Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by authorunknown

70s rock/pop domination in this list, but also some 80s pearls, new wave, 90s power pop, slick american west coast and a couple of modern prog acts.

I have only picked one album per artist, so this is really an introduction to 100 great artists and their best album.

Enjoy!

• Chart updated: 02/10/2020 19:15
• (Created: 07/17/2017 22:41).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

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1. (=)

Quadrophenia 

 The Who

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What the hell is "quadrophenia" anyway? Some made-up mental disorder, right? And it's about "four", ok? So let's create a four personalities teenage angst story and let the four guys in the band perform a four-sided rock opera with four themes. 70s rock never sounded better, that's why I pick this as my all time favorite record.
Favorite track: The Real Me
Other amazing albums by The Who: Tommy (1969), Who's Next (1971) [First added to this chart: 07/18/2017]

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

942 charts

Rank Score:

7,036

Rank in 1973:

6

Rank in 1970s:

53

Overall Rank:

225

Average Rating:

 83 (1,346 votes)

Comments:

103

2. (=)

Aladdin Sane 

 David Bowie

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A party hosted by a lad insane, the late Ziggy Stardust. It's hard rock, cabaret, weirdness, historical pop references, and it's Bowie in US. I choose this album instead of Hunky Dory or Ziggy, just because of Aladdin's variety, the innovation, the dirtiness and glam, and for its fantastic parade of songs.
Favorite track: Drive-In Saturday
Other standout albums by Bowie: Hunky Dory (1971), The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Startust (1972), Station To Station (1976), Low (1977), Heroes (1977), Scary Monsters (1980) [First added to this chart: 07/18/2017]

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

807 charts

Rank Score:

5,521

Rank in 1973:

8

Rank in 1970s:

76

Overall Rank:

311

Average Rating:

 82 (1,318 votes)

Comments:

82

3. (=)

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 

 Elton John

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No one ever delivered so much new high quality pop music in such a short time like Elton did in the early 70s. Six epic albums between 1970-1973 where GYBR was the true masterpiece. The album opens with one of the most impressive progressive anthems, continues with the most catchy bittersweet poprocker you've ever heard, then the classic Marilyn ballad, then the funky glam stomper about Bennie and then the fantastic title track evergreen. And that is just the first of the album's four sides.
Favorite track: Bennie And The Jets
Other wonderful albums by Elton: Madman Across The Water (1971), Honky Chateau (1972), Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975) [First added to this chart: 07/18/2017]

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

994 charts

Rank Score:

7,470

Rank in 1973:

5

Rank in 1970s:

49

Overall Rank:

209

Average Rating:

 81 (1,156 votes)

Comments:

82

4. (=)

Lust For Life 

 Iggy Pop

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Her comes Johnny Yen again, and he is in good shape. Supported by Bowie and the Sales brothers he kicks the shit out of you from the first second. I can listen to the title track one million times without getting tired of it. The album also contains highlights like Some weird sin, Neighborhood threat, the gem Success and of course The passenger (a song you actually CAN get quite bored of). Iggy's flawless album.
Favorite track: Lust For Life
Other stunning albums by Iggy: The Idiot (1977), New Values (1979) [First added to this chart: 07/18/2017]

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

577 charts

Rank Score:

3,422

Rank in 1977:

14

Rank in 1970s:

115

Overall Rank:

511

Average Rating:

 81 (710 votes)

Comments:

53

5. (=)

Spilt Milk 

 Jellyfish

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Jellyfish were big fans of 70s Badfinger, Queen, Supertramp, Big Star and ELO and brought all influences with them into the studio where the magic began. Because you should be aware - Jellyfish are no copycats but very unique and creative artists with their very own style. Too sad they only made two albums. A desert island record for all music lovers.
Favorite track: Joining A Fanclub
Other outstanding albums by Jellyfish: Bellybutton (1990) [First added to this chart: 07/18/2017]

Year of Release:

1993

Appears in:

109 charts

Rank Score:

858

Rank in 1993:

29

Rank in 1990s:

340

Overall Rank:

1,931

Average Rating:

 75 (123 votes)

Comments:

6

6. (=)

Crime Of The Century 

 Supertramp

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Supertramp may have more hit songs on their other albums, especially Breakfast in America, but Crime is for sure my all time favorite. Like 10cc they mastered the art of progressive pop in the 70s, both complex, smart and catchy at the same time.
Favorite track: School
Other remarkable albums by Supertramp: Crisis? What Crisis? (1975), Breakfast In America (1979) [First added to this chart: 07/18/2017]

Year of Release:

1974

Appears in:

705 charts

Rank Score:

6,182

Rank in 1974:

4

Rank in 1970s:

66

Overall Rank:

268

Average Rating:

 82 (812 votes)

Comments:

55

7. (=)

Peter Gabriel (1977) 

 Peter Gabriel

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Peter was always investigating new ways of doing music, like sampling sounds from live ducks and forbidding the drummer to use any cymbals for a whole album. Peter Gabriel's creativity and his music catalog is impressive, the early 70s Genesis and most everything the man has produced as a solo artist. The experimental III/Melt and IV/Security should be in everybodys' album collection, but I have chosen his first solo effort for its magnificent songwriting (Solsbury Hill, Flood, Moribund) and for the bombastic Bob Ezrin production, with friends Wagner and Hunter on guitars.
Favorite track: Here Comes The Flood
Other mind-blowing albums by Gabriel: Peter Gabriel II (1978), Peter Gabriel III (1980), Peter Gabriel IV (1982) and probably even So (1986) [First added to this chart: 07/18/2017]

