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 42 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 1970s. (Remove this filter)
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The pinnacle of what is achievable by four guys with two guitars, a bass, and a drum kit. People praise the punk movement, and in particular bands like the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, for their back-to-basics simplicity that grounded and reinvigorated rock, but this album is a whirlwind tour of the full implications of that concept. Each riff is so instant and catchy that it could carry a whole song, but the songs rarely stretch past two minutes, and often go through several parts. This is everything I love about music in a microcosm.
ACO: Chairs Missing, the followup album to this, sees Wire exploring different instrumentation and arrangement, and building longer songs, without losing the spark that makes this album special. A different kind of brilliance. [First added to this chart: 02/04/2018]
ACO: Chairs Missing, the followup album to this, sees Wire exploring different instrumentation and arrangement, and building longer songs, without losing the spark that makes this album special. A different kind of brilliance. [First added to this chart: 02/04/2018]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,579
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Comments:
48
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This album took a while to grow on me, and I think, ironically, a lot of that has to do with how little it has to hide from you. The lyrics are poetic, but not to the point of being dense or difficult. The melodies are beautiful, but simple. Joni is a good guitarist and pianist, but not in a way that’s flashy. Some albums feel like they’re buried underground, and you slowly unearth them with listen after listen. With this album, it’s all right there for you. You just get to know it, and become comfortable with it, until eventually you realize how perfectly everything comes together.
ACO: Hissing of Summer Lawns [First added to this chart: 12/23/2016]
ACO: Hissing of Summer Lawns [First added to this chart: 12/23/2016]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,094
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Eno may be my favorite musician. Everything he touches, from the Talking Heads to Windows 95, is vastly improved by his presence. This is my favorite of his albums partly because it showcases both the poppy fun of his earlier albums and the ambient soundscapes of his later ones. Partly, it's because of the guest list containing some of the best musicians of the '60s and '70s (John Cale, Phil Collins, and The Frippster himself). Mostly, though, it's because it is one of the most creative and unique albums I've ever heard.
ACO: Before and After Science is the most similar entry in Eno's overall excellent discography to this, and it is uncoincidentally my next favorite of his. Everything he's done is a highlight though. [First added to this chart: 12/23/2016]
ACO: Before and After Science is the most similar entry in Eno's overall excellent discography to this, and it is uncoincidentally my next favorite of his. Everything he's done is a highlight though. [First added to this chart: 12/23/2016]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,172
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If you haven't noticed by now, I'm really into atmospheric albums. This album is like being 100 feet underwater at midnight. This album is dark, and it's depressing, but it's also oddly comforting. A lot of the tracks are weirdly groovy, and it seems like they should clash with Ian Curtis's vocals, but somehow it works. It's such a unique album, both sonically and emotionally, but it never really feels out of place. It reminds me of the monolith from 2001—it's like Joy Division dug up something primal and fundamental, something that was already in us and laid it down on vinyl.
ACO: Closer is also a great album, but make sure to check out Substance, which contains such classics as Love Will Tear Us Apart, Transmission, and Atmosphere, among others [First added to this chart: 10/10/2016]
ACO: Closer is also a great album, but make sure to check out Substance, which contains such classics as Love Will Tear Us Apart, Transmission, and Atmosphere, among others [First added to this chart: 10/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
24,984
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The much awaited follow-up to the multi-platinum Harvest, this album is a part of what gets called the Ditch Trilogy, alongside Time Fades Away and Tonight's the Night. Even if you haven't listened to it, you may have heard about what a departure it is from the accessibility of songs like Heart of Gold and Old Man. To a degree, that's true, but mostly I think that's kind of a load of crap. Songs like Walk On and See The Sky About To Rain are just as welcoming as anything on Harvest. Songs like Vampire Blues, Revolution Blues, and the title track are rooted in the guitar jams of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, and the spectacular Ambulance Blues and Motion Pictures are as heart-wrenching as the most sincere cuts off After The Gold Rush. Neil Young puts a lot of himself into every album he makes (at least on the good ones), but this one might have the most of him in it.
