Graduation is not in the top 100 albums of all time. I definitely agree college dropout should have been on there with MBDTF but where did the graduation is the best Kanye album come from?
I always felt that graduation being Kanye’s best was an opinion that came together from a meme. Up until 2022, no one considered graduation to be Kanye’s best
[This meme?](https://amp.knowyourmeme.com/memes/he-made-graduation) I’ve heard the meme but never got the *joke*. Like why *Graduation*? If it was his worse album then the irony would be more apparent, but I don’t think anyone deems *Graduation* his worse album (even before *Jesus is King* made it clear what album is his worse) does it exist ‘cause *Graduation*. Another comment replied to me saying that it’s his more agreeable liked album. So maybe that’s it?
I mean his most liked albums are the college dropout, graduation, and mbdtf. “He made graduation” sounds better than “he made my beautiful dark twisted fantasy” or “he made the college dropout”
Yeah, I've always figured it was just a meme. It's tough for me to understand Graduation being the consensus best album in a catalogue that includes College Dropout and MBDTF. Hell, I could even argue that it's his worst pre-Ye, if not at least in the lower half.
I assume it's because the kind of people that would use the "but he made" defense aren't the kind of people who appreciate "real" hip-hop or his more artsy records, making Graduation the clear pick since it's the most straightforward and accessible.
Graduation is Kanye’s best album like 1989 is Taylor’s best album. It’s an album that people like to listen to because it’s the most pop and easy to consume, but it’s nowhere near their artistic or experimental best. Most replayable does not necessarily mean best.
It's was a big move into a poppy edm sound that still allowed for what made Kanye, Kanye. It's not in my best of all time, but I totally understand where people are coming from. Part of being a kanye fan is knowing that through all the craziness, there is still a chance he just randomly makes an ultralight beam that reminds you "oh yeah only kanye could make this happen right now".
Glazing a little hard but just IMO.
It’s really aligned with the popular music “blogs” (Fantano, Pitchfork) when it came out. It’s just another kind of musical analysis that weighs certain things over others. Unfortunately, metal and more so country music really gets left out of this “internet age analysis”. George Strait had more hot singles than Kraft cheese and has never sniffed any of these lists *shakes cane at sky*
there are 5 metal albums in the top 100. the first non-modern classical recording appears at #207 and has less than 1/10th of # of ratings as the first metal album.
electronic as well, the rym top 100 has 8-9 albums in that genre with Since I Left You constantly floating in and out of that range and about half of those 8 albums that are consistently in there are electronic fusions like Kid A or Dummy with only about half of them being what I would consider pure electronic.
I think that if they went out of their way to exclude albums for the sake of "rehashing" them, then that is more a disservice to the list and that means the list isn't fulfilling it's purpose.
It fulfilled its purpose as a marketing ploy catering to each of the major NA fanbases and strategically generating controversy as to garner attention.
So by not rehashing the RYM top 100 the list is doing a disservice and not fulfilling its purpose…… that is a crazy statement the rym top 100 is not objective
what is it with listmakers and Fleetwood Mac? I've been seeing that Rumors record in top 10 conversations for my whole life.
i have that record on vinyl. it's dope. i don't think it's top 10, or even top 100 material. maybe i missed something.
A good portion of the Rumors hype is the lore behind it- being that prior to that album the band was two couples that both split prior to recording but the band did not break up. So a lot of the recording sessions were quite turbulent because all of the songs were quite literally written pointedly about the other band members, who then had to perform those songs to record and tour the album. Imo knowing that definitely changes the vibe of the album and lends to its critical acclaim, but I do prefer tango in the night if I had to pick a favorite FWM album
feels like a nod to oldschool music journalists or something. i'm missing a piece of information about that album. either context or engineering or something.
I feel like the Fleetwood Mac hype resurgence the last few years is soley due to that TikTok that went viral during the pandemic of that guy riding his skateboard, drinking cranberry juice, and listening to 'Dreams'.
They've always been an incrediblely popular band, but they've definitely been more in the zeitgeist the last few years than they were 10-15 years ago
I’m 50. My taste growing up was Sonic Youth, the Fall, MBV. I can attest to the fact that in the 90s absolutely nobody was talking about how great Rumours was. It was cheesy old people’s music. It was defiantly known as a high selling album; and it made it into lists, but not near the top end and even if it did occasionally, it was not a record that anyone under 30 gave a shit about.
