Let the debate begin. Who has the best music albums ever?
Apple Music certainly has an idea. The music streaming giant announced on Wednesday their 10 greatest albums of all time with Lauryn Hill’s 1998 iconic “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” claiming the top spot. Hill’s debut album outpaced other classic records from Beyoncé, The Beatles ,Michael Jackson ,Prince ,Stevie Wonder, Kendrick Lamar, Amy Winehouse, Frank Ocean and Nirvana.
“This is my award, but it’s a rich, deep narrative, and involves so many people, and so much sacrifice, and so much time, and so much collective love,” Hill said after receiving the news.
The top 10 albums culminated Apple Music’s inaugural 100 best albums, which started with a 10-day countdown last week. There's only five artists with two albums on the full list including The Beatles, Wonder, Prince, Radiohead and Beyoncé.
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The process started several months ago when Apple Music’s editorial team of editors and music experts — including Zane Lowe (global creative director and lead anchor for Apple Music 1) and Ebro Darden (global editorial head of hip-hop and R&B) — generated a list of candidates from the past 65 years.
“This list isn’t a popularity contest,” Darden said. "We challenged everyone to not vote based on your favorites. You’re invited into the panel because you have music knowledge beyond what you listen to when you’re on the elliptical machine.”
Members from Apple Music’s internal team submitted their personal lists of albums through the company's voting microsite. The votes were weighted according to an album’s placement — the higher the ranking, the more votes assigned.
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Apple Music used the same voting methodology for a select group external voters that included artists, songwriters, producers and some media.
And now, we're here. With commentary from Lowe and Darden, here is Apple Music’s top 10 best albums list:
1. Lauryn Hill, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” (1998)
DARDEN: We’re really leaning on what she did on this album. The songwriting, what she shared, what was happening in her life that she effectively put in the music. The fact that she just became a mother. All the R&B vibes. The Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway along with D’Angelo's “Nothing Even Matters.” The social commentary in “Doo Wop (That Thing).” It’s hip-hop. It’s R&B. It’s got a dancehall element. It’s a powerful woman being independent and being like “Yo, I got something to say.” And oh by the way, the son she’s singing about on the album is Bob Marley’s grandson.... It checks so many boxes.
2. Michael Jackson, “Thriller” (1982)
LOWE: It’s the greatest blockbuster album ever. I think everyone I’ve spoken to about this list automatically assumes that it’s going to be No. 1. That’s because we’ve spent decade after decade seeing it basically No. 1. It came out during a time period when music was the top entertainment in the world. People were desperate for this Michael Jackson record even more than going to see a movie. “Thriller” is an incredible record. The whole thing is dialed in. But it didn’t bug me that Lauryn came in at No. 1 and “Thriller” landed at No. 2.
3. The Beatles, “Abbey Road” (1969)
DARDEN: “Abbey Road” has taken on a more modern life of its own in the social media space with TikTok. Maybe that’s why it landed so high. When you go song for song on ”Abbey Road,” I think it musically represents a happy time for the Beatles. It’s very much like more raw Beatles than pop Beatles.
4. Prince and the Revolution, “Purple Rain” (1984)
DARDEN: I love that it was a Black artist making soulful rock and pop records. I loved the movie. It’s phenomenal memories. It’s not my favorite Prince album. I’m more into “Sign O’ The Times.” Dance, music, sex romance. I’m a big Prince fan, so I’m happy this got the votes. I think “Purple Rain” lives on in (iconic fashion).
5. Frank Ocean, “blond” (2016)
LOWE: I had this higher than five. I simply adore this album. I feel like Frank is like Prince. He is like Michael. He is like Lauryn. He is like Marvin (Gaye). He is like Radiohead. He is the great outliers who found a way into our hearts on a massive scale. They do not make music to appeal to a large audience, and yet somehow the music they make reaches us. “Blond” didn't hit the certain sales targets that some of the biggest albums on this list did... But every time I put it on, it moves me different every single time.
6. Stevie Wonder, “Songs in the Key of Life” (1976)
LOWE: It starts with a message, and it ends with a time to process everything that's happened in between. In the end, he finally gives you a moment to just take everything you've listened to and just absorb it. He channeled something major.
7. Kendrick Lamar, “good kid, m.A.A.d city” (2012)
DARDEN: I’m happy this went so high. It was his debut album. He wrote an audio movie about his neighborhood and basically being a reluctant kid who is surrounded by all this toxicity, mayhem and chaos. He’s trying to see his way through it. He created opportunities for him and his friends to survive.
8. Amy Winehouse, “Back to Black” (2006)
LOWE: It talks about heartbreak, rejection, unrequited love and the pain you go through when you have feelings for someone who doesn't have the same feelings back. You don't know what to do with that emotion. It's very human. If we all live long enough, we're going to go through real heartbreak in our life. This album took that experience and made us sing and dance and move. It's one of the most tasteful albums about heartache ever recorded. It's an incredible magic act.
