Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by 19loveless91 
October 2020 update. Gave another listen to most of these + other contenders. Surprised at what held up for me more. Not many changes or new albums near the top - those albums all meant a lot to me at some point in my life, they are few and far between.
Can't do 1 album per artist, but I did throw off Merriweather Post Pavilion, Post (Björk), Revolver, and The Wall, because those artists are well represented, and because they'd be somewhere in the last third of this list anyway.
Others that just missed out:
- Our World Died Yesterday by Nikki Louder, an excellent noisy/post-hardcore record from Slovenia. Ball of energy.
- Real Estate self titled - summery, beachy, fuzzy, warm, slightly melancholic and bittersweet "wrapped under covers" album.
- Good Health by Pretty Girls Make Graves - their best songs are on A New Romance, while this album is more consistent. J. Clark is a guitarist that nobody knows, but he puts in excellent work. Kill Sadie is another project he was involved with, also excellent.
- Angel's Breath - Serbian band's Ekatarina Velika frontman goes to Brazil to team up with his colleague Suba and some local Brazilian musicians, and the result is an excellent spin on the usual EKV sound.
- some classics like Unknown Pleasures (as well as Closer), The Velvet Underground self titled, The Black Saint & Sinner Lady.
My favourite songs that are not represented by an album on this list:
Talking Heads – This Must Be The Place
Women - Shaking Hand
The Go-Betweens - Cattle and Cane
The Dismemberment Plan - The City
Robert Wilkins - That's No Way to Get Along
Wilco – At Least That's What You Said
Stereolab - Rainbow Conversation
Cat Power - What Would the Community Think
Sugarcubes – Ammaeli (icelandic version of Birthday)
Nico – These Days
U2 – A Sort of Homecoming
Crystal Castles - Kept
- Chart updated: 11/03/2020 22:15
- (Created: 09/29/2011 22:23).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 61 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 94 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 1990s. (Remove this filter)
There was a time on BEA when most forum regulars weren't actually familiar with this + Spirit of Eden, and it was a whole thing when people got into later day Talk Talk. I preferred SoE for a long time, but this, a lot more sparse, quiet and slow-burning record eventually grew to the point of becoming what I can comfortably call my favourite album of all time - I wrote this sentence in 2016, it's still true 4 years later.
Track pick: After the Flood
on top since 01/02/2013 (d,m,y) [First added to this chart: 09/29/2011]
Track pick: After the Flood
on top since 01/02/2013 (d,m,y) [First added to this chart: 09/29/2011]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,467
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
It sounds like the album cover looks and that is awesome. Gave me a username.
Track pick: What You Want [First added to this chart: 09/29/2011]
Track pick: What You Want [First added to this chart: 09/29/2011]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
27,688
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
I had an obsession with Björk back in 2011 for a couple of months. This one is my favourite, from the string arrangements and heavy, "volcanic" beats.
Track pick: Alarm Call [First added to this chart: 09/29/2011]
Track pick: Alarm Call [First added to this chart: 09/29/2011]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,896
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Track pick: No Surprises
[First added to this chart: 09/29/2011]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
61,931
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Track pick: Sour Times
[First added to this chart: 09/29/2011]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,333
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Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
I can listen to this just focusing on the basslines. RIP Vern Rumsey, what an absolute beast he was.
Track pick: Lady Elect [First added to this chart: 03/12/2014]
Track pick: Lady Elect [First added to this chart: 03/12/2014]
Track pick: Street Spirit (Fade Out)
[First added to this chart: 09/29/2011]
Year of Release:
1995
Appears in:
Rank Score:
28,094
Rank in 1995:
Rank in 1990s:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
Track pick: If You're Feeling Sinister
[First added to this chart: 08/06/2013]
Year of Release:
1996
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,923
Rank in 1996:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
There's a lack of metal albums on this chart. But I think the reason this one works for me is because it juxtaposes its darkness and cynicism with some moments of levity.
