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 the 1970s. (Remove this filter)
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An unparalleled sound and mood piece, which flows along with no effort at all thanks to the simple combination of Mitchell’s acoustic, Larry Carlton’s electric and Pastorius’ fretless bass. ‘Coyote’, ‘A Strange Boy’ and ‘Song for Sharon’ tell simple and beautiful stories with a sound no one, including Joni herself, has approached before or since. The unusual, low-pitched tunings add further by allowing the trio to dispense with a drummer on many tracks, creating a sense of mood quite unlike anything before or almost anything since. Whilst its predecessor ‘The Hissing of Summer Lawns’ showed Joni as an exceptional lyricist and capable of crafting a beautifully dark atmosphere, that album was nothing compared to the weightless, soft melodies she creates on ‘Hejira’. The songs are long but do not feel so because they move with such a continuous yet easily memorable flow, whereby every note sinks in with amazing ease and consonance.
[First added to this chart: 05/13/2019]
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,732
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25
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The purest and greatest “soul” album ever made, taking the simple funk rhythms of James Brown and Sly Stone into something completely un-earthbound and mysterious. The nocturnal beauty and autumnal lyrics of the title tune never loses anything with any number of listens, whilst ‘Caravan’, ‘And It Stoned Me’ and ‘Crazy Love’ are unrivalled testaments to the power of mystical passion. Then on ‘Into the Mystic’, Van perfects the folk/jazz/soul fusion into a completely acoustic chill-out beat, and the delightful and joyful harpsichord-based ‘Everyone’ expresses the theme of rebirth with more joy than any soul or gospel song before or since. A funk record so joyful that one immerses in the beats rather than dance to them, a white soul album expressing redemption better than any of the original gospel masters – either way or any other, ‘Moondance’ is a complete masterpiece.
[First added to this chart: 05/13/2019]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,174
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Overlooked for over three decades, and dismissed by Scaruffi, this is actually a remarkable work of acoustic proto-ambient texture that avoids the pitfalls of later works of that genre via poetry of the most perfect rhythm. ‘Paper Mountain Man’ is the most exact poetic tone matched to the most cutting satire of the “hippie” lifestyle, ‘Moons and Cattails’ visualises the dark landscapes of the Pacific coast like no other song, ‘Call of the River’ really feels like being drenched by the continuous rain of the Pacific forest, ‘Parallelograms’ remains after five decades the greatest ambient song ever made, and ‘Delicious’ stands as the most sensual love song ever made. Standing between two worlds, ‘Parallelograms’ also stands completely apart from them.
[First added to this chart: 05/13/2019]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
963
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A transcendent work of communal worship, synthesising varied ethnic folk traditions with medieval plainchant to render traditional hymns and psalms, ‘The Christ Tree’ may be incomprehensible on first listen, but the way it links music and social work is utterly unique and beautiful in both its consonant and dissonant moments. The soothing beauty and beautiful bells of opener ‘Psalm 42’ melds with the despairing “where is now your God/how shall you save yourself”, whilst the medieval chant and tribal rhythm of ‘Chant for Pentecost’ fuse in a manner one would never expect, and the discordant notes on ‘The Parable of the Mustard Seed’ express moments of joy that words cannot. The various women sing so beautifully as to make Sandy Denny and Maddy Prior look ugly. A milestone in countercultural folk, and an undoubted touchstone for the “freak folk” of the 2000s.
[First added to this chart: 05/13/2019]
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An album with the emotional intensity of a deeply crying heart and the mysterious beauty of medieval spirituality. Whilst Henry Cow and the Art Bears are often viewed as doctrinaire leftists, the mystical elements of ‘Winter Songs’ and its predecessor ‘Hopes and Fears’, expressed through the concept around Amiens Cathedral taken through the spiritual cycles of rural High Middle Ages Europe, firmly betray that stereotype. The ferocity with which Frith and Cutler back up Krause’s finest vocal performance makes for a uniquely tight matching of bleakness and compassion.