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

295 charts

Rank Score:

1,200

Rank in 1977:

30

Rank in 1970s:

279

Overall Rank:

1,410

Average Rating:

 77 (374 votes)

Comments:

14

8. (=)

Aja 

 Steely Dan

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Enjoy one of the best sounding records of the 70s (production Gary Katz). There's not one weak track on this disc. Quirky songs, 20-finger guitar chords and the best gang of studio musicians that was around those days.
Favorite track: Josie
Other great albums by Steely Dan: Countdown To Ecstacy (1973), Pretzel Logic (1974), The Royal Scam (1976), Gaucho (1980) [First added to this chart: 07/18/2017]

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

820 charts

Rank Score:

9,011

Rank in 1977:

6

Rank in 1970s:

40

Overall Rank:

162

Average Rating:

 83 (1,009 votes)

Comments:

65

9. (=)

A Trick Of The Tail 

 Genesis

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You might think I am crazy not to pick The Lamb or Selling England but I just can't create this chart without including A Trick since it is such a brilliant record. Only good songs without fillers, and compared to earlier work, they have added a pop dimension to the progressive rock, but without going soft pop bananas like they later did in the 80s and 90s. I still prefer Gabriel behind the mic, but Phil Collins did an OK job here, and he also demonstrates his awesome drumming skills (Volcano, Robbery) for maybe the last time (?).
Favorite track: Dance On A Volcano
Other must-have albums by Genesis: Foxtrot (1972), Selling England By The Pound (1973), The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974) [First added to this chart: 07/18/2017]

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

395 charts

Rank Score:

2,839

Rank in 1976:

11

Rank in 1970s:

138

Overall Rank:

602

Average Rating:

 79 (603 votes)

Comments:

42

10. (=)

The Nightfly 

 Donald Fagen

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With plenty of java and Chesterfield Kings - and a good hi-fi system - you will fully get into the universe of this album. Producer Gary Katz delivers another album that you can use to fine tune your stereo equipment. Donald without Steely sounds very much like Dan but he added more jazz and more nostalgic lyrics themes to the mix, and the result is excellent. And the vocal arrangements and performance are pure musical bliss.
Favorite track: New Frontier
Other essential albums by Donald Fagen: Kamakiriad (1993) [First added to this chart: 07/18/2017]

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

341 charts

Rank Score:

2,487

Rank in 1982:

10

Rank in 1980s:

108

Overall Rank:

698

Average Rating:

 77 (383 votes)

Comments:

22

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Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Country	Albums	%
	45	45%
	35	35%
	9	9%
	3	3%
	2	2%
	2	2%
	2	2%
Show all

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts

Title	Source	Type	Published	Country
The 100 ABSOLUTE Albums	authorunknown	Custom chart	2018
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s	authorunknown	1970s decade chart	2017
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	authorunknown	1980s decade chart	2017
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s	authorunknown	1990s decade chart	2018
The 100 Greatest Albums Of The '70s	Planet Rock	1970s decade chart	2019
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s	tim0505	1970s decade chart	2025
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s	MetalMan67	1970s decade chart	2025
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s	Ottokar	1970s decade chart	2018
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s	Kuzh69	1970s decade chart	2019
Top 79 Music Albums of 1977	authorunknown	1977 year chart	2018

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 10 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
80/100  !	03/20/2025 15:40	SomethingSpecial	1,104	85/100
95/100  !	10/05/2024 03:11	MadhattanJack	260	85/100
90/100  !	05/20/2020 20:57	dihansse	309	84/100
95/100  !	02/11/2020 09:20	mikepen	58	93/100
75/100  !	10/05/2018 23:58	sssvnnn	2,865	83/100

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 86.9/100, a mean average of 88.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.0/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 9.0.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

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Rating:  

90/100

From dihansse 05/20/2020 20:58 | #251765

It was great fun going through your comments to your favorite albums. I even put a few of your Swedish favorites on my wishlist.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From mikepen 02/11/2020 09:19 | #247670

Very good chart and thanking you for the interesting comments on each selected album. At time of writing, 9 albums in common and 21 Artists

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

From Luigii 07/22/2017 02:22 | #194757

Love that The Nightfly and Moon Safari are here. Some of my favorite records out there.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

85/100

From Daydreamer 07/19/2017 23:12 | #194638

Pretty good list. I'm a big fan of 70's rock, it's actually my favourite decade, so I don't mind it dominating the chart.
Hope this site makes you discover much more amazing music and expand your horizons.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From Repo 07/18/2017 18:19 | #194531

fantastic chart. Highly original. Big fan of early 70s Alice Cooper so will have to check out that 1978 Alice Cooper album.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

From authorunknown 07/18/2017 14:15 | #194524

gussteivi, tack för det! Bigelf - absolut, det är helt up my alley, men jag har inte lyssnat så jättemycket på dom. Money Machine lite grann bara. Får helt klart ta och kolla upp det igen.

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

Rating:  

85/100

From gussteivi 07/18/2017 12:59 | #194520

Intressant lista! Ska kolla upp en del album jag aldrig hört talas om förut. Känner du till Bigelf? De skulle passa bra in här, framförallt albumet "Cheat the gallows".

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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