Track pick: Aenema [First added to this chart: 09/29/2011]
Track pick: Aenema [First added to this chart: 09/29/2011]
Year of Release:
1996
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,497
Rank in 1996:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
It was one of the first hip hop albums I managed to get into, mostly I think because it actually uses the album format so well. It's like it's trying to introduce you to a life of these weird ass rappers, obsessed with martial arts.
Track pick: CREAM [First added to this chart: 09/29/2011]
Track pick: CREAM [First added to this chart: 09/29/2011]
Year of Release:
1993
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,313
Rank in 1993:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 23. Page 1 of 3
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 3 | 3% | |
| 1970s | 13 | 13% | |
| 1980s | 12 | 12% | |
| 1990s | 23 | 23% | |
| 2000s | 31 | 31% | |
| 2010s | 18 | 18% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Radiohead | 4 | 4% | |
| Animal Collective | 3 | 3% | |
| Kendrick Lamar | 2 | 2% | |
| Pavement | 2 | 2% | |
| Talk Talk | 2 | 2% | |
| My Bloody Valentine | 2 | 2% | |
| Grizzly Bear | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
47 | 47% | |
 |
20 | 20% | |
 |
7 | 7% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 68 from 95th to 27thRepetition by Unwound |
| Up 24 from 68th to 44thBitte Orca by Dirty Projectors |
| Up 15 from 100th to 85thNukkuu by Lau Nau |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 46 from 33rd to 79thUntitled (Led Zeppelin IV) by Led Zeppelin |
| Down 34 from 56th to 90thЗабранета Планета [Zabraneta Planeta] by Bernays Propaganda |
| Down 27 from 37th to 64thLoud City Song by Julia Holter |
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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 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 94 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/11/2025 10:48 |  ForegroundNoise | 473 | 87/100 | |
| 03/20/2025 14:53 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,089 | 85/100 | |
| 10/21/2021 18:10 |  seb7 | 114 | 91/100 | |
| 10/21/2021 12:50 | bonnequestion | 37 | 98/100 | |
| 05/01/2021 16:19 |  CA Dreamin | 134 | 88/100 |
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 2% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 90.0/100, a mean average of 90.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 8.7.
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From ForegroundNoise 12/11/2025 11:49 | #312096
ForegroundNoise 12/11/2025 11:49 | #312096
Found your chart via the album pages of your countrymen Širom (who I adore!). My partner is Croatian, and so I'm grateful for more gems from the Balkans from someone who knows the music culture there well. Loving the personality that comes through in your write-ups too -- will have to pour over these in detail!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From seb7 10/21/2021 18:10 | #275242
seb7 10/21/2021 18:10 | #275242
Very interesting!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From bonnequestion 10/21/2021 12:52 | #275237
Very nice chart, well-balanced between the classics and the very personal choices. I like that! Keep it up!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From leniad 11/03/2020 23:19 | #260154
good choices
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Paule 02/27/2019 12:55 | #232734
Paule 02/27/2019 12:55 | #232734
Awesome
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 
cestuneblague 12/30/2017 18:48 | #204135
cestuneblague 12/30/2017 18:48 | #204135
Uh, in terms of EMERGING artists, I guess go with the Regrettes FYFF!, def something we would've been fawning over if it came out back in '12-'13
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
JulianR 09/17/2017 06:37 | #198110
JulianR 09/17/2017 06:37 | #198110
good stuff!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From cestuneblague 06/19/2017 01:45 | #192872
cestuneblague 06/19/2017 01:45 | #192872
Did you know Lorde has a song on Melodrama (partially) called Loveless?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
LedZep 04/06/2017 22:13 | #188806
LedZep 04/06/2017 22:13 | #188806
Haustor, Idoli, At the Drive-In, U2, Nick Cave... So many brilliant choices! Almost perfect chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Mattdup279 10/26/2016 17:51 | #177495
Mattdup279 10/26/2016 17:51 | #177495
Awesome chart, love both your taste and the notes. I think mixing in the few albums from the former Yugoslavia is a refreshing and very personal touch.
Funny, I had a pretty similar experience with Dark Side of the Moon and an ensuing Pink Floyd-phase, but I think half this site probably has.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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