According to a wide spectrum of gay music experts quizzed by Out Magazine, these are the top 100 gayest albums of all time. To compile this Top 100 Gayest Albums of All Time, Out Magazine polled more than 100 actors, comedians, musicians, writers, critics, performance artists, label reps, and DJs, asking each to list the 10 albums that left the most indelible impressions on their lives. Out writes in this new report that “After receiving responses from Boy George, Rufus Wainwright, Cyndi Lauper, the Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray, Candis Cayne, Perez Hilton, Nate Berkus, Jake Shears, John Cameron Mitchell, Wilson Cruz, Justin Bond, Darren Hayes, Junior Vasquez, Bruce Vilanch, Janis Ian, the Cliks, Ari Gold, Holly Johnson, and a slew of others, we tallied the results to determine our top-100 list.”
Read all 100 albums below or check out the list on the Out website, which is accompanied by reviews and commentary by the experts polled for this fun music survey. Note that the Beatles’ Sgt Peppers, usually at the top of most “Best of” retro lists, is at the very end, at number 100 on this chart. If you look over the entire top 100 you will notice that certain artists like The Smiths, Bowie, Queen, Prince and Madonna show up numerous times.
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1. David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust (1972)
2. The Smiths – The Smiths (1984)
3. Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman (1988)
4. Indigo Girls – Indigo Girls (1989)
5. Judy Garland – Judy At Carnegie Hall (1961)
6. The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead (1986)
7. Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)
8. Madonna – The Immaculate Collection (1973)
9. Cyndi Lauper – She’s So Unusual (1983)
10. Antony & The Johnsons – I Am A Bird Now (2005)
11. Various artists Hedwig and the Angry Inch Soundtrack (2001)
12. The Velvet Underground & Nico The Velvet Underground & Nico (1969)
13. Ani DiFranco Dilate (1996)
14. Erasure The Innocents (1988)
15. George Michael Faith (1987)
16. Queen A Night at the Opera (1975)
17. Lou Reed Transformer (1972)
18. George Michael Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. I (1990)
19. The B-52s The B-52’s (1979)
20. Queen A Day at the Races (1976)
31. Sarah McLachlan Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (1993)
32. The Smiths Meat Is Murder (1985)
33. The Smiths Hatful of Hollow (1984)
34. Donna Summer Bad Girls (1979)
35. Yaz Upstairs at Eric’s (1982)
36. Madonna Erotica (1992)
37. Blondie Parallel Lines (1978)
38. Dusty Springfield Dusty in Memphis (1969)
39. Laura Nyro and Labelle Gonna Take A Miracle (1971)
40. Pet Shop Boys Behavior (1990)
41. Melissa Etheridge Yes I Am (1993)
42. ABBA Gold (1992)
43. Prince Purple Rain (1984)
44. Pet Shop Boys Very (1993)
45. Bikini Kill Pussy Whipped (1993)
46. Madonna Ray of Light (1998)
47. The Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs (1999)
48. Cris Williamson The Changer and the Changed (1975)
49. Patti Smith Horses (1975)
50. Rufus Wainwright Poses (2001)
51. Frankie Goes to Hollywood Welcome to the Pleasuredome (1984)
52. Kate Bush Hounds of Love (1985)
53. Culture Club Colour by Numbers (1983)
54. Tori Amos Little Earthquakes (1992)
55. David Bowie Diamond Dogs (1974)
56. Team Dresch Personal Best (1994)
57. Prince Dirty Mind (1980)
58. Liz Phair Exile in Guyville (1993)
59. Bronski Beat The Age of Consent (1984)
60. R.E.M. Automatic for the People (1992)
61. Sleater-Kinney Dig Me Out (1997)
62. Jeff Buckley Grace (1994)
63. Björk Debut (1993)
64. Patti Smith Easter (1978)
65. Le Tigre Le Tigre (1999)
66. Soft Cell Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret (1981)
67. Hüsker Dü Candy Apple Grey (1986)
68. Nirvana Nevermind (1991)
69. Frances Faye Caught in the Act (1959)
70. Rent Original Broadway Cast Rent (1996)
71. Elton John Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975)
72. Donna Summer Once Upon a Time (1977)
73. Various Artists Fame Soundtrack (1980)
74. Michael Jackson Off the Wall (1979)
75. Carole King Tapestry (1971)
76. Ani DiFranco Imperfectly (1992)
77. New Order Substance (1987)