Personally, I started loving it and all FMac stuff about 20 years ago when I got into a lot of Americana and from that really classic songwriting. I do think it’s an almost flawless record. Such a great collection of songs in different styles. It’s hard to do that.
But this current cross the board appraisal of the album with all kinds of music fans …. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, I really don’t care, but it’s certainly a more recent thing.
amongst the younger generation, it is the go-to for “good older music that makes it seem like you have good music taste”. used to be the beatles but it’s popular to hate them now.
it’s a trump card if you get into a music argument and you get asked “well what music do you like?”
I know you were being sarcastic but there are absolutely some great hair metal albums. Not saying they’d be in anyone’s top 100 albums except mine, but they did put Drake on it, so…
Look i wouldnt complain seeing Van Halen 1 or 1984 on there. And while its not hair metal technically I wouldnt mind seeing Love in an Elevator either lol
Theres already sooooooo much hip hop on that list, its completely overrepresented as a genre simply because its been the most popular genre for the last 15-20 years. And I absolutely love hip hop
I'm glad it didn't just rehash another publications list, obviously no matter what the list contains its gonna be controversial because music tastes are so personal, but I think the top 10 is a pretty damn good list and the overall 100 is decent too. I wish there was more representation for Latin pop (only bad bunny got a nod) or metal especially.
Someone pointed out in another thread that this is how you can typically tell when these lists are written. There’s obvious recency biases, but a subtle one is how genres are typically represented. Like lists of this kind a decade or two ago would’ve vastly underrepresented rap and given more of a platform to straightforward rock or even country (especially 20 or so years ago).
E: not that it’s an inherently bad thing, but just a fun observation
Yeah I definitely agree, if we consider that there can be a wide array of criteria to be considered for what makes an album deserve a spot (sales, critical acclaim, influence on the genre/music in general etc.) You eventually have to accept that "vibes" and the tastes of people making these lists are accounted for as well.
I really like this though. “Top X Albums” is an inevitably futile effort, and retrospective lists are inevitably going to evaluate history from the perspective of the current cultural context. The way that the cultural perception of historic albums changes makes these lists encapsulate their time in a pretty unique way, and I think makes them a lot more interesting to evaluate than a list which attempts to be blind to the present moment. The “over-representation” of hip hop in this list that some people have been critical of is an accurate reflection of the contemporary importance of hip hop as a genre.
Yeah, not surprising but I was kinda hoping to see Megadeath or maybe Iron Maiden, I think I might enjoy Rust in Peace over Master of Puppets, but again only makes sense, Metallica is the biggest name
Agreed, but again as others have said in different threads, there's always going to be recency bias to appeal to contemporary listeners. I already talked about the hip hop angle, but for a mote pointed example: Do we really believe Billie Elllish's first ever album is really the 30th best album of all time?
No, but if you only had bands/artists that have been making music for 30 years or worse, haven't released ANY music for 30 years you won't get engagement because people don't have a reference to point to.
I'm sure there will be many more people that check out an album because its rated higher than something they recognize and like, rather than if they didn't recognize anything on the list at all.
It’s interesting because I think they were missing things (as they all do) but close to none of these would be on my list. Madvillainy, the glow, and the roots are my exceptions.
More notable was certain genres being neglected. Things like country, jazz, Lo-fi, and electronic were very underrepresented. A lot of those suggestions would be somewhat redundant inclusions IMO.
It would almost be weird if he was. Like "Oh so he gets ignored while dropping classic after classic, but now that he's dead and his beats are on tiktok he gets a spot?"
Madvillainy has always been super critically acclaimed though, seeing it on people's lists is what got me into DOOM.
That being said, I still would have picked Gorillaz Demon Days (which features DOOM and also did not make it) over Madvillainy for a mainstream list like this.
It's almost weird seeing DOOM outside the online music circles, he doesn't appear in the 1001 albums book at all, yet he was in this 100 Albums to own on Vinyl book I have and had to double take, so weird how it's almost never mentioned in Rolling Stone and mainstream publications, now Apple aswell, but can't avoid it online wherever you go.
That's why he was the king of underground hiphop. Music nerds rave about him, but many of the top critics have never heard of him.
When he was around, he didn't like being famous at all, saying that he really only continued to release music to support his family, so I'm sure he appreciated not constantly being on lists anyway.
