Apple Records
May 24, 2024 8:18 AM Subscribe
100 Best Albums (a list from Apple Music (Wikipedia, 1-100 list that should work with most browsers))
1. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
2. Thriller
3. Abbey Road
4. Purple Rain
...
100. Body Talk
1. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
2. Thriller
3. Abbey Road
4. Purple Rain
...
100. Body Talk
I know many of these! I find that personally validating. đ
posted by mazola at 8:24 AM on May 24 [4 favorites]
posted by mazola at 8:24 AM on May 24 [4 favorites]
Well, there's a list of some things again.
posted by pipeski at 8:34 AM on May 24 [13 favorites]
posted by pipeski at 8:34 AM on May 24 [13 favorites]
Statistically this meets some criteria.
posted by Artw at 8:36 AM on May 24 [10 favorites]
posted by Artw at 8:36 AM on May 24 [10 favorites]
Your favorite band, numerically, sucks slightly more or less than you thought it did.
posted by kerf at 8:45 AM on May 24 [2 favorites]
posted by kerf at 8:45 AM on May 24 [2 favorites]
Seems to be weighted towards variety: Only 5 artists have 2 albums; the rest have 1. So they are saying that, for example, Bob Dylan and Michael Jackson's second best albums are not as good as Lady Gaga's best. Like everything about these kinds of lists, it's arguable. And, sincerely, if it gets people arguing, they've done their job.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:58 AM on May 24 [3 favorites]
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:58 AM on May 24 [3 favorites]
Why does it attempt to include rock and hip hop and even jazz, but thereâs only one country album on there. Kacey Musgraves released the best country album ever made? It just underlines how ridiculous an exercise this is.
posted by rikschell at 9:09 AM on May 24 [12 favorites]
posted by rikschell at 9:09 AM on May 24 [12 favorites]
Ctrl-f Violent Femmes...oh you just go to hell, Apple.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:32 AM on May 24 [7 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:32 AM on May 24 [7 favorites]
Class and affiliation group markers in digital music store selection, a study.
posted by Artw at 9:41 AM on May 24 [5 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:41 AM on May 24 [5 favorites]
Seems to be weighted towards variety
If I had to guess, I would say it's weighted towards "albums that are available through Apple Music", although I will certainly stand corrected if something on that list isn't.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 9:58 AM on May 24 [3 favorites]
If I had to guess, I would say it's weighted towards "albums that are available through Apple Music", although I will certainly stand corrected if something on that list isn't.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 9:58 AM on May 24 [3 favorites]
obligatory mention that no such list that aims to be credible should include any item less than fifteen years old, because that's how long it takes to establish anything close to proper historic objectivity.
Also, Led Zeppelin II isn't even Led Zep's fourth best album, but London Calling is way better than Joshua Tree ... yet neither really holds a candle to Exile on Main St.
In conclusion. It's a list and at least, unlike the one the Adrian messenger had, it probably won't get anyone killed.
posted by philip-random at 10:01 AM on May 24 [4 favorites]
Also, Led Zeppelin II isn't even Led Zep's fourth best album, but London Calling is way better than Joshua Tree ... yet neither really holds a candle to Exile on Main St.
In conclusion. It's a list and at least, unlike the one the Adrian messenger had, it probably won't get anyone killed.
posted by philip-random at 10:01 AM on May 24 [4 favorites]
For a palate cleanser, here's 500 of the greatest indie tracks of the modern era.
posted by Christ, what an asshole at 10:17 AM on May 24 [1 favorite]
posted by Christ, what an asshole at 10:17 AM on May 24 [1 favorite]
Abbey Road over Revolver or Rubber Soul? You can't fool me Apple, I bet you have "Eric Clapton: Timepieces" in your golf cart's CD player right now.
posted by credulous at 10:26 AM on May 24 [10 favorites]
posted by credulous at 10:26 AM on May 24 [10 favorites]
Putting aside the ranking and what didn't make the cut, this is a list of some damn good albums, at least. Very pleased to see that Dummy made it on there, as that is indeed a fucking monster of a good album.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:40 AM on May 24 [3 favorites]
posted by Navelgazer at 10:40 AM on May 24 [3 favorites]
I know not everyone is into jazz but putting a Drake album above A Love Supreme makes me ill.
posted by downtohisturtles at 10:59 AM on May 24 [15 favorites]
posted by downtohisturtles at 10:59 AM on May 24 [15 favorites]
This is basically unobjectionable as a list of good albums but objectionable as a proper ordering of the absolute best albums, missing tons of stuff, and really emphasizing middle class white suburban late-millenial taste, but not the edgy side of that. Also you can't make this list without Aphex Twin, arguably the most important electronic music producer of the past 30 years... but then have Travis Scott?
posted by dis_integration at 11:10 AM on May 24 [4 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 11:10 AM on May 24 [4 favorites]
Thank you so much, box, for linking to the Wikipedia list as well as the Apple site! I love a list that's easy to read!!!
