Top 120ish Albums

I'd been listening to the same albums for decades and was looking to expand my music library, so I decided to find a couple of top 100 album lists to expand my music library. I listened to all of the albums from start to finish and created the list below, while adding some that I felt were missing from the initial lists I used.

For an artist to record an end to end great album that stands the test of time is very difficult. Many of the albums on this list have achieved that status, while others have set a new standard, or had a major impact. The list isn't comprehensive, nor will it align with everyone's opinion, but it was an interesting and enjoyable experience creating it.

Top Album Lists


Top 120 Albums

  1. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
  2. The Beatles
    1. Abbey Road
    2. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
    3. The Beatles
  3. The Clash
    1. London Calling
    2. The Clash
  4. Joni Mitchell - Blue
  5. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
  6. Radiohead
    1. OK Computer
    2. In Rainbows
    3. The Bends
  7. Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On
  8. Nirvana - Nevermind
  9. David Bowie
    1. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
    2. Hunky Dory
  10. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Born to Run
  11. Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
  12. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
  13. The Rolling Stones
    1. Let It Bleed
    2. Sticky Fingers
    3. Exile on Main St.
  14. The Ramones - Ramones
  15. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
  16. Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
  17. Paul Simon - Graceland
  18. Taylor Swift - 1989
  19. AC/DC - Back in Black
  20. Bob Dylan
    1. Blood on the Tracks
    2. Highway 61 Revisited
    3. Blonde on Blonde
  21. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
  22. Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster
  23. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
  24. Guns N’ Roses
    1. Appetite for Destruction
    2. Greatest Hits
  25. Nina Simone - I Put a Spell on You
  26. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
  27. The Cure - Disintegration
  28. The Smiths
    1. The Queen is Dead
    2. Strangeways Here We Come
    3. Hatful of Hollow
  29. The Police - Synchronicity
  30. Adele - 21
  31. Lorde - Pure Heroine
  32. Rush - Moving Pictures
  33. Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever
  34. Bob Marley
    1. Legend
    2. Exodus
  35. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Chronicle
  36. Hole - Live Through This
  37. Mile Davis - Kind of Blue
  38. Queen - Greatest Hits
  39. Prince & The Revolution - Purple Rain
  40. Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks
  41. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
  42. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
  43. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico
  44. Patti Smith - Horses
  45. Beyonce - Lemonade
  46. Talking Heads - Remain in Light
  47. Blondie - Parallel Lines
  48. Stevie Wonder
    1. Songs in the Key of Life
    2. Innervisions
  49. Dusty Springfield - Dusty in Memphis
  50. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
  51. Public Enemy
    1. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
    2. Fear of a Black Planet
  52. Blur - Parklife
  53. Michael Jackson - Thriller
  54. Missy Elliot - Supa Dupa Fly
  55. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
  56. Metallica - Master of Puppets
  57. Wu Tang Clan - Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)
  58. Neil Young
    1. After the Goldrush
    2. Harvest
  59. Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do
  60. Massive Attack - Blue Lines
  61. OutKast - Stankonia
  62. Pixies - Doolittle and Surfer Rosa
  63. Jay -Z
    1. Reasonable Doubt
    2. The Black Album
  64. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
  65. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
  66. REM
    1. Automatic for the People
    2. Murmur
  67. Iggy & The Stooges - Raw Power
  68. Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison
  69. The Strokes - Is This It
  70. Oasis
    1. Definitely Maybe
    2. (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
  71. Dr. Dre - 2001
  72. Joy Division
    1. Unknown Pleasures
    2. Closer
  73. Sly and the Family Stone - There’s a Riot Goin’ On
  74. The Band - Music From the Big Ping
  75. Nas - Illmatic
  76. Madvillain - Madvillainy
  77. Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
  78. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen
  79. Madonna - Like a Prayer
  80. White Stripes - De Stijl
  81. Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
  82. Beastie Boys - Paul’s Boutique
  83. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
  84. U2 - The Joshua Tree
  85. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
  86. Carole King - Tapestry
  87. Parliament - The Mothership Connection
  88. Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer
  89. Bill Joel - The Stranger
  90. Erykah Badu - Baduizm
  91. Peter Gabriel - So
  92. Pretenders - Pretenders
  93. Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
  94. The Band - The Band
  95. Tupac - All Eyez on Me
  96. Pearl Jam - Ten
  97. Slayer - Reign of Blood
  98. Green Day - Dookie
  99. Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill
  100. The Who - Who’s Next?
  101. Pulp - Different Class
  102. The Replacements - Let It Be
  103. TLC - CrazySexyCool
  104. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
  105. System of the Down - Toxicity
  106. N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton
  107. Jane’s Addiction - Nothing’s Shocking
  108. Eminem - Curtain Call: The Hits
  109. Green Day - Dookie
  110. Metallica - Metallica
  111. Suede - Suede
  112. Kraftwerk - The Man Machine
  113. LCD Sound System - Sound of Silver
  114. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses