Top 73 Greatest Music Albums by PaperVinnie 
It's been a few years since I've visited my charts, so I figure it's time for an overhaul. I mostly listen to live music these days, but I'll be revisiting lots of studio stuff and listening to some new stuff soon, in preparation to indulge other music areas I've neglected for a while.
- Chart updated: 12/21/2021 20:15
- (Created: 10/18/2017 15:53).
- Chart size: 73 albums.
There are 30 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 73 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 37 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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[First added to this chart: 02/13/2018]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,964
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
97
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[First added to this chart: 03/18/2019]
Year of Release:
2016
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,161
Rank in 2016:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 10/23/2017]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,136
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 10/23/2017]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,957
Rank in 1968:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Genre(s): Alternative rock, art rock
"We don't even care, as restless as we are"
One of Alt Rock's longest achievements, this album was never exactly praised by critics who always seemed to have something bad to say about Billy Corgan, it's still a fan favorite and a fantastic album all the way through. Although there are certain tracks you really have to try to get into, once you do and fully realize how great it is, it's like you can't stop listening to it.
10/10 Tracks: "Tonight, Tonight", "Zero", "Bullet With Butterfly Wings", "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans", "1979", "Farewell and Goodnight"
*Best Album of 1995* [First added to this chart: 10/23/2017]
"We don't even care, as restless as we are"
One of Alt Rock's longest achievements, this album was never exactly praised by critics who always seemed to have something bad to say about Billy Corgan, it's still a fan favorite and a fantastic album all the way through. Although there are certain tracks you really have to try to get into, once you do and fully realize how great it is, it's like you can't stop listening to it.
10/10 Tracks: "Tonight, Tonight", "Zero", "Bullet With Butterfly Wings", "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans", "1979", "Farewell and Goodnight"
*Best Album of 1995* [First added to this chart: 10/23/2017]
Year of Release:
1995
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,964
Rank in 1995:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Genre(s): Blues rock
"Layla, you've got me on my knees.
Layla, I'm begging, darling please."
Eric Clapton's master piece, and his last great album. Duane Allman and Eric Clapton are both two of the greatest guitar players of all time, and almost every track on this album proves it. This album is probably the pinnacle of Blues Rock, and has one of the greatest title tracks of all time.
10/10 Tracks: "Bell Bottom Blues", "Key to the Highway", "Little Wing", "Layla" [First added to this chart: 10/24/2017]
"Layla, you've got me on my knees.
Layla, I'm begging, darling please."
Eric Clapton's master piece, and his last great album. Duane Allman and Eric Clapton are both two of the greatest guitar players of all time, and almost every track on this album proves it. This album is probably the pinnacle of Blues Rock, and has one of the greatest title tracks of all time.
10/10 Tracks: "Bell Bottom Blues", "Key to the Highway", "Little Wing", "Layla" [First added to this chart: 10/24/2017]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,434
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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Genre(s): Art rock, alternative rock, electronic rock
"I am holidays
That you choose to ignore"
This is the first Radiohead album I listened to, and for a long time, it was my favorite and I considered it to be one of their best if not the best. Since then, I've listened to their full catalog and my thinking has evolved, and I still find this to be a top 3 album by them. But honestly, I've been walking away from this one for a bit. It's not bad, in fact, it's quite beautiful and wonderfully arranged. But, this album certainly has shortcomings that are difficult to overlook.
First, I'll talk about Nude. It's a good track for sure, but a 92? oof... can't say I see that even for a minute. Maybe it's a placebo. Like, it was unreleased and had been tried for a decade, therefore people had high expectations, therefore it was great? Maybe it is great and I just don't see it yet? I mean I certainly like the song and listen to it from time to time, so I think it's fair for me to judge it but who knows. Moving on to one of my favorites, Weird Fishes. On my first listens of this album, I immediately singled this one out as one of the best off the album. The progression of this song is simply something Radiohead never matched, through the arpeggiated riffs, beautifully sung vocals, and climax towards the end of the song, I think this one is appropriately recognized as one of their best. After that, we have All I Need. I just can't even put into words why I love that song so much. Radiohead had never been so sincere and relatable to me before I heard that, it's a masterpiece for sure. Down the line we have the centerpiece, Reckoner. I have absolutely no clue why that song amazes as much as it does. Is it the Artrock-RHCP hybrid riff? The progression? The holy-fuck-what-did-I-just-listen-to vocals? Probably the last one if we're being honest here, but the song as a whole is just beautiful and unlike anything they had or will ever do. House of Cards contains the best opening lyric to a Radiohead song I've ever heard, and the rest of the song lives up to it. Now here's where the album can't be perfect: Videotape. It isn't a bad song, but it's not on par with the rest of the material, it's too dry and repetitive for me to get into...