[First added to this chart: 05/13/2019]
11. (=)
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The greatest work of art-rock, and one which shows Ferry at both his most emotional and most creative — moving from orchestral rock on ‘The Thrill of It All’ ‘Casanova’ and ‘All I Want Is You’ to the mystical ‘Bitter Sweet’ and ‘Triptych’. Whereas every other “glam” artist just tried to look “androgynous” and came across as childish and shallow, Ferry sounded feminine and dark in a way no other male vocalist in rock ever did. Paul Thompson’s drumming, Phil Manzanera and John Gustafson on guitar and bass, plus Andy Mackay and Eddie Jobson’s woodwind and string work, create orchestrations that cascade like an overflowing waterfall to back up Ferry’s spiritual and romantic obsessions to create an emotional overflow few records match.
[First added to this chart: 05/13/2019]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,566
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For all-out jamming, there is no record that compares to the electrifying power in store here. Whereas the first two studio records are stilted by the atmosphere, on ‘At Fillmore East’ the Allman Brothers do not let loose, but burn like potassium reacting with water. Gregg Allman’s full-throated voice and Duane’s tight guitar justify every moment of this original double LP.
[First added to this chart: 05/13/2019]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,106
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17. (18) 
1
1
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This the one that began the “world music” obsession of the 1980s and 1990s. Although recordings of Bulgarian folk music had circulated in the West as early as the middle 1950s, it was with ‘Le Mystère Des Voix Bulgares: Volume 1’ that the wondrous vocal tones possessed by eastern European voices first became known. The powerful dissonances create the most startling effects on such songs as ‘Svatba’, ‘Pilentze Pee’ and ‘Sableyalo Mi Agontze’ capture an ancient, deep-rooted way of life that technology was already demolishing, but which completely redefined for modern urban culture what is possible in sound and rhythm.
[First added to this chart: 05/13/2019]
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George Clinton’s magnum opus, and the finest work of studio jamming, this album was the last before soul music began to splinter into rap and pop/soul, and its essential artiness would be carried on only by New Wave artists like Talking Heads and Rip, Rig + Panic — none of whom ever made a record this good. On ‘Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome’, Clinton tightens up the often aimless jamming of early Funkadelic albums into a record that is simultaneously a call to arms and a nightmarish child dream. ‘Sir Nose D'Voidoffunk’ epitomises these feats to produce one of the great epics of the seventies alongside ‘Riders on the Storm’, ‘Birdland’, ‘Mother Russia’, ‘Song for Sharon’, ‘Future Days’ and ‘Kitty’s Back’ — and harsher than any of those. The second side is equally despairing yet wistful, like an affectionate lament to a lost past freedom.
[First added to this chart: 05/13/2019]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
555
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
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Long misunderstood, this album more than established Laura’s greatness, but showed her to be much more far-sighted than anyone else — even biographer Michele Kort — realised at the time. Whereas ‘New York Tendaberry’ had been full of odd catchy dynamics that pushed it into the Billboard Top 40, ‘Christmas and the Beads of Sweat’ released a year later was a completely counter-trend turn towards soft textures that no one else was creating at the time. The joyful tone of the first three songs gives way to something scary and inaccessible for the rest of the record — apart from her cover of ‘Up on the Roof’. ‘Been on a Train’ and ‘Christmas in My Soul’ show the hidden side of the 1960s dream like nothing else, and the Native American mystical rites described on ‘Beads of Sweat’ are equally dark. The actual sound of 4AD is closer to this album than it is ‘Future Days’ — play this with synthesisers and you have the Cocteau Twins; play it with electric guitars and you have My Bloody Valentine. A record much more formative, deep, and beautiful than most critics realise, ‘Christmas and the Beads of Sweat’ is an album that truly rewards the patient like few others.
[First added to this chart: 05/13/2019]
Total albums: 30. Page 1 of 3
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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 | 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 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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