Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by microjude 
Where in the *@#$! are the Beatles? Dylan? Hendrix? Nirvana? Thriller? Appetite for Destruction? Born In The USA? Back in Black? Well to tell you the truth I am just tired of hearing them (ok, GNR and Dylan I never cared for). I have heard the hits off them so many times (in some cases for decades) that I never listen to those cds anymore. I thought I'd keep this list to cds that I personally go back to again and again. Perhaps not cultural landmarks, but honestly my favorites.
- Chart updated: 07/18/2026 00:45
- (Created: 09/20/2008 06:32).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 45 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 84 out of 100 (from 78 votes). Please log in or create an account to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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Bit of a cheat being a compilation, but it flows like an actual album. Other than Hand In Glove, unless you could track down and then afford each 45 this is the only way you could hear these songs in the US.
[First added to this chart: 11/16/2009]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,285
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Available from
Perhaps it has lost some of its original punch than when it came out in 1989, but I still think this cd is fabulous. It is one of the few albums I remember just being completely floored by and playing over and over again for weeks on end. There really was nothing sounding remotely like it back in '89 (in the states at least).
[First added to this chart: 11/16/2009]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
21,842
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No wordsmith so just giving opinions off the top of my head about albums. If you have any interest scrolling further through this list you'll find I'm a big Replacements fan. Through their (awesome) song, "Alex Chilton", Big Star's lead singer, I decided to give their cds a try and couldn't believe how I missed this band for so long. Their first is their most consistent. Not a bad song in the bunch. Ofter associated with Power Pop, but I really don't see that. They seem to me a classic 70s band taking their British Invasion love and reinterpreting it in exciting ways.
[First added to this chart: 11/16/2009]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,697
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Available from
Hard to pick a favorite from the Pixies, but here's your winner in my humble opinion. So many of their best songs (or anyone's) on this one. Debaser, Wave of Mutilation, Here Comes Your Man, La La Love You, Hey to name a few. Kim Deal's unique voice is what gets me and she is a big part of this album's success, but everything works on this one.
[First added to this chart: 11/16/2009]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
29,781
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Double albums when pulled off succesfully always rank higher for me. Again, not a song on here I do not either like a lot or are my favorites from possibly the best band ever.
[First added to this chart: 06/10/2011]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11,564
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Another artist with so many fantastic albums to choose from. This one makes it to the top since, again, a flawless double album and is at the peak of my favorite Prince era - the mid to late 80s. Shows all aspects of Prince's sound - dance, pop, funk, metal and soul all mixed together perfectly.
[First added to this chart: 11/16/2009]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,435
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Available from
They were excellent throughout their whole career. Every one of their releases in my favs (well, Get Behind Me Satan was a bit off the mark). They somehow found a new way to make the Blues new and refreshing after 100s of band in the seventies reinterpretations.
[First added to this chart: 11/16/2009]
Year of Release:
2000
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Rank Score:
1,702
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8. (=)
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Love Kyuss and this one is their closest to the sound, but transforms it into something new at the same time. Quite the groove album.
[First added to this chart: 10/02/2011]
Year of Release:
1998
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,230
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Every IRS album is a masterpiece. Each Warner Bros album gets worse and worse. I know this is a very unpopular sentiment. but I think by the time they became superstars with Automatic for the People they were no longer R.E.M., but Michael Stipe with R.E.M. Every album after it seemed like variations of Automatic. This one is one of the albums I never get tired of no matter how many, many times I've played it over the decades. Classic R.E.M. IRS era to me.
[First added to this chart: 06/02/2012]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,161
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Even today this album is still fresh and the purest rock (not just punk) record ever. Was a kid when they came out. Lived in the US suburbs, so never heard an actual song of course - just heard about their antics. Was interested in discovering what the hub bub was all about when I was finally able to track down the cassette. Wasn't expecting much really, but geez louise this one I loved for evermore the moment I first got to listen to it.
