Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by 
sageamagoo 
Hey you—make more time for music in your life! It is a great gift of our universe that we have ready access to all the audio art in history. Take advantage of the internet, it's all out there: leagues of fine specimens just waiting for you to discover.
I spend every day exploring our planet's music. Here, I've boiled down 3500 albums from all corners of the world into 100 perfect records I couldn't live without.
Albums that it killed me to remove from this chart (to bring it down to 2 albums per artist):
Cardiacs - On Land and In The Sea + Guns + Pony (basically a Cardiacs album)
NoMeansNo - Wrong + The Worldhood of the World (As Such)
The Residents - Intermission + Animal Lover
Mr. Bungle - California
Björk - Homogenic
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Follow me on Rate Your Music: https://rateyourmusic.com/~sageamagoo and write something cool for me to listen to in the comments below!
- Chart updated: 12/10/2025 17:45
- (Created: 10/29/2012 20:32).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 103 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 143 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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When this album dropped, I knew finally someone was listening to the music of my generation, and stepping up the game. Melding Radiohead with Silverchair, The Dismemberment Plan with Voivod, Between the Buried and Me with Animal Collective, it took growing up with this music to craft such a finely honed, otherworldly genre blend. Flows through thousands of beautiful moments, forever changing, this does what Magma did melding together the sounds of their time with the same uncompromising artistry. Not to mention it's up to date with the sound of the 2020's, this fills the shoes left by all this world's most jaw-dropping progressive music.
[First added to this chart: 06/18/2024]
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An epic tome of mighty heroes on an absurdist quest where work and play, worry and wonder intertwine. Every sound swirls like ancient magic, quantum particles in bizarre flux, screaming thoughts in a world that demands your attention. Every wrong note is placed just right in this bizarre and complex reality of conflicting impulses and overlapping desires. A profound creation that sets free my deepest soul, I live in awe of Sing To God.
[First added to this chart: 09/14/2015]
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The progenitor. April 1970, France.
Magma were paying attention to the burgeoning musical revolution happening in jazz and popular music, including the Canterbury Scene. Zappa, Soft Machine, and King Crimson broke the ice for new musical possibilities, and from another direction Miles, Chick, John, Joe, Bennie, Wayne, Jack, Lenny and Dave had just created brand-new sounds with Jazz Fusion. But Magma did what no one ever dreamed possible before.
Magma's debut is the most daring, forward-thinking album of 1970. It's the final form of the evolution experimental music took from all these influences into fine art of the highest order. It is the first landmark album of this style for how it fuses these sounds with aspects of modern classical and is completely brilliant over 4 epic sides. This album was the bleeding edge of novel music that immediately preceeded the advancements Faust, Can, Gong and more in 1971.
Magma led the way to the outer bounds of our imagination at the most crucial year in music history. The story of Kobians fleeing the tyranny of their home planet only to instate fascism on the planet they invade speaks volumes about horrors humanity has only begun to experience without one word being spoken in a discernable language (naturally it's all in Kobian).
Here in 1970 was the first pioneering use of heavy technical complexity that inspired King Crimson's Larks' Tongues in Aspic, at the very cusp of the birth of metal itself.
Magma had an ear to the ground on so many fronts and with complete artistic integrity and full use of the studio crafted this groundbreaking mindmelting piece of audio history and pointed the way for decades of music to come. [First added to this chart: 10/09/2023]
Magma were paying attention to the burgeoning musical revolution happening in jazz and popular music, including the Canterbury Scene. Zappa, Soft Machine, and King Crimson broke the ice for new musical possibilities, and from another direction Miles, Chick, John, Joe, Bennie, Wayne, Jack, Lenny and Dave had just created brand-new sounds with Jazz Fusion. But Magma did what no one ever dreamed possible before.
Magma's debut is the most daring, forward-thinking album of 1970. It's the final form of the evolution experimental music took from all these influences into fine art of the highest order. It is the first landmark album of this style for how it fuses these sounds with aspects of modern classical and is completely brilliant over 4 epic sides. This album was the bleeding edge of novel music that immediately preceeded the advancements Faust, Can, Gong and more in 1971.
