Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by badger 
This chart reflects the albums I have the most personal attachment to, whether or not they are bona fide masterpieces, others on this list are there simply because they are amazing.
- Chart updated: 09/04/2019 23:15
- (Created: 12/02/2012 03:04).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 18 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 37 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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1996-2000 was undoubtedly Radiohead's creative pinnacle, a period producing not only three flawless LPs that were each groundbreaking in their own right, but nigh on 20 B-sides and belatedly released tracks that rival the greatest hits of other artists' entire discography's. If OK Computer was the boiling point in terms of the experimentation and chemistry between it's members, Kid A and Amnesiac were the water spilling out over the stove, an implosion of anxiety, panic and frightening tranquility.
Kid A became not so much a soundtrack to my teenage-hood as it was an embodiment of all the confusion of the post-9/11, pre-social media world I was presented with and attempting to puzzle through. I also have to credit it as a personal stepping off point in beginning to explore jazz, abstract electronica and krautrock. Thusly, I award it number 1 on my humble chart. [First added to this chart: 12/01/2012]
Kid A became not so much a soundtrack to my teenage-hood as it was an embodiment of all the confusion of the post-9/11, pre-social media world I was presented with and attempting to puzzle through. I also have to credit it as a personal stepping off point in beginning to explore jazz, abstract electronica and krautrock. Thusly, I award it number 1 on my humble chart. [First added to this chart: 12/01/2012]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank Score:
51,383
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551
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The most infectiously disjointed, genius songwriting ever. The songs move in the most strange, comical fashion with off-piste lyrics to match and of course a dynamic approach that is loud-quiet but never soft and always just the right amount of harsh, like a fry-up of perfect crispiness.
Charmingly, all the duality of this recording feels like a hap-hazard accident, but it had already been done twice, I find it worthwhile to stick around for the more stadium ready space punk/metal and tributes to French architects of later Pixies, even if Kim Deal was slowly and strangely being etched out of the picture, but for me Doolittle is where it's at. [First added to this chart: 12/01/2012]
Charmingly, all the duality of this recording feels like a hap-hazard accident, but it had already been done twice, I find it worthwhile to stick around for the more stadium ready space punk/metal and tributes to French architects of later Pixies, even if Kim Deal was slowly and strangely being etched out of the picture, but for me Doolittle is where it's at. [First added to this chart: 12/01/2012]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
37,451
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"It's the best jam session you ever had that you thought you had recorded but in fact hadn't."
That's something my friend said about Random Access Memories which I personally feel more accurately applies to this album, partly since I don't have access to +$1million dollars worth of music production resources. From start to finish it feels like you've wandered into the belly of the strangest jam sesh produced by some very funky humans, but there's also some superbly imaginative songwriting and other-worldly studio experimentation. [First added to this chart: 12/01/2012]
That's something my friend said about Random Access Memories which I personally feel more accurately applies to this album, partly since I don't have access to +$1million dollars worth of music production resources. From start to finish it feels like you've wandered into the belly of the strangest jam sesh produced by some very funky humans, but there's also some superbly imaginative songwriting and other-worldly studio experimentation. [First added to this chart: 12/01/2012]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,636
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For me, no artist surpasses Waits's ability to conjure up vivid imagery, sounds and smells in my head. An incredible lyricist and a genius at employing found sounds in his tales-from-the-gutter storytelling. I feel like I am being the grand tour of inner city squalor and it's actually quite fun despite the rats and sick.
And the rat sick. [First added to this chart: 12/01/2012]
And the rat sick. [First added to this chart: 12/01/2012]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,111
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[First added to this chart: 09/10/2017]
Year of Release:
2011
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,326
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To me, the other albums in my top 10 are wintery or autumnal sort of affairs, all leave-less trees and cold white light piercing through clouds. Tago Mago is my summer album, a zesty, glued together work of strange, bare funk played with both fruity precision and Velvets-esque freedom.
[First added to this chart: 12/01/2012]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,209
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Other albums on this top 10 are either records that I can only listen to occasionally or were formative on my muical coming-of-age, but this album is the one I can just put on whenever and jam out to it.
