Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by 
neilgee 
- Chart updated: 02/15/2024 20:15
- (Created: 11/09/2012 13:46).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 22 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 86 out of 100 (from 47 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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What to say about this album apart from it's an absolute gem? The only thing I can think of doing is retrieving my comments on the individual tracks one by one to give some idea of why I love it so.
One of the classic opening tracks of all time for me. It works perfectly. It's the best of his imput to Genesis meets the best of Peter the solo artist. I always thought this could have been a double a-side with Solisbury Hill.
Track 2 continues where Moribund leaves off, magical music. The first 3 tracks on this album hit heights never seen on one album for me.
Track 3: Just superb, classy rock n roll. Hard to comprehend that this wasn't a hit in it's own right as the follow up to Solisbury Hill.
4: I love it, I think it's interesting and inspired, it breaks all the rules, Gabriel's vocals never grate but they are great (Groan). It starts out like A Capella but almost develops into a rock ballad and the lyrics on this album are simply unsurpassed by any other album he's recorded. Terrific stuff!
5: After the pounding of Modern Love and the exquisite strangeness of Excuse Me, Humdrum is where Gabriel's ability to create an atmosphere in music comes to the fore.
I ride tandem with a random
Things don't run the way I planned them
In the humdrum
he sings with that faux ennui, and then the lilting, undercutting chorus before the song begins to build and build like a symphony towards it's climax. This is extraordinary stuff. Love it.
6: We're character actors from the Tower of Babel
Bewildered, burned out, hardly able
To sit astride the high wire cable
It's hard to balance, a little unstable.
sings PG in this beguiling start to the second side of the album, this song changes pace 3 times in the first 3 verses and held me mesmerised when I first turned my vinyl copy of this over in 1977.
Dont get me wrong, I'll be strong
When the slow burn sunset come along
goes the powerful chorus, one that I'm sure many teenagers identified with at the time and since as PG creates an atmosphere of pure pathos. God, I love this stuff!
7: The wine's all drunk and so am I
slurs PG against a background of a tinkling bar-room piano in another perfect example of atmosphere in song. Waiting for the Big One. If the album was going to have a weak link it may be this one - it is rated as the 'weak' track by one Gabriel biographer but i love it because this song is superb and just adds to the spellbinding nature of this album. If that's the weakest track then no wonder this is my favourite album of all time!
8: An uplifting rock rhythm after the inebriated atmosphere of Waiting For the Big One but it's contrasted with the dark lyrics:-
And the sea is whipping up a welcome
If hell come we're all easy prey,
Trying to find a way
to make it alive"
and the repeated despairing refrain of 'You guys are crazy!' yet there's something shiningly optimistic in the music that defies the lyrics. A supreme example of a contrast/contradiction that works and all part and parcel (one part in nine equal parts) that makes up the most perfect album of all time, for me.
9: The superb show closer on the best album of all time, Flood builds slowly to a thundering chorus reminscent of crashing waves and ends with PG's plaintive:
Drink up, dreamers, you're running dry.
before that magnificient chorus breaks over us and ends the perfect album, God this is lovely stuff, writing about it makes me want to go and put it on right now!
As you can see I rather like PG's lyrics on this album, but the band is so tight too that finally here's a list of the personnel who played on it:
Peter Gabriel – vocals, keyboards, flute, recorder
Allan Schwartzberg – drums
Tony Levin – bass, tuba, leader of the Barbershop Quartet
Jimmy Maelen – percussion, synthibam, bones
Steve Hunter – acoustic guitars on "Solsbury Hill"; lead guitar on "Slowburn" and "Waiting for the Big One"; electric, acoustic & rhythm guitars; pedal steel
Robert Fripp – electric & classical guitars, banjo
Jozef Chirowski – keyboa [First added to this chart: 11/09/2012]
One of the classic opening tracks of all time for me. It works perfectly. It's the best of his imput to Genesis meets the best of Peter the solo artist. I always thought this could have been a double a-side with Solisbury Hill.
Track 2 continues where Moribund leaves off, magical music. The first 3 tracks on this album hit heights never seen on one album for me.
Track 3: Just superb, classy rock n roll. Hard to comprehend that this wasn't a hit in it's own right as the follow up to Solisbury Hill.
