Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Romanelli

With production credits (because producers are important, too). Also track listings, label info and short reviews written by yours truly. I hope this chart is helpful, entertaining, and at least interesting.

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1966-PARLOPHONE
Produced By GEORGE MARTIN

1. Taxman
2. Eleanor Rigby
3. I'm Only Sleeping
4. Love You To
5. Here, There And Everywhere
6. Yellow Submarine
7. She Said She Said
8. Good Day Sunshine
9. And Your Bird Can Sing
10. For No One
11. Doctor Robert
12. I Want to Tell You
13. Got To Get You Into My Life
14. Tomorrow Never Knows

The album in between Rubber Soul and Sgt. Pepper, Revolver is maybe the best album of all time...certainly in the conversation. Following the more folk feel of Rubber Soul, Revolver gets louder and rocks harder, and introduces more of the studio innovations that the band was getting into. It's also a landmark album as far as songwriting goes...no one had ever heard anything from a rock band like "Eleanor Rigby" or "Tomorrow Never Knows" anywhere before. Highly influential, expertly entertaining, maybe the band's best work.

George Harrison flexes his songwriting with three songs, while Lennon and McCartney trade some of their best work. Even the Ringo vocal on "Yellow Submarine" works. This was a band that could do no wrong, and Revolver is right in the middle of that period. This is a classic, no brainer, must own. A masterpiece.
[First added to this chart: 05/31/2012]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
56,827
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Comments:
Buy album United States
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1989-ELEKTRA
Produced By ROBERT SMITH & DAVID M ALLEN

1. Plainsong
2. Pictures Of You
3. Closedown
4. Lovesong
5. Last Dance
6. Lullaby
7. Fascination Street
8. Prayers For Rain
9. The Same Deep Water As You
10. Disintegration
11. Homesick
12. Untitled

The Cure's 8th album is their best selling, and may be their best overall album. Robert Smith was under a lot of pressure to come up with a winner, was back on the hallucinogenics, and was under pressure from the rest of the band to fire founding drummer Lol Tolhurst, which he did, leaving himself as the only remaining original member. Although the band has always disliked the "goth" label, Disintegration is a goth masterpiece. It's dark, with solid keyboards and great songs. The big hit was "Lovesong", their only US top 10, but the rest is very listenable, well written and played to perfection. A huge step up from their tinny sounding earlier work.

The Cure still rolls on. And, according to Kyle from South Park, "Disintegration is the best album ever".
[First added to this chart: 09/17/2015]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
27,743
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Buy album United States
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1997 – CAPITOL
Produced By RADIOHEAD & NIGEL GODRICH

1. Airbag
2. Paranoid Android
3. Subterranean Homesick Alien
4. Exit Music (For A Film)
5. Let Down
6. Karma Police
7. Fitter Happier
8. Electioneering
9. Climbing Up The Walls
10. No Surprises
11. Lucky
12. The Tourist

What’s the greatest album ever made? Is it Sgt. Pepper? Dark Side Of The Moon? Led Zeppelin IV? More people than you think will say it’s actually Radiohead’s third album, OK Computer. Released 25 years after the Pink Floyd masterpiece, it really is that good. Radiohead came a very long way in the short time between their debut album, Pablo Honey, a flat straight ahead rock album featuring one great song (“Creep”) and the follow up, the excellent The Bends. But no one could have predicted that OK Computer would be what it is. The band tried to distance themselves from the guitar rock of the first two albums, and created a stunning landscape that bands ever since have been trying unsuccessfully to duplicate. They have been very good since, but OK Computer is one of those rare magical musical intersections where absolutely everything works. Like Sgt. Pepper. Like Dark Side. This album is that good, without a doubt.

Everything works, and everything fits together. From the heaviness of “Paranoid Android”, to the dreamy “No Surprises”, the immediacy of “Karma Police”, and even the strange, Steven Hawking like “Fitter, Happier”…everything here has a purpose, and melds with everything else perfectly. OK Computer does not have a single weak track, or a single weak moment on it, and if you think I may be exaggerating by comparing it to the best work of the Gods of classic rock, then you should sit down with a good set of speakers (or headphones) and immerse yourself in this album. This album is well deserving of all of the accolades it has received, and is just as good, if not better, than the classics that preceded it. Is OK Computer the greatest album of all time? It may or may not be, but it has absolutely earned the right to at least be in that discussion. A perfect album, and a must, must have.
[First added to this chart: 10/21/2017]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
76,594
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Comments:
Buy album United States
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1994-GEFFEN
Produced By RIC OCASEK

