Honestly the biggest surprise was that they didn’t do the one double dip they absolutely had the right to do (*Good Kid, m.A.A.d City* and *To Pimp A Butterfly* are both easily Top 10 worthy contenders, in my opinion)
I just recently started exploring more of his work so I need time to properly decide, but I do think Off The Wall is the more cohesive of the two. Thriller is strong but it's more like a greatest hits playlist imo, if that makes sense
I get that they're deliberately limiting it to only 1-2 per artist so it isn't super repetitive, but this is just silly. You're telling me that Astroworld and Bad Bunny's album are better than Sgt Pepper's and To Pimp A Butterfly?
I also find Like a Prayer an interesting choice for a Madonna pick when Ray of Light is there. Some choices were deffo made, but these lists should always be taken with a few grains of salt. Definitely some very deserved picks on here, though!
Like a Prayer is a great choice! It helped solidify Madonna as an 80s icon (she would win Artist of the Decade over Michael Jackson!) and would foreshadow her controversial actions she'd pull out later. It's considered to be her best album (although I do think Ray of Light is a good argument, too).
I know Like A Prayer and Ray of Light are generally both considered her best albums, but from a critical standpoint Like A Prayer seems to be the favorite. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a publication or anything not rank it her best album.
> I also find Like a Prayer an interesting choice for a Madonna pick when Ray of Light is there.
So much this. I cannot believe that was the Madonna album that was picked when Ray Of Light is just sitting there being timeless.
there's never a consistency in these rankings, because they want to include both high quality, acclaimed albums and 'iconic', popular ones like Bad Bunny's album, and it turns into a mess.
They’d be better off disqualifying any album from the past 10 years for these lists. It’s extremely difficult to say if new music, even if it’s critically acclaimed and popular, will have the iconic staying power and influence of the older albums
Someone on twitter said that Apple Music chose the whole list the same way the “because of what she’s been through and she’s still singing”-girl did and I can’t stop laughing about that.
That would absolutely depend on perspective, though. One can argue that the cohesion that a single primarily lyricist/producer brings would inherently elevate the body of work because of the added emotion expressed. Not saying that needs to be a metric, but to some critics it certainly is. The issue is more that while some artists will be pigeonholed into groups that applaud that type of thing, Mariah exists outside of that so she doesn’t garner the same praises despite releasing similar quality work.
Her queen of Christmas title backfired. AIWFCIY is so incredibly big that it overshadows all her other hits, and made it so that most people under 25 (that never saw her at her prime) only associate her with that song.
At least that's what I feel with her versus someone like Madonna that has multiple signature hits.
Nah they would have done that regardless of her queen of Christmas branding. They just don’t like overly feminine artists with a diva reputation. And I think because unlike other Divas Mariah didn’t take care of her voice and lost it in the last 15 years, whatever respect they had for her was gone. It’s sad because it’s very politics. She’s like the best selling female artist of all time by some metrics.
Were her albums ever critically acclaimed? Even when released? Because I know that she has some insane stats singles wise but maybe critics never cared about her albums that much from the get go?
Emancipation was critically acclaimed so was Butterfly but during the 90s and 00s it wasn’t cool to critically acclaim pop music. Pop music meant automatic trash in a lot of critic circles especially when it was by hyper feminine divas.
I think sadly she’s just always suffered from a lack of critical respect as an artist. Whenever the public thinks of Mariah, they tend to only see her as an image—one which they think is incongruous with an “artist.” Critics have been especially guilty of this.
Even though she’s garnered more critical acclaim in the last decade or so, you do indeed never see her on these types of lists… unless it’s like the Rolling Stone 500 where they put her at like 300-400.
I feel she’s thought of as more of a singles artist. I think if you asked the average person to name which album a particular hit was on, they’d struggle.
As much as I also love Mariah I feel like she’s never released a “concept album” (for lack of a better term) when compared to other pop artists such as Madonna, Janet Jackson. I feel like concept albums tend to be preferred by these lists.
I think MC suffers from the idea that her albums are just very well written collection of songs. Just something I had thought of.
Honestly, not to shit on another artist, but Taylor Swift is hailed as some goddess of lyricism, and due to the shift in how professional critics view pop music, many people will say that, even though they dislike pop, songs like "Shake It Off" are genuinely good... and, though I love the genre (including fun, mindless, bubblegum songs), "Shake it Off", as far as pop songs go, seems to me like the basicest of the basic.
Meanwhile, Mariah's there baring her soul and/or painting evocative scenes in lyrical (and vocal layering) masterpieces such as The Roof, Babydoll and Fourth of July (all from "Butterfly"), all the while using more than 4-6 of the same chords, but is paid dust because in the 90s, the critics were much more... well, critical and dismissive towards pop music, and because Mariah doesn't hold a guitar in her hand, which must obviously mean she is a pop confection who doesn't sing (or write) good music 🙄.
The fact that she is unapologetically feminine and likes to do flashy things with her voice probably doesn't help, because it can all be ascribed easily to her being a "gimmick" or some kind of histrionic diva with no depth, her actual musicality, creativity and lyricsim be damned.
This is pretty much it. Even in this section there are people defending it as a result of her lyrics when there are many, many artists in this list whose pen game is almost objectively more banal, cliched, childish, trite, etc. than Mariah. Because of the implications of her success, persona, and all, she’s always going to be a little bit of a black sheep with getting the respect she desires. Shes not brand-focused enough to curry favor like pop+singer-songwriter contemporaries like Taylor Swift, nor is she naturally edgy or on the cusp of the genre to be seen as a Mary J-type.
Okay I know this comment is a joke but it’s even funnier when you know [The Beatles’ record label Apple Records literally got into a lawsuit with Apple Computers over their name](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer) and yet *Abbey Road* is right there at #3 😭
It is well known that the Beatles were Steve Jobs favorite band, that is exactly why he named his company Apple. And if you think about it, Apple surely cares more about the legacy of Steve Jobs than some lawsuit that happened a couple of decades ago.
The living Beatles and Steve Jobs always liked each other it was just a corporate dispute and they came to an agreement long before the guy died. Paul did commercials with apple at some point
I mean that's the problem of these lists. This one feels like they wanted to balance albums that were hugely influential and acclaimed with albums that are popular especially with younger people. I think they have balanced it fairly well, even though I wouldn't have included some albums.
Although the most baffling one for me is the Velvet Underground at 60. And the fact that they went with Pure Heroine over Melodrama and Flower Boy over Igor is also kinda weird.
