Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by jbfarmer

Growing up in a small town in Idaho, I’m surprised that my music taste ever became what it is. My dad was a music major for a few years in college, so I guess that combined with my obsession with the piano from a young age kinda just evolved over the years. There was a point where I was the only person I knew that liked my music outside of my family. I collected records and checked out this website all by myself. Eventually I had friends that I could relate to with this stuff. Feel free to check out their charts, too! keatownrodriguez and pjohnsongolf

A lot of these albums mean a lot to me and have been the soundtracks to important phases of my twenty years of life. There’s always more work to be done on this chart, but I can feel pretty good about it for now. After making this chart, I feel more like I just wrote an autobiography so I hope you can enjoy my story.

• Chart updated: 08/27/2022 18:45
• (Created: 07/13/2018 07:02).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 2 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 88 out of 100 (from 3 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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1. (=)

52nd Street 

 Billy Joel

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What could I possibly say to describe what Billy Joel’s music has meant to me throughout my life? Every phase of my life has been set to different songs and albums from him. When I was in elementary school, it was “Piano Man,” “James,” and “New York State of Mind.” In middle school, it was “I Go to Extremes,” “Vienna,” and “Movin’ Out.” By the end of high school, I knew just about everything in his discography, AND had a personal connection to so much of it. “Just the Way You Are” was the love anthem of my relationship with my first girlfriend. “Stiletto” was the tune my brother and I got obsessed with after seeing Billy live in Salt Lake City. “Shades of Grey” would blast out the speakers of my friend’s truck while we drove around the valley. The piano has been my instrument of choice since I started lessons at age 6. Now I am a music major studying piano, and I think a lot of the drive that it took to get here is something I got from listening to Billy. I placed in classical competitions with one of his classical pieces. “New York State of Mind” was the first song my dad showed me to explain jazz music to me. “52nd Street” is a phenomenal album that pulls out every last bit of Billy’s one-of-a-kind talents. I still get excited every time I listen to it. The energy that Billy throws in on vocals, the powerful songwriting, and the all-so-important contributions of his band members (especially drummer Liberty Devito) come together to make my favorite album of all time. On some days, I might like The Stranger a little more, and if I’m being honest, most of Billy’s albums would be in my top 20 if I wasn’t doing one album per artist on this chart. It is obvious to me, though, that Billy Joel deserves to be in my number one slot.

Favorite tracks: Big Shot, Stiletto, Zanzibar, Rosalinda’s Eyes [First added to this chart: 10/23/2018]

Year of Release:

1978

Appears in:

245 charts

Rank Score:

1,241

Rank in 1978:

23

Rank in 1970s:

276

Overall Rank:

1,392

Average Rating:

 78 (321 votes)

Comments:

23

20. (19) 1

Sheer Heart Attack 

 Queen

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This might come as a shocker, but my favorite Queen song of all time is “Killer Queen”. Our school out on an air concert some years, and we wanted to do a few songs for it. Our main act was “Killer Queen”. We got all dressed up, and had three of us standing out there, but my brother was dressed up as Freddie Mercury backstage. He didn’t come out until the song started, and the school went insane. He really surprised everybody and lived up his moments as Freddie. We had such a good time, and our friend that had already graduated sat in the front row and was grinning ear to ear. Plus, “Brighten Rock” is a total jam, so I really don’t have a hard time saying this is Queen’s best album. This is right where it belongs for me.

Favorite Tracks: Killer Queen, Brighten Rock, Stone Cold Crazy [First added to this chart: 12/13/2018]

Year of Release:

1974

Appears in:

510 charts

Rank Score:

2,857

Rank in 1974:

9

Rank in 1970s:

141

Overall Rank:

608

Average Rating:

 79 (816 votes)

Comments:

54

22. (21) 1

Talking Book 

 Stevie Wonder

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Stevie just makes me want to dance. Tuesday Heartbreak? Superstition? Come on!!! Oh, yeah and also one of the greatest love songs ever written, already mentioned once in this chart, You and I. What a gift this album is. This is what I consider to be an important transition album for Stevie, and because of it, you get the best of his early career and his late career all in one album.

Favorite Tracks: Superstition, You and I, Tuesday Heartbreak, You are the Sunshine of My Life [First added to this chart: 03/10/2022]

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

543 charts

Rank Score:

2,949

Rank in 1972:

16

Rank in 1970s:

134

Overall Rank:

583

Average Rating:

 81 (676 votes)

Comments:

24

28. (27) 1

Carpenters 

 Carpenters

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This album reminds me of my mom. She loves The Carpenters, and she always felt a special connection with Karen. Karen’s voice just feels so warm and motherly to me. Her story is so sad, but she always seemed so happy when she was making music. We’re lucky that she shared as much of it with us as she did. Out of any other group, my mom probably sang Carpenters songs around the house more than anything else.

Favorite Tracks: Superstar, One Love, Rainy Days and Mondays [First added to this chart: 03/10/2022]

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

52 charts

Rank Score:

198

Rank in 1971:

104

Rank in 1970s:

1,037

Overall Rank:

6,535

Average Rating:

 76 (69 votes)

Comments:

6

31. (30) 1

Aja 

 Steely Dan

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With as much as Steely Dan experimented in the studio, and how often they turned musicians around, it’s surprising that they ever developed a sort of consistent sound and had the success they did. I think Aja is their best because there isn’t a full track on here, and they cover a lot of ground on this album.

