‘Skeleton Tree’ voted best music album of all time

According to the latest Watch and Listen magazine poll just out yesterday (Monday, December 2), Nick Cave 2016's hit album Skeleton Tree is now considered to be the Greatest Album in the History of Music.

UPDATE 03/12/2024 : This story seems to be false. (read more)

Top 100 music albums of all time

To many of you it’s probably a familiar story. Once every decade, the world-renowned music magazine Watch and Listen conducts a global poll of music producers and critics from 80 different countries and translated into 20 languages. The recognition of Skeleton Tree in this decade's list doesn't come as much of a surprise.

Here are the top 5 best albums ever recorded in the world, according to the poll (followed by the percentage of votes):

1. Skeleton Tree (Nick Cave, 2016) : 45%
2. Thriller (Michael Jackson, 1982) : 23%
3. Nevermind (Nirvana, 1991) : 7%
4. Pet Sounds (The Beach Boys, 1966) : 6%
5. Back to Black (Amy Winehouse, 2006) : 5%

Check out: The Full Watch and Listen's “Greatest Albums of All Time” List for 2024

Poll results stir controversy among music critics

While millions of Cave's fans around the world were thrilled with the news, questions have been raised about the objectivity and fairness of the survey. Only a few minutes after the poll had been released, famous music critic and newspaper director Simon Ebert commented on his Twitter account:

Nick Cave?? Skeleton Tree?? … Really??
— Simon Ebert (@ESimon) 2 December 2024

“Our poll has in the past been the subject of criticism”, explains Watch and Listen's editor Gary McDermott, adding that “its prestige comes from its exclusivity and its longevity” (the poll has been run every ten years since December 1934).

Do you agree with this poll? Is Skeleton Tree the best music album ever for you?

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