Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by baystateoftheart
How I Stopped Worrying And Learned To Love The Chart (Sort Of)
It would be fair to label me a perfectionist. So naturally, making this chart has been a time-consuming process. Since creating it in 2015, I’ve tested out dozens of different rating criteria, inclusion criteria, note styles, and so on. None of this experimentation has been satisfying, because a chart that represents one’s personal taste is not something that can be perfected unless that taste is static. I guarantee I couldn’t listen to all 100 albums in this chart without my preferences changing in the process, let alone assess recorded music more broadly without radical turnover. So here we are: as a perfectionist, I have come to terms with the fact that this chart will never approach perfection. It will remain a laggy approximation of the music I love. And truthfully, that is all it needs to be. BEA has given me a valuable nudge to let a project be simply good enough.
This introductory reflection serves in place of written notes describing what I love about each of these records. Because while musical preferences ebb and flow, insights and thoughts generated by a piece of music feel more ephemeral still, and that is perhaps as it should be.
Edits to the chart I'm working on:
1. Scoring more of my favorite albums to add them
2. Creating a further listening section for each artist
Now for our regularly-scheduled programming.
- Chart updated: 11/19/2023 15:45
- (Created: 10/09/2015 21:56).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 26 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 91 out of 100 (from 49 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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Score: 98.5
Further Listening:
2. The Smile Sessions 91.8
2a. Endless Summer 88.8
3. Wild Honey 83.0
4. Smiley Smile 80.4
5. The Beach Boys Today! 77.6
6. Friends 76.8
7. Sunflower 76.4
8. Surf's Up 74.4
9. Holland TBD 3.5/5
10. Surfin' U.S.A. TBD 3/5
~ [First added to this chart: 10/09/2015]
Score: 97.7
Further Listening:
2. Meditations TBD 4/5
3. Coltrane "Live" At The Village Vanguard TBD 4/5
4. Live At Birdland TBD 4/5
5. Impressions TBD 4/5
6. The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording TBD 4/5
7. Ascension 80.0
8. Coltrane - John Coltrane Quartet TBD 4/5
9. Giant Steps TBD 4/5
10. My Favorite Things TBD 4/5
~ [First added to this chart: 02/21/2016]
Score: 97.6
Further Listening:
2. Songs From A Room 81.0
3. Songs Of Love And Hate TBD 4/5
4. New Skin For The Old Ceremony TBD 3.5/5
5. You Want It Darker TBD 3.5/5
6. Thanks For The Dance TBD 3.5/5
7. I'm Your Man TBD 3/5
~ [First added to this chart: 02/21/2016]
Score: 95.9
Further Listening:
2. Novos Baianos F.C. TBD 4/5
3. Novos Baianos TBD 4/5
~ [First added to this chart: 09/28/2017]
Score: 95.8
Further Listening:
2. Curtis 93.2
3. Back To The World 89.2
4. Got To Find A Way TBD 4.5/5
5. There's No Place Like America Today TBD 4.5/5
6. Sweet Exorcist TBD 4/5
7. Roots TBD 4/5
8. Curtis / Live! TBD 4/5
~ [First added to this chart: 02/21/2016]
Score: 95.0
Further Listening:
2. E•MO•TION: Side B 88.4
3. Dedicated TBD 4/5
4. Dedicated Side B TBD 4/5
5. Kiss TBD 3.5/5
~ [First added to this chart: 09/24/2017]
Score: 94.8
Further Listening:
2. Contra TBD 4/5
3. Vampire Weekend TBD 4/5
4. Father Of The Bride TBD 4/5
~ [First added to this chart: 10/09/2015]
Score: 94.8
Further Listening:
2. On The Corner TBD 4.5/5
3. Bitches Brew TBD 4/5
4. Dark Magus TBD 4/5
5. Live-Evil TBD 4/5
6. My Funny Valentine: Miles Davis In Concert TBD 4/5
7. A Tribute To Jack Johnson 80.2
8. Sketches Of Spain 80.0
9. Cookin' With The Miles Davis Quintet - Miles Davis Quintet TBD 4/5
10. Workin' With The Miles Davis Quintet - Miles Davis Quintet TBD 4/5