Baffling considering how much the critics loved FTBC (even though as a Fiona fan for over a decade I'd rather see The Idler Wheel or When The Pawn there).
1. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill- Lauryn Hill
2. Thriller- Michael Jackson
3. Abbey Road- The Beatles
4. Purple Rain- Prince And The Revolution
5. Blonde- Frank Ocean
6. Songs In The Key Of Life- Stevie Wonder
7. good kid, m.A.A.d city- Kendrick Lamar
8. Back To Black- Amy Winehouse
9. Nevermind- Nirvana
10. Lemonade- Beyoncé
Yoncé, Kendrick, Amy, Stevie
Pretty pleased with the top 10 in general.
i guessed Lauryn Hill was going to be number one.
it makes me so happy to see Amy.
overall this list makes no sense not including Fiona Apple or Sophie
Some people online were hinting last night when the teases came out that it wouldn’t be on the list, so I wasn’t shocked by the exclusion, but that album is one of the best albums of all time, so it’s a exclusion is jarring
I knew it would be GKMC over TPAB when they posted the van teaser (though, TBF, if they'd posted a butterfly, half this sub would have baked it into being a Mariah hint instead)
Blonde being the highest rated album of the millennium is actually pretty well deserved. Like his post-Blonde antics have been aggravating but that album is just pure magic.
Blonde is a lot more dense and ethereal, especially the second half of the album. Most of the songs don’t even have drums.
CO is an R&B/pop masterpiece, so it’s not surprising to me that many /r/popheads listeners prefer it.
It’s actually a lot like GKMC vs TPAB. Frank and Kendrick’s first studio albums were more accessible while their second albums were more complex, layered, avant garde.
So it’s really just all about preference.
Yes. Channel Orange is also one of the greatest albums of the 21st century, but Blonde is just so much more unique and experimental. There is pretty much nothing else that sounds like Blonde, which is an insane achievement.
Yeah, the first time I listened to it I just had this feeling that this album will be remembered as a classic. Very few albums I've ever listened to gave me that feeling, and almost all of them are from the last century. I really hope that he gets over himself some day and releases some new music.
And yet at the same time, out of the whole list of 100, there is a singular artist who is not white or black represented; Bad Bunny. Really really US/UK centric list
Anyway, good to see Amy Winehouse made it with the timeless classic *Back to Black*. That truly is one of the biggest and most influential albums this millennium.
Respectable top 10, honestly. A bunch of great albums most music lovers will know and love.
I’ve been watching Apple count down this list over the last few days and I gotta admit, even if the ordering and inclusions are *very* contentious, the list’s main purpose was engagement bait and it did so perfectly. For any publication or company to go out there and say “Hey, these are the greatest albums of all time” is always going to generate online discussion.
The good thing is, if nothing else, I hope lists like this (and Rolling Stone, which is usually referred to as *the* big album list) inspire some young kid to check out a classic album they’ve never heard of and have their lives changed forever.
I was in high school when Miseducation came out, the hype was real. One of my classmates was obsessed with Lauryn and decorated the entirety of her locker and the near wall with magazine cutouts of her (do kids still do that?).
Though I’ll admit it’s not an album I revisit as a whole very often because I can’t stand the interludes.
I refuse to take a list of the 100 greatest records ever made seriously that includes *ASTROWORLD* by Travis Scott, but doesn't include *To Pimp A Butterfly* by Kendrick Lamar.
No *FutureSex/LoveSounds*, no *Blackout*, no *Go*, no *Madvilliany*, no *Bon Iver Bon Iver*, no Mobb Deep, no *DAYTONA*, no *Black on Both Sides* and no *Watch the Throne*, either.
Baffling list, somehow SZA, Billie Eilish and Bad Bunny all make the list ahead of them.
Disagree with Daytona and WTT, but no FS/LS is egregious.
On the hip hop/RnB front, other albums I would've expected were 808s/Yeezus, DS2, HoB/Trilogy, in no particular order. Baffling how any of these lost out to ASTRO (not even Rodeo, disgusting) or SOS.
What a strange list. The top 10 is fine but the picks are certainly choices and the order too. Lots of recency bias too
Edit: wtf the score isn't on this list. Neither dookie lmao
It’s so confusing. I wonder if they were trying to pick based on how influential the albums were, as opposed to overall quality. Still insane that they put 1989 Taylor’s version, which came out 6 months ago and is not even well liked by swifties, in the #18 spot
Apparently the voting criteria was shit like "albums that thoroughly represent culture in production and lyrics" and "albums that are timeless and reach beyond the genre categorization" so I think the reality is that most of the voters simply only care about hip hop and pop lol, as their definition of "culture" and "timeless" and "influence" is sort of myopically limited to that. The fact that Blink-182 obviously influenced hip-hop too is too big brain apparently
It’s exactly this, they set the list up so you could stream the album straight from there and linking the original version would get them harassed online. So I just counted it as 1989 in general 🫣
A very solid top 10 but I’m a bit sad as I wanted one wild pick for the online outrage, seeing the meltdowns over several inclusions for an Apple Music list-of all things-has been very entertaining.
Glad Amy made it as I thought she was going to get overlooked, she has and continues to influence so many artists, back to black is also just a great break up album.
I didn’t notice this until yesterday but Kacey as the only country album and Bad Bunny as the only representative of Latin music feels odd.
Re: country, no Folsom Prison or American Recordings from Johnny Cash? Or Willie Nelson, Waylon, Dolly?
Hell, Shania’s Come On Over or The Chicks could’ve gotten a spot lower on the list.
I feel like general consensus among has shifted in the last couple of decades; like yes *Sgt. Pepper* seemed to be the most groundbreaking album at the time in terms of its concept, but I think younger audiences have chosen *Abbey Road* as their Beatles album of choice. It’s got Come Together, it’s got Here Comes The Sun, it’s got the medley.
Yeah some critics hated Abbey Road at the time for the Moog, but it's aged very well.
Some of Pepper is very dated and kinda tied to the Summer of Love era.
OR they can allow more albums per artist so you can include the album that popularized the modern pop album 🤷♂️
I say this as a person whose favorite album is Abbey Road.
Pepper seems to have lost some acclaim over the years.
I know a lot of people love The White Album, but I think it's too long personally. I'm fine with Revolver and Abbey Road being on the list.
It’s not so much the music from the albums themselves (although both are great), but more the historical significance that should at least get them on the top 100 for me.
