U2 have ousted The Beatles from their usual spot as creators of the greatest album of all time, according to a huge poll of music fans.

The Joshua Tree topped the list of 100 albums compiled for the music channel VH1 by 250,000 fans. The Beatles regularly top such polls with either Revolver or Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band but this time they were placed at number eight and nine.

OK Computer by Radiohead - another favourite in such polls - came in at number 11, although their The Bends album landed at number six. Michael Jackson's Thriller album, the biggest seller of all time, was the runner up in the poll of 25,000 people. Of the top 10, four are from the 90s, with two each from the 60s, 70s and 80s. They include last year's releases Sing When You're Winning by Robbie Williams at 13 and Coldplay's Parachutes at 23.

Critics will no doubt take issue with many of the findings: Shania Twain scrapes into the top 30, while the Velvet Underground & Nico are languishing at No 89. But there are plenty of classics in the top 100, including Nirvana's Nevermind (5), Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life (7), and the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks (14).

'It's refreshing that it's so different from the critics' lists,' Paul Trynca, editor of the music magazine Mojo, told The Guardian newspaper.

'U2 have almost posted an application for being the biggest rock and roll band in the world and in a sense this is their vindication.'

You can catch a five-hour countdown of the top albums this Saturday on VH1.

Top 10:

1. U2 - The Joshua Tree.

2. Michael Jackson - Thriller.

3. Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory?

4. Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell.

5. Nirvana - Nevermind.

6. Radiohead - The Bends.

7. Stevie Wonder - Songs in The Key Of Life.

8. The Beatles - Revolver.

9. The Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

10. Madonna - Ray of Light.