[First added to this chart: 11/16/2009]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,289
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Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 2 | 2% | |
| 1960s | 6 | 6% | |
| 1970s | 31 | 31% | |
| 1980s | 36 | 36% | |
| 1990s | 14 | 14% | |
| 2000s | 6 | 6% | |
| 2010s | 2 | 2% | |
| 2020s | 3 | 3% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Rolling Stones | 4 | 4% | |
| Van Halen | 3 | 3% | |
| Led Zeppelin | 3 | 3% | |
| R.E.M. | 3 | 3% | |
| The Smiths | 3 | 3% | |
| The Kinks | 3 | 3% | |
| The Black Keys | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
49 | 49% | |
 |
38 | 38% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
Up 1 from 98th to 97th |
Up 1 from 97th to 96th |
Up 1 from 96th to 95th |
| Leavers |
|---|
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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 3 ratings for this chart. | Show all 78 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 08/27/2026 03:38 |  Repo | 592 | 100/100 |
| ! | 01/20/2026 12:07 | BorderFreeAndrew | 118 | 82/100 |
| ! | 01/20/2026 10:03 |  MadhattanJack | 356 | 86/100 |
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 has a Bayesian average rating of 84.5/100, a mean average of 83.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 84.3/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 12.1.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums forum mentions
This chart has been referenced 14 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From 
BestEverAlbums 01/20/2026 09:00 in Chart of the day (#5198): By microjude
BestEverAlbums 01/20/2026 09:00 in Chart of the day (#5198): By microjude“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by ) 1. Louder Than Bombs by The Smiths (1987) 2. The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses (1989) 3. #1 Record by Big Star (1972) 4. Doolittle by Pixies (1989) 5. Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin (1975) 6. Sign "O" The Times by Prince (1987) 7. De…”
View forum post →From BestEverAlbums 07/11/2024 08:00 in Chart of the day (#4642): By microjude
BestEverAlbums 07/11/2024 08:00 in Chart of the day (#4642): By microjude“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by microjude () 1. Louder Than Bombs by The Smiths (1987) 2. The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses (1989) 3. #1 Record by Big Star (1972) 4. Doolittle by Pixies (1989) 5. Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin (1975) 6. Sign 'O' The Times by Prince…”
View forum post →From BestEverAlbums 09/16/2022 08:00 in Chart of the day (#3979): By microjude
BestEverAlbums 09/16/2022 08:00 in Chart of the day (#3979): By microjude“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by microjude () 1. Louder Than Bombs by The Smiths (1987) 2. The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses (1989) 3. #1 Record by Big Star (1972) 4. Doolittle by Pixies (1989) 5. Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin (1975) 6. Sign 'O' The Times by Prince…”
View forum post →Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From
Detroit Rock Citizen 08/20/2009 09:29 | #5781
Detroit Rock Citizen 08/20/2009 09:29 | #5781
I was being sarcastic about the jazz, dude. Too many people here overrate it.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 3
From
Detroit Rock Citizen 05/16/2009 20:06 | #4293
Detroit Rock Citizen 05/16/2009 20:06 | #4293
Kudos on the inclusion of the KISS debut album. Clearly an inspired choice. However you won't make any friends here if you don't include any jazz although the Smiths and Buckley fils might placate some.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2
From
The Gollux 07/25/2009 09:13 | #5338
The Gollux 07/25/2009 09:13 | #5338
nice to see "de stijl" on a list. probably the most underrated of the white stripes albums.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2
From
louisjwyatt TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/29/2015 20:02 | #150699
louisjwyatt TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/29/2015 20:02 | #150699
Awesome chart! Like many, I don't typically condone putting compilations in a chart, but Louder Than Bombs is definitely one of those exceptions. Also really interesting seeing Van Halen in here, though I'm not a fan of them. Definitely a thematic chart, though it is wonderfully diverse.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 1
From
btener11 04/12/2013 18:50 | #72679
btener11 04/12/2013 18:50 | #72679
major props for uo's saturation... and get happy!, doppelganger, and glass houses. nice. also, i love louder than bombs. i don't include compilations of any kind so it is not on my chart, but it would be top 10.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 1
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