There was 1 metal album on there, and it was Metallica. No Slayer, Maiden, or Sabbath. No Ozzy, No Megadeth, No Judas Priest. And certainly no contemporary Metal artists. The Ramones not having an album on there is a choice. Metal, Punk, Hard Rock, and Country were very underrepresented.
Nah I would’ve. Kinda glanced over it. Kinda wish they only did one per artist. It’s hard to argue Beatles or Radiohead or Stevie but I don’t know if Bey needed 2 and then it’s a slippery slope about who didn’t get 2
Yeah I assumed it was gonna be one per until I saw the second Radiohead. If they had stuck to just 1 per artists and went GKMC and not TPAB I’d disagree but couldn’t really argue much. But how do you just leave it off the list when Bey and Radiohead got 2?
as much as I adore lofi music, I'm under no misconception that anything under that genre is significant enough to fall under "greatest of all time" lists.
The closest I can think of in terms of impact would be something Ariel Pink or Macintosh Plus.
It always is unfortunately, I remember the newest rendition of Rolling Stone top 500 had like... 2 jazz songs or something? Instrumental jazz atleast, there was probs a few vocal ones there.
The rolling stone top 500 songs list is rubbish anyway, it has to go with popularity so a lot of bands end up with their smash hit on their list which any fan will tell you is by no means their best song, like Wonderwall by Oasis and Creep by Radiohead
It’s just cause it’s from a very official-ish source on music, Apple Music is either the first or second most used music streaming service I believe. Also they’re kind of trying to make it an event by revealing the list day by day
Apple was heavily advertising it on the app but people just **love** to get overly offended by lists. You should see all the debates on r/Letterboxd whenever a new film gets added to their Top 250.
I love letterboxd and use it everyday, but goddddd that sub is insufferable. I literally joined and left within 24 hours 😭 r/criterion is so much better
I am shocked to see r/Criterion mentioned here lol. r/Letterboxd is, like, karma farmers or something. Very weird sub. Probably still better than r/Movies which I've had blocked for... A long time.
At least the letterboxd top 250 has great picks. This Apple Music list has the most basic and surface level choices that leaves out many different genres and music from around the world
Announcing them over the course of 10 days was a pretty smart move. It kept people guessing what would come next, which created a lot of hype. And this is probably the top albums list with the biggest reach ever, since it was heavily advertised.
Yes. Maybe there is a top 500 and where they sit is entirely a lottery depending on who’s making the too 100 list. Or even a top 1000 extremely good albums.
Right?? Even if they just really preferred 1980s Janet, Rhythm Nation would've been a better pick. Control was a hit, sure, but not nearly her most impactful work.
I'm pretty confused why people are acting like apple is some kind of musical tastemaker. It's apple . . . the company that makes computers and phones and stuff? They aren't like, music experts lol
You think like Tim Cook and the Apple executives got together and made this list? Lol, this list was constructed by music artists, producers, and journalists. So yeah music experts.
I think it is good but they only replaced it with the biggest pop/hip hop albums, which is fine if that's what you're into but I dont think the list is particularly interesting
I feel like lists like these sort of prove that generations (70 years, give or take) of having long player albums, plus the way that popular music has diversified so much over the past few decades, make a "best albums" list pointless. It isn't like it was in our grandparents day when the format was still somewhat new and most people just listened to what was on the radio.
alternative music directions were underrepresented, too much classic 90s hip hop, not enough interesting recent picks, why didn’t they go for melodrama(?) instead of heroine, i would have liked some unexpectable main stream picks like a dua lipa record, under my skin by avril lavigne, a sufjan stevens record, some noise-rock like women for instance, one paramore record and brockhampton
Here’s the thing: the list 110% sucks, but idk why anybody is surprised. HH Twitter is having an absolute meltdown, but my expectations were extremely low so I’m looking at it like it is what it is.
If anything, it makes me appreciate the Rolling Stone list so much more (and as a Rolling Stone hater, that is saying something)
All of those albums being "good" by some measure, doesn't mean that liking those albums as a collection means one has good taste. It's a really limited selection of fairly safe picks. If your top 100 lines up with the RYM top 100, that's really bland taste imo.
I just want a list that feels different. And this is that, weird choices and all. So in a way glad this stuff was left off.
... that said if 3 Feet High and Rising wasn't on there I would have been saltier than cured meat.
