Apple Music Reveals Top 10 Albums of All Time

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
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.

Popular Stories

ios 18 4 carplay

Apple Upgrades CarPlay in Two Ways

Wednesday March 12, 2025 6:05 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone includes a smaller but meaningful improvement for Apple's in-car iPhone mirroring system CarPlay. Specifically, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra with a...
Apple More Personal Siri Ad

John Gruber Says 'Something is Rotten' at Apple

Wednesday March 12, 2025 7:39 pm PDT by
Daring Fireball's John Gruber today shared some strongly-worded comments about Apple's delayed personalized Siri features. Gruber is a well-known Apple pundit who has been writing about the company for more than two decades. In a blog post titled "Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino," Gruber said Apple's credibility has been "damaged" by the delay:Keynote by keynote, product by...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Launch Now Just Months Away: Here's What We Know

Tuesday March 11, 2025 3:26 am PDT by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as excellent for...
Apple Maps vs Google Maps Feature

iOS 18.4 Adds a Highly-Requested Setting to iPhones — But Not in U.S.

Wednesday March 12, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
iPhones are finally getting a much-requested setting, but availability is limited. The upcoming iOS 18.4 update introduces an option to set a default navigation app, other than Apple Maps, but unfortunately this new setting is limited to users in the EU. There, you can now set an app like Google Maps or Waze as your default navigation app on the iPhone by opening the Settings app and tapping ...
iphone 17 pro asherdipps

iPhone 17 Pro Max Rumors Allegedly Refer to 'iPhone 17 Ultra' Model

Friday March 14, 2025 7:56 am PDT by
If you've been following iPhone rumors over the last few years, you may remember reading reports that Apple flirted with the idea of introducing a super high-end "Ultra" model that would either replace its Pro Max device or sit above it in Apple's smartphone hirearchy. These reports appeared in the pre-launch iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 rumor cycles, but ultimately came to nothing. Now though, the...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro Machined Parts Leak Reflects Camera Redesign Rumors

Thursday March 13, 2025 3:07 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to feature a significant design overhaul, and a new image apparently taken on an assembly line for the unreleased devices appears to confirm the biggest rumored change. Render of an iPhone 17 Pro model shared by Jon Prosser The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to adopt a horizontal camera bar reminiscent of Google's Pixel...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Will Bring Biggest Design Overhaul Since iOS 7

Monday March 10, 2025 12:17 pm PDT by
Apple is planning for a major design overhaul of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac interfaces with the introduction of iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 later this year, reports Bloomberg. The update will "fundamentally change" the look of Apple's operating system, introducing a more consistent cross-platform experience. Apple plans to update the style of icons, menus, apps, windows, and system...
Sad Siri Feature

Kuo: Apple Knows Apple Intelligence is 'Underwhelming' and Won't Drive iPhone Upgrades

Thursday March 13, 2025 9:32 am PDT by
The Apple Intelligence features that Apple introduced with iOS 18 are not pushing people to upgrade their iPhones, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reiterated today. Apple's recent Siri failures are also going to have an impact on 2025 iPhone shipments, which the market is beginning to realize. As early as last July, Kuo said expectations that Apple Intelligence could drive iPhone upgrades were...
Sad Siri Feature

Kuo: Cook Should Personally Address Siri Apple Intelligence Failure

Thursday March 13, 2025 4:02 pm PDT by
Apple made a major misstep with the way that it handled the delay of Apple Intelligence features for Siri, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today. Announcing the delay through a press statement was a bad decision, and Apple should instead have gone through official channels. Kuo referenced the well-known "Antennagate" PR crisis when the iPhone 4 launched in 2010, and the way that then Apple...

Top Rated Comments

blairh Avatar
11 months ago
Ridiculous list.
Score: 80 Votes (Like | Disagree)
StudioMacs Avatar
11 months ago
This is like a list of the best books for people who can’t read.
Score: 52 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Crowbot Avatar
11 months ago
No Pink Floyd? Absurd.
Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RumorConsumer Avatar
11 months ago

Cue the boomers in this thread whining that their terrible taste in music wasn't represented lol
Not even a boomer and while this may not be the list based on streaming numbers or anything, this is the music of everybody watching Ted Lasso.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Timo_Existencia Avatar
11 months ago
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 ;)
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dulcimer Avatar
11 months ago
I’ve somehow never heard #1. Not even on other top album lists. O_o
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)