The Top 300 Albums of All Time
Three hundred essential albums of popular music, from Elvis Presley and the Beatles to Kendrick Lamar and Rosalía, ranked. Rock, pop, soul, hip-hop, electronic, folk, reggae and music from around the world. Listen to each on Apple Music or Spotify.
300 albums
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1
RockSgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
The studio became an instrument on this landmark of psychedelic pop.
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8Rock
The Velvet Underground & Nico
Few bought it at first, but it shaped decades of alternative rock.
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12
Soul & R&BSongs in the Key of Life
Stevie Wonder’s ambitious double album at the height of his powers.
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18
Hip-hopThe Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Hip-hop and soul blended into a Grammy Album of the Year winner.
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19Rock
The Dark Side of the Moon
A concept album about pressure and madness that stayed on the charts for years.
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22
RockThe Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Bowie’s glam-rock tale of a doomed rock star from space.
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23
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24Soul & R&B
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Aretha’s breakthrough, including her version of “Respect”.
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25Hip-hop
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Dense, furious production and politically charged rhymes.
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26
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28
Hip-hopMy Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Maximalist, self-examining hip-hop with a huge cast of collaborators.
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29Punk & alternative
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols
The band’s only studio album and a defining punk statement.
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30
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31
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32Folk & singer-songwriter
Astral Weeks
Improvised, jazz-inflected songs of longing from the Belfast singer.
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Folk & singer-songwriterTapestry
Warm piano-led songs that became one of the era’s biggest sellers.
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69Folk & singer-songwriter
Songs of Leonard Cohen
The poet’s debut, with “Suzanne” and “So Long, Marianne”.
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79Metal
The Number of the Beast
Bruce Dickinson’s debut with the band, a pillar of British heavy metal.
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85
RockThe Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
Ray Davies’s nostalgic, affectionate portrait of English life.
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86
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Folk & singer-songwriterBridge over Troubled Water
The duo’s final studio album and a huge worldwide success.
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88
Folk & singer-songwriterCrosby, Stills & Nash
Close vocal harmonies that defined California folk-rock.
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89
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91
Folk & singer-songwriterBlood on the Tracks
Dylan’s raw, bittersweet songs of a broken relationship.
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92
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99Blues
King of the Delta Blues Singers
Johnson’s 1930s recordings, which inspired generations of rock guitarists.
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100
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102
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103
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104Soul & R&B
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
Ray Charles crosses racial and genre lines with country standards.
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105
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106
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107Soul & R&B
Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963
A gritty 1963 concert released more than two decades later.
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108
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109
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110
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111
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112
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128
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135Pop
When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Whispered, bass-heavy pop made with her brother Finneas.
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136
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137
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138
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139
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140
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141
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142
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143
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144
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145
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146
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147Punk & alternative
Different Class
Jarvis Cocker’s sharp tales of class and desire, including “Common People”.
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148
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149
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150
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151
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152
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153
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154
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156
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157Punk & alternative
Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
Fast, observational indie rock from Sheffield.
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158
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159
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190Punk & alternative
Automatic for the People
Autumnal songs about mortality, including “Everybody Hurts”.
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191
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192
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228African
Éthiopiques, Vol. 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale
Ethio-jazz recordings from the early 1970s.
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229
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273
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274
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275
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276
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277
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278
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279
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280Folk & singer-songwriter
Rum Sodomy & the Lash
Irish folk with punk energy, produced by Elvis Costello.
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281
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282Punk & alternative
Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?
Dolores O’Riordan’s voice on “Linger” and “Dreams”.
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283
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No albums match those filters.