Best albums of 2003
Garage rock hit its commercial ceiling and started sliding almost immediately. Grime turned up as a fully formed London dialect that owed America nothing, which is rarer than it sounds. The South, meanwhile, split a double album between two people who were barely speaking.
According to Riffiter listeners, the best album of 2003 is Speakerboxxx / The Love Below by OutKast, rated 4.2/5 by 91 listeners.
- 2
The College DropoutKanye West · 20034.2 score · 4.2 avg · 429 ratings4.24.2 avg · 429 ratings
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Number OnesMichael Jackson · 20034.2 score · 4.2 avg · 52 ratings4.24.2 avg · 52 ratings
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Room on FireThe Strokes · 20034.1 score · 4.2 avg · 80 ratings4.14.2 avg · 80 ratings
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The Diary of Alicia KeysAlicia Keys · 20034.1 score · 4.2 avg · 33 ratings4.14.2 avg · 33 ratings
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FallenEvanescence · 20034.1 score · 4.1 avg · 466 ratings4.14.1 avg · 466 ratings
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MeteoraLinkin Park · 20034.1 score · 4.1 avg · 856 ratings4.14.1 avg · 856 ratings
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Live at the Grand Olympic AuditoriumRage Against the Machine · 20034.1 score · 4.2 avg · 17 ratings4.14.2 avg · 17 ratings
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Train of ThoughtDream Theater · 20034.1 score · 4.1 avg · 81 ratings4.14.1 avg · 81 ratings
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Hail to the ThiefRadiohead · 20034.0 score · 4.1 avg · 107 ratings4.04.1 avg · 107 ratings
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FrankAmy Winehouse · 20034.0 score · 4.1 avg · 28 ratings4.04.1 avg · 28 ratings
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ElephantThe White Stripes · 20034.0 score · 4.2 avg · 10 ratings4.04.2 avg · 10 ratings
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AbsolutionMuse · 20034.0 score · 4.0 avg · 263 ratings4.04.0 avg · 263 ratings
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Life Is Killing MeType O Negative · 20034.0 score · 4.1 avg · 12 ratings4.04.1 avg · 12 ratings
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Greatest HitsRed Hot Chili Peppers · 20034.0 score · 4.0 avg · 83 ratings4.04.0 avg · 83 ratings
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Best of 50 Cent50 Cent · 20034.0 score · 4.1 avg · 37 ratings4.04.1 avg · 37 ratings
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RoundsFour Tet · 20034.0 score · 4.1 avg · 12 ratings4.04.1 avg · 12 ratings
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The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboy's Vulgar HitsPantera · 20034.0 score · 4.0 avg · 23 ratings4.04.0 avg · 23 ratings
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Dangerously in LoveBeyoncé · 20034.0 score · 4.0 avg · 222 ratings4.04.0 avg · 222 ratings
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Waking the FallenAvenged Sevenfold · 20033.9 score · 4.0 avg · 13 ratings3.94.0 avg · 13 ratings
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DamnationOpeth · 20033.9 score · 3.9 avg · 24 ratings3.93.9 avg · 24 ratings
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Get Rich or Die Tryin'50 Cent · 20033.9 score · 3.9 avg · 16 ratings3.93.9 avg · 16 ratings
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Greatest HitsFugees · 20033.9 score · 3.9 avg · 19 ratings3.93.9 avg · 19 ratings
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In the ZoneBritney Spears · 20033.9 score · 3.9 avg · 10 ratings3.93.9 avg · 10 ratings
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The LinkGojira · 20033.9 score · 3.9 avg · 10 ratings3.93.9 avg · 10 ratings
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DeftonesDeftones · 20033.9 score · 3.9 avg · 25 ratings3.93.9 avg · 25 ratings
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ElephunkThe Black Eyed Peas · 20033.9 score · 3.8 avg · 11 ratings3.93.8 avg · 11 ratings
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The Black AlbumJay-Z · 20033.9 score · 3.8 avg · 16 ratings3.93.8 avg · 16 ratings
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Through the Ashes of EmpiresMachine Head · 20033.9 score · 3.8 avg · 15 ratings3.93.8 avg · 15 ratings
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American LifeMadonna · 20033.8 score · 3.8 avg · 17 ratings3.83.8 avg · 17 ratings
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Try ThisP!nk · 20033.8 score · 3.6 avg · 10 ratings3.83.6 avg · 10 ratings
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Live in TexasLinkin Park · 20033.7 score · 3.6 avg · 48 ratings3.73.6 avg · 48 ratings
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St. AngerMetallica · 20033.7 score · 3.6 avg · 70 ratings3.73.6 avg · 70 ratings
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Take a Look in the MirrorKorn · 20033.6 score · 3.4 avg · 21 ratings3.63.4 avg · 21 ratings
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Daft ClubDaft Punk · 20033.5 score · 3.5 avg · 72 ratings3.53.5 avg · 72 ratings
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Dance of DeathIron Maiden · 20039 ratings9 ratings
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The Definitive CollectionLionel Richie · 20038 ratings8 ratings
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Live at KnebworthRobbie Williams · 20038 ratings8 ratings
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The Essential TotoToto · 20037 ratings7 ratings
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Shadow ZoneStatic-X · 20037 ratings7 ratings
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Kish KashBasement Jaxx · 20037 ratings7 ratings
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blink-182blink-182 · 20037 ratings7 ratings
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The Long RoadNickelback · 20036 ratings6 ratings
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Thirteenth StepA Perfect Circle · 20036 ratings6 ratings
- 45
InfameBabasónicos · 20036 ratings6 ratings
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In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003R.E.M. · 20036 ratings6 ratings
- 47
SplinterThe Offspring · 20036 ratings6 ratings
- 48
Hate Crew DeathrollChildren of Bodom · 20036 ratings6 ratings
- 49
Money in the BankLloyd Banks · 20036 ratings6 ratings
- 50
The Silent CircusBetween the Buried and Me · 20036 ratings6 ratings
Disagree with the ranking?
Rate these albums and the chart reshuffles around the community. Or collect your own pick of them into a list or tier.
Build a list or tier of your ownBest albums of 2003 by genre
The genres that carried the period here, each with what listeners rate highest inside it.
Best Rock albums of 2003
954 albums from 2003
Best Pop albums of 2003
479 albums from 2003
Best Electronic albums of 2003
391 albums from 2003
Best Jazz albums of 2003
387 albums from 2003
Best Hip-Hop albums of 2003
368 albums from 2003
The artists of 2003
Everyone who put a record out then, ordered by how listeners rate their catalog rather than by that one release.
2003, month by month
Not everything that came out, just where the weight fell. Some months carried a year; some were quiet and worth knowing about.
February
April
May
June
October
November
FAQ
- What are the best albums of 2003?
- On Riffiter, the highest-rated album of 2003 is Speakerboxxx / The Love Below by OutKast (4.2/5). The ranking below orders the year's releases by community rating.
- How is the 2003 ranking decided?
- By Riffiter listeners. Each album's community rating sets its place. Until a release has enough ratings, its popularity stands in, and the order shifts as more people rate.
- Does the best-of-2003 list change?
- Yes. It's built from live community ratings, so the order updates as people rate 2003 releases. The page refreshes a few times a day.









