1. My Name Is Jonas
2. No One Else
3. The World Has Turned And Left Me Here
4. Buddy Holly
5. Undone-The Sweater Song
6. Surf Wax America
7. Say It Ain't So
8. In The Garage
9. Holiday
10. Only In Dreams

There are 3 self titled albums by Weezer...the green one, the red one, and this, the blue one. Their debut album, (they played their first gig opening for Dogstar, Keannu Reeves' horrible band), is a gem. Four geeky looking guys flat out rocking. "The Sweater Song" and "Buddy Holly" were great hits, and the rest is pure power pop. Weezer was like a breath of fresh air in 1994, and it looked like they were going to be huge.

They never matched the success of this album, though. They have gone through personnel changes, infighting, legal battles over the title of their second album, and a 5 year hiatus between the 2nd and 3rd release. But the first Weezer album is a package of romping, heavy, funny, melodic good times. Highly recommended.
[First added to this chart: 05/31/2012]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,846
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Comments:
Buy album United States
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1987-GEFFEN
Produced By MIKE CLINK

1. Welcome To The Jungle
2. It's So Easy
3. Nightrain
4. Out Ta Get Me
5. Mr. Brownstone
6. Paradise City
7. My Michelle
8. Think About You
9. Sweet Child O' Mine
10. You're Crazy
11. Anything Goes
12. Rocket Queen

The debut album from Guns N' Roses is important in many ways. It's one of the better American hard rock albums of all time, it marked the beginning of the end of hair metal (no one was able to even come close to this album, so it peaked early), and it introduced us to one of rock's most annoying personalities in Axl Rose. Guns N' Roses went on to be a non prolific soap opera with a blown out voice and a revolving personnel door, but for one album, they were at the top of the entire game.

Appetite is lead by the stunning sound of Slash's guitar and some great songs. Axl had yet to become the whiny caricature of the coming years...he was a scary, out of control monster of a frontman (despite the Davy Jones dance). From the opening notes of "Welcome To The Jungle", the 80's were changed. Great songs like "Paradise City", "Sweet Child O' Mine", "It's So Easy", and "Rocket Queen" make this a classic. By the next year, they were unplugged, had no new material, and a singer without a voice. But in 1987-88, this was the album to have, and the 80's were rocking as they were intended to do...at least for this one, great album.
[First added to this chart: 03/29/2018]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,204
Rank in 1987:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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1991-ELEKTRA
Produced By BOB ROCK, JAMES HETFIELD & LARS ULRICH

1. Enter Sandman
2. Sad But True
3. Holier Than Thou
4. The Unforgiven
5. Wherever I May Roam
6. Don’t Tread On Me
7. Through The Never
8. Nothing Else Matters
9. Of Wolf And Man
10. The God That Failed
11. My Friend Of Misery
12. The Struggle Within

Ah, the Black Album. Here’s the point where, if you happen to be one of those who think that Metallica “sold out” in making this album, you might want to go read something else. Metallica smartly realized that in making Kill ‘Em All Part 6 that they would be going nowhere, and that they would be purposely impeding their own growth. Fans who were outraged because this album wasn’t “thrash” enough and was a move towards pop were simply being idiots. What Metallica actually is as an album is heavier than anything they had done before (note that fast does not necessarily mean heavy), and it’s a showcase of a band that had grown up and started concentrating on the actual song over the actual speed at which you could flip your hair. Not saying that the previous five Metallica albums were bad. They were absolutely not, and I would own any of them (and do own several). The point is that Metallica dared to progress and evolve into better musicians and songwriters, and actually became heavier than they had ever been. Fan backlash over this was foolish and childish. Thank you. Rant over.

