Apple Music reveals Top 10 albums of all time... WTF?!

[CyberGene]

Quote

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.

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.

 

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

 

I must be missing something enormous here but I've never heard about Lauryn Hill before, and apparently it's not a new album since it's from 1998 and I was born in 1979. I just started listening to it and I couldn't, it sounds like complete crap to my ears!

 

Can someone explain to me what dafuq is going on here?! Is that something US people know well and love? Do you consider that album the GOAT? 🤔

 

FWIW, I haven't heard of Kendrick Lamar or Frank Ocean either. And not sure if I'm somehow biased, out of my mind or just missing a huge part of our world but for the life of me I can't understand how Pink Floyd might not be in Top 10, whereas Amy Winehouse is 🤦🏻‍♂️

[Delaware Dave]

If the album wasnt released in the 70's i probably never heard of it.  Were they still releasing 'albums' in 1998? Didnt we move to CD's by then? 

[stoken6]

Lauryn Hill is hugely influential (she sings AND raps? Lizzo's big influence), but you can't tell me that "Miseducation" (and at least half that list) is a better album than "Rumours", for example.

Edit: +1 on @CyberGene's "Dark Side Of The Moon" nomination. Where's "What's Going On"? Where's "Pet Sounds"? 

 

Cheers, Mike.

[timwat]

Consider that some of us of a certain age are not familiar with some of these artists. Then consider that whomever Apple had compile their list may be of a certain age to not be familiar with the Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, George Strait, or...well, many artists prior to a certain decade.

 

One can only render an opinion on music one has actually heard. Apple's is an obvious case of recency bias.

[ProfD]

6 minutes ago, timwat said:

One can only render an opinion on music one has actually heard. Apple's is an obvious case of recency bias.

Right.  The Apple Music algorithm has clearly been compromised by AI.😁😎

[CyberGene]

But it wasn’t algorithms, I will repost the quote from my first post:

 

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.

 

Oddly enough they included Beatles and Stevie Wonder, so it’s not just some recent music.

[Tusker]

43 minutes ago, CyberGene said:

Can someone explain to me what dafuq is going on here?! Is that something US people know well and love? Do you consider that album the GOAT? 🤔

I am not the target demographic as I would put Sgt. Pepper's up there or Petsounds. That just shows how "old" and into classic rock I am ha ha. The songs in Sgt.Peppers don't excite me as much as the songs in Abbey Road but the concept, the artistic aspiration ... it was a milestone in music. I could also seeThe Wall on my list as a maturation of Sgt. Pepper's direction. 

 

If I was younger and more into hip-hop though. I might argue that Miseducation brought hop-hop to pop. That for the first time it integrated faith with hip-hop, that it gave the mic to the women giants who followed. That it was a milestone in music.

 

https://tidal.com/magazine/article/miseducation-lauryn-hill-20-years/1-52233

 

 

 

source

 

I don't offer this information to in an attempt to justify the Apple Music rankings. It's not my place to. Instead it's an attempt to understand them. 

 

 

 

 

 

[J.F.N.]

43 minutes ago, CyberGene said:

 

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

 

I must be missing something enormous here but I've never heard about Lauryn Hill before, and apparently it's not a new album since it's from 1998 and I was born in 1979. I just started listening to it and I couldn't, it sounds like complete crap to my ears!

 

Can someone explain to me what dafuq is going on here?! Is that something US people know well and love? Do you consider that album the GOAT? 🤔

 

FWIW, I haven't heard of Kendrick Lamar or Frank Ocean either. And not sure if I'm somehow biased, out of my mind or just missing a huge part of our world but for the life of me I can't understand how Pink Floyd might not be in Top 10, whereas Amy Winehouse is 🤦🏻‍♂️

 

Hello GrandPa!

 

[Stokely]

The only ranking I care about is my own, and I don't have one    I have some of what I'd call "desert island" albums but I reckon my list probably bears no resemblance to theirs.   Maybe I overdosed on "Who/what are the greatest X" in college. 

 

[J.F.N.]

Though in all fairness, they've missed some legendary records here that changed the history of music, this feels like some youngsters who have no idea what really happened in the 20th century.

 

[Paul Woodward]

Seven of those I can see why they make a 'top' list, but not at the expense of others. Very strange...

 

[Docbop]

My only issue is #1 because I've heard too many stories how she's screwed over musicians and taken credit for other people's work even on that album.     Being a old guy of course I'd have some different choices, but considering it's off Apple Music that come as iTunes in 2001 and Apple Music in 2015 I can understand the list.   It's like talking to young musicians and they think they're listening to ancient history by check out music 25 years old. 

 

 

[ProfD]

26 minutes ago, CyberGene said:

But it wasn’t algorithms, I will repost the quote from my first post:

Thought I used enough emoticons to indicate that I was kidding...to a certain extent.😎

[BluMunk]

1. "Top" lists are dumb.

