46 | #307882
slatsheit 03/05/2025 15:46 | #307882
Excellent! Love the high Nick Drake and Laura Nyro inclusions.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From DeusExMackia 02/08/2025 18:09 | #307492
DeusExMackia 02/08/2025 18:09 | #307492
Your taste is very hard to love, and yet love it I do. This list is so out of character for this site and therefore all the more better. 85/100 is an arbitrary way of saying "I don't agree with you but I support your every decision". Kate Bush forever.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
baystateoftheart 12/15/2024 20:33 | #306522
baystateoftheart 12/15/2024 20:33 | #306522
Excellent desert island chart! Love to see The Harder They Come at #10 in particular. For what it's worth, if mine were a desert island chart instead of simply the albums I enjoy most, there wouldn't be more than two Fela albums.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
AvalancheGrips 05/13/2024 00:21 | #303488
AvalancheGrips 05/13/2024 00:21 | #303488
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -4 votes (2 helpful | 6 unhelpful)
From AvalancheGrips 05/12/2024 21:42 | #303485
AvalancheGrips 05/12/2024 21:42 | #303485
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (2 helpful | 5 unhelpful)
From Moondance 11/13/2023 06:20 | #299951
Although we both favour the 70's & 60's above every other decade - and rightfully so - we have no albums in common & only 6 artists in common. Despite that, I really liked your chart - it just goes to show what a remarkably diverse world we enter when we journey through modern music and how music & lyrics impact on us in mysterious ways!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
DommeDamian 05/30/2022 03:57 | #285805
DommeDamian 05/30/2022 03:57 | #285805
Oh hey AlRog, I didn't know it was you =)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
gidgidi 09/05/2019 18:18 | #242246
gidgidi 09/05/2019 18:18 | #242246
Nice chart!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
ForegroundNoise 02/18/2019 21:16 | #232160
ForegroundNoise 02/18/2019 21:16 | #232160
Nice chart, especially love the Brigitte Fontaine and Roy Harper picks!! Some notes would make a great addition
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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