Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by Cosmo 
This chart is a collection of pieces of my musical psyche...I guess I've tried to create a list of the greatest albums *within my own taste*. There are a few compilation albums included, but only if they are coherent samples of non-album songs, like Hatful of Hollow or the Smile Sessions, for example.
I am often drawn to music that I find beautiful and imaginative, not necessarily influential. The heavy emphasis on 2010s records is owed to it being the music of my time, and thus I have been able to live in its landscape and feel its effects more deeply than, say, 1970s music.
Still very much a work-in-progress.
I hope you like it!
- Chart updated: 11/26/2021 18:15
- (Created: 08/21/2017 23:40).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 9 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 29 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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"I had a good run playing horses in my mind
On a hillside I remember
I am loving losing life."
Favorite Track: Dark Spring, L'Inconnue, Drunk in LA [First added to this chart: 05/03/2018]
On a hillside I remember
I am loving losing life."
Favorite Track: Dark Spring, L'Inconnue, Drunk in LA [First added to this chart: 05/03/2018]
Year of Release:
2018
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,161
Rank in 2018:
Rank in 2010s:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
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"The twilight is gone and no songbirds are singing."
Favorite Tracks: Dream, In Dreams, Blue Bayou [First added to this chart: 10/02/2019]
Favorite Tracks: Dream, In Dreams, Blue Bayou [First added to this chart: 10/02/2019]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
442
Rank in 1963:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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"I know perfectly well I'm not where I should be."
Favorite Tracks: I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, You Still Believe In Me, Caroline No [First added to this chart: 08/22/2017]
Favorite Tracks: I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, You Still Believe In Me, Caroline No [First added to this chart: 08/22/2017]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
39,155
Rank in 1966:
Rank in 1960s:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
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"Everything is changing
And there’s nothing I can do
My world is turning pages
While I am just sitting here."
Favorite Tracks: Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control, Apocalypse Dreams, Endors Toi [First added to this chart: 08/21/2017]
And there’s nothing I can do
My world is turning pages
While I am just sitting here."
Favorite Tracks: Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control, Apocalypse Dreams, Endors Toi [First added to this chart: 08/21/2017]
Year of Release:
2012
Appears in:
Rank Score:
14,542
Rank in 2012:
Rank in 2010s:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
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"If a twelve ton truck kills the both of us
To die by your side, well...
The pleasure and the privilege is mine."
Favorite Tracks: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, I Know It's Over, The Boy With The Thorn In His Side [First added to this chart: 08/21/2017]
To die by your side, well...
The pleasure and the privilege is mine."
Favorite Tracks: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, I Know It's Over, The Boy With The Thorn In His Side [First added to this chart: 08/21/2017]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
33,887
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
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"Your messed-up world will thrill me."
Favorite Track: Machine Gun, When The Sun Hits, Souvlaki Space Station [First added to this chart: 08/21/2017]
Favorite Track: Machine Gun, When The Sun Hits, Souvlaki Space Station [First added to this chart: 08/21/2017]
Year of Release:
1993
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,794
Rank in 1993:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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"You make me feel like I'm living at the edge of the world...
'It's just the way I smile,' you said."
Favorite Tracks: Pictures of You, Plainsong, The Same Deep Water As You [First added to this chart: 08/21/2017]
'It's just the way I smile,' you said."
Favorite Tracks: Pictures of You, Plainsong, The Same Deep Water As You [First added to this chart: 08/21/2017]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
26,071
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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"I'm just living in my head."
Favorite Tracks: Chance, Lark, Spring [First added to this chart: 10/23/2019]
Favorite Tracks: Chance, Lark, Spring [First added to this chart: 10/23/2019]
Year of Release:
2019
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,379
Rank in 2019:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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"I want to love, I've all the wrong glory
But is it Heaven or Las Vegas?
But you're much more brighter than the sun is to me."
Favorite Tracks: Frou-frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires, Cherry-coloured Funk, Heaven or Las Vegas [First added to this chart: 08/21/2017]
But is it Heaven or Las Vegas?
But you're much more brighter than the sun is to me."
Favorite Tracks: Frou-frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires, Cherry-coloured Funk, Heaven or Las Vegas [First added to this chart: 08/21/2017]
Year of Release:
1990
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,707
Rank in 1990:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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"I wouldn't dream this any other way."