Overall I still love to see the best in this album, but some of it slips through the cracks.
*Best Album of 2007* [First added to this chart: 10/18/2017]
"I am holidays
That you choose to ignore"
This is the first Radiohead album I listened to, and for a long time, it was my favorite and I considered it to be one of their best if not the best. Since then, I've listened to their full catalog and my thinking has evolved, and I still find this to be a top 3 album by them. But honestly, I've been walking away from this one for a bit. It's not bad, in fact, it's quite beautiful and wonderfully arranged. But, this album certainly has shortcomings that are difficult to overlook.
First, I'll talk about Nude. It's a good track for sure, but a 92? oof... can't say I see that even for a minute. Maybe it's a placebo. Like, it was unreleased and had been tried for a decade, therefore people had high expectations, therefore it was great? Maybe it is great and I just don't see it yet? I mean I certainly like the song and listen to it from time to time, so I think it's fair for me to judge it but who knows. Moving on to one of my favorites, Weird Fishes. On my first listens of this album, I immediately singled this one out as one of the best off the album. The progression of this song is simply something Radiohead never matched, through the arpeggiated riffs, beautifully sung vocals, and climax towards the end of the song, I think this one is appropriately recognized as one of their best. After that, we have All I Need. I just can't even put into words why I love that song so much. Radiohead had never been so sincere and relatable to me before I heard that, it's a masterpiece for sure. Down the line we have the centerpiece, Reckoner. I have absolutely no clue why that song amazes as much as it does. Is it the Artrock-RHCP hybrid riff? The progression? The holy-fuck-what-did-I-just-listen-to vocals? Probably the last one if we're being honest here, but the song as a whole is just beautiful and unlike anything they had or will ever do. House of Cards contains the best opening lyric to a Radiohead song I've ever heard, and the rest of the song lives up to it. Now here's where the album can't be perfect: Videotape. It isn't a bad song, but it's not on par with the rest of the material, it's too dry and repetitive for me to get into...
Overall I still love to see the best in this album, but some of it slips through the cracks.
*Best Album of 2007* [First added to this chart: 10/18/2017]
Year of Release:
2007
Appears in:
Rank Score:
51,117
Rank in 2007:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Genre(s): Avant-pop, psychedelic pop, baroque pop
10/10 Tracks: "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "God Only Knows", "I Know There's an Answer" [First added to this chart: 01/07/2018]
10/10 Tracks: "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "God Only Knows", "I Know There's an Answer" [First added to this chart: 01/07/2018]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
45,081
Rank in 1966:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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Genre(s): Art rock, jazztronica, avant-garde
"Cash girls suffer me, I've got no enemies"
I'm inclined to believe this is the greatest swan song in the history of modern music. Not only is it perfect as a swan song, it's also perfect musically, which is extremely rare nowadays. A lot of people would call me batshit crazy for putting this in the 100 greatest albums of all time, but it clearly deserves it. Nothing I've ever listened to has ever sounded even close to this record, and I doubt I'll find one anytime soon.
10/10 Tracks: Blackstar, Lazarus, Dollar Days, I Can't Give Everything Away [First added to this chart: 01/11/2018]
"Cash girls suffer me, I've got no enemies"
I'm inclined to believe this is the greatest swan song in the history of modern music. Not only is it perfect as a swan song, it's also perfect musically, which is extremely rare nowadays. A lot of people would call me batshit crazy for putting this in the 100 greatest albums of all time, but it clearly deserves it. Nothing I've ever listened to has ever sounded even close to this record, and I doubt I'll find one anytime soon.
