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Apple Music Reveals Top 10 Albums of All Time

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Apple Music today unveiled its list of the top 10 albums of all time, with Lauryn Hill's "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" securing the number one spot.

apple-music-100-best-albums.jpg

The announcement is part of a 10-day countdown event culminating in a special finale featuring discussions with prominent artists and Apple Music hosts. "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," released in 1998, was praised for its impact and relevance. Hill was given an award made of blasted anodized aluminum sourced from recycled Apple products. The top 10 albums list is as follows:
  • 1. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998), Lauryn Hill
  • 2. Thriller (1982), Michael Jackson
  • 3. Abbey Road (1969), The Beatles
  • 4. Purple Rain (1984), Prince & The Revolution
  • 5. Blonde (2016), Frank Ocean
  • 6. Songs in the Key of Life (1976), Stevie Wonder
  • 7. good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012), Kendrick Lamar
  • 8. Back to Black (2006), Amy Winehouse
  • 9. Nevermind (1991), Nirvana
  • 10. Lemonade (2016), Beyoncé

The selection process involved Apple Music experts and a group of artists, songwriters, producers, and industry professionals. This ranking is described as a modern, 21st-century evaluation of the greatest records ever made, created independently of streaming statistics.

In addition to the top 10 list, Apple Music has created 100 audio vignettes to accompany each album on the list, providing context and stories behind the records. These vignettes, along with additional content, are available across Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and Apple Books.

Article Link: Apple Music Reveals Top 10 Albums of All Time
 
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https://www.macrumors.com/2024/05/22/apple-music-reveals-top-10-albums/
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bodhisattva

bodhisattva

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Dec 7, 2008
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I'm feeling this list is heavily influenced by the streaming generation and numbers. If the older (much older) generations were as tech savvy we'd see Zeppelin, REO, Journey, ACDC, Hank Jr, Elvis, James Taylor, Stones.... I'm pretty sure no song by Beyonce will be used at sporting events, movie scenes, commercials, and otherwise all around us as we do with ACDC and Journey. Well, that irritating "Single Ladies" song may make it into campy movies with plot lines around aging single women reuniting for a roadtrip somewhere. Or maybe a WNBA game or two (cue the Emperor Palpatine voice... "I can feel your anger" :p😂🤣😇
 
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DougTheImpaler

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Like most lists, it includes a couple of obvious choices from different genres, at least one album almost nobody has ever heard of, and a couple that in no way belong. This will get people making youtube videos in response, boosting the original list's signal, and generally acting as free marketing for Apple Music.

But I can't really trust Apple Music's taste because so many of the curated playlists are pretty poor.
 
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london_apple

london_apple

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Apr 7, 2020
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nfl46 said:
Yeah, I love Beyoncé and can’t wait for the CC tour to be announced but Top 10 with Lemonade? Lol. That wasn’t even her best album to date. Even Apple is afraid of the Beyhive.
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As a fellow BeyHive, I, too, am confused as to why they chose Lemonade. If anything, they put the wrong album in the Top 10. I love Lemonade, but Renaissance was a bigger "movement" and impact from my perspective.
 
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Timo_Existencia

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Jan 2, 2002
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I used to think lists like this mattered in some way, and would argue about them with my friends. Much like I used to think the Academy Awards mattered in some way.

These lists don't matter. Like what you like. No lists such as this represents anything of any consequence outside of the organization that promotes it trying to sell you something ;)
 
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bodhisattva

bodhisattva

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BradGD said:
Cue the boomers in this thread whining that their terrible taste in music wasn't represented lol
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Each generation has a taste in music. I'd put even Weird Al Yankovic over Beyonce myself, but that is because we all have different taste. What no Bruno Mars? Creating an "all time greatest" list of anything is impossible unless you get so specific that it becomes irrelevant to most. I can see the posting now... Apple releases the all time top list of songs according to Gen Z listeners who prefer cross-over country/R&B, vote conservative, live in urban areas, go to public schools, and who's average family income is below 100k! Can't wait to download that playlist! And as to it being US-centric, let's be honest, it comes from a place where we have titles like "World Champions" for competitions limited within our boarders. But to be less negative, I do appreciate seeing lists like this. It pulls me out of my comfort zone and tempts me to go check out albums I may not have otherwise.... which means maybe it is doing its job well! I'll stream some of these but not buy. Kinda shocked ol' T-swift is not represented here. I guess Kanye must have stormed Apple HQ and demanded the Beyonce be the best. #KanyeSitDown
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ArtOfWarfare

ArtOfWarfare

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Nov 26, 2007
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The best albums of all time were released between 1969 and 2016, just a 47 year span. They came every ~5 years.

And then Apple Music launched and no good album was ever made again, apparently. This should be added to the trial that Apple Music has strangled and destroyed the music industry. (Acknowledge that Lemonade came out 10 months after the launch of Apple Music? I could never do that - it'd harm my predetermined conclusion!)
 
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Nekronos

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Jan 6, 2024
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MacRumors said:
The selection process involved Apple Music experts and a group of artists, songwriters, producers, and industry professionals. This ranking is described as a modern, 21st-century evaluation of the greatest records ever made, created independently of streaming statistics.
Click to expand...
This is embarrassing calling this a "modern evaluation" or in other words a subjective selection process involving a biased group of people without objective data.

I can't imagine what would go wrong when making a best album list without using objective metrics.
 
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