Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Thad 
I have listened to 1000s of albums, so here are 100 fantastic ones. Order is relevant, but to be honest, not very. How am I supposed to compare 60's tropicalia, 90s trip hop, 10s industrial hip hop, and 70s progressive rock?
I've tried to simply include albums that stand above the rest within their genre, era, region, movement etc. Once you get past that, it is very hard to compare. In my view, all of these albums are 10/10s. Not much more needs to be said.
Since some of these are a bit obscure, I'm working on adding genres so that you know if a certain album may be up your alley. Enjoy!
Short plug: if you're interested to see how these artists influence my own music, you can find it with the links below.
https://pianzhischeme.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/pianzhischeme
- Chart updated: 04/30/2020 19:45
- (Created: 07/26/2016 21:34).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 39 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 93 out of 100 (from 69 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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Art rock, electronic rock. England.
No words, at this point my personal attachment to this album is deep enough that it will just stay here.
Favorite tracks:
Morning Bell
Motion Picture Soundtrack
Idioteque
The National Anthem [First added to this chart: 07/26/2016]
No words, at this point my personal attachment to this album is deep enough that it will just stay here.
Favorite tracks:
Morning Bell
Motion Picture Soundtrack
Idioteque
The National Anthem [First added to this chart: 07/26/2016]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank Score:
51,447
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Comments:
551
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Chamber folk, progressive folk. United States.
Joanna's finest effort. She's almost as good a poet as she is a musician. A grand medieval journey. [First added to this chart: 03/07/2019]
Joanna's finest effort. She's almost as good a poet as she is a musician. A grand medieval journey. [First added to this chart: 03/07/2019]
Year of Release:
2006
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,217
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Tropicalia, psychedelic rock. Brazil.
Surely there is more I can say eventually, but did you know that Claudio Baptista personally built many of the instruments played on this thing? That alone should make you check it out if you haven't. [First added to this chart: 03/09/2019]
Surely there is more I can say eventually, but did you know that Claudio Baptista personally built many of the instruments played on this thing? That alone should make you check it out if you haven't. [First added to this chart: 03/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,349
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Krautrock, experimental rock. Germany.
Can might have as wide a range of influence as any band around. From ambient, to funk, to progressive, to psych, to post-punk. As a bit of a Radiohead fanboy, I also think they sound very similar to Yorke & the boys. Like my previous pick, Tago Mago is usually Can's top album, but I think this one is just easier to listen to. The songs are shorter and more structured, which is sometimes not a good thing for an artist, but when you're as out there as Can can be sometimes, I actually appreciate a bit of pop sensibility. Sing Swan Song, Vitamin C, and I'm So Green are all great introductions to Can. I personally think that Sing Swan Song is one of the greatest songs ever recorded, and I'm more convinced every time I play it. Oh how ahead of their time this band was. [First added to this chart: 10/05/2016]
Can might have as wide a range of influence as any band around. From ambient, to funk, to progressive, to psych, to post-punk. As a bit of a Radiohead fanboy, I also think they sound very similar to Yorke & the boys. Like my previous pick, Tago Mago is usually Can's top album, but I think this one is just easier to listen to. The songs are shorter and more structured, which is sometimes not a good thing for an artist, but when you're as out there as Can can be sometimes, I actually appreciate a bit of pop sensibility. Sing Swan Song, Vitamin C, and I'm So Green are all great introductions to Can. I personally think that Sing Swan Song is one of the greatest songs ever recorded, and I'm more convinced every time I play it. Oh how ahead of their time this band was. [First added to this chart: 10/05/2016]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,641
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Trip hop, electronic. England.
[First added to this chart: 09/04/2017]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,142
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Avant garde jazz, third stream. United States.
It's easy to see why Mingus has been very influential to artists outside of jazz. [First added to this chart: 03/27/2018]
It's easy to see why Mingus has been very influential to artists outside of jazz. [First added to this chart: 03/27/2018]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
14,030
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Art pop, electronic. Iceland.
My personal favorite Bjork record. [First added to this chart: 03/27/2018]
My personal favorite Bjork record. [First added to this chart: 03/27/2018]
Year of Release:
2001
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,631
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Neoclassical, field recordings. Japan.
Somehow, only 2 users have added this album to a chart -- if you take anything away from this list, you should listen to this. 2 hours of sound collage/field recordings delicately interspersed into creative, modern, piano-based classical pieces by a technically proficient player. An incredible variety of sounds and influences on this thing. [First added to this chart: 12/15/2019]
Somehow, only 2 users have added this album to a chart -- if you take anything away from this list, you should listen to this. 2 hours of sound collage/field recordings delicately interspersed into creative, modern, piano-based classical pieces by a technically proficient player. An incredible variety of sounds and influences on this thing. [First added to this chart: 12/15/2019]
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Industrial hip hop, glitch hop. United States.