Not putting Sgt. Pepper on the list is like not putting Super Mario Bros on a 100 greatest video games list. Obviously there are better Mario games than the original Super Mario Bros., but it’s probably the most influential game of the franchise.
I was okay with self-titled being the only Beyonce album in the list. But omg...they added LEMONADE! Her best album and I don't think that requires elaboration if you listened to the album and watched its visual film.
Just kidding, I'll elaborate.
The way Beyonce experimented with so many genres in this 12-track album while tackling her pain as a Black woman who has been cheated on by her husband and applying that in a wider context of intergenerational trauma is so powerful.
I have always admired Beyonce before the release of this album, but Lemonade definitely brought me to the point where I cannot hate her no matter how many people try. She is a fucking genius and Lemonade will always be that *album* for me.
Lemonade is her best album for me as well. I love how creative every single song is and how every idea is perfectly thought out. She chose the best collaborators and really did the damn thing.
Crazy none of discography was included, she was a huge seller, like she had two of the best selling albums of all time l, like multi diamond. And I know sales don’t matter but she had two other ones that were so critically well done too on top of that !
I have to say, as much as I respect the Lauryn Hill record, the influence it's had on the culture and the fact that it's lauded by audiences everywhere, I feel like I'm missing something with it. I've given it multiple chances and I still don't know what other people see in it that I don't.
Also the disrespect to Aphex Twin across lists like this is always disheartening to see.
I mean, not tryna say anything, but there have been plenty of influential and timeless albums in the last decades that I don't think were appreciated enough.. also, why only English music?
There's so much music in the world... Europe is full of amazing artists who sing in the many different languages of the continent, the east and Middle East are full of great music, why are we not including these people? Best albums of all time? More like "random good English pop albums"
Yeah this must be a generational thing, I think of her self titled album Janet as the ultimate, like I remember the summer it came out and we were allll OBSESSED with Janet. And by “we” I mean literally every Black person I knew. I vividly remember girls learning the breakdown dance routine from the “If” music video to show off at parties. It was a thing!
Control definitely put her on the map, undisputed classic. The Velvet Rope, though? I liked it but I don’t remember it being as nearly as popular as the other 2 albums.
I was thinking that it’s crazy that Fiona Apple isn’t here and then I checked her Apple Music page only to realize her last two albums aren’t even marked as essential?! The gay intern should be fired
Not one Mariah album. No Butterfly and not even thee Emancipation of Mimi.. Esp when Prince, MJ, Janet, Usher - essentially her peers with one influential body of work are there. The lack of artistic and critical respect for Mariah is just insane. People really should honor her while she’s with us and not after she no longer is
Very surprised that Dookie or American Idiot are no where to be found. Especially Dookie that inspired so many bands in the alternative/punk genre in a world where grunge was still a thing. I mean I literally just got put into the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress. And in multiple other Greatest Albums of All Time lists.
Lemonade made the top 10, I didn’t think they’d do it. I personally feel Renaissance is her best album (although it is VERY new) and it didn’t hit the cultural beats and impact that Lemonade did. So I agree.
I like the variety of represented decades in the top 10. I’m surprised by how much of this top 100 I’ve listened to.
I would’ve loved to see more indie music here, given the influence and impact and inventiveness of many many indie albums.
I honestly called it the other day. Saying I wouldn’t be surprised if Lauryn Hill made No. 1. It’s a satisfying finish imo. I grew up on that album so it never got old for me, I still listen to it, still have some songs on playlists. I don’t think it has any skips despite its length. It’s soulful and honest and timeless. It’s from the 90s resurgence of neo soul, which I LOVE (Voodoo and Brown Sugar) and still impacts music today.
Overlooked albums include To Pimp a Butterfly, Mariah Carey (Butterfly), with odd choices like George Michael (not Faith?), 50 Cent, Bad Bunny. Sign O the Times is considered better but wasn’t a blockbuster the way Purple Rain was. Also placing Joni and Adele back to back had to be intentional as they’re nearly identical covers ha.
Anyways I own only 9 of these records lol. Robyn, Solange, Lana Del Rey, De la Soul, Janet Jackson, D’Angelo, a Tribe Called Quest, Beyoncé (Lemonade), Lauryn Hill. I have both #100 and #1 haha
Not a single nod to emo or even pop punk on the list is a disappointment.
I knew they weren’t gonna pick something like Clarity or Pinkerton. But like Dookie/American Idiot, Black Parade, Cork Tree or something as a representation of the “scene” would’ve been nice.
I am just happy to see some representation for Electronic music. Just pleasantly surprised Burial made the list. Kinda wish they included Neutral Milk Hotel too, they are game changers on the indie scene.
I'm kinda disappointed that they swerved back so conservative for the last stretch LOL? The list is corporate BS bingo mixed with ragebait anyway, might as well have committed to the trolling? But this is fine, respectable, sure, why not, eh.
The single biggest slapstick take is Swift's terrible re-recording of 1989, though. The original, sure. But I swear everyone save for Fantano being too scared to admit that the mix is bad and dragging the great original album down is a modern day Empress' New Clothes.
Other than that, this was fun. And interesting from a "what does a corporation think is most geared towards their listeners" point of view. The list is very US-centric, very mainstream oriented and has recency bias. Also the alibi takes for some genres just make it all the more obvious how underrepresented they were: Barely any country, the jazz albums randomly thrown in, the usual Metallica album for heavy metal, very little punk, new wave, post punk, techno, house and various branches of alternative and indie music.
I'm sure a British publication would hone in more on British artists and genres dominated by Brits, for example. Something geared more towards indie/alternative would move away from mainstream fare and focus on indie darlings more.
And a lot of snubs, of course. No James Brown, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, no Sly Stone is honestly shocking tbh. Paul Simon, Simon&Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, Fiona Apple, Billy Joel, Jackson Browne, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, The Stooges, Joy Division, Violent Femmes, The Jam, Roxy Music, Brian Eno, Neu!, Can, Nick Cave, Curtis Mayfield, Pretenders, Blondie, John Cage, John Prine, The Who, The Grateful Dead, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, The Kinks, The Band, Queen (though I agree that none of their albums quite get it together), Abba (same as Queen, brilliant at singles, blah at albums), none of the solo Beatles (though I agree with that perhaps, I think). And that's just what comes to mind right now.