Of course the list is fodder for discussion/argument (I am a folk/AAA/Americana fan; where is EVERYTHING I LOVE?!?), but if I erase the numbers and consider this a list of Damn Good Albums, this is a decent effort. (Except Bad Bunny and not Juanes? Que tonteria!)
posted by epj at 11:49 AM on May 24 [2 favorites]
Of course the list is fodder for discussion/argument (I am a folk/AAA/Americana fan; where is EVERYTHING I LOVE?!?), but if I erase the numbers and consider this a list of Damn Good Albums, this is a decent effort. (Except Bad Bunny and not Juanes? Que tonteria!)
posted by epj at 11:49 AM on May 24 [2 favorites]
the two best albums are, in no particular order:
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 11:50 AM on May 24 [2 favorites]
- in the aeroplane over the sea, neutral milk hotel
- blackout, britney spears
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 11:50 AM on May 24 [2 favorites]
I was pleasantly surprised to see Enter the Wu-Tang on there and then slightly astonished to see Burial's Untrue.
Very Anglo-American list though.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 11:51 AM on May 24 [1 favorite]
Very Anglo-American list though.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 11:51 AM on May 24 [1 favorite]
Lawyers will be in contact about the post title.
posted by Artw at 12:08 PM on May 24 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:08 PM on May 24 [2 favorites]
Interesting that REM didn't make the cut: they would have a decade or so ago.
posted by GeorgeBickham at 12:44 PM on May 24 [8 favorites]
posted by GeorgeBickham at 12:44 PM on May 24 [8 favorites]
Do YOU want to show up on one of these lists? Well, thereâs a sure-fire formula you can follow:
On The Rolling Stone list of 500 best albums, it also include Diana Ross for a total of eleven albums, including their #1 album, Whatâs Going On?.
And thatâs not even including the Berry-Gordy-adjacent Janet Jackson.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 1:14 PM on May 24 [4 favorites]
- Get signed to Motown Records
- Have your creativity systematically crushed by Berry Gordy for years and years
- When your contract comes up for renewal, either sign to a different label, or have the tenacity to negotiate complete creative freedom
- Come out with a series of classic albums!
On The Rolling Stone list of 500 best albums, it also include Diana Ross for a total of eleven albums, including their #1 album, Whatâs Going On?.
And thatâs not even including the Berry-Gordy-adjacent Janet Jackson.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 1:14 PM on May 24 [4 favorites]
Increasingly think Blue should just be at the top of all these lists. Glad to see it made an appearance in the top tier. I love that Lauren Hill album, and in fact walked to the mall after school on the day it came out so I could buy it at Sam Goody, but I don't think it belongs anywhere in the top 10.
posted by kensington314 at 1:41 PM on May 24 [1 favorite]
posted by kensington314 at 1:41 PM on May 24 [1 favorite]
I love the "let's you and him fight" vibe of all these lists. I had this parked in my sidebar to post because I knew folks would want to see and complain about it.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 1:49 PM on May 24 [1 favorite]
posted by gentlyepigrams at 1:49 PM on May 24 [1 favorite]
In the late '90s, I thought Miseducation was the best hip-hop album by a female artist.
Around maybe the mid-2000s, I started to think it was the best hip-hop album by anyone (and I've bought Illmatic, in various formats and editions, at least half a dozen times).
Sometime in the last ten years or so, I started thinking Miseducation could be the best album ever.
The skits are still clunky, and the respectability politics are extremely out of style, but the rapping is simultaneously battle-cat virtuosic and confessional-poet emotional, the production is great, and the influence has been gigantic.
Before Miseducation, a lot of hip-hop fans were wary of anything that came too close to pop music, a lot of rappers rapped primarily about how good they were at rapping, and a lot of the best rap artists were explicitly trying not to cross over (also you could count the female rappers on, like, two hands).
Now, a lot of the best rappers are women, hip-hop and pop music are so inextricably linked that Taylor Swift songs have Kendrick Lamar features, and emcees have shifted from not talking about their feelings to overanalyzing them.
(I'm really, really not trying to change anyone else's mind about this, so please don't @ me.)
posted by box at 2:24 PM on May 24 [9 favorites]
Around maybe the mid-2000s, I started to think it was the best hip-hop album by anyone (and I've bought Illmatic, in various formats and editions, at least half a dozen times).
Sometime in the last ten years or so, I started thinking Miseducation could be the best album ever.
The skits are still clunky, and the respectability politics are extremely out of style, but the rapping is simultaneously battle-cat virtuosic and confessional-poet emotional, the production is great, and the influence has been gigantic.