78. Various Artists The Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack (1975)
79. T. Rex Electric Warrior (1971)
80. Rufus Wainwright Want One (2003)
81. Scissor Sisters Ta-Dah (2006)
82. Cher Believe (1998) 83. Bette Midler The Divine Miss M (1972)
84. Cyndi Lauper True Colors (1986)
85. Nina Simone Anthology (2003)
86. Madonna Madonna (1983)
87. Madonna Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005)
88. Hüsker Dü Zen Arcade (1984)
89. Fifth Column To Sir With Hate (1986)
90. Kate Bush The Kick Inside (1978)
91. Grace Jones Nightclubbing (1981)
92. Morrissey Viva Hate (1988)
93. Sade Lovers Rock (2000)
94. Hair Original Broadway Cast Hair (1968)
95. Culture Club Kissing to Be Clever (1982)
96. Nick Drake Bryter Layter (1970)
97. Janis Ian Between the Lines (1975)
98. Ferron Testimony (1980)
99. Joni Mitchell For the Roses (1972)
100. The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
13 thoughts on “The Top 100 Gayest Albums Of All Time? Do you agree?”
Personally I find “Bathhouse Betty” to be the gayest…I mean…the title..the “I’m Beautiful Dammit” anthem, the mixture of genres (the last song was for a gay revue)… I mean half the albums on that list can also fit into “100 Greatest Rock Albums”, “Albums of All-Time”, etc. etc. Babs doesn’t get listed, Pet Shop Boys and Madonna are on their multiple times (Bette on CBS sitcom “The Judds have 3 spots on that list. There should be a limit – one per household!”).
I think Mika’s “Life in Cartoon Motion” should also be on that list. And I find it hard if they’re going to include musical theatre recordings (and let’s face it, all of them can be classified as gay…”Hairspray”, “Rocky Horror”, “Gypsy”) and then neglect all-gay themed musicals like “La Cage aux Folles” or “Zanna, Don’t!”.
I agree. I saw no Barbra Streisand, no Shirley Bassey, the soundtrack to The Velvet Goldmine, no Dolly Parton or The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, there’s no Will Young, what about Divine, Liza Minnelli, or Dame Edna Everage (what a riot!)?
This would be a hard list to write up, there’s always going to be someone that was omitted. But I agree, there should be one spot on the list per artist resulting in a more varied list of performers.
Prince – Dirty Mind! One of the gayest albums of all time???? I doubt it! I love Prince and his weird and wacky ways but I think this doesn’t belong on the list. Have you heard the song “Sister” on the album? Well let me tell you it ain’t no show tune, but more about losing his virginity to his older sister, nothing gay about that!
I think the Gypsy soundtrack should have been mentioned, Thighs & Whispers is another one that comes to mind, I actually listened to that album to help me sum up the courage to tell my parents I was gay. What a waste of fucking time that was they already figured it out a year and a half before hand when I took my KISS posters down and replaced them with Bette Midler posters!
Some of the albums that have been listed I wouldn’t wipe my ass with, but some of them really are camp.
Well, I would have definitely hsd her in the Top 10. Her first album was a landmark. I also would have to put the second album as well and Live at Last since they finally captured her live show as well….All 3 of these albums had a big impact on me…
While doing some Sunday afternoon Bette youtube watching, I came across this video. It’s a group of dancers performing to Oh Industry. While not perfect, it certainly gave me chills. I’ve always wanted to see a dance performed to this song. I think Betteheads would like to see it:
I agree with you all, one artist shouldn’t appear more than once. And I agree with you Spencer, I find the “Bathhouse Betty” album the gayest. I love that one!!!.
I missed so many people and albums in that list:
Babs should be there, and if I should choose an album it would be “Yentl”.
¿And Gloria Estefan?: I remenber how much I danced with “Gloria!” (1998) and the guys around me were absolutely crazy about that!!.
I missed k.d.lang too. I love the “Ingenue” album and the single “Miss Chatelaine” is very gay.
My only question is “how could Olivia Newton-John not be on the list AT ALL?”
