2001 named best year for top hit albums
New research has revealed that 2001 produced the highest number of albums appearing in the top 250, including hits like The Strokes’ ‘Is This It’, Jay-Z’s ‘The Blueprint’ and Bjork’s ‘Vespertine’.
The study by Convertr.org analysed the top 250 albums on AlbumOfTheYear.org and found that the albums released that year averaged out a score of 87.9 out of 100 on AlbumOfTheYear.org.
Ten top 250 entries were produced in 2001, with Daft Punk’s ‘Discovery’ regarded as one of the most influential albums of all time, with the futuristic and fresh sounds still being enjoyed and even sampled to this day.
1998 was the second-best year for music according to the rankings, with nine top 250 titles produced. Notable albums include Lauryn Hill’s debut entry ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’, Madonna’s ‘Ray of Light’, Massive Attack’s ‘Mezzanine’ and Tori Amos’ ‘From The Choirgirl Hotel’ with all of the 1998 releases averaging a score of 87.2.
‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ was Lauryn Hill’s only studio album and debuted at number one in Billboard’s Top 200 in its release week, where it then went on to sell more than 20 million copies.
The third-best year for music was 1999, with eight titles featuring in the top 250. These entries include Fiona Apple’s ‘When the Pawn…’, Mos Def’s ‘Black on Both Sides’, Pharoahe Monch’s ‘Internal Affairs’, and The Roots’ ‘Things Fall Apart’.
Mos Def’s ‘Black on Both Sides’ was the American rapper’s debut album and featured the likes of Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes and Talib Kweli. Five months after its release, the album was certified Gold after selling more than 500,000 copies.
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson from Convertr.org said: “With the sound of music constantly evolving, it’s interesting to see how timeless many albums are, with listeners today still enjoying tracks from decades past. From this list, hip-hop seems to be a standout genre, with many hip-hop albums featuring in the top 250. While this data shows the early 2000s and late 90s was a great time for music lovers, the quality of the 60s and 70s should not be doubted in the modern-day either.”
You can see the full list rankings below:
| RANK | YEAR |
| 1 | 2001 |
| 2 | 1998 |
| 3 | 1999 |
| 4 | 1997 |
| 5 | 2012 |
| 6 | 2000 |
| 7 | 1995 |
| 8 | 1994 |
| 9 | 1971 |
| 10 | 1969 |