Favorite Tracks: Deacon Blues, Peg, Black Cow [First added to this chart: 03/10/2022]

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

821 charts

Rank Score:

9,227

Rank in 1977:

6

Rank in 1970s:

41

Overall Rank:

160

Average Rating:

 83 (1,002 votes)

Comments:

65

37. (36) 1

Hunky Dory 

 David Bowie

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Favorite Tracks: Changes, Life on Mars [First added to this chart: 03/10/2022]

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,858 charts

Rank Score:

19,835

Rank in 1971:

3

Rank in 1970s:

14

Overall Rank:

46

Average Rating:

 87 (2,439 votes)

Comments:

159

41. (40) 1

Wish You Were Here 

 Pink Floyd

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Sometimes friendships turn into some of the saddest stories.

Favorite Tracks: Have a Cigar, Wish You Were Here [First added to this chart: 12/13/2018]

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

3,003 charts

Rank Score:

45,962

Rank in 1975:

1

Rank in 1970s:

2

Overall Rank:

5

Average Rating:

 91 (4,046 votes)

Comments:

312

44. (43) 1

Out Of The Blue 

 Electric Light Orchestra

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Concerto for a Rainy Day really thrills me every time.

Favorite Tracks: Big Wheels, Mr. Blue Sky, It’s Over [First added to this chart: 10/23/2018]

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

503 charts

Rank Score:

3,475

Rank in 1977:

14

Rank in 1970s:

116

Overall Rank:

510

Average Rating:

 78 (624 votes)

Comments:

44

50. (49) 1

Van Halen 

 Van Halen

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My dad’s favorite band ever. My brother shares a birthday with Eddie’s son on March 16th, which Eddie wrote “316” for. So we also listen to Van Halen on Keaton’s birthday. I like this album the most, and I love hearing stories about the shock factor that people had when it came out. Super influential stuff, especially on “Eruption”.

Favorite Tracks: Runnin’ With the Devil, Eruption [First added to this chart: 03/10/2022]

Year of Release:

1978

Appears in:

683 charts

Rank Score:

4,543

Rank in 1978:

6

Rank in 1970s:

94

Overall Rank:

378

Average Rating:

 80 (880 votes)

Comments:

69

52. (51) 1

Unknown Pleasures 

 Joy Division

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Favorite Tracks: Disorder, New Dawn Fades [First added to this chart: 03/10/2022]

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

1,987 charts

Rank Score:

22,639

Rank in 1979:

3

Rank in 1970s:

9

Overall Rank:

38

Average Rating:

 86 (2,330 votes)

Comments:

190

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Total albums: 19. Page 1 of 2

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade	Albums	%
1930s	0	0%
1940s	0	0%
1950s	2	2%
1960s	7	7%
1970s	19	19%
1980s	14	14%
1990s	9	9%
2000s	20	20%
2010s	23	23%
2020s	6	6%

Artist	Albums	%
Jeff Buckley	1	1%
Jimmy Eat World	1	1%
The Dear Hunter	1	1%
The Weeknd	1	1%
The Police	1	1%
The Beach Boys	1	1%
Gorillaz	1	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	64	64%
	24	24%
	4	4%
	3	3%
	3	3%
	1	1%
	1	1%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest fallers
Down 1 from 19th to 20th Sheer Heart Attack by Queen
Down 1 from 20th to 21st Eddie And The Cruisers by John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band
Down 1 from 21st to 22nd Talking Book by Stevie Wonder

New entries
Never For Ever by Kate Bush

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
100/100	12/19/2023 03:28	ChiefyArchie	1	100/100
80/100	09/24/2022 14:21	mutley88	29	79/100
100/100	04/11/2022 16:16	Larcx13	1,140	86/100

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

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Rating:  

100/100

From ChiefyArchie 12/19/2023 03:32

Never in history has more thought and time been put into a greatest albums of all time chart. This man is a legend and the only reason I ever found this website. The pure craziness and drastic differences from one artist to the next should tell you how much he knows music. I don’t have all the same favorite artists or albums, but I have major respect for this chart.

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Rating:  

80/100

From mutley88 09/24/2022 14:49

This is everything a BEA chart should be, though a lot of the albums on here aren't my cup of tea, the personal comments make it great would've rated 100 if every album had a comment. Came to this through a shared love for the Chicago album and would probably have skipped through it if not for the comments. I get how experience shapes the music we come to love, for example "Take Me Home Country Roads" A tune I once regarded with disdain has become a favourite memory now of a drunken karoake night in Thailand. I would like to return here years from now to see how it evolves over a time. If BEA had been around in my 20's it would have been a completely different chart to the one now, probably contain a lot more cheesy 80's synthpop.
Hope that is a typo in the Nirvana comment & that your brother loved & not lived a long time ago, was bit worried there. Never knew Robert Smith did a song with Blink 182.
as a postscript while typing this had that Plini album playing in the background, it's a grower. Nice one

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