Before Miseducation, a lot of hip-hop fans were wary of anything that came too close to pop music, a lot of rappers rapped primarily about how good they were at rapping, and a lot of the best rap artists were explicitly trying not to cross over (also you could count the female rappers on, like, two hands).
Now, a lot of the best rappers are women, hip-hop and pop music are so inextricably linked that Taylor Swift songs have Kendrick Lamar features, and emcees have shifted from not talking about their feelings to overanalyzing them.
(I'm really, really not trying to change anyone else's mind about this, so please don't @ me.)
posted by box at 2:24 PM on May 24 [9 favorites]
@box I appreciate this perspective!!!
posted by kensington314 at 2:34 PM on May 24 [1 favorite]
posted by kensington314 at 2:34 PM on May 24 [1 favorite]
@box Iâll give it a listen.
posted by Orthodox Humanoid at 2:37 PM on May 24 [2 favorites]
posted by Orthodox Humanoid at 2:37 PM on May 24 [2 favorites]
Do I track correctly that there's not a single Replacements record on here?
posted by kensington314 at 2:58 PM on May 24 [4 favorites]
posted by kensington314 at 2:58 PM on May 24 [4 favorites]
Once again: these lists are there to drive engagement with a product. The product, in this case, is Apple Music, so the music is skewed to flatter the target audience of Apple Music (ie, American, 30-50ish, middle class). Thatâs it.
What would a truly daring list look like? A list of albums that werenât streamed enough? A list of âbest albumsâ puts you into one of two camps, as a casual listener - either your music is on there, so youâre cool, or your music isnât on there, because youâre too cool. Weighing your listening by external preferences just isnât good for you, mentally. Listen to what you like, wether itâs Lauren Hill, a room full of teeth, or bagpipe music. Your taste in music is your own, and every one of these lists is some company trying to define your tastes for money.
posted by The River Ivel at 3:23 PM on May 24 [2 favorites]
What would a truly daring list look like? A list of albums that werenât streamed enough? A list of âbest albumsâ puts you into one of two camps, as a casual listener - either your music is on there, so youâre cool, or your music isnât on there, because youâre too cool. Weighing your listening by external preferences just isnât good for you, mentally. Listen to what you like, wether itâs Lauren Hill, a room full of teeth, or bagpipe music. Your taste in music is your own, and every one of these lists is some company trying to define your tastes for money.
posted by The River Ivel at 3:23 PM on May 24 [2 favorites]
1-100 list that should work with most browsers)
Unless you have an iPhone 6s running iOS15, apparently.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:29 PM on May 24
Unless you have an iPhone 6s running iOS15, apparently.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:29 PM on May 24
THere's a lot worth listening to here, but the omission of Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division is unforgivable.
posted by bashos_frog at 5:01 PM on May 24 [5 favorites]
posted by bashos_frog at 5:01 PM on May 24 [5 favorites]
A list of 100 best albums missing from Apple's 100 best albums might be worth assembling.
(unsorted)
Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division
Parallel Lines by Blondie
Pleased to Meet Me by The Replacements
Rum Sodomy & The Lash by The Pogues
Rocket to Russia by the Ramones
posted by bashos_frog at 5:14 PM on May 24 [5 favorites]
(unsorted)
Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division
Parallel Lines by Blondie
Pleased to Meet Me by The Replacements
Rum Sodomy & The Lash by The Pogues
Rocket to Russia by the Ramones
posted by bashos_frog at 5:14 PM on May 24 [5 favorites]
No XTC? Pffft. I kid, mostly. For the record, I think ranking is completely ridiculous, but it wouldn't generate as much conversation if it weren't ranked.
posted by mollweide at 5:23 PM on May 24 [2 favorites]
posted by mollweide at 5:23 PM on May 24 [2 favorites]
My top 5 missing from this list list:
Jeff Buckley, Grace
XTC, Skylarking
Jellyfish, Spilled Milk
Chicago Transit Authority
The Pretenders
Los Lobos, The Neighborhood
Peter Gabriel, Security
Sure thatâs seven you say, but thatâs, like, just my opinion, man.
Honorable mentions that will never make any best of list but are just as good:
Kevinâs Gilbert, Thud!
Parthenon Huxley, Deluxe
The Mommyheads, Binghamâs Hole
Glass Eye, Bent By Nature
Seeed, New Dubby Conquerors
Art Pepper, Smack Up
I mean, there so goddam much music in the world.go get some of it and enjoy it, no what the critics say.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:30 PM on May 24 [8 favorites]
Jeff Buckley, Grace
XTC, Skylarking
Jellyfish, Spilled Milk
Chicago Transit Authority
The Pretenders
Los Lobos, The Neighborhood
Peter Gabriel, Security
Sure thatâs seven you say, but thatâs, like, just my opinion, man.