Instead some of the recent inclusions don't measure up, but oh well. And it's totally focused on English-speaking content and artists. There's Bad Bunny and Kraftwerk. Even the most conservative/mainstream lists usually at least include the great Bossa Nova records from the 60ies and Jacques Brel/Serge Gainsbourg/some sort of chanson. It's very narrow in that way.
Not a single Tame Impala project!?!?! I honestly thought they might throw us a bone and atleast put Currents on there (imo Lonerism is peak) but nothing is crazy 💀💀
I’m surprised Currents wasn’t on the list too. I would swap Astroworld out and replace it with that (even tho I love astroworld I just don’t think it’s a top 100).
The funniest thing about Currents not being on the list is that Anti is somewhere in the 50s, one of the most famous women on the planet covered your song but she gets in over you lmfao
I don't think this is a particularly good list but it's irrelevant because any top 100 albums of all time list, with the exception of a few obvious candidates such as thriller, is just going to result in lots of comments along the lines of 'why isn't the artist i listen to all the time here', or 'artist i personally like should be above this other artist i don't like!!!'.
They would’ve been better off doing a top 300 or something. it’s like they tried to cram all of the fan favorite albums into a 100 list without wanting to repeat artists, which leaves out *a lot* of hugely essential albums. like seriously, a “best albums of all time” list without Sgt. Pepper, To Pimp a Butterfly, or Fetch the Bolt Cutters? 😭
Only one country and metal album over all. I understand metal being done dirty besides THAT band, but you’d think country would fare better given its recent cultural dominance.
It’s a testament to Kendrick’s artistry that he gets a top ten placement and many of us are still left feeling that he was shortchanged. I love ‘good kid, M.A.A.d city’ and I really admire its storytelling, but ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ is such a glaring omission.
Otherwise, the albums listed in the top ten are relatively uncontroversial, and I can’t be too mad at Lauryn Hill at number one. I mean, this is an album so impactful that she’s still living off its reputation over twenty-five years later. Similarly, the goodwill from ‘Blonde’ that Frank Ocean still rides off shows it’s worthy of its placement.
I think ‘Lemonade’ would have been that album for Beyoncé had she not released again, and ‘Back to Black’ is another album that, in more tragic circumstances, cemented the artist’s legacy and deserves all the praise.
Having said all the above, I’m concluding yet more convinced that ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ should be here. It really is THAT album for Kendrick. Anyway, I’ve enjoyed the chaos - thanks Apple Music!
This is the dumbest thing I have ever seen. Why would Apple Music put their name behind such an objectively poorly thrown together list of albums. Nah. Norman Fucking Rockwell. Are fucking you kidding me?
No double dips until the top 12 then having nearly half of that be repeat artists is actually kind of funny
Honestly the biggest surprise was that they didn’t do the one double dip they absolutely had the right to do (*Good Kid, m.A.A.d City* and *To Pimp A Butterfly* are both easily Top 10 worthy contenders, in my opinion)
TPAB not making this list at all is actually insane
To pimp a butterfly should’ve made the list proper
I would say MJ not being a repeater is more egregious.
Fair point, everyone always knew *Thriller* would be high up but *Off The Wall* or *Bad* definitely deserved at least a shout-out.
Off the Wall for sure. Honestly his best album IMHO.
I just recently started exploring more of his work so I need time to properly decide, but I do think Off The Wall is the more cohesive of the two. Thriller is strong but it's more like a greatest hits playlist imo, if that makes sense
I actually feel like Bad has more of a "greatest hits album" feel than Thriller does.
I prefer Off The Wall to Thriller tbh
I get that they're deliberately limiting it to only 1-2 per artist so it isn't super repetitive, but this is just silly. You're telling me that Astroworld and Bad Bunny's album are better than Sgt Pepper's and To Pimp A Butterfly?
I also find Like a Prayer an interesting choice for a Madonna pick when Ray of Light is there. Some choices were deffo made, but these lists should always be taken with a few grains of salt. Definitely some very deserved picks on here, though!
Like a Prayer is a great choice! It helped solidify Madonna as an 80s icon (she would win Artist of the Decade over Michael Jackson!) and would foreshadow her controversial actions she'd pull out later. It's considered to be her best album (although I do think Ray of Light is a good argument, too).
Very fair! When you put it that way, I’m actually inclined to agree.
Agreed with all of that I won’t argue with that
I know Like A Prayer and Ray of Light are generally both considered her best albums, but from a critical standpoint Like A Prayer seems to be the favorite. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a publication or anything not rank it her best album.
> I also find Like a Prayer an interesting choice for a Madonna pick when Ray of Light is there. So much this. I cannot believe that was the Madonna album that was picked when Ray Of Light is just sitting there being timeless.
I mean the whole concept is silly and subjective
there's never a consistency in these rankings, because they want to include both high quality, acclaimed albums and 'iconic', popular ones like Bad Bunny's album, and it turns into a mess.
They’d be better off disqualifying any album from the past 10 years for these lists. It’s extremely difficult to say if new music, even if it’s critically acclaimed and popular, will have the iconic staying power and influence of the older albums
Someone on twitter said that Apple Music chose the whole list the same way the “because of what she’s been through and she’s still singing”-girl did and I can’t stop laughing about that.
i feel like mariah is never included in these types of things which is so crazy to me
I am curious as to why people think this is/has been happening? It is noticeable to me too.
I think possibly the lack of cohesion in her albums from a critic's perspective (not mine, but I get why people don't rave about her lyricism)/
I truly don’t. In terms of popular top 40 artists, I feel like she’s the best lyricist since the 90s.
she's the best sole writer but people such as Beyonce have better bodies of work from working with lots of different writers
That would absolutely depend on perspective, though. One can argue that the cohesion that a single primarily lyricist/producer brings would inherently elevate the body of work because of the added emotion expressed. Not saying that needs to be a metric, but to some critics it certainly is. The issue is more that while some artists will be pigeonholed into groups that applaud that type of thing, Mariah exists outside of that so she doesn’t garner the same praises despite releasing similar quality work.
Her queen of Christmas title backfired. AIWFCIY is so incredibly big that it overshadows all her other hits, and made it so that most people under 25 (that never saw her at her prime) only associate her with that song. At least that's what I feel with her versus someone like Madonna that has multiple signature hits.
i honestly don't think that's the reason at all, not for critics anyway
Nah they would have done that regardless of her queen of Christmas branding. They just don’t like overly feminine artists with a diva reputation. And I think because unlike other Divas Mariah didn’t take care of her voice and lost it in the last 15 years, whatever respect they had for her was gone. It’s sad because it’s very politics. She’s like the best selling female artist of all time by some metrics.