This album opens with “Enter Sandman”. Maybe the saving grace of metal in the early 90’s, this song alone is worth having the album. But the collection of great songs here, which includes “Sad But True”, “Nothing Else Matters”, “The Unforgiven” and “Holier Than Thou” justifies this as one of the greatest American hard rock albums of all time…maybe even the greatest. The move away from thrash and into a more song oriented sound suits the band extremely well, and allows each of the members to show sides of themselves that no one had ever heard before. Most impressive is that they were able to do it from one album to the next without having to struggle to find a new sound. Metallica is able to have the fury of metal, yet the beauty of the songs themselves and of the album as a whole shine through the sound of the band. To me, this makes it the best album by Metallica, by far. If you want to hate the band for taking the next step forward, then hey…you’ve always got Dave Mustaine to worship. Have fun with that one.
[First added to this chart: 04/13/2021]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,196
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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1971-WARNER BROTHERS
Produced By RODGER BAIN

1. War Pigs/Luke's Wall
2. Paranoid
3. Planet Caravan
4. Iron Man
5. Electric Funeral
6. Hand Of Doom
7. Rat Salad
8. Jack The Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots

Out of the dust of the feel-good hippie movement of the late 1960's came the stunning metal doom of Black Sabbath. Paranoid, their second album, turned a whole generation on to something that Led Zeppelin had only hinted at: rock & roll with a real dark side to it. And not just the sound, either. The songs were great on this album. From "War Pigs" and "Iron Man" to "Paranoid" and "Fairies Wear Boots", Black Sabbath found a formula that kept them at the forefront of metal and radio for years to come.

The heavy fuzzed guitar of Tony Iommi and the creepy vocals of Ozzy Osbourne make Paranoid one of the better albums of the 70's. To this day, it makes most metal bands seem tame by comparison. A heavy
[First added to this chart: 07/21/2019]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,349
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Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 01/06/2014]
Year of Release:
2010
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,112
Rank in 2010:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 02/02/2023]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
33,742
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 01/01/2022]
Year of Release:
2006
Appears in:
Rank Score:
55
Rank in 2006:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 94. Page 9 of 10

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade Albums %


1930s 0 0%
1940s 0 0%
1950s 0 0%
1960s 12 12%
1970s 22 22%
1980s 13 13%
1990s 26 26%
2000s 21 21%
2010s 6 6%
2020s 0 0%
Artist Albums %


The Beatles 4 4%
The Band 3 3%
Drive-By Truckers 3 3%
Nirvana 2 2%
Wilco 2 2%
Jason Isbell 2 2%
Lynyrd Skynyrd 2 2%
Show all
Country Albums %


United States 59 59%
United Kingdom 22 22%
Mixed Nationality 11 11%
Canada 5 5%
Australia 1 1%
New Zealand 1 1%
Ireland 1 1%
Live? Albums %
No 94 94%
Yes 6 6%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 99 99%
Yes 1 1%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest climbers
Climber Up 1 from 8th to 7th
Give Up
by The Postal Service
Biggest fallers
Faller Down 1 from 7th to 8th
The Dirty South
by Drive-By Truckers

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Average Rating: 
89/100 (from 174 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
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n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
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03/29/2024 22:06 CassidyInc  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 6100/100
  
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06/11/2023 18:03 pedro1976  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 8584/100
  
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06/03/2023 12:17 Schribes  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1199/100
  
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11/16/2022 17:06 conallmalone  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 17388/100

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 6% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.6/100, a mean average of 87.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.8/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 12.5.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 113 comments |
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Rating:  
100/100
From 03/29/2024 22:06
Neat chart, but the write ups and historical perspective you've included for many of these albums make it something special. I had a good chuckle when I finally arrived to Loveless, the album I was most excited to hear your thoughts on, and there was nothing there!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 03/06/2023 07:40
What I found most intriguing is where you actually argue in your comments why an album isn't that great - which is an unusual way to create a greatest 100 chart. A bit too US-orientated for my liking and too many so-so bands. Good to see one album each from Australia & New Zealand.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 10/25/2022 14:15
Great chart, with impressive comments; very inspirational!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 07/12/2022 00:28
would appreciate more variety from coutries, genres
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 02/03/2022 23:20
Lots of new music to discover here
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 10/19/2021 18:18
There's a lot of excellent choices here. Many of which I'll be listening to as well. Thanks for this list!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 07/18/2021 16:41
Stunning chart. I own 83 of the albums in your chart so it's inevitable that I'm going to love it. Also love the notes. Great addition.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 05/04/2021 18:55
Nothing but great records here!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/19/2021 23:03
perfect soundtrack to being the only guy left in the rural middle-of-nowhere bar at 4AM (this may sound backhanded but I assure you it's high praise)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/14/2021 02:55
Still Crazy (good) after all these years.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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