Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by hoyquarlow

My Best albums ever list.
I resigned myself to write a brief presentation of the albums selected, not because it is that much relevant but rather because it's fun to do. Of course the list isn't poured into concrete ; usually the more you go down on the list the more it is subject to change. But you got the global portrait. Some artists have albums listed back to back, mainly because I never could decide which one I prefer between the two.
And finally, english isn't my former language so there ought to be some mistakes...
Hope you enjoy the list

• Chart updated: 01/01/2024 02:45
• (Created: 12/31/2012 09:57).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 13 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 30 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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11. (=)

Let It Bleed 

 The Rolling Stones

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When you start your album with "Gimme Shelter", arguably the best song of the entire 60's, you know that album is probably gonna be good. More than that, Let it Bleed to me is the pinnacle of the Stones 68-72 golden years. "Love in vain" is superb, just as the classic closer "You can't always get what you want". Even the lesser known songs like "Monkey Man" or Keith's "You got the silver" are above average Stones songs. And finally, how can anybody resist this awesome album cover ? [First added to this chart: 11/16/2015]

Year of Release:

1969

Appears in:

1,721 charts

Rank Score:

18,800

Rank in 1969:

4

Rank in 1960s:

14

Overall Rank:

62

Average Rating:

 85 (2,041 votes)

Comments:

138

12. (=)

Where You Been 

 Dinosaur Jr.

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The definitive guitar album of the 90's, and one of the greatest guitar album of all time, for that matter. Dino jr. is often overlooked but created such a unique and rich sound, with equal part super melodic yet super heavy. To me Where you been is their true pinnacle, altough I think You're living all over me is not far behind. The first 6 tracks on here are absolute masterpiece caliber. It falters a bit after that but still, you have to hear at least once in a lifetime the guitar solos on "Start Choppin" and "Get me".... [First added to this chart: 11/16/2015]

Year of Release:

1993

Appears in:

192 charts

Rank Score:

1,064

Rank in 1993:

27

Rank in 1990s:

303

Overall Rank:

1,614

Average Rating:

 78 (212 votes)

Comments:

8

13. (=)

Aladdin Sane 

 David Bowie

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What first attracted me into Bowie's music when I was quite young, wasn't that much Bowie's otherworldy persona but rather the feeling his music was totally out of time ; From "Space Oddity" to "Heroes" or even the Labyrinth soundtrack (!), I could not pinpoint when all that stuff was made... It felt incredibly old and at the same time crazy futuristic. Aladdin Sane is exactly that, and it is (probably) my favorite Bowie album. The title track, "Time" and "Lady Grinning Soul" are mesmerizing songs, mostly because of the amazing piano of Mike Garson. [First added to this chart: 11/16/2015]

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

767 charts

Rank Score:

5,947

Rank in 1973:

9

Rank in 1970s:

76

Overall Rank:

304

Average Rating:

 83 (1,276 votes)

Comments:

81

14. (=)

The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars 

 David Bowie

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Do I prefer Aladdin Sane or Ziggy Stardust? I cannot say. I guess Aladdin is more impressive, it pushes the music forward more, but Ziggy's got more hooks, more catchy songs, it's a more pleasant listen maybe. It got those simple, sing-along songs that you immediately want to learn to play on guitar (even the piano ones like "Lady Stardust"...) I do like the more electronic stuff Bowie did later, but I still prefer by far his glam period, and Ziggy Stardust is pretty much the pinnacle of that era. [First added to this chart: 11/19/2015]

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

2,933 charts

Rank Score:

50,096

Rank in 1972:

1

Rank in 1970s:

3

Overall Rank:

9

Average Rating:

 90 (3,444 votes)

Comments:

298

15. (=)

