Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by 
sgraham1990 
For the sake of a more diverse chart, I limited myself to one album per artist. Also, I've decided to not include soundtrack albums on this list. Other than that, enjoy the chart! Comments are appreciated!
- Chart updated: 07/08/2021 05:15
- (Created: 10/10/2011 05:38).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 27 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 86 out of 100 (from 40 votes). Please log in or create an account to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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I'm a huge Beatlemaniac. If I wasn't limiting myself to one album per artist on my chart, my top ten or so entries would be Beatle albums. This album, to me, is a perfect assimilation of everything that made previous Beatles albums great; it packs so much into it. After I finish listening to it, I feel like I've been listening for hours: and that's a good thing. A perfect finish to the career of a perfect band.
[First added to this chart: 10/18/2011]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
53,638
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I had an impossible time picking my favorite Dylan album for this chart, and to be honest, this isn't it. The reason I picked this album, is that this is the one that springs to my mind whenever someone mentions Bob Dylan. This is the album that made me fall in love with his voice and his songwriting, and for that, this album will always hold a special place in my heart.
[First added to this chart: 10/18/2011]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,702
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I respect Radiohead so much, for taking the brilliant techniques of recent atonal composers, and making them so accessible. It may seem a little weird, but I like to turn out the lights, light a candle, and listen to this one sitting in my closet.
[First added to this chart: 10/18/2011]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank Score:
38,516
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Most of the time, I need to give an album at least a couple listens before I feel comfortable giving people my opinion of it. With this album, I knew I was hearing something astounding after the first track.
[First added to this chart: 10/18/2011]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
14,242
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This album has great lyrics and an intense drive, but what I love the most about this one is the structure. As far as I can tell, structure is something that goes mostly ignored, even in supposed "concept albums" or "rock operas." It's the simple symmetry in this albums track list that makes it such a unique pleasure to listen to.
[First added to this chart: 10/18/2011]
Year of Release:
2004
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,152
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The two most beautiful voices in pop music. On a semi random note, this is a great album to listen to if you're ever riding the Greyhound bus...
[First added to this chart: 10/18/2011]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11,660
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I've always thought that the basis for writing a good pop song, is that each component of the piece: voice, guitars, drums etc, should work together in such a way that they elevate each other to a point where you end up with a song that is greater than the sum of it's parts. The song "One" is a perfect example of this. And of course, the rest of the songs here are phenomenal too.
[First added to this chart: 10/18/2011]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11,330
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I can't quite explain why this one gives me such a high, but when I listen to Madame George, I'm in another world.
[First added to this chart: 10/18/2011]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,155
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I mentioned in my American Idiot comment that I liked structure in an album. But for some reason this one appeals to me because of it's somewhat sporadic feel. I like that it never quite settles in one place until the very end.
[First added to this chart: 10/18/2011]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
55,838
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Listening to a post Beatles Beatle album is weird. It just doesn't feel whole, 'ya know? Anyway a lot of them are still great though, and this is my favorite.
[First added to this chart: 10/28/2011]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11,783
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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 | 2 | 2% | |
| 1960s | 14 | 14% | |
| 1970s | 27 | 27% | |
| 1980s | 10 | 10% | |
| 1990s | 17 | 17% | |
| 2000s | 21 | 21% | |
| 2010s | 8 | 8% | |
| 2020s | 1 | 1% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Beatles | 2 | 2% | |
| Lindsey Stirling | 1 | 1% | |
| Blondie | 1 | 1% | |
| The Chieftains | 1 | 1% | |
| Radiohead | 1 | 1% | |
| Christina Perri | 1 | 1% | |
| Mumford & Sons | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
Up 10 from 23rd to 13th |
Up 2 from 18th to 16th |
Up 2 from 14th to 12th |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
Down 11 from 16th to 27th |
Down 7 from 11th to 18th |
Down 2 from 12th to 14th |
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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 40 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 01/07/2016 15:12 |  Applerill | 970 | 75/100 |
| ! | 10/09/2015 14:45 | luis721 | 172 | 93/100 |
| ! | 01/13/2015 02:51 | GthanSwagson | 15 | 97/100 |
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 85.7/100, a mean average of 85.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 85.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 8.8.
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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 4 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From 
BestEverAlbums 07/08/2014 08:00 in Chart of the day (#994): By sgraham1990
BestEverAlbums 07/08/2014 08:00 in Chart of the day (#994): By sgraham1990“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by sgraham1990 () 1. Abbey Road by The Beatles (1969) 2. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan (1963) 3. Kid A by Radiohead (2000) 4. Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen (1975) 5. American Idiot by Green Day (2004) 6. Bridge Over Troubled Water…”
(4 mentions across Chart of the Day topics)View latest topic →
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From
btener11 03/13/2013 19:30 | #68159
btener11 03/13/2013 19:30 | #68159
first of all, i absolutely love your comments - especially on the first couple pages. content-wise, i'm pretty much split down the middle. i'm hot on selections like marquee moon, songs in the key of life, grace, rain dogs, loveless, ride the lightning, astral weeks and others, but lukewarm to cold on much of the country and pop stuff. i can tell that your perspective starts with artists like the beatles and bob dylan and works outward from there, clearly showing that your musical taste isn't ruled by trends and critic-blabber. i can also see that you are thoughtful and have a healthy respect for music that makes the selections i dislike seem less baffling. overall, i appreciate your chart more than i like it, but that is definitely worth something.
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From
AMEIER 12/09/2014 06:33 | #129046
AMEIER 12/09/2014 06:33 | #129046
Man! What an Amazing chart!
It's been about a month already that i discovered this website and i'm having such a pleasure on this that a cannot explain! Mostly of the times I agree with the albums places in here, and your chart gave me such a good feeling that I had to leave this message here.
Some artists in your list, I don't have enough knowledge to make an opinion to.
I really beginning on this but I wish you can take a look on my chart, and see how it goes, and maybe leave a message for me. Hope also, to show you more about brazilian music, and it's history behind.
Was very nice again.. Thanks!!
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From
19loveless91 TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/23/2011 20:58 | #31094
Hey man, thanks for both the comment and the rating. Like the comments on yours too :) ... And sorry for not rating back, I decided not to rate any charts. Also, I haven't heard about half of albums here.
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From
Mother Nature's Son TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/21/2011 14:56 | #30958
Mother Nature's Son TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/21/2011 14:56 | #30958
On one hand a great chart representing many different bands and albums, but on the other it doesn't represent the top 50 greatest albums in your opinion. A bit shame, but otherwise great and inspiring.
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From
sagardmni 04/09/2012 12:29 | #39850
I agree with what you say about the freewheeling. Bob dylan's debut really didn't gel with me, but I decided to give the next one a try, and found it brilliant
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