Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by RupertRonco 
One album per artist.
Ranking my top 100, even worse, THE greatest 100 albums of all time is hopelessly futile. The word "greatest" opens a Pandora's box of ambiguity by itself. So....
I tried to define greatest as: most influential, most groundbreaking, or best quality music from a writing and musicianship standpoint. The majority of these selections fit the aforementioned criteria, with the exception of some albums I just happen to like so much, I cannot exclude them from the list. It will remain a work in progress.
Standard selections at the end. I don't like that many of the lists are so similar, but it would be blasphemous for me to not mention them among my top 100.
- Chart updated: 07/19/2013 08:32
- (Created: 09/18/2012 09:17).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 27 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 82 out of 100 (from 33 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
The entries in this chart have a zero rank score because the chart has not been updated within the last ten years (points from overall charts are decayed over a ten year period).
View the complete list of 58,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
[First added to this chart: 09/18/2012]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
42,390
Rank in 1967:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 09/18/2012]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
27,777
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 09/18/2012]
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
21,660
Rank in 1959:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 09/18/2012]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,455
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 09/18/2012]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
43,987
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 09/18/2012]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,085
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 09/18/2012]
Year of Release:
2002
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,194
Rank in 2002:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 09/18/2012]
Year of Release:
2001
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,283
Rank in 2001:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 09/18/2012]
[First added to this chart: 09/18/2012]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,000
Rank in 1992:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 1 | 1% | |
| 1960s | 10 | 10% | |
| 1970s | 22 | 22% | |
| 1980s | 6 | 6% | |
| 1990s | 17 | 17% | |
| 2000s | 39 | 39% | |
| 2010s | 5 | 5% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Genesis | 1 | 1% | |
| Elliott Smith | 1 | 1% | |
| Threshold | 1 | 1% | |
| Queen | 1 | 1% | |
| Van Der Graaf Generator | 1 | 1% | |
| Transatlantic | 1 | 1% | |
| Kamelot | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
44 | 44% | |
 |
34 | 34% | |
 |
7 | 7% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| New entries |
|---|
| Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles |
| Leavers |
|---|
| Revolver by The Beatles |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Ever Prog Rock |  btener11 | Custom chart | 2013 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | Manso | Overall chart | 2020 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  1234567890 | Overall chart | 2011 |  |
| BEA 100 (One Album per Artist) |  BozoTyrannus | Custom chart | 2020 |  |
| If The BEA Overall Chart Had A One Album Per Artist Rule... |  Romanelli | Custom chart | 2025 | |
| Best Albums(1 Per Artist) | dougcummings | Custom chart | 2022 | |
| Top 99 Greatest Music Albums | encyclopediag | Overall chart | 2017 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  RFNAPLES | Overall chart | 2013 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | LightRay | Overall chart | 2015 |  |
| Top 90.3 Listener Voted Albums | KEXP | Overall chart | 2008 | |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!
Why register?
- Join a passionate community of over 50,000 music fans.
- Create & share your own charts.
- Have your say in the overall rankings.
- Post comments in the forums and vote on polls.
- Comment on or rate any album, artist, track or chart.
- Discover new music & improve your music collection.
- Customise the overall chart using a variety of different filters & metrics.
- Create a wishlist of albums.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- ... And lots more!
Register now - it only takes a moment!
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 33 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/20/2022 12:36 |  Larcx13 | 1,138 | 86/100 | |
| 07/03/2021 11:55 |  Goliath | 350 | 86/100 | |
| 07/18/2020 14:20 | bonnequestion | 37 | 98/100 | |
| 12/25/2018 20:03 | NSPE | 349 | 77/100 | |
| 12/10/2017 12:27 |  DommeDamian | 1,002 | 89/100 |
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 82.4/100, a mean average of 78.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 81.3/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 19.9.
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
Showing all 3 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 27 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
From TheKing 08/24/2024 12:18 | #304918
Come back and update this chart please! It rules :)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Larcx13 12/20/2022 12:36 | #292086
Larcx13 12/20/2022 12:36 | #292086
seriously?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From BraddlesHendo 11/21/2014 15:53 | #127626
Your chart has some real attitude great I get a bit bored with people picking the obvious classics But every list needs some
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From pannkakesangen 07/18/2014 18:58 | #117011
yawn
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 
Kaiser 10/22/2013 22:49 | #88924
Kaiser 10/22/2013 22:49 | #88924
Awesome progressive and original chart, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Rush, Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree... My only disappointed is with Bowie and Sabbath positions, too low, but in general we have the same tastes. I will listen to some recommendations. Thx and congrats.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From mcgaff96 10/12/2013 15:40 | #88291
Top 5 is decent, but the rest is just wrong. The reason the albums are standard is because they are obviously popular for a reason, and should not be ranked lowly because they are common.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 
sssvnnn 10/01/2013 07:00 | #87306
sssvnnn 10/01/2013 07:00 | #87306
Very good progressive rock Chart.
Nice idea to quickly accumulate the classical albums on the last 1o positions.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From chris lancaster 09/29/2013 10:20 | #87151
An awesome, intelligent list.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From daftpunter 07/04/2013 06:10 | #80416
Not familiar with 1/2 the list, more so with the 2nd half. I don't care about he list but more so why some of these albums I've never heard are must listens. Hopefully you'll expand to comment on 'em. Love the variety.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From RupertRonco 06/23/2013 00:11 | #79657
Original content, not original context. It was in reference to you copying material and pitching it as your own.
I appreciate the feedback. It's well articulated and adds great depth to this conversation.
Music is to be shared and enjoyed, it's here to make our lives better. Your bitterness is neither well founded, nor appreciated.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Your feedback for Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.
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.
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.