4: I love it, I think it's interesting and inspired, it breaks all the rules, Gabriel's vocals never grate but they are great (Groan). It starts out like A Capella but almost develops into a rock ballad and the lyrics on this album are simply unsurpassed by any other album he's recorded. Terrific stuff!
5: After the pounding of Modern Love and the exquisite strangeness of Excuse Me, Humdrum is where Gabriel's ability to create an atmosphere in music comes to the fore.
I ride tandem with a random
Things don't run the way I planned them
In the humdrum
he sings with that faux ennui, and then the lilting, undercutting chorus before the song begins to build and build like a symphony towards it's climax. This is extraordinary stuff. Love it.
6: We're character actors from the Tower of Babel
Bewildered, burned out, hardly able
To sit astride the high wire cable
It's hard to balance, a little unstable.
sings PG in this beguiling start to the second side of the album, this song changes pace 3 times in the first 3 verses and held me mesmerised when I first turned my vinyl copy of this over in 1977.
Dont get me wrong, I'll be strong
When the slow burn sunset come along
goes the powerful chorus, one that I'm sure many teenagers identified with at the time and since as PG creates an atmosphere of pure pathos. God, I love this stuff!
7: The wine's all drunk and so am I
slurs PG against a background of a tinkling bar-room piano in another perfect example of atmosphere in song. Waiting for the Big One. If the album was going to have a weak link it may be this one - it is rated as the 'weak' track by one Gabriel biographer but i love it because this song is superb and just adds to the spellbinding nature of this album. If that's the weakest track then no wonder this is my favourite album of all time!
8: An uplifting rock rhythm after the inebriated atmosphere of Waiting For the Big One but it's contrasted with the dark lyrics:-
And the sea is whipping up a welcome
If hell come we're all easy prey,
Trying to find a way
to make it alive"
and the repeated despairing refrain of 'You guys are crazy!' yet there's something shiningly optimistic in the music that defies the lyrics. A supreme example of a contrast/contradiction that works and all part and parcel (one part in nine equal parts) that makes up the most perfect album of all time, for me.
9: The superb show closer on the best album of all time, Flood builds slowly to a thundering chorus reminscent of crashing waves and ends with PG's plaintive:
Drink up, dreamers, you're running dry.
before that magnificient chorus breaks over us and ends the perfect album, God this is lovely stuff, writing about it makes me want to go and put it on right now!
As you can see I rather like PG's lyrics on this album, but the band is so tight too that finally here's a list of the personnel who played on it:
Peter Gabriel – vocals, keyboards, flute, recorder
Allan Schwartzberg – drums
Tony Levin – bass, tuba, leader of the Barbershop Quartet
Jimmy Maelen – percussion, synthibam, bones
Steve Hunter – acoustic guitars on "Solsbury Hill"; lead guitar on "Slowburn" and "Waiting for the Big One"; electric, acoustic & rhythm guitars; pedal steel
Robert Fripp – electric & classical guitars, banjo
Jozef Chirowski – keyboa [First added to this chart: 11/09/2012]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,304
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
14
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There's a looseness and spontaniety about this album that I love (that I think is over-produced and chased out of the follow up).
[First added to this chart: 09/20/2015]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,511
Rank in 1974:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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This was the first album I really just couldn't get enough of, I almost wore my copy out when I was 14/15 years old flipping it over and just playing side one side two side one side two again. Admittedly it does have one duff track on it but I think the sheer power of sentiment for my first musical love affair elevates it and so here it is all the way up at no 3 in the best albums of all time.
[First added to this chart: 09/20/2015]
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I've bought this album up the charts because it is one of the few I remember playing continuously when I first got it, which if it is a good enough qualification for Al Green then it's got to apply to Oasis as well.
This was an album that I got me back into music at a time when I was beginning to lose interest so it deserves a lot of credit for that. [First added to this chart: 09/21/2015]
This was an album that I got me back into music at a time when I was beginning to lose interest so it deserves a lot of credit for that. [First added to this chart: 09/21/2015]
Year of Release:
1995
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,933
Rank in 1995:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 09/20/2015]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
838
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 09/20/2015]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 09/20/2015]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
36,247
Rank in 1979:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 09/20/2015]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
50,122
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 09/20/2015]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
823
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Best track is 'Please pardon me' but hell this whole album is so solid from beginning to end it is the best studio album to come out of the 70's USA-led funk era for me.
