Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Strangel

These albums are my favourites. This is not meant to be a 'Greatest Album's' chart, although I would strongly argue for each of my chosen albums in being considered for a greatest albums list. My interest is more toward the alternative/indie and electronic genres with a tendency toward experimentation in the music. I also need to be able to comfortably immerse myself in the music. So while I appreciate, and want to explore the work of Autechre (for example), I get far more pleasure from listening to Burial which has more reverie to the sound rather than almost pure math and tech. Aphex Twin, in fact, manages to bridge these aspects perfectly.

It might be noted that Radiohead dominates the list which simply expresses my belief that they have the uncanny ability to release album after album of near perfect alternative music, shifting the landscape of what's possible whilst always remaining relevant. I don't apologise for this. They are that good.

• Chart updated: 02/07/2024 05:15
• (Created: 07/04/2016 14:26).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 31 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 50 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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8. (=)

Ágætis Byrjun 

 Sigur Rós

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There must be something in the Icelandic air. It's as if the elder spirits are projecting themselves through music as it is the only universal language that can intimately reach us.

Rating: 98/100

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT: So many to choose from, because this really is a complete album to be enjoyed in its entirety. Single tracks are not its focus so much as the whole. For now I'd probably settle for the reflective beauty of Olsen Olsen. But I also love the build from lulling ambient to euphoric cacophany in VVLT and NB, and the transcendent qualities of SGE and Staralfur. [First added to this chart: 07/05/2016]

Year of Release:

1999

Appears in:

1,363 charts

Rank Score:

17,241

Rank in 1999:

1

Rank in 1990s:

13

Overall Rank:

71

Average Rating:

 86 (1,671 votes)

Comments:

138

15. (=)

Takk... 

 Sigur Rós

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I feel that this album has even more magnificence within than Agaetis Byrjun, reaching the crescendos with greater impact. I rate Agaetis Byrjun slightly higher in my ranking largely because it was just so revolutionary for me on its release. I can't think of a weak moment on this album. It is one of the most beautiful musical releases of all time.

Rating: 96/100

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT: While there are many sublime moments on this album, Sigur Ros hits one of the most euphoric crecendos you'll ever come across with a pure post-rock cacophony of sound in Glosoli. [First added to this chart: 07/05/2016]

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

565 charts

Rank Score:

4,686

Rank in 2005:

5

Rank in 2000s:

62

Overall Rank:

381

Average Rating:

 82 (826 votes)

Comments:

37

29. (=)

Vespertine 

 Björk

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Perhaps not as highly acclaimed as Homogenic, Vespertine is,in my opinion, her most accomplished masterpiece. As far as being a well-conceived album it is consistent to a theme of beautifully, contemplative, chilled reverie. It represents the 'Ice' in Iceland in all it's natural, mythical beauty. And like the first melt of the ice as the sun rises longer each day, the songs flow effortlessly from one to the next, taking you along for the ride. I love the composition of all the ethereal percussion and instrumentation which, combined with her elfin voice, creates an otherworldly ambience.

Rating: 94/100

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT: I've always connected best with Pagan Poetry on this album. [First added to this chart: 07/05/2016]

Year of Release:

2001

Appears in:

790 charts

Rank Score:

9,613

Rank in 2001:

4

Rank in 2000s:

26

Overall Rank:

164

Average Rating:

 83 (971 votes)

Comments:

58

54. (=)

( ) 

 Sigur Rós

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If you’re ever feeling a bit on edge, irritated, or like you’re about to lash out at someone you love, just pop this album on and let go. I’m lying on a gently moving cloud, but it’s warm and snug and I am floating over ice-melts in an Icelandic summer burst of lushness. This is just about the most perfect eyes-closed album. It only comes in this low in the chart because I can never easily tell anyone what the album is called.

Rating: 90/100

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT: The way that every component of the music is designed to gently caress the listener. The drums are pad pad padding, the bowed guitar screams quietly from a distant mountain peak, and Jonsi’s vocal is always hushed. There are few building crescendos to find here (although track 7 gets a bit earnest toward the end). [First added to this chart: 10/25/2016]

Year of Release:

2002

Appears in:

638 charts

Rank Score:

4,757

Rank in 2002:

8

Rank in 2000s:

60

Overall Rank:

377

Average Rating:

 82 (845 votes)

Comments:

44

88. (=)

Homogenic 

 Björk

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[First added to this chart: 08/08/2016]

Year of Release:

1997

Appears in:

1,080 charts

Rank Score:

13,800

Rank in 1997:

2

Rank in 1990s:

17

Overall Rank:

93

Average Rating:

 84 (1,351 votes)

Comments:

101

98. (=)

Finally We Are No One 

 Múm

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Ahh, the serenity… [First added to this chart: 07/11/2018]

Year of Release:

2002

Appears in:

113 charts

Rank Score:

684

Rank in 2002:

37

Rank in 2000s:

394

Overall Rank:

2,351

Average Rating:

 79 (149 votes)

Comments:

11

Total albums: 6. 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	7	7%
1970s	7	7%
1980s	5	5%
1990s	29	29%
2000s	34	34%
2010s	17	17%
2020s	1	1%

Artist	Albums	%
Radiohead	8	8%
Metallica	4	4%
The Beatles	4	4%
Aphex Twin	4	4%
The National	3	3%
Portishead	3	3%
Nirvana	3	3%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	42	42%
	41	41%
	6	6%
	5	5%
	3	3%
	1	1%
	1	1%
Show all

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 50 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
90/100	11/19/2023 10:55	Bach	942	78/100
95/100	06/17/2020 14:47	DriftingOrpheus	79	91/100
75/100	10/07/2019 23:23	pctrooper	336	88/100
100/100	08/30/2019 10:38	Timooosterink	131	90/100
90/100	06/26/2019 12:35	Granny-Smith	142	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 5% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.7/100, a mean average of 86.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.3/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 17.2.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites

Showing all 8 members who have added this chart as a favourite

Timooosterink

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

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Rating:  

100/100

From Timooosterink 08/30/2019 10:38

Love your chart! I agree on amok it is a very underated album.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From Granny-Smith 06/26/2019 12:36

I like your chart. Have a lot Artists and Albums in common.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From Paule 03/06/2019 11:36

Good list! We share the Radiohead "problem". I suggest you to dive into some older Krautrock and Ambient music. You will find a lot of Radioheads work is influenced by that stuff and there are some gems to be found.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From Kurtco 01/29/2019 18:22

We have 31 albums and 21 artists in common... It's very funny!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From Kurtco 01/29/2019 18:18

I find your chart very interesting and complete. You have musical tastes very similar to mine. Radiohead is one of my favorite bands!
I'm glad you like Icelandic music: Sigur Rós and Björk. I agree with you that "Vespertine" is Björk's best album: It's a real masterpiece. You put a lot of recent music in your chart and it's nice to see AMOK of Atoms For Peace in your rankings. This is surely one of Thom Yorke's underrated albums. I'm really happy to see artists not very well known as Burial, Nick Cave or Amon Tobin who are part of my favorite artist. The 90s are really well represented in your chart with great artists like Nirvana, Aphex Twin, Tool or Massive Attack. Really very good job and very good choice!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From guzguzgarbit 01/21/2019 20:08

Good choices, great descriptions, great diversity (even with 8 Radiohead albums!). I particularly appreciate the presence of some electronic (Four Tet, Jon Hopkins, Burial...) among all the rock picks.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From jhuik 11/16/2018 14:00

I don't agree with your top ten, or some other picks, or (as has been noted by others) the excess of Radiohead, but who gives a shit about my opinion. I love the passion in your descriptions and the personalized responses. Great chart!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

From Strangel 07/19/2018 01:19

Ahh well, what can you do? They're that good. It's not like Pablo Honey is on the chart just coz Radiohead. Pablo Honey was an objectively average to good album and thus hasn't got anywhere near this chart. Their subsequent albums were all objectively created to a much higher level and the artistic merit of each universally critically acclaimed. Subjectively (which is what this chart mainly expresses), the music deeply resonates with me so why wouldn't their very best be difficult to supplant by another artist's work?

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

80/100

From fps74 07/18/2018 05:04

Radiohead! Radiohead everywhere!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From foxytreeko 07/09/2018 14:11

Great list, love your descriptions. We have 13 albums and 16 artists in common

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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