Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Droophus

One of the core missions of this site is to use tons of subjective lists, created by users, reviewers, and music publications to create the most objective list of the best ever albums. When I created my list I accepted that it’s based entirely on my musical upbringing and tastes, but I sought to add the air of objectivity by imposing a methodology to the ranking.

First off I want to describe my personal values and tastes when it comes to music in order to shed some light on where the initial list of 100 best albums comes from. The two key elements for me boil down to fun and power. Those are vague terms for sure, so let me try and explain them. Fun encompasses things like catchiness, how toe tappin it is, does the artist seem to have a good sense of humor and a joie de vivre. The original spirit of early rock n’ roll was uptempo good time rebel music for the youth. That’s my favorite flavor of music and the more an artist embodies that ethos the more likely they are to wind up on this chart. That’s why you see on this chart Beatles over Stones or Ramones over Floyd.

Power can be split into two categories sonically forceful adrenaline pumping and emotional resonance. Good heavy metal isn’t always fun to listen to but if they are doing it right it’ll make you want to rip off your shirt and go screaming into battle. Emotional resonance is the most subjective, the most personal, it’s simply what moves you. A really long, slow song may not be very much fun but if it moves your soul or heart it doesn’t necessarily need to move your feet. John Prines’s Aimless Love album might be the best example on this list of not being very fun, or having any adrenaline pumping tunes, but it hits like a freight train to the heart.

To start this list I just rated every album I owned that I felt like I was familiar enough with to accurately rate. From there I filled the chart with my highest rated albums and roughly sorted them with gut feeling and long held beliefs. This first draft chart troubled me though. I couldn’t rationalize why I put Help! ahead of Sgt. Peppers. I wanted a way to sort based on more concrete factors, so I set about to rating every song on my top 100 chart. Then I could take each album and give it a base score which is the average rating of all the songs on the album. This just gave me a more refined data point, but still very subjective. So I created a methodology that would add at least the air of objectivity.

Average the song scores
Bonus points for perfect songs, plus one for every one, first is 101, second 102 etc.
Loss of bonus points for songs rated 70 or lower, first is 69, second 68 etc.

Times 1.1 if deemed really unique.
Times 1.1 if considered really bold or unusual for the artist.
Times 1.15 if considered revolutionary.
Times 1.1 if top 5 of the genre.
Times 1.1 if considered culturally indispensable.
Times 1.1 if it’s got a Je ne sais quoi deep in the soul feeling.
Times .9 if not a true studio album.
Times .9 if under 10 songs.

Still fairly subjective and unscientific, but it helped give me some rational way to sort albums better.

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[First added to this chart: 01/11/2020]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
123
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 12/15/2019]
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
108
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 01/12/2020]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
65
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 01/12/2020]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,167
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/15/2019]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
56
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 5. Page 1 of 1

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade Albums %


1930s 0 0%
1940s 0 0%
1950s 5 5%
1960s 15 15%
1970s 42 42%
1980s 23 23%
1990s 15 15%
2000s 0 0%
2010s 0 0%
2020s 0 0%
Artist Albums %


Bob Dylan 6 6%
John Prine 5 5%
The Beatles 5 5%
The Who 4 4%
Ramones 3 3%
Screeching Weasel 2 2%
Misfits 2 2%
Show all
Country Albums %


United States 63 63%
United Kingdom 26 26%
Brazil 4 4%
Jamaica 4 4%
Ireland 2 2%
Sweden 1 1%
Compilation? Albums %
No 98 98%
Yes 2 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 97 97%
Yes 3 3%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest climbers
Climber Up 22 from 96th to 74th
Revolver
by The Beatles
Climber Up 22 from 94th to 72nd
New York Dolls
by New York Dolls
Climber Up 21 from 99th to 78th
Strictly Business
by EPMD
Biggest fallers
Faller Down 22 from 75th to 97th
Wiggle
by Screeching Weasel
Faller Down 21 from 78th to 99th
Berry Is On Top
by Chuck Berry
Faller Down 19 from 79th to 98th
The "Chirping" Crickets
by The Crickets
TitleSourceTypePublishedCountry
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s Droophus1970s decade chart2020
Top 100 Greatest Music AlbumsMadrockerOverall chart2019
The Top 100 AlbumsVH1Overall chart2001United States
The most important and influential rock/pop albums ever.garycottierCustom chart2016Unknown
Generic ListglynspsaCustom chart2018
ƵnotMⅡne」Los 100 mejores discos de la historia IICustom chart2024
The 100 All-Time Greatest AlbumsEntertainment WeeklyOverall chart2013United States
Top 100 Albums (Online Amalgam)musicologist97Custom chart2019
Most Acclaimed Music AlbumsImaybeparanoidCustom chart2015Unknown
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums RFNAPLESOverall chart2013

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


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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Average Rating: 
89/100 (from 3 votes)
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From 03/28/2020 20:24
This is a really fun chart to sift through! I really appreciate the thoroughness with which you've approached the task of identifying your 100 top albums, and while we wound up with rather different charts, it's interesting to see the places where we agree. Purple Rain is one that we both love, and I think it's very cool that people with very different musical tastes can agree is an uncontroversial classic. "When Doves Cry" had to be one of the most singularly beautiful and creative things ever recorded.
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Best Albums of the 1960s
1. Abbey Road by The Beatles
2. Revolver by The Beatles
3. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles
4. The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground & Nico
5. Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys
6. The Beatles (The White Album) by The Beatles
7. In The Court Of The Crimson King (An Observation By King Crimson) by King Crimson
8. Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan
9. Rubber Soul by The Beatles
10. The Doors by The Doors
11. Blonde On Blonde by Bob Dylan
12. Are You Experienced by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
13. Led Zeppelin II by Led Zeppelin
14. Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
15. Let It Bleed by The Rolling Stones
16. Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin
17. Astral Weeks by Van Morrison
18. A Love Supreme by John Coltrane
19. Forever Changes by Love
20. Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles
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