Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by 
teague 
Chart of the Day:
5/30/2021
7/22/2022
3/7/2023
1/25/2024
- Chart updated: 02/05/2024 03:45
- (Created: 04/08/2020 02:44).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 11 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 35 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 1980s. (Remove this filter)
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Thanks to my dad, I grew up knowing who The Cure were, as they were, and still are, his favorite band. Then I asked him one day what his deserted island album was and he immediately answered with "Disintegration". He told me it was the first album he heard by The Cure and it was unlike anything he'd ever heard before. I borrowed his copy pretty soon after that and instantly had my mind blown. I'd never heard anything so beautiful and simultaneously haunting. I remember telling some of my friends to listen to it and none of them felt the same way I did and I thought they were nuts. There is never a lull, never a moment that feels as if it could have been withdrawn. This album is vitality and solemnity incarnate. I don't even know what genre to put this under as I feel it defies any label put on it, other than perfect.
10/10
Highlights: Pictures of You, Lovesong, Fascination Street, Plainsong, Lullaby, The Same Deep Water as You
Genre: Gothic Rock, Post-Punk
Secondary: Dream Pop [First added to this chart: 04/08/2020]
10/10
Highlights: Pictures of You, Lovesong, Fascination Street, Plainsong, Lullaby, The Same Deep Water as You
Genre: Gothic Rock, Post-Punk
Secondary: Dream Pop [First added to this chart: 04/08/2020]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
26,862
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
152
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This has become the archetype for every Art Pop album released in the 40+ years after it came out, and is still an inspiration point for an insane number of artists today, female and otherwise. It's one of the most beautiful pieces of music, but can change moods in a split second (see Waking the Witch, Jig of Life, etc.) without any tonal whiplash.
10/10
Highlights: Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), Hounds of Love, The Ninth Wave (And Dream of Sheep / Under Ice / Waking the Witch / Watching You Without Me / Jig of Life / Hello Earth / The Morning Fog), The Big Sky
Genre: Art Pop, Progressive Pop
Secondary: Baroque Pop, Synthpop, Dream Pop [First added to this chart: 04/07/2020]
10/10
Highlights: Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), Hounds of Love, The Ninth Wave (And Dream of Sheep / Under Ice / Waking the Witch / Watching You Without Me / Jig of Life / Hello Earth / The Morning Fog), The Big Sky
Genre: Art Pop, Progressive Pop
Secondary: Baroque Pop, Synthpop, Dream Pop [First added to this chart: 04/07/2020]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,526
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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10/10
Highlights: Little Fury Things, SludgeFeast, Just Like Heaven, In a Jar, Kracked, Tarpit, The Lung
Genre: Noise Rock, Slacker Rock
Secondary: Post-Hardcore, Grunge, Noise Pop [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]
Highlights: Little Fury Things, SludgeFeast, Just Like Heaven, In a Jar, Kracked, Tarpit, The Lung
Genre: Noise Rock, Slacker Rock
Secondary: Post-Hardcore, Grunge, Noise Pop [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,697
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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10/10
Highlights: Teen Age Riot, Candle, The Sprawl, Silver Rocket, Total Trash, 'Cross the Breeze, Trilogy, Hey Joni
Genre: Noise Rock, Alternative Rock
Secondary: Post-Punk, Experimental Rock, Slacker Rock [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]
Highlights: Teen Age Riot, Candle, The Sprawl, Silver Rocket, Total Trash, 'Cross the Breeze, Trilogy, Hey Joni
Genre: Noise Rock, Alternative Rock
Secondary: Post-Punk, Experimental Rock, Slacker Rock [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,048
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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10/10
Highlights: Here Comes Your Man, Debaser, Monkey Gone to Heaven, Wave of Mutilation, Gouge Away, Tame, Mr. Grieves, Hey
Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
Secondary: Noise Pop, Surf Rock [First added to this chart: 04/11/2020]
Highlights: Here Comes Your Man, Debaser, Monkey Gone to Heaven, Wave of Mutilation, Gouge Away, Tame, Mr. Grieves, Hey
Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
Secondary: Noise Pop, Surf Rock [First added to this chart: 04/11/2020]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
33,233
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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10/10
Highlights: Once in a Lifetime, Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On), Crosseyed and Painless, The Overload
Genre: New Wave, Post-Punk
Secondary: Funk, Afrobeat, Experimental Rock, Dance-Punk [First added to this chart: 04/07/2020]
Highlights: Once in a Lifetime, Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On), Crosseyed and Painless, The Overload
Genre: New Wave, Post-Punk
Secondary: Funk, Afrobeat, Experimental Rock, Dance-Punk [First added to this chart: 04/07/2020]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
28,535
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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10/10
Highlights: Housequake, Sign 'O' the Times, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Adore
Genre: Contemporary R&B, Pop Rock
Secondary: Synth Funk, Soul, Funk, Minneapolis Sound [First added to this chart: 06/29/2020]
Highlights: Housequake, Sign 'O' the Times, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Adore
Genre: Contemporary R&B, Pop Rock
Secondary: Synth Funk, Soul, Funk, Minneapolis Sound [First added to this chart: 06/29/2020]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,076
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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10/10
Highlights: Shake Your Rump, Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun, The Sounds of Science, B-Boy Bouillabaisse, Hey Ladies