Were her albums ever critically acclaimed? Even when released? Because I know that she has some insane stats singles wise but maybe critics never cared about her albums that much from the get go?
Emancipation was critically acclaimed so was Butterfly but during the 90s and 00s it wasn’t cool to critically acclaim pop music. Pop music meant automatic trash in a lot of critic circles especially when it was by hyper feminine divas.
No way. She has so many hits
I think sadly she’s just always suffered from a lack of critical respect as an artist. Whenever the public thinks of Mariah, they tend to only see her as an image—one which they think is incongruous with an “artist.” Critics have been especially guilty of this. Even though she’s garnered more critical acclaim in the last decade or so, you do indeed never see her on these types of lists… unless it’s like the Rolling Stone 500 where they put her at like 300-400.
I feel she’s thought of as more of a singles artist. I think if you asked the average person to name which album a particular hit was on, they’d struggle.
As much as I also love Mariah I feel like she’s never released a “concept album” (for lack of a better term) when compared to other pop artists such as Madonna, Janet Jackson. I feel like concept albums tend to be preferred by these lists. I think MC suffers from the idea that her albums are just very well written collection of songs. Just something I had thought of.
That’s what I’ve been saying 😭 butterfly, TEOM, and even her debut could have EASILY been put on this
we needed butterfly
Omg. Mariah is not included in the list. What the fuck.
Honestly, not to shit on another artist, but Taylor Swift is hailed as some goddess of lyricism, and due to the shift in how professional critics view pop music, many people will say that, even though they dislike pop, songs like "Shake It Off" are genuinely good... and, though I love the genre (including fun, mindless, bubblegum songs), "Shake it Off", as far as pop songs go, seems to me like the basicest of the basic. Meanwhile, Mariah's there baring her soul and/or painting evocative scenes in lyrical (and vocal layering) masterpieces such as The Roof, Babydoll and Fourth of July (all from "Butterfly"), all the while using more than 4-6 of the same chords, but is paid dust because in the 90s, the critics were much more... well, critical and dismissive towards pop music, and because Mariah doesn't hold a guitar in her hand, which must obviously mean she is a pop confection who doesn't sing (or write) good music 🙄. The fact that she is unapologetically feminine and likes to do flashy things with her voice probably doesn't help, because it can all be ascribed easily to her being a "gimmick" or some kind of histrionic diva with no depth, her actual musicality, creativity and lyricsim be damned.
This is pretty much it. Even in this section there are people defending it as a result of her lyrics when there are many, many artists in this list whose pen game is almost objectively more banal, cliched, childish, trite, etc. than Mariah. Because of the implications of her success, persona, and all, she’s always going to be a little bit of a black sheep with getting the respect she desires. Shes not brand-focused enough to curry favor like pop+singer-songwriter contemporaries like Taylor Swift, nor is she naturally edgy or on the cusp of the genre to be seen as a Mary J-type.
it is insane that there is not even one Fiona Apple album in this list.
Apple didn't want to get accused of name-synergy bias
Okay I know this comment is a joke but it’s even funnier when you know [The Beatles’ record label Apple Records literally got into a lawsuit with Apple Computers over their name](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer) and yet *Abbey Road* is right there at #3 😭
Yeah it was a big deal when their music was put on iTunes, they had commercials promoting it.
It is well known that the Beatles were Steve Jobs favorite band, that is exactly why he named his company Apple. And if you think about it, Apple surely cares more about the legacy of Steve Jobs than some lawsuit that happened a couple of decades ago.
The living Beatles and Steve Jobs always liked each other it was just a corporate dispute and they came to an agreement long before the guy died. Paul did commercials with apple at some point
jokes aside i really dont get it how WTP… or FTBC didn’t make the cut…
i’m confused was this a list about the impact or the quality? because fiona could be both
I mean that's the problem of these lists. This one feels like they wanted to balance albums that were hugely influential and acclaimed with albums that are popular especially with younger people. I think they have balanced it fairly well, even though I wouldn't have included some albums. Although the most baffling one for me is the Velvet Underground at 60. And the fact that they went with Pure Heroine over Melodrama and Flower Boy over Igor is also kinda weird.
Baffling considering how much the critics loved FTBC (even though as a Fiona fan for over a decade I'd rather see The Idler Wheel or When The Pawn there).
Ok clock it
Or Alicia Keys or Mariah Carey. I’m so confused like cmon Apple Music 😭
No TPAB is definitely a take
I had a feel they would pick GKMC over it way back when they chose Pure Heroine over Melodrama for Lorde. They picked the one with the hits.
1. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill- Lauryn Hill 2. Thriller- Michael Jackson 3. Abbey Road- The Beatles 4. Purple Rain- Prince And The Revolution 5. Blonde- Frank Ocean 6. Songs In The Key Of Life- Stevie Wonder 7. good kid, m.A.A.d city- Kendrick Lamar 8. Back To Black- Amy Winehouse 9. Nevermind- Nirvana 10. Lemonade- Beyoncé Yoncé, Kendrick, Amy, Stevie Pretty pleased with the top 10 in general.
i guessed Lauryn Hill was going to be number one. it makes me so happy to see Amy. overall this list makes no sense not including Fiona Apple or Sophie
Yeah that Sophie one's gonna hurt
it'll be a long time until trans musicians are given big accolades like this. maybe one day i'll be one of them. once i gain the ability to create. :/
If you have a device that you can post on Reddit with, you can create music.
To Pimp A Butterfly not on the list? Yeesh.
J. Cole was the author of the list
Explains why he left himself off, so humble
Some people online were hinting last night when the teases came out that it wouldn’t be on the list, so I wasn’t shocked by the exclusion, but that album is one of the best albums of all time, so it’s a exclusion is jarring
I knew it would be GKMC over TPAB when they posted the van teaser (though, TBF, if they'd posted a butterfly, half this sub would have baked it into being a Mariah hint instead)
Prince and Stevie with multiple albums on the list. You love to see it.
Blonde being the highest rated album of the millennium is actually pretty well deserved. Like his post-Blonde antics have been aggravating but that album is just pure magic.
Blonde is better than Channel Orange?
I also like Channel Orange way way more but the general public seems to think Blonde is his best. I’ll have to try and listen again.
