Top 98 Greatest Music Albums by 
DriftingOrpheus 
Subject to change (often). These are my personal favorite records...not necessarily a reflection of an objective musical hierarchy. (Wow. These write-ups have grown like weeds, particularly as you descend through the list. Only the slightest bit proud. ?)
- Chart updated: 07/04/2025 00:15
- (Created: 04/25/2020 20:18).
- Chart size: 98 albums.
There are 9 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 98 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 35 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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In 2004, Canadian indie rock pioneers Arcade Fire released Funeral, an album that shook the landscape of the alternative music scene. The album was met with praise from critics and many lauded the band's lyrical and musical flexibility with ingenuity to boot. When production began on a much awaited follow up in 2006, the band affixed two more permanent members into the fold, drummer Jeremy Gara and violinist Sarah Neufeld, expanding their repertoire to an even fuller extent. What they would produce with their newfangled, richer musical density would come to be known as Neon Bible, a record that never ceases to radiate dreaminess, twinkling triumphantly with unbridled grace. More importantly, it serves as the band's most prolific artistic statement, steadfast in its shimmering brilliance.
The first landmark on the album, comes in the form of track four, Intervention. The song stresses the dangers of over-dedication, whether it be towards patriotism while unaware of the prospect of incalculable casualties or towards religious zeal which renders an individual to turn a blind eye to familial strife. Frontman Win Butler declares, "Working for the church while your family dies, you take what they give you and you keep it inside, every spark of friendship and love will die without a home, hear the soldier groan, we'll go at it alone". This coincides with sublime organ pulses that engulf the track in a haze of heavenly aura. Eighth track, (Antichrist Television Blues), finds the band at their most 'Springsteenian' as they conjure a unflinching groove while Butler's lyrics call upon an escape from a dead-end American town and ponder what the future may bring. Penultimate cut No Cars Go is a drum-powered, french influenced rallying cry against the hustle and bustle of modern society. The track swelters to a boiling point of cathartic harmonization, perfectly leading into Butler's subdued first words of My Body is a Cage. The final track illustrates Butler's crippling anxiety until the song erupts in its final moments as he claims "his mind holds the key" to breaking the spell.
Arcade Fire's seminal second LP may not garner the same indie street cred as Funeral, however, it does contain a tighter, more cohesive collection of tracks that are effortlessly dynamic, both in musicality and thematic structure. The addition of a more heavily stocked musical arsenal provided the foundation for the band to push the boundaries of their sonic experimentation. The end result is an album that is less preachy and more introspective, attaching an alluring vulnerability to artists who were extremely conscious of their musical prowess. Plainly, this is not the millenially aware Arcade Fire found on Everything Now, nor is it the Arcade Fire who were undeniably ingenious but marginally conceited on Funeral. Neon Bible features the ensemble at the peak of their powers, embedded with confidence while tastefully unguarded. This is frankly mind-blowing considering that Arcade Fire at their worst is a force to be reckoned with.
"Into the light of a bridge that burns,
As I drive from the city with the money that I earned,
Into the dark of a starless sky,
I'm staring into nothing and I'm asking you why."
-(Antichrist Television Blues)
Standout Tracks:
1. No Cars Go
2. Intervention
3. Ocean of Noise
92.4 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
The first landmark on the album, comes in the form of track four, Intervention. The song stresses the dangers of over-dedication, whether it be towards patriotism while unaware of the prospect of incalculable casualties or towards religious zeal which renders an individual to turn a blind eye to familial strife. Frontman Win Butler declares, "Working for the church while your family dies, you take what they give you and you keep it inside, every spark of friendship and love will die without a home, hear the soldier groan, we'll go at it alone". This coincides with sublime organ pulses that engulf the track in a haze of heavenly aura. Eighth track, (Antichrist Television Blues), finds the band at their most 'Springsteenian' as they conjure a unflinching groove while Butler's lyrics call upon an escape from a dead-end American town and ponder what the future may bring. Penultimate cut No Cars Go is a drum-powered, french influenced rallying cry against the hustle and bustle of modern society. The track swelters to a boiling point of cathartic harmonization, perfectly leading into Butler's subdued first words of My Body is a Cage. The final track illustrates Butler's crippling anxiety until the song erupts in its final moments as he claims "his mind holds the key" to breaking the spell.
