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
• Your feedback

View the complete list of 57,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.

This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 1970s. (Remove this filter)

Sort by

• Overall Rank
• Num. Charts
• Avg. Rating
• Num. Ratings
• Release Date
• Title
• Artist

2. (=)

Songs In The Key Of Life 

 Stevie Wonder

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Stone cold Seventies classic. Its ambitious and clever and it's just great. It's now my favourite Stevie Wonder album. It's terrific. It's also an album you could put on at a party. So many good tracks and some real classics. They just keep on coming. My favourites are Sir Duke, Isn't She Lovely, Pastime Paradise, Have A Talk With God, As, Love's In Need Of Love Today, and the very danceable Another Star. This is a masterpiece. It's pretty amazing and a real trip to listen to. So many good songs. One double album it is worth taking the time to listen to. Plus it cheers you up instantly. Particularly if you happen to be having a bad day. Having a good day? Put this album on and you'll be on cloud nine. [First added to this chart: 06/19/2018]

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

1,307 charts

Rank Score:

15,718

Rank in 1976:

1

Rank in 1970s:

21

Overall Rank:

73

Average Rating:

 85 (1,364 votes)

Comments:

90

5. (=)

What's Going On 

 Marvin Gaye

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Just an exceptional album from one of the Kings of Motown. I first heard this album when volunteering on a community radio station, quite a few years ago, and a radio Technician was playing it. I knew it was held in high esteem by the music critics but I had never heard it. I knew What's Going On and Robert Palmer's cover of Mercy Mercy Me but I had no idea how good this album was. Musically its sublime, but it is also very satisfying on a spiritual level. Glad I discovered it. [First added to this chart: 10/18/2016]

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,637 charts

Rank Score:

18,999

Rank in 1971:

4

Rank in 1970s:

15

Overall Rank:

49

Average Rating:

 85 (1,950 votes)

Comments:

145

8. (=)

Paranoid 

 Black Sabbath

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

God, man, rest in peace, Ozzy. You are still a legend, even though you are no longer with us.

And this is my favourite album which Mr Osbourne performed on. But he, and Black Sabbath, have many great albums.

Light years ahead of their peers on this album. Hell, they had no peers, they invented metal!
Heavy, righteous and no B.S.
Love it.
[ I don't listen to their first album all the way through anymore, though. I am not easily scared, but a couple tracks on that eponymous album freak me out even now. Still, nobody rocks harder than these guys!] [First added to this chart: 10/18/2016]

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

1,731 charts

Rank Score:

18,796

Rank in 1970:

1

Rank in 1970s:

16

Overall Rank:

50

Average Rating:

 86 (2,101 votes)

Comments:

139

9. (=)

Darkness On The Edge Of Town 

 Bruce Springsteen

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Some days I think this is my favourite Springsteen album. For the moment, it's not.

I like many of his albums especially his 70's and 80's ones. And The Rising from the 2000's.

On this album, the title track is my favourite, and one of my favourite songs of his. But all the tracks on here are good. Badlands. Adam Raised A Cain. Racing In The Street. It's just brilliant.

At the moment my top 5 albums by the Boss would be: Darkness On The Edge Of Town, Born To Run, Nebraska, Born In The USA, and then The Rising. I also really like The Wild, The Innocent & The E-Street Shuffle. That one is just outside the top 5.

Anyway this is an awesome album, I think. It sounds good any time of day and any time of year. I love it. [First added to this chart: 05/24/2017]

Year of Release:

1978

Appears in:

905 charts

Rank Score:

7,246

Rank in 1978:

1

Rank in 1970s:

52

Overall Rank:

219

Average Rating:

 82 (1,172 votes)

Comments:

80

10. (=)

Wish You Were Here 

 Pink Floyd

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

First heard this in the early nineties when lent the album by my friend's older brother. I came home one weekend night, drunk, and played it on repeat whilst I slept. I heard it once through before I fell asleep. When I woke up I played it again. I loved it instantly. Now it is like an old friend. I love the overall sentiment of the album, of missing an absent friend, for them Syd Barrett. It's stirring without being sentimental. I also like the tracks relating to dealing with overnight massive fame from Dark Side of the Moon and dealing with the record company machine. For me, listening to it is like a spiritual experience. It's both mellow yet sad and righteously angry without being aggressive. And, apart from family, what could be more important than friendship? I think this will always be one of my favourite albums. I am very attached to it. And I had the good fortune of seeing it played live, in its entirety by tribute band The Australian Pink Floyd Show in 2015, the 40th anniversary year of the album's release. It was sublime. They have many good albums but this one moves me the most, and almost more than any other album. A special record.

