Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by BLO 
Here's my personal list of favorite albums. I understand I don't have much past the 70's, so let me know if there's anything newer you think I'd like!
Here are the albums on this list that I consider the most underappreciated that I think you should check out:
Forca Bruta
Our Mother the Mountain
Sunflower
You Don't Mess Around with Jim
Cold Fact
Coming from Reality
Evensong
Heron
Reves/yosoy
Chicago/Chicago II
Exuma
American III: Solitary Man
Un Segundo MTV Unplugged
- Chart updated: 03/28/2024 02:45
- (Created: 11/17/2017 03:34).
- 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 91 out of 100 (from 46 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 1970s. (Remove this filter)
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An absolute masterpiece and triumph of Brazillian music. Jorge Ben had shown his brilliance before this point numerous times, but this album is an explosion of beauty and pure joy. I cannot understand a single word he says, but I understand every feeling he wants me to feel. The melodies are hypnotic and the rhythms are infectious. If you are a fan of rock, soul, or samba I implore you to listen to this album. It is so fresh and magical, there's nothing else like it.
[First added to this chart: 08/15/2019]
4
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This album may not have greatly written lyrics that make you ponder your own existence, or musicians with legendary skills, but what this album does better than any other album is something more fundamental. The melody. Each song flows wonderfully and every word, while generic, fits perfectly with every note. The string sections in each song never feel overblown, and create such a lifting atmosphere.
[First added to this chart: 11/16/2017]
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,122
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If you were to tell a Pet Sounds fan that this album was one where all the Beach Boys wrote their own songs (with surprisingly few Wilson tunes) they would probably scoff and walk away, avoiding this album at all costs. However, this album has easily the most luscious vocal harmonies and production compared to any other Beach Boys albums. Also, just about every band member has their own moments of brilliance on this project. "Deidre" is easily the best example of just how beautiful a Beach Boys vocal harmony can be.
[First added to this chart: 11/16/2017]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,266
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Unconditional love, sex, kickass riffs, drugs, and country blues. Easily the best Stones album. Can't You Hear Me Knocking and Wild Horses are easily the highlights.
[First added to this chart: 11/16/2017]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,296
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Neil Young tends to fluctuate from heavy rock that drips with deeply distorted guitar tones to sweet country folk. On this album his folky side prevails with the best results of his career. The perfect album for driving through a cold country side at 11pm. A majority of the songs are sweet ballads that slow dance with the listener, and the rest are the aforementioned heavy rockers. However, unlike with You Don't Mess Around with Jim, this album transitions between fast rock songs and slow folk songs perfectly.
[First added to this chart: 01/10/2018]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,294
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Simon and Garfunkel may have hated each other's guts at this point, but that did not stop them from making a flawless album with some of the best vocal harmonies put to vinyl. The title track is a stunning song that is especially wonderful as it is a love song that can be applied to anyone special in your life-friends, family, and strangers alike. This album has songs that will make you jump out of your bed and dance like no one is watching, in addition to songs reflecting on the struggle of living in America in the 1960s.
[First added to this chart: 11/21/2017]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,200
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It's incredible to think that Stevie Wonder, a man born blind, has such an incredible grasp on songwriting and racism. The man can't even see why certain people hate him, it must be an extremely baffling concept to him more than the average person. Yet his commentary on songs such as "Visions" and "Living for the City" are spot on when it comes to institutional racism. The system ensures that people of color are born into poverty, and imprisoned if they try to leave it. Aside from the political messaging, this album is utterly perfect musically. Living for the City is extremely passionate, and Stevie's vocal performance is inhuman. Golden Lady has an atmosphere unlike any song I've ever heard. The two closing tracks are uplifting and carefree after so many downer moments on the album. This is a perfect 44 minutes everybody should not just experience once, but over and over again until their speakers burn out.
[First added to this chart: 09/14/2020]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,903
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Over an hour of music and not a single dull moment. An unapologetic combination of sounds from different cultures and eras of music, brought together with a heaping helping of punk. This album will make you want to smash your bass guitar because god damn you can never be as good as The Clash at their peak.