ACO: If this isn't the Neilest album, then it's got to be Tonight's the Night. [First added to this chart: 02/04/2018]
ACO: If this isn't the Neilest album, then it's got to be Tonight's the Night. [First added to this chart: 02/04/2018]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,928
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Gang of Four, along with their contemporaries like Wire and Joy Division (but to a greater extent), were so ahead of their time that their influence took 20 years to really make itself shown. Sure, you can hear some of the sharp, angular sounds of new wave in this album, but on the whole it's something else entirely. Each instrument gets used in such creative, unique ways, and they all come together to create an amazingly tight album.
ACO: Solid Gold is definitely worth checking out if you love this album, but doesn't offer anything too new. [First added to this chart: 03/05/2019]
ACO: Solid Gold is definitely worth checking out if you love this album, but doesn't offer anything too new. [First added to this chart: 03/05/2019]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,102
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An earful and a half. Over 90 minutes of dense, powerful music that makes it feel like the heart of darkness Conrad wrote about found a new home in New York City. I still feel like I'm trying to see past a curtain when I listen to this album, but I've glimpsed enough to know that something special lies on the other side. This is where Miles really finds the sounds he was searching for in the late '60s.
ACO: Miles's electric period is by far my favorite, so I would recommend albums like Jack Johnson and In A Silent Way, but albums like Birth Of The Cool and Sketches Of Spain are definitely worth checking out too. [First added to this chart: 02/04/2018]
ACO: Miles's electric period is by far my favorite, so I would recommend albums like Jack Johnson and In A Silent Way, but albums like Birth Of The Cool and Sketches Of Spain are definitely worth checking out too. [First added to this chart: 02/04/2018]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,141
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This is one of the first albums I ever listened to. The fact that it's so high up on this chart is probably no coincidence, but even without nostalgia being a factor, this is still one of the best albums I've ever listened to. There isn't a note out of place. This album is the reason I'm a sucker for concept albums now.
ACO: Pink Floyd is probably my favorite band. For something similar to this (in style, if not in scope) check out The Final Cut.
You don't need me to tell you to listen to Pink Floyd, but my top five:
1.) The Wall
2.) Wish You Were Here
3.) Dark Side Of The Moon
4.) Saucerful Of Secrets
5.) Piper At The Gates Of Dawn [First added to this chart: 10/10/2016]
ACO: Pink Floyd is probably my favorite band. For something similar to this (in style, if not in scope) check out The Final Cut.
You don't need me to tell you to listen to Pink Floyd, but my top five:
1.) The Wall
2.) Wish You Were Here
3.) Dark Side Of The Moon
4.) Saucerful Of Secrets
5.) Piper At The Gates Of Dawn [First added to this chart: 10/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
30,119
Rank in 1979:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Bowie put out an unprecedented and unequaled run of 13 good-to-great albums, from Space Oddity to Let's Dance. Over that run, he passed through a hundred different styles, from folk, to proto-metal, to glam, to soul, to electronic, to pop, and he left an indelible mark on each of them. Heroes is the middle album of the Berlin trilogy he did with Brian Eno, and while Low is brimming with new ideas and creativity, this is the album where both artists really mesh and hit their stride.
For a long time, I'd only heard the title track, and while it was and is one of my favorite songs of all time, the rest of the album blew me away too. Similar to Low, it's divided into half, with the wild and beautiful avant-pop of the first half giving way to stunning ambient pieces in the second. Both sides are fantastic, and the album also closes with one of the strongest songs in Bowie's titanic library.