9. Nirvana, “Nevermind” (1991)
LOWE: This was a combination of real skill, beautiful instinct, total courage and vulnerability. It showed the ability to dial into what ( Kurt Cobain ) was feeling and dress it up in a way that made people want to dance, jump, sing and scream. But if you really listen, which tens of millions of people did, it was deeper than that. And we understood it. This album was the start of me being able to sit down and have a conversation about anxiety and depression with my mom, my brother and friends. If he could write about it, why can't I talk about it?
10. Beyoncé, “Lemonade” (2016)
DARDEN: This was the first time we got to see Beyoncé’s personal life. Her sister just beat up her husband on an elevator, and everybody’s in their business now... I like “Lemonade” but it’s not my favorite Beyoncé album. “Renaissance” is one my favorite Beyoncé albums ever. But if you lived in that “Lemonade” moment, it was a big deal.
Apple Music’s Best Albums 11-100
11. “Rumours” — Fleetwood Mac
12. “OK Computer” — Radiohead
13. “The Blueprint” — Jay-Z
14. “Highway 61 Revisited” — Bob Dylan
15. “21” — Adele
16. “Blue” — Joni Mitchell
17. “What’s Going On” — Marvin Gaye
18. “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” — Taylor Swift
19. “The Chronic” — Dr. Dre
20. “Pet Sounds” — The Beach Boys
21. “Revolver” — The Beatles
22. “Born to Run” — Bruce Springsteen
23. “Discovery” — Daft Punk
24. “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (2012 Remaster)” — David Bowie
25. “Kind of Blue” — Miles Davis
26. “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” — Kanye West
27. “Led Zeppelin II” — Led Zeppelin
28. “The Dark Side of the Moon” — Pink Floyd
29. “The Low End Theory” — A Tribe Called Quest
30. “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?” — Billie Eilish
31. “Jagged Little Pill (Remastered)” — Alanis Morissette
32. “Ready to Die (The Remaster)” — Notorious B.I.G.
33. “Kid A” — Radiohead
34. “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” — Public Enemy
35. “London Calling” — The Clash
36. “BEYONCÉ” — Beyoncé
37. “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (Expanded Edition) — Wu-Tang Clan
38. “Tapestry” — Carole King
39. “Illmatic” — Nas
40. “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You” — Aretha Franklin
41. “Aquemini” — OutKast
42. “Control” — Janet Jackson
43. “Remain in Light” — Talking Heads
44. “Innervisions” — Stevie Wonder
45. “Homogenic” — Björk
46. “Exodus (2013 Remaster)” — Bob Marley & The Wailers
47. “Take Care (Deluxe Version)” — Drake
48. “Paul’s Boutique” — Beastie Boys
49. “The Joshua Tree” — U2
50. “Hounds of Love (2018 Remaster)” — Kate Bush
51. “Sign O’The Times” — Prince
52. “Appetite for Destruction” — Guns ‘N Roses
53. “Exile on Main Street (2010 Remaster)” — The Rolling Stones
54. “A Love Supreme” — John Coltrane
55. “ANTI” — Rihanna
56. “Disintegration (Remastered)” — The Cure
57. “Voodoo” — D’Angelo
58. “(What’s The Story) Morning Glory” — Oasis
59. “AM” — Arctic Monkeys
60. “The Velvet Underground and Nico (45th Anniversary Edition)” — Velvet Underground & Nico
61. “Love Deluxe” — Sade
62. “All Eyez on Me” — 2Pac
63. “Are You Experienced?” — The Jimi Hendrix Experience
64. “Baduizm” — Erykah Badu
65: “3 Feet High and Rising” — De La Soul
66: “The Queen Is Dead” — The Smiths
67. “Dummy” — Portishead
68. “Is this It” — The Strokes
69. “Master of Puppets (Remastered)” — Metallica
70. “Straight Outta Compton” — N.W.A
71. “Trans-Europe Express” — Kraftwerk
72. “SOS” — SZA
73. “Aja” — Steely Dan
74. “Downward Spiral” — Nine Inch Nails
75. “Supa Dupa Fly” — Missy Eliott
76. “Un Verano Sin Ti” — Bad Bunny
77. “Like A Prayer” — Madonna
78. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” — Elton John
79. “Norman F****** Rockwell!” — Lana Del Rey
80. “The Marshall Mathers LP” — Eminem
81. “After the Gold Rush” — Neil Young
82. “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” — 50 Cent
83. “Horses” — Patti Smith
84. “Doggystyle” — Snoop Dogg
85. “Golden Hour” — Kacey Musgraves
86. “My Life” — Mary J Blige
87. “Blue Lines” — Massive Attack
88. “I Put a Spell on You” — Nina Simone
89. “The Fame Monster (Deluxe Edition)” — Lady Gaga
90. “Back in Black” — AC/DC
91. “Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1” — George Michael
92. “Flower Boy” — Tyler, The Creator
93. “A Seat at the Table” — Solange
94. “Untrue” — Burial
95. “Confessions” — USHER
96. “Pure Heroine” — Lorde
97. “Rage Against The Machine” — Rage Against The Machine
98. “ASTROWORLD” — Travis Scott
99. “Hotel California” — The Eagles
100. “Body Talk” — Robyn
