Top 50 Greatest Music Albums by 
indieshins (2020) 
Take a drink every time I use the word "masterpiece"!
- Chart updated: 11/03/2020 21:15
- (Created: 06/08/2017 04:40).
- Chart size: 50 albums.
There are 3 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 50 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 12 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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I tend to tell people this is my favourite album. It's probably Radiohead's most beautiful album (AMSP cuts it close), with the various guitar effects and the influences of dub coming to the fore beautifully. I love the way that many of the songs are based around a recurring motif which is then layered upon, creating a hypnotic, spacious and relaxing atmosphere. Additionally, Thom's vocals are exquisite on this album. They sound very much as if he is in the room with you, confessing his deepest feelings - but in a way that implies he is understanding of your own feelings. An album I can put on at any time and cheer up. Masterful.
[First added to this chart: 06/09/2017]
Year of Release:
2007
Appears in:
Rank Score:
58,858
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375
Often considered Costello's masterpiece, and with good reason. It's an absolute masterclass in writing sophisticated pop from beginning to end. The snake-like groove on opener Beyond Belief accompanies one of the man's best lyrics, rich with metaphor and wordplay. To boot, the song's melody is completely through composed, never quite repeating. Further delights abound - the accordion led "novelette" The Long Honeymoon, the wonderfully eccentric ... And In Every Home, Human Hands (my personal favourite), and the eerie closer "The Town Cryer." This is near perfect from start to finish, and really rewards close listening. A masterpiece of baroque pop.
[First added to this chart: 06/09/2017]
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,192
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... Speaking of baroque pop, it doesn't get much better than this. I am absolutely convinced that had this been released in 1967 as intended, history would have turned very differently, with The Beach Boys emerging as the true competitors to The Beatles. To me, it trumps Sgt Pepper's (good as that album is) in nearly every way. The suite like structure of the album, with tracks flowing into one another; the dazzling, kalaidoscopic arrrangements, unlike anything in pop. This is a truly mind-blowing musical experience, even with Brian's voice not being what it was.
[First added to this chart: 06/09/2017]
Year of Release:
2004
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,471
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Underrated, underrated, underrated. My favourite hip-hop album, period. I don't know why exactly it speaks to me so deeply, but every time I put this album on, I struggle to find fault with it. Gone are the silly punchlines of Gambino's previous efforts, replaced with pointed social commentary on the numbing effects of the internet in the modern world. A silver-spoon concept, sure, but that's Gambino. The screenplay that accompanied the album really added to my experience, explaining the reason the album felt like one of two halfs - the more hard hitting, party ready first half, and the incredibly abstract, moody second half. In any case, it flows beautifully, and is an absolute treat no matter how many times I hear it. In fact, excuse me while I go give it a spin. It's been a while!
[First added to this chart: 06/09/2017]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,558
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To me, the tightest and best album of the Dan's initial run (though I haven't heard Aja and Gaucho yet). It features many of my favourite Steely Dan songs, including Razor Boy, My Old School and Your Gold Teeth. As usual, the songwriting and playing are fantastic, but I feel it has a bit more of an overt edge than some of their later work, particularly through "Skunk" Baxter's guitar solos. I enjoy every moment on this album. It's wonderful.
[First added to this chart: 06/09/2017]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,891
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The most popular jazz album of all time for a reason. Just absolutely gorgeous. It's so relaxing in it's harmonic simplicity and sense of space, the focus being more on melody and emotion than on technicality. This was one of the core philosophical innovations that Miles was partially responsible for in jazz, along with Coltrane and others, and this is one of the defining examples of it.
[First added to this chart: 06/09/2017]
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
27,914
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Brilliant beats, brilliant rhymes. I remember the first time I heard "Accordion." It was that beat that drew me in - so blisteringly original and hypnotic. Then DOOM's instantly recognizable flow blended so perfectly with the instrumental. I was hooked. It's quite an experimental album, but with time, it reveals itself as being incredibly entertaining and layered, both lyrically and musically. This is another of my favourite hip-hop albums. I can put it on and discover something new each time, or I can simply groove to it in the background. An album for all occasions.
[First added to this chart: 06/09/2017]
Year of Release:
2004
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,059
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No other album makes me feel like this. It's scarily isolating. It blocks out the world around it in the most blissful way possible, but it can be a bit disturbing for the same reason if you're in the wrong mood. However, in the right mood, there's nothing like it. It's absolutely brilliant, and strangely catchy in a more oblique way than it's still solid, but more uneven follow up. Aussie psych rock at it's best.
[First added to this chart: 06/09/2017]
Year of Release:
2012
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,906
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Just majestic. Every song is interesting and oddly beautiful, backed by that compelling wreck of a voice and some of the most insane guitar work I've ever heard by the fabulous Marc Ribot. Downtown Train does feel a little out of place as the most conventional sounding song here, but that's part the magic of this album - the normal becomes abnormal because of what surrounds it. Amazing!
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
14,448
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This album is all a blur - all I remember is that I really enjoyed it. It's messy, spontaneous, but most of all catchy. Maybe it's not Deerhoof's best, but it's the one I've gotten into the most so far. I've yet to check out their other albums, but I've heard good things. Anyway, this is here for being a brilliantly original and fun listening experience.
[First added to this chart: 06/09/2017]
Total albums: 50. Page 1 of 5
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Top 50 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 1 | 2% | |
| 1960s | 9 | 18% | |
| 1970s | 10 | 20% | |
| 1980s | 5 | 10% | |
| 1990s | 5 | 10% | |
| 2000s | 11 | 22% | |
| 2010s | 9 | 18% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Beck | 1 | 2% | |
| Stevie Wonder | 1 | 2% | |
| Tom Waits | 1 | 2% | |
| Bruce Springsteen | 1 | 2% | |
| Wilco | 1 | 2% | |
| John Zorn | 1 | 2% | |
| Deerhoof | 1 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 50 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| New entries |
|---|
 Rain Dogsby Tom Waits |
| The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths |
| Innervisions by Stevie Wonder |
| Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys |
| Leavers |
|---|
 Boxerby The National |
| Meat Is Murder by The Smiths |
| Head Hunters by Herbie Hancock |
| Check Your Head by Beastie Boys |
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Top 50 Greatest Music Albums ratings
89/100 (from 12 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 12 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
95/100  | 10/20/2021 22:19 |  Rhyner | | 99/100 |
100/100 | 10/20/2021 19:04 | gregthealien | | 86/100 |
95/100 | 08/02/2021 23:51 |  LedZep | | 84/100 |
95/100 | 11/03/2020 21:40 | leniad | | 85/100 |
 65/100 | 07/14/2020 23:16 | RioBravo | | 84/100 |
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 4% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.0/100, a mean average of 91.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 91.5/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 9.6.
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Top 50 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From Johnnyo 04/15/2018 06:41
This is a very good chart and I particularly like the time that you have dedicated to explaining why each album qualifies.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
ForegroundNoise 10/24/2017 08:19
ForegroundNoise 10/24/2017 08:19
Love the unique picks with the comments to justify them, what I look for in a great chart!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
theblueboy 07/17/2017 08:56
theblueboy 07/17/2017 08:56
Very similar tastes to me- love these choices.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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