Genre: East Coast Hip Hop
Secondary: Experimental Hip Hop, Plunderphonics, Mid-School Hip Hop [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]
Highlights: Shake Your Rump, Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun, The Sounds of Science, B-Boy Bouillabaisse, Hey Ladies
Genre: East Coast Hip Hop
Secondary: Experimental Hip Hop, Plunderphonics, Mid-School Hip Hop [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,773
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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10/10
Highlights: Youth of America, When It's Over, Pushing the Extreme, No Fair
Genre: Punk Rock, Post-Hardcore
Secondary: Post-Punk, Noise Rock [First added to this chart: 06/23/2021]
Highlights: Youth of America, When It's Over, Pushing the Extreme, No Fair
Genre: Punk Rock, Post-Hardcore
Secondary: Post-Punk, Noise Rock [First added to this chart: 06/23/2021]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,819
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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10/10
Highlights: Kiss Another Day Goodbye, Life and Times on the Beach, One More Day (You'll Fly Again), Neighborhood Blues, Midnight Willie
Genre: Contemporary Folk, Singer-Songwriter
Secondary: Americana [First added to this chart: 03/11/2023]
Highlights: Kiss Another Day Goodbye, Life and Times on the Beach, One More Day (You'll Fly Again), Neighborhood Blues, Midnight Willie
Genre: Contemporary Folk, Singer-Songwriter
Secondary: Americana [First added to this chart: 03/11/2023]
Total albums: 14. Page 1 of 2
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 1 | 1% | |
| 1960s | 12 | 12% | |
| 1970s | 20 | 20% | |
| 1980s | 14 | 14% | |
| 1990s | 25 | 25% | |
| 2000s | 18 | 18% | |
| 2010s | 10 | 10% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Nirvana | 3 | 3% | |
| Björk | 3 | 3% | |
| Neil Young | 2 | 2% | |
| Genesis | 2 | 2% | |
| David Bowie | 2 | 2% | |
| Peter Gabriel | 2 | 2% | |
| Pink Floyd | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
56 | 56% | |
 |
18 | 18% | |
 |
6 | 6% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 33 from 42nd to 9th Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush |
| Up 5 from 98th to 93rd First Come, First Served by Dr. Dooom |
| Up 4 from 19th to 15th Blonde On Blonde by Bob Dylan |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 6 from 15th to 21st Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys |
| Down 3 from 16th to 19th The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis |
| Down 2 from 14th to 16th Hejira by Joni Mitchell |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
90/100 (from 35 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 35 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
95/100  | 04/17/2025 17:35 | DrewHamster | | 79/100 |
90/100 | 02/06/2025 10:35 | SomethingSpecial | | 85/100 |
95/100 | 01/04/2025 20:45 | vruslov | | 89/100 |
90/100 | 08/26/2024 13:56 |  Tamthebam | | 85/100 |
100/100 | 08/11/2024 10:55 |  ForegroundNoise | | 87/100 |
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 2% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 90.3/100, a mean average of 91.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 91.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 5.7.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 11 comments |
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100/100
From ForegroundNoise 08/11/2024 10:57
ForegroundNoise 08/11/2024 10:57
Discovered your chart after seeing you had Blind Girls' Residue at a 9.5/10 (shame it didn't make the cut here!). Surprised I haven't come across this before; you've got great taste and your passion really comes through in the writing. Hail Bjork!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From Moondance 03/07/2023 21:44
I enjoyed reading the comments and sharing in the lived experience of this chart.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From bobnickmad 08/13/2022 10:14
Very diverse and adventurous chart, which kinda makes Nevermind being so high kinda baffling, but otherwise great.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From KineticEchoes02 07/23/2022 00:57
This chart is awesome! You have great taste - a real eclectic mix in terms of genres covered, and importantly you've given due praise to indisputable classics - including many of my favourite artists and albums with great descriptions. Quite a few more you have here are just outside my top 100. Love your work!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From 
ExTeaSea 08/16/2021 15:44
ExTeaSea 08/16/2021 15:44
Great chart! Drukqs is a phenomenal album! Loved your comment about it. I really need to fully get into Edge of Sanity, they have such an impressive and intense sound.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
sssvnnn 05/30/2021 19:43
sssvnnn 05/30/2021 19:43
very classical chart, pretty close to mine.
I love it.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From Rivera 05/30/2021 14:07
You've got great taste!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From Johnnyo 05/30/2021 13:38
Really good chart. Like it a lot
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
75/100
From 
junodog4 01/13/2021 04:06
junodog4 01/13/2021 04:06
Got more interesting the further into you get. Expand it to 100! I'd like to see what you'd add.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From mikepen 07/29/2020 04:16
Great chart and your comments gives me some food for thought. I hope you get the time to annotate some more of your album choices here. Regards
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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| Best Ever Artists | |
|---|---|
| 1. The Beatles | |
| 2. Radiohead | |
| 3. Pink Floyd | |
| 4. David Bowie | |
| 5. Bob Dylan | |
| 6. Led Zeppelin | |
| 7. The Rolling Stones | |
| 8. Arcade Fire | |
| 9. Nirvana | |
| 10. The Velvet Underground | |
| 11. Neil Young | |
| 12. Kendrick Lamar | |
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| 14. The Smiths | |
| 15. The Beach Boys | |
| 16. Kanye West | |
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| 19. Jimi Hendrix | |
| 20. Bruce Springsteen |