Top 40 Greatest Music Albums by TheSageEG

I'll briefly point out the obvious: yes these albums aren't new! 1980 is the most recent one, which is disappointing and I wish it weren't so. But I had to make this list true to myself.
I had initially drafted a top 200 list of albums I had enjoyed and listened to cover to cover before noticing the membership cap at 40 albums. These albums (they shift a little bit, but the spine remains mostly the same) were my top 40 and I was at a crossroads as to whether or not I should publish them as they were with their obvious era, genre, and artist biases. I seriously considered submitting an amended version of the list with a more marketably diverse population of other albums lower down the top 200. For whatever reason, it felt like I was lying to myself as the passion I have for these 40 albums dwarfs any positive feelings for the omissions.
This entry is an apology for being myself as much as it is a thank you for the same thing.

Viewing this list with that in mind isn't expected, but boy is it appreciated!

• Chart updated: 06/30/2020 14:45
• (Created: 06/02/2020 14:43).
• Chart size: 40 albums.

There are 2 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 40 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 86 out of 100 (from 3 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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1. (=)

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 

 The Beatles

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Assuming this is where you've started reading the list (if so, welcome!) I shall endeavour to explain my blind, undying, credibility destroying (they make up a quarter of this list with Lennon's solo career) love for The Beatles.
When I was younger, so much younger than today, I lived in a deeply religious community. It was nearly impossible to leave the house without being watched by one of the elders and fearing I'd accidentally sin at any moment. One of those sins was listening to non-religious music. Since my family were absorbed into the community, we had to give up most of our CDs and LPs in favour of a pious life. But even my deeply religious father couldn't part with his Beatles box set, which he hid away to show me when the time was right.
And when that time came, when I heard the 'Twang!' of A Hard Day's Night, the harmonies of This Boy, and the Euphoria inducing key changes of Penny Lane, my world was opened to feelings I can't replicate any other way. Much like the first soaring high of a powerful drug, I haven't found that same farm of frisson in any source other than my first real entry into the world of music, The Beatles. And believe me, I've searched far and wide for possible substitutes.
In a way, it's remarkably fortunate they're as prolific and well regarded as they are. One could do a great deal worse than The Beatles as their musical zenith.
So The Beatles were always going to dominate this list as well as come in first place, the question was: which album would take the top spot?
Pepper does so on this occasion for its uncanny balance of the group as a whole. It contains all the experimentations of Revolver with the refinement and confidence of Abbey Road. The individuals shine as they continue to do on The Beatles (White Album) while Lennon/McCartney reach their summit of teamwork on A Day in the Life. And even still, the album has a character of its own. It is The Beatles' finest work yet it is also equally the work of their fictional counterparts The Lonely Hearts Club Band. Each song transcends the studio they were recorded in and becomes a sensational dream only to be woken up by the lifting of the needle after Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite and the dog whistle than precedes the run out track at the album's conclusion.
And this is all considering that somehow this album spawned the release of Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane (arguably the finest two sides of a single ever released) without including either of them on the album itself!
Yes, it's a cliche, a stereotype, a boring answer to put Sgt. Pepper first. But for me, there's no other correct answer. [First added to this chart: 06/03/2020]

Year of Release:

1967

Appears in:

3,415 charts

Rank Score:

50,891

Rank in 1967:

1

Rank in 1960s:

3

Overall Rank:

7

Average Rating:

 90 (4,485 votes)

Comments:

480

2. (=)

Abbey Road 

 The Beatles

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[First added to this chart: 06/03/2020]

Year of Release:

1969

Appears in:

3,625 charts

Rank Score:

65,322

Rank in 1969:

1

Rank in 1960s:

1

Overall Rank:

3

Average Rating:

 92 (4,508 votes)

Comments:

466

3. (=)

Highway 61 Revisited 

 Bob Dylan

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[First added to this chart: 06/03/2020]

Year of Release:

1965

Appears in:

2,310 charts

Rank Score:

31,106

Rank in 1965:

1

Rank in 1960s:

8

Overall Rank:

26

Average Rating:

 89 (2,735 votes)

Comments:

226

4. (=)

Revolver 

 The Beatles

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[First added to this chart: 06/03/2020]

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

3,478 charts

Rank Score:

57,015

Rank in 1966:

1

Rank in 1960s:

2

Overall Rank:

4

Average Rating:

 91 (4,473 votes)

Comments:

477

5. (=)

Pet Sounds 

 The Beach Boys

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[First added to this chart: 06/03/2020]

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

2,777 charts

Rank Score:

45,117

Rank in 1966:

2

Rank in 1960s:

5

Overall Rank:

11

Average Rating:

 88 (3,192 votes)

Comments:

354

6. (=)

Wish You Were Here 

 Pink Floyd

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[First added to this chart: 06/03/2020]

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

2,911 charts

Rank Score:

50,799

Rank in 1975:

1

Rank in 1970s:

2

Overall Rank:

8

Average Rating:

 91 (3,941 votes)

Comments:

307

7. (=)

Blonde On Blonde 

 Bob Dylan

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[First added to this chart: 06/03/2020]

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

1,968 charts

Rank Score:

27,841

Rank in 1966:

3

Rank in 1960s:

11

Overall Rank:

31

Average Rating:

 88 (2,330 votes)

Comments:

173

8. (=)

The Beatles (The White Album) 

 The Beatles

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[First added to this chart: 06/03/2020]

Year of Release:

1968

Appears in:

2,866 charts

Rank Score:

43,275

Rank in 1968:

1

Rank in 1960s:

6

Overall Rank:

13

Average Rating:

 89 (3,731 votes)

Comments:

337

9. (=)

A Love Supreme 

 John Coltrane

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[First added to this chart: 06/03/2020]

Year of Release:

1965

Appears in:

1,286 charts

Rank Score:

17,108

Rank in 1965:

3

Rank in 1960s:

19

Overall Rank:

75

Average Rating:

 87 (1,452 votes)

Comments:

99

10. (=)

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band 

 John Lennon

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[First added to this chart: 06/03/2020]

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

1,068 charts

Rank Score:

10,323

Rank in 1970:

5

Rank in 1970s:

37

Overall Rank:

146

Average Rating:

 83 (1,380 votes)

Comments:

128

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Total albums: 40. Page 1 of 4

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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade	Albums	%
1930s	0	0%
1940s	0	0%
1950s	1	3%
1960s	21	53%
1970s	17	43%
1980s	1	3%
1990s	0	0%
2000s	0	0%
2010s	0	0%
2020s	0	0%

Artist	Albums	%
The Beatles	8	20%
Bob Dylan	5	13%
Pink Floyd	2	5%
John Lennon	2	5%
The Rolling Stones	2	5%
Fleetwood Mac	1	3%
King Crimson	1	3%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	19	48%
	18	45%
	2	5%
	1	3%

Top 40 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Top 40 Greatest Music Albums similar charts

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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)

Top 40 Greatest Music Albums ratings

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
85/100	05/13/2021 08:02	Skroskznik	94	92/100
90/100	12/30/2020 23:53	MysteriousMrM	1	90/100
85/100	06/14/2020 16:48	NJ	24	94/100

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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums comments

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Rating:  

90/100

From MysteriousMrM 12/30/2020 23:54

All the heavyweights. Great choices!

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Rating:  

85/100

From NJ 06/14/2020 16:50

The most recent album here is from 1980. You should really explore some modern music, there's a lot to be found. Also having 20% of the list be The Beatles, with another 3 from its solo members, is a little repetitive. Other than that, though, there's definitely some neat stuff. I'd be interested to read what you like so much about each record.

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