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.
- Chart updated: 11/30/2025 23:45
- (Created: 06/01/2012 04:29).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 114 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 179 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 Whiskeytown. (Remove this filter)
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1997-OUTPOST
Produced By JIM SCOTT
1. Inn Town
2. Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight
3. Yesterday's News
4. 16 Days
5. Everything I Do
6. Houses On The Hill
7. Turn Around
8. Dancing With The Woman At The Bar
9. Waiting To Derail
10. Avenues
11. Losering
12. Somebody Remembers The Rose
13. Not Home Anymore
Whether Ryan Adams call himself by his name or Whiskeytown, the results are about the same. He couldn't keep a lineup together for the short lived Whiskeytown, but with the 2nd album, Strangers Almanac, he hit paydirt. Covered in great harmonies and equally great songs, this is one of alt country's greatest records. "Inn Town" opens the door, and there's no closing it after "Excuse Me". This never wavers, and gets even better with "Dancing With The Woman At The Bar" and the hypnotizing "Losering".
Whiskeytown was done after this album, although Pneumonia was released after the breakup. Adams has gone on to great solo success. Strangers Almanac remains an essential record. [First added to this chart: 05/31/2012]
Produced By JIM SCOTT
1. Inn Town
2. Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight
3. Yesterday's News
4. 16 Days
5. Everything I Do
6. Houses On The Hill
7. Turn Around
8. Dancing With The Woman At The Bar
9. Waiting To Derail
10. Avenues
11. Losering
12. Somebody Remembers The Rose
13. Not Home Anymore
Whether Ryan Adams call himself by his name or Whiskeytown, the results are about the same. He couldn't keep a lineup together for the short lived Whiskeytown, but with the 2nd album, Strangers Almanac, he hit paydirt. Covered in great harmonies and equally great songs, this is one of alt country's greatest records. "Inn Town" opens the door, and there's no closing it after "Excuse Me". This never wavers, and gets even better with "Dancing With The Woman At The Bar" and the hypnotizing "Losering".
Whiskeytown was done after this album, although Pneumonia was released after the breakup. Adams has gone on to great solo success. Strangers Almanac remains an essential record. [First added to this chart: 05/31/2012]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
531
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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2001 – LOST HIGHWAY
Produced By ETHAN JOHNS
1. The Ballad Of Carol Lynn
2. Don’t Wanna Know Why
3. Jacksonville Skyline
4. Reasons To Lie
5. Don’t Be Sad
6. Sit & Listen To The Rain
7. Under Your Breath
8. Mirror, Mirror
9. Paper Moon
10. What The Devil Wanted
11. Crazy About You
12. My Hometown
13. Easy Hearts
14. Bar Lights
By the time Pneumonia, Whiskeytown’s third album, was released in 2001, the band had been broken up for nearly two years, and Ryan Adams was already in the midst of a fine solo career. His album Heartbreaker was already out, and Pneumonia was finally released as part of the promotion of his second album, Gold. It had been heavily bootlegged, and was, until its release, kind of a legendary lost album. It was also an album made by a band that was in a state of flux, with a revolving door of band members and a sound that had changed a lot from their debut album to this. The result is that it’s not as strong as folks would like it to be, and its legendary status faded away rather quickly once it was out. But it’s still a fine album, a band that was finding their new direction, which would have been interesting had they stayed together.
Of course, one of the undeniable truths about music is that Ryan Adams is a whale of a songwriter. And there are some great ones here…”Jacksonville Skyline”, “The Ballad Of Carol Lynn”, “Sit & Listen To The Rain”…songs that ranks among his best works. As is usually the case with Adams, there is some filler here, but not too much as to take the album down too far. His Whiskeytown partnership with Caitlin Cary is as strong as ever, and new member Mike Daly, a multi-instrumentalist, is a great addition. This is a decent farewell for the band, although it’s not as strong as the perfect predecessor Strangers Almanac. Whiskeytown was moving into a less country oriented direction along the lines of what Wilco was doing at the time this was recorded. If you’re a fan of Adams, and Whiskeytown, then this is necessary. A very good album from an almost great band. [First added to this chart: 05/31/2012]
Produced By ETHAN JOHNS
1. The Ballad Of Carol Lynn
2. Don’t Wanna Know Why
3. Jacksonville Skyline
4. Reasons To Lie
5. Don’t Be Sad
6. Sit & Listen To The Rain
7. Under Your Breath
8. Mirror, Mirror
9. Paper Moon
10. What The Devil Wanted
11. Crazy About You
12. My Hometown
13. Easy Hearts
14. Bar Lights
By the time Pneumonia, Whiskeytown’s third album, was released in 2001, the band had been broken up for nearly two years, and Ryan Adams was already in the midst of a fine solo career. His album Heartbreaker was already out, and Pneumonia was finally released as part of the promotion of his second album, Gold. It had been heavily bootlegged, and was, until its release, kind of a legendary lost album. It was also an album made by a band that was in a state of flux, with a revolving door of band members and a sound that had changed a lot from their debut album to this. The result is that it’s not as strong as folks would like it to be, and its legendary status faded away rather quickly once it was out. But it’s still a fine album, a band that was finding their new direction, which would have been interesting had they stayed together.
