Ranking the years in music ~ 1960-2024
by Moondance 
Work in progress~~~
In this chart I have ranked each year between 1960 - 2024 based on my assessment of the overall quality of albums released in each of those 65 years.
Each year will be represented by my #1 album for the relevant year.
Not surprisingly, my lifetime interest in the songwriting talent of Bob Dylan will be highlighted in this chart - for most years that Dylan released a studio album of original songs was always filled with great expectation for me - and he has released over 40 such albums between 1962 - 2021.
- Chart updated: 11/14/2025 04:45
- (Created: 12/27/2022 22:22).
- Chart size: 51 albums.
There is 1 comment for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Ranking the years in music ~ 1960-2024 has an average rating of 87 out of 100 (from 1 vote). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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1970 ~ my favourite year in music; with X albums featuring in my greatest 100 of all time.
[First added to this chart: 12/27/2022]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,746
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1971 ~ my second favourite year of music (just pipped out by 1970); with 10 albums from this year included in my greatest 100 chart - this is more than any other year, but the quality of albums outside of the top 20 or so dwindled in quality much quicker than in 1970
[First added to this chart: 12/27/2022]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
38,592
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1973
[First added to this chart: 12/27/2022]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
59,966
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1972 ~ with 4 albums from this year featuring in my greatest 100 chart
[First added to this chart: 01/01/2023]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,420
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1975 ~ this year has 2 of my highest ranking albums of all time - Dylan's 'Blood On The Tracks' & Springsteen's 'Born To Run'. I was very blessed to be able to 'be there' when these classics (for me) dropped into the music scene.
[First added to this chart: 01/02/2023]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,786
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1978 ~
[First added to this chart: 01/04/2023]
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
647
Rank in 1978:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1974 ~
[First added to this chart: 01/02/2023]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,732
Rank in 1974:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1976 ~
[First added to this chart: 01/02/2023]
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
760
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1977~
[First added to this chart: 01/03/2023]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1979 ~ the lowest ranking year of the 70's - despite that, the year ranks higher than any other years outside of the 70's.
[First added to this chart: 01/04/2023]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
495
Rank in 1979:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 51. Page 1 of 6
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Ranking the years in music ~ 1960-2024 composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 10 | 20% | |
| 1970s | 10 | 20% | |
| 1980s | 10 | 20% | |
| 1990s | 10 | 20% | |
| 2000s | 10 | 20% | |
| 2010s | 1 | 2% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Bob Dylan | 12 | 24% | |
| Moby | 2 | 4% | |
| Dire Straits | 2 | 4% | |
| Richard Thompson | 2 | 4% | |
| The Living End | 2 | 4% | |
| Cherry Ghost | 2 | 4% | |
| David Bowie | 1 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Ranking the years in music ~ 1960-2024 chart changes
| New entries |
|---|
| Short Note by Matt Finish |
| Leavers |
|---|
| Dare by The Human League |
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Other custom charts by Moondance
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970's: albums 101 - 200 | Moondance | Custom chart | 2023 | |
| Dylan albums rated | Moondance | Custom chart | 2023 | |
| 1980's: albums 101 - 200 | Moondance | Custom chart | 2025 | |
Ranking the years in music ~ 1960-2024 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.
N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing all 1 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 04/02/2023 14:34 | matterhornrider | 97 | 93/100 |
Ranking the years in music ~ 1960-2024 favourites
Ranking the years in music ~ 1960-2024 comments
Showing all 1 comments |
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From matterhornrider 04/02/2023 14:34 | #295699
Great idea for a chart, many of my favorites here and the 1970s was clearly the best decade for Albums.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
| Best Ever Artists | |
|---|---|
| 1. The Beatles | |
| 2. Radiohead | |
| 3. Pink Floyd | |
| 4. David Bowie | |
| 5. Bob Dylan | |
| 6. Led Zeppelin | |
| 7. The Rolling Stones | |
| 8. Arcade Fire | |
| 9. Nirvana | |
| 10. Neil Young | |
| 11. The Velvet Underground | |
| 12. Kendrick Lamar | |
| 13. Miles Davis | |
| 14. The Smiths | |
| 15. The Beach Boys | |
| 16. R.E.M. | |
| 17. Kanye West | |
| 18. Pixies | |
| 19. Bruce Springsteen | |
| 20. Jimi Hendrix |
