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.

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2. (=)

If You're Feeling Sinister 

 Belle And Sebastian

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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:

12,019

Rank in 1996:

1

Rank in 1990s:

24

Overall Rank:

121

Average Rating:

 83 (1,182 votes)

Comments:

95

5. (=)

Abbey Road 

 The Beatles

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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:

3,625 charts

Rank Score:

65,347

Rank in 1969:

1

Rank in 1960s:

1

Overall Rank:

3

Average Rating:

 92 (4,507 votes)

Comments:

466

7. (=)

In Rainbows 

 Radiohead

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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:

2,832 charts

Rank Score:

51,247

Rank in 2007:

1

Rank in 2000s:

2

Overall Rank:

6

Average Rating:

 90 (3,832 votes)

Comments:

386

10. (9) 1

Odessey And Oracle 

 The Zombies

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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:

15,300

Rank in 1968:

4

Rank in 1960s:

21

Overall Rank:

87

Average Rating:

 85 (1,312 votes)

Comments:

118

14. (18) 4

Revolver 

 The Beatles

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Best Tracks: Eleanor Rigby, I'm Only Sleeping, Here There and Everywhere, Yellow Submarine, Good Day Sunshine, For No One, Tomorrow Never Knows

Yeah I suppose this record is more consistently great in comparison to Abbey Road, which is why it's still in my top 20, but it still doesn't have the charm of their last album. Regardless, this is possibly the most classic album of all time and if someone told me they've never listened to music before, this would be the first album I'd recommend to them.

Favorite: I'm Only Sleeping

9.5/10 [First added to this chart: 03/24/2017]

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

3,478 charts

Rank Score:

57,048

Rank in 1966:

1

Rank in 1960s:

2

Overall Rank:

4

Average Rating:

 91 (4,472 votes)

Comments:

477

20. (17) 3

Strangeways, Here We Come 

 The Smiths

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Best Tracks: A Rush And A Push & The Land Is Ours, I Started Something I Couldn't Finish, Girlfriend In A Coma, Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before, Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me, Paint A Vulgar Picture, I Won't Share You

Obviously there's no true objectivity when regarding musical opinion... but having said that, this is objectively the best Smiths album. Excluding maybe their compilations, this is their only album where I enjoy every single song presented, and it's honestly the Smiths album I've always hoped existed. I still can't figure out why this album is continually their most overlooked when it's so so good. Don't sleep on this one.

Favorite: I Started Something I Couldn't Finish

9.4/10 [First added to this chart: 10/11/2018]

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

724 charts

Rank Score:

6,379

Rank in 1987:

4

Rank in 1980s:

36

Overall Rank:

276

Average Rating:

 81 (1,103 votes)

Comments:

64

32. (14) 18

Pink Moon 

 Nick Drake

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Best Tracks: Pink Moon, Place to Be, Things Behind the Sun, Parasite, Free Ride, From the Morning

The depression that he faced coming into this record gives an overwhelmingly distant and melancholy tone to each song for sure. I can't deny that the unfortunate, early death of Nick Drake greatly amplifies the devastating mood that this album possesses, but the music is just as heartbreaking. I find myself often ignoring the lyrics of many songs I come across, and in the case of Pink Moon, I believe that isn't a very big deal at all. The music speaks for itself here.

Favorite: Pink Moon

9.1/10 [First added to this chart: 03/24/2017]

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

1,502 charts

Rank Score:

20,135

Rank in 1972:

3

Rank in 1970s:

15

Overall Rank:

50

Average Rating:

 87 (1,802 votes)

Comments:

142

34. (35) 1

The Stone Roses 

 The Stone Roses

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Best Tracks: I Wanna Be Adored, She Bangs The Drums, Bye Bye Badman, Made Of Stone, Shoot You Down, This Is The One, I Am The Resurrection

I didn't actually already have this one on my chart, which is strange. I probably had it on here at one point and then somehow it disappeared. I must've decided I didn't like it as much as I thought I did, but then I changed my mind again, obviously.

Favorite: Made Of Stone

9.1/10 [First added to this chart: 08/24/2017]

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

1,972 charts

Rank Score:

25,901

Rank in 1989:

3

Rank in 1980s:

5

Overall Rank:

34

Average Rating:

 86 (2,225 votes)

Comments:

202

37. (39) 2

Let's Get Out Of This Country 

 Camera Obscura (UK)

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Best Tracks: Lloyd I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken, Dory Previn, The False Contender, Let's Get Out Of This Country, I Need All The Friends I Can Get

I didn't quite see the comparisons to Belle and Sebastian initially, but I think I understand it now to an extent. Other than the fact it's the same genre, I feel like Camera Obscura solidifies their own fun sound on this record. Catchy hooks all the way through.

Favorite: Dory Previn

9.1/10 [First added to this chart: 05/13/2018]

Year of Release:

2006

Appears in:

155 charts

Rank Score:

950

Rank in 2006:

24

Rank in 2000s:

290

Overall Rank:

1,776

Average Rating:

 79 (165 votes)

Comments:

7

42. (43) 1

Allo Darlin' 

 Allo Darlin'

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Best Tracks: Dreaming, The Polaroid Song, Silver Dollars, Kiss Your Lips, Heartbeat Chilli, If Loneliness Was Art, Woody Allen

Heck ya

Favorite: Heartbeat Chilli

9.0/10 [First added to this chart: 12/27/2019]

Year of Release:

2010

Appears in:

66 charts

Rank Score:

528

Rank in 2010:

42

Rank in 2010s:

478

Overall Rank:

2,883

Average Rating:

 77 (60 votes)

Comments:

3

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Total albums: 28. 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	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%
Joanna Newsom	2	2%
Weezer	2	2%
Joni Mitchell	2	2%
Violent Femmes	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

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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.

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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	687	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.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites

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

MCOTho

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DJENNY

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Lgk21

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 11 comments |
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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.

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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

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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.

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Rating:  

100/100

From Onater 01/01/2018 21:38

I think this might be my list from another timeline

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Rating:  

90/100

From zrommeke 01/01/2018 18:45

Damn good chart!

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Rating:  

90/100

From RandolphCarterJr 07/11/2017 06:13

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

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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'

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