You think you know me... [First added to this chart: 03/07/2019]
You think you know me... [First added to this chart: 03/07/2019]
Year of Release:
2018
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,185
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Experimental folk, jazz folk. United States.
The cover art for this album does as bad a job at describing its sound as any album art ever has. Not your mother's singer-songwriter, but she could be fooled at the record store. [First added to this chart: 03/10/2019]
The cover art for this album does as bad a job at describing its sound as any album art ever has. Not your mother's singer-songwriter, but she could be fooled at the record store. [First added to this chart: 03/10/2019]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,946
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Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 15 | 15% | |
| 1970s | 24 | 24% | |
| 1980s | 7 | 7% | |
| 1990s | 19 | 19% | |
| 2000s | 24 | 24% | |
| 2010s | 11 | 11% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Portishead | 1 | 1% | |
| Comus | 1 | 1% | |
| Karantamba | 1 | 1% | |
| Invisible | 1 | 1% | |
| 공중도둑 [Mid-Air Thief] | 1 | 1% | |
| Pescado Rabioso | 1 | 1% | |
| Jenny Hval | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| |
28 | 28% | |
 |
17 | 17% | |
 |
7 | 7% | |
 |
7 | 7% | |
 |
7 | 7% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
93/100 (from 69 votes)
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 69 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
70/100  | 07/13/2022 08:50 |  Applerill | | 75/100 |
100/100 | 12/12/2021 18:23 |  AvalancheGrips | | 89/100 |
 100/100 | 01/06/2021 20:50 |  LedZep | | 84/100 |
90/100 | 11/06/2020 20:21 |  sssvnnn | | 83/100 |
90/100 | 07/18/2020 20:59 |  StefanR10 | | 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 1% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 93.2/100, a mean average of 93.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 94.3/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.3.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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90/100
From sssvnnn 11/06/2020 20:22
sssvnnn 11/06/2020 20:22
Very good chart. Very well composed: A big variety of nations, styles, centuries… a lot of intense albums.
I´m sorry to say that there are too many albums that I don´t like to rate higher, but anyway: Well done.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From StefanR10 07/18/2020 21:00
StefanR10 07/18/2020 21:00
Interesting chart with some outliners and well known artist but most of them I know. And maybe there could be the Beatles or the doors.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
doubleA 03/24/2020 07:54
doubleA 03/24/2020 07:54
Stuff from all corners of the world, I love it! Immediately jumped into Kagayaki as you told me. There's tons to learn from this chart, what an excitement to behold!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
revolver94 01/14/2020 20:03
revolver94 01/14/2020 20:03
thank you Thad! so glad i was able to get you into jenny hval, she's probably my all-time favorite artist. off of my chart i'd also recommend lydia ainsworth, still art pop but more on the pop side of things (relative to hval anyway lol). susanne sundfor is another one to check out
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Rockdrigo 12/21/2019 03:22
Rockdrigo 12/21/2019 03:22
Metá Metá's style is best described as Vanguarda Paulista (or Candomblé Music with a healthy mix of art rock, art punk, afrobeat, samba, jazz rock, math rock, experimental rock and jazz; all but samba-jazz, which is reserved for particularly jazzy bossa nova).
Similarly to No Wave, the original early 80s Vanguarda Paulista artists were a scene of associated experimental musicians who in retrospective are referred to as a sub-genre of their own. Our current decade's revival of the genre has been championed by Metá Metá and their own associates, so the genre now sounds a lot like the group's genres of preference (notably Candomblé Music). Their singer Juçara Marçal's “Encarnado” and Elza Soares' “A Mulher Do Fim Do Mundo” are two good albums to follow.
On another note, if you liked “El Jardín De Los Presentes” and are a fan of Charles Mingus you'll be into Astor Piazzolla. “Libertango” and “Tango: Zero Hour” could be interesting additions to your already varied taste.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
craola 11/26/2019 00:29
craola 11/26/2019 00:29
thank you for the kind words. this is a great chart as well. a few here i've managed to miss out on. os mutantes ... i've somehow not gotten around to listening to them, so i'll start there.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
arthurbittencourt 11/20/2019 16:54
arthurbittencourt 11/20/2019 16:54
Chad comment on my page, chad chart. Are you brazilian? Mutantes @ 3 is really curious for someone who doesn't live here. I have tons of references for you. Negro Leo, has released two masterpieces, he is a true genius. The easiest is called Agua Batizada, the chad one is Action Lekking. Try both! please!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From pctrooper 11/13/2019 20:43
Man, this is really great. Lots of styles I don't usually listen to, but these artists are pretty much all gold and it adds together for a gnarly music chart.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
gidgidi 07/08/2019 22:54
gidgidi 07/08/2019 22:54
Wow! Great chart!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
ExTeaSea 12/18/2018 04:36
ExTeaSea 12/18/2018 04:36
Seriously one of the best charts I've seen! Commenting again because I didn't realize I did already and it's chart of the day so I had to check it out again.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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