Top 81 Greatest Music Albums by 
Boltzmann 
I have a custom favorite albums chart too, which I might like a bit more, but since this thing is what counts, like with the points and such, I decided to switch them. So this one is a bit more serious and uncontroversial (but still controversial for the standards of this site, on which every chart that isn't literally "Radiohead-Pink Floyd-Arcade Fire" is considered trash).
The first 24 are 10/10, the rest is 9/10.
My idea of art is a change in culture. Where culture is defined as whatever people do voluntarily. Things exist that human beings do today, and art is the origin of these things. Pin-pointing these things and tracing their origins back is my method of defining art.
Loosely speaking the ratings mean the following:
10: Added something to music that will simply never go away by itself.
9: Sparked a movement that lasted long enough for it to leave a clear mark on a generation.
8: A very good example of an already established movement that doesn't do too much at changing it besides of a personal stylistic differentiation.
7: A work that should not be forgotten even if it just rides a wave rather than doing much of innovation.
6: Congratulations, you made something that can be classified as an album.
5: Rather embarrassing as to how it is completely obvious what was tried here, even if it partly succeeds in copying what it draws influence from.
4: The music seems to be an afterthought.
3: The instruments and equipment handled aren't fully mastered by the performers.
2: Something that sounds like rehearsing rather than anything that can be taken seriously.
1: The people involved have no feeling for music whatsoever and insufficient skills to handle any of the instruments and equipment involved.
Needless to say, 1-3 you will never see commerically released to the public. 4 might only go to some comedy albums or film soundtracks where the music is genuinely a part of the piece of work that is of lesser importance.
- Chart updated: 07/28/2023 21:15
- (Created: 03/16/2020 14:27).
- Chart size: 81 albums.
There are 5 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 81 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 87 out of 100 (from 16 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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He stripped away the upbeats completely and evened out the rest of the downbeats, creating an early version of a four-on-the-floor type of beat.
Why at the absolute top of the chart? Simply because of this is how a pop album should be. It does everything a perfect album should do, and doesn't do anything that's unnecessary. It showcases this man's innovation; the lyrics serve the music instead of the other way around; it doesn't pretend to be more than it is. It's got the stripped down attitude of punk; the tongue-in-cheeck braggadocio of hip hop to come; the stank of funk; yet the repititiveness and staticness from electronic music. This album is everything that's good about the popular music era. This could be pointed as one of the clearest indications that popular music was a complete departure from older styles of music, that is: folk, classical, jazz. No complex chord progressions, no improvisation; no standards or compositions, just 8 beautiful, simple, concise tracks. [First added to this chart: 03/16/2020]
Why at the absolute top of the chart? Simply because of this is how a pop album should be. It does everything a perfect album should do, and doesn't do anything that's unnecessary. It showcases this man's innovation; the lyrics serve the music instead of the other way around; it doesn't pretend to be more than it is. It's got the stripped down attitude of punk; the tongue-in-cheeck braggadocio of hip hop to come; the stank of funk; yet the repititiveness and staticness from electronic music. This album is everything that's good about the popular music era. This could be pointed as one of the clearest indications that popular music was a complete departure from older styles of music, that is: folk, classical, jazz. No complex chord progressions, no improvisation; no standards or compositions, just 8 beautiful, simple, concise tracks. [First added to this chart: 03/16/2020]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,774
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
30
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The man who made music about music. He was born for music and it was the one thing that brought him ecstasy. Rock 'n' Roll was always about more than melodies, chord progressions and musical scales, that was already explored enough by classical and jazz musicians; it was about energy, it was about the emphasis on the backbeat, it was about the timbre of the vocals. Well, Jimi showed that his guitar could cry too.
[First added to this chart: 03/16/2020]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,726
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Dr. Dre is bringing hip hop back to its funk roots, while Snoop Dogg invents the definition of flow.
[First added to this chart: 03/16/2020]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,001
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A bit of a bad album for being so repetitive, but damn, everything is this man's fault.
[First added to this chart: 03/16/2020]
Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,989
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Comments:
Buy album
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What was new about Ray Charles wasn't his song lyrics, or chord progressions, or melodies; his voice is what it did. His expressiveness hit infinity, and since then a new approach to making music was invented, and secular music was raised to a form of art.