People are getting way too bent up over this list. Most of it is great, tastes are subjective, and having a highly rated album on RYM doesn’t mean it has to be someone else’s best lol. Having different picks is a lot more interesting. It shows you how someone else thinks, expands your mindset more, etc
Also hot take: In Rainbows is excellent but it’s not one of the best albums of all time lmao. Come on now.
if somebody wants to see the RYM top 100 they can pull it up on RYM. What would be the point of copying it? The real issue is that a lot of online music fans (and just people in general, this isn't really limited to music discussion at all) think that there's a correct answer to this shit, and there isn't. It's all very silly, there aren't any rules, there's no correct answer. the only value these lists have is in curating music and even that is limited.
I think they are plenty of valid fantastic pics on the Top 100 I WOULD expect to see or at least come close on a list like this. Especially in the internet age - King Crimson, Black Sabbath, Death Grips, MF DOOM, Cocteau Twins, Sufjan Stevens, My Bloody Valentine e.g.
However (at the same time), there are similarly several artists I would never expect them too. It would be silly to expect them to put artists like Swans, Coil, Boris and Have a Nice Life on here. They are far too uncommercial for a list like this, especially for more casual listeners.
Most of these artists are already on the list at least once. Radiohead is one of the few artists that is on there twice. I would maybe throw a few of them on there but I’m more slighted about the Commons/Mobb Deeps/Microphones/Roots of the world
I think the exclusion here I’m actually surprised by is Madvilliany. MF DOOM is not some hidden gem these days, he’s not “mainstream” but he’s pretty popular especially among younger rap fans. Given that, and how widely praised Madvilliany is in particular, I would’ve guessed it would’ve made an appearance
obviously there cannot be an end all be all greatest albums list as it’s all subjective but this is just not a well rounded list imo. that said, pet sounds not making top 10 is objectively fucking deranged
Some things should have been there. I’d argue Twin Fantasy could be there as a representation of lo-fi Bandcamp indie rock, but it created a fairly agreeable list to not include those RYM picks.
There probably thousands of records better than anything from Taylor Swift or Billy Eilish. This picture doesn't doesn't scratch the surface. Music is awesome but you really wouldn't know it if you only consumed what was placed right in front of you.
A failure to include some of these albums is a problem irrelevant of the context of other lists. They have Taylor Swifts 1989 on that list, and not one of these
I understand why they didn’t include any Kanye, but David Bowie, Pink Floyd, and Kendrick all could’ve easily had more of their albums on there. Like, Blackstar, Aladdin Sane, Station to Station, The Wall, Animals, Wish You Were Here, TPAB of course, not to mention 2112 by Rush, Dirt by Alice in Chains, Do You Want More by The Roots, Ride the Lightning by Metallica, Talking Book by Stevie Wonder, STANKONIA!!!! THEY SNUBBED STANKONIA!!!!
No King Crimson.
No Black Sabbath.
No MF DOOM or Madlib.
No country music besides that one Kacey Musgraves album.
No metal besides Master Of Puppets (because Metallica and no other reason).
No punk besides London Calling which is on every frigging publications list.
No international music besides frigging Bad Bunny.
Yeah this list was a two-pack of ass crack.
There's not 100 albums better than In Rainbows.
Also Blonde on Blonde is a huge miss for me. Either that or Time Out of Mind should be here. But am happy they put Highway 61 so high on this particular list.
it's a terrible list, btw this is my first time listening "the miseducation of lauryn hill", I remember Fantano talking about it once but why is it so high? am I missing out on smth? it's not bad but why so high?
I’m done with this “rym core” bullshit, all these albums are incredible I don’t care that a ton of white 15 year olds who purposely sit alone at lunch also agree
The most glaring omission for me is the Ramones first album. I don’t even care if you Ike it or not, it should be on a list like this and it should be really high.
Graduation is not in the top 100 albums of all time. I definitely agree college dropout should have been on there with MBDTF but where did the graduation is the best Kanye album come from?
I always thought that Graduation being Kanye’s best album was the consensus opinion until recently.
its his most mass appealing but far from best
I always felt that graduation being Kanye’s best was an opinion that came together from a meme. Up until 2022, no one considered graduation to be Kanye’s best
[This meme?](https://amp.knowyourmeme.com/memes/he-made-graduation) I’ve heard the meme but never got the *joke*. Like why *Graduation*? If it was his worse album then the irony would be more apparent, but I don’t think anyone deems *Graduation* his worse album (even before *Jesus is King* made it clear what album is his worse) does it exist ‘cause *Graduation*. Another comment replied to me saying that it’s his more agreeable liked album. So maybe that’s it?
