Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by bonnequestion

A few things to know about my charts:

1. My choices are based on my personal taste first. I'm not trying to make an objective list of the best albums of all-time, but rather a list of the best albums I've ever heard.

2. If I rate an album and/or add it to my charts, it means I've listened to it more than once. I don't rate an album based on only one listen on Spotify. I own my albums and I listen to them many times before judging them.

3. For me, an album isn't just a collection of songs. It isn't just the sum of its individual tracks. There's something more than that in an album, there's the flow, the concept, the cohesiveness, the general feel, the magic. My best-rated albums have that, they are not simply the albums in which I like the most individual tracks.

4. There are no live albums and no best-of/compilation in my charts, just studio albums.

5. This list will always change, and that's very important. If it didn't, it would mean that I'm not discovering anything new, and that would be the worst thing that could happen. Not only will there always be new music coming out, but I will always be moved by different music. And I intend to keep it that way. I don't want to be one of those guys that has his musical taste fixed forever.

That's it for now, I hope you enjoy this chart!

• Chart updated: 04/20/2024 00:15
• (Created: 07/24/2018 16:32).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 21 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 30 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

• Summary
• Composition
• Ratings
• Favourites
• Comments
• Your feedback

View the complete list of 53,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.

This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from Gentle Giant. (Remove this filter)

Sort by

• Overall Rank
• Num. Charts
• Avg. Rating
• Num. Ratings
• Release Date
• Title
• Artist
• Date Added

10. (=)

Three Friends 

 Gentle Giant

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

I might be the only one to think that, but for me, "Three Friends" is Gentle Giant's masterpiece. This is their best album conceptually, lyrically and musically. Some of their albums may have bigger hits (Octopus, Free Hand) but this album has the perfect pacing, great themes and is very well-crafted. It is also the only album featuring Malcolm Mortimore on drums, and I really enjoy his playing.

Each song is great in its own way and complements the others. The concept is simple, yet very effective. Three school friends grow up to become three very different people. This is quite basic, but combine this idea with the genius of the Schulmans and Kerry Minnear, and you get this wonderful album, full of amazing moments and great musicianship. Gentle Giant might be my favorite band ever, and this is my favorite album from them. [First added to this chart: 07/25/2018]

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

84 charts

Rank Score:

418

Rank in 1972:

60

Rank in 1970s:

617

Overall Rank:

3,495

Average Rating:

 78 (127 votes)

Comments:

6

26. (=)

Free Hand 

 Gentle Giant

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Gentle Giant has a way of always surprising you and proposing new ways to do songs. I think "Free Hand" is one of their best albums because it does exactly that. It surprises you and get you to places you wouldn't expect. It's also very consistent and works well as a whole. What a great album by a great band!

"On Reflection", "Time To Kill" and "His Last Voyage" are not only my favorite songs on this album, but also some of my favorite Gentle Giant songs of all-time. [First added to this chart: 07/25/2018]

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

55 charts

Rank Score:

281

Rank in 1975:

83

Rank in 1970s:

820

Overall Rank:

4,865

Average Rating:

 77 (87 votes)

Comments:

4

50. (=)

The Power And The Glory 

 Gentle Giant

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

This is another very consistent release by GG. What I like about this one is that it really works as a whole. Each and every song has a place among the others and serves the purpose of the album. It is also very well produced, just like "Free Hand". I think the best period production-wise for GG is 74-75. They really do sound great in that period. [First added to this chart: 07/25/2018]

Year of Release:

1974

Appears in:

85 charts

Rank Score:

611

Rank in 1974:

43

Rank in 1970s:

481

Overall Rank:

2,555

Average Rating:

 77 (140 votes)

Comments:

6

57. (=)

Octopus 

 Gentle Giant

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

This is an amazing record. Many of GG's best songs are in here:
The Advent Of Panurge
Knots (This one might be their best ever)
The Boys In The Band
Think Of Me With Kindness

I just listed half of the album, the other half is really good too, but those 4 really stand out. As a whole, I don't think this album has a particular feel or direction, however every song is great and has something special to offer. [First added to this chart: 07/25/2018]

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

189 charts

Rank Score:

925

Rank in 1972:

37

Rank in 1970s:

350

Overall Rank:

1,817

Average Rating:

 79 (212 votes)

Comments:

11

60. (=)

Gentle Giant 

 Gentle Giant

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

This album is criminally underrated, even amongst Gentle Giant fans. To me, it belongs up there with the best albums of GG like Octopus and Three Friends. It is definitely their most "folkish" album (especially tracks 2,4 and 5) and I must admit I like it very much.

"Funny Ways" is simply amazing.

"Isn't Quiet And Cold" is a lovely tune, one of my favorite all time. I really like the scenery described in the poetry and the melody is just perfect with the arrangement.

