The best German albums of all time
The top 3 according to 35 votes from people: The Man-Machine — Kraftwerk · Monarchie und Alltag — Fehlfarben · Trio — Trio. (Updated May 31, 2025.)
The top ten of Rolling Stone Germany's 50 best German albums (headed by Fehlfarben's Monarchie und Alltag) and other milestones from krautrock to the Hamburger Schule that keep appearing in critics' lists.
Automatically translated (original in Deutsch). See the original
Top 20
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1
The Man-Machine — Kraftwerk
1978. 'The Model' and 'The Robots': electronic pop that changed the world.
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2
Monarchie und Alltag — Fehlfarben
1980. Neue Deutsche Welle with 'Ein Jahr (Es geht voran)'; number one for Rolling Stone.
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3
Trio — Trio
1981. Minimalism from Großenkneten with 'Da Da Da'.
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4
Neu! — Neu!
1972. Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger and krautrock's motorik beat.
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5
Weißes Papier — Element of Crime
1993. Sven Regener's melancholy Berlin chansons in German.
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6
Keine Macht für Niemand — Ton Steine Scherben
1972. Rio Reiser and the soundtrack of West Berlin's squatter scene.
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7
Ideal — Ideal
1980. Annette Humpe and 'Berlin', an anthem of the Neue Deutsche Welle.
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8
½ Mensch — Einstürzende Neubauten
1985. Blixa Bargeld, metal and jackhammers as instruments.
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9
Trans-Europe Express — Kraftwerk
1977. Trains, Europe and a riff later sampled by Afrika Bambaataa.
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10
Tago Mago — Can
1971. A double album with Damo Suzuki; the peak of Cologne krautrock.
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11
Alles ist gut — DAF
1981. Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft and 'Der Mussolini'; a prototype of electronic body music.
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12
L'Etat et moi — Blumfeld
1994. Jochen Distelmeyer and the Hamburger Schule between theory and guitars.
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13
Rio I. — Rio Reiser
1986. The Scherben singer's solo debut with 'König von Deutschland' and 'Junimond'.
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14
Nina Hagen Band — Nina Hagen Band
1978. Punk and opera from East Berlin, with 'TV-Glotzer'.
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15
Autobahn — Kraftwerk
1974. A 22-minute drive on the motorway; their international breakthrough.
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16
Computer World — Kraftwerk
1981. Home computers, databases and 'Computer Love', years before they were everyday things.
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17
Digital ist besser — Tocotronic
1995. The Hamburg band's debut, all tracksuit tops and slogans.
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18
4630 Bochum — Herbert Grönemeyer
1984. 'Männer', 'Flugzeuge im Bauch' and 'Bochum'; one of the best-selling German albums.
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19
Faust IV — Faust
1973. Recorded in England; with 'Krautrock', the track that gave the genre its name.
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20
Future Days — Can
1973. The last album with Damo Suzuki, floating and atmospheric.
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 (6)
Monarchie und Alltag auf Platz eins, wie beim Rolling Stone. Ein Wahnsinnsalbum.
Tago Mago von Can ist für mich das wichtigste deutsche Album überhaupt.
Ton Steine Scherben, «Keine Macht für Niemand», Rio Reiser forever.
Trio mit «Da Da Da», das kennt die ganze Welt 😄
Wo ist Grönemeyers «4630 Bochum»?
Vier Kraftwerk-Alben in den Top 12, völlig zu Recht. Die Mensch-Maschine ist zeitlos.