Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by Weepingguitarman 
Keeping it one album per artist for the sake of variety, but I'm including recommendations (ACO = Also Check Out) in the notes for other favorites of mine. There is still so much music I want to listen to, so if you don't see your favorite band on here, let me know! Maybe (probably) I just haven't heard of them/gotten around to listening to them yet.
I'll try to include notes for as many as I can, but I'm going to be changing and adding to this chart all the time, so it won't be fast.
- Chart updated: 10/05/2020 03:15
- (Created: 09/07/2016 03:42).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 16 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 92 out of 100 (from 46 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 1950s. (Remove this filter)
Before I heard this album, I wasn't sure if I'd ever like jazz. From the little I'd explored, it seemed really formulaic, as if there was no room for expression. Then, this album came along and turned everything on its head. Originally it was going to be called Focus On Sanity after one of the tracks (which, admittedly, would have still been an appropriate name) but the producer urged Coleman to change the name to reflect how revolutionary this album was. Even out of the historical context, though, it's still an amazing listen. Make sure you listen in stereo.
ACO: Ornette albums tend to sound similar not because they retread the same ground, but because the ground they tread is so far away from where everyone else is walking as to be easily recognizable. This Is Our Music is another great album in the same vein as this one, while Science Fiction successfully adds a bunch of new elements [First added to this chart: 10/10/2016]
ACO: Ornette albums tend to sound similar not because they retread the same ground, but because the ground they tread is so far away from where everyone else is walking as to be easily recognizable. This Is Our Music is another great album in the same vein as this one, while Science Fiction successfully adds a bunch of new elements [First added to this chart: 10/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,773
Rank in 1959:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1. Page 1 of 1
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 1 | 1% | |
| 1960s | 9 | 9% | |
| 1970s | 20 | 20% | |
| 1980s | 17 | 17% | |
| 1990s | 23 | 23% | |
| 2000s | 16 | 16% | |
| 2010s | 14 | 14% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Miles Davis | 1 | 1% | |
| Robert Wyatt | 1 | 1% | |
| Sonny Sharrock | 1 | 1% | |
| Eno | 1 | 1% | |
| Mobb Deep | 1 | 1% | |
| PJ Harvey | 1 | 1% | |
| Songs: Ohia | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
70 | 70% | |
 |
19 | 19% | |
| |
6 | 6% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 38 from 41st to 3rdKarma by Pharoah Sanders |
| Up 37 from 51st to 14thIf You're Feeling Sinister by Belle And Sebastian |
| Up 30 from 100th to 70thYs by Joanna Newsom |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 23 from 11th to 34thThe Wall by Pink Floyd |
| Down 22 from 5th to 27thDeathconsciousness by Have A Nice Life |
| Down 19 from 23rd to 42ndLet Love In by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds |
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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 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 46 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/24/2025 07:20 |  seb7 | 114 | 91/100 | |
| 03/25/2025 20:04 | DrewHamster | 314 | 79/100 | |
| 03/20/2025 22:40 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,089 | 85/100 | |
| 01/15/2025 16:17 | Exist-en-ciel | 156 | 97/100 | |
| 07/13/2022 22:08 |  Applerill | 972 | 75/100 |
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 92.0/100, a mean average of 92.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 93.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.3.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From jeitee 12/28/2020 02:20 | #263325
love the notes on a lot of these albums. looking forward to seeing if you add notes to ys and loud city song
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
pjohnsongolf 12/27/2020 18:23 | #263288
pjohnsongolf 12/27/2020 18:23 | #263288
Great chart man! I will definitely check some stuff out!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
NowhereMan 12/27/2020 11:08 | #263266
NowhereMan 12/27/2020 11:08 | #263266
A really great read revisiting. Picked up a few new recommendations too; thanks!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Johnnyo 01/02/2019 07:45 | #228552
Really love your chart and the notes against each entry really add to the enjoyment. Thanks for taking the time to do this.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
foxytreeko 09/05/2018 21:12 | #220622
foxytreeko 09/05/2018 21:12 | #220622
One of my favorite charts I have ever seen on this site, I love your picks and descriptions of what each of these albums mean to you! Can't wait until you finish commenting on the rest of your chart!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Komorebi-D 03/12/2018 04:23 | #210700
Komorebi-D 03/12/2018 04:23 | #210700
Dude this chart is work of art. I adore every single title on here except for three and that’s only because I haven’t heard them. We practically have the exact same taste. This is excellent!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 
Antonio-Pedro 02/13/2018 23:48 | #208076
Antonio-Pedro 02/13/2018 23:48 | #208076
I'm so happy I dug upon this chart, there is so much beauty in your notes on the middle to the end part, makes justice to the whole list, also loved your annotation on Steve reich's record, really wll thought and is probably going to get me to listen to it again.
Also I'm a very personal person with my notes, and as much as there some personal touch here I think you have a quite cool feature to present your favorite records in an objective way, as you're telling them their own inner beauties, that's cute, I like it.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Lgk21 01/03/2018 23:11 | #204511
This is a great chart in part because of the great selections of albums but also because of the quality of your descriptions.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
HoldenM 01/03/2018 21:47 | #204507
HoldenM 01/03/2018 21:47 | #204507
Nary a bad record in sight.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 
ForegroundNoise 01/03/2018 12:35 | #204478
ForegroundNoise 01/03/2018 12:35 | #204478
AHHhhh what an incredible chart!! Especially the notes!! Love the #1 pick and the inclusion of Blood Visions, I'm sure you know way more stuff than I do but in case you haven't listened, check out these underground beauties:
Rodan - Rusty
Bark Psychosis - Hex
This Heat - Deceit
Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein
Fishmans - Long Season
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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