Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by jackbrown8786 
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- Chart updated: 02/03/2024 22:45
- (Created: 07/18/2016 14:06).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 24 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 84 out of 100 (from 21 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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August 1966. You can't find a song like Taxman before that. There was no punk. No anti-government lyrics in any significant release. No nails-on-chalkboard guitar solos like that. Punk records today don't typically have a bite like this. And that's just the opening track. Who would have thought that was a good idea? Who wants to hear nails on a chalkboard? They didn't care - it fit their mood, the lyrics, and sound. You couldn't have done this if you wanted to. If you went to a record producer with this in 1966, they'd tell you to fuck off. The Beatles could do it b/c they were the biggest band in the world - and as TWENTY YEAR OLDS they said, "hey guys, let's stop touring the world and getting all the girls and everything else that we want - let's sit in the studio instead and just create art unlike anyone's ever heard." Who does that in their 20's? Everyone I know would just keep touring and sleeping around well into their 40's, releasing the same pretty hits and making mountains of cash. Why gamble on this? Who would? These guys, they're gods. And this finally opened the door for other bands. NOW someone could go to a record producer with ugly shit and he'd say, "okay, let's go." How much dumber and prettier The Velvet Underground & Nico might have been without this, we'll never know. No more "Tutti Fruiti." No more "Rock Around The Clock." No more Buddy Holly. As good as it was, this marked the end of it.
To follow that track with Eleanor Rigby? Where was the orchestral rock before that? The blasphemous lyrics? Nonexistent. Next - I'm Only Sleeping.... The 60's are known for psychedelic rock, but where was this before August 1966? It wasn't around. This is where it started. They use brand new production techniques here too - playing riffs back backwards. Sounds like nothing special now but it's only been done so many times b/c of this.
The next track, Love You To... find another rock song/Indian music before this. Find another song that lyrically and musically puts you in the middle of a drugged orgy, even today that would be controversial. Back before the puritan times this was released in, it was entirely unheard of. I mean... whether or not John Lennon literally pissed on nuns is still debated. No one has these balls today.
Look at Yellow Submarine - you take that cinematic middle section for granted today but it had never been done before - nothing like it in the middle of a song. The lyrical content is again focused on the mind-opening power of drugs and continues in She Said and Doctor Robert. Look at the closing track - yet more brand new, drug-fueled production techniques.
Rock was cookie cutter before this, not art. Music was a product to be bought and sold. It played to a simple feeling like happiness or sadness. There was no complexity of this level in rock music. In classical, yeah. Jazz, yeah. Blues? Arguably also yeah. And this record comes from what was basically a glorified boy band in comparison before this. Imagine if the Backstreet Boys just suddenly released an album full of songs each in brand new genres. It doesn't even make sense that this came out in August 1966.
I didn't even mention how good the songs actually are. I just mentioned how brand new and all-encompassing the sounds are. But yeah, every layer is far better than they should be, considering how high they must have been. It's not like they were just the first to paint a fucking square, or something lame like that. Most songs are perfect and will never stop seeing play. A couple others are 9/10 at least.
At #4 in the overall chart, I think it's HIGHLY underrated. There is a gulf between this and everything else. [First added to this chart: 05/25/2017]
To follow that track with Eleanor Rigby? Where was the orchestral rock before that? The blasphemous lyrics? Nonexistent. Next - I'm Only Sleeping.... The 60's are known for psychedelic rock, but where was this before August 1966? It wasn't around. This is where it started. They use brand new production techniques here too - playing riffs back backwards. Sounds like nothing special now but it's only been done so many times b/c of this.
The next track, Love You To... find another rock song/Indian music before this. Find another song that lyrically and musically puts you in the middle of a drugged orgy, even today that would be controversial. Back before the puritan times this was released in, it was entirely unheard of. I mean... whether or not John Lennon literally pissed on nuns is still debated. No one has these balls today.
Look at Yellow Submarine - you take that cinematic middle section for granted today but it had never been done before - nothing like it in the middle of a song. The lyrical content is again focused on the mind-opening power of drugs and continues in She Said and Doctor Robert. Look at the closing track - yet more brand new, drug-fueled production techniques.
Rock was cookie cutter before this, not art. Music was a product to be bought and sold. It played to a simple feeling like happiness or sadness. There was no complexity of this level in rock music. In classical, yeah. Jazz, yeah. Blues? Arguably also yeah. And this record comes from what was basically a glorified boy band in comparison before this. Imagine if the Backstreet Boys just suddenly released an album full of songs each in brand new genres. It doesn't even make sense that this came out in August 1966.
