Top 500 Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (2003) 
Rolling Stone is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California. These are their best albums of all time. Rolling Stone is an American magazine devoted to music and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco in 1967. In 2003, Rolling Stone published an article describing what it considered to be the top 500 music albums of all time.
(Official website: www.rollingstone.com)
There are 64 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 500 Albums of All Time has an average rating of 66 out of 100 (from 151 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
There is a more recent chart by Rolling Stone in which rank scores have been awarded - The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (2020) .
View the complete list of 51,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
53,696
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Comments:
478
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
46,797
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Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
58,945
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Year of Release:
1965
Appears in:
Rank Score:
32,302
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Year of Release:
1965
Appears in:
Rank Score:
31,575
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Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,303
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Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
23,512
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Year of Release:
1979
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Rank Score:
37,989
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Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
28,473
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Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
44,581
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Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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Top 500 Albums of All Time composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 4 | 4% | |
| 1960s | 37 | 37% | |
| 1970s | 42 | 42% | |
| 1980s | 11 | 11% | |
| 1990s | 5 | 5% | |
| 2000s | 1 | 1% | |
| 2010s | 0 | 0% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| The Beatles | 8 | 8% | |
| Bob Dylan | 5 | 5% | |
| Led Zeppelin | 4 | 4% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 4 | 4% | |
| The Jimi Hendrix Experience | 3 | 3% | |
| Stevie Wonder | 3 | 3% | |
| U2 | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
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Other all time overall charts
- Top 100 Albums by ABC (published 2006)
- The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by Absolute Radio (published 2012)
- Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Channel 4 (published 2005)
- The 100 Greatest Rock Albums Of All Time by Classic Rock (published 2001)
- The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Consequence of Sound (published 2022)
- Top 100 Albums Ever by Consequence of Sound (published 2010)
- The 100 All-Time Greatest Albums by Entertainment Weekly (published 2013)
- The Guardian 100 Best Albums Ever by The Guardian (published 1997)
- Greatest 100 Albums of All Time by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME
(published 2006)
- Greatest Albums Of All Time by Hartbeat! (published 1996)
- Top 90.3 Listener Voted Albums by KEXP (published 2008)
- Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Melody Maker (published 2000)
- 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Mojo (published 1995)
- Mojo Readers: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made by Mojo (published 1996)
- Die 20 besten Alben der Geschichte by Musikexpress.de (published 2011)
- The Definitive 200 by National Association of Recording Merchandisers (published 2007)
- NME's Best Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (published 1985)
- NME Readers' All-Time Top 100 Albums by New Music Express (published 1988)
- The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (published 2013)
- New Musical Express Writers Top 100 Albums by New Music Express (published 1993)
- NME 's 100 Best Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (published 2003)
- 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (published 2003)
- Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Q (published 1997)
- 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (published 2006)
- Die 100 besten Alben der Musikgeschichte by radioeins (published 2019)
- The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (published 2020)
- Top 500 Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (published 2012)
- Top 500 Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (published 2003)
- Top 500 Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (published 2005)
- Die besten Alben aller Zeiten by Rolling Stone Deutschland (published 2004)
- Top 100 Albums by Rolling Stone Deutschland (published 1997)
- Os 100 Melhores Discos de Todos Os Tempos by Sinewave (published 2012)
- The Top 50 Albums of All Time by Sound & Vision Magazine (published 2010)
- 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by The Sound (published 2018)
- All Time Top 100 Albums by Sounds (UK) (published 1985)
- Die 100 Alben des Jahrhunderts by Spex (published 2000)
- The Greatest Rock Albums by uDiscoverMusic (published 2015)
- 200 Greatest Albums of All Time by Uncut (published 2016)
