Current:Home > ScamsRoll over Beatles. Lauryn Hill tops Apple Music's new list of top 100 albums of all time. -VitalWealth Strategies
Roll over Beatles. Lauryn Hill tops Apple Music's new list of top 100 albums of all time.
View
Date:2025-04-27 21:50:21
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! (25267)
Related
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- RHOC Trailer: Shannon Beador Loses Her S--t After Ex John Janssen Crashes a Party
- NTSB sends team to investigate California crash and lithium-ion battery fire involving a Tesla Semi
- The Latest: Kamala Harris will accept her party’s nomination on final night of DNC
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- Michigan State Police trooper to stand trial on murder charge in death of man struck by SUV
- Michigan State Police trooper to stand trial on murder charge in death of man struck by SUV
- MIT class of 2028 to have fewer Black, Latino students after affirmative action ruling
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Powerball winning numbers for August 21: Jackpot rises to $34 million after winner
Ranking
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- Former Army financial counselor gets over 12 years for defrauding Gold Star families
- Missouri Supreme Court blocks agreement that would have halted execution
- Sicily Yacht Company CEO Shares Endless Errors That May Have Led to Fatal Sinking Tragedy
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Disney x Kate Spade’s Snow White Collection Is the Fairest of Them All & Everything Is an Extra 40% Off
- Tennis Star Aryna Sabalenka Details Mental Health Struggles After Ex Konstantin Koltsov's Death
- Jury sides with Pennsylvania teacher in suit against district over Jan. 6 rally
Recommendation
What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
John Cena Shares NSFW Confession About Embarrassing Sex Scenes
FDA approves updated COVID-19 vaccines, shots should be available in days
Who's performed at the DNC? Lil Jon, Patti LaBelle, Stevie Wonder, more hit the stage
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
Viral video captures bottlenose dolphins rocketing high through the air: Watch
How Nevada colleges and universities are encouraging students to vote
Police misconduct indictments cause a Georgia prosecutor to drop charges in three murder cases