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 28 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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Highlights: Spirits Drifting, Becalmed, The Big Ship
[First added to this chart: 11/18/2021]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,170
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
55
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"And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death."
Favorite Tracks:
4. Time
7. Us and Them
9. Brain Damage
10. Eclipse [First added to this chart: 08/21/2017]
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death."
Favorite Tracks:
4. Time
7. Us and Them
9. Brain Damage
10. Eclipse [First added to this chart: 08/21/2017]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
70,819
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Favorite Tracks: The Last Man On Earth, Feeling Myself, The Beach
[First added to this chart: 11/18/2021]
Year of Release:
2021
Appears in:
Rank Score:
957
Rank in 2021:
Rank in 2020s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Favorite Tracks: 33 "God", 666, 8 (Circle)
[First added to this chart: 10/02/2019]
Year of Release:
2016
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,830
Rank in 2016:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Favorite Tracks: Floatin' on a Cloud, Telstar, Globetrotter
[First added to this chart: 10/02/2019]
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Highlights: Summer, Queer, Junky
[First added to this chart: 10/31/2017]
Year of Release:
2017
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,909
Rank in 2017:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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"Haven't had a dream in a long time
See, the life I've had
Can make a good man bad"
Favorite Tracks: Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want, Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, William It Was Really Nothing [First added to this chart: 08/21/2017]
See, the life I've had
Can make a good man bad"
Favorite Tracks: Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want, Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, William It Was Really Nothing [First added to this chart: 08/21/2017]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,802
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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"Unit 3000-21 is warming
Makes a humming sound
When its circuits duplicate emotions
And a sense of coldness detaches
As it tries to comfort your sadness."
Favorite Track: "In The Morning of the Magicians" [First added to this chart: 11/06/2017]
Makes a humming sound
When its circuits duplicate emotions
And a sense of coldness detaches
As it tries to comfort your sadness."
Favorite Track: "In The Morning of the Magicians" [First added to this chart: 11/06/2017]
Year of Release:
2002
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,059
Rank in 2002:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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Favorite Tracks: Future, Daydreaming, Part II
[First added to this chart: 11/18/2021]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
811
Rank in 2013:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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"Oh the tricks your mind can play."
Favorite Tracks: "Only the Lonely" [First added to this chart: 09/07/2017]
Favorite Tracks: "Only the Lonely" [First added to this chart: 09/07/2017]
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,324
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 100. Page 7 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% | |
| Cocteau Twins | 3 | 3% | |
| Radiohead | 3 | 3% | |
| Frank Sinatra | 3 | 3% | |
| The Beach Boys | 3 | 3% | |
| Tame Impala | 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 Callingby The Clash |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
90/100 (from 28 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 28 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 75/100  | 12/24/2021 20:17 |  sssvnnn | | 83/100 |
90/100 | 11/26/2021 20:21 |  Larcx13 | | 86/100 |
| 95/100 | 09/16/2020 01:01 |  jnfbn | | 96/100 |
| 95/100 | 09/15/2020 23:28 | Lgk21 | | 95/100 |
| 95/100 | 09/15/2020 17:07 |  EyeKanFly | | 88/100 |
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 90.1/100, a mean average of 92.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 91.5/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 6.0.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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90/100
From Larcx13 11/26/2021 20:21
Larcx13 11/26/2021 20:21
Good list to find some more recent stuff
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From Lgk21 09/15/2020 23:30
Cool stuff, I like that you have so many 2010s albums.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From EyeKanFly 09/15/2020 17:08
EyeKanFly 09/15/2020 17:08
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)
100/100
From 
Keatownrodriguez 09/15/2020 14:54
Keatownrodriguez 09/15/2020 14:54
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)
90/100
From 
ForegroundNoise 09/28/2019 09:01
ForegroundNoise 09/28/2019 09:01
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)
90/100
From boppare 05/28/2019 13:16
Happy to see Ceres & Calypso so high up :)!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From 
jdenny2018 06/03/2018 00:19
jdenny2018 06/03/2018 00:19
Great list!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
80/100
From 
LedZep 12/08/2017 00:55
LedZep 12/08/2017 00:55
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)
95/100
From stangetzaway 09/09/2017 01:25
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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