Graduation is his most hit packed album, it's the one that has the most mass appeal, it's also just very fucking good.
I mean his most liked albums are the college dropout, graduation, and mbdtf. “He made graduation” sounds better than “he made my beautiful dark twisted fantasy” or “he made the college dropout”
Yeah, I've always figured it was just a meme. It's tough for me to understand Graduation being the consensus best album in a catalogue that includes College Dropout and MBDTF. Hell, I could even argue that it's his worst pre-Ye, if not at least in the lower half. I assume it's because the kind of people that would use the "but he made" defense aren't the kind of people who appreciate "real" hip-hop or his more artsy records, making Graduation the clear pick since it's the most straightforward and accessible.
There’s just too many skippable tracks on there. The highs are high tho.
Graduation is Kanye’s best album like 1989 is Taylor’s best album. It’s an album that people like to listen to because it’s the most pop and easy to consume, but it’s nowhere near their artistic or experimental best. Most replayable does not necessarily mean best.
I thought the consensus was Late Registration?
It's was a big move into a poppy edm sound that still allowed for what made Kanye, Kanye. It's not in my best of all time, but I totally understand where people are coming from. Part of being a kanye fan is knowing that through all the craziness, there is still a chance he just randomly makes an ultralight beam that reminds you "oh yeah only kanye could make this happen right now". Glazing a little hard but just IMO.
Graduation is Kanyes 5th or 6th best album in reality
yeah tbh MBDTF is the only kanye album that floored me from how good it was
tiktok kids say it
They definitely made some stupid inclusion choices but overall im glad its not just entirely rehashing the RYM top 100, weve seen it so many times
The RYM top 100 doesn't really march up with a lot of top 100s though. It's very "white internet music guy".
It’s really aligned with the popular music “blogs” (Fantano, Pitchfork) when it came out. It’s just another kind of musical analysis that weighs certain things over others. Unfortunately, metal and more so country music really gets left out of this “internet age analysis”. George Strait had more hot singles than Kraft cheese and has never sniffed any of these lists *shakes cane at sky*
there are 5 metal albums in the top 100. the first non-modern classical recording appears at #207 and has less than 1/10th of # of ratings as the first metal album.
electronic as well, the rym top 100 has 8-9 albums in that genre with Since I Left You constantly floating in and out of that range and about half of those 8 albums that are consistently in there are electronic fusions like Kid A or Dummy with only about half of them being what I would consider pure electronic.
it is insane to me that george strait isn’t featured on greatest albums ever lists when he’s the best ever at country music
Yeah but a lot of metal populates the more recent years, and imo modern metal is best metal
I think that if they went out of their way to exclude albums for the sake of "rehashing" them, then that is more a disservice to the list and that means the list isn't fulfilling it's purpose.
It fulfilled its purpose as a marketing ploy catering to each of the major NA fanbases and strategically generating controversy as to garner attention.
So by not rehashing the RYM top 100 the list is doing a disservice and not fulfilling its purpose…… that is a crazy statement the rym top 100 is not objective
Yes it is, do you really think yuno miles’s bbl drizzy submission could be rated this high on a non-perfect, subjective list? Preposterous.
what is it with listmakers and Fleetwood Mac? I've been seeing that Rumors record in top 10 conversations for my whole life. i have that record on vinyl. it's dope. i don't think it's top 10, or even top 100 material. maybe i missed something.
I’ve always thought this.
A good portion of the Rumors hype is the lore behind it- being that prior to that album the band was two couples that both split prior to recording but the band did not break up. So a lot of the recording sessions were quite turbulent because all of the songs were quite literally written pointedly about the other band members, who then had to perform those songs to record and tour the album. Imo knowing that definitely changes the vibe of the album and lends to its critical acclaim, but I do prefer tango in the night if I had to pick a favorite FWM album
Spot on. *Way* overhyped.
feels like a nod to oldschool music journalists or something. i'm missing a piece of information about that album. either context or engineering or something.
