Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by 
MadhattanJack 
- Chart updated: 07/15/2025 23:15
- (Created: 08/28/2021 02:46).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 13 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 28 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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If you've read this far, you're probably aware that the Dukes were actually XTC recording as a psychedelic-60s pastiche band, so this is technically an XTC album, compiled from their "25 O'Clock" Dukes mini-LP and the full-length "Psonic Psunspot." Back in the mid-80s, it was still possible to keep your recording and release plans secret right up until the day a record appeared in the shops, so I didn't know about "25 O'Clock" at all until I physically encountered it in my favorite record shop. Maybe that's why I'm ranking this so highly — I love surprises! I also love chocolate-chip ice cream, so naturally I bought this compilation too.
[First added to this chart: 06/28/2022]
Relatively few pop musicians are able to write genuinely funny lyrics without coming off as silly or "hammy." On this particular list, it's really just Robyn Hitchcock, Paul McCartney, Dee Dee Ramone, Harry Nilsson, and this guy, Neil Hannon. Okay, I guess that's more than I thought, actually. (XTC's Andy Partridge can do it too, he just chooses not to.) For good or ill though, Hannon's singles tend to be a little better (and funnier) than the albums they're on, so if you're looking for an introduction, this is the record to start with.
[First added to this chart: 06/28/2022]
In late 2003, The Sugarplastic released 7 mail-order-only 7-inch singles over the course of 7 months, each with a name containing the word "seven" — Seven Seas, Lucky Seven, The Magnificent Seven, and so on. None of the song titles on these singles contained the word "seven," but... so? Screw it — these Sugarplastic guys had a theme, a scheme, a structure, and they were signed up and steadfastly committed to it. As for me, well... I thought about subscribing to the seven-single series, but somehow I suspected that if I sat still and stayed put, soon a scintillating comp would show up on the scene consisting of the whole set. And sure enough, here it is! SCORE!
[First added to this chart: 06/28/2022]
Total albums: 3. 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 | 3 | 3% | |
| 1970s | 21 | 21% | |
| 1980s | 32 | 32% | |
| 1990s | 26 | 26% | |
| 2000s | 10 | 10% | |
| 2010s | 7 | 7% | |
| 2020s | 1 | 1% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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|
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| XTC | 7 | 7% | |
| Roxy Music | 3 | 3% | |
| David Bowie | 3 | 3% | |
| I Like Trains | 2 | 2% | |
| Slowdive | 2 | 2% | |
| Robyn Hitchcock And The Egyptians | 2 | 2% | |
| Cocteau Twins | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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|||
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72 | 72% | |
| |
21 | 21% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
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1 | 1% | |
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1 | 1% | |
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1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
There have been no changes to this chart.Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
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| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | MadhattanJack | 2000s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | DanielU | 1980s decade 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 28 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/04/2026 16:55 | jnmayles | 23 | 89/100 | |
| 11/16/2025 19:54 |  Dankel | 175 | 84/100 | |
| 08/02/2025 21:26 | Vulgarplacards | 1 | 90/100 | |
| 07/12/2025 16:21 |  baystateoftheart | 95 | 96/100 | |
| 07/12/2025 15:32 | BorderFreeAndrew | 110 | 81/100 |
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 3% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.3/100, a mean average of 88.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 13.9.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From Dankel 11/16/2025 19:56 | #311696
Dankel 11/16/2025 19:56 | #311696
Great Chart! Lots of interesting stuff. Would have given it 100% but I can't really get into shoegaze. My main takeaway from this chart is I must play more XTC and Original Mirrors! I had forgotten their existence.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Vulgarplacards 08/02/2025 21:27 | #310391
Great choices, some new to me- I’ll seek them out!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From baystateoftheart 07/12/2025 16:23 | #310077
baystateoftheart 07/12/2025 16:23 | #310077
Great unique choices, and the entertaining write-ups especially make it shine. Your notes about excluding Radiohead do make me wonder what a totally unaltered list of your favorites would be like.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From BorderFreeAndrew 07/12/2025 15:32 | #310076
Kudos for a refreshingly unique chart. And for being even more obsessed with XTC than I used to be.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
urmom22 07/03/2025 01:27 | #309865
urmom22 07/03/2025 01:27 | #309865
That's really suuuuuuuuper super girl
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From matterhornrider 06/08/2025 02:34 | #309287
7 Albums by the amazing XTC, no problem with me. So many bands I love here and so many Albums I look forward to listening to.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
seb7 08/12/2024 16:03 | #304734
seb7 08/12/2024 16:03 | #304734
Very cool and fairly specific taste. Dig it!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
CassidyInc 03/29/2024 22:12 | #302747
CassidyInc 03/29/2024 22:12 | #302747
Fun chart with some downright hilarious write-ups. I listened to an XTC album (Skylarking) yesterday at your suggestion. Unfortunately not a vibe for me.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Steppenwolf666 10/10/2023 15:53 | #299436
Great chart, not because of the music, because of the hilarious comments. Of course it could be a great chart music wise, but I wouldn't know, although the few albums in it I do know are very good. I would never have thought of checking out XTC's go2, but now I just might! P.S. The DIV I DED album is now in another chart.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Tony58 06/19/2023 17:11 | #297679
Very interesting chart. Glad to see included a number of artists I like who don't usually get as much recognition as they deserve, eg The Auteurs, The Associates and Lush. Also, I enjoyed the witty comments, eg on the Beatles and Paul McCartney albums!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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