"Nothing At All" is another strong moment, and the intro to this song reminds me of Stairway To Heaven, even though it was recorded before Stairway To Heaven.

"Why Not" is where guitarist Gary Green shines.

The two weakest tracks here would the first and last, but they don't compromise the quality of this album.

An amazing first album by a great band who went on to do even better albums next! [First added to this chart: 08/22/2018]

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

92 charts

Rank Score:

368

Rank in 1970:

71

Rank in 1970s:

679

Overall Rank:

3,913

Average Rating:

 77 (102 votes)

Comments:

4

78. (=)

In A Glass House 

 Gentle Giant

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 08/04/2018]

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

91 charts

Rank Score:

335

Rank in 1973:

82

Rank in 1970s:

725

Overall Rank:

4,215

Average Rating:

 80 (117 votes)

Comments:

7

Total albums: 6. Page 1 of 1

Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade	Albums	%
1930s	0	0%
1940s	0	0%
1950s	0	0%
1960s	8	8%
1970s	30	30%
1980s	3	3%
1990s	14	14%
2000s	21	21%
2010s	18	18%
2020s	6	6%

Artist	Albums	%
Gentle Giant	6	6%
Radiohead	4	4%
Sloan	4	4%
Spoon	4	4%
Mutemath	4	4%
Neil Cowley Trio	3	3%
The Beatles	3	3%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	40	40%
	29	29%
	20	20%
	3	3%
	3	3%
	2	2%
	1	1%
Show all

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest climbers
Up 1 from 9th to 8th Never Hear The End Of It by Sloan

Biggest fallers
Down 1 from 8th to 9th Happiness...Is Not A Fish That You Can Catch by Our Lady Peace

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts

• Best Ever Albums - 1 Per Artist by bonnequestion (2024)
• Best UK Albums by bonnequestion (2024)
• My 100 favorite albums from BEA's top 1000 by bonnequestion (2024)
• Best albums from '65 to '74 by bonnequestion (2024)
• Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by bonnequestion (2024)
• Best American Albums by bonnequestion (2024)
• Best albums from '05 to '14 by bonnequestion (2024)
• Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s by bonnequestion (2024)
• Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s by bonnequestion (2024)
• Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Glitterboiii (2023)

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 30 ratings for this chart.

Sort ratings

• Rating
• Date updated
• Member

Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
100/100	02/04/2024 14:09	ThuramThugood	81	87/100
100/100	10/10/2023 19:29	adbrack1988	26	97/100
70/100	08/03/2023 12:13	mianfei	143	61/100
95/100	07/24/2023 17:37	FelipeBoorkes	46	92/100
85/100	07/24/2023 14:07	manurock	229	83/100

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 3% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.5/100, a mean average of 90.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 6.9.

• Related links:
• Top charts

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites

Showing all 3 members who have added this chart as a favourite

ThuramThugood

DommeDamian

manurock

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 21 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  

100/100

From ThuramThugood 02/04/2024 14:09

Interesting and exciting list.

Wheatfield Soul was my gateway to your list. As you say, it’s incredibly underrated.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

70/100

From mianfei 08/03/2023 12:14

Whilst I can be critical of the number of albums from a few artists (as others have noticed) this is not a bad chart. It is very personal, and it is good to see the notes, which I value very highly and have for several decades of reading music reviews.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

From tk421ucopy 07/24/2023 14:57

Nice chart! Thanks for writing descriptions on so many of them

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From BraddlesHendo 07/24/2023 12:47

The 80’s is my decade of music.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

85/100

From Moondance 01/24/2023 01:52

Apart from having too many albums from a handful of artists and only 1 album from south of the Equator, I did find this chart quite enjoyable. With only 4 albums in common, there were a good number of albums for me to check out ~ and a few that I have penciled in for a deeper listen and possible addition to my year chart.
The comments were also appreciated ~ always a good thing to know why albums resonate with BEA members, especially the less well known albums.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From KineticEchoes02 02/02/2022 02:23

This is a great chart! A lot of similarities to my tastes. I love the prog rock choices - I admittedly need to get more into Gentle Giant. What I've heard from them so far is impressive. At least you have Dark Side in your top 10, so I forgive you for dismissing Floyd's other amazing albums :). Stoked to see Led Zep, Beatles and RHCP well represented here. Love your album descriptions and intro too. Great work!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From Larcx13 02/01/2022 13:48

Great effort on this chart!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

85/100

From manurock 02/01/2022 10:50

Nice chart. Very personal. I subscribe all your current description at the top of the chart, but as I have not heard most of the albums in your top 10 (now I am curious to check them), I won't give you a rating yet.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

85/100

From sssvnnn 04/16/2021 21:54

Cool chart,
I like to see the 1st Supertramp album...
I have no idea why it`s so underrated.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From DommeDamian 07/10/2020 21:44

There's something so innocent about this chart that I like a lot.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Top 100 Greatest Music Albums

Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!