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: 02/17/2026 14:15
- (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 34 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 58,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 1970s. (Remove this filter)
I was seeing this album on top of so many charts and I was like "Come on guys, can't you be a little bit original?"...
And then, I listened to it. And I understood. And now it's in my chart, near the top. Sometimes an album is just universally good, I think this one is.
I'm not a big Pink Floyd fan, I don't like everything they've done. But I sure like The Dark Side Of The Moon! [First added to this chart: 11/07/2018]
And then, I listened to it. And I understood. And now it's in my chart, near the top. Sometimes an album is just universally good, I think this one is.
I'm not a big Pink Floyd fan, I don't like everything they've done. But I sure like The Dark Side Of The Moon! [First added to this chart: 11/07/2018]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
58,577
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Led Zeppelin IV is the ultimate Led Zeppelin album in my mind. It is just massive. I can't imagine how it would have felt to hear this back in 1971. I mean, each song is better than the last. And just when you thought it couldn't get any better, here comes "When The Levee Breaks" and you realize that these guys were really at their peak at this moment. Amazing album.
[First added to this chart: 08/27/2018]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
37,737
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Average Rating:
Comments:
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]
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]
[First added to this chart: 11/13/2021]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,005
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 01/30/2019]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,184
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Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 02/25/2022]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
517
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Comments:
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]
"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]
[First added to this chart: 01/02/2019]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,728
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Comments:
This album is really great!! It starts slowly (for me, because most people seem to enjoy "Red", but it's a very bland track IMO) but then it gets better and better until you reach the climax in the end of "Providence", my favorite track. Maybe that's because I'm a bassist, but this track really gets me, what a fantastic job John Wetton did on the bass! And then the closer "Starless" is amazing, mainly because of the instrumental part. The first part is a bit pink-floydish and unoriginal, but later on with the instrumental bit, that's where it gets to be great. Fantastic album, better than ITCOTCK if you want my opinion!
[First added to this chart: 09/03/2018]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,873
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Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 02/01/2023]
Total albums: 29. Page 1 of 3
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 8 | 8% | |
| 1970s | 29 | 29% | |
| 1980s | 3 | 3% | |
| 1990s | 12 | 12% | |
| 2000s | 19 | 19% | |
| 2010s | 18 | 18% | |
| 2020s | 11 | 11% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Gentle Giant | 6 | 6% | |
| Radiohead | 4 | 4% | |
| Spoon | 4 | 4% | |
| Mutemath | 4 | 4% | |
| Neil Cowley Trio | 3 | 3% | |
| The Beatles | 3 | 3% | |
| Julian Lage | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
41 | 41% | |
 |
27 | 27% | |
| |
20 | 20% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 55th to 56thDisplaced by Neil Cowley Trio |
| Down 1 from 56th to 57thLola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One by The Kinks |
| Down 1 from 57th to 58thNursery Cryme by Genesis |
| New entries |
|---|
| Scenes From Above by Julian Lage |
| Leavers |
|---|
| Pretty Together by Sloan |
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Top 100 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.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 34 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05/06/2025 06:52 |  LedZep | 1,103 | 84/100 | |
| 05/06/2025 02:21 |  MadhattanJack | 302 | 86/100 | |
| 03/09/2025 10:15 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,089 | 85/100 | |
| 07/24/2024 20:03 | bwoodlan | 31 | 70/100 | |
| 02/04/2024 14:09 | ThuramThugood | 106 | 90/100 |
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 89.3/100, a mean average of 89.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.3/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 8.0.
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From ThuramThugood 02/04/2024 14:09 | #301719
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)
From mianfei 08/03/2023 12:14 | #298466
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 | #298320
Nice chart! Thanks for writing descriptions on so many of them
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From BraddlesHendo 07/24/2023 12:47 | #298318
The 80’s is my decade of music.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Moondance 01/24/2023 01:52 | #293211
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)
From KineticEchoes02 02/02/2022 02:23 | #280445
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)
From 
Larcx13 02/01/2022 13:48 | #280416
Larcx13 02/01/2022 13:48 | #280416
Great effort on this chart!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From manurock 02/01/2022 10:50 | #280409
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)
From 
sssvnnn 04/16/2021 21:54 | #268623
sssvnnn 04/16/2021 21:54 | #268623
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)
From 
DommeDamian 07/10/2020 21:44 | #255390
DommeDamian 07/10/2020 21:44 | #255390
There's something so innocent about this chart that I like a lot.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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