Louder Than Bombs 
Compilation

 The Smiths

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The legitimate "fifth" Smiths album, since it contains some of the band most well-known songs never released elsewhere (Ask, Panic, Heaven knows, Please please please...) When you hear "Back to the old house" or "You just haven't earned it yet baby" you're really scratching your head wondering how those absolute gems never made it onto official albums. And with 24 songs overall - all amazing - Louder than bombs might as well be the best Smiths record in the end, or at least the most enjoyable and satisfying. [First added to this chart: 11/16/2015]

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

304 charts

Rank Score:

2,680

Rank in 1987:

14

Rank in 1980s:

102

Overall Rank:

670

Average Rating:

 83 (648 votes)

Comments:

25

16. (=)

Hell's Ditch 

 The Pogues

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The cover art represent a kind of treasure map. Well, the treasure is right in your hands. It's that amazing record. Once in a while you came across an album that nobody ever heard about, or just though it was Ok, when you feel it is significantly, supremely better than what people felt about it. Hell's ditch is such a record. It's hard to be more underated when on top of that the album is probably the least well-known Pogues album. Anyway, every tracks are fantastic. The Pogues are shifting their trad irish-folk into a more world-wide sound, giving the record a truly unique sound, a trip well worth taking. [First added to this chart: 11/16/2015]

Year of Release:

1990

Appears in:

48 charts

Rank Score:

213

Rank in 1990:

87

Rank in 1990s:

1,025

Overall Rank:

6,108

Average Rating:

 73 (57 votes)

Comments:

3

17. (=)

Violator 

 Depeche Mode

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I was into grunge and punk real intense when I first heard Violator, so those slow and depressing electronic sounds didn't appeal to me much at that time... But time goes by, you come back, and you understand why it is hailed as one of the best album of the 90's. Dave Gahan's voice is one of my all-time favorite, but the game changer on Violator is really the guitar use. Even the minimal use of it improves the songs so well, it really sets them appart from anything else. There is no bad songs on Violator, but "Enjoy the silence"... well, it might be one of the greatest songs ever made. [First added to this chart: 11/16/2015]

Year of Release:

1990

Appears in:

1,141 charts

Rank Score:

12,626

Rank in 1990:

1

Rank in 1990s:

21

Overall Rank:

114

Average Rating:

 83 (1,341 votes)

Comments:

97

18. (=)

Stranger Than Fiction 

 Bad Religion

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This site got no real love for punk music... It's rather sad, because Bad Religion was an amazing punk band in their prime, and although they didn't really transcend the genre like The Clash did, they are still the most important and greatest punk band of the last 35 years. That isn't nothing. "Stranger than fiction" is probably not their best album (I'd put "Against the grain" there) but it is still my favorite, and the last of that impressive run of 6 great albums they made from 88 to 94., before the departure of songwriter Mr. Brett. [First added to this chart: 11/16/2015]

Year of Release:

1994

Appears in:

99 charts

Rank Score:

716

Rank in 1994:

54

Rank in 1990s:

403

Overall Rank:

2,261

Average Rating:

 74 (139 votes)

Comments:

5

19. (=)

Live Rust 
Live

 Neil Young & Crazy Horse

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I'm usually not a big fan of Live Albums, but I gotta make an exception for Live Rust, which is by a mile the best Live album i've ever heard. When I first heard Live Rust, I was already a fan of Neil's stuff but for some reasons, I have never heard most of the songs on it, so it kinda felt like an entirely new album. Much later I found out that most of the songs here sounds actually better on this live record than on the original albums. The delivery is fantastic, the first half being acoustic while the second half more electric, with mind-blowing and definitive versions of "Cortez the killer" and "Like a Hurricane". [First added to this chart: 11/20/2015]

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

216 charts

Rank Score:

1,029

Rank in 1979:

29

Rank in 1970s:

331

Overall Rank:

1,663

Average Rating:

 81 (337 votes)

Comments:

9

20. (=)