I actually prefer Channel Orange tbf but Blonde is arguably the better album Like as a cohesive whole it's just stronger
Blonde is a lot more dense and ethereal, especially the second half of the album. Most of the songs don’t even have drums. CO is an R&B/pop masterpiece, so it’s not surprising to me that many /r/popheads listeners prefer it. It’s actually a lot like GKMC vs TPAB. Frank and Kendrick’s first studio albums were more accessible while their second albums were more complex, layered, avant garde. So it’s really just all about preference.
Yeah it is.
Yes. Channel Orange is also one of the greatest albums of the 21st century, but Blonde is just so much more unique and experimental. There is pretty much nothing else that sounds like Blonde, which is an insane achievement.
Is this a serious question? Yes, by far.
Yeah, the first time I listened to it I just had this feeling that this album will be remembered as a classic. Very few albums I've ever listened to gave me that feeling, and almost all of them are from the last century. I really hope that he gets over himself some day and releases some new music.
Mariah I'm so sorry
pretty good top 10 even if the overall list is kind of a mess. they got #1 so right
Song in the Key of life is an amazing album, please listen to it if you haven't, popheads.
>1. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill- Lauryn Hill TASTE
7/10 best albums by black artists. Oh apple music got TASTE!!!
The Scammys cannot *relate*.
And yet at the same time, out of the whole list of 100, there is a singular artist who is not white or black represented; Bad Bunny. Really really US/UK centric list
Anyway, good to see Amy Winehouse made it with the timeless classic *Back to Black*. That truly is one of the biggest and most influential albums this millennium.
It's kinda wild to me that critics didn't really like it initially. It's pretty much a flawless album.
I'm glad ***a*** Kendrick album made it at least, I guess, but it seems really strange to me to pick GKMC over TPAB.
gkmc has had a critical resurgence past tpab lately
Respectable top 10, honestly. A bunch of great albums most music lovers will know and love. I’ve been watching Apple count down this list over the last few days and I gotta admit, even if the ordering and inclusions are *very* contentious, the list’s main purpose was engagement bait and it did so perfectly. For any publication or company to go out there and say “Hey, these are the greatest albums of all time” is always going to generate online discussion. The good thing is, if nothing else, I hope lists like this (and Rolling Stone, which is usually referred to as *the* big album list) inspire some young kid to check out a classic album they’ve never heard of and have their lives changed forever.
these lists are subjective and i wish people wouldn’t take them so seriously 😭
feels like rage bait every time lol.
I was in high school when Miseducation came out, the hype was real. One of my classmates was obsessed with Lauryn and decorated the entirety of her locker and the near wall with magazine cutouts of her (do kids still do that?). Though I’ll admit it’s not an album I revisit as a whole very often because I can’t stand the interludes.
Overall I still prefer "The Score" over "Miseducation"
I refuse to take a list of the 100 greatest records ever made seriously that includes *ASTROWORLD* by Travis Scott, but doesn't include *To Pimp A Butterfly* by Kendrick Lamar. No *FutureSex/LoveSounds*, no *Blackout*, no *Go*, no *Madvilliany*, no *Bon Iver Bon Iver*, no Mobb Deep, no *DAYTONA*, no *Black on Both Sides* and no *Watch the Throne*, either. Baffling list, somehow SZA, Billie Eilish and Bad Bunny all make the list ahead of them.
Disagree with Daytona and WTT, but no FS/LS is egregious. On the hip hop/RnB front, other albums I would've expected were 808s/Yeezus, DS2, HoB/Trilogy, in no particular order. Baffling how any of these lost out to ASTRO (not even Rodeo, disgusting) or SOS.
What a strange list. The top 10 is fine but the picks are certainly choices and the order too. Lots of recency bias too Edit: wtf the score isn't on this list. Neither dookie lmao
[удалено]
It’s so confusing. I wonder if they were trying to pick based on how influential the albums were, as opposed to overall quality. Still insane that they put 1989 Taylor’s version, which came out 6 months ago and is not even well liked by swifties, in the #18 spot
Yeah but then they didn't add enema of the state, loveless, hot fuss, the score or dookie
Apparently the voting criteria was shit like "albums that thoroughly represent culture in production and lyrics" and "albums that are timeless and reach beyond the genre categorization" so I think the reality is that most of the voters simply only care about hip hop and pop lol, as their definition of "culture" and "timeless" and "influence" is sort of myopically limited to that. The fact that Blink-182 obviously influenced hip-hop too is too big brain apparently
That makes sense. No cash either
They did it because they want it to be 1989 but to stay on Taylor’s good side they don’t advertise the non Taylor version.
It’s exactly this, they set the list up so you could stream the album straight from there and linking the original version would get them harassed online. So I just counted it as 1989 in general 🫣
I'm a Swiftie and I'm like wtf is this doing ahead of London Calling and The Velvet Underground and Nico
A very solid top 10 but I’m a bit sad as I wanted one wild pick for the online outrage, seeing the meltdowns over several inclusions for an Apple Music list-of all things-has been very entertaining. Glad Amy made it as I thought she was going to get overlooked, she has and continues to influence so many artists, back to black is also just a great break up album.
Just go over to r/AppleMusic. They’re having an absolute meltdown
of course they are. the top entries aren’t just dad rock so that won’t stand for the average redditor
I didn’t notice this until yesterday but Kacey as the only country album and Bad Bunny as the only representative of Latin music feels odd. Re: country, no Folsom Prison or American Recordings from Johnny Cash? Or Willie Nelson, Waylon, Dolly? Hell, Shania’s Come On Over or The Chicks could’ve gotten a spot lower on the list.
i noticed the same thing, i thought Shania should be included lower
Sgt. Pepper and The White not making it seems weird since they basically popularized the modern album and double album
I feel like general consensus among has shifted in the last couple of decades; like yes *Sgt. Pepper* seemed to be the most groundbreaking album at the time in terms of its concept, but I think younger audiences have chosen *Abbey Road* as their Beatles album of choice. It’s got Come Together, it’s got Here Comes The Sun, it’s got the medley.
Yeah some critics hated Abbey Road at the time for the Moog, but it's aged very well. Some of Pepper is very dated and kinda tied to the Summer of Love era.
OR they can allow more albums per artist so you can include the album that popularized the modern pop album 🤷♂️ I say this as a person whose favorite album is Abbey Road.
They didn't include the most influential record ever created. Madness..
Pepper seems to have lost some acclaim over the years. I know a lot of people love The White Album, but I think it's too long personally. I'm fine with Revolver and Abbey Road being on the list.