I didn't even mention how good the songs actually are. I just mentioned how brand new and all-encompassing the sounds are. But yeah, every layer is far better than they should be, considering how high they must have been. It's not like they were just the first to paint a fucking square, or something lame like that. Most songs are perfect and will never stop seeing play. A couple others are 9/10 at least.
At #4 in the overall chart, I think it's HIGHLY underrated. There is a gulf between this and everything else. [First added to this chart: 05/25/2017]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
49,022
Rank in 1966:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 05/25/2017]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
59,208
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 05/25/2017]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
62,921
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 05/25/2017]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
42,656
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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[First added to this chart: 05/05/2022]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
27,967
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 05/25/2017]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,798
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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[First added to this chart: 05/25/2017]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
44,138
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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[First added to this chart: 05/25/2017]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank Score:
41,291
Rank in 2000:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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[First added to this chart: 05/25/2017]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
56,669
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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[First added to this chart: 05/25/2017]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,956
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
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 | 1 | 1% | |
| 1960s | 18 | 18% | |
| 1970s | 31 | 31% | |
| 1980s | 17 | 17% | |
| 1990s | 17 | 17% | |
| 2000s | 9 | 9% | |
| 2010s | 6 | 6% | |
| 2020s | 1 | 1% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Radiohead | 8 | 8% | |
| The Beatles | 6 | 6% | |
| Led Zeppelin | 4 | 4% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 4 | 4% | |
| Swans | 4 | 4% | |
| Pink Floyd | 4 | 4% | |
| David Bowie | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 29 from 66th to 37thThe Queen Is Dead by The Smiths |
| Up 24 from 41st to 17thSongs About Fucking by Big Black |
| Up 12 from 96th to 84thBorn To Run by Bruce Springsteen |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 12 from 63rd to 75thFree Your Mind... And Your Ass Will Follow by Funkadelic |
| Down 12 from 80th to 92ndNone So Vile by Cryptopsy |
| Down 12 from 81st to 93rdHouses Of The Holy by Led Zeppelin |
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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 21 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 10/09/2024 13:59 | DrewHamster | 315 | 79/100 |
| ! | 10/09/2024 08:03 |  MadhattanJack | 278 | 85/100 |
| ! | 02/01/2023 08:01 | KineticEchoes02 | 110 | 88/100 |
| ! | 01/31/2023 19:08 |  Tamthebam | 651 | 85/100 |
| ! | 01/31/2023 17:07 | Johnnyo | 2,572 | 80/100 |
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 83.9/100, a mean average of 79.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 83.0/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 22.4.
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From KineticEchoes02 02/01/2023 08:09 | #293466
Loving this chart man! Very similar tastes to mine, so of course I've got no choice to rate it highly. For those you've provided comment I love what you've written - some great insights, not only personal connections but great perspective on the albums themselves, stuff I hadn't picked up on before. Good humour too. Even with multiple albums per artist, there is great diversity of genre here and top quality music overall.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Johnnyo 01/31/2023 17:08 | #293448
Good chart. Nothing too surprising but that’s fine with me.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Moondance 01/31/2023 11:04 | #293430
Standard chart for this site ~ no real surprises. Sadly, nothing (artist or album) originating from below the Tropic of Cancer.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Nkelleyslc 05/30/2022 05:21 | #285807
Hey dude, very nice list, fairly similar to mine.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
LedZep 02/04/2018 20:04 | #207222
LedZep 02/04/2018 20:04 | #207222
When it takes its final shape I'll rate again, seems messy at this point
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From garycottier 10/27/2016 11:06 | #177536
The 40 greatest music albums? Is this a joke? An horrendous chart. If I was strapped to a chair and forced to listen to this crap(Anthrax and Megadeth aside) I'd die of a broken heart. One of the worst charts I've ever seen. I get you're trying to make people more aware of these bands/albums, but that doesn't mean they're any good. After all your comments on Beatles, Stones and the Smiths I was expecting something more.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (1 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
From 
Onater 09/26/2016 23:31 | #175864
Onater 09/26/2016 23:31 | #175864
Hey, I liked the old chart. I've raised my rating, though not by much; this chart still isn't great, though I get that you're not so much trying to make a good chart as much as raise some lesser known albums that deserve more attention.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Onater 08/18/2016 23:55 | #173073
Onater 08/18/2016 23:55 | #173073
10/10 best chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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