MUSIC
Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums has a few surprises in top 10
Wednesday saw the culmination of Apple Music’s countdown of the 100 Best Albums on its platform, with some eyebrows being raised.
Lists get compiled all the time, some of them getting more attention than others, but when it came to Apple Music’s Best Albums, there was plenty of interest. On Wednesday we had reached the top 10 in the countdown, and the final result saw ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ take the top spot, beating the likes of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Abbey Road by The Beatles, and Prince’s Purple Rain.
What were Apple Music’s Top 10 Best Albums?
The top 10 selected albums were, in reverse order:
10. Lemonade — Beyoncé
9. Nevermind — Nirvana
8. Back to Black — Amy Winehouse
7. Good kid, m.A.A.d city (Deluxe Version) — Kendrick Lamar
6. Songs in the Key of Life — Stevie Wonder
5. Blonde — Frank Ocean
4. Purple Rain — Prince & The Revolution
3. Abbey Road — The Beatles
2. Thriller — Michael Jackson
1. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill — Lauryn Hill
How did Apple Music decide its 100 Best Albums?
It was back on 13 May when we learned the first ten albums of the best 100 with anticipation growing as more and more were revealed until today’s conclusion. Clearly it’s a fabulous topic for debate, with it even making it onto TV and radio shows to generate friendly artistic disagreements.
The decision of the list wasn’t, as some had believed, anything to do with downloads or plays on Apple’s platform – although we often hear about these numbers too. Instead, the task of choosing the best came down to a team of ‘experts’ and more. Apple said in its press release that the list was “a celebratory list of the greatest records ever made, crafted by Apple Music’s team of experts alongside a select group of artists, including Maren Morris, Pharrell Williams, J Balvin, Charli XCX, Mark Hoppus, Honey Dijon, and Nia Archives, as well as songwriters, producers, and industry professionals.”
What was Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums?
Here you have the full list from 100 down to 11:
100. Body Talk — Robyn
99. Hotel California — The Eagles
98. ASTROWORLD — Travis Scott
97. Rage Against The Machine — Rage Against The Machine
96. Pure Heroine — Lorde
95. Confessions — USHER
94. Untrue — Burial
93. A Seat at the Table — Solange
92. Flower Boy — Tyler, The Creator
91. Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 — George Michael
90. Back in Black — AC/DC
89. The Fame Monster (Deluxe Edition) — Lady Gaga
88. I Put a Spell on You — Nina Simone
87. Blue Lines — Massive Attack
86. My Life — Mary J Blige
85. Golden Hour — Kacey Musgraves
84. Doggystyle — Snoop Dogg
83. Horses — Patti Smith
82. Get Rich or Die Tryin’ — 50 Cent
81. After the Gold Rush — Neil Young
80. The Marshall Mathers LP — Eminem
79. Norman F****** Rockwell! — Lana Del Rey
78. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road — Elton John
77. Like A Prayer — Madonna
76. Un Verano Sin Ti — Bad Bunny
75. Supa Dupa Fly — Missy Elliott
74. Downward Spiral — Nine Inch Nails
73. Aja — Steely Dan
72. SOS — SZA
71. Trans-Europe Express — Kraftwerk
70. Straight Outta Compton — N.W.A
69. Master of Puppets (Remastered) — Metallica
68. Is This It — The Strokes
67. Dummy — Portishead
66. The Queen Is Dead — The Smiths
65. 3 Feet High and Rising — De La Soul
64. Baduizm — Erykah Badu
63. Are You Experienced? — The Jimi Hendrix Experience
62. All Eyez on Me — 2Pac
61. Love Deluxe — Sade
60. The Velvet Underground and Nico (45th Anniversary Edition) — Velvet Underground & Nico
59. AM — Arctic Monkeys
58. (What’s The Story) Morning Glory — Oasis
57. Voodoo — D’Angelo
56. Disintegration (Remastered) — The Cure
55. ANTI — Rihanna
54. A Love Supreme — John Coltrane
53. Exile on Main Street (2010 Remaster) — The Rolling Stones
52. Appetite for Destruction — Guns N' Roses
51. Sign O’The Times — Prince
50. Hounds of Love (2018 Remaster) — Kate Bush
49. The Joshua Tree — U2
48. Paul’s Boutique — Beastie Boys
47. Take Care (Deluxe Version) — Drake
46. Exodus (2013 Remaster) — Bob Marley & The Wailers
45. Homogenic — Björk
44. Innervisions — Stevie Wonder
43. Remain in Light — Talking Heads
42. Control — Janet Jackson
41. Aquemini — OutKast
40. I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You — Aretha Franklin
39. Illmatic — Nas
38. Tapestry — Carole King
37. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (Expanded Edition) — Wu-Tang Clan
36. BEYONCÉ — Beyoncé
35. London Calling — The Clash
34. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back — Public Enemy
33. Kid A — Radiohead
32. Ready to Die (The Remaster) — Notorious B.I.G.
31. Jagged Little Pill (Remastered) — Alanis Morissette
30. WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? — Billie Eilish
29. The Low End Theory — A Tribe Called Quest
28. The Dark Side of the Moon — Pink Floyd
27. Led Zeppelin II — Led Zeppelin
26. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy — Kanye West
25. Kind of Blue — Miles Davis
24. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (2012 Remaster) — David Bowie
23. Discovery — Daft Punk
22. Born to Run — Bruce Springsteen
21. Revolver — The Beatles
20. Pet Sounds — The Beach Boys
19. The Chronic — Dr. Dre
18. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) — Taylor Swift
17. What’s Going On — Marvin Gaye
16. Blue — Joni Mitchell
15. 21 — Adele
14. Highway 61 Revisited — Bob Dylan
13. The Blueprint — Jay-Z
12. OK Computer — Radiohead
11. Rumours — Fleetwood Mac
The company also went on to state that the list “is an editorial statement, fully independent of any streaming numbers on Apple Music — a love letter to the records that have shaped the world music lovers live and listen in.” Feel free to leave your comments above.