Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by WilliamFrayer

DISCLAIMER: I'm a white straight male who is pretty uncultured and I have aimed to reflect that on this chart.

List of perfect songs (not represented on this chart)

1.) The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset
2.) Arcade Fire - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
3.) Uncle Tupelo - Moonshiner
4.) New Order - Age of Consent
5.) Smashing Pumpkins - 1979
6.) Coldplay - Sparks
7.) LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yrself Clean
8.) The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize??
9.) Red Hot Chili Peppers - Soul To Squeeze
10.) The Stranglers - Golden Brown
11.) The Walkmen - The Rat
12.) Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
13.) The National - Fake Empire
14.) The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
15.) The Velvet Underground - Stephanie Says
16.) Massive Attack - Paradise Circus
17.) Getz/Gilberto - The Girl From Ipanema
18.) Weezer - California Kids
19.) Blur - The Universal
20.) R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe
21.) Carpenters - (They Long to Be) Close to You
22.) Beulah - If We Can Land a Man On the Moon, Surely I Can Win Your Heart
23.) Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky
24.) The Smiths - Is it Really So Strange?
25.) Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye

• Chart updated: 09/08/2021 22:45
• (Created: 03/23/2017 01:07).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 11 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 93 out of 100 (from 34 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

• Summary
• Composition
• Ratings
• Favourites
• Comments
• Your feedback

View the complete list of 53,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.

Sort by

• Overall Rank
• Num. Charts
• Avg. Rating
• Num. Ratings
• Release Date
• Title
• Artist
• Date Added

1. (=)

Ys 

 Joanna Newsom

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Best Tracks: All of them!

Every single time I listen to this album I feel like I'm being taken on a mystical musical journey through some fantasy world. From start to finish it's incredibly extravagant and beautifully orchestrated. If you haven't yet listened to this one do it now!!

Favorite: Only Skin

10/10 [First added to this chart: 12/08/2017]

Year of Release:

2006

Appears in:

749 charts

Rank Score:

9,290

Rank in 2006:

2

Rank in 2000s:

28

Overall Rank:

171

Average Rating:

 82 (827 votes)

Comments:

85

2. (=)

If You're Feeling Sinister 

 Belle And Sebastian

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Best Tracks: The Stars Of Track And Field, Seeing Other People, Me And The Major, Like Dylan In The Movies, Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying, If You're Feeling Sinister, Judy And The Dream Of Horses

Let me just say that I very very much enjoy twee pop, and this is the quintessential twee pop record. At least in terms of what I've listened to so far. I can't help but put this album as my second perfect record because there's honestly no weak moments on this whole thing. Pure bliss.

Favorite: Judy And The Dream Of Horses

10/10 [First added to this chart: 09/23/2017]

Year of Release:

1996

Appears in:

1,010 charts

Rank Score:

11,994

Rank in 1996:

1

Rank in 1990s:

25

Overall Rank:

122

Average Rating:

 83 (1,182 votes)

Comments:

95

3. (=)

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea 

 Neutral Milk Hotel

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Best Tracks: The King Of Carrot Flowers Part 1, The King Of Carrot Flowers Parts 2 & 3, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, Two-Headed Boy, Holland 1945, Ghost, Two-Headed Boy Part 2

This album could certainly arguably be my favorite album of all time as well, and I had it at the top of this chart when I first made it, but I think its few shortcoming(s) put it a little below the top for me. Every song is amazing, and the album experience is incomparable to any other. Impeccable execution by Jeff Mangum, and the overall simplicity of the core of each song makes it easily-accessible, heartwarming, and magical all at once.

Favorite: Two-Headed Boy Part 2

9.9/10 [First added to this chart: 03/24/2017]

Year of Release:

1998

Appears in:

2,379 charts

Rank Score:

39,468

Rank in 1998:

1

Rank in 1990s:

3

Overall Rank:

16

Average Rating:

 87 (2,870 votes)

Comments:

425

4. (=)

Violent Femmes 

 Violent Femmes

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Best Tracks: Blister In The Sun, Kiss Off, Please Do Not Go, Add It Up, Prove My Love, Gone Daddy Gone, Good Feeling

I was personally on board with this album after my first listen, but I was skeptical of my initial enjoyment. Luckily, after many many repeated listens, I appreciated it even more every single time. Apart from what I view as the only filler track on the album (To The Kill), this album is perfect. Basically everything I like about music right here.

Favorite: Add It Up

9.9/10 [First added to this chart: 01/23/2018]

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

875 charts

Rank Score:

8,197

Rank in 1983:

2

Rank in 1980s:

25

Overall Rank:

201

Average Rating:

 81 (971 votes)

Comments:

73

5. (=)

Abbey Road 

 The Beatles

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Best Tracks: Come Together, Oh! Darling, I Want You (She's So Heavy), Here Comes The Sun, You Never Give Me Your Money, Sun King/Mean Mr. Mustard/Polythene Pam/She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End/Her Majesty

The Beatles are the reason that I started listening to music other than what was on the radio at the time, and I can't thank them enough for that. Every single album of theirs is undoubtedly a classic in my mind, but Abbey Road takes the cake for me. This album was a combination of every Beatle's experiences throughout their journey of the sixties from Paul's Oh! Darling to George's Here Comes The Sun to John's You Never Give Me Your Money to even Ringo's Octopus's Garden. The personality of this album cannot be ignored for me, and it holds some of the Beatles' best work. It's impossible to imagine how they could've followed up this one.

