Was just thinking about this. For example, I would safely say that Is This It is my favourite album of all time, but if someone asked me what I’d consider the ‘best’ record ever made I’d say London Calling or Born To Run.
Pet Sounds would be what I’d say is the best but there’s many that are slightly ahead of it as being my favourites.
Is someone saying Public Strain by Women isn’t the best album ever?
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If you asked me what my favourite album was I could probably give you an answer, if you asked me what the best album ever was I probably couldn’t, so yeah I reckon they’re different.
No fictional albums please.
My favourite and what i thinks the best are often different be it record/band/track etc.
But blood on the tracks is the best record of all time.
My favourite record ever is probably Elliott Smith s/t but its not the best by any stretch.
Hooray for Boobies is obviously both
Favourite is more…:. Personal I think, subjective
Best seems a bit more objective. I’d be very hard pressed to say what the ‘best’ album is!
Broadly speaking anyway! Much more interesting to know someone’s favourite than when the thing the best is.
IMO!!!
Hail to the Thief is probably my favourite Radiohead album but it feels wild to call it their best
I have this with certain bands/artists. For example I reckon Skinny Fists is the best GY!BE album but F#A# is my favourite.
If you don’t think your favourite album in the whole world is also the best album in the whole world why is that? Are you taking into account non-musical things like cultural influence and what other people think of those albums?
gone off the whole idea of “best” pieces of art in general, just cos it’s gonna be inherently limited and biased etc etc - I love so much rap that how can I choose a pure guitar album as the best one ever? and vice versa
but when i still think about it as a topic I do the same as you. Fav would be something by GBV or Modest Mouse probably, but I know they have elements that are too odd/throwaway/hit-or-miss that would be silly to expect anyone else to agree about the “best” part
Whereas London Calling is about the peak of a particular genre, or Pink Moon is half an hour of purely gorgeous sweet music, and something about a piece of art totally nailing the brief definitely deserves a special type of kudos
and something about knowing that the quirks of an album (which may elevate it for you personally and make it really hit home) are exactly the same things which would be flaws to other people and turn them off
whereas some albums at least seem to be so perfectly executed as to be above that issue
My own personal attachment =/= things like pacing, production value, cultural impact, innovation even that all make albums probably better although I dont like them as much.
I struggle with the concept of anyone saying this is definitely the ‘best’ album. Out of all the genres of music in the world? Really? What are you basing that on?
Music and art is about what YOU enjoy, the person who is consuming that art. It’s what drives me crazy about Pitchfork re-reviewing albums that they got ‘wrong’. You didn’t get it wrong; the reviewer reviewed it on that day based on their opinion at that time.
Anyway, you’ve really got me started now! Sorry!
My ‘favourite’ album is my favourite because of context, time and place, the reactions and feelings I got and get from listening to it rather than one I enjoy listening to the most purely based on it’s musical content.
I can often find there is a difference, as there is “best” in terms of an artistic statement, how groundbreaking it may have been etc and what I actually prefer to listen to. It shows up in lots of things like best paintings, top films of all time, TV series, novels (especially novels).
Really depends on the parameters your using to mean ‘best’ really.
I don’t really differentiate and if something is a bands favourite album for me, its also their best for me 
Ok, this is an interesting answer because it’s the opposite to what I was thinking in that non-musical things count towards your favourite album whereas your best is what you enjoy most on a musical level.
I’m with @thesewoodenideas on this, my ‘best’ is always what my favourite is otherwise I’m trying to overrule my own musical taste to try to judge things that are frankly irrelevant to me when I listen to music