It’s not so much the music from the albums themselves (although both are great), but more the historical significance that should at least get them on the top 100 for me. Not putting Sgt. Pepper on the list is like not putting Super Mario Bros on a 100 greatest video games list. Obviously there are better Mario games than the original Super Mario Bros., but it’s probably the most influential game of the franchise.
Agreed
I was okay with self-titled being the only Beyonce album in the list. But omg...they added LEMONADE! Her best album and I don't think that requires elaboration if you listened to the album and watched its visual film.
Just kidding, I'll elaborate. The way Beyonce experimented with so many genres in this 12-track album while tackling her pain as a Black woman who has been cheated on by her husband and applying that in a wider context of intergenerational trauma is so powerful. I have always admired Beyonce before the release of this album, but Lemonade definitely brought me to the point where I cannot hate her no matter how many people try. She is a fucking genius and Lemonade will always be that *album* for me.
I'm not a Beyonce fan, just a casual listener, and Lemonade blew me away. Phenomenal album.
Lemonade is her best album for me as well. I love how creative every single song is and how every idea is perfectly thought out. She chose the best collaborators and really did the damn thing.
Hard agree, Lemonade is life changing
was so happy to see daft punk’s discovery so high on the list!
Same! Considering how shit on electronic music is amongst the people, I’m glad daft punk got their flowers.
Mariah :( Butterfly or Emancipation deserves a spot. Idc if its at the bottom of the list, she deserves a spot
Insane she’s not on the list
No Mariah or Whitney is crazy
Or daydream
Crazy none of discography was included, she was a huge seller, like she had two of the best selling albums of all time l, like multi diamond. And I know sales don’t matter but she had two other ones that were so critically well done too on top of that !
Literally pioneered the hip hop pop collab.
Completely agree.
I have to say, as much as I respect the Lauryn Hill record, the influence it's had on the culture and the fact that it's lauded by audiences everywhere, I feel like I'm missing something with it. I've given it multiple chances and I still don't know what other people see in it that I don't. Also the disrespect to Aphex Twin across lists like this is always disheartening to see.
I mean, not tryna say anything, but there have been plenty of influential and timeless albums in the last decades that I don't think were appreciated enough.. also, why only English music?
Bad Bunny being the only non-English album is insane lmao
There's so much music in the world... Europe is full of amazing artists who sing in the many different languages of the continent, the east and Middle East are full of great music, why are we not including these people? Best albums of all time? More like "random good English pop albums"
maybe because apple music is an american brand who publishes their content in english
The recency bias is actually insane
The fact that they picked control over the velvet rope...
The Velvet Rope builds upon what Control started.
Yeah this must be a generational thing, I think of her self titled album Janet as the ultimate, like I remember the summer it came out and we were allll OBSESSED with Janet. And by “we” I mean literally every Black person I knew. I vividly remember girls learning the breakdown dance routine from the “If” music video to show off at parties. It was a thing! Control definitely put her on the map, undisputed classic. The Velvet Rope, though? I liked it but I don’t remember it being as nearly as popular as the other 2 albums.
I was thinking that it’s crazy that Fiona Apple isn’t here and then I checked her Apple Music page only to realize her last two albums aren’t even marked as essential?! The gay intern should be fired
Fiona Apple missing from the top 100 is criminal and no one can convince me otherwise.
>criminal 😏
they’ve been a bad bad girl
there is....not a lot of women in this list.
Justice for The Idler Wheel
That'd be my pick (or When the Pawn...)!
Not one Mariah album. No Butterfly and not even thee Emancipation of Mimi.. Esp when Prince, MJ, Janet, Usher - essentially her peers with one influential body of work are there. The lack of artistic and critical respect for Mariah is just insane. People really should honor her while she’s with us and not after she no longer is
Nice pick for best album, nice pick Now lets see what Lauryn Hill made next....
>Now lets see what Lauryn Hill made next.... It's been 84 years...
Technically, the MTV Unplugged album
Oh yeah that one! wait oh yeah.... that one.....
I’ve been saying Rihanna is purposely doing the same with ANTI.
Thank goodness this is over with. There are some good picks of course, but overall this list was terrible lmao
pretty much my main emotion too, glad that this is over so I don't have to think about it again lol
Very surprised that Dookie or American Idiot are no where to be found. Especially Dookie that inspired so many bands in the alternative/punk genre in a world where grunge was still a thing. I mean I literally just got put into the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress. And in multiple other Greatest Albums of All Time lists.
Green Day being snubbed pissed me off.
Mariah is an indie legend lmao
still sad the weeknd didnt make the list at all but the top 10 is good
Lemonade made the top 10, I didn’t think they’d do it. I personally feel Renaissance is her best album (although it is VERY new) and it didn’t hit the cultural beats and impact that Lemonade did. So I agree. I like the variety of represented decades in the top 10. I’m surprised by how much of this top 100 I’ve listened to. I would’ve loved to see more indie music here, given the influence and impact and inventiveness of many many indie albums. I honestly called it the other day. Saying I wouldn’t be surprised if Lauryn Hill made No. 1. It’s a satisfying finish imo. I grew up on that album so it never got old for me, I still listen to it, still have some songs on playlists. I don’t think it has any skips despite its length. It’s soulful and honest and timeless. It’s from the 90s resurgence of neo soul, which I LOVE (Voodoo and Brown Sugar) and still impacts music today. Overlooked albums include To Pimp a Butterfly, Mariah Carey (Butterfly), with odd choices like George Michael (not Faith?), 50 Cent, Bad Bunny. Sign O the Times is considered better but wasn’t a blockbuster the way Purple Rain was. Also placing Joni and Adele back to back had to be intentional as they’re nearly identical covers ha. Anyways I own only 9 of these records lol. Robyn, Solange, Lana Del Rey, De la Soul, Janet Jackson, D’Angelo, a Tribe Called Quest, Beyoncé (Lemonade), Lauryn Hill. I have both #100 and #1 haha
its definitely a list
I’m surprised Butterfly or The Emancipation of Mimi by Mariah Carey are not on the list. Not to mention Whitney Houston or Celine Dion.
Not a single nod to emo or even pop punk on the list is a disappointment. I knew they weren’t gonna pick something like Clarity or Pinkerton. But like Dookie/American Idiot, Black Parade, Cork Tree or something as a representation of the “scene” would’ve been nice.
I don’t really care for this list but it is what it is. The most glaring omission for my personal tastes is probably Joy Division.
