Current:Home > reviewsRoll over Beatles. Lauryn Hill tops Apple Music's new list of top 100 albums of all time. -AssetLink
Roll over Beatles. Lauryn Hill tops Apple Music's new list of top 100 albums of all time.
View
Date:2025-04-26 06:58:50
Lauryn Hill's "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" has been named the best album ever made, according to a new list released by Apple Music. And the rest of the top 10 shows a strong push toward hip-hop and R&B artists, and away from the classic rock titans that have long dominated similar canonical roundups.
Apple Music called Hill's 1998 LP a "stunningly raw, profound look into the spiritual landscape not just of one of the era's biggest stars, but of the era itself," praising Hill for being a "once-in-a-generation talent whose inspiration and innovation can be heard through the decades."
Hill's album, her solo debut after reaching international success with The Fugees, won five Grammy Awards upon its initial release, setting a new record for the most Grammys won by a female artist in a single ceremony.
Apple Music's new list was determined with the participation of artists, songwriters, producers, industry professionals and Apple's own editorial staff members. Apple Music emphasized that it was not meant to be taken as a reflection of the platform's most-streamed offerings, but rather "a love letter to the records that have shaped the world music lovers live and listen in."
Top 100 album lists have long been a staple of music industry media, popularized by such outlets as Rolling Stone, whose own lists throughout the decades have cemented the "all-timer" reputations of such Baby Boomer stalwarts as the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and The Beach Boys.
In contrast, Apple Music's new list is more strongly centered around female artists, and artists of color. Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Kendrick Lamar and Frank Ocean are all ranked high up among Hill's runners-up, though The Beatles' "Abbey Road" and Nirvana's "Nevermind" ensured rock its position in the overall top 10:
- Lauryn Hill, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" (1998)
- Michael Jackson, "Thriller" (1982)
- The Beatles, "Abbey Road" (1969)
- Prince and the Revolution, "Purple Rain" (1984)
- Frank Ocean, "Blonde" (2016)
- Stevie Wonder, "Songs in the Key of Life" (1976)
- Kendrick Lamar, "good kid, m.A.A.d city" (2012)
- Amy Winehouse, "Back to Black" (2006)
- Nirvana, "Nevermind" (1991)
- Beyoncé, "Lemonade" (2016)
Beyoncé, Prince, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles and Radiohead are the only acts with more than one album represented in the overall list of 100.
Apple Music's top 10 features four albums from the 21st century, whereas even the most recent edition of Rolling Stone's top albums list (which positioned Hill's album in 10th place) remained a predominately pre-Y2K zone. The 1990s were the most-represented decade overall, with 23 albums included. The oldest album on the list: Miles Davis's 1959 "Kind of Blue."
As for Bob Dylan, Beach Boys and Rolling Stones, their included albums ranked 14th ("Highway 61 Revisited"), 20th ("Pet Sounds") and 53rd ("Exile on Main Street").
The most-represented genre among the top 100, according to Apple Music's own tags, is hip-hop; more than one-fifth of the list is made up of albums within that genre, compared to the 18% of albums tagged as rock, and the 16% filed under pop.
Those following Lamar's beef with rapper Drake will note that the latter, while on the overall list of 100 albums, ranks much further down than his sparring partner — Drake's 2011 album "Take Care" shows up in 47th place.
Swifties can rest easy that Taylor Swift made the list, landing in 18th place with "1989 (Taylor's Version)."
- In:
- Michael Jackson
- Beatles
- Prince
- Music
- Lauryn Hill
Eric Henderson is Managing Editor, Midwest for CBSNews.com. He has won three Emmy Awards, an Eric Sevareid Award and two Edward R. Murrow Awards.
veryGood! (199)
Related
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- The Real Housewives of Atlanta's Season 15 Taglines Revealed
- First Water Tests Show Worrying Signs From Cook Inlet Gas Leak
- Why 'lost their battle' with serious illness is the wrong thing to say
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- Come on Barbie, Let's Go Shopping: Forever 21 Just Launched an Exclusive Barbie Collection
- How the EPA assesses health risks after the Ohio train derailment
- Democratic state attorneys general sue Biden administration over abortion pill rules
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Ja Morant suspended for 25 games without pay, NBA announces
Ranking
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- U.S. lawmakers open probe into PGA Tour-LIV Golf plan
- Biden to name former North Carolina health official Mandy Cohen as new CDC director
- California Moves to Avoid Europe’s Perils in Encouraging Green Power
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Global Warming Is Hitting Ocean Species Hardest, Including Fish Relied on for Food
- Your next job interview might be with AI. Here's how to ace it.
- First Water Tests Show Worrying Signs From Cook Inlet Gas Leak
Recommendation
Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
Despite Pledges, Birmingham Lags on Efficiency, Renewables, Sustainability
Trump’s EPA Fast-Tracks a Controversial Rule That Would Restrict the Use of Health Science
Rachel Bilson Baffled After Losing a Job Over Her Comments About Sex
North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
These 6 tips can help you skip the daylight saving time hangover
Alleged Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira indicted by federal grand jury
Coronavirus ‘Really Not the Way You Want To Decrease Emissions’