Who Is William Onyeabor?
by LedZep

Excluding the compilations and remixes, as well as the 2nd (inferior) version of Crashes in Love. Including them would make the rankings tough, for example, what to do with the Box Set of all of his work? His most well-known comp, Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor?, is a great place to start, though. It would probably rank in the top 3. Good Name is too short for BEA, but that one would rank in the top 3 as well.

The reason I've made this chart is William Onyeabor's incredibly good discography. There isn't anything resembling a bad album. However, even though I'm usually not attracted to the music because of the musician's backstory, this is a special occasion. Seriously, who is William Onyeabor? Did he study filmmaking in Russia? Did he run a successful flour mills business? Was he the High Chief in the city of Enugu? Some of these questions will probably never be answered, but it's still worth seeing the "Fantastic Man" documentary, it's 30 minutes and free on YT.
There are 0 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and this chart has not been rated yet. Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

View the complete list of 57,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.

Share this chart
Collector's summary (top 1,000)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
Sort by
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Track picks: Atomic Bomb, Beautiful Baby

Synth-funk essential. One of the best and most inventive funk album I've had the pleasure of hearing and one of the best places to start your deep dive into African funk, electronic and underground music.
[First added to this chart: 11/08/2021]
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
535
Rank in 1978:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Track picks: Anything You Sow, Everyday

Ole Will embraces the 80s synth music. It's both groovy and powerful, perhaps the best he's ever sounded.
[First added to this chart: 11/08/2021]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
125
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Track picks: Ride on Baby, Something You'll Never Forget, Heaven & Hell

Where it all started. With that Afrobeat-funk fusion. There's essentially nothing separating this, Tomorrow and Hypertension (except the growing amount of synths, I guess).
[First added to this chart: 11/08/2021]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
77
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Track picks: Fantastic Man, Try and Try

A fantastic album, honestly should be higher. If there was a single album that describes Onyeabor as a musician and producer, it's this one. A great musical mind at the height of its power. Has several of his top-tier songs, as well as the most iconic one in Fantastic Man.
[First added to this chart: 11/08/2021]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
56
Rank in 1979:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Track picks: The Moon & The Sun, Politicians

Electro-funk, synths (perhaps even synthpop?) and, in this reviewer's honest opinion, the best utilization of backing vocals in all of his opus on the opening track. Also, am I crazy or does the aforementioned opener have a slightly reggae rhythm? The whole album is a treasure, wobbly, warm, silly and fun.
[First added to this chart: 11/08/2021]
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Track pick: I've Got Love

His most unremarkable work imo, Onyeabor's done this style better elsewhere. Every song drags on for too long, but you're still gonna have a very good time. The tracks Love is Blind, and especially I've Got Love, have some of his best synth melodies.
[First added to this chart: 11/08/2021]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Track pick: Body & Soul

Another fun funk one, but I think he went too far with the track lengths here. Excessive lengths are often a slight problem with Onyeabor's tracks, but never truly get in the way except on these last 2 entries, imo. Still, this is his funkiest one I think, and everybody who likes long soul/funk jams will rate this higher than I do.
[First added to this chart: 11/08/2021]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
26
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 7. Page 1 of 1
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!

Who Is William Onyeabor? composition

Decade Albums %


1930s 0 0%
1940s 0 0%
1950s 0 0%
1960s 0 0%
1970s 3 43%
1980s 4 57%
1990s 0 0%
2000s 0 0%
2010s 0 0%
2020s 0 0%
Artist Albums %


William Onyeabor 7 100%
Country Albums %


Nigeria 7 100%

Who Is William Onyeabor? chart changes

Biggest climbers
Climber Up 1 from 8th to 7thBody & Soul
by William Onyeabor
Climber Up 1 from 7th to 6thGreat Lover
by William Onyeabor
Climber Up 1 from 6th to 5thHypertension
by William Onyeabor

Who Is William Onyeabor? similarity to your chart(s)


Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!


Why register?


Register now - it only takes a moment!

LedZep has shared 27 more custom charts with the community. Browse them all here.
TitleSourceTypePublishedCountry
Metal - Holy Wars, Strongholds & The Thousand Lakes LedZepCustom chart2026
Hip Hop - ATLiens, Bulletproof Wallets & Labor Days LedZepCustom chart2025
Ranked - Muse LedZepCustom chart2025

Who Is William Onyeabor? ratings

Not enough data Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
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.
Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Who Is William Onyeabor? favourites

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a favourite

Who Is William Onyeabor? comments

Be the first to add a comment for this Chart - add your comment!

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Who Is William Onyeabor?

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this chart.
Recognised  Decade Charts (2020s)
1. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks by Billboard (2019)
2. NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s by New Music Express (2019)
3. Top 100 Albums of the Decade by Crack Magazine (2019)
4. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Rolling Stone (2019)
5. The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s by Pitchfork (2019)
6. Top 50 Albums of the 2010s by The Wild Honey Pie (2019)
7. BrooklynVegan's Top Albums of 2010s by BrooklynVegan (2020)
8. The 50 best albums of the decade – 2010 to 2019 by Independent (2019)
9. The Needle Drop's Top Albums Of The 2010s by The Needle Drop (2019)
10. All The Best Albums Of The 2010s, Ranked by Uproxx (2019)
11. The A.V. Club's 50 best albums of the 2010s by The A.V. Club (2019)
12. Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of the 2010s by Gorilla vs. Bear (2019)
13. The 101 Best Albums of the 2010s by Spin (2020)
14. The 100 Best Albums Of The 2010s by Stereogum (2019)
15. The 50 Best Albums of the Decade by Deep Cuts (2019)
16. Die 100 besten Alben der 10er Jahre by Musikexpress.de (2020)
17. Tiny Mix Tapes 2010s: Favorite 100 Music Releases of the Decade by Tiny Mix Tapes (2019)
18. Die besten Platten 2010-2019 by Spex (2019)
19. Top 100 Albums of the 2010s by Consequence of Sound (2019)
20. BEST OF 2011 - 2020: Die besten Alben des Jahrzehnts by laut (2020)
Back to Top