Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by martintho 
It's what I feel and not what I think. Subjectively . The 45s from my childhood strike chords. I try my best not be a snob about what I still cherish, as you can see. I deserve huge amounts of credit for that. I am So Brave! I grew with a pile of like early Beatles, and - as you can see from my chart - though I also dig the nonliveperiod fab4 - (I hated Getting Better & Lady Madonna at the time but loved no9!) not much can beat the songs I heard 2 mill times kneeling by my mothers grammophone when I could hardly walk. I loved the B-side to Eight Days a Week - I don't Want to spoil the Party - and the orange coloured label was a visual magicality and this all comes back to me still in a very striking manner. Same goes for the albums from my formative years and later when I suffered from heartbreak (like Isaak's Silvertone!). These days though and for many years now, I only listen to the stuff that is new to me - that being old records I missed out on or the just released ones that I get tempted to check out via this beautiful site that means so much to me or numerous other sources. To find all the stuff I still discover every day and today and yesterday though you need to look elsewhere on my year charts etcetera; it's hard for them to beat the nostalgia most of the albums on my greatest ever list benefits from. 1800 of the 5000 albums I have ticked was from the 2010s but only 4 of them made it to this list (Band of Skulls at #99 as I write this). Feel free to check out my 21st Century for more of my honesties.
- Chart updated: 02/01/2025 08:45
- (Created: 07/12/2011 21:46).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 52 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 82 out of 100 (from 92 votes). Please log in or create an account to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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[First added to this chart: 07/12/2011]
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[First added to this chart: 07/12/2011]
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[First added to this chart: 11/17/2011]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,193
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 07/12/2011]
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[First added to this chart: 07/12/2011]
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[First added to this chart: 07/12/2011]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
901
Rank in 1968:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 10/04/2011]
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[First added to this chart: 06/22/2014]
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[First added to this chart: 04/13/2012]
Year of Release:
1996
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,016
Rank in 1996:
Rank in 1990s:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 05/26/2013]
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 | 5 | 5% | |
| 1960s | 19 | 19% | |
| 1970s | 38 | 38% | |
| 1980s | 22 | 22% | |
| 1990s | 9 | 9% | |
| 2000s | 3 | 3% | |
| 2010s | 3 | 3% | |
| 2020s | 1 | 1% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Beatles | 10 | 10% | |
| Elvis Costello | 8 | 8% | |
| Procol Harum | 6 | 6% | |
| Pink Floyd | 4 | 4% | |
| David Bowie | 3 | 3% | |
| Queen | 3 | 3% | |
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
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53 | 53% | |
| |
25 | 25% | |
| |
10 | 10% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
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3 | 3% | |
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3 | 3% | |
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1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
Down 1 from 91st to 92nd |
Down 1 from 92nd to 93rd |
Down 1 from 93rd to 94th |
| New entries |
|---|
| Leavers |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | martintho | 1970s decade chart | 2026 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | martintho | 1980s decade chart | 2026 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  madsnyland | Overall chart | 2017 |  |
| Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums | Virgin | Overall chart | 1998 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | setalpgninnpseki | Overall chart | 2013 | |
| Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums | Virgin | Overall chart | 2000 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  LoganGrube | Overall chart | 2019 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | caseygow | Overall chart | 2018 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  slatsheit | Overall chart | 2026 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | tim0505 | Overall chart | 2026 | |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)
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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 3 ratings for this chart. | Show all 92 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 08/24/2025 04:51 |  MadhattanJack | 360 | 86/100 |
| ! | 08/23/2025 16:47 | Johnnyo | 2,689 | 80/100 |
| ! | 08/23/2025 15:01 | BorderFreeAndrew | 118 | 82/100 |
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 81.6/100, a mean average of 80.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 81.1/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 13.3.
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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 7 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From 
BestEverAlbums 08/23/2025 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5049): By martintho
BestEverAlbums 08/23/2025 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5049): By martintho“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by martintho () 1. Swoon by Prefab Sprout (1984) 2. Shine On Brightly by Procol Harum (1968) 3. Ommadawn by Mike Oldfield (1975) 4. Sandy by Sandy Denny (1972) 5. Grand Hotel by Procol Harum (1973) 6. Friends by The Beach Boys (1968) 7. Quo by…”
(7 mentions across Chart of the Day topics)View latest topic →
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From
19loveless91 TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/01/2011 15:52 | #26949
I see that you wrote some info for the albums you added to the BEA database. Not sure if you know that, but if you click on that icon next to the album's title (on the album page), you can fill the missing data yourself (ie the tracklist, album cover, year of release of a certain album). Considering you know those albums best, it's the fastest way to get the thing done :)
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From
meccalecca TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/08/2013 00:03 | #78318
meccalecca TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/08/2013 00:03 | #78318
This might just be the weirdest chat I've seen on BEA. America, Crass, Elvis, 10cc. I don't like the bulk of the albums here, but I respect the personal taste, and love the inclusions of Everly Brothers, Otis Blue, Elliot Smith and Spiritualized
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From
Arthurknight 02/14/2018 14:56 | #208172
Arthurknight 02/14/2018 14:56 | #208172
We're never done with the endless task of chart building my friend, we're signed on for life. You're chart is maddening but I appreciate that. Sandy Denny is ruinously underrated. (Edited)
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From
flamingyesdept TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/18/2015 16:18 | #153099
flamingyesdept TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/18/2015 16:18 | #153099
Glad to see Swoon at #1 where it so deserves to be :)
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From
fwilhelmn 07/18/2013 20:02 | #81908
Charts like this are the reason I come to this site.
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