Through a variety of media outlets, including radio and publishing, Virgin Records has put out a variety of best-of album lists through the years. This exclusive DMDB list consolidates five Virgin lists (see sources at bottom of page) into one top 100.
Also, check out annual picks for album of the year.
1. Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
2. Nirvana Nevermind (1991)
3. The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street (1972)
4. Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hell (1977)
5. Queen A Night at the Opera (1975)
6. Eagles Hotel California (1976)
7. Dire Straits Brothers in Arms (1985)
8. The Beatles Revolver (1966)
9. The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
10. The Beach Boys Pet Sounds (1966)
11. R.E.M. Automatic for the People (1992)
12. The Beatles The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (1968)
13. The Beatles Abbey Road (1969)
14. David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
15. U2 The Joshua Tree (1987)
16. David Bowie Hunky Dory (1971)
17. Fleetwood Mac Rumours (1977)
18. The Beatles Rubber Soul (1965)
19. Bob Dylan Blonde on Blonde (1966)
20. Bruce Springsteen Born to Run (1975)
21. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
22. Paul Simon Graceland (1986)
23. The Doors The Doors (1967)
24. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced? (1967)
25. U2 Achtung Baby (1991)
26. Pearl Jam Ten (1991)
27. Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction (1987)
28. The Who Who’s Next (1971)
29. Crowded House Woodface (1991)
30. Blondie Parallel Lines (1978)
31. Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)
32. The Police Synchronicity (1983)
33. Elvis Costello My Aim Is True (1977)
34. Elvis Costello & The Attractions Imperial Bedroom (1982)
35. Derek and the Dominos Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs (1970)
36. The Rolling Stones Aftermath (1966)
37. Oasis (What’s the Story) Morning Glory (1995)
38. Van Morrison Astral Weeks (1968)
39. Velvet Underground & Nico Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
40. Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
41. The Smiths The Queen Is Dead (1986)
42. Love Forever Changes (1967)
43. Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977)
44. Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks (1975)
45. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Electric Ladyland (1968)
46. The Rolling Stones Let It Bleed (1969)
47. R.E.M. Out of Time (1991)
48. Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill (1995)
49. Prince Sign ‘O’ the Times (1987)
50. The Band The Band (1969)
51. Joni Mitchell Blue (1971)
52. Michael Jackson Thriller (1982)
53. Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here (1975)
54. Blur Parklife (1994)
55. Simon & Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
56. Prince & the Revolution Purple Rain (soundtrack, 1984)
57. Lou Reed Transformer (1972)
58. Pink Floyd The Wall (1979)
59. Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
60. Neil Young After the Gold Rush (1970)
61. U2 The Unforgettable Fire (1984)
62. The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers (1971)
63. Frank Sinatra Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! (1956)
64. Crosby, Stills & Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969)
65. Peter Gabriel So (1986)
66. Neil Young Harvest (1972)
67. Manic Street Preachers Everything Must Go (1996)
68. John Lennon Imagine (1971)
69. The Verve Urban Hymns (1997)
70. Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)
71. Van Morrison Moondance (1970)
72. Carole King Tapestry (1971)
73. David Bowie Low (1977)
74. Mike Oldfield Tubular Bells (1973)
75. The Byrds The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968)
76. Moby Grape Moby Grape (1967)
77. Metallica Master of Puppets (1986)
78. Elvis Costello & The Attractions This Year’s Model (1978)
79. T-Rex Electric Warrior (1971)
80. AC/DC Back in Black (1980)
81. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Déjà Vu (1970)
82. Kate Bush Hounds of Love (1985)
83. Cream Disraeli Gears (1967)
84. The Jam All Mod Cons (1978)
85. The Beatles Help! (1965)
86. The Byrds Younger Than Yesterday (1967)
87. The Rolling Stones Beggars Banquet (1968)
88. Neil Young Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)
89. Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A. (1984)
90. Michael Jackson Bad (1987)
91. Frank Zappa Hot Rats (1969)
92. Joni Mitchell Court and Spark (1974)
93. Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow (1967)
94. R.E.M. Green (1988)
95. Michael Jackson Off the Wall (1979)
96. U2 War (1983)
97. Simply Red Stars (1991)
98. ABC Lexicon of Love (1982)
99. Steely Dan Can’t Buy a Thrill (1972)
100. The Grateful Dead American Beauty (1970)
Resources and Related Links:
- 1994: “Top 250 Rock and Pop Albums”
This is from the Colin Larkin book The All Time Top 1000 Albums, first published in 1994 by Guinness. It broke down albums into different genres; just the rock and pop list is included here. Subsequent books by Larkin were published by Virgin so this list is included here even.
- 1998: The Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums
This revised book from Colin Larkin is the result of more than 200,000 poll participants.
- 2000: The Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums
This is the third edition of Colin Larkin’s books, again produced by gathering more than 200,000 votes.
- 2003: “Great Albums You Really Should Own”
List was compiled by DJ Daryl Denham for Virgin Radio from more than 3500 votes.
- 12/27/03: “Top 25 Rock Albums All Time”
Presented on Virgin Radio on Russ Williams’ Rebel Yell show.
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