The Top 100 Classic Rock Albums of All Time

First posted 5/2/2011; last updated 9/4/2020.

Classic Rock: The Top 100 Albums

This list was originally posted on Facebook on May 2, 2011. It was based on an aggregate of 13 best-of lists focused on classic rock (sources listed at bottom of page). It has been updated here on the blog with 31 lists now factored in. While there isn’t uniform agreement on exactly what era “classic rock” spans, it generally stretches from the mid-‘60s to sometime into the ‘80s so I eliminated post-‘80s albums (only two would have made the list: Nirvana’s Nevermind and Radiohead’s OK Computer). Click on an album title to go to a more detailed page about that album. Check out other best-of-genre lists here. 1. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV (1971) 2. Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon (1973) 3. The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) 4. AC/DC Back in Black (1980) 5. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced? (1967) 6. The Who Who’s Next (1971) 7. Fleetwood Mac Rumours (1977) 8. Eagles Hotel California (1976) 9. The Doors The Doors (1967) 10. Bruce Springsteen Born to Run (1975) 11. Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here (1975) 12. Pink Floyd The Wall (1979) 13. Boston Boston (1976) 14. The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street (1972) 15. The Beatles Revolver (1966) 16. Van Halen Van Halen I (1978) 17. Queen A Night at the Opera (1975) 18. Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti (1975) 19. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Electric Ladyland (1968) 20. The Beatles The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (1968) 21. The Beatles Abbey Road (1969) 22. The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers (1971) 23. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II (1969) 24. Aerosmith Toys in the Attic (1975) 25. David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) 26. Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young Déjà Vu (1970) 27. Deep Purple Machine Head (1972) 28. AC/DC Highway to Hell (1979) 29. Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hell (1977) 30. The Rolling Stones Let It Bleed (1969) 31. Jethro Tull Aqualung (1971) 32. Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) 33. The Who Tommy (1969) 34. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin I (1969) 35. U2 The Joshua Tree (1987) 36. Derek and the Dominos Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs (1970) 37. Lynyrd Skynyrd Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd (1973) 38. Rush Moving Pictures (1981) 39. Cream Disraeli Gears (1967) 40. Neil Young Harvest (1972) 41. The Who Quadrophenia (1973) 42. Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction (1987) 43. Supertramp Breakfast in America (1979) 44. The Beach Boys Pet Sounds (1966) 45. Bob Dylan Blonde on Blonde (1966) 46. The Doors L.A. Woman (1971) 47. Black Sabbath Paranoid (1970) 48. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Damn the Torpedoes (1979) 49. Bad Company Bad Company (1974) 50. Yes Fragile (1971) 51. Van Halen 1984 (1984) 52. Santana Abraxas (1970) 53. The Clash London Calling (1979) 54. Peter Frampton Frampton Comes Alive! (live, 1976) 55. Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet (1986) 56. The Police Synchronicity (1983) 57. Van Morrison Moondance (1970) 58. Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks (1975) 59. The Allman Brothers At Fillmore East (live, 1971) 60. Eric Clapton Slowhand (1977) 61. The Rolling Stones Beggars Banquet (1968) 62. Lynyrd Skynyrd Street Survivors (1977) 63. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band Night Moves (1976) 64. Def Leppard Hysteria (1987) 65. Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy (1973) 66. The Beatles Rubber Soul (1965) 67. The Rolling Stones Some Girls (1978) 68. Dire Straits Brothers in Arms (1985) 69. Journey Escape (1981) 70. Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A. (1984) 71. Grateful Dead American Beauty (1970) 72. The Allman Brothers Band Eat a Peach (1972) 73. Steely Dan Aja (1977) 74. Eric Clapton 461 Ocean Boulevard (1974) 75. ZZ Top Tres Hombres (1973) 76. Aerosmith Rocks (1976) 77. Foreigner 4 (1981) 78. Def Leppard Pyromania (1983) 79. The Cars The Cars (1978) 80. ZZ Top Eliminator (1983) 81. Steve Miller Band Fly Like an Eagle (1976) 82. Creedence Clearwater Revival Cosmo’s Factory (1970) 83. Eagles The Long Run (1979) 84. King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King (1969) 85. Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited (1965) 86. The Beatles Let It Be (1970) 87. Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac (1975) 88. Rush 2112 (1976) 89. Van Morrison Astral Weeks (1968) 90. Foreigner Foreigner (1977) 91. John Lennon Imagine (1971) 92. Styx The Grand Illusion (1977) 93. Neil Young After the Gold Rush (1970) 94. The Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977) 95. Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow (1967) 96. Bruce Springsteen Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) 97. Crosby, Stills & Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969) 98. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Axis: Bold As Love (1967) 99. REO Speedwagon Hi Infidelity (1980) 100. The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour (1967) Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: other best-of-genre lists Dave’s Music Database (5/2/2011): original Facebook post Aloha (Nov. 2002). “Classic Albums Top 40” BBC listeners were polled to determine the top 100 albums of all time. AskMen.com: “Top 200 Albums of All Time” Now dead link. Barnes & Noble: “Fundamentals” Beat (2017). “10 of the Greatest Rock Albums Ever Made” by David Porter Blender (April 2003). “500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die: classic rock” CFMI (2001). “Classic 101 CDs Played New Year’s Day, 2001” Now dead link. Ciao 2001 (1988). “100 LPs” A readers’ poll of favorite albums from 1963 to 1975. Classicrock.about.com: “Essential Classic Rock Albums” Now dead link. Classic Rock Magazine (Dec. 2001). “100 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time” List created by magazine’s writers and editors with rules that no compilations or live albums were included and each artist was allowed no more than two albums. ClassicsDuJour.com (9/26/2017). “10 Essential Classic Rock Albums You Need to Own” Dave’s Music Database (2019). Charting the Classic Rock Hits 1962-1981. Dave’s Music Database: Overland Park, KS. Includes list “The Top 100 Classic Rock Albums of All Time” (page 164). Digital Dream Door (4/7/2017). “100 Greatest Rock Albums” edited by Rob, Lew List actually includes 200 albums. IGN (5/23/2016). “Top 25 Classic Rock Albums” by Spence D. Infoplease (2/11/2017). “Must-Have Recordings” List is broken into different genres, including rock. KCFX 101 The Fox (2005). “Top 101 Classic Rock and Roll Albums” Now dead link. Source: “Name of Article” BBC listeners were polled to determine the top 100 albums of all time. KYYS 99.7 (Dec. 2005). “99 Greatest Albums Ever” As voted by radio station listeners. Now dead link. L.A. 103.1 Now dead link of 103 classic rock albums from L.A. radio station. L.A. Weekly (6/16/2016). “The 20 Greatest Classic Rock Albums” by Nicholas Pell LiveAbout.com (5/23/2019). “Top 10 Classic Rock Albums” by Dave White BBC listeners were polled to determine the top 100 albums of all time. Tim Morse (1994). Classic Rock Stories: The Stories Behind the Greatest Songs of All Time Book which includes a list of the top 25 classic rock albums of all time (pages 183-195). NEPA Rock 107: “Top 107 Classic Rock Albums of All Time” Radio station list generated by listener votes. OdysseyOnline.com (2/29/2016). “10 Best Classic Rock Albms Everyone Should Know” by Jacqueline Sowa Paste (5/9/2017). “10 Classic Rock Albums You Should Own on Vinyl” Q magazine (Oct. 2004). “The Greatest Classic Rock Albums Ever!” Unranked list of 30 albums. Q Magazine (April 2005). “Ultimate Music Collection” Featured lists of must-have albums (from 4 to 11 picks) and tracks (roughly 50) in multiple genres including rock, pop, punk, rap, country, blues, soul, metal, reggae, jazz, folk, electronic, and indie. Record Collector (January 2000). “Classic Albums from 21 Genres for the 21st Century” Includes 10 rock albums. Rough Guide (1999). Rock: 100 Essential CDs Shortlist.com (2/27/2020). “The 50 Greatest Rock Albums Ever” by Marc Chacksfield TheTopTens.com “Top Ten Classic Rock Albums of All Time” List actually includes more than 100 titles.