Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by mianfei 
This is a rough guide to the 100 greatest albums I have listened to.
Two albums only per artist – with artists related by personnel counted as one – and with the classical recordings one recording per composition.
Especially the lower-ranked albums on the list will be subject to revision as I have a very large backlog of recordings to listen (and re-listen) to.
- Chart updated: 08/30/2024 13:15
- (Created: 05/13/2019 10:35).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 25 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 86 out of 100 (from 44 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from Steely Dan. (Remove this filter)
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Speaking of the instrumental bounds of rock, this album is the greatest example of jazz influences being synthesised into pure pop, besides being the rare example of funny and truly literate lyricism. On ‘Countdown to Ecstasy’ the Dan streamlined their sound from their debut masterpiece ‘Can’t Buy a Thrill’ and in doing so created their rockiest and most brilliant work. Whereas most satire is silly or an invitation to condone what is supposedly satirised, on ‘Countdown to Ecstasy’ Fagen and Becker unmask the low-lifes of Nixon-era America to remarkable effect on ‘Show Biz Kids’, ‘Razor Boy’, ‘The Boston Rag’ and ‘Your Gold Teeth’. The dark depiction of poverty on ‘Show Biz Kids’ with its ominous background chant “you go to Los Wages” reveals more about American poverty than any punk or metal band. Then, ‘King of the World’ is history’s greatest apocalyptic song, while ‘Bodhisattva’ and ‘My Old School’ — both lyrically and musically — prophesy with eerie yet personal effect the future cultural “salad bowl”. Undeniably essential.
[First added to this chart: 05/13/2019]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,162
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
22
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As a reinvention of streetwise jazz music for the modern, urban era, this album remains a landmark. Rather than trying to fuse jazzy noodlings into a rock base, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker completely interweave jazzy melodies, pop lyrics, and a sense of satire that unlike almost every other attempt in pop music, does not come off as dreadfully silly. Opener ‘Do It Again’ remains among the most inimitable touchstones of classic rock with its tight sitar-and-percussion groove, ‘Dirty Work’ expresses the despair of the urban underclass with far more effect than music of many times the volume, ‘Kings’ is equally effective applied to the ruling classes, and ‘Fire in the Hole’’s impressionistic piano and desperado-laden lyrics were perfect for a time when the counterculture felt at a dead end. Innumerable indie, “alternative”, or “adult alternative” bands tried to be ironic or hyper-literate in the days of college radio, but only Paddy McAloon and Tori Amos at their best ever came remotely close to what Fagen achieved here, and never for more than a couple of albums. Sometimes more is said from speaking quietly and ‘Can’t Buy a Thrill’ is the best example of this, although all Steely Dan’s first five albums are great.
[First added to this chart: 05/13/2019]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,554
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 2. Page 1 of 1
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 12 | 12% | |
| 1970s | 30 | 30% | |
| 1980s | 16 | 16% | |
| 1990s | 21 | 21% | |
| 2000s | 10 | 10% | |
| 2010s | 9 | 9% | |
| 2020s | 2 | 2% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
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|
|
| Van Morrison | 2 | 2% | |
| Steely Dan | 2 | 2% | |
| Sky Cries Mary | 2 | 2% | |
| Talk Talk | 2 | 2% | |
| Roxy Music | 2 | 2% | |
| Julia Holter | 2 | 2% | |
| Joanna Newsom | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
53 | 53% | |
 |
27 | 27% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 1 from 87th to 86th The Power Of The True Love Knot by Shirley Collins |
| Up 1 from 86th to 85th The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle by Bruce Springsteen |
| Up 1 from 23rd to 22nd Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome by Parliament |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 3 from 17th to 20th Laughing Stock by Talk Talk |
| Down 2 from 21st to 23rd Aviary by Julia Holter |
| Down 2 from 85th to 87th Witchy Activities And The Maple Death by Monika Roscher Bigband |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | mianfei | 1970s decade chart | 2023 | |
| Top 65 Music Albums of the 1990s | mianfei | 1990s decade chart | 2021 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  The Gollux | Overall chart | 2024 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | hairymarx1 | Overall chart | 2016 | |
| PPV Overall Ranking | bea | Custom chart | 2021 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  AfterHours | Overall chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  paologabriel | Overall chart | 2023 |  |
| Mojo 100 Greatest Albums of All Time (1995) | WayneMC | Custom chart | 2019 | |
| RYM Average Rating | Imaybeparanoid | Custom chart | 2016 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  Kalos | Overall chart | 2020 | |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
86/100 (from 44 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 44 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
85/100  | 03/06/2025 20:34 | SomethingSpecial | | 85/100 |
95/100 | 11/29/2024 21:59 | oilnoilnoilnoil | | 93/100 |
 100/100 | 01/14/2024 06:23 | shanelovesyou111 | | 82/100 |
| 100/100 | 10/25/2023 17:49 |  sageamagoo | | 92/100 |
| 100/100 | 03/25/2023 12:27 |  LedZep | | 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 86.3/100, a mean average of 84.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 86.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 20.0.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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95/100
From oilnoilnoilnoil 11/29/2024 22:00
Awesome chart! Love the comments! I'm coming here for my next music recommendation.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Hayden 09/14/2024 14:57
Hayden 09/14/2024 14:57
Thank you Mianfei— you may very well be right. That sole entry from the 80s window isn't even technically an album! Please Don't Play "A Rainy Night In Georgia" is much closer to an EP than anything. I only recently removed an 80s album (Accordion & Voice by Pauline Oliveros), albeit from early on in the decade.
Candidates from that window? MBV's You Made Me Realise, Swordfishtrombones, Lubomyr Melnyk's The Voice Of Trees, maybe After Dinner's s/t— but I'm not going to act like the mid-80s were my favourite time for music. I lean far more towards the vibe of '80-82.
Hope you find something you like though. I have about 3-4 albums being swapped out somepoint soon. Going through a slight rejig.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From sageamagoo 01/15/2024 19:59
sageamagoo 01/15/2024 19:59
Hejira blew my mind, clearly a landmark work of fusion and poetry! This is exactly the kind of music I've spent my life searching for. Hearing the essential contributions women have made to music could not be more important to me, and your chart is full of exactly that.
Not hard to tell when someone's true passion lies in exploring the depths of this world's music. Your chart is learned with a lifetime of research and I will happily reference it for my own pursuits.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From zrommeke 03/25/2023 11:41
Impressive, interesting, inspiring!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From uphill 01/05/2023 15:26
Laika, Linda Perhacs, Joanna Newsom... lots of stuff that i would also rate high...
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
70/100
From Santiago 08/26/2021 04:57
I have discovered some artists that seem interesting and I am looking forward to listen to their records. On the other hand there are some artists that I know, but I think they are just OK and not good enough to be considered for the top positions of a "Greatest Music Album" chart. Thanks for posting this chart!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
75/100
From Moondance 07/06/2021 00:28
A thought provoking chart and your commentary on the first 50 albums reveals the deepest reflection in your music journey and should be applauded. I was a little disappointed not to see a single Australian artist/album make the top 100 grade.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From 
seb7 07/05/2021 21:34
seb7 07/05/2021 21:34
Not my picks, but a diverse chart nonetheless. Love seeing Hejira getting love.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
DommeDamian 07/05/2021 21:23
DommeDamian 07/05/2021 21:23
Oh my god this is great work buddy!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From Johnnyo 07/05/2021 15:54
Really nice and unique chart. I like it a lot
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.