Over the past week or so, Apple Music has slowly unveiled the titles included in its list of the “100 best albums.”
Today, the top 10 albums were revealed, with Miss Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill claiming the No. 1 spot.
Rounding out the top five are Michael Jackson’s Thriller; The Beatles’ Abbey Road; Prince’s Purple Rain; and Frank Ocean’s Blonde.
The top 10 also includes Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life; Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city (Deluxe Version); Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black; Nirvana’s Nevermind; and Beyoncé’s Lemonade.
In all honestly, it’s a pretty safe top 10, especially considering the drama that unfolded when Apple unveiled picks 11-20 and slotted Adele’s 21 at No. 15 and Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) at No. 18 — ahead of albums like Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, The Beatles’ Revolver, Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run, and Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue.
Lists are very much subjective and designed to rouse a reaction.
Personally, I think albums like Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours (#11), Joni Mitchell’s Blue (#16), and The Clash’s London Calling (#35) are much too low.
The list also lacks albums from Stooges, Leonard Cohen, Fiona Apple, Sly Stone, Slayer, The Police, and Paul Simon (plus Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly) in favour of newer artists like Travis Scott, Bad Bunny, and Kacey Musgraves.
But lists are very much subjective and designed to rouse a reaction (for context: here’s our top 100 albums of all-time list published in 2022).
A couple of other quick stats: Five artists have multiple entries on Apple’s top 100: Radiohead (Kid A, OK Computer); Stevie Wonder (Innervisions, Songs in the Key of Life); Beyoncé (Beyoncé, Lemonade); Prince (Sign O’The Times, Purple Rain); and The Beatles (Revolver, Abbey Road). The newest album included on the list? If you don’t count 1989 (Taylor’s Version), which was released in October 2023, then that accolade goes to SZA’s SOS, which arrived in December 2022.
According to Apple, the list was crafted by “a 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.
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 we live and listen in.”
Anyhow, check out the full top 100 below, and read more about each selection here.
Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums
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 Eliott
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
10. Lemonade – Beyoncé
09. Nevermind – Nirvana
08. Back to Black – Amy Winehouse
07. good kid, m.A.A.d city (Deluxe Version) – Kendrick Lamar
06. Songs in the Key of Life – Stevie Wonder
05. Blonde – Frank Ocean
04. Purple Rain – Prince & The Revolution
03. Abbey Road – The Beatles
02. Thriller – Michael Jackson
01. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill – Lauryn Hill