Top 50 Greatest Music Albums
by AngryAchilles 
I'm cheating with the James Brown and Sam Cooke anthologies, but neither artist was known for cutting particularly good records. The Little Richard compilation is a different case: I could have easily replaced The Georgia Peach with his debut album and still felt good about its ranking on this list (but why deny myself songs like Keep a Knockin' and Good Golly Miss Molly?). Smiley Smile stands in for the CD reissue, which includes Wild Honey. Taken together, those two albums represent the Beach Boys at their best. I had a hard time choosing between A Tribute to Jack Johnson and In a Silent Way...but then I remembered that In a Silent Way is actually excerpted briefly on JJ, thereby making the decision much easier. The rest of the list is self-explanatory.
- Chart updated: 06/21/2012 12:50
- (Created: 01/29/2009 06:27).
- Chart size: 50 albums.
There are 31 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 50 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 83 out of 100 (from 46 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
The entries in this chart have a zero rank score because the chart has not been updated within the last ten years (points from overall charts are decayed over a ten year period).
View the complete list of 58,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
[First added to this chart: 01/28/2010]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,060
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 01/28/2010]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,368
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 01/28/2010]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
56,644
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 06/20/2012]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,356
Rank in 1968:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 01/28/2010]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,951
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 01/28/2010]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
59,180
Rank in 1973:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 01/28/2010]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,006
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Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 01/28/2010]
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,921
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 02/05/2010]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,148
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 01/28/2010]
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,707
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 50. Page 1 of 5
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Top 50 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 18 | 36% | |
| 1970s | 22 | 44% | |
| 1980s | 2 | 4% | |
| 1990s | 5 | 10% | |
| 2000s | 3 | 6% | |
| 2010s | 0 | 0% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Beatles | 4 | 8% | |
| The Kinks | 3 | 6% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 3 | 6% | |
| Bob Dylan | 3 | 6% | |
| Led Zeppelin | 3 | 6% | |
| Nirvana | 2 | 4% | |
| Van Morrison | 2 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 50 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 5 from 32nd to 37thFor Your Pleasure by Roxy Music |
| Down 5 from 33rd to 38thStar Time by James Brown |
| Down 4 from 24th to 28thRubber Soul by The Beatles |
| New entries |
|---|
| OK Computer by Radiohead |
| Nevermind by Nirvana |
| Elephant by The White Stripes |
| Frances The Mute by The Mars Volta |
| Doolittle by Pixies |
| MTV Unplugged In New York by Nirvana |
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| Top 50 Greatest Music Albums | jmyl0425 | Overall chart | 2011 | |
| Top 50 Greatest Music Albums | thestein | Overall chart | 2010 | |
| Top 50 Greatest Music Albums | elephanttalkmag | Overall chart | 2010 |  |
| Top 50 Greatest Music Albums | Grievous Angel | Overall chart | 2010 | |
| Top 50 Greatest Music Albums | TheBond | Overall chart | 2010 | |
| Top 50 Greatest Music Albums | jhheil514 | Overall chart | 2010 | |
| Top 50 Greatest Music Albums | pittsford | Overall chart | 2013 | |
| Top 50 Greatest Music Albums | Whiskas13 | Overall chart | 2011 |  |
| Top 50 Greatest Music Albums | chriped | Overall chart | 2011 | |
Top 50 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)
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Top 50 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 46 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/12/2015 18:26 | spookiefruit | 53 | 82/100 | |
| 09/26/2013 22:12 |  sssvnnn | 2,863 | 83/100 | |
| 06/17/2013 03:26 | RupertRonco | 103 | 65/100 | |
| 03/16/2013 22:48 |  btener11 | 291 | 80/100 | |
| 03/16/2013 10:51 |  Cymro2011 | 328 | 84/100 |
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 83.4/100, a mean average of 81.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 82.9/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 13.8.
Top 50 Greatest Music Albums favourites
Showing all 5 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 50 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 31 comments |
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From sssvnnn 09/26/2013 22:12 | #86907
sssvnnn 09/26/2013 22:12 | #86907
You had a good hand to pick the really BIG albums.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From RupertRonco 06/17/2013 03:28 | #79091
Pretty standard. I promise good music has been made in the past 30 years, I'd encourage you to investigate some. Love the YES and Genesis selections.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From btener11 03/16/2013 22:41 | #68590
btener11 03/16/2013 22:41 | #68590
Dunno about number 1, but I love the rest of your top 10.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
SingingPeasant96 03/16/2013 10:39 | #68553
SingingPeasant96 03/16/2013 10:39 | #68553
Nice Chart. Your half of chart is in my chart too.
and I believe "Tea For The Tillerman" is worth to listen.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
ffudnebbuh 11/12/2012 14:26 | #54881
ffudnebbuh 11/12/2012 14:26 | #54881
really like this chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
junodog4 10/15/2012 18:37 | #52387
junodog4 10/15/2012 18:37 | #52387
A little too neglectful of post 1980 music, but you can't argue with your 60s and 70s selections.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 5thbeatle 09/15/2012 17:03 | #50571
Solid chart, nothing that I don't like.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From album guru joe 02/16/2012 06:27 | #36986
Nice list...i own every album on your list :)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
nrs182 02/16/2012 04:16 | #36977
nrs182 02/16/2012 04:16 | #36977
For some reason I absolutely love that Top 10.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Sandalsote 01/23/2012 12:30 | #35704
Rock/Pop Care to expand on that.
All in all exelent chart.
I can see how you would judge your number one.
Amazing album
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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| 3. Tame Impala | |
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