Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by PeterSmith

I've been listening to lots of albums new to me over the last few years having grown up to late 70's and 80's soundtrack. I had foolishly chucked learning new music as we entered the 90's thinking I had my bands and albums that I would need. I missed so much excellent stuff.
I recall liking a lot of stuff I was hearing on the radio as we moved into the 2000's but didn't follow up with who they were - I have since found many of these songs on albums that I have since listened to.
Takes a wee bit to shift the albums and artists you've grown up with and loved for years, but slowly working through many classic albums and some more obscure stuff getting highlighted on this web site - loving the journey and some of it is shifting my old favourites for sure.

Grew up with Pink Floyd, Bowie, Queen, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, U2, Bob Marley.
Loving the Rap and Hip Hop of NWA, Kanye West, Public Enemy & Jay Z.
Loving the Alt Rock, Indie Rock , Space and Electronic Rock of the likes of Grandaddy, Interpol, The Killers, White Stripes, REM, MGMT, Muse, Franz Ferdinand amongst others.
Loving the more ambient and folky sound of Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Grandaddy, Sigur Ros, Air.
Loving the more punky sound of Greenday, Pixies, Jane's Addiction and Modest Mouse

And finding some old classics with The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Carole King.

Also finding that familiarity does play a big part - don't often love albums straight away and need to give them half dozen listens before I start to get it.
I have revamped the results and removed the 2 artist max and just went for my favourites. Meant it has pushed out artists like Paul Weller, Garbage, Bob Marley, Elliot Smith, The Cure, The National, Beck, Foo Fighters, Beatles, Bob Dylan, Adele, The Band, Leftfield and Akon to name but a few - sorry folks.

• Chart updated: 12/28/2021 22:15
• (Created: 11/13/2017 23:37).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 24 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 88 out of 100 (from 38 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

• Summary
• Composition
• Ratings
• Favourites
• Comments
• Your feedback

View the complete list of 56,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.

Sort by

• Overall Rank
• Num. Charts
• Avg. Rating
• Num. Ratings
• Release Date
• Title
• Artist
• Date Added

1. (=)

Wish You Were Here 

 Pink Floyd

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Progressive Rock - Art Rock - Experimental Rock
Floyd are immense - every track on here is excellent with Shine On You Crazy Diamond and the title track outstanding. I love Pink Floyd and Gilmour's solo's and Waters lyrics and delivery. [First added to this chart: 11/13/2017]

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

2,991 charts

Rank Score:

46,154

Rank in 1975:

1

Rank in 1970s:

2

Overall Rank:

5

Average Rating:

 91 (4,036 votes)

Comments:

311

2. (=)

The Dark Side Of The Moon 

 Pink Floyd

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Progressive Rock
Touch and go between this and Wish You Were Here.
Us And Them, Brian Damage and Eclipse are highlights amongst a set of other excellent songs. The space in the songs and the solo's just immerse you. The whole album just hangs together and it is hard to just listen to a single song without going all-in. [First added to this chart: 11/13/2017]

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

4,120 charts

Rank Score:

63,100

Rank in 1973:

1

Rank in 1970s:

1

Overall Rank:

2

Average Rating:

 92 (5,314 votes)

Comments:

590

3. (=)

Graduation 

 Kanye West

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Rap
Only listened to this album in Sept 18 off the back of 808s & Heartbreaks and College Dropout - but this album is much better for me and bursts right into my top 10 ahead of many albums I have known and loved for decades - such is the quality of this album. From the start of the album he delivers great track after great track - smart beats and lyrics and great sampling including Daft Punk (who I love).
I love every single track on this album, but give an extra nod to Homecoming and Big Brother - the later all about his relationship with mentor Jay Z.
Can't agree with where his head is at the moment, but can't deny the quality of music he has delivered. [First added to this chart: 01/01/2019]

Year of Release:

2007

Appears in:

557 charts

Rank Score:

4,126

Rank in 2007:

9

Rank in 2000s:

68

Overall Rank:

419

Average Rating:

 78 (1,131 votes)

Comments:

65

4. (=)

October 

 U2

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Rock - Post Punk
I've loved U2 since they started but stopped getting their new stuff from mid 90's which was an error on my part. Still I love this early album - not just the nostalgia, the songs are all superb [First added to this chart: 11/13/2017]

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

211 charts

Rank Score:

775

Rank in 1981:

33

Rank in 1980s:

323

Overall Rank:

2,121

Average Rating:

 72 (430 votes)

Comments:

25

5. (=)

Brian Davison's Every Which Way 

 Brian Davison's Every Which Way

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Progressive Rock
I remember hearing this album when I was about 16 from my mates big older sister and I've only recently got a copy (2017) and listened to it again. It takes your mind on a journey. There are wind instruments in here - but they rock. [First added to this chart: 02/17/2018]

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

10 charts

Rank Score:

89

Rank in 1970:

175

Rank in 1970s:

1,795

Overall Rank:

12,909

Average Rating:

 72 (10 votes)

Comments:

1

6. (=)

Harvest 

 Neil Young

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Folk Rock - Country Rock
I've only found Neil Young in 2016 and this album is superb.
Out For The Weekend, Heart of Gold and Words - outstanding. Love his song writing - the songs are intelligent and from the heart and delivered in quite a dead pan style that suits the song [First added to this chart: 11/13/2017]

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

1,373 charts

Rank Score:

12,841

Rank in 1972:

5

Rank in 1970s:

26

Overall Rank:

96

Average Rating:

 85 (1,715 votes)

Comments:

96

7. (=)

Safe Mode: On Certain images on this site may contain sensitive content and are flagged as 'unsafe'. BestEverAlbums.com does not display these images by default, but you may choose to show or hide these images from your profile page. If you choose to hide these images, you'll see an image with a warning message instead of the actual image. If you choose to show them, you'll see these images no differently than regular (safe) images.

The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking 

 Roger Waters

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Progressive Rock - Blues Rock
I love Roger's solo stuff - its like a Floyd album with only Roger's eccentric influence rather than Dave Gilmour's input - because that is what it is! The missing Gilmour's excellent solos are ably covered by the brilliant Eric Clapton. Good move Roger.
Saw the man live a few times - superb. [First added to this chart: 11/13/2017]

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

129 charts

Rank Score:

761

Rank in 1984:

33

Rank in 1980s:

330

Overall Rank:

2,159

Average Rating:

 70 (208 votes)

Comments:

16

8. (=)

A Rush Of Blood To The Head 

 Coldplay

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Alternative Rock - Post-Britpop
I liked their singles but only recently started listening to their albums (2016) - now one of my favourite bands. They could maybe be criticised as being formulaic - but you know what, I love this formula - get's me every time. [First added to this chart: 11/13/2017]

Year of Release:

2002

Appears in:

1,336 charts

Rank Score:

12,188

Rank in 2002:

3

Rank in 2000s:

12

Overall Rank:

109

Average Rating:

 79 (2,189 votes)

Comments:

185

9. (=)

The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars 

 David Bowie

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Glam Rock - Art rock - Proto-punk
Bowie has been my main man and this album is just such a stand out. Fav tracks are Five Years (great drum intro, story and big finish); Moonage Daydream (Ronson's solo and the echo affect on the voice at the end); Lady Stardust (Bowie's vocal); Rock n Roll Suicide (great ending with the anguished delivery) [First added to this chart: 11/13/2017]

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

3,006 charts

Rank Score:

45,383

Rank in 1972:

1

Rank in 1970s:

3

Overall Rank:

7

Average Rating:

 90 (3,526 votes)

Comments:

303

10. (=)

Station To Station 

 David Bowie

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Art Rock - Funk Rock - Soul - R&B - Space Rock
Only 6 tracks but each a gem - his vocals particularly on Wild Is The Wind and Word on a Wing are about the best he has delivered.
Saw the great man live on a number of occasions. [First added to this chart: 11/13/2017]

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

1,093 charts

Rank Score:

12,389

Rank in 1976:

2

Rank in 1970s:

28

Overall Rank:

104

Average Rating:

 85 (1,539 votes)

Comments:

97

• « prev
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• ...
• 9
• 10
• next »
• Goto Page: 

Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10

Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade	Albums	%
1930s	0	0%
1940s	0	0%
1950s	1	1%
1960s	5	5%
1970s	25	25%
1980s	16	16%
1990s	17	17%
2000s	25	25%
2010s	11	11%
2020s	0	0%

Artist	Albums	%
Arcade Fire	3	3%
U2	3	3%
Queen	2	2%
Stevie Wonder	2	2%
Neutral Milk Hotel	2	2%
David Bowie	2	2%
The Beatles	2	2%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	51	51%
	34	34%
	5	5%
	3	3%
	3	3%
	2	2%
	1	1%
Show all