Ruban Nielsen is a deceptively brilliant songwriter and guitarist and while UMOs three-albums are indepted to various shades of Barrett-era Pink Floyd, Funkadelic, Prince and 60s soul, it would be unfair to pigeon-hole them under the 'vintage' umbrella, this is truly something distinctive. [First added to this chart: 08/27/2017]
Ruban Nielsen is a deceptively brilliant songwriter and guitarist and while UMOs three-albums are indepted to various shades of Barrett-era Pink Floyd, Funkadelic, Prince and 60s soul, it would be unfair to pigeon-hole them under the 'vintage' umbrella, this is truly something distinctive. [First added to this chart: 08/27/2017]
Year of Release:
2015
Appears in:
Rank Score:
642
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"Spot hot tracks like spot a pair of fat asses
Shots of the scotch from out of square shot glasses
And he won't stop 'til he got the masses
And show 'em what they know not through flows of hot molasses"
The beats are incredible, the flow and lyricism flawless. Madlib and Doom serve up something as exquisitely tasty as it is easily digestible. There aren't really any skits, a lot of the tracks stop around 2 minutes and there is plenty of variety for such a compact, concentrated album. [First added to this chart: 12/01/2012]
Shots of the scotch from out of square shot glasses
And he won't stop 'til he got the masses
And show 'em what they know not through flows of hot molasses"
The beats are incredible, the flow and lyricism flawless. Madlib and Doom serve up something as exquisitely tasty as it is easily digestible. There aren't really any skits, a lot of the tracks stop around 2 minutes and there is plenty of variety for such a compact, concentrated album. [First added to this chart: 12/01/2012]
Year of Release:
2004
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,228
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I've listened to this album perhaps more than anything else in my life, it's perfect and I don't think I can say anything about it that hasn't already been said.
[First added to this chart: 12/01/2012]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
76,948
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A band making music about a band that makes music about a band that makes music. It's a great gateway to the best aspects of those lost acts of the 70s-80s avant-garde dance and post-punk scenes. It's like they've cherry picked the best parts of Neu!, This Heat, Nena, Suicide, Bauhaus, Ruth, Frankie Knuckles etc. and discarded the aspects that can be annoying or unappealing, packaging it all into something that retains what made those influences interesting. All their albums are worth checking out and this Madison Square Garden 'farewell' concert is remarkable also.
[First added to this chart: 09/03/2019]
Total albums: 98. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 16 | 16% | |
| 1970s | 20 | 20% | |
| 1980s | 10 | 10% | |
| 1990s | 17 | 17% | |
| 2000s | 14 | 14% | |
| 2010s | 23 | 23% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Radiohead | 4 | 4% | |
| The Beatles | 3 | 3% | |
| Talk Talk | 2 | 2% | |
| The Beach Boys | 2 | 2% | |
| Unknown Mortal Orchestra | 2 | 2% | |
| Swans | 2 | 2% | |
| The Smiths | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| |
52 | 52% | |
 |
29 | 29% | |
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5 | 5% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 19 from 100th to 81st Future Perfect by Autolux |
| Up 17 from 37th to 20th Street Halo / Kindred by Burial |
| Up 16 from 46th to 30th The Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 38 from 49th to 87th The Modern Lovers by The Modern Lovers |
| Down 35 from 40th to 75th Illmatic by Nas |
| Down 22 from 75th to 97th The Infamous by Mobb Deep |
| New entries |
|---|
 Parachuteby The Pretty Things |
| Everyone Into Position by Oceansize |
| Celestial Emporium by The Life And Times Of The Brothers Hogg |
| Leavers |
|---|
 Liquid Swordsby GZA/Genius |
| Moment Of Truth by Gang Starr |
| A Better Life by Spring King |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
90/100 (from 37 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 37 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
90/100  | 12/24/2020 07:33 |  sssvnnn | | 83/100 |
95/100 | 09/19/2020 14:36 | BraddlesHendo | | 91/100 |
100/100 | 05/24/2020 02:38 |  Rhyner | | 99/100 |
90/100 | 05/22/2020 17:26 |  desh79 | | 93/100 |
100/100 | 05/22/2020 12:43 | migl | | 99/100 |
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 89.6/100, a mean average of 90.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.5/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 6.6.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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90/100
From Thad 05/22/2020 11:46
very good chart, we share some favorites. i don't usually say this but i think you find a lot of stuff you might like on my chart. interested to see how this one grows over time! i imagine it'll be worthy of a 100 in a year or two as you discover and explore more
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From Johnnyo 09/05/2019 06:58
Very good chart indeed
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From 
JulianR 09/01/2017 01:58
JulianR 09/01/2017 01:58
Interesting, and I like your reviews!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From 
HoldenM 08/30/2013 03:37
HoldenM 08/30/2013 03:37
Awesome, awesome chart. Kudos, sir.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Rikuff 08/29/2013 08:41
Eccellente!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From 
SingingPeasant96 06/08/2013 02:56
SingingPeasant96 06/08/2013 02:56
Wow, Fabulous chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
80/100
From album guru joe 02/07/2013 07:14
Cool chart :)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From 5thbeatle 02/07/2013 02:49
Intriguing.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
btener11 02/06/2013 21:49
btener11 02/06/2013 21:49
man i really love this chart...i didnt give it enough love before so im upgrading your rating!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
80/100
From 
junodog4 02/06/2013 18:37
junodog4 02/06/2013 18:37
Nice... enough variety to make it interesting.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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