Top 40 Greatest Music Albums
by vinylnut

As a long time record collector and inveterate compiler of lists, discovering this site was a joy. The list is eclectic, reflecting my enjoyment of all forms of popular music (with the exception of rap!). Apart from the top 2 records, I find it impossible really to rank the others, so the order is slightly random. I had previously made a top 50 list and since I'm only allowed 40 albums, I include the other ten here. They are: Nat King Cole 'Love is the Thing'; Elvis Presley 'Elvis is Back'; The Beatles 'A Hard Day's Night'; Gabor Szabo 'Jazz Raga' (very obscure!); Sandy Denny and the Strawbs 'All Our Own Work'; Irma Thomas 'Take a Look'; Stevie Wonder 'Talking Book'; Sandy Denny 'Like an Old Fashioned Waltz'; Traveling Wilburys 'Volume 1'; Kirsty MacColl 'Kite'. There are no albums after 2000 on my list; there are some good ones, but they are yet to stand the test of time. The list and the comments are, of course, just my opinion. I hope you found the list interesting.

• Chart updated: 01/13/2012 22:42
• (Created: 12/11/2011 15:46).
• Chart size: 40 albums.

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1. (=)

The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society 

 The Kinks

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My favourite album of all time. A nostalgic lament for an England which probably never existed anyway. The greatest lyricist Britain has produced. Less rocky than their other albums, which is probably why it hardly sold any copies at the time. [First added to this chart: 01/13/2012]

Year of Release:

1968

Appears in:

1,057 charts

Rank Score:

9,387

Rank in 1968:

5

Rank in 1960s:

26

Overall Rank:

149

Average Rating:

 84 (1,146 votes)

Comments:

76

2. (=)

London Calling 

 The Clash

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The moment when the Clash burst out of the punk 'bag' and captured the spirit of rock 'n' roll. Not really a punk record at all, but the many styles of music are all shot through with the punk attitude. Bought it at the time, 'Do not pay more than £4.99'; great value for a double LP and the passage of time makes it look like the bargain of the century. Saw them busking outside a pub one early evening in Leeds in 1985. They were apparently trying to disrupt an official gig by the Alarm at the university. They played old rock and roll standards; the drummer sat on a wall and played the drainpipes! What a memory! [First added to this chart: 01/13/2012]

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

2,826 charts

Rank Score:

30,878

Rank in 1979:

1

Rank in 1970s:

5

Overall Rank:

20

Average Rating:

 87 (3,158 votes)

Comments:

259

3. (=)

Let It Bleed 

 The Rolling Stones

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Not easy to pick your favourite Stones album, but this is mine. The second of 4 great studio LPs in a row produced between 1968 and 1972. The guitar work of Keith Richard's on the title track and on 'Gimme Shelter', to name but 2, is fantastic. [First added to this chart: 01/13/2012]

Year of Release:

1969

Appears in:

1,781 charts

Rank Score:

17,152

Rank in 1969:

4

Rank in 1960s:

15

Overall Rank:

61

Average Rating:

 85 (2,103 votes)

Comments:

140

4. (=)

The Beatles (The White Album) 

 The Beatles

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Sometimes criticised for being too long, uneven in quality etc, but to my ears it just sounds wonderfully diverse and each time you listen to it, you discover something new hidden away in a corner of the album which you hadn't noticed before. Possibly runs out of steam towards the end and 'Revolution number 9' is far too long, but the rest more than makes up for these minor critcisms. [First added to this chart: 01/13/2012]

Year of Release:

1968

Appears in:

2,951 charts

Rank Score:

37,264

Rank in 1968:

1

Rank in 1960s:

6

Overall Rank:

14

Average Rating:

 89 (3,824 votes)

Comments:

342

5. (=)

The Stone Roses 

 The Stone Roses

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I'd almost given up on music in the late 80s. I couldn't see the point of rap and the less said about 'acid house' the better, so this one passed me by at the time. It's a great album, faintly reminiscent of the Byrds in parts, and which, uniquely, is so brilliantly tracklisted that each song is better than the last one; has to be listened to in order! [First added to this chart: 01/13/2012]

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

2,026 charts

Rank Score:

23,044

Rank in 1989:

3

Rank in 1980s:

5

Overall Rank:

33

Average Rating:

 86 (2,299 votes)

Comments:

203

6. (=)

Eat To The Beat 

 Blondie

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The pinup girl of my teenage years. Luckily, as well as being good to look at, she fronted a great group. Sometimes accused of betraying their New York punk roots, they created brilliant pop songs. This album has 'Atomic', 'Dreaming' and 'Union City Blue' on it, as well as lesser known gems like 'Slow motion'. [First added to this chart: 01/13/2012]