ACO: Ziggy, Aladdin, Station To Station, Blackstar [First added to this chart: 02/12/2018]
For a long time, I'd only heard the title track, and while it was and is one of my favorite songs of all time, the rest of the album blew me away too. Similar to Low, it's divided into half, with the wild and beautiful avant-pop of the first half giving way to stunning ambient pieces in the second. Both sides are fantastic, and the album also closes with one of the strongest songs in Bowie's titanic library.
ACO: Ziggy, Aladdin, Station To Station, Blackstar [First added to this chart: 02/12/2018]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,741
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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There's a principle in Psychology called the Just Noticeable Difference. The story that's often told to explain it is about boiling frogs. If you put a frog in a pot of boiling water, it jumps out, but if you put a frog in a pot of cool water and slowly bring it up to a boil, it will cook before it thinks to leave.
This album (piece? composition?) operates under the radar of Just Noticeable Difference. It starts off calm, but after a while, you realize you are surrounded by music that is bubbling, swirling, and alive.
ACO: This piece takes inspiration from other minimalist compositions, especially In C by Terry Riley (which in turn took a lot of influence from Steve Reich). It's worth checking out Philip Glass and La Monte Young too. [First added to this chart: 02/12/2018]
This album (piece? composition?) operates under the radar of Just Noticeable Difference. It starts off calm, but after a while, you realize you are surrounded by music that is bubbling, swirling, and alive.
ACO: This piece takes inspiration from other minimalist compositions, especially In C by Terry Riley (which in turn took a lot of influence from Steve Reich). It's worth checking out Philip Glass and La Monte Young too. [First added to this chart: 02/12/2018]
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,105
Rank in 1978:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 20. Page 1 of 2
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| 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 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Richard Dawson | 1 | 1% | |
| Ride | 1 | 1% | |
| Big Thief | 1 | 1% | |
| Swans | 1 | 1% | |
| Julia Holter | 1 | 1% | |
| My Bloody Valentine | 1 | 1% | |
| Pink Floyd | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
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| |
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 3rd Karma by Pharoah Sanders |
| Up 37 from 51st to 14th If You're Feeling Sinister by Belle And Sebastian |
| Up 30 from 100th to 70th Ys by Joanna Newsom |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 23 from 11th to 34th The Wall by Pink Floyd |
| Down 22 from 5th to 27th Deathconsciousness by Have A Nice Life |
| Down 19 from 23rd to 42nd Let Love In by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
92/100 (from 42 votes)
where:
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 42 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
85/100  | 07/13/2022 22:08 |  Applerill | | 75/100 |
95/100 | 12/28/2020 02:19 | jeitee | | 75/100 |
90/100 | 12/27/2020 18:23 |  pjohnsongolf | | 89/100 |
100/100 | 12/27/2020 09:15 |  Mercury | | 95/100 |
 100/100 | 06/03/2020 21:38 |  ssteve | | 92/100 |
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 91.9/100, a mean average of 92.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 93.3/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.5.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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95/100
From jeitee 12/28/2020 02:20
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)
90/100
From pjohnsongolf 12/27/2020 18:23
pjohnsongolf 12/27/2020 18:23
Great chart man! I will definitely check some stuff out!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From 
NowhereMan 12/27/2020 11:08
NowhereMan 12/27/2020 11:08
A really great read revisiting. Picked up a few new recommendations too; thanks!
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90/100
From Johnnyo 01/02/2019 07:45
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)
95/100
From 
foxytreeko 09/05/2018 21:12
foxytreeko 09/05/2018 21:12
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)
95/100
From Komorebi-D 03/12/2018 04:23
Komorebi-D 03/12/2018 04:23
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)
95/100
From 
Antonio-Pedro 02/13/2018 23:48
Antonio-Pedro 02/13/2018 23:48
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) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From Lgk21 01/03/2018 23:11
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)
100/100
From 
HoldenM 01/03/2018 21:47
HoldenM 01/03/2018 21:47
Nary a bad record in sight.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
ForegroundNoise 01/03/2018 12:35
ForegroundNoise 01/03/2018 12:35
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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