Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by bea 
Simply the 100 best albums in my opinion.
Not trying to include as many artists/genres as possible, nor limiting the number of albums per artist.
Original versions are mainly considered; however, good deluxe editions can score some extra points (e.g. In Rainbows, Mellon Collie & Live at Leeds).
No compilations.
- Chart updated: 01/25/2021 20:15
- (Created: 11/17/2012 23:13).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 67 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 88 out of 100 (from 118 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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[First added to this chart: 11/17/2012]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
63,042
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/07/2012]
Year of Release:
2007
Appears in:
Rank Score:
42,990
Rank in 2007:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 11/17/2012]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,560
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 11/17/2012]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
24,852
Rank in 1966:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 11/17/2012]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
59,332
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 11/17/2012]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
30,446
Rank in 1979:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 11/23/2012]
Year of Release:
1995
Appears in:
Rank Score:
28,453
Rank in 1995:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 11/17/2012]
Year of Release:
1965
Appears in:
Rank Score:
26,817
Rank in 1965:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 11/17/2012]
Year of Release:
2004
Appears in:
Rank Score:
33,786
Rank in 2004:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 11/29/2012]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
33,327
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
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 | 1 | 1% | |
| 1960s | 14 | 14% | |
| 1970s | 20 | 20% | |
| 1980s | 3 | 3% | |
| 1990s | 16 | 16% | |
| 2000s | 30 | 30% | |
| 2010s | 16 | 16% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Bob Dylan | 6 | 6% | |
| Radiohead | 5 | 5% | |
| Arcade Fire | 4 | 4% | |
| Pink Floyd | 3 | 3% | |
| Sigur Rós | 3 | 3% | |
| Håkan Hellström | 3 | 3% | |
| Mew | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
42 | 42% | |
 |
29 | 29% | |
 |
11 | 11% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 54 from 99th to 45thBitches Brew by Miles Davis |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 9 from 86th to 95thMoondance by Van Morrison |
| Down 6 from 94th to 100thA Tábua De Esmeralda by Jorge Ben |
| Down 3 from 93rd to 96thHurry Up, We're Dreaming by M83 |
| New entries |
|---|
| Who's Next by The Who |
| Marquee Moon by Television |
| Leavers |
|---|
| Veedon Fleece by Van Morrison |
| Amnesiac by Radiohead |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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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 118 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 03/02/2025 11:21 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,095 | 85/100 |
| ! | 09/23/2021 18:37 |  rockbluesfolkjaz | 74 | 87/100 |
| ! | 03/06/2021 18:53 | Larcx13 | 1,138 | 86/100 |
| ! | 02/24/2021 14:15 |  ssteve | 205 | 92/100 |
| ! | 05/10/2020 08:29 |  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 is rated in the top 10% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 87.9/100, a mean average of 86.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.1/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 13.8.
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From rockbluesfolkjaz 09/23/2021 18:38 | #274102
rockbluesfolkjaz 09/23/2021 18:38 | #274102
Nice list! I agree with a lot of it.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Larcx13 03/06/2021 18:54 | #267028
Larcx13 03/06/2021 18:54 | #267028
Generic
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From zrommeke 04/13/2020 07:20 | #249871
Nice one!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From jpajovich 06/26/2019 12:20 | #238306
fantastic picks (my favs being takk... and med). Also out of curiosity did you not include Slow Riot since it's an EP pr do you believe F#A# is better?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
gidgidi 06/26/2019 12:07 | #238305
gidgidi 06/26/2019 12:07 | #238305
Great chart!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Paule 05/14/2019 08:11 | #236235
Paule 05/14/2019 08:11 | #236235
Great chart. Personally, I never got the Bob Dylan thing (I'm probably in the wrong) but apart from that, I enjoy most of the albums here.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Boltzmann 08/13/2018 12:30 | #219633
Boltzmann 08/13/2018 12:30 | #219633
I would recommend you should look up some albums that don’t have a 10/10 rating from almost every music critic on the internet. Music critics are just people too, create your own opinion.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (2 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
From 
sophialeviev 06/17/2018 01:34 | #216899
sophialeviev 06/17/2018 01:34 | #216899
LOVE this chart! Finally someone who appreciates Mellon Collie.... ;)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Thad 04/17/2018 19:56 | #213135
I think it could probably use a little more variety at the top, but I do think you have a lot of good albums here and have good taste.
I'm kinda shocked at having Good News... by Modest Mouse on here but not any other MM albums. I can understand if you simply like it better, but I'm inclined to believe you haven't explored MM's earlier work. Check out The Lonesome Crowded West, The Moon & Antarctica, and This Is a Long Drive..., all are fantastic albums that are much more well done than Good News in my and a vast majority of MM fans' views - again I don't wanna come off as pretentious so its not that there's anything wrong with liking that one more if you've heard the other stuff. But I think you will probably like all 3 of those albums much more if you enjoyed Good News.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From DommeDamian 12/12/2017 10:22 | #203009
DommeDamian 12/12/2017 10:22 | #203009
Blood On The Tracks !!!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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| Best Artists of the 1960s | |
|---|---|
| 1. The Beatles | |
| 2. The Velvet Underground | |
| 3. Jimi Hendrix | |
| 4. Bob Dylan | |
| 5. The Beach Boys | |
| 6. The Jimi Hendrix Experience | |
| 7. The Velvet Underground & Nico | |
| 8. The Doors | |
| 9. Led Zeppelin | |
| 10. The Rolling Stones | |
| 11. John Coltrane | |
| 12. King Crimson | |
| 13. Frank Zappa | |
| 14. The Kinks | |
| 15. Love | |
| 16. Neil Young | |
| 17. Charles Mingus | |
| 18. Van Morrison | |
| 19. Miles Davis | |
| 20. The Zombies |