10/10 Tracks: Blackstar, Lazarus, Dollar Days, I Can't Give Everything Away [First added to this chart: 01/11/2018]
Year of Release:
2016
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,603
Rank in 2016:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 12/17/2017]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
43,236
Rank in 1968:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 73. Page 3 of 8
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Top 73 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 20 | 27% | |
| 1970s | 23 | 32% | |
| 1980s | 10 | 14% | |
| 1990s | 12 | 16% | |
| 2000s | 5 | 7% | |
| 2010s | 3 | 4% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Sonic Youth | 9 | 12% | |
| Led Zeppelin | 6 | 8% | |
| Radiohead | 5 | 7% | |
| The Beatles | 5 | 7% | |
| Nirvana | 4 | 5% | |
| David Bowie | 4 | 5% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 3 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 73 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
There have been no changes to this chart.Top 73 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
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Top 73 Greatest Music Albums ratings
90/100 (from 37 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 37 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 90/100  | 08/25/2021 17:29 |  DriftingOrpheus | | 91/100 |
| 90/100 | 07/09/2020 10:10 |  Goliath | | 86/100 |
| 100/100 | 04/11/2019 16:30 |  hoyquarlow | | 88/100 |
| 95/100 | 11/22/2018 15:50 |  jnfbn | | 96/100 |
| 100/100 | 11/03/2018 10:57 |  DommeDamian | | 90/100 |
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 90.3/100, a mean average of 91.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 91.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 6.6.
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Top 73 Greatest Music Albums comments
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100/100
From DommeDamian 11/03/2018 10:57
DommeDamian 11/03/2018 10:57
Charts with descriptions are always winning
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
DeusExMackia 08/29/2018 23:11
DeusExMackia 08/29/2018 23:11
The off-the-charts love for Sonic Youth is very, very much appreciated, as are the depth of your comments. Love this chart to bits.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
80/100
From PeterSmith 08/07/2018 22:35
I like your chart and great kudos to the effort you are putting and the amount of albums you are powering through. I really enjoy when members make a comment about the album - whether it's the type of album or genre, their favourite tracks, how they got into it or what it means to them. Keep going with that.
You are light on newer stuff and whereas it is okay to pay homage to classics from years ago - it also gives you a chance to better comment on the actual quality of the songs since you are not caught up in the emotions of living through it at the time - I wouldn't want you thinking that great music stopped in the 1970s - with the exception of Sonic Youth.
I grew up listening to music in the 1980s and switched off in the 90's thinking the music wasn't as good anymore. Since I got back into music in 2016 I have caught up on some old classics from 60s, 70s and 80s - but I have been impressed with some excellent bands and albums particularly in the noughties - The Strokes, Arcade Fire, Interpol, The XX, The Killers, Kasabian, Franz Ferdinand, The White Stripes, Snow Patrol, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes & Muse to name a few.
Also don't be afraid to try a bit of Rap or Hip Hop in there - my personal favourites are NWA and Jay Z and Public Enemy.
And your right - comments from the heart. Dont try to be someone you are not. Tell us why you like it, it's not a Music Degree test with points for answers. I'll watch your chart to see how it progresses - just wish I had the time you listen to as much music as you are powering through.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From 
RoundTheBend 07/25/2018 04:52
RoundTheBend 07/25/2018 04:52
You legit. Keep it up mate.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From 
sophialeviev 07/16/2018 01:16
sophialeviev 07/16/2018 01:16
Great chart. Guess I have to check out Van Halen now?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
CharlieBarley 07/02/2018 05:55
CharlieBarley 07/02/2018 05:55
My fav sonic Youth album is Goo. But I haven't heard them all yet. Daydream Nation is fantastic but it took a couple of listens before I fell in love with it. I agree too that Led Zeppelin 3 is the best Led Zep album. The first 5 are all great but 3 is my favourite, its a very cool album in terms of being acoustic and all the historical imagery with vikings and Hangmen.
Great notes man. A good chart. I couldn't fault it.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Lgk21 07/02/2018 00:22
Nice chart, I totally agree with you about Sister. Cool to see the chart of someone my age, it doesn't feel like it happens too often.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From 
flyingcitrus 07/01/2018 17:20
flyingcitrus 07/01/2018 17:20
Its very rock and metal oriented, but I love your picks. Great to see Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., and Television so high up.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From PaperVinnie 04/18/2018 13:21
Thanks Ulf
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
80/100
From Ulf 04/18/2018 08:20
very nice chart with great comments
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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