Honorable mentions that will never make any best of list but are just as good:
Kevinâs Gilbert, Thud!
Parthenon Huxley, Deluxe
The Mommyheads, Binghamâs Hole
Glass Eye, Bent By Nature
Seeed, New Dubby Conquerors
Art Pepper, Smack Up
I mean, there so goddam much music in the world.go get some of it and enjoy it, no what the critics say.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:30 PM on May 24 [8 favorites]
Iâm thinking of putting a list of the best 25 albums on NextDoor. They will all need to have fish eye videos though.
posted by coldhotel at 6:08 AM on May 25
posted by coldhotel at 6:08 AM on May 25
No Beck. No TOM PETTY?
posted by kiwi-epitome at 7:19 AM on May 25 [2 favorites]
posted by kiwi-epitome at 7:19 AM on May 25 [2 favorites]
I love lists like this. The lists themselves and then all the inevitable discussion about how this or that was more deserving or lists in general are totally flawed and nothing more than a marketing ploy. I agree with all of that. But I really enjoy how the list and the community reaction to the list creates a discussion about music amongst people who love music and then I go listen to music. Thanks everyone! Iâll see you next time some other company is trying to drive engagement or whatever.
posted by patrick rhett at 10:18 AM on May 25 [1 favorite]
posted by patrick rhett at 10:18 AM on May 25 [1 favorite]
Every list maker is a genius in their own mind.
posted by MorgansAmoebas at 5:01 AM on May 26 [2 favorites]
posted by MorgansAmoebas at 5:01 AM on May 26 [2 favorites]
No Workingman's Dead nor American Beauty? WTF Apple Music...?
posted by Windopaene at 10:09 AM on May 27 [2 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 10:09 AM on May 27 [2 favorites]
Needs more The Cars, The Cars
posted by Carillon at 3:38 PM on May 27 [1 favorite]
posted by Carillon at 3:38 PM on May 27 [1 favorite]
My basic opinions: I find it kind of hilarious that 1989 Taylors Version is the one that's the best of all time, while the original one that was actually popular is not included, which implies that the bonus tracks, and not the huge singles, are the ones that kicked it over the hump. Right on.
Also, AC/DC is a singles band, so if you want to hear album tracks Givin the Dog a Bone or Shake a Leg instead of If You Want Blood or Thunderstruck or Whole Lotta Rosie or It's a Long Way to The Top, I'm gonna say you have interesting musical taste. In that vein, their live album or a greatest hits album should be on the list instead. I'll go so far to say the same for so many artists- why discount greatest hits packages? It's kinda dumb.
posted by The_Vegetables at 5:13 PM on May 27
Also, AC/DC is a singles band, so if you want to hear album tracks Givin the Dog a Bone or Shake a Leg instead of If You Want Blood or Thunderstruck or Whole Lotta Rosie or It's a Long Way to The Top, I'm gonna say you have interesting musical taste. In that vein, their live album or a greatest hits album should be on the list instead. I'll go so far to say the same for so many artists- why discount greatest hits packages? It's kinda dumb.
posted by The_Vegetables at 5:13 PM on May 27
@bombasticLP - everyone has their own perspective on the turning points in culture and your Britney point is defensible but I would say that the change you describe was pushed by Blackout hand in hand with Kanyeâs Homecoming
posted by thedaniel at 5:21 AM on May 28
posted by thedaniel at 5:21 AM on May 28
Devils Rancher, gratitude for mentioning Jellyfish, but it's "Spilt Milk," not "Spilled." Easily the best western pop album I own not on this list, and would make my personal top 5 of all time.
posted by xigxag at 2:34 PM on May 28 [1 favorite]
posted by xigxag at 2:34 PM on May 28 [1 favorite]
gratitude for mentioning Jellyfish
Funny thing- Iâm in a band with a guitarist who turned down a chance to audition for Jellyfish when Jason Faulkner quit, because he just wasnât going to move to LA. He shrugs it off by saying âEh, I wouldnât have gotten the gig anyway.â Both albums are great, but Spilt Milk is one of the greatest artistic achievements of the 20th century.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:06 PM on May 30
Funny thing- Iâm in a band with a guitarist who turned down a chance to audition for Jellyfish when Jason Faulkner quit, because he just wasnât going to move to LA. He shrugs it off by saying âEh, I wouldnât have gotten the gig anyway.â Both albums are great, but Spilt Milk is one of the greatest artistic achievements of the 20th century.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:06 PM on May 30
« Older A Notably Eponymous Watercolorist | A House Falls On The NCAA Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by Artw at 8:20 AM on May 24 [4 favorites]