Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by CharlieBarley

Welcome one, welcome all. These are some of my favourite albums of all time. Each album means something to me, even the relatively new ones. Just over half of them I discovered in the period of the early 1990s when I was aged 16-20, although not all of those albums are 90's albums. That was when I got into music in a big way, as many teenagers do. Then current music and many classic albums. And my personal discovery of music is ongoing. For me, music is a form of connection with something greater, of solace, of self-expression and a way of channelling feelings. There are many memories here. And new ones are still being created. I have tried to make this chart represent periods from many different stages in my life also. It is subject to change as I remember other albums I like or as I discover new, or even older albums. Enjoy!

• Chart updated: 11/24/2025 13:15
• (Created: 08/06/2016 19:37).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

• Summary
• Composition
• Ratings
• Favourites
• Comments
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3. (=)

The Joshua Tree 

 U2

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A superb album with one of my all-time favourite opening tracks of an album. Very atmospheric. The three opening tracks to this album are awesome. And every track on here is just great. For me it's faultless. They play so well together as a band. And there isn't a duff track on it. It's a legendary album and they have a lot of good albums. Some great albums in fact. This will always be a favourite. The lyrics, the music and Bono singing like he is trying to break out of prison, to paraphrase Andrea Corr. Hard to beat. Will always be a top-tier album for me. One of a kind. [First added to this chart: 08/06/2016]

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

1,861 charts

Rank Score:

18,311

Rank in 1987:

1

Rank in 1980s:

6

Overall Rank:

52

Average Rating:

 83 (2,455 votes)

Comments:

228

29. (=)

The Lion And The Cobra 

 Sinéad O'Connor

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What sad news it was to find out that Sinead O'Connor had passed away and so young. A couple of years ago now. I love her music. She was a beautiful and sensitive soul and was really damaged from childhood. I like a lot of her albums and it was an almost impossible choice between this album and her sublime sophomore effort I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. Although the latter album contains her famous Prince cover Nothing Compares 2 U, which is one of my favourite songs, I just felt that song for song, this, her debut album, is a little bit stronger. My favourite songs on here are Jackie and Troy. And Mandinka was a great single. I remember seeing her promote that one in music magazine Smash Hits when I was twelve. It's only fitting that she rose to become world famous because with her feisty personality and her sublime voice. She had world-class talent. Rest in peace. [First added to this chart: 11/26/2020]

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

212 charts

Rank Score:

1,305

Rank in 1987:

24

Rank in 1980s:

211

Overall Rank:

1,316

Average Rating:

 78 (204 votes)

Comments:

6

52. (=)

Achtung Baby 

 U2

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Very nostalgic album, for me. I was 16. This rocked my world. [First added to this chart: 08/06/2016]

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

1,316 charts

Rank Score:

11,846

Rank in 1991:

5

Rank in 1990s:

21

Overall Rank:

109

Average Rating:

 80 (1,832 votes)

Comments:

145

Total albums: 3. Page 1 of 1

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Country	Albums	%
	44	44%
	42	42%
	4	4%
	3	3%
	2	2%
	2	2%
	1	1%
Show all

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts

Title	Source	Type	Published	Country
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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 119 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
90/100  !	02/08/2025 07:26	SomethingSpecial	1,105	85/100
95/100  !	08/12/2024 20:20	pedro1976	107	85/100
95/100  !	05/05/2024 02:15	matterhornrider	93	93/100
100/100  !	01/31/2024 20:26	Moondance	476	85/100
95/100  !	01/19/2024 20:48	dihansse	309	84/100

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 92.9/100, a mean average of 92.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 93.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.6.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 89 comments |
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From CharlieBarley 05/25/2025 14:05 | #309135

Cheers Pedro!
sorry about the late reply
Haven't checked my emails in a week Bro

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

Rating:  

95/100

From pedro1976 05/19/2025 11:50 | #309061

pretty cool list - some treasure here for sure

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

From CharlieBarley 05/13/2024 17:05 | #303504

Hey RTB! HOW You doing Bud?!
Good to see you on here.

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

Rating:  

100/100

From RoundTheBend 05/13/2024 05:14 | #303494

Great new chart mate! Good to see you still active.

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

From CharlieBarley 05/05/2024 06:14 | #303365

Thanks MHR!

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

Rating:  

95/100

From matterhornrider 05/05/2024 02:17 | #303362

Nice Top 100, with diversity in Music genres and covering so many decades. I loved your commentary as well. Cheers

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

From CharlieBarley 01/31/2024 21:00 | #301633

Thanks Moondance.
Nice comment. I do try and be honest about my tastes.
I will have to check your chart out, see if I have read it.
Have a good day Bud.

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

Rating:  

100/100

From Moondance 01/31/2024 20:27 | #301632

There is so much to like about this chart. The intro is spot on - how music is a connection to something greater in one's life (& that's why certain albums, often dismissed by the masses, can find a home in someone's greatest 100 chart). Your chart speaks honestly (no peer pressure) and it is the kind of chart I like to spend time with and will read from no.1 to no.100. Definitely one of my favourite charts on this site. Nicely put together CB - could very well be my first 100!

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

From CharlieBarley 01/20/2024 01:41 | #301330

I know! It was a good discovery

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Rating:  

95/100

From dihansse 01/19/2024 20:48 | #301324

Funny that you discovered Out Of Time on Belgian radio ;)

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