[First added to this chart: 03/16/2020]
Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,080
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Buy album
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This group is the only group that went head-first into an unknown direction without making it sound like the "experimental" label is the only thing they got going for themselves. They strangely knew to catch a mood with their very scientific approach to making music. And surprisingly this mood was multi-interpretable: new wave - directly through Ian Curtis - that had a very static disposition and couldn't give a fuck to learn how to sing; hip hop - directly through Afrika Bambaataa - who loved the sheer futurism of it; and of course the whole genre of techno.
[First added to this chart: 03/16/2020]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,834
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Comments:
Buy album
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They pushed rock artists to make their music immersive and complete. Most attempts were simply cringeworthy, 'cause only Brian Wilson knew how to bring it with a perfect amount of humbleness not to make it sound megalomanic and snobby.
[First added to this chart: 03/16/2020]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
45,045
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Buy album
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With one foot in the folk rock craze of the '70s and another in '60s psychedelics, she layed the foundations for dream pop... somehow? I'm confused, that means bonus points.
[First added to this chart: 07/28/2023]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,498
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Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Paving the way for a new wave of female rappers with her very distinct vocals. Robyn, Uffie, hell even 100gecs owe her everything. The production - electroclash but finally done well - and the energy can be felt all the way to the early '10s with the increasingly aggressive and industrial sounds coming to the foreground.
[First added to this chart: 03/16/2020]
Year of Release:
2005
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,253
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Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Overseas they might not know this, but this has become huge in north-western Europe.
[First added to this chart: 03/16/2020]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,906
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Total albums: 81. Page 1 of 9
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Top 81 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 6 | 7% | |
| 1960s | 12 | 15% | |
| 1970s | 15 | 19% | |
| 1980s | 14 | 17% | |
| 1990s | 13 | 16% | |
| 2000s | 11 | 14% | |
| 2010s | 8 | 10% | |
| 2020s | 2 | 2% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Kanye West | 2 | 2% | |
| The Beach Boys | 2 | 2% | |
| M.I.A. | 2 | 2% | |
| Sly & The Family Stone | 2 | 2% | |
| The Jimi Hendrix Experience | 2 | 2% | |
| Dr. Dre | 1 | 1% | |
| Fela Kuti & Africa 70 | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
50 | 62% | |
 |
15 | 19% | |
 |
6 | 7% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 81 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 59 from 62nd to 3rd The Chronic by Dr. Dre |
| Up 1 from 82nd to 81st The Slim Shady LP by Eminem |
| Up 1 from 81st to 80th Rappa Ternt Sanga by T-Pain |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 26 from 3rd to 29th Illmatic by Nas |
| Down 1 from 29th to 30th May 19, 1992 by Ingrid Chavez |
| Down 1 from 30th to 31st Paid In Full by Eric B. & Rakim |
| Leavers |
|---|
 Monsterby Future (Rap) |
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Top 81 Greatest Music Albums ratings
87/100 (from 16 votes)
where:
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 16 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
75/100  | 10/14/2023 12:26 | mianfei | | 61/100 |
 90/100 | 03/29/2022 15:52 |  Larcx13 | | 86/100 |
| 100/100 | 03/14/2022 14:08 |  arthurbittencour | | 90/100 |
| 95/100 | 02/14/2022 03:24 |  zwiebel | | 85/100 |
| 80/100 | 11/21/2021 16:10 |  sssvnnn | | 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 17% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 87.3/100, a mean average of 88.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.1/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 13.2.
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Top 81 Greatest Music Albums comments
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75/100
From mianfei 10/14/2023 12:28
Interesting chart with a number of surprising choices like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Sonics and the Shirelles, and a blend of artists not that often seen here overall. The heading is useful, but could make the understanding of the choices better than it actually does.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From Larcx13 03/29/2022 15:52
Larcx13 03/29/2022 15:52
Very interesting mix of choices in here.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
80/100
From sssvnnn 11/21/2021 16:10
sssvnnn 11/21/2021 16:10
Very divers and open minded chart.
RESPECT:
...but to be honest: I don´t mind the typical "Radiohead-Pink Floyd-Arcade Fire" BEA charts.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
salahshoori 10/20/2020 05:28
salahshoori 10/20/2020 05:28
All albums here are added to my wish list. AWESOME CHART!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
90/100
From DillonVeart 10/15/2020 05:04
Great chart. Helped me find some new music due to having key albums in common
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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