Arcade Fire's seminal second LP may not garner the same indie street cred as Funeral, however, it does contain a tighter, more cohesive collection of tracks that are effortlessly dynamic, both in musicality and thematic structure. The addition of a more heavily stocked musical arsenal provided the foundation for the band to push the boundaries of their sonic experimentation. The end result is an album that is less preachy and more introspective, attaching an alluring vulnerability to artists who were extremely conscious of their musical prowess. Plainly, this is not the millenially aware Arcade Fire found on Everything Now, nor is it the Arcade Fire who were undeniably ingenious but marginally conceited on Funeral. Neon Bible features the ensemble at the peak of their powers, embedded with confidence while tastefully unguarded. This is frankly mind-blowing considering that Arcade Fire at their worst is a force to be reckoned with.
"Into the light of a bridge that burns,
As I drive from the city with the money that I earned,
Into the dark of a starless sky,
I'm staring into nothing and I'm asking you why."
-(Antichrist Television Blues)
Standout Tracks:
1. No Cars Go
2. Intervention
3. Ocean of Noise
92.4 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Year of Release:
2007
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,323
Rank in 2007:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
147
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These days, it's hard to quantify what qualifies for a musical experience. The medium is far more effortless to acquire and therefore more digestible. Long gone are the days of purchasing a vinyl record and making a memory out of that process. I am, by no means, a relic of an older, simpler time (despite my pension to purchase countless vinyl pressings). However, I can attest to the communal nature of said activity. Knowing that you have sunk hard earned money into what is essentially a whim or a headed recommendation. There's always inherent risk. Perhaps more interesting, is the communal, even baptismal encounters that arise from listening to an album. A transfiguration of either heart, mind or soul or, if you're lucky, all three simultaneously. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven is nearly an hour and a half long, consisting of just four tracks that clock in at almost 20 minutes each. It's not digestible, convenient or immediate. It is however, baptismal in the sense that after fighting against its raging waters of spiraling downfall, you emerge altered. It tells us so much without a single lyric by being relentlessly reflective, critical and emotionally arresting. It's a story of epic struggle, triumph and rebirth with no words.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor begins their definitive LP with Storm which appropriately begins as a soft flutter of forming clouds represented by gentile piano and horns. The track then glows with shimmering strings before crashing in with an extensive drum march. It evolves into a kaleidoscopic frenzy of what seems like improvisation before recoiling back into a reserved simmer, giving you time to absorb the grandeur of the previous movement. Don't ponder too long because Storm angers into a tornado fury on the second half of the 22 minute cut. It's powered by bruising drum hits and shrieking guitar that finally relent into a grocery store sample (of all things) before exiting with a sullen, reverbed piano outro. Second track, Static, is less cyclonic but arguably many shades darker. It begins with a drone that wouldn't be out of place on an ambient record before swelling into a sermon delivered by a zealot with strings that can be only described as "weeping". She prophesizes, "Because when you see the face of God, you will die, and there will be nothing left of you, except the God-man, the God-woman, the heavenly man, the heavenly woman, the heavenly child." It's hard to tell if the sample's inclusion is critical of excessive religious fervor or regretful due to a neglect of faith. Perhaps both are fitting. The track then heats to a boil of post-rock rage as guitar and drum motifs, similar to those on Storm, bat the track around with vigor. Static ends with a return to an ambient, metallic hiss not foreign to a horror film soundtrack of the early 2000's.
The third track of the record stands as the valedictorian of the bunch. Sleep starts with a vocal sample credited to Murray Ostril. It typifies the notion, that which impresses our elders holds no significance to this generation. A perpetual trend that is engrained in the human psyche. He mentions Coney Island as if it were the Las Vegas of the East Coast. A rose-colored sentiment of his youth no doubt but this testimony reiterates a baptismal experience of his own, experiencing Coney Island as a child without the collective shrugged shoulders of future generations. He laments, "They called Coney Island the playground of the world. There was no place like it, in the whole world, like Coney Island when I was a youngster. No place in the world like it, and it was so fabulous. Now it's shrunk down to almost nothing, you see." The track swoons with a whirring wail which harnesses into a driving drum locomotive which then quiets minutes later. Sleep then morphs into a twinkling, meditative passage that prioritizes Sophie Trudeau's violin and the drumming twosome of Aidan Girt and Bruce Cawdron. It's the first song on the LP that doesn't end in enveloping quiet but, instead, follows the lead of the percussive duo to lead the track out. Finally, Antennas to Heaven rounds out the album with what can be described as a snippet of bluegrass kicking off the track. Glimmering, child-like piano drifts into a sample of conversing French children before Antennas begins in earnest. It's without hesitation the most thematically positive of the lot, with the first major movement embodying the musical equivalent of the promise of a better future. Antennas then lies in wait for a short period, revisiting the utilization of melancholic piano strikes before familiar, clean drum hits join the fray. It forms a rising tide in the final quest for uplift both spiritually and in musical timbre. It doesn't last forever as the track concludes with icy, anxious noise that challenges any claim that the incorporeal conclusion was a positive one.