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

214 charts

Rank Score:

985

Rank in 1979:

32

Rank in 1970s:

331

Overall Rank:

1,714

Average Rating:

 76 (263 votes)

Comments:

12

7. (=)

The Queen Is Dead 

 The Smiths

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There was always something that troubled me about Morrissey. His obsessions seemed unusual to put it politely, but there is no doubting that he is a unique figure in popular music, who has written some of the most poetic lyrics on record; there aren't many examples of assonance on AC/DC albums! He is also the most humorous writer ever to commit to record, with a sense of irony which, of course, was completely lost on the British press. Marr was a more straightforward genius, a student of popular music who took classic guitar lines and fashioned them into something new. Together they created great music and this is their most consistent album. [First added to this chart: 01/13/2012]

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

2,494 charts

Rank Score:

33,900

Rank in 1986:

1

Rank in 1980s:

1

Overall Rank:

16

Average Rating:

 88 (2,917 votes)

Comments:

265

8. (=)

At Folsom Prison 
Live

 Johnny Cash

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A sort of concept album, Cash gathered up all the songs he knew about crime and prisons and headed for Folsom to produce the most atmospheric live album there is. A one man history of popular music in the second half of the 20th century, he carried on producing great records until the end, without really being able to sing! Amazing! [First added to this chart: 01/13/2012]

Year of Release:

1968

Appears in:

797 charts

Rank Score:

5,278

Rank in 1968:

10

Rank in 1960s:

46

Overall Rank:

320

Average Rating:

 83 (987 votes)

Comments:

54

9. (=)

Wish You Were Here 

 Pink Floyd

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Basically two great songs about Syd Barrett, this record is about 'loss' and is, therefore, extremely moving. [First added to this chart: 01/13/2012]

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

3,010 charts

Rank Score:

44,665

Rank in 1975:

1

Rank in 1970s:

2

Overall Rank:

5

Average Rating:

 91 (4,057 votes)

Comments:

314

10. (=)

The Sound Of Fury 

 Billy Fury

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The first of my entries that nobody has ever chosen. I'm surprised and suspect that there might be more to come! Consciously trying to recreate the 'Sun Sound' of Elvis, with Joe Brown playing the Scotty Moore role, this is the closest Britain ever came to the early spirit of Rock 'n' Roll. There are some great songs on this and Billy pulled out all the stops for his vocals. [First added to this chart: 01/13/2012]

Year of Release:

1960

Appears in:

36 charts

Rank Score:

76

Rank in 1960:

58

Rank in 1960s:

1,014

Overall Rank:

14,911

Average Rating:

 68 (43 votes)

Comments:

3

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Total albums: 40. Page 1 of 4

Top 40 Greatest Music Albums composition

Country	Albums	%
	24	60%
	14	35%
	1	3%
	1	3%

Top 40 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)

Top 40 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 9 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
85/100  !	04/17/2017 16:53	sssvnnn	2,865	83/100
65/100  !	08/05/2014 10:38	greatson	906	80/100
50/100  !	08/17/2012 15:21	hairymarx1	44	70/100
90/100  !	02/25/2012 15:36	alansarchives	38	90/100
85/100  !	02/01/2012 18:58	daly350	48	87/100

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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing all 8 comments |
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Rating:  

85/100

From sssvnnn 04/17/2017 16:53 | #189439

very personal and very old school - why not.

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

Rating:  

65/100

From greatson 08/05/2014 10:38 | #118758

Good classical chart!
Sorry not enough that can really catch me.

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

From kingdomhearts678 02/20/2013 02:39 | #65564

Great chart, good choice for number one

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

Rating:  

50/100

From hairymarx1 08/17/2012 15:21 | #48732

Not for me, but your enthusiasm shines through.

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

Rating:  

90/100

From alansarchives 02/25/2012 15:37 | #37398

Excellent choices, nice to see smore of the more unusual albums there. And I definitely agree with having the Kinks at #1 (though I must admit I'm more of an 'Arthur' fan than a 'Village Green' one)

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

Rating:  

85/100

From daly350 02/01/2012 18:59 | #36308

This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (0 helpful | 3 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From Sandalsote 01/03/2012 10:24 | #34299

Very British, Very Good

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Rating:  

80/100

From meruizh 12/23/2011 17:29 | #33584

you've got some weird things that i have never seen in my life, plus im to young for this chart, but it looks original, and probably very intresting.

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