[First added to this chart: 09/21/2015]
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 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1970s | 50 | 50% | |
| 1980s | 31 | 31% | |
| 1990s | 5 | 5% | |
| 2000s | 3 | 3% | |
| 2010s | 2 | 2% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Elvis Costello | 4 | 4% | |
| The Beatles | 4 | 4% | |
| Bob Marley & The Wailers | 3 | 3% | |
| The Smiths | 3 | 3% | |
| Elvis Costello And The Attractions | 3 | 3% | |
| Various Artists | 2 | 2% | |
| Roy Orbison | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 1 from 100th to 99th Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy by Elton John |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 99th to 100th Skylarking by XTC |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
- Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by neilgee (2018)
- Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by neilgee (2018)
- NME's Best Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (1985)
- Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (1994)
- Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by WayneMC (2015)
- Pointless Chart by neilgee (2023)
- All Time Top 100 Albums by Sounds (UK) (1985)
- The Times - Nov - Dec 1993 The Vultures Best Albums Of All Time by Steppenwolf666 (2021)
- NME Readers' All-Time Top 100 Albums by New Music Express (1988)
- Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by tim0505 (2024)
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
86/100 (from 47 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 47 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 95/100  | 05/07/2023 19:53 |  DriftingOrpheus | | 91/100 |
| 85/100 | 05/02/2023 12:45 |  pedro1976 | | 84/100 |
| 90/100 | 09/13/2021 20:45 |  Jbalbinolr | | 81/100 |
| 90/100 | 09/05/2021 23:45 |  EyeKanFly | | 88/100 |
| 100/100 | 08/08/2021 16:56 | bonnequestion | | 98/100 |
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 86.3/100, a mean average of 85.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 86.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 10.3.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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90/100
From EyeKanFly 09/05/2021 23:47
EyeKanFly 09/05/2021 23:47
Quality chart, need to check out some of those reggae/ska/rocksteady/dub albums. 8 Elvis Costello albums seems a bit much to me, but hey, some of them are great! I haven't heard his collab with the Roots, should probably check that out.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From vancevisuals 05/23/2020 15:47
Huge Peter Gabriel fan
good to see some recognition
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From 
StefanR10 05/23/2020 14:39
StefanR10 05/23/2020 14:39
I like your chart, it has Stevie Wonder with FFF. And i like that you put Peter Gabriel at Number 1 you have some of the artists that i have on the list. Jimi Hendrix and Lou Reed, Elvis Costello. Maybe Elvis on this list would make it also good. But nice that you have The Beatles here too.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
80/100
From 
ForegroundNoise 01/29/2019 09:23
ForegroundNoise 01/29/2019 09:23
Wow, your notes for your no.1 pick are gorgeous; I've never seen that Peter Gabriel album so high n someone's chart, you've given me a strong case to go check it out.
That said, I think there's a little too much focus on the 70s/80s. Having Morrissey and Elvis Costello topping the 2010s feels like a nostalgia trip, I think it's a little unfair to suggest that no-one this decade has been able to top those artists recording well past their songwriting prime ...
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
Julelios 12/05/2018 14:40
Julelios 12/05/2018 14:40
Wow ! Excellent choices !
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
75/100
From 
nocturnaldelight 09/11/2018 21:50
nocturnaldelight 09/11/2018 21:50
Interesting collection with a lot of different music styles from the 70s and 80s. I see some some of my favorite artists and a lot of other stuff to broaden my horizon.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
Dankel 07/29/2018 09:09
Dankel 07/29/2018 09:09
Very eclectic mix - some real gems here
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
80/100
From 
NowhereMan 11/12/2017 12:17
NowhereMan 11/12/2017 12:17
Love the adoration for Dexy's... and for Beatles debut!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
bobbyb5 06/12/2017 13:14
bobbyb5 06/12/2017 13:14
Wow. Rufusized, 3+3, Original Soundtrack, Just Cant Stop It, The Move, Sensemilia!!!! I LOVE this chart. Its awesome..
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From platus 06/12/2017 12:52
good chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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