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest climbers
Up 1 from 100th to 99th Bloom by Beach House
Up 1 from 99th to 98th Violator by Depeche Mode
Up 1 from 98th to 97th An Awesome Wave by alt-J

New entries
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds by Jeff Wayne

Leavers
Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts

Title	Source	Type	Published	Country
If The BEA Overall Chart Had A One Album Per Artist Rule...	Romanelli	Custom chart	2015
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	Kettwig	Overall chart	2025
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	dmercado	Overall chart	2024
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	elton229	Overall chart	2023
BEA 100 (One Album per Artist)	BozoTyrannus	Custom chart	2020
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	pdapperens	Overall chart	2015
ranking the overall top 100	OKC1	Custom chart	2016
Overall Top 100 Ranked Correctly	Mother Nature's Son	Custom chart	2014
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	Hattori300	Overall chart	2014
BEA's Top 100 re-ranked	EyeKanFly	Custom chart	2020

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 38 ratings for this chart.

Sort ratings

• Rating
• Date updated
• Member

Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
90/100	04/12/2023 17:47	chavaloricardin	16	83/100
85/100	09/04/2022 11:28	Thearei30ee	17	88/100
95/100	07/03/2022 18:38	ffudnebbuh	655	91/100
85/100	06/25/2022 23:42	Rm12398	98	89/100
100/100	01/17/2022 20:46	wizardalien	31	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 10% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 87.8/100, a mean average of 88.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.3/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 6.8.

• Related links:
• Top charts

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 24 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  

90/100

From chavaloricardin 04/08/2023 05:49

Siempre es bueno ver "Hopes And Fears" incluido en los charts... Tenemos 18 álbumes en común y en general, me gustaron mucho tus elecciones. Hay un par de álbumes que no he escuchado todavía pero lo haré.

English review
It's always good to see "Hopes And Fears" included in the charts... We have 18 albums in common and overall, I really liked your choices. There are a couple of albums I haven't heard yet but I will.

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

Rating:  

95/100

From ffudnebbuh 07/03/2022 18:40

Like your chart, am familiar with most of it and the artists that I am not, I will put on Pandora or Spotify. That is the only way that I can keep up with everything going on.

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

Rating:  

100/100

From wizardalien 01/17/2022 20:49

Very nice. It's actually very similar to mine despite us clearly being of different eras. There's still a lot of yours that I haven't even listened to, so I think I might have to listen to some of your top 100 as it seems we have similar tastes...

Got to love anyone's chart that also has Inform Educate Entertain, Seldom Seen Kid, An Awesome Wave and Sleeping with Ghosts - all four are underrated on this site overall.

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

Rating:  

85/100

From CharlieBarley 12/29/2021 09:59

Great chart mate. I used to have Wish You Were Here as my number one for years. It is my favourite album really but I like to mix it up.
You have a broad and eclectic taste in music.
All my peeps like Amy McDonald.
Good to see War of the Worlds. We did that at school too . Back in 85.

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

Rating:  

85/100

From Goliath 12/28/2021 10:52

Nothing wrong with having Pink Floyd at number 1 and 2. Slightly too many in the 2000's for me, otherwise interesting chart.

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

Rating:  

90/100

From rockbluesfolkjaz 12/19/2021 20:57

Interesting list. I love seeing Floyd's Wish You Were Here at or close to the top. Having Dark Side beneath it is daring for sure. There's nothing wrong with being 2 of course, and personal taste is what individual lists are all about anyway.

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

Rating:  

100/100

From StreakyNuno 12/19/2021 16:32

Great albuns!!! Pink Floyd in first and second?
Fantastic?

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

From craab 11/25/2021 05:03

Great comments. I love your chart. Got some leads off it to for my own listening, e.g. Amy McDonald.

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

Rating:  

85/100

From Larcx13 10/27/2020 08:23

Some really good picks. im not a big fan of kanye and coldplay. I really dont understand the appeal. To each their own..

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

Rating:  

85/100

From pctrooper 05/04/2020 00:06

Have to say, many picks are a bit too hip for myself (if maybe that is the right word). Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, Coldplay for example I usually can't be bothered with. Nevertheless, there is a good batch of mutually respected albums between you and I, and I appreciate all your words of describing music and sharing your perspective. I really like your #1 choice a lot.

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

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Top 100 Greatest Music Albums

Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!