# Top 38 Atlantic Records Albums of All Time

> Seven decades of one label's catalogue, where free-jazz experiments and gospel sermons sit on the same shelf as arena rock and chart-topping rap.

*By YPB Team · Published October 28, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/top-38-atlantic-records-albums-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Led Zeppelin IV** — score 1000/1000
   Led Zeppelin's untitled 1971 fourth album, home to Stairway to Heaven and one of the best-selling records ever.
2. **Free Jazz** — score 823/1000
   Ornette Coleman's 1961 double-quartet improvisation that gave a whole movement its name.
3. **I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You** — score 789/1000
   Aretha Franklin's 1967 Atlantic debut, which opened with Respect and made her the Queen of Soul.
4. **Invasion of Privacy** — score 762/1000
   Cardi B's 2018 debut with Bodak Yellow and I Like It, the first solo female rap album to win the Grammy.
5. **My Favorite Things** — score 623/1000
   Coltrane's 1961 album that turned a show tune into a modal soprano-saxophone epic.
6. **Back in Black** — score 623/1000
   AC/DC's 1980 tribute to Bon Scott with Brian Johnson on vocals, one of the best-selling albums in history.
7. **Cuz I Love You** — score 579/1000
   Lizzo's 2019 major-label debut of brassy, body-positive pop and soul.
8. **Cracked Rear View** — score 579/1000
   Hootie & the Blowfish's 1994 debut, one of the best-selling albums of the 1990s.
9. **Amazing Grace** — score 529/1000
   Aretha Franklin's 1972 live gospel album, the best-selling of her career.
10. **Crosby, Stills & Nash** — score 529/1000
   The trio's 1969 debut of close harmonies, including Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.
11. **First Take** — score 529/1000
   Roberta Flack's 1969 debut, which later yielded the hit The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.
12. **The Genius of Ray Charles** — score 529/1000
   Ray Charles's 1959 album pairing big-band swing with lush string ballads.
13. **Never Say Never** — score 529/1000
   Brandy's 1998 R&B album that included the chart-topping duet The Boy Is Mine.
14. **The Divine Miss M** — score 473/1000
   Bette Midler's 1972 debut, co-produced by Barry Manilow, with Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.
15. **4** — score 473/1000
   Foreigner's 1981 chart-topper with Urgent, Juke Box Hero and Waiting for a Girl Like You.
16. **Devil Without a Cause** — score 473/1000
   Kid Rock's 1998 rap-rock breakthrough with Bawitdaba and Cowboy.
17. **Doo-Wops & Hooligans** — score 473/1000
   Bruno Mars's 2010 debut with Just the Way You Are and Grenade.
18. **Core** — score 473/1000
   Stone Temple Pilots' 1992 debut with Plush and Sex Type Thing.
19. **Led Zeppelin II** — score 473/1000
   The band's 1969 follow-up, built on the riffs of Whole Lotta Love and Heartbreaker.
20. **C'est Chic** — score 410/1000
   Chic's 1978 disco classic featuring Le Freak and I Want Your Love.
21. **Giant Steps** — score 410/1000
   John Coltrane's 1960 Atlantic landmark whose title track became a rite of passage for jazz improvisers.
22. **Yourself or Someone Like You** — score 410/1000
   Matchbox Twenty's 1996 debut with Push, 3AM and Real World.
23. **Dirty Computer** — score 410/1000
   Janelle Monáe's 2018 Afrofuturist pop album and emotion picture.
24. **Divide** — score 410/1000
   Ed Sheeran's 2017 album with Shape of You and Perfect, released by Atlantic in the US.
25. **Unorthodox Jukebox** — score 338/1000
   Bruno Mars's 2012 album with Locked Out of Heaven and When I Was Your Man.
26. **24K Magic** — score 338/1000
   Bruno Mars's 2016 funk and R&B album that swept the major Grammys.
27. **The Shape of Jazz to Come** — score 338/1000
   Ornette Coleman's 1959 quartet record that set the course for free jazz, with Lonely Woman.
28. **Close to the Edge** — score 255/1000
   Yes's 1972 album built around an 18-minute title suite, a peak of progressive rock.
29. **Led Zeppelin III** — score 255/1000
   The 1970 album that paired Immigrant Song with a turn toward acoustic folk.
30. **Lady Soul** — score 255/1000
   Aretha Franklin's 1968 album with Chain of Fools and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.
31. **Houses of the Holy** — score 255/1000
   Led Zeppelin's adventurous 1973 album featuring The Song Remains the Same and The Rain Song.
32. **Highway to Hell** — score 255/1000
   AC/DC's 1979 breakthrough and Bon Scott's final album, produced by Mutt Lange.
33. **Fragile** — score 158/1000
   Yes's 1971 progressive-rock breakthrough, anchored by Roundabout.
34. **Pieces of You** — score 158/1000
   Jewel's 1995 folk debut that slowly climbed to multi-platinum with Who Will Save Your Soul.
35. **Déjà Vu** — score 158/1000
   The 1970 album that added Neil Young to the group, with Teach Your Children and Woodstock.
36. **Led Zeppelin** — score 158/1000
   The 1969 debut that introduced the band's heavy blues sound with Dazed and Confused and Good Times Bad Times.
37. **Little Earthquakes** — score 158/1000
   Tori Amos's 1992 piano-driven solo debut, with Silent All These Years and Winter.
38. **Abandoned Luncheonette** — score 0/1000
   Hall & Oates' 1973 blue-eyed soul album featuring She's Gone.

Tags: r&b, music, jazz, rock, soul, atlantic records