2. The number of albums that have been made is huge, and this list apparently is genre-agnostic? This makes it an even more ridiculous concept.

3. There seems to have been an intention to represent each decade, with a bias toward more recent material.

4. That said, I would expect most of the "greatest records ever made" to still fall between the years of 1965-2000 (somewhat arbitrary dates), arguably the era of the album as a significant art form. Are albums really innovative or impactful in the 20-teens and beyond? Few and far between.

5. Like many of the white boomers (or descendants of white boomers) on these forums, I have no idea how Frank Ocean's, or Kendrick Lamar's albums fit in a top 10 list of all albums ever, or even really who they are beyond some vague name recognition. I've read enough to know that Lauryn Hill's album was hugely influential, so I was not surprised to see a criticial darling (and massive commercial success) hip hop/R&B album at the top of the list. 
6. Did I just miss something in 2006? I know Amy Winehouse's personal story and death captivated folks, but I do not understand what that album is doing on this list. Nor have I understood why she seems to have remained more than a retro flash-in-the-pan. Seriously, what am I missing about the importance of this album and her music?

[J.F.N.]

Re: Back to black 

 

"It isn’t surprising to see tracks from Back to Black among the singer’s top tracks.

 

What may be surprising is the amount of streams these tracks have accumulated over the years. On Spotify, all singles from this record have reached 100 million streams, with some of them going as high as 300 million – simply outstanding results for an album released in 2006."

 

Source:

https://chartmasters.org/amy-winehouse-albums-and-songs-sales/

[jarrell]

16 minutes ago, J.F.N. said:

Though in all fairness, they've missed some legendary records here that changed the history of music, this feels like some youngsters who have no idea what really happened in the 20th century.

 

 

I compare myself to a person in their twenties who is one of the list curators. When I was in my twenties, it was the 1970's. So, when I ask this 20 something curator to consider albums from past decades, I also ask my twenties year old self the same question.

 

Caveats: Of course, I may have to consider individual songs, as the concept of a long playing album didn't come about until the 1950's. Also, I realize with today's media access through streaming and YouTube, it is far easier for anyone to listen to older music than it was in the 20th century.

 

Still, interesting to consider how I would have curated a list when I was in my twenties:

 

60 year old albums (1964 vs. 1914 - 60's vs. 1910's)
    In the seventies I couldn't name a single song from this decade; way too old.

 

50 year old albums (1974 vs. 1924 - 70's vs. 1920's)
    In the seventies I might have known a few songs from this decade; way too old.

 

40 year old albums (1984 vs. 1934 - 80's vs. 1930's)
    At least this is the start of the great American Songbook (OK, actually 20's), so, Rodgers and Hart, Gershwin, Cole Porter songs - I appreciate them now, but in my twenties, not so much.

 

30 year old albums (1994 vs. 1944 - 90's vs. 1940's)
    More great American Songbook; still too old (my parent's music!)

 

20 year old albums (2004 vs. 1954 - 00's vs. 1950's)
    Two new styles - R&B and Rock - still too old for me back then - preferred Steely Dan over Elvis, Stevie Wonder over Dinah Shore - sorry.

 

10 year old albums (2014 vs. 1964 - 10's vs. 1960's)
    Finally, the first decade I listened to music as it was released - a lot of albums I like here.

[Bill H.]

Abbey Road is there instead of other Beatles LPs because it contains "Come Together" - in my experience the only Beatles song people under 35 universally recognize. 

 

Frank Ocean has gotta be just some guy in the room screaming "He's essential!" I don't get it otherwise. 

 

Lemonade is an odd choice for a Beyonce album... maybe because it's more topic oriented? I would have chosen something with more of her hit singles on it. 

[JamPro]

Careful!  When you catch yourself saying something like this about a current genre of music:

 

"I just started listening to it and I couldn't, it sounds like complete crap to my ears!"

 

that is when you have officially become old.

 

Pay Attention!!!!  The reason the kids these days like those songs is because old people (like you and me) hate such songs!

[Docbop]

Here's who Apple says the list was made by so  its personal favorites as most lists are like the horrible Rolling Stone magazines "Best" lists they keep doing and I find rubbish. 

 

Quote

Assembled with the help of artists and experts, it’s a modern love letter to the records that have shaped the world we live and listen in today.

 

[CyberGene]

So, I read about Lauryn Hill on Wikipedia and I actually “know” her since she sung the Killing Me Softly cover by Fugees that I hated when it was released in 1996 and I was 17 😀 So, apparently I had already become old back then. 

[bfields]

There's 8 billion people in the world. There's an ocean of artists out there that are excellent and have large followings and that I've never heard of.  The thing that jumps out at me when I look at that list is that I know too many of them, not that I know too few....  I find it sort of hard to believe that anyone who made a real effort to look for  the best 10 albums of all time would include *nine* that I've already heard.  People want to argue about stuff they already have opinions on, I guess.