Violent Femmes 

 Violent Femmes

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Seems to me that the Femmes are much more well-known and respected in Canada and France then in their native country, which is always kinda sad. But at least their first album is widely regarded as a classic, and rightfully so. What is so impressive about this record is how catchy the songs are, truly, every song on it could have been a hit single. And once you reach the end of the album and you think the Femmes have largely done enough, they drop what might be the two best songs on the album, "Good Feeling" and "Gone daddy gone" and his terrific xylophone solo. Truly a flawless, killer record. [First added to this chart: 11/16/2015]

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

875 charts

Rank Score:

8,191

Rank in 1983:

2

Rank in 1980s:

25

Overall Rank:

201

Average Rating:

 81 (971 votes)

Comments:

73

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade	Albums	%
1930s	0	0%
1940s	0	0%
1950s	0	0%
1960s	10	10%
1970s	25	25%
1980s	27	27%
1990s	28	28%
2000s	8	8%
2010s	2	2%
2020s	0	0%

Artist	Albums	%
The Cure	5	5%
David Bowie	4	4%
Pixies	4	4%
Nirvana	4	4%
The Smiths	4	4%
Led Zeppelin	4	4%
Pink Floyd	3	3%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	44	44%
	43	43%
	5	5%
	2	2%
	2	2%
	2	2%
	1	1%
Show all

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest climbers
Up 2 from 42nd to 40th Harvest by Neil Young
Up 1 from 43rd to 42nd New Values by Iggy Pop
Up 1 from 40th to 39th Desire by Bob Dylan

Biggest fallers
Down 5 from 38th to 43rd The Smiths by The Smiths

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 30 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
90/100	08/09/2023 23:10	Moondance	454	84/100
90/100	08/09/2023 13:09	Tamthebam	550	85/100
95/100	08/09/2023 10:44	RevolverCB72	88	84/100
80/100	06/15/2023 21:35	Applerill	976	75/100
95/100	02/24/2022 08:27	KineticEchoes02	111	88/100

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 90.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.8/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 6.3.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

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Rating:  

90/100

From Moondance 08/09/2023 23:15

Cool chart - nice to see all the love for The Cure. Enjoyed the comments up to your top 18 ¬ it takes effort to write comments; I've only managed to do my top 12 albums so far.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From KineticEchoes02 02/24/2022 08:35

Really good chart! You have great taste - many albums in common. Great descriptions, and awesome to see Midnight Oil in there, among The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, Bowie, Floyd and Led Zep for starters.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From CharlieBarley 11/14/2021 07:32

Disintegration at number one. Brilliant. I need to place it higher up my own list. You have many albums I should have in my own chart, or used to have.

Great to see the Cure, Bowie, Pogues, Pixies, Smith's and Iggy Pop.

I want to check out more French music like Jacques Brel. I like Francis Cabrel.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From Johnnyo 05/01/2021 09:10

Excellent chart

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

85/100

From vancevisuals 06/27/2020 02:11

Sabotage is one of the great underrated albums

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From 911Turbo 06/26/2020 17:34

great list. i enjoy seeing modern music .
i don't listen to the smiths, but i find your description inspirational(referring that your ill! aren't we all.)
if you have the time i really would like to read your thoughts about the other albums.
enjoy.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From 911Turbo 06/26/2020 17:33

great list. i enjoy seeing modern music .
i don't listen to the smiths, but i find your description inspirational(referring that your ill! aren't we all.)
if you have the time i really would like to read your thoughts about the other albums.
enjoy.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From StefanR10 06/26/2020 10:10

Nice to see so what. And I like you have the cure at number 1 so i give you for the good chart a 90. And good to see some description on the albums maybe next time more diversive.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From DommeDamian 06/26/2020 08:15

This is what I'm talking about, in terms of the term 'great chart'. Very rock-inspired like a lot, but descriptions always, and will always work.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From LedZep 05/02/2017 17:56

Not the best balanced chart but I don't care when you have so much Cure, Bowie, Nirvana and Pixies

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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