Of course, one of the undeniable truths about music is that Ryan Adams is a whale of a songwriter. And there are some great ones here…”Jacksonville Skyline”, “The Ballad Of Carol Lynn”, “Sit & Listen To The Rain”…songs that ranks among his best works. As is usually the case with Adams, there is some filler here, but not too much as to take the album down too far. His Whiskeytown partnership with Caitlin Cary is as strong as ever, and new member Mike Daly, a multi-instrumentalist, is a great addition. This is a decent farewell for the band, although it’s not as strong as the perfect predecessor Strangers Almanac. Whiskeytown was moving into a less country oriented direction along the lines of what Wilco was doing at the time this was recorded. If you’re a fan of Adams, and Whiskeytown, then this is necessary. A very good album from an almost great band. [First added to this chart: 05/31/2012]
Total albums: 2. Page 1 of 1
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 10 | 10% | |
| 1970s | 21 | 21% | |
| 1980s | 11 | 11% | |
| 1990s | 32 | 32% | |
| 2000s | 22 | 22% | |
| 2010s | 4 | 4% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Beatles | 3 | 3% | |
| The Band | 3 | 3% | |
| Drive-By Truckers | 3 | 3% | |
| Wilco | 2 | 2% | |
| Jason Isbell | 2 | 2% | |
| The Jimi Hendrix Experience | 2 | 2% | |
| The Jayhawks | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 2 from 39th to 37th Decoration Day by Drive-By Truckers |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 37th to 38th Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1 by The Traveling Wilburys |
| Down 1 from 38th to 39th The Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | jeffrey-hodgson | Overall chart | 2018 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | maverick470 | Overall chart | 2015 | |
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| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | Manso | Overall chart | 2020 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  RFNAPLES | Overall chart | 2013 | |
| AllMusic's Greatest Albums | musicologist97 | Custom chart | 2019 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | tim0505 | Overall chart | 2025 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | jay020281 | Overall chart | 2020 | |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 179 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 05/19/2025 19:46 | StreakyNuno | 131 | 82/100 |
| ! | 05/19/2025 12:26 |  Repo | 559 | 100/100 |
| ! | 03/15/2025 22:29 | BlueNote | 92 | 74/100 |
| ! | 01/29/2025 12:37 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,105 | 85/100 |
| ! | 01/15/2025 18:01 | Exist-en-ciel | 141 | 98/100 |
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 88.7/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 12.5.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From StreakyNuno 05/19/2025 19:47 | #309063
I like the Chart but The Black Crowes album, even though it is an excellent album, is an exaggeration to consider it the best ever.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Repo 05/19/2025 12:28 | #309062
Repo 05/19/2025 12:28 | #309062
A wondrous labor of love! GREAT notes!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
CassidyInc 03/29/2024 22:06 | #302746
CassidyInc 03/29/2024 22:06 | #302746
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)
From Moondance 03/06/2023 07:40 | #294755
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) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From samora 10/25/2022 14:15 | #290788
Great chart, with impressive comments; very inspirational!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From leniad 07/12/2022 00:28 | #287280
would appreciate more variety from coutries, genres
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Albumlover6789 02/03/2022 23:20 | #280650
Lots of new music to discover here
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
rockbluesfolkjaz 10/19/2021 18:18 | #275181
rockbluesfolkjaz 10/19/2021 18:18 | #275181
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)
From Johnnyo 07/18/2021 16:41 | #271703
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)
From henrygreen0203 05/04/2021 18:55 | #269359
Nothing but great records here!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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