Top 40 Greatest Music Albums
by FflyCoJoe 
This process is imperfect at best and way off at worst. For those of us who love our music, trying to boil things down into a short list is a task made more impossible by all the great music that's ever been created. I didn't include any Big Ban music, which I really enjoy, or any classical music, which I also love, or any comedy--which is a category that gets shuffled under the rug in these discussions. Oh well, this is my list for this moment in time, determined by my mood, by what's in my iTunes folder and by what's always musically at the top of my mind.
- Chart updated: 03/28/2012 03:01
- (Created: 03/28/2012 02:50).
- Chart size: 40 albums.
There are 6 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 40 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 85 out of 100 (from 3 votes). Please log in or create an account to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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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).
Available from 
This album has it all. Great songs, sterling production, engineering by Alan Parsons and Ken Scott, lots of pop, some rock, even some proggy bits.
[First added to this chart: 03/27/2012]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
53,373
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Rank in 1960s:
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Available from
Brian Wilson called this his "Teenage symphony to God." I call it melancholy and sublime. 200 years from now, this will still be played and revered as classic music.
[First added to this chart: 03/27/2012]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
36,272
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Available from
Many of Harry's albums are among my favorites, so limiting it to this one is tough. But between the sweet "Remember (Christmas)" and the delightful snark of "You're Breaking My Heart" (NSFW), plus all the amazing players (Chris Spedding, George Harrison, Jim Keltner, etc) and the stellar production of Richard Perry, this one gets the nod.
[First added to this chart: 03/27/2012]
Available from
Maybe not their best album, but because this was the album that got me into the band (and in a way rekindled my explorations into prog). Turn It On Again!
[First added to this chart: 03/27/2012]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,813
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Available from
It's almost a cliche to include this one, but it still holds up so many years later. Alan Parsons worked on this one, too. Hmmm, he worked on Abbey Road and Pink Floyd...I wonder what else he did?....
[First added to this chart: 03/27/2012]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
55,802
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Available from
Hard to choose when it comes to Macca. I could have taken Ram or Back To The Egg, or...
[First added to this chart: 03/27/2012]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
676
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Available from
(OK. Can't believe this one wasn't in the Best Albums Ever database. That won't be the last time this happens on my list.)
Alan Parsons produced this one, too. This Ambrosia's 2nd LP and the first self-titled LP is amazing (and Parsons-influenced). This started a relationship between Parsons and Ambrosia's co-lead singer/songwriter David Pack that has woven its way through the music business for the last 35 years. [First added to this chart: 03/27/2012]
Alan Parsons produced this one, too. This Ambrosia's 2nd LP and the first self-titled LP is amazing (and Parsons-influenced). This started a relationship between Parsons and Ambrosia's co-lead singer/songwriter David Pack that has woven its way through the music business for the last 35 years. [First added to this chart: 03/27/2012]
Available from
I first heard "Bloody Well Right" late one night when I had the headphones on. The way this track used stereo to an excellent effect added to an already engaging song. Every track is a jaw-dropper. Hodgson and Davies at their best.
[First added to this chart: 03/27/2012]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,112
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Available from
Another band that I could have chosen any one of their albums, but because this is the one I started with, it gets the nod. It's a rock opera, better than Tommy (I know, heresy!). It is proggy, very poppy, very rocky and in bits, kinda jazzy.
[First added to this chart: 03/27/2012]
Available from
A perfect album by a too-fleeting band.
Year of Release:
1990
Appears in:
Rank Score:
368
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Total albums: 40. Page 1 of 4
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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 6 | 15% | |
| 1970s | 20 | 50% | |
| 1980s | 2 | 5% | |
| 1990s | 6 | 15% | |
| 2000s | 6 | 15% | |
| 2010s | 0 | 0% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Beach Boys | 1 | 3% | |
| Chris Von Sneidern | 1 | 3% | |
| Badfinger | 1 | 3% | |
| Phillips/MacLeod | 1 | 3% | |
| Harry Nilsson | 1 | 3% | |
| Cheap Trick | 1 | 3% | |
| Big Star | 1 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
Down 2 from 11th to 13th |
Down 1 from 10th to 11th |
Down 1 from 13th to 14th |
| New entries |
|---|
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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing all 3 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/25/2012 20:57 | RupertRonco | 103 | 65/100 |
| ! | 07/05/2012 05:19 | AgainstMeAgainst | 12 | 75/100 |
| ! | 05/06/2012 22:54 | gussteivi | 73 | 86/100 |
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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From
AgainstMeAgainstYou 07/05/2012 05:19 | #45923
YES. FREAKING YES.
Finally, "All Things Must Pass" gets some goddamn recognition. I thought I was the only person who loved it. Only disappointing part of this list is the total lack of any Radiohead.
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From
FflyCoJoe 03/28/2012 19:17 | #39095
You can also tell how quickly I put this list together by how many errors there are in my comments about each album!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 0
From
FflyCoJoe 03/28/2012 03:30 | #39067
I kept this to one album per band... not an easy thing to do when it comes to many of the bands I've included.
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From
kingdomhearts678 05/17/2012 03:18 | #42538
Abbey Road really is the perfect album. I've never really understood the appeal of Dark Side of the Moon. Very average to me
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From
gussteivi 03/27/2012 23:39 | #39040
Wow, some REALLY great inclusions! Will definetily be checking out some of the ones here I haven't heard.
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