Top 40 Greatest Music Albums
by caveman 
Work in progress. This is really a chart of my personal taste, so it probably won't interest everyone. I'm not trying to give my opinion of what should "officially" be called the best albums, or what have been the most influential albums. We're striving for a list of what the best albums really are, which should be based on what people really like, not on what people think everyone else really likes. Not that I mind if people want to write a chart full of classics.
Feel free to make suggestions or comments.
- Chart updated: 01/19/2012 14:15
- (Created: 01/11/2012 14:20).
- Chart size: 40 albums.
There are 5 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 40 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 83 out of 100 (from 6 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
The entries in this chart have a zero rank score because the chart has not been updated within the last ten years (points from overall charts are decayed over a ten year period).
View the complete list of 57,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
Buy album 
- #Sponsored
Zappa's take on classical music and free jazz, thinly disguised with and mixed with pop and rock. All done with a wonderful whimsical charm. This album is a monster that will take some a while to digest and turn others off completely.
[First added to this chart: 01/11/2012]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,127
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Usually noted as a parody of the beatles's sgt pepper, but also a very honest and called for satire of both the hippie movement and the establishment in general. Musically speaking, its a dense, facinating collage of conventional songs, music concrete (voices, sound effects, sped up tapes etc) and snippets of classical music.
[First added to this chart: 01/11/2012]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,612
Rank in 1968:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 01/11/2012]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,634
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Perhaps the last opeth album that was recorded with minimal preparation (the lyrics and a fair bit of the music was written during the recording sessions). As a result it is a little inconsistent but it all sounds very fresh and like they put all their energy into it. 'The leper affinity' and 'the drapery falls' are unbelievable.
[First added to this chart: 01/11/2012]
Year of Release:
2001
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,350
Rank in 2001:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Quite an experimental-sounding and varied album, but also very polished. I find there's more depth to the songs on this album than to its partner 'kid a' which is also fantastic.
[First added to this chart: 01/11/2012]
Year of Release:
2001
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,114
Rank in 2001:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
In this album opeth perfected their 'old' sound. Its also in my opinion the logical conclusion and pinacle of the 'old' gothenburg style swedish metal, with the dual guitars, folk, classical and nwobhm influences. There are also some less obvious progressive rock (camel) influences here as well. Not for everyone but very beautiful album.
[First added to this chart: 01/11/2012]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 01/11/2012]
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,512
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 01/11/2012]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 01/11/2012]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,013
Rank in 1967:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 01/11/2012]
Year of Release:
2001
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,505
Rank in 2001:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 40. Page 1 of 4
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 10 | 25% | |
| 1970s | 7 | 18% | |
| 1980s | 1 | 3% | |
| 1990s | 8 | 20% | |
| 2000s | 13 | 33% | |
| 2010s | 1 | 3% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Nick Drake | 3 | 8% | |
| Opeth | 3 | 8% | |
| Radiohead | 2 | 5% | |
| Camel | 2 | 5% | |
| Frank Zappa | 2 | 5% | |
| Porcupine Tree | 2 | 5% | |
| Dark Tranquillity | 2 | 5% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
13 | 33% | |
| |
10 | 25% | |
 |
8 | 20% | |
 |
2 | 5% | |
 |
2 | 5% | |
 |
2 | 5% | |
 |
1 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 5 from 27th to 22nd Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles |
| Up 2 from 39th to 37th Catch Thirtythree by Meshuggah |
| Up 1 from 29th to 28th Music Inspired By The Snow Goose by Camel |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 37th to 38th Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins |
| Down 1 from 38th to 39th Natural Born Chaos by Soilwork |
| New entries |
|---|
| Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band |
| Signify by Porcupine Tree |
| Leavers |
|---|
| Abbey Road by The Beatles |
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 40 Greatest Music Albums | Giova6 | Overall chart | 2013 | |
| Top 40 Greatest Music Albums | Schismic_Porcupine | Overall chart | 2013 |  |
| Top 40 Greatest Music Albums | remco27 | Overall chart | 2013 |  |
| Top 35 Greatest Music Albums | payam_tommy | Overall chart | 2011 | |
| Top 40 Greatest Music Albums | zeli9 | Overall chart | 2012 | |
| Top 40 Greatest Music Albums | 07quinnja | Overall chart | 2020 | |
| Top 31 Greatest Music Albums | Floydfan123 | Overall chart | 2010 | |
| Top 40 Greatest Music Albums | strep | Overall chart | 2010 | |
| Top 20 Greatest Music Albums | ggrop | Overall chart | 2010 | |
| Top 39 Greatest Music Albums | Asaspades | Overall chart | 2010 | |
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!
Why register?
- Join a passionate community of over 50,000 music fans.
- Create & share your own charts.
- Have your say in the overall rankings.
- Post comments in the forums and vote on polls.
- Comment on or rate any album, artist, track or chart.
- Discover new music & improve your music collection.
- Customise the overall chart using a variety of different filters & metrics.
- Create a wishlist of albums.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- ... And lots more!
Register now - it only takes a moment!
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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.
N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 6 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 04/18/2018 10:44 | Ulf | 186 | 80/100 |
| ! | 07/14/2014 22:35 |  Captain_Dude | 231 | 80/100 |
| ! | 01/14/2012 20:31 | zonrod | 72 | 83/100 |
| ! | 01/14/2012 16:45 |  Triple Seis | 1,251 | 79/100 |
| ! | 01/14/2012 12:07 | Johnnyo | 2,557 | 80/100 |
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums favourites
Showing all 1 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing all 5 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
From Ulf 04/18/2018 10:44 | #213178
good stuff especially piper at the gates
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Captain_Dude 07/14/2014 22:37 | #116750
Captain_Dude 07/14/2014 22:37 | #116750
Nick Drake, Zappa, Camel, Floyd, Captain Beefheart...lots of great stuff on this chart! It also seems very individualized...I love those types of charts! I'm definitely with you on the Yellow Shark album. That WAS one of Zappa's finest and you just never hear about that piece enough. Nicely done! Definitely continue to add more of your favorites.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Romanelli 01/28/2012 19:42 | #36063
Romanelli 01/28/2012 19:42 | #36063
Couldn't help but notice that you and I are the only ones to include The Yellow Shark! Your personal taste is cool...I love seeing things I've never even heard of before! Nice chart!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From zonrod 01/14/2012 20:33 | #35201
Hey! Thanks for your nice review.
I am just paying attention to my own taste and I really don't care about the general main stream and my charts are just the outcome of it, but still evolving as well!
I also like Zappa but I only nominate I artist per album.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From album guru joe 01/14/2012 00:52 | #35169
average chart...love Frank Zappa but way too much of him on your chart... would be interesting to see a top 100.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Your feedback for Top 40 Greatest Music Albums
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
