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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1991-DGC
Produced By BUTCH VIG
1. Smells Like Teen Spirit
2. In Bloom
3. Come As You Are
4. Breed
5. Lithium
6. Polly
7. Territorial Pissings
8. Drain You
9. Lounge Act
10. Stay Away
11. On A Plain
12. Something In The Way
Is Nevermind an unbelievably great album, or the best example of right place at the right time ever? Regardless of the answer to the former, the latter is undeniably true. The music landscape of 1991 was a wasteland of power ballads by day glow wearing long hairs with their underwear on the outside of their clothes, Michael Jackson cavorting with child actors and panthers, and the wind of change in the air (not just the Scorpions song) that would usher in a whole new sound and change what we listened to overnight…thankfully. And even though Pearl Jam’s album Ten was released a month before this, it was “Smells Like Teen Spirit” that ended the madness, made flannel cool again, and made listening to music a whole lot better. In one five minute song, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Skid Row, Poison, and everything we now know as classic rock was made irrelevant, and all of the great music that had been bubbling underneath the surface for years was set free to be heard by an entire generation that had grown weary of their parents taste in music.
Nevermind is so much more, though. The sheer energy of the band, in particular Kurt Cobain, is enormous, and shines through on every single track on the album. The use of Pixies-like dynamics and Cobain’s emotional snarl made this group of exceptionally well written, yet simple songs, the perfect music at the perfect time. So, is Nevermind an unbelieveably great album? I say yes. One track after the other, listening through this shows that they were really on to something big, that the songwriting was top notch, and that the sound was the perfect soundtrack for the new music generation. One review stated, “Anyone who hates Nevermind is just trying to be cool, and needs to be trying harder”. It’s true. And it still sounds amazing today. Nevermind is timeless, even if the band that made it wasn’t. This is the rarest of things: a perfect rock album that was released at the exact right moment in time. This is as perfect as an album can get. [First added to this chart: 05/31/2012]
Produced By BUTCH VIG
1. Smells Like Teen Spirit
2. In Bloom
3. Come As You Are
4. Breed
5. Lithium
6. Polly
7. Territorial Pissings
8. Drain You
9. Lounge Act
10. Stay Away
11. On A Plain
12. Something In The Way
Is Nevermind an unbelievably great album, or the best example of right place at the right time ever? Regardless of the answer to the former, the latter is undeniably true. The music landscape of 1991 was a wasteland of power ballads by day glow wearing long hairs with their underwear on the outside of their clothes, Michael Jackson cavorting with child actors and panthers, and the wind of change in the air (not just the Scorpions song) that would usher in a whole new sound and change what we listened to overnight…thankfully. And even though Pearl Jam’s album Ten was released a month before this, it was “Smells Like Teen Spirit” that ended the madness, made flannel cool again, and made listening to music a whole lot better. In one five minute song, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Skid Row, Poison, and everything we now know as classic rock was made irrelevant, and all of the great music that had been bubbling underneath the surface for years was set free to be heard by an entire generation that had grown weary of their parents taste in music.
Nevermind is so much more, though. The sheer energy of the band, in particular Kurt Cobain, is enormous, and shines through on every single track on the album. The use of Pixies-like dynamics and Cobain’s emotional snarl made this group of exceptionally well written, yet simple songs, the perfect music at the perfect time. So, is Nevermind an unbelieveably great album? I say yes. One track after the other, listening through this shows that they were really on to something big, that the songwriting was top notch, and that the sound was the perfect soundtrack for the new music generation. One review stated, “Anyone who hates Nevermind is just trying to be cool, and needs to be trying harder”. It’s true. And it still sounds amazing today. Nevermind is timeless, even if the band that made it wasn’t. This is the rarest of things: a perfect rock album that was released at the exact right moment in time. This is as perfect as an album can get. [First added to this chart: 05/31/2012]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
37,955
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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1994-GEFFEN
Produced By NIRVANA & SCOTT LITT
1. About A Girl
2. Come As You Are
3. Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam
4. The Man Who Sold The World
5. Pennyroyal Tea
6. Dumb
7. Polly
8. On A Plain
9. Something In The Way
10. Plateau
11. Oh Me
12. Lake Of Fire
13. All Apologies
14. Where Did You Sleep Last Night
In November of 1993, Nirvana performed their entry into MTV’s Unplugged series. 5 months later, Kurt Cobain was dead. This was the first posthumous release by the band, and is the most successful one to date. Nirvana didn’t go the traditional route with their Unplugged set: with the exception of “Come As You Are”, they avoided their biggest hits. The entire performance was done in one take, which was unheard of in the series. The performances are mostly perfect, with the band showing that even in an acoustic setting, they could still bring the raw power and emotion.
The biggest highlights are “About A Girl”, the only single from the album: “The Man Who Sold The World”, an exceptional David Bowie cover, and the memorable “All Apologies”. Cobain is in excellent and uncomfortable form throughout, and the performance, even without the DVD, shines all the way through. By far the best of the Unplugged series, and an important and necessary part of the short Nirvana discography. [First added to this chart: 11/23/2012]
Produced By NIRVANA & SCOTT LITT
1. About A Girl
2. Come As You Are
3. Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam
4. The Man Who Sold The World
5. Pennyroyal Tea
6. Dumb
7. Polly
8. On A Plain
9. Something In The Way
10. Plateau
11. Oh Me
12. Lake Of Fire
13. All Apologies
14. Where Did You Sleep Last Night
In November of 1993, Nirvana performed their entry into MTV’s Unplugged series. 5 months later, Kurt Cobain was dead. This was the first posthumous release by the band, and is the most successful one to date. Nirvana didn’t go the traditional route with their Unplugged set: with the exception of “Come As You Are”, they avoided their biggest hits. The entire performance was done in one take, which was unheard of in the series. The performances are mostly perfect, with the band showing that even in an acoustic setting, they could still bring the raw power and emotion.
The biggest highlights are “About A Girl”, the only single from the album: “The Man Who Sold The World”, an exceptional David Bowie cover, and the memorable “All Apologies”. Cobain is in excellent and uncomfortable form throughout, and the performance, even without the DVD, shines all the way through. By far the best of the Unplugged series, and an important and necessary part of the short Nirvana discography. [First added to this chart: 11/23/2012]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,206
Rank in 1994:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | Romanelli | 1990s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | jeffrey-hodgson | Overall chart | 2018 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | maverick470 | Overall chart | 2015 | |
| Outside The BEA Top 1000 | Romanelli | Custom chart | 2015 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | somefatguy157 | Overall chart | 2020 | |
| 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 | 558 | 100/100 |
| ! | 03/15/2025 22:29 | BlueNote | 91 | 74/100 |
| ! | 01/29/2025 12:37 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,105 | 85/100 |
| ! | 01/15/2025 18:01 | Exist-en-ciel | 125 | 99/100 |
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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