Canada's Godspeed You! Black Emperor are no strangers to long-form artistic statements. Their last album effort was 1997's F#A#∞, an album that put them among gloomy, eclectic music's elite. Still, Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven transmits a higher emotional resonance. The music carries in such a way that makes you resign to the idea that it could not be created by anyone else at any other time. This is achieved by sometimes appearing to be improvisational within each of the movements during mammoth tracks, while coinciding with such a technical proficiency that is fine tuned to the note. This gives the album a human unpredictability and allows for surprise each and every time it's listened to. Many could gander at the tracklisting and harbor perceptions of ostentation, however, the album is entrenched in humility with only the sonic prowess perpetuating flair. The humility comes from a place of vulnerability, fallibility and a sense of regret. All of these themes are communicated through wordless, harmonious odysseys that are concurrently nostalgic and worrisome of what the future will hold. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven is a four track triumph of sound and vision that could suffice as a lifetime of work for some artists. It's a clam that harbors a pearl of experience that radiates a different kind of beauty for each and every listener. One that revisits you each and every time you revisit the album.
"And we used to sleep on the beach here,
sleep overnight.
They don't do that anymore.
Things changed...
You see,
They don't sleep anymore on the beach."
-Sleep
Standout Tracks:
1. Sleep
2. Static
3. Antennas to Heaven
89.7 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Godspeed You! Black Emperor begins their definitive LP with Storm which appropriately begins as a soft flutter of forming clouds represented by gentile piano and horns. The track then glows with shimmering strings before crashing in with an extensive drum march. It evolves into a kaleidoscopic frenzy of what seems like improvisation before recoiling back into a reserved simmer, giving you time to absorb the grandeur of the previous movement. Don't ponder too long because Storm angers into a tornado fury on the second half of the 22 minute cut. It's powered by bruising drum hits and shrieking guitar that finally relent into a grocery store sample (of all things) before exiting with a sullen, reverbed piano outro. Second track, Static, is less cyclonic but arguably many shades darker. It begins with a drone that wouldn't be out of place on an ambient record before swelling into a sermon delivered by a zealot with strings that can be only described as "weeping". She prophesizes, "Because when you see the face of God, you will die, and there will be nothing left of you, except the God-man, the God-woman, the heavenly man, the heavenly woman, the heavenly child." It's hard to tell if the sample's inclusion is critical of excessive religious fervor or regretful due to a neglect of faith. Perhaps both are fitting. The track then heats to a boil of post-rock rage as guitar and drum motifs, similar to those on Storm, bat the track around with vigor. Static ends with a return to an ambient, metallic hiss not foreign to a horror film soundtrack of the early 2000's.
The third track of the record stands as the valedictorian of the bunch. Sleep starts with a vocal sample credited to Murray Ostril. It typifies the notion, that which impresses our elders holds no significance to this generation. A perpetual trend that is engrained in the human psyche. He mentions Coney Island as if it were the Las Vegas of the East Coast. A rose-colored sentiment of his youth no doubt but this testimony reiterates a baptismal experience of his own, experiencing Coney Island as a child without the collective shrugged shoulders of future generations. He laments, "They called Coney Island the playground of the world. There was no place like it, in the whole world, like Coney Island when I was a youngster. No place in the world like it, and it was so fabulous. Now it's shrunk down to almost nothing, you see." The track swoons with a whirring wail which harnesses into a driving drum locomotive which then quiets minutes later. Sleep then morphs into a twinkling, meditative passage that prioritizes Sophie Trudeau's violin and the drumming twosome of Aidan Girt and Bruce Cawdron. It's the first song on the LP that doesn't end in enveloping quiet but, instead, follows the lead of the percussive duo to lead the track out. Finally, Antennas to Heaven rounds out the album with what can be described as a snippet of bluegrass kicking off the track. Glimmering, child-like piano drifts into a sample of conversing French children before Antennas begins in earnest. It's without hesitation the most thematically positive of the lot, with the first major movement embodying the musical equivalent of the promise of a better future. Antennas then lies in wait for a short period, revisiting the utilization of melancholic piano strikes before familiar, clean drum hits join the fray. It forms a rising tide in the final quest for uplift both spiritually and in musical timbre. It doesn't last forever as the track concludes with icy, anxious noise that challenges any claim that the incorporeal conclusion was a positive one.