And R.I.P. Mani. Special Guy. In the Top 3 Bass players of all time for me [First added to this chart: 08/06/2016]

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

3,007 charts

Rank Score:

44,923

Rank in 1975:

1

Rank in 1970s:

2

Overall Rank:

5

Average Rating:

 91 (4,055 votes)

Comments:

313

15. (=)

Innervisions 

 Stevie Wonder

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Wow. What an album. I first bought this after hearing a lyric rapped by Lauryn Hill in the Fugees track " How Many Mics? " from their classic album The Score. She rapped: "Go ask Alice if you don't believe me. I get in her visions like Stevie ". I was intrigued. So I bought this album. Innervisions. Great title. One of the best purchases I have ever made. It's an excellent album. My favourite track is Don't You Worry Bout a Thing, but every track is good. Higher Ground. Living For The City. Misstra Know-It All. Too High. This record just has classic after classic. And it just flows as an album, as all good albums do. It's one of my favourite Stevie Wonder album. But he has many great albums. If you haven't heard this it's an absolute must-listen! [First added to this chart: 10/18/2016]

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

1,215 charts

Rank Score:

12,575

Rank in 1973:

2

Rank in 1970s:

25

Overall Rank:

95

Average Rating:

 85 (1,329 votes)

Comments:

79

16. (=)

Animals 

 Pink Floyd

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

I find this album chills me out when I listen to it.

I don't know what that says about me, cos this can be a dark album, but I do know this is excellent. [First added to this chart: 10/18/2016]

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

1,759 charts

Rank Score:

22,714

Rank in 1977:

2

Rank in 1970s:

8

Overall Rank:

35

Average Rating:

 88 (2,801 votes)

Comments:

202

18. (=)

After The Gold Rush 

 Neil Young

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

What can I say about 'After The Gold Rush'? Apart from that I love it. I first played this at a very traumatic time in my life aged 17. It was my parents' vinyl. Anyway this album spoke to me at that time like no other album. I played it incessantly. I'm surprised I didn't wear it out. It is emotional, sensitive, world-weary and easily my favourite Neil Young album, although I haven't heard them all yet. Harvest, Tonight's The Night, and Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere are my next favourites. I've been playing it ever since. Mr Young's music, like the old Carlsberg Lager adverts, reaches parts of me other music artists can't reach. Well, I don't drink anymore but I still listen to Neil Young. [First added to this chart: 10/18/2016]

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

1,587 charts

Rank Score:

14,783

Rank in 1970:

2

Rank in 1970s:

23

Overall Rank:

83

Average Rating:

 86 (1,785 votes)

Comments:

130

20. (=)

Parallel Lines 

 Blondie

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Pure childhood nostalgia. I was a child of the late 70s/early 80s and what a great time to be alive. Star Wars, E.T. and Indiana Jones were on at the Pictures and music was awesome and there was plenty of cheese to boot. Parallel Lines was never cheesy though, just perfect. A favourite of my Dad's, who had a serious crush on Deborah Harry, he used to play it in the car when I was very small. Right from the angry, vibrant opening of Hanging On The Telephone you are in for a real treat of an album. Never fails to make me smile. [First added to this chart: 10/18/2016]

Year of Release:

1978

Appears in:

850 charts

Rank Score:

6,152

Rank in 1978:

2

Rank in 1970s:

67

Overall Rank:

271

Average Rating:

 81 (978 votes)

Comments:

61

22. (=)

Exodus 

 Bob Marley & The Wailers

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Again this is pure teenage nostalgia. I played Legend to death then gradually got into his other albums starting with Catch A Fire and Exodus. I like all his albums but Exodus is amazing. Not just because it has so many big hitters on it but it's just a superb album. My favourite track is Turn Your Lights Down Low. That is majestic. Whole album is. I like his live albums too. particularly Babylon by Bus and the Live! one with No Woman No Cry at the Lyceum in London. It's only right that Sir Bob's most famous album was called Legend. He truly was one. [First added to this chart: 02/04/2023]

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

788 charts

Rank Score:

6,266

Rank in 1977:

8

Rank in 1970s:

63

Overall Rank:

263

Average Rating:

 82 (882 votes)

Comments:

58

• « prev
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• next »

Total albums: 32. Page 1 of 4

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
Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums	Virgin	Overall chart	2000
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	tim0505	Overall chart	2025
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	Channel 4	Overall chart	2005
Top 100 Albums (Online Amalgam)	musicologist97	Custom chart	2019
Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums	Virgin	Overall chart	1998
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	Narcan	Overall chart	2011
If The BEA Overall Chart Had A One Album Per Artist Rule...	Romanelli	Custom chart	2025
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	Juneof44	Overall chart	2025
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	RFNAPLES	Overall chart	2013
My Personal Ranking of Best Ever Albums' Top 100	Xxnu99etxX	Custom chart	2022

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.

Sort by

• Rating
• Date updated
• Member

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	95	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.

• Related links:
• Top charts

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites

Showing all 12 members who have added this chart as a favourite

dihansse

Schribes

desh79

BraddlesHendo

joshbrooker2001

Ulf

batlord210

voland

slurpdurp

Clarence42069

22erik22

pa

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 89 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

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

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

Rating:  

95/100

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

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

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

Your feedback for Top 100 Greatest Music Albums

Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!