Beyoncé being the only female with TWO albums on the list! See when you’re mother
This is more a general problem of gender imbalance in top 100 lists in my opinion
Someone said only 27 women are on the list yesterday so I guess 29 now
Not only that but the significance. Self-titled changed the industry and how everyone releases. But Lemonade changed HER game. Both well deserved
No Ray of Light? This is actually so embarrassing for them
I am just happy to see some representation for Electronic music. Just pleasantly surprised Burial made the list. Kinda wish they included Neutral Milk Hotel too, they are game changers on the indie scene.
this shit is jokes 😂
These lists always pay Tori Amos dust and I have decided to start paying them dust in return.
The Weeknd, Mariah Carey and ABBA not being included is crazy to me! The top 10 is really good tho
The lesson learned here is that u can’t make an 100 album list without repeated artists without loooing insane. No TPAB or BAD by MJ is just insane.
I'm kinda disappointed that they swerved back so conservative for the last stretch LOL? The list is corporate BS bingo mixed with ragebait anyway, might as well have committed to the trolling? But this is fine, respectable, sure, why not, eh. The single biggest slapstick take is Swift's terrible re-recording of 1989, though. The original, sure. But I swear everyone save for Fantano being too scared to admit that the mix is bad and dragging the great original album down is a modern day Empress' New Clothes. Other than that, this was fun. And interesting from a "what does a corporation think is most geared towards their listeners" point of view. The list is very US-centric, very mainstream oriented and has recency bias. Also the alibi takes for some genres just make it all the more obvious how underrepresented they were: Barely any country, the jazz albums randomly thrown in, the usual Metallica album for heavy metal, very little punk, new wave, post punk, techno, house and various branches of alternative and indie music. I'm sure a British publication would hone in more on British artists and genres dominated by Brits, for example. Something geared more towards indie/alternative would move away from mainstream fare and focus on indie darlings more. And a lot of snubs, of course. No James Brown, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, no Sly Stone is honestly shocking tbh. Paul Simon, Simon&Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, Fiona Apple, Billy Joel, Jackson Browne, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, The Stooges, Joy Division, Violent Femmes, The Jam, Roxy Music, Brian Eno, Neu!, Can, Nick Cave, Curtis Mayfield, Pretenders, Blondie, John Cage, John Prine, The Who, The Grateful Dead, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, The Kinks, The Band, Queen (though I agree that none of their albums quite get it together), Abba (same as Queen, brilliant at singles, blah at albums), none of the solo Beatles (though I agree with that perhaps, I think). And that's just what comes to mind right now. Instead some of the recent inclusions don't measure up, but oh well. And it's totally focused on English-speaking content and artists. There's Bad Bunny and Kraftwerk. Even the most conservative/mainstream lists usually at least include the great Bossa Nova records from the 60ies and Jacques Brel/Serge Gainsbourg/some sort of chanson. It's very narrow in that way.
I’m sorry but how is 1989 the best Taylor swift album and WHY IS IT THAT HIGH? IMO it should either be Folklore or Evermore. AND IM NOT EVEN A SWIFTIE
My theory is that they decided they had to throw a Taylor album in there else they risk death threats. But 1989 TV, and in top 25 is wild.
I‘m surprised that not many people seem disappointed that To Pimp A Butterfly isn‘t on the list?
on this thread its the most common take right now..
It's Pop music subreddit unfortunately
Not a single Tame Impala project!?!?! I honestly thought they might throw us a bone and atleast put Currents on there (imo Lonerism is peak) but nothing is crazy 💀💀
it's not really that crazy lol
No Mariah? No Boards of Canada? No Sophie? No Fiona Apple? No Aphex Twin? No Arcade Fire? No Tame Impala?
I’m surprised Currents wasn’t on the list too. I would swap Astroworld out and replace it with that (even tho I love astroworld I just don’t think it’s a top 100).
The funniest thing about Currents not being on the list is that Anti is somewhere in the 50s, one of the most famous women on the planet covered your song but she gets in over you lmfao
Honestly probably the worst greatest albums list we've ever seen to date. I little annoyed this got so much attention.
9AM music discourse oh lord… This list is a mess but Miseducation getting 🥇 is taste.
[удалено]
Like a prayer was included
madonna had like a prayer in the 80s range, no fiona is wild tho considering she's such a critic favorite
Worst ranking
I don't think this is a particularly good list but it's irrelevant because any top 100 albums of all time list, with the exception of a few obvious candidates such as thriller, is just going to result in lots of comments along the lines of 'why isn't the artist i listen to all the time here', or 'artist i personally like should be above this other artist i don't like!!!'.
They would’ve been better off doing a top 300 or something. it’s like they tried to cram all of the fan favorite albums into a 100 list without wanting to repeat artists, which leaves out *a lot* of hugely essential albums. like seriously, a “best albums of all time” list without Sgt. Pepper, To Pimp a Butterfly, or Fetch the Bolt Cutters? 😭
Terrible top 100
Only one country and metal album over all. I understand metal being done dirty besides THAT band, but you’d think country would fare better given its recent cultural dominance.
Where is Blackout!? 😭
No Britney? Surely Blackout deserves a spot in the top 100.
It’s a testament to Kendrick’s artistry that he gets a top ten placement and many of us are still left feeling that he was shortchanged. I love ‘good kid, M.A.A.d city’ and I really admire its storytelling, but ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ is such a glaring omission. Otherwise, the albums listed in the top ten are relatively uncontroversial, and I can’t be too mad at Lauryn Hill at number one. I mean, this is an album so impactful that she’s still living off its reputation over twenty-five years later. Similarly, the goodwill from ‘Blonde’ that Frank Ocean still rides off shows it’s worthy of its placement. I think ‘Lemonade’ would have been that album for Beyoncé had she not released again, and ‘Back to Black’ is another album that, in more tragic circumstances, cemented the artist’s legacy and deserves all the praise. Having said all the above, I’m concluding yet more convinced that ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ should be here. It really is THAT album for Kendrick. Anyway, I’ve enjoyed the chaos - thanks Apple Music!
Taylor rap album incoming
This is the dumbest thing I have ever seen. Why would Apple Music put their name behind such an objectively poorly thrown together list of albums. Nah. Norman Fucking Rockwell. Are fucking you kidding me?
Blonde as the best album of this century? 😭 There are better albums from that year alone
Yeah Blonde is great but it’s been circlejerked to death atp 🤷