[First added to this chart: 11/19/2017]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
36,236
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[First added to this chart: 02/12/2023]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,743
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Listening to Gene Clark's other work, it's hard to believe that he had something like this album inside of him. His other solo works sound like mid-tier Byrd albums. But something happened to Mr. Clark when he made this album. It's almost as if suddenly he poured his entire pure, misunderstood soul into the recording booth, backed by soaring, lush instrumentation. His vocal performance on this album is unlike anything I have ever heard, especially on "Strength of Strings" and "Some Misunderstanding". He sounds so vulnerable, so desperate, yet so powerful and wise. It breaks my heart that Gene Clark died thinking this album was a failure. I hope David Geffen has trouble sleeping at night for what he did to Clark and his magnum opus.
[First added to this chart: 02/24/2022]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,641
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Total albums: 54. Page 1 of 6
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 22 | 22% | |
| 1970s | 54 | 54% | |
| 1980s | 8 | 8% | |
| 1990s | 5 | 5% | |
| 2000s | 3 | 3% | |
| 2010s | 4 | 4% | |
| 2020s | 4 | 4% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
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|
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| The Beatles | 7 | 7% | |
| The Beach Boys | 5 | 5% | |
| Electric Light Orchestra | 4 | 4% | |
| Jorge Ben | 3 | 3% | |
| Stevie Wonder | 3 | 3% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 3 | 3% | |
| Neil Young | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
42 | 42% | |
 |
37 | 37% | |
 |
6 | 6% | |
 |
6 | 6% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 96th to 97th Expensive Shit by Fela Kuti & Africa 70 |
| Down 1 from 97th to 98th OK Computer by Radiohead |
| Down 1 from 98th to 99th Norman Fucking Rockwell! by Lana Del Rey |
| New entries |
|---|
 Five Leaves Leftby Nick Drake |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
91/100 (from 46 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 46 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 90/100  | 04/02/2023 16:57 | Johnnyo | | 80/100 |
| 90/100 | 04/02/2023 16:14 |  Tamthebam | | 85/100 |
| 90/100 | 04/02/2023 14:29 |  Goliath | | 86/100 |
| 85/100 | 11/07/2022 21:08 |  Applerill | | 75/100 |
| 100/100 | 06/05/2022 16:04 |  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 91.2/100, a mean average of 91.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 92.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 8.7.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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90/100
From Johnnyo 04/02/2023 16:57
Great chart.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From mrmcrook 03/26/2021 01:09
Love your notes. Gave me good insight to a few I'll be checking out
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From BLO 12/07/2020 00:03
Thanks for your comment Boltzmann! I can see why the wording of my description confused you, but I have obviously listened to every album front to back on every one of my charts. I meant that I hadn't listened to most of the albums in the top 500 or so in the overall chart, and thus don't be angry if I don't put Loveless or whatever on my chart.
I'm sorry you found my chart "bland". Feel free to hit me with any recommendations that aren't dull!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From leniad 12/05/2020 03:29
like a lot of your choices but i think half 1970s is a lot, and the 70s are my favourite decade jajaja
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From BraddlesHendo 12/05/2020 02:04
I’m going out to buy that Chicago album ASAP . Great list
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From StefanR10 12/04/2020 21:22
StefanR10 12/04/2020 21:22
Really cool here. I found one new album from a band from Mexico but the rest is everything i can go with. Beatles, Radiohead, Neil Young and David Bowie superb collection.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From 
sssvnnn 12/04/2020 20:09
sssvnnn 12/04/2020 20:09
Very classical and Beatlesque chart...
I like it. You love good songs and melodies: Same as me.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Boltzmann 12/04/2020 17:18
Boltzmann 12/04/2020 17:18
"Here is a list of my favorite albums, I haven't listened to them all"... that's not how that works, I'd say drop one of these sentences. Impressive how your chart is still extremely predictable and bland.
Sunflower by The Beach Boys is great though, and indeed underappreciated. This mf was making shoegazing in the '70s.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
seb7 12/04/2020 15:57
seb7 12/04/2020 15:57
Almost perfect list. I agree with almost every pick!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From ThuramThugood 04/19/2020 02:33
Pretty good. Not a fan of Fleet Foxes myself, as they remind me of stroking stoats in the West Country. Good to see Forever Changes by Love ranked so high.
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