Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by RoundTheBend
Here's my old 2013 chart: http://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=31041
In 2016 I listened to something like 1,600 albums (selected first from the top 100 of each decade on this site, but then some gems and recommendations) and reassessed what music I truly thought was good in that moment, rating them song for song and averaging out the album. I feel like I only scratched the surface in some areas while in others it was liberating discoveries. Obviously there were some reassessments of known favorites.
Along the way I discovered some prejudices with my own initial gut checks... like I thought I had to put Nevermind in my top 10 (not because of popularity, but because I thought it was a top 10 album) and maybe that is true and maybe it isn't. I realize this process is ever changing, and in 6 months it might change again, but no, I don't need to have my top 10 the gut check what "should" be in my top 10. The mathematical approach I did was both blind and at times shocking. It also wasn't perfect.
Some give me a hard time for liking my "big artists", but ever since I was 14 I kind of made this decision that I like big bands... they have great discographies, and felt other artists failed at creating something with true staying power, even if it was pretty cool for the time. Somehow my favorite aesthetic is that pop (very loose use of this term) group like Nirvana or U2 who can both appeal to the blue collar and the white collar - that sweet sour pop yet not pop, the artist who happens to play in the medium of pop, if you will... or maybe it's the pop artisan who aspires to make great art. To me great art best puts a mirror against humanity and conveys emotions and discusses ideas in powerful/meaningful ways. Great musicians are those who can do it in a beautifully tonal landscape.
I've also decided to go one artist per album on my overall. There's times when I say, why would I not put a 100 album on my list just because I want another artist on my list, who maybe really has an 80 album, then I realized at the end of this project, I wouldn't be able to fit all of my 80 or higher albums on this list... or 5 lists, so here it is 1 album per artist with the lowest score of 86.6.
Well it's 2018 now... I'm ready to revamp again (sometimes I look at it and I'm disappointed and sometimes I look at it and say, yeah, that feels about right), but this time incorporating my review of western music before 1950... WIP that probably will take a year or so... idk.
Starting to add descriptors and genre's from RYM to be a little more conscious of why I love these albums. It's a bit of unconscious competency for me sometimes. I will never use the genre's pop rock, indie rock, singer/songwriter to describe anything but garbage that doesn't have enough style to be unique. Also have decided I need to stop my stream of conscious ramblings and quote more thought out writings about albums. I usually am writing on this site after a 10 hour work day and mostly sound like incoherent ramblings than anything really constructive, even if I know better. I saw someone else do this as well and thought it a nice touch to their chart. If it's in quotes and references a user, it's not my words.
- Chart updated: 02/22/2021 03:15
- (Created: 06/02/2011 05:12).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 82 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 88 out of 100 (from 135 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 53,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
"A surprisingly good collaboration from two virtuosos of their given instruments. Bobby McFerrin, the master of the voice, and Yo-yo Ma, the master of the cello, combined to perform various pieces, from classical, traditional, and contemporary classical sectors. Some of the McFerrin compositions are quite amazing simply as compositions to begin with, but when the cello and vocal performances are added, they become something even more exciting. More than likely, the main highlight on the album is Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee," which is performed on a dual line by both musicians and allows an ample chance to note the amazing virtuosity of McFerrin, once you can distinguish the voice from the cello (yes, they follow the lines that close). For any fan of either musician, it's a wonderful find of an album." - Adam Greenberg, AllMusic [First added to this chart: 07/08/2016]
energetic, raw, rebellious, party