Favorite: Oh! Darling

9.8/10 [First added to this chart: 03/24/2017]

Year of Release:

1969

Appears in:

3,629 charts

Rank Score:

65,451

Rank in 1969:

1

Rank in 1960s:

1

Overall Rank:

3

Average Rating:

 92 (4,509 votes)

Comments:

466

6. (=)

Freshman Year 

 Hop Along

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Best Tracks: Sirens, The Cactus, Failure, The Big House, Of My Brothers And The Bear, Laments Of A Mattress, Bruno Is Orange, Bride And Groom Hot Air Balloon, The Goose & The Wren, Workers, A Drummer's Arm

Yep that's right. I've added another Hop Along album to this chart and it's in my top 10 right off the bat. I feel like this album has been in my conceptual top 10 for a while now, I just never added it to this one because the album didn't even exist on this website until I had to add it manually (!?!?). Which leads me to believe that no one on here has listened to it before. Which is a shame. If you've never listened to Hop Along before, or you're unfamiliar with the Anti-folk genre, then I would be very hesitant to recommend this album specifically. Maybe listen to their newest record to get an idea. But, eventually, I would truly think it's in your best interest to listen to this album one day. One day.

Favorite: The Cactus

9.8/10 [First added to this chart: 09/08/2021]

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

2 charts

Rank Score:

87

Rank in 2005:

244

Rank in 2000s:

2,394

Overall Rank:

13,021

Average Rating:

 72 (2 votes)

Comments:

0

7. (=)

In Rainbows 

 Radiohead

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Best Tracks: 15 Step, Bodysnatchers, Nude, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, Reckoner, Jigsaw Falling Into Place, Videotape

The perfect contemporary rock album. Radiohead has plenty of great projects, but none of them are as flawless as this one. Each song has it's place on the record, and every song when listened to individually still sounds great. It's perfect as an album experience, and it's perfect if you just want to listen to one particular song at a time. All the pieces fit for me (pun intended).

Favorite: Nude

9.8/10 [First added to this chart: 07/05/2017]

Year of Release:

2007

Appears in:

2,833 charts

Rank Score:

51,135

Rank in 2007:

1

Rank in 2000s:

2

Overall Rank:

6

Average Rating:

 90 (3,835 votes)

Comments:

386

8. (15) 7

Future Me Hates Me 

 The Beths

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Best Tracks: Great No One, Future Me Hates Me, You Wouldn't Like Me, Little Death, Happy Unhappy, Whatever

Okay so power pop is a genre that exists. This album also exists. My immense enjoyment of every song on this album also exists. If you have ears, then what are you doing not listening to this??? Do it now!!

Favorite: You Wouldn't Like Me

9.8/10 [First added to this chart: 06/08/2019]

Year of Release:

2018

Appears in:

94 charts

Rank Score:

517

Rank in 2018:

48

Rank in 2010s:

485

Overall Rank:

2,929

Average Rating:

 77 (73 votes)

Comments:

2

9. (8) 1

After The Gold Rush 

 Neil Young

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Best Tracks: Tell Me Why, After The Gold Rush, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Don't Let It Bring You Down, When You Dance I Can Really Love

Ooh baby this has really grown on me recently. Very intimate and engaging song after song. I can't help but sing along to every single one. The minimalism Young shows on this record, at least in comparison to the albums he made with Crazy Horse (or even Harvest), is really effective to me.

Favorite: Tell Me Why

9.7/10 [First added to this chart: 06/13/2018]

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

1,520 charts

Rank Score:

16,269

Rank in 1970:

2

Rank in 1970s:

22

Overall Rank:

82

Average Rating:

 86 (1,739 votes)

Comments:

129

10. (9) 1

Odessey And Oracle 

 The Zombies

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Best Tracks: Care of Cell 44, Maybe After He's Gone, Hung Up On A Dream, This Will Be Our Year, Friends of Mine, Time of the Season

No one knows for sure what the Zombies could have made if they hadn't split apart after creating this album, but I can't imagine them topping this one. Every song is so catchy and has so much potential to be a radio single that someone could easily convince me that this was a greatest hits record if I knew nothing else about it.