From Xanadu to Physical to Grease…. seriously. AND she’s been a GREAT friend to the LGBT community. This year alone, her only concert thus far was a standing room only affair at Gay Pride L.A.
Personally I find “Bathhouse Betty” to be the gayest…I mean…the title..the “I’m Beautiful Dammit” anthem, the mixture of genres (the last song was for a gay revue)… I mean half the albums on that list can also fit into “100 Greatest Rock Albums”, “Albums of All-Time”, etc. etc. Babs doesn’t get listed, Pet Shop Boys and Madonna are on their multiple times (Bette on CBS sitcom “The Judds have 3 spots on that list. There should be a limit – one per household!”).
I think Mika’s “Life in Cartoon Motion” should also be on that list. And I find it hard if they’re going to include musical theatre recordings (and let’s face it, all of them can be classified as gay…”Hairspray”, “Rocky Horror”, “Gypsy”) and then neglect all-gay themed musicals like “La Cage aux Folles” or “Zanna, Don’t!”.
I agree. I saw no Barbra Streisand, no Shirley Bassey, the soundtrack to The Velvet Goldmine, no Dolly Parton or The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, there’s no Will Young, what about Divine, Liza Minnelli, or Dame Edna Everage (what a riot!)?
This would be a hard list to write up, there’s always going to be someone that was omitted. But I agree, there should be one spot on the list per artist resulting in a more varied list of performers.
PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT!!!
THE BIRDCAGE,
NOT ANOTHER GAY MOVIE
AND The Village People!
Maybe the title was a misnomer and a mistake. Like what albums influenced you the most? Or maybe if they had a bigger list of names on the panel….
Bette should be in the top 10, no question! Her second album should be on there as well.
Hey Mr D & All!
Prince – Dirty Mind! One of the gayest albums of all time???? I doubt it! I love Prince and his weird and wacky ways but I think this doesn’t belong on the list. Have you heard the song “Sister” on the album? Well let me tell you it ain’t no show tune, but more about losing his virginity to his older sister, nothing gay about that!
I think the Gypsy soundtrack should have been mentioned, Thighs & Whispers is another one that comes to mind, I actually listened to that album to help me sum up the courage to tell my parents I was gay. What a waste of fucking time that was they already figured it out a year and a half before hand when I took my KISS posters down and replaced them with Bette Midler posters!
Some of the albums that have been listed I wouldn’t wipe my ass with, but some of them really are camp.
Gotta go, I need some chocolate!
Big Hugz!
Manny
xxx
i always thought the beaches soundtrack was gayer than the divine miss m. maybe they didn’t include soundtracks?
Well, I would have definitely hsd her in the Top 10. Her first album was a landmark. I also would have to put the second album as well and Live at Last since they finally captured her live show as well….All 3 of these albums had a big impact on me…
Love, D
If anything I would have thought Babs first album would have been up and the soundtrack to Funny Girl…
Eat some for me Manny!!!!
Your beached whale friend,
Mister D
While doing some Sunday afternoon Bette youtube watching, I came across this video. It’s a group of dancers performing to Oh Industry. While not perfect, it certainly gave me chills. I’ve always wanted to see a dance performed to this song. I think Betteheads would like to see it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdXdwpC4UKI
I agree with you all, one artist shouldn’t appear more than once. And I agree with you Spencer, I find the “Bathhouse Betty” album the gayest. I love that one!!!.
I missed so many people and albums in that list:
Babs should be there, and if I should choose an album it would be “Yentl”.
¿And Gloria Estefan?: I remenber how much I danced with “Gloria!” (1998) and the guys around me were absolutely crazy about that!!.
I missed k.d.lang too. I love the “Ingenue” album and the single “Miss Chatelaine” is very gay.
I could add people like Communards, Eva Cassidy, Céline Dion, Mariah Carey…….. You like them or not, but they are gay icons in music!!!.
Love,
Eze.
Clearly Bette should be in the Top 10. Period.
My only question is “how could Olivia Newton-John not be on the list AT ALL?”
From Xanadu to Physical to Grease…. seriously. AND she’s been a GREAT friend to the LGBT community. This year alone, her only concert thus far was a standing room only affair at Gay Pride L.A.
Where is Olivia?