For albums that had the highest sales, see List of best-selling albums worldwide.

Many publications and organizations have tried to determine the album considered the greatest ever. Those listed in this article have all been cited in a notable survey — be it a popular poll or critics' poll.

None of these citations should be viewed as scientific. By default, surveys are a scientific study of statistical probability and prediction. All the surveys are biased in one way or another. Many of these sources focus on American albums or were polls of English-speaking listeners. Most implicitly consider only currently popular genres, with classical music, opera, jazz, and other categories given short shrift. USA Today

USA Today

USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

noted that Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

magazine's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...

 "is weighted toward testosterone-fueled vintage rock", with only a "smattering of country (Johnny Cash), jazz (Miles Davis) and seminal blues (Howlin' Wolf)." There are often problems with vote stacking or skewed demographics; Internet-based surveys have a self-selecting audience. The methodology of some surveys may be questionable. Sometimes voters were asked to select albums from a limited list of entries.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...

(1967) by The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 is the canonical example of what is typically cited as the best album of all time. It was ranked number one by Rolling Stone, The Definitive 200 by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers

National Association of Recording Merchandisers

The National Association of Recording Merchandisers is a United States not-for-profit trade association based in Marlton, New Jersey that serves music retailing businesses in lobbying and trade promotion...

, and others.

Greatest Overall

Album	Performer	Year	Rolling Stone 500 (2003)	The Guardian 100 (1997)
Pet Sounds Pet Sounds Pet Sounds is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band The Beach Boys, released May 16, 1966, on Capitol Records. It has since been recognized as one of the most influential records in the history of popular music and one of the best albums of the 1960s, including songs such as "Wouldn't...	The Beach Boys The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...	1966	2	6
Revolver Revolver (album) Revolver is the seventh studio album by the English rock group The Beatles, released on 5 August 1966 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin. Many of the tracks on Revolver are marked by an electric guitar-rock sound, in contrast with their previous LP, the folk rock inspired Rubber...	The Beatles	1966	3	2
What's Going On What's Going On What's Going On is the eleventh studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released May 21, 1971, on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records...	Marvin Gaye Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....	1971	6	1
The Beatles The Beatles (album) The Beatles is the ninth official album by the English rock group The Beatles, a double album released in 1968. It is also commonly known as "The White Album" as it has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed on its plain white sleeve.The album was written and recorded during a...	The Beatles	1968	10	9

All albums listed above were also included in Time

Time (magazine)

Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

magazine's 2006 list of All-TIME 100 Albums, though they were split up by decade and it is unclear if they were ranked.

The Beatles had the most albums of any group or individual performer on both the Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (11) and The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

s 100 Best Albums Ever (5).

Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...

's The Dark Side of the Moon

The Dark Side of the Moon

The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...

was voted best album by a poll conducted by the ABC

Australian Broadcasting Company

The Australian Broadcasting Company was a consortium of entertainment interests formed in 1929 to supply radio programs for broadcast on the former "A-class" transmitters contracted to the Federal Government's National Broadcasting Service...

 television program My Favourite Album

My Favourite Album

My Favourite Album was a nation-wide poll conducted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to discover Australia's most popular album. Voting was by phone, SMS or over the ABC's website between 20 September 2006 to midnight on 18 October 2006. Much of the poll's promotion was through the ABC's...

in 2006. It was ranked 37th by The Guardian and 43rd by Rolling Stone.

In 2006, NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

selected The Stone Roses

The Stone Roses (album)

The Stone Roses is the debut album by English rock band The Stone Roses, released on Silvertone Records in 1989. It cemented the band's reputation among critics, and is still rated by some as one of the most important albums ever...

as the best British album of all time.