[zxcvbnm098]

The release of this list has been incredibly successful regardless of who's on it - because we're all talking about it. 

[16251]

OT: Next 10 list: The 10 best paintings ever.  Nevermind.

[CyberGene]

23 minutes ago, 16251 said:

OT: Next 10 list: The 10 best paintings ever.

What’s a painting? Is it the same as meme?

[obxa]

"You kids with your Diet Cokes and Dan Fogelberg!!!..."  from the movie Baseketball.

 

It's generational.   Plain and simple.  So I'm (we?) are likely somewhat out of touch.  I'm fine with that. I try to keep an open mind;  genuinely open to maybe discovering something I might not have listened too. 

 

I take Apple  music suggestions with the same micro-grain of salt  as their article and book recommendations.   The Rolling Stone lists of "best" guitar, vocalists etc. are by  cork sniffing hipster non- musicians with a paid by the word pulpit.   Also think the R&R hall of fame is a pathetic joke.

 

  I was recently subjected   exposed to a long car ride with younger  nieces and nephews  of  Taylor Swift,  Billie Eilish.   I have the utmost respect for those artists, and  totally get the appeal.   Just not for me.   Wouldn't expect my younger kin to appreciate Court & Spark, Pet Sounds or  Blonde on Blonde either. Though one of them is obsessed with the Beatles, so there's hope... 

 

 

[David Emm]

Top 10 of all time? Oh, did time officially END recently, allowing for a holographic comparison? No? Then Apple has a Stupid Worm eating at its core. A colossal mass of great works are all too rarely mentioned, much less seen on these lists, but so what?

 

Some of the finest things I've ever heard only make occasional specialty lists, if any. I never see "Marscape" by Lancaster & Lumley, a band that was seminal in creating the outstanding Brand X. Its challenging and gorgeous. Likewise, "Village Life" by Herbie Hancock and Foday Musa Suso, "The Pocket Bach" by George Fields, "Keep On Doing" by The Roches or the unique pipe organ opus "Spheres" by Keith Jarret.

 

"Top 10?" That's a David Letterman joke, not a way to rate the entire field of music. I call major Fecal Shenanigans on it! No. Just no! 

[Sean M. H.]

Of course these types of lists are beyond silly...but with that said, to address the OP's original question--assuming it was honest and well-intentioned...The album in question: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is regarded as one of the "best" (again, pretty silly) albums ever in its genre.  That isn't anything new--it's been on plenty of "best album of all time" lists.  Obviously, if it (hip-hop/r&b) isn't a genre you like/follow, then it makes sense that you're perplexed by that selection...but I don't think it's fair to say it's any less "legit" than if a rock or jazz album was in that spot.  Surely there are hip-hop fans that are about as familiar with Abbey Road as you are/were with Miseducation...

[pjd]

4 hours ago, BluMunk said:

1. "Top" lists are dumb.

 

Agreed. Top 10 lists like this one are click bait. Please resume your normal activities. 😀

 

-- pj

 

[RABid]

I think her second album revealed just how much New Ark had to do with Miseducation. She has a wonderful singing voice which dwarfed her rapping skills. But she could not let anyone else have any credit. The Fugees, New Ark, the machine that made her album go number one. She considered them all leaches, chauvinistic, and greedy. Rather than let anyone share in her success she went totally solo, and released MTV Unplugged 2.0. Oh, and she did not open the door for black rappers. Queen Latifa had already done that. Lauren Hill is quoted as saying she did not want to rap like a woman, she only studied male rappers. 

 

The entire list stinks of something done by committee. "Lets put some of our favorites on, but scatter in some eclectic picks to make it seem fire."

[Sean M. H.]

11 minutes ago, RABid said:

I think her second album revealed just how much New Ark had to do with Miseducation. She has a wonderful singing voice which dwarfed her rapping skills. But she could not let anyone else have any credit. The Fugees, New Ark, the machine that made her album go number one. She considered them all leaches, chauvinistic, and greedy. Rather than let anyone share in her success she went totally solo, and released MTV Unplugged 2.0. Oh, and she did not open the door for black rappers. Queen Latifa had already done that. Lauren Hill is quoted as saying she did not want to rap like a woman, she only studied male rappers. 

 

The entire list stinks of something done by committee. "Lets put some of our favorites on, but scatter in some eclectic picks to make it seem fire."

 

 

While I don't disagree with anything you've said here...1) Hill's overvalue of her own contributions to crafting the album (nor the fact that she hasn't opened the door for other females behind her) doesn't change the fact that the album itself was indeed a great project, worthy of such lists...and 2) how else would such a broad, and--as I said before--silly list be made than "by committee"?  That's kinda inherent in trying to compile a list that's not bound by genre, time period, etc. I think...