The greatest albums of all time
The top 3 according to 524 votes from people: What's Going On — Marvin Gaye · Pet Sounds — The Beach Boys · Songs in the Key of Life — Stevie Wonder. (Updated Dec 2, 2025.)
The top 25 of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (the 2020 edition, updated in 2023), voted by more than 300 artists, critics and industry figures.
Top 25
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1
What's Going On — Marvin Gaye
1971. A concept album about war, poverty and the planet, told from a returning Vietnam veteran's point of view.
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2
Pet Sounds — The Beach Boys
1966. Brian Wilson's studio symphony, with 'God Only Knows' and 'Wouldn't It Be Nice'.
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3
Songs in the Key of Life — Stevie Wonder
1976. A double album with 'Sir Duke', 'Isn't She Lovely' and 'As'; Grammy for Album of the Year.
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4
Abbey Road — The Beatles
1969. The last album the Beatles recorded, with its famous zebra-crossing cover and the side-two medley.
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5
Blue — Joni Mitchell
1971. Ten intimate songs written after her break-up with Graham Nash, including 'A Case of You'.
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6
Nevermind — Nirvana
1991. 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' knocked Michael Jackson off number one and took grunge to the mainstream.
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7
Blood on the Tracks — Bob Dylan
1975. Dylan's divorce album, with 'Tangled Up in Blue' and 'Simple Twist of Fate'.
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8
Purple Rain — Prince and the Revolution
1984. The soundtrack of his film, with 'When Doves Cry' and the title track.
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9
Thriller — Michael Jackson
1982. The best-selling album in history, produced by Quincy Jones.
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10
Rumours — Fleetwood Mac
1977. Recorded while the band's couples were breaking up; over 40 million copies sold.
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11
Revolver — The Beatles
1966. From 'Eleanor Rigby' to 'Tomorrow Never Knows': the Beatles become a studio band.
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12
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy — Kanye West
2010. Maximalist hip-hop with 'Runaway' and 'Power', recorded in Hawaii.
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13
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back — Public Enemy
1988. Chuck D, Flavor Flav and the Bomb Squad's dense production; a landmark of political hip-hop.
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14
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You — Aretha Franklin
1967. Her Atlantic debut, recorded partly in Muscle Shoals, with 'Respect'.
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15
Ready to Die — The Notorious B.I.G.
1994. Biggie's debut, with 'Juicy' and 'Big Poppa'.
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16
London Calling — The Clash
1979. A punk double album that mixes reggae, rockabilly and ska.
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17
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill — Lauryn Hill
1998. Her only studio album; five Grammys including Album of the Year.
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18
Tapestry — Carole King
1971. 'It's Too Late' and 'You've Got a Friend'; 15 weeks at number one in the US.
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19
Born to Run — Bruce Springsteen
1975. Springsteen's wall of sound and the escape from New Jersey.
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20
Kid A — Radiohead
2000. Radiohead swap guitars for electronics, with no singles released.
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21
Exile on Main St. — The Rolling Stones
1972. A double album recorded largely in the basement of a villa on the French Riviera.
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22
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band — The Beatles
1967. The concept album of the Summer of Love; number one on Rolling Stone's 2003 list.
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23
Highway 61 Revisited — Bob Dylan
1965. Dylan goes electric, opening with 'Like a Rolling Stone'.
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24
The Velvet Underground & Nico — The Velvet Underground
1967. Andy Warhol's banana cover; it sold little but, as the saying goes, everyone who bought it started a band.
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25
To Pimp a Butterfly — Kendrick Lamar
2015. Jazz, funk and spoken word around 'Alright', which became an anthem of Black Lives Matter.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (10)
Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in the top 10, hell yes
Listening to What's Going On front to back again this week. Still perfect.
Blue by Joni Mitchell in the top 5, love it.
What's Going On at #1, Rolling Stone made the same call in 2020.
What's Going On at #1, same as Rolling Stone's 2020 list. Hard to argue with it.
Kid A at #20 is criminal. OK Computer isn't even here!
Pet Sounds is the most overrated album ever made, sorry
Paul McCartney said it inspired Sgt. Pepper. That's not overrated, that's influential.
Blue by Joni Mitchell is the most beautiful album ever made 💙
Abbey Road over Revolver? Strong disagree but both are perfect anyway