~ [First added to this chart: 01/21/2017]
Score: 94.8
Further Listening:
2. Room 25 TBD 4/5
~ [First added to this chart: 11/11/2017]
Score: 94.6
Further Listening:
2. The Hissing Of Summer Lawns 92.2
3. Ladies Of The Canyon 88.4
4. Miles Of Aisles TBD 4.5/5
5. Court And Spark 84.8
6. Hejira TBD 4/5
7. For The Roses TBD 4/5
8. Clouds TBD 4/5
9. Song To A Seagull TBD 4/5
10. Don Juan's Reckless Daughter TBD 4/5
~ [First added to this chart: 10/09/2015]
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
Decade | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
1930s | 0 | 0% | |
1940s | 0 | 0% | |
1950s | 0 | 0% | |
1960s | 15 | 15% | |
1970s | 29 | 29% | |
1980s | 8 | 8% | |
1990s | 11 | 11% | |
2000s | 10 | 10% | |
2010s | 27 | 27% | |
2020s | 0 | 0% |
Artist | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
|
|||
Fela Kuti & Africa 70 | 8 | 8% | |
Jenny Hval | 3 | 3% | |
Curtis Mayfield | 3 | 3% | |
Joni Mitchell | 3 | 3% | |
Kendrick Lamar | 2 | 2% | |
The Beach Boys | 2 | 2% | |
The Magnetic Fields | 2 | 2% | |
Show all |
Country | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
|
|||
53 | 53% | ||
17 | 17% | ||
9 | 9% | ||
8 | 8% | ||
3 | 3% | ||
2 | 2% | ||
2 | 2% | ||
Show all |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
Biggest climbers |
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Up 1 from 100th to 99th Give Up by The Postal Service |
New entries |
---|
The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding |
Leavers |
---|
Outside Your Room EP by Slowdive |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
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 49 ratings for this chart.
Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
11/12/2023 22:42 | Johnnyo | 2,020 | 80/100 | |
01/09/2022 23:23 | AAL2014 | 163 | 92/100 | |
10/19/2021 04:43 | seb7 | 105 | 91/100 | |
02/17/2021 05:53 | pjohnsongolf | 273 | 89/100 | |
12/03/2020 18:06 | RoundTheBend | 374 | 92/100 |
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 2% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 90.6/100, a mean average of 91.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 91.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.4.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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Fantastic chart
Great list of a lot of awesome albums spanning basically all years and genres. Love it! Thanks for your rating on my chart 😊
This is an excellent chart and I like your soul and hip-hop picks. Thanks for recommending Kate Tempest to me.
Really fascinating mix of classic and contemporary side-by-side. I love the approach you take to your chart making as well, a few written notes and this would be a top-rated chart for me!!
"4 artists in common"
this is a cursed image
I had a blast surveying your chart Bay! You're genre selection is rangier than most, keep it up. Even with all of the genres on display, you obviously have an underlying predilection for the sugary, yet you do a great job of separating the good from the saccharine. I don't think I do a very good job of letting pop work its magic, but I do know where I'm coming if I'm in need of something sweet.
There are a bunch of picks from the back half of your chart that I'm gonna queue up, that I haven't already...Blowout Comb, Construção, and a few others.
Your diversity's on top. Illmatic, Blood On The Tracks, SILY, etc. Check out my chart.
I saw you put Here’s Little Richard at no. 1 in your ‘50s chart, so I thought your all time chart must be good. I was not wrong.
Nice to see Carly Rae Jepsen and The Ronettes unironically on a chart.
Great work!
Glad to see FlyLo!
Love the way you rate songs on albums and rank all the albums of a certain band. Also Pet Sounds is so good!
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