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.

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21. (=)

Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space 

 Spiritualized

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Space Rock
First heard this in 2021 and immediately hooked in their trippy music vibe - sorry I missed them at the time [First added to this chart: 12/28/2021]

Year of Release:

1997

Appears in:

738 charts

Rank Score:

7,183

Rank in 1997:

5

Rank in 1990s:

48

Overall Rank:

241

Average Rating:

 82 (931 votes)

Comments:

64

22. (=)

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea 

 Neutral Milk Hotel

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Only heard this early 2017 after seeing their name pop up in a chart and having never heard of them before. What an absolute find - and I predicted that this album will climb the more I become familiar with it which is what is happening here.
Again, maybe not the best singer in the world, but his delivery is full of anguish and his lyrics are strange and enticing. A smattering of non-rock instruments appear on this album. If you haven't heard it give it a listen, if you don't get it first time go back later. [First added to this chart: 03/17/2018]

Year of Release:

1998

Appears in:

2,379 charts

Rank Score:

39,458

Rank in 1998:

1

Rank in 1990s:

3

Overall Rank:

16

Average Rating:

 87 (2,870 votes)

Comments:

425

23. (=)

The Sophtware Slump 

 Grandaddy

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Indie Rock - Space Rock
I got this Dec 18 and immediately fell in love with this album. "He's Simple" opener is a near 9 minutes of delicate excellence - a modern day version of Bowie's "Space Oddity" with the acoustic, space themed lyrics and almost a ship lift off bridge similar to Bowie's 1969 effort.
The whole album is delicate with plenty of space. On occasion they have a Flaming Lips feel.
Top tracks include "Hewletts Daughter" both "Jed" songs, "Broken Household Appliances" amongst others. [First added to this chart: 01/01/2019]

Year of Release:

2000

Appears in:

279 charts

Rank Score:

2,009

Rank in 2000:

17

Rank in 2000s:

142

Overall Rank:

894

Average Rating:

 78 (340 votes)

Comments:

16

24. (=)

The Man Who 

 Travis

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Post Brit-pop
Like Keane, I got into them at the time and loved the singles from this album - the album itself also had some cracking songs. Caught them live in 2018 with their tour of this album which was a great gig in their hometown. [First added to this chart: 02/17/2018]

Year of Release:

1999

Appears in:

301 charts

Rank Score:

1,970

Rank in 1999:

21

Rank in 1990s:

174

Overall Rank:

914

Average Rating:

 75 (356 votes)

Comments:

22

25. (=)

Final Straw 

 Snow Patrol

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Alternative Rock - indie Rock - Power Pop
Loved "Run" which drew me to the album in 2017 and I wasn't disappointed - regret missing them at the time even though I liked their singles whenever I heard them [First added to this chart: 11/13/2017]

Year of Release:

2003

Appears in:

163 charts

Rank Score:

860

Rank in 2003:

39

Rank in 2000s:

321

Overall Rank:

1,937

Average Rating:

 72 (227 votes)

Comments:

8

26. (=)

The Joshua Tree 

 U2

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Rock
Known this album since the beginning. It doesn't tire - at the time was an indication of their maturity and rise to global status with a bigger sound. For many the singles will be the go to tracks but I am more drawn to the other album tracks [First added to this chart: 11/13/2017]

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

1,814 charts

Rank Score:

19,875

Rank in 1987:

1

Rank in 1980s:

6

Overall Rank:

52

Average Rating:

 83 (2,389 votes)

Comments:

226

27. (=)

Making Movies 

 Dire Straits

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Roots Rock
Brothers in Arms got me into Dire Straits and that is a superb album itself - especially the title track - but this album beats it with every track a gem. Knopflers guitar playing is unique and distinctive coupled with his drawl vocal. [First added to this chart: 02/17/2018]

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

417 charts

Rank Score:

2,881

Rank in 1980:

11

Rank in 1980s:

96

Overall Rank:

618

Average Rating:

 78 (571 votes)

Comments:

24

28. (=)

Rage Against The Machine 

 Rage Against The Machine

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Metal
I only got hold of this album in 2019 as Metal isn't really my go to place. But this is so much more than Metal - it is white-man-rap. These tunes are pumping and the lyrics and delivery just demand your attention. [First added to this chart: 05/06/2019]

Year of Release:

1992

Appears in:

1,228 charts

Rank Score:

12,013

Rank in 1992:

2

Rank in 1990s:

24

Overall Rank:

121

Average Rating:

 83 (1,606 votes)

Comments:

91

29. (=)

West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum 

 Kasabian

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Indie Rock - Psychedelic Rock - Space Rock - Experimental Rock
Can't recall how I picked this up - but again as soon as I heard it about 2015 - well after it's release - I snapped up their back catalogue and now love this band [First added to this chart: 02/17/2018]

Year of Release:

2009

Appears in:

226 charts

Rank Score:

1,271

Rank in 2009:

16

Rank in 2000s:

215

Overall Rank:

1,369

Average Rating:

 75 (414 votes)

Comments:

22

30. (=)

Here Come The Warm Jets 

 Brian Eno

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Art Rock / Glam Rock?
Only heard this is 2020 - had really only heard snippets of Eno although knew mostly through Bowie. I expected this to be more ambient and electronic but was surprised with this but in a really good way. Just love Dead Finks Don't Talk [First added to this chart: 08/13/2020]

Year of Release:

1974

Appears in:

439 charts

Rank Score:

3,066

Rank in 1974:

8

Rank in 1970s:

139

Overall Rank:

577

Average Rating:

 81 (554 votes)

Comments:

27

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Total albums: 100. Page 3 of 10

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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

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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.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
90/100	04/12/2023 17:47	chavaloricardin	15	83/100
85/100	09/04/2022 11:28	Thearei30ee	18	88/100
95/100	07/03/2022 18:38	ffudnebbuh	653	91/100
85/100	06/25/2022 23:42	Rm12398	99	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 12% 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.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 24 comments |
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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) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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