Canada's Godspeed You! Black Emperor are no strangers to long-form artistic statements. Their last album effort was 1997's F#A#∞, an album that put them among gloomy, eclectic music's elite. Still, Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven transmits a higher emotional resonance. The music carries in such a way that makes you resign to the idea that it could not be created by anyone else at any other time. This is achieved by sometimes appearing to be improvisational within each of the movements during mammoth tracks, while coinciding with such a technical proficiency that is fine tuned to the note. This gives the album a human unpredictability and allows for surprise each and every time it's listened to. Many could gander at the tracklisting and harbor perceptions of ostentation, however, the album is entrenched in humility with only the sonic prowess perpetuating flair. The humility comes from a place of vulnerability, fallibility and a sense of regret. All of these themes are communicated through wordless, harmonious odysseys that are concurrently nostalgic and worrisome of what the future will hold. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven is a four track triumph of sound and vision that could suffice as a lifetime of work for some artists. It's a clam that harbors a pearl of experience that radiates a different kind of beauty for each and every listener. One that revisits you each and every time you revisit the album.
"And we used to sleep on the beach here,
sleep overnight.
They don't do that anymore.
Things changed...
You see,
They don't sleep anymore on the beach."
-Sleep
Standout Tracks:
1. Sleep
2. Static
3. Antennas to Heaven
89.7 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,335
Rank in 2000:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 2. Page 1 of 1
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Top 98 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 3 | 3% | |
| 1960s | 17 | 17% | |
| 1970s | 9 | 9% | |
| 1980s | 8 | 8% | |
| 1990s | 20 | 20% | |
| 2000s | 19 | 19% | |
| 2010s | 20 | 20% | |
| 2020s | 2 | 2% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| フィッシュマンズ [Fishmans] | 10 | 10% | |
| Radiohead | 7 | 7% | |
| Swans | 5 | 5% | |
| Bob Dylan | 5 | 5% | |
| Charles Mingus | 4 | 4% | |
| Vampire Weekend | 4 | 4% | |
| The Smiths | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
57 | 58% | |
 |
19 | 19% | |
 |
10 | 10% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 98 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
There have been no changes to this chart.Top 98 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
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Top 98 Greatest Music Albums ratings
89/100 (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 90/100  | 03/27/2025 14:41 | DrewHamster | | 79/100 |
| 85/100 | 01/25/2025 14:15 | SomethingSpecial | | 85/100 |
| 90/100 | 08/21/2024 05:59 |  pedro1976 | | 85/100 |
| 70/100 | 06/23/2023 05:13 |  Applerill | | 75/100 |
| 85/100 | 03/27/2023 17:55 | Johnnyo | | 80/100 |
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 4% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.9/100, a mean average of 88.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.9/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 11.1.
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Top 98 Greatest Music Albums comments
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85/100
From Johnnyo 03/27/2023 17:55
Exceeding chart and a great read.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From Moondance 12/08/2022 00:11
We are 2 generations apart, so no surprise that our musical tastes/album preferences are not going to align. Totally respect your selections and appreciate your commentary - this chart is a definite labour of love. BTW - our one common album ~ Dark Side Of The Moon. BTW2 - thank you for introducing me to Night Beds' Country Sleep album - a future inclusion in my 2013 year chart.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
Larcx13 07/20/2021 15:00
Larcx13 07/20/2021 15:00
I guess youre a fan of radiohead.
Hard work on the descriptions good stuff.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From DriftingOrpheus 04/27/2021 22:55
DriftingOrpheus 04/27/2021 22:55
@StreakyNuno: Your statement is demeaning to every individual who's ever experienced an inkling of an original thought...
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
60/100
From StreakyNuno 04/27/2021 19:23
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -5 votes (0 helpful | 5 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
DommeDamian 04/27/2021 13:50
DommeDamian 04/27/2021 13:50
*shocked emoji* this is ridiculously great.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From leniad 10/21/2020 23:28
Like your taste
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
Strangel 06/17/2020 10:18
Strangel 06/17/2020 10:18
Saw your comments on Syro which intrigued me enough to wander over here and read a bit more. I’ve always rated charts that offer explanations for each choice. So far you have gone above and beyond, plus I tend to agree with your love for many of these albums (Smiths aside). Look forward to seeing the finished version!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
55/100
From mianfei 05/14/2020 02:18
Even with very many “stereotypical” choices, this is not that bad a list.
Although I have never heard their music, Acid Bath is a wonderful surprise, as is the Misfits. I heard of both bands in the middle 2000s from one writer on Amazon.com called “janitor-x”, whose musical taste I cannot relate to but whose virulent criticism of ‘Rolling Stone’ I have never doubted nor seen refuted.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.