Favorite: Care of Cell 44

9.7/10 [First added to this chart: 03/24/2017]

Year of Release:

1968

Appears in:

1,256 charts

Rank Score:

15,309

Rank in 1968:

4

Rank in 1960s:

21

Overall Rank:

87

Average Rating:

 85 (1,312 votes)

Comments:

118

• « prev
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• ...
• 9
• 10
• next »
• Goto Page: 

Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10

Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade	Albums	%
1930s	0	0%
1940s	0	0%
1950s	0	0%
1960s	16	16%
1970s	15	15%
1980s	13	13%
1990s	14	14%
2000s	20	20%
2010s	22	22%
2020s	0	0%

Artist	Albums	%
The Beatles	4	4%
The Smiths	4	4%
Hop Along	3	3%
The Strokes	2	2%
Queens Of The Stone Age	2	2%
Joanna Newsom	2	2%
Weezer	2	2%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	58	58%
	28	28%
	6	6%
	4	4%
	3	3%
	1	1%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest climbers
Up 34 from 91st to 57th Painted Shut by Hop Along
Up 25 from 72nd to 47th Paranoid by Black Sabbath
Up 14 from 87th to 73rd Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy by The Who

Biggest fallers
Down 29 from 48th to 77th The Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
Down 19 from 20th to 39th The Velvet Underground by The Velvet Underground
Down 18 from 14th to 32nd Pink Moon by Nick Drake

New entries
Somewhere City by Origami Angel
Pang by Caroline Polachek
Rustic Bullshit by Talons'
Soviet Kitsch by Regina Spektor
The Dream Is Over by PUP
2020 by Richard Dawson

Leavers
MTV Unplugged In New York by Nirvana
The Glow Pt. 2 by The Microphones
Forever Changes by Love
Live At Massey Hall 1971 by Neil Young
Just Got Back From The Discomfort - We're Alright by The Brave Little Abacus
Graceland by Paul Simon

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts

• Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Space-Dementia (2019)
• BEA Forum Regulars' Top 100 (2015) by HigherThanTheSun (2015)
• BEA top 100 reranked - 2023 by LedZep (2023)
• Ya joking? Should've been higher! All Time edition by Purplepash (2024)
• My Personal Ranking of Best Ever Albums' Top 100 by Xxnu99etxX (2022)
• Going With My Gut: The Overall Chart Top 100 Re-ranked by CharlieBarley (2024)
• Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by halloallesgoed (2018)
• Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Glitterboiii (2023)
• My Ranking of the BEA top 100 by sszwalbenest (2021)
• BEA's Top 100 re-ranked by EyeKanFly (2020)

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 34 ratings for this chart.

Sort ratings

• Rating
• Date updated
• Member

Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
90/100	06/20/2022 17:53	Applerill	976	75/100
95/100	02/28/2022 12:31	Cytoma	171	90/100
100/100	12/15/2021 06:09	MCOTho	44	92/100
100/100	09/21/2021 01:19	leniad	686	85/100
90/100	08/25/2020 07:25	ssteve	207	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 92.7/100, a mean average of 93.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 94.7/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.0.

• Related links:
• Top charts

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites

Showing all 8 members who have added this chart as a favourite

MCOTho

troy

IgnacioJoaquin

DJENNY

Purplepash

scwrlw

Lgk21

Laurensexauer

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 11 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

From WilliamFrayer 02/26/2022 10:14

I'll probably delete this comment at some point but I figured I'd address the last commenter since I have Chart of the Day today and some people might see.

I have a silly disclaimer on my chart that admittedly isn't that funny, but it's meant to be a joke. I didn't mean to trigger anyone. But now deleting it would feel like a cop out so I'll still leave it there for now.

The purpose of the disclaimer has nothing to do with anything other than the fact that I'm self-conscious about the variety of genres that are present on my chart here, and more specifically, the lack thereof. Mostly general rock music and a few basic/predictable outliers. I realize that it's something that I shouldn't feel self-conscious about because no one can listen to and enjoy every type of music. But it's a distant goal that I have to eventually have more variety with the genre representation in my favorite albums.

I could keep going but this is already too long so I'll leave it here. Thanks for viewing my chart! I'll update it again eventually I'm sure.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From MCOTho 12/15/2021 06:17

Hey we have the same favorite album! Also a ton of other stuff in common. I think that your disclaimer is extremely disturbing though. Only bigots care about race, sexuality, and gender and make broad generalizations on the basis of such things. I really thought people with good taste in music couldn't possibly be influenced by insane ideologies, but I guess that's not true. This chart makes me happy and disgusted at the same time. I hope you grow out of your racism - cause you clearly aren't just another NPC listening to whatever they put on the radio. Still gotta give you 100 though as that's what this site is supposed to be about - music - not race. Shit ruins everything.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From leniad 09/21/2021 01:19

love your chart friend

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From pctrooper 10/21/2019 20:02

Whoo yeah, ya got good charting skills! I really like picks 50-60, and I quite dig the second half of your list overall.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From DommeDamian 11/28/2018 20:45

Keep on perfecting your chart

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From Lgk21 01/02/2018 22:40

This is excellent. Every choice was clearly well thought out.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From Onater 01/01/2018 21:38

I think this might be my list from another timeline

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From zrommeke 01/01/2018 18:45

Damn good chart!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From RandolphCarterJr 07/11/2017 06:13

Wow high marks for ...Like Clockwork. I love it!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From DommeDamian 05/27/2017 08:43

11 artists in common?! =Youre not an everyday user with an everyday chart - if gnomesayin'

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Top 100 Greatest Music Albums

Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!