Magma led the way to the outer bounds of our imagination at the most crucial year in music history. The story of Kobians fleeing the tyranny of their home planet only to instate fascism on the planet they invade speaks volumes about horrors humanity has only begun to experience without one word being spoken in a discernable language (naturally it's all in Kobian).
Here in 1970 was the first pioneering use of heavy technical complexity that inspired King Crimson's Larks' Tongues in Aspic, at the very cusp of the birth of metal itself.
Magma had an ear to the ground on so many fronts and with complete artistic integrity and full use of the studio crafted this groundbreaking mindmelting piece of audio history and pointed the way for decades of music to come. [First added to this chart: 10/09/2023]
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Fantastic, demented, groovy cartoon jams. Consciousness twists and warps around colourful tunnels at breakneck speed. Boatloads of singalong hooks, insane morphing electronics, maximum-vibe stand-up bass riffs, and drum-and-bass rhythms carry life's essense through every bend and turn, an eclectic trip of true cosmic proportions.
[First added to this chart: 03/20/2013]
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Plastic Beach - "it's like wonderland." An impossible spectacle of gigantic synths, layers of waves all pulsing with the dance beat of the century. An ode to the unstoppable excess of mass consumption and desolation of the modern spirit.
[First added to this chart: 10/31/2012]
Year of Release:
2010
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,115
Rank in 2010:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Playful psych pop with crazy chord changes. Sarah plays chamber instruments, her pal Dominic plays drums, Mark plays acoustic & electric guitar, and Sharron commands the cosmos with her strong vocal presence. From the soft croon of My Shoulder Ride, to the atonal bellows in Hearty Connection, to a performance that reaches beyond the stars in the epic Memphis In Texas, Shrubbies dream bigger and go further than almost anyone.
With this many twists and turns, Memphis in Texas is a joyride of unconventionality with strange melodies that flower with time. [First added to this chart: 08/29/2021]
With this many twists and turns, Memphis in Texas is a joyride of unconventionality with strange melodies that flower with time. [First added to this chart: 08/29/2021]
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Take it from these gnomes: you've got to tune in to the vibes of the planet! Playful pixies use their jazz chops to invent intelligent pop music with the finesse and confidence to go anywhere and they do. A spectacular, mesmerizing journey through the cosmos.
[First added to this chart: 08/29/2021]
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A spellbinding enigmatic mystery, at once abstract and wonderous, exploring the simultaneity of comfort and dark unease. Immensely captivating, the sprawling nature of its beauty can hold you for eternity in its grand spell.
[First added to this chart: 06/18/2024]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,175
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Joni's most touching, profound lyricism drifts on winds of fluid currents with the freedom of pure expression. This form of jazz fusion profoundly conjures the natural world and follows each of Joni's whims to its most artistic conclusion in intense layers of rhyme and metaphor.
[First added to this chart: 01/15/2024]
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,840
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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The beam of a searchlight finds a crushed soul lost in the pit of its own darkness. Through the blinding force of love and sheer strength of will all effort is expended to turn this soul back around. To hold up a light, and reclaim a glimmer of hope in our messy existence for someone who's lost to see.
