The ranking of the 30 best space-themed albums of all time according to Consequence

The new chart published by online magazine Consequence is quite curious. We'll let the American music outlet's staff introduce it directly. "The silence of space has never sounded so good. Even before humanity started launching people beyond the stratosphere inside slightly phallic metal tubes, space and all its unknowns – wonders, horrors, and possibilities – had already fueled artists' imaginations in practically every form of expression. In the decades since we took that 'small step,' this obsession has only grown, giving rise to an ever-expanding canon of interstellar works. While film tends to dominate this territory thanks to the visual spectacle and narrative allure of extraterrestrial exploration, musicians from wildly different genres have also turned what lies beyond the stars into some of our favorite music. From classics like 'Space Oddity' to subgenres like space rock, all the way to bands that openly claim to hail from distant planets (GWAR, yes, we're talking about you), the silence of space paradoxically has a genuinely powerful soundtrack. That's why we decided to take on a challenge as complex as an Apollo mission: ranking the best space-themed albums of all time. Of course, the definition of a 'space album' remains fairly elastic. Some records try to match the grandeur of the cosmos (like Sun Ra or Hawkwind), others attempt to more literally imagine the sounds of the void (like Brian Eno or clipping.), while others still build full-blown sci-fi narratives across their tracklists (like David Bowie or Deltron 3030). For this list we considered albums that feature at least one explicit dimension of space-related themes or intergalactic sounds, ranking them according to the quality of the record and how closely they adhere to the cosmic imagery."

So here's the complete ranking of the 30 greatest space albums of all time according to Consequence (full feature here).

30. Arctic Monkeys — "Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino" (2018)

29. GWAR — "Lust in Space" (2009)

28. Electric Light Orchestra — "Time" (1981)

27. Voivod — "Nothingface" (1989)

26. Air — "Le voyage dans la lune" (2004)

25. Kool Keith — "Black Elvis/Lost in Space" (1996)

24. Iron Maiden — “The Final Frontier” (2010)

23. Pink Floyd — “A Saucerful of Secrets” (1968)

22. Blood Incantation — "Absolute Elsewhere" (2024)

21. Hum — "You'd Prefer an Astronaut" (1995)

20. Vangelis — "Albedo 0.39" (1976)

19. Failure — "Fantastic Planet" (1994)

18. Spiritualized — “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space” (1997)

17. Deltron 3030 — “Deltron 3030” (2000)

16. The Orb — “The Orb’s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld” (1991)

15. Big K.R.I.T. — “Cadillactica” (2014)

14. Grouper — “A I A: Alien Observer” (2011)

13. Mastodon — “Crack the Skye” (2009)

12. Brian Eno — “Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks” (1983)

11. George Russell — “Jazz in the Space Age” (1960)

10. Flying Lotus — “Cosmogramma” (2010)

9. Coheed and Cambria — “Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness” (2005)

8. clipping. — “Splendor & Misery” (2016)

7. Gojira — “From Mars to Sirius” (2005)

6. Parliament — “Mothership Connection” (1975)

5. Hawkwind — “Space Ritual” (1973)

4. Sun Ra — “Space Is the Place” (1973)

3. Rush — “2112” (1976)

2. OutKast — “ATLiens” (1996)

1. David Bowie — “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” (1972)

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