"Little Richard had been making records for four years before he rolled into Cosimo Matassa's J&M Studio in New Orleans and cut the epochal "Tutti Frutti" in the fall of 1955, but everything else he'd done -- and much of what others had recorded -- faded into insignificance when Richard wailed "A wop bop a loo mop a lomp bomp bomp" and kicked off one of the first great wailers in rock history. In retrospect, Little Richard's style doesn't seem so strikingly innovative as captured in 1956's Here's Little Richard -- his boogie-woogie piano stylings weren't all that different from what Fats Domino had been laying down since 1949, and his band pumped out the New Orleans backbeat that would define the Crescent City's R&B for the next two decades, albeit with precision and plenty of groove. But what set Richard apart was his willingness to ramp up the tempos and turn the outrage meter up to ten; "Tutti Frutti," "Rip It Up," and "Jenny Jenny" still sound outrageous a half-century after they were waxed, and it's difficult but intriguing to imagine how people must have reacted to Little Richard at a time when African-American performers were expected to be polite, and the notion of a gay man venturing out of the closet simply didn't exist (Richard's songs were thoroughly heterosexual on the surface, but the nudge and wink of "Tutti Frutti" and "Baby" is faint but visible, and his bop threads, mile-high process, and eye makeup clearly categorized him as someone "different"). These 12 tunes may not represent the alpha and omega of Little Richard's best music, but every song is a classic and unlike many of his peers, time has refused to render this first album quaint -- Richard's grainy scream remains one of the great sounds in rock & roll history, and the thunder of his piano and the frantic wail of the band is still the glorious call of a Friday night with pay in the pocket and trouble in mind. Brilliant stuff." -Mark Deming, AllMusic
Here's Little Richard 1957 95
Little Richard 1958 90 [First added to this chart: 12/08/2011]
warm, eclectic, mellow, medieval
" Donovan's Greatest Hits is the Psychadelic equivalent of a nuclear weapon, so much awesomeness in one album should be illegal. Donovan took his excellent songwriting compositions and covered them in burning, lambent, psychedelic washes of fantastic sound and made some really amazing songs. And this is the most complete chronicle of them. This album is a must own if for no other reason than pairing Season Of The Witch with Hurdy Gurdy man." -DarthKarl, RYM
I would put here Hurdy Gurdy Man or Sunshine Superman here, but honestly feel like this is his best collection of songs. I know Greatest Hits/compilations are given a hard time on BEA, but if I have one album to represent this artist, this is it.
Donovan's Greatest Hits Donovan 1969 5 95
Sunshine Superman Donovan 1966 7 80
The Hurdy Gurdy Man Donovan 1968 14 80
A Gift from a Flower to a Garden Donovan 1967 75
Mellow Yellow Donovan 1967 34 60 [First added to this chart: 06/01/2011]
manic, passionate, raw, hypnotic
"One of the most stunning debuts in rock history, and one of the definitive albums of the psychedelic era. On Are You Experienced?, Jimi Hendrix synthesized various elements of the cutting edge of 1967 rock into music that sounded both futuristic and rooted in the best traditions of rock, blues, pop, and soul. It was his mind-boggling guitar work, of course, that got most of the ink, building upon the experiments of British innovators like Jeff Beck and Pete Townshend to chart new sonic territories in feedback, distortion, and sheer volume. It wouldn't have meant much, however, without his excellent material, whether psychedelic frenzy ("Foxey Lady," "Manic Depression," "Purple Haze"), instrumental freak-out jams ("Third Stone from the Sun"), blues ("Red House," "Hey Joe"), or tender, poetic compositions ("The Wind Cries Mary") that demonstrated the breadth of his songwriting talents. Not to be underestimated were the contributions of drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding, who gave the music a rhythmic pulse that fused parts of rock and improvised jazz. Many of these songs are among Hendrix's very finest; it may be true that he would continue to develop at a rapid pace throughout the rest of his brief career, but he would never surpass his first LP in terms of consistently high quality. [The British and American versions of the album differed substantially when they were initially released in 1967; MCA's 17-song reissue did everyone a favor by gathering all of the material from the two records in one place, adding a few B-sides from early singles as well.]" -Richie Unterberger, AllMusic
Song for song mind you... idk... may deserve a revisit.