The look on your face tells me everything - it's your link to the world. The Soft Bulletin is a constant display of your innermost thoughts for anyone looking to notice. [First added to this chart: 10/29/2012]
The look on your face tells me everything - it's your link to the world. The Soft Bulletin is a constant display of your innermost thoughts for anyone looking to notice. [First added to this chart: 10/29/2012]
Year of Release:
1999
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,932
Rank in 1999:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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 | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 3 | 3% | |
| 1970s | 24 | 24% | |
| 1980s | 13 | 13% | |
| 1990s | 27 | 27% | |
| 2000s | 17 | 17% | |
| 2010s | 8 | 8% | |
| 2020s | 8 | 8% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| NoMeansNo | 2 | 2% | |
| Björk | 2 | 2% | |
| Cardiacs | 2 | 2% | |
| Madonna | 2 | 2% | |
| Robovine | 2 | 2% | |
| Modest Mouse | 2 | 2% | |
| Can | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
49 | 49% | |
 |
30 | 30% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
| |
4 | 4% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 19 from 80th to 61st Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout |
| Up 16 from 56th to 40th Imaginal Disk by Magdalena Bay |
| Up 11 from 73rd to 62nd Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 22 from 68th to 90th Rong Weicknes by Fievel Is Glauque |
| Down 18 from 38th to 56th L'œuvre Musicale by Pierre Schaeffer |
| Down 16 from 60th to 76th John Zorn's Bagatelles by John Zorn |
| Leavers |
|---|
| Techdog 7 by Patricia Taxxon |
| Reves / Yosoy by Café Tacvba |
| Draft 7.30 by Autechre |
| Soaring by Don Ellis |
| Images Of Sigrid by Poni Hoax |
| Turn On The Bright Lights by Interpol |
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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 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 143 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 06/06/2025 17:48 |  Tamthebam | 645 | 85/100 |
| ! | 01/29/2025 12:41 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,104 | 85/100 |
| ! | 01/15/2025 17:18 | Exist-en-ciel | 144 | 98/100 |
| ! | 12/11/2024 14:49 | DrewHamster | 317 | 79/100 |
| ! | 11/06/2024 00:42 |  Repo | 561 | 100/100 |
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 is rated in the top 3% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.9/100, a mean average of 90.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.2/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 10.7.
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 103 comments |
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(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
From Repo 11/06/2024 21:45 | #305913
Repo 11/06/2024 21:45 | #305913
Thanks for such a great comment! Really made my day! :)
I've got a bunch of punk & metal charts for different years that I'm always working on. Here's my metal chart for 1982 as an example...
https://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=68314
... if you feel like diving further! \m/
There's also my blog ...
https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=713071#713071
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Repo 11/06/2024 00:43 | #305898
Repo 11/06/2024 00:43 | #305898
Soul Coughing in the top 10! Love it! And yeah Plastic Death is oneof the best albums of the year!!!
Great write-ups & just a fantastic chart!!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Cargusbralem 11/05/2024 16:21 | #305892
Cargusbralem 11/05/2024 16:21 | #305892
Awesome chart, the music passion is so evident.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From mianfei 11/21/2023 10:02 | #300088
This is one of the more impressive charts I have seen, although mostly completely different from my own. The write-ups are quite decent, and the chart is quite diverse although I would say there is — for an overall chart — a little too much focus on a few artists.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From sageamagoo 11/15/2023 00:00 | #299987
sageamagoo 11/15/2023 00:00 | #299987
I always appreciate recommendations! They're all fantastic albums :) I have Third & Flying Teapot on vinyl
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
DommeDamian 11/14/2023 09:27 | #299974
DommeDamian 11/14/2023 09:27 | #299974
Fantastic chart all around. For a proggy person I recommend to you:
Soft Machine - I, Third
Gong - Flying Teapot
Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From leniad 03/21/2022 06:06 | #283145
liked this chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From weyesgroove 03/16/2021 17:47 | #267414
I really like this chart. thoughts on zaireeka ?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From bonnequestion 06/27/2020 15:00 | #254607
I rarely rate other's people charts because I think it is kind of weird to judge people's taste. However, I don't hesitate to highly rate a chart such as this one, not because I agree with all of its choices, but because it is perfectly made.
This chart represent everything I'd like all charts to be: it is very personal, full of picks that are more obscure (I hate charts that look just like a reorganisation of the top-100 of this website) and there are tons of interesting comments explaining the choices. Good job!
As for the picks, I really like the inclusion of two Flaming Lips albums that are too often ignored: At War With The Mystics and Clouds Taste Metallic. Two wonderful albums by one of the greatest band of the last 30 years. Also, I'm glad to see Surf's Up here, what an underrated album! Crocodiles by Echo & The Bunnymen is another choice I really like. Not the typical E&TB we see on most chart, but I agree it's one of, if not their best. And what about See You On The Other Side by Mercury Rev! Bold choice, I like that you included this gem in here.
Your chart also convinced me to look into two bands I still haven't listened to enough : Gorillaz and NoMeansNo. Thanks and keep up your good work!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From pctrooper 05/10/2020 01:35 | #251160
Update: I love Prefab Sprout now
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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