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 41 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 93 out of 100 (from 72 votes). Please log in or create an account to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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Available from
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:
38,500
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Available from
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:
8,192
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Available from
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:
2,096
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Available from
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:
5,057
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Available from
Trip hop, electronic. England.
[First added to this chart: 09/04/2017]
[First added to this chart: 09/04/2017]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,173
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Available from
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:
12,143
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Available from
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:
9,258
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Available from
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]
Available from
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
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Rank Score:
1,113
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Available from
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:
1,663
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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 | 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 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Luis Alberto Spinetta | 2 | 2% | |
| 高木正勝 [Masakatsu Takagi] | 1 | 1% | |
| The Radio Dept. | 1 | 1% | |
| Yes | 1 | 1% | |
| Metá Metá | 1 | 1% | |
| The Avalanches | 1 | 1% | |
| Red House Painters | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
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
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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Showing latest 3 ratings for this chart. | Show all 72 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 02/09/2025 18:06 | Johnnyo | 2,689 | 80/100 |
| ! | 01/15/2025 16:21 | Exist-en-ciel | 166 | 97/100 |
| ! | 01/10/2025 13:51 | DrewHamster | 314 | 79/100 |
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This chart is rated in the top 1% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 93.3/100, a mean average of 93.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 94.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.2.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums forum mentions
This chart has been referenced 6 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From 
BestEverAlbums 07/18/2020 08:00 in Chart of the day (#3190): By Thad
BestEverAlbums 07/18/2020 08:00 in Chart of the day (#3190): By Thad“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Thad () 1. Kid A by Radiohead (2000) 2. Ys by Joanna Newsom (2006) 3. Os Mutantes by Os Mutantes (1968) 4. Ege Bamyası by Can (1972) 5. Dummy by Portishead (1994) 6. The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady by Charles Mingus (1963) 7. Vespertine…”
View forum post →From BestEverAlbums 07/08/2019 08:00 in Chart of the day (#2815): By Thad
BestEverAlbums 07/08/2019 08:00 in Chart of the day (#2815): By Thad“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Thad () 1. Kid A by Radiohead (2000) 2. The Velvet Underground by The Velvet Underground (1969) 3. Madvillainy by Madvillain (2004) 4. Os Mutantes by Os Mutantes (1968) 5. Ys by Joanna Newsom (2006) 6. This Is A Long Drive For Someone With…”
View forum post →From BestEverAlbums 12/17/2018 09:00 in Chart of the day (#2612): By Thad
BestEverAlbums 12/17/2018 09:00 in Chart of the day (#2612): By Thad“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Thad () 1. Kid A by Radiohead (2000) 2. The Moon & Antarctica by Modest Mouse (2000) 3. The Velvet Underground by The Velvet Underground (1969) 4. Ege Bamyasi by Can (1972) 5. Disintegration by The Cure (1989) 6. My Beautiful Dark Twisted…”
View forum post →Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From
ExTeaSea TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/18/2018 04:36 | #227370
ExTeaSea TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/18/2018 04:36 | #227370
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
From
Rockdrigo 12/21/2019 03:22 | #245862
Rockdrigo 12/21/2019 03:22 | #245862
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
From
babyBlueSedan TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/26/2016 23:30 | #177517
babyBlueSedan TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/26/2016 23:30 | #177517
Always happy to see a fellow AJJ fan - I think you make a good point about how the fact that their lyrics are so self aware helps put the more ridiculous lyrics in context. Hope to see more comments in the future, and while this is very rock-oriented (which I'll admit my tastes are too) it was nice to see some hip hop and pop near the end.
Also thanks for the kind words on my chart. I actually have listened to TNWWL and do enjoy it, though not as much as the sprawling Perfect From Now On. Part of it is likely because I was a Modest Mouse fan for years before I discovered Built to Spill, so their more strait forward indie rock will never live up to MM to me.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 1
From
Ashmark 02/19/2018 22:23 | #208859
An excellent adventure. Great taste, but importantly I like the way you defend albums that were particularly meaningful to you at certain stages in your life! These albums are all relationships. My first chart on this site was my alzheimers list: 30 albums that somehow represent/connect stages of my life. I figured my wife could just play it for me over and over, once the disease had taken me from her and her from me. Oh well, that list has been replaced by a new chart now. From your chart, there are about 8 albums I am keen to listen to. Cheers.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 1
From
JulianR TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/30/2017 20:06 | #198941
JulianR TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/30/2017 20:06 | #198941
Awesome stuff! Kid A is #1!
Also, What is some krautrock you would recommend?
Also, it looks lik you've been getting in to jazz recently. I don't claim to know much about jazz, but i've been getting into it to, and so I thought I'd rec you some that I've liked.
Miles Davis - Bitches Brew, probably my favorite so far, a cool free jazz/fusion record
Pharoah Sanders - Karma, spiritual/free jazz
Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come, an early free jazz record
Cecil Taylor - Unit Structures, a free jazz record focused on piano
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 1
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