- The Top 100 Albums by VH1 (published 2001)
- Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (published 1998)
- Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (published 2000)
- Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (published 1994)
- Die 100 besten Platten des Jahrhunderts by Wiener (published 1999)
- Albums of the Century by ZigZag (published 1975)
- Best Album Ever by ZigZag (published 1971)
Other charts by Rolling Stone
Year charts
- The 100 Best Albums of 2023 by Rolling Stone (2023 year chart)
- Top 100 Music Albums of 2022 by Rolling Stone (2022 year chart)
- The 50 Best Albums of 2021 by Rolling Stone (2021 year chart)
- The 50 Best Albums of 2020 by Rolling Stone (2020 year chart)
- 50 Best Albums of 2019 by Rolling Stone (2019 year chart)
- 50 Best Albums of 2018 by Rolling Stone (2018 year chart)
- 50 Best Albums of 2017 by Rolling Stone (2017 year chart)
- 50 Best Albums of 2016 by Rolling Stone (2016 year chart)
- 50 Best Albums of 2015 by Rolling Stone (2015 year chart)
- 50 Best Albums of 2014 by Rolling Stone (2014 year chart)
- Best Albums of 2006 by Rolling Stone (2006 year chart)
- Best Albums of 2005 by Rolling Stone (2005 year chart)
Decade charts
- 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Rolling Stone (2010s decade chart) (published 2019)
- 100 Best Albums of the 2000s by Rolling Stone (2000s decade chart) (published 2011)
- 100 Best Albums of the Nineties by Rolling Stone (1990s decade chart) (published 2010)
- 100 Best Albums of the Eighties by Rolling Stone (1980s decade chart) (published 1989)
Overall charts
- Top 500 Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (published 2003)
- Top 500 Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (published 2005)
- Top 500 Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (published 2012)
- The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (published 2020)
[Rolling Stone was founded in 1967.]
Top 500 Albums of All Time ratings
66/100 (from 151 votes)
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.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 151 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
100/100  | 05/20/2022 22:12 | DiegoB50 | | 96/100 |
70/100 | 08/27/2021 16:07 |  Goliath | | 86/100 |
25/100 | 08/16/2021 03:01 | YuGiOh2004 | | 25/100 |
95/100 | 06/04/2021 01:49 |  Skroskznik | | 92/100 |
60/100 | 04/20/2021 12:53 | Guigou | | 76/100 |
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 66.1/100, a mean average of 64.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 64.9/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 23.8.
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Top 500 Albums of All Time favourites
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Top 500 Albums of All Time comments
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70/100
From Goliath 08/27/2021 16:18
Goliath 08/27/2021 16:18
Considerably better than Rolling Stone's latest effort, 23 in common with my top 100. As usual, random compilations ruin the list, got to get Elvis, Chuck Berry etc in there it seems, great singles artists, but could only produce mediocre albums, so should not be here. Works as a greatest artist list maybe. So no, not 'complete and utter garbage' but not the great list you would expect from a publication which thinks it knows all about music either.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
25/100
From YuGiOh2004 08/16/2021 03:01
Has Rolling Stone EVER made a list that WASN'T COMPLETE UTTER GARBAGE???
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
60/100
From Guigou 04/20/2021 12:53
4 beatles dans le top 10? C'est pas un peu trop ?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
65/100
From Dimitritov 01/15/2018 19:01
Good music but save choices. I listened to all the albums on the chart and it helped me to appreciate some well known artist (Beatles and Bob Dylan) and to discover some new stuff. One thing that I don't understand is that there are so many compilations on this chart.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
60/100
From Azkushang 10/13/2015 00:34
Dark Side of the Moon 43, too low. Wheres "In the court of the crimson King" Rolling Stone magazine?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From LSquared 03/12/2015 18:50
Quibble all you want about the make-up, but this is an accurate reflection of the Rolling Stone list. Just a shame that it is capped at 100 entries.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
10/100
From 
makerofbuckets 03/07/2015 03:43
makerofbuckets 03/07/2015 03:43
Over 10 compilations? Really?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From bribri56 11/17/2014 04:02
Great reflection of the readership of RS magazine in the early 00s. We're mostly middle-aged now (some older). This list is OUR list, and the 20-somethings and 30-somethings who have time out from their studies or MacJobs to write crap about classic rock and R&B based lists should go back to their dorms or apts and listen to Radiohead till their ears bleed.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (1 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
From Alexruss 05/29/2014 13:54
where is the rest? can anybody link me the rest 400 Albums? i can not go farther than 100.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From 
tgarritsen 12/17/2013 02:16
tgarritsen 12/17/2013 02:16
Misses albums past 2003 ofcourse, so not as great as their more uptodate list.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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