Are You Experienced 1967 95
Electric Ladyland 1968 80
Axis: Bold As Love 1967 75
Band Of Gypsys 1970 75 [First added to this chart: 07/08/2016]
death, lonely, warm, religious
At Folsom Prison is a close second.
American IV: The Man Comes Around 2002 95
Johnny Cash With His Hot And Blue Guitar 1957 90
At Folsom Prison 1968 90
At San Quentin 1969 85
Songs of Our Soil 1959 80
I Walk The Line 1964 80
American V: A Hundred Highways 2006 79.5
American Recordings 1994 75
American III: Solitary Man 2000 72
Bitter Tears 1964 70
The Fabulous Johnny Cash 1958 65 [First added to this chart: 06/01/2011]
dense, warm, technical, playful [First added to this chart: 02/03/2012]
agressive, energetic, passionate, bittersweet
I realize this is a bit strange, but Pearl Jam is such a good live band AND I feel this is a fantastic collection of songs. Vs. is a close second.
8/25/00 – Jones Beach, New York 2001 94.6
Vs. 1993 90.8
Ten 1991 89
Vitalogy 1994 83.2
No Code 1996 81.5
Lightning Bolt 2013 81
Backspacer 2009 80.4
Yield 1998 79.2
Binaural 2000 75
Pearl Jam 2006 75
Riot Act 2002 70 [First added to this chart: 07/08/2016]
energetic, sentimental, anthemic, passionate
In Your Honor is a close second. This one just has a magic to it, but the other has a more interesting collection (disc one being all pedal to the metal and disc two being surreal living room music)... hard to choose.
In Your Honor 2005 95.2
The Colour And The Shape 1997 94.2
Wasting Light 2011 91.8
One By One 2002 91.3
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace 2007 91.2
Sonic Highways 2014 90.6
Foo Fighters 1995 90.4
Concrete And Gold 2017 88.1
There Is Nothing Left To Lose 1999 87.2
Saint Cecilia 2015 79.9 [First added to this chart: 12/15/2011]
political, energetic, rebellious, introspective
American Idiot 2004 94.2
Dookie 1994 83.9
Uno 2012 80
Tre 2012 80
¡Dos! 2012 80
Nimrod 1997 76.2
Kerplunk 1992 75
21st Century Breakdown 2009 68 [First added to this chart: 07/08/2016]
raw, minimalistic, energetic, rebellious
Get Behind Me Satan 2005 93.8
Elephant 2003 90
White Blood Cells 2001 81.5
Icky Thump 2007 81.1
The White Stripes 1999 75
De Stijl 2000 70 [First added to this chart: 07/08/2016]
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 | 1 | 1% | |
1950s | 6 | 6% | |
1960s | 16 | 16% | |
1970s | 10 | 10% | |
1980s | 17 | 17% | |
1990s | 19 | 19% | |
2000s | 26 | 26% | |
2010s | 5 | 5% | |
2020s | 0 | 0% |
Artist | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
|
|||
Juanes | 1 | 1% | |
Jeff Buckley | 1 | 1% | |
As Tall As Lions | 1 | 1% | |
Modest Mouse | 1 | 1% | |
Elvis Presley | 1 | 1% | |
Igor Stravinsky / Columbia Symphony Orchestra | 1 | 1% | |
Foo Fighters | 1 | 1% | |
Show all |
Country | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
|
|||
67 | 67% | ||
21 | 21% | ||
3 | 3% | ||
2 | 2% | ||
2 | 2% | ||
1 | 1% | ||
1 | 1% | ||
Show all |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
- My Top Rated Artists by RoundTheBend (2016)
- Top Rated Albums 1-100 by RoundTheBend (2016)
- Top Scrobbled Artists by RoundTheBend (2021)
- Top Rated Albums 101-200 by RoundTheBend (2017)
- My Old (2013) Top Albums by sethmadsen by RoundTheBend (2016)
- Best Album per Year by RoundTheBend (2022)
- If The BEA Overall Chart Had A One Album Per Artist Rule... by Romanelli (2015)
- The Solo Artist by RoundTheBend (2017)
- My Favorite Debuts by RoundTheBend (2016)
- Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by jchurd601 (2012)
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
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 135 ratings for this chart.
Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
04/05/2024 10:52 | spigelwii | 2 | 100/100 | |
05/25/2021 09:27 | BlueNote | 89 | 74/100 | |
02/17/2021 05:37 | pjohnsongolf | 273 | 89/100 | |
01/08/2021 08:34 | DriftingOrpheus | 79 | 91/100 | |
01/04/2021 14:31 | EyeKanFly | 207 | 88/100 |
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 11% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 87.8/100, a mean average of 87.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.0/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 11.4.
Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
Showing all 12 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 82 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)
A really incredible chart, and a shining example of what we should all be striving for on this site. Very inspirational to me as I continue to rate and review all the music that I've collected over the years.
Oh, and your choices? The first one that jumped out was Get Behind Me Satan as the best White Stripes album. You are OBVIOUSLY a person of excellent taste.
Very eclectic and wide-ranging. I love your choices from the 1950s and the way you don't go overboard on the 1970s like so many charts on this site. Your inclusion of compilation albums was surprising to me... both surprising to see them, and surprisingly good choices.
I rated your chart 85/100 back in 2013 and I think I gotta come back and bump that up a bit. I don't personally follow the 1-album-per-artist rule and I'm also not huge on adding compilations, but the amount of thought and effort you've put into the notes for every album here really shows. One thing I love is how even though you've limited yourself to a album per artist, you've also ranked the other albums (at least for the top half or so of the chart). This gives a fuller picture of your preferences, which is really incredible. You get the best of both worlds: diversity of artists PLUS a true ranking of your favorite albums even. There's some fantastic stuff here, lot's in common but also a lot I need to revisit or check out for the first time.
Interesting chart! 20 artists in common. Love your notes for Mellon Collie. Some of the best notes for any album on this site. It's my all time favorite album.
It's an outstanding chart. It would be a crime if I rated your chart any less than perfect.
Our tastes might differ a little and that's the way it should be, what would be the point of user charts if all the users had the same taste in music?
I don't agree with your way of rating albums though. I believe an album should be an experience as a whole. A "great" album has to be able to change your state, mentally. A collection of 10/10 songs isn't necessarily a great album IMHO.
Thanks for sharing!
Hard to knock virtually any of your choices (that I've heard). Loved that you ranked other albums by the same band, and find them very different than how I would rank most of them, but appreciate that your perspective is unique. Thx.
Thanks for all the kind comments. I have updated this charts comments/descriptors, etc. over the past 4 years, but not the rankings/inclusions much. I desperately need to revamp since I have a spreadsheet/took a more deliberate approach on music I like, but wasn't as pencil headed about. I'm just afraid to touch anything... haha.
I don’t think I’ve been here since last year, and I’m honestly a little stunned at all the power pop and alternative...given how much classical and jazz you seem to listen to. But hey, it’s your chart, so kick it your way.
Good work I like it a little bit much of compilations but ok they have great songs on it. So I gone you 85 points.
Points for Mellon Collie and Graceland I’m the top 10. I can’t justify a greatest hits collection on the list though, although those songs are great.
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment
Your feedback for Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
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.
Best Artists of 2013 | |
---|---|
1. Vampire Weekend | |
2. Arctic Monkeys | |
3. Daft Punk | |
4. Kanye West | |
5. Queens Of The Stone Age | |
6. Arcade Fire | |
7. The National | |
8. Deafheaven | |
9. My Bloody Valentine | |
10. Lorde | |
11. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | |
12. Nick Cave | |
13. Chance The Rapper | |
14. David Bowie | |
15. Steven Wilson | |
16. Julia Holter | |
17. Foxygen | |
18. Atoms For Peace | |
19. Darkside | |
20. Childish Gambino |