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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This chart is currently filtered to only show soundtrack albums. (Remove this filter)
Fave song: Johnny Too Bad
[First added to this chart: 06/08/2016]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,095
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1. Page 1 of 1
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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 | 2026 | |
| 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 | 2,584 | 80/100 | |
| 07/08/2025 18:10 |  Applerill | 972 | 75/100 | |
| 03/05/2025 15:46 |  slatsheit | 28 | 88/100 | |
| 02/08/2025 18:08 |  DeusExMackia | 133 | 82/100 | |
| 02/08/2025 11:03 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,089 | 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
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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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 BorderFreeAndrew 12/01/2024 17:23 | #306342
If anyone wants to see my reply to my dear friend and #1 fan AvalancheGrips' comment, it's available at his Top 100 chart (as long as it's remained published).
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 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
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Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (2 helpful | 5 unhelpful)
From 
CellarDoor 04/30/2024 22:30 | #303291
CellarDoor 04/30/2024 22:30 | #303291
Cognitive dissonance
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 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)
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We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