Favorite Tracks: Under Wraps, Blue Lips, Harvey [First added to this chart: 10/02/2019]
Favorite Tracks: Under Wraps, Blue Lips, Harvey [First added to this chart: 10/02/2019]
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 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1960s | 8 | 8% | |
| 1970s | 10 | 10% | |
| 1980s | 11 | 11% | |
| 1990s | 8 | 8% | |
| 2000s | 10 | 10% | |
| 2010s | 38 | 38% | |
| 2020s | 7 | 7% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Smiths | 5 | 5% | |
| Beach House | 4 | 4% | |
| Radiohead | 3 | 3% | |
| Frank Sinatra | 3 | 3% | |
| The Beach Boys | 3 | 3% | |
| Tame Impala | 3 | 3% | |
| Slowdive | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
52 | 52% | |
 |
32 | 32% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 8 from 78th to 70th Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely by Frank Sinatra |
| Up 7 from 38th to 31st Pang by Caroline Polachek |
| Up 5 from 80th to 75th Blue Day by Slowdive |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 20 from 40th to 60th House Of Balloons by The Weeknd |
| Down 18 from 63rd to 81st Saturdays = Youth by M83 |
| Down 8 from 68th to 76th Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience |
| New entries |
|---|
| The Beach Boys Today! by The Beach Boys |
| Leavers |
|---|
| London Calling by The Clash |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 84 Music Albums of the 2010s | Cosmo | 2010s decade chart | 2019 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  LukasAntoine00s | Overall chart | 2025 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  quincytejani | Overall chart | 2020 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  Franz-Aussie | Overall chart | 2018 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | benschrier00 | Overall chart | 2019 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | martinjaa | Overall chart | 2025 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | juanr1096 | Overall chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | TheNowhereGuy | Overall chart | 2020 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s |  flamingyesdept | 2010s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Most listened to Albums by BEA members 2014 - 2024 |  Liedzeit | Custom chart | 2024 |  |
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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 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 29 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 03/24/2025 09:51 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,104 | 85/100 |
| ! | 12/24/2021 20:17 |  sssvnnn | 2,865 | 83/100 |
| ! | 11/26/2021 20:21 |  Larcx13 | 1,145 | 86/100 |
| ! | 09/16/2020 01:01 |  jnfbn | 310 | 96/100 |
| ! | 09/15/2020 23:28 | Lgk21 | 141 | 95/100 |
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 2% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 90.0/100, a mean average of 91.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 91.3/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 6.1.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing all 9 comments |
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From Larcx13 11/26/2021 20:21 | #276724
Larcx13 11/26/2021 20:21 | #276724
Good list to find some more recent stuff
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Lgk21 09/15/2020 23:30 | #258266
Cool stuff, I like that you have so many 2010s albums.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
EyeKanFly 09/15/2020 17:08 | #258259
EyeKanFly 09/15/2020 17:08 | #258259
Great chart, unafraid to go heavy on great recent albums! Love to see Telstar on here too
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Keatownrodriguez 09/15/2020 14:54 | #258245
Keatownrodriguez 09/15/2020 14:54 | #258245
Thought it was a pretty good list with lots of classic albums... then I saw A Brief Inquiry and was mega impressed!!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
ForegroundNoise 09/28/2019 09:01 | #243141
ForegroundNoise 09/28/2019 09:01 | #243141
What a breath of fresh air this chart is!! It's nice to see someone unafraid to put modern picks right up there with the classics, '7' is such a good pick for no.1 (definitely my favourite Beach House album too). As far as I can tell a large part of the governing rule of what sways you is how 'beautiful' an album is, so here's a few picks I think'll be up your street:
Joanna Newsom - Ys
Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth
Arthur Russell - World Of Echo
Jim O'Rourke - Eureka
Fishmans - Long Season
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From boppare 05/28/2019 13:16 | #236828
Happy to see Ceres & Calypso so high up :)!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
jdenny2018 06/03/2018 00:19 | #216047
jdenny2018 06/03/2018 00:19 | #216047
Great list!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
LedZep 12/08/2017 00:55 | #202800
LedZep 12/08/2017 00:55 | #202800
Fantastic. Can’t disagree with all the Smiths albums/compilations. Every single of these 6 deserves to be on my chart too, but I have 3 per artist rule. Although the chart is mainly indie, there are several hidden gems and unexpected picks, as well as some classics you can’t disagree with. Great chart all in all.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From stangetzaway 09/09/2017 01:25 | #197615
A great eclectic bunch and some fine jazz picks in there. Keep it up!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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