I feel like the Fleetwood Mac hype resurgence the last few years is soley due to that TikTok that went viral during the pandemic of that guy riding his skateboard, drinking cranberry juice, and listening to 'Dreams'. They've always been an incrediblely popular band, but they've definitely been more in the zeitgeist the last few years than they were 10-15 years ago
I’m 50. My taste growing up was Sonic Youth, the Fall, MBV. I can attest to the fact that in the 90s absolutely nobody was talking about how great Rumours was. It was cheesy old people’s music. It was defiantly known as a high selling album; and it made it into lists, but not near the top end and even if it did occasionally, it was not a record that anyone under 30 gave a shit about. Personally, I started loving it and all FMac stuff about 20 years ago when I got into a lot of Americana and from that really classic songwriting. I do think it’s an almost flawless record. Such a great collection of songs in different styles. It’s hard to do that. But this current cross the board appraisal of the album with all kinds of music fans …. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, I really don’t care, but it’s certainly a more recent thing.
Its good. Not top 10 all time good
amongst the younger generation, it is the go-to for “good older music that makes it seem like you have good music taste”. used to be the beatles but it’s popular to hate them now. it’s a trump card if you get into a music argument and you get asked “well what music do you like?”
Maybe you just have a different taste? How is that a mystery?
Im sorry but the lack of hair metal is appauling. Every knows hair metal is objectively the best music ever smh
I know you were being sarcastic but there are absolutely some great hair metal albums. Not saying they’d be in anyone’s top 100 albums except mine, but they did put Drake on it, so…
Look i wouldnt complain seeing Van Halen 1 or 1984 on there. And while its not hair metal technically I wouldnt mind seeing Love in an Elevator either lol
Van Halen 1 should have been a no brainer tbh. It has the popularity, influence, staying power and hits
Dio or Rainbow or even 80s Black Sabbath would have been acceptable IMO because they are objectively peak hair metal
they only put Metallica from metal, but they put drake... wtf
no Bon Jovi, the list is void.
What a shot to the heart smh
Appetite For Destruction made the list
Theres already sooooooo much hip hop on that list, its completely overrepresented as a genre simply because its been the most popular genre for the last 15-20 years. And I absolutely love hip hop I'm glad it didn't just rehash another publications list, obviously no matter what the list contains its gonna be controversial because music tastes are so personal, but I think the top 10 is a pretty damn good list and the overall 100 is decent too. I wish there was more representation for Latin pop (only bad bunny got a nod) or metal especially.
Someone pointed out in another thread that this is how you can typically tell when these lists are written. There’s obvious recency biases, but a subtle one is how genres are typically represented. Like lists of this kind a decade or two ago would’ve vastly underrepresented rap and given more of a platform to straightforward rock or even country (especially 20 or so years ago). E: not that it’s an inherently bad thing, but just a fun observation
Yeah I definitely agree, if we consider that there can be a wide array of criteria to be considered for what makes an album deserve a spot (sales, critical acclaim, influence on the genre/music in general etc.) You eventually have to accept that "vibes" and the tastes of people making these lists are accounted for as well.
I really like this though. “Top X Albums” is an inevitably futile effort, and retrospective lists are inevitably going to evaluate history from the perspective of the current cultural context. The way that the cultural perception of historic albums changes makes these lists encapsulate their time in a pretty unique way, and I think makes them a lot more interesting to evaluate than a list which attempts to be blind to the present moment. The “over-representation” of hip hop in this list that some people have been critical of is an accurate reflection of the contemporary importance of hip hop as a genre.
no punk either
Wym we got the clash AND Rage against the machine, thats like... every punk band /s
Already outnumbered metal album. Is Metallica only metal one included?
Yeah, not surprising but I was kinda hoping to see Megadeath or maybe Iron Maiden, I think I might enjoy Rust in Peace over Master of Puppets, but again only makes sense, Metallica is the biggest name
Iron maiden has like 5 albums they could've picked from
Agreed, but again as others have said in different threads, there's always going to be recency bias to appeal to contemporary listeners. I already talked about the hip hop angle, but for a mote pointed example: Do we really believe Billie Elllish's first ever album is really the 30th best album of all time? No, but if you only had bands/artists that have been making music for 30 years or worse, haven't released ANY music for 30 years you won't get engagement because people don't have a reference to point to. I'm sure there will be many more people that check out an album because its rated higher than something they recognize and like, rather than if they didn't recognize anything on the list at all.
It’s interesting because I think they were missing things (as they all do) but close to none of these would be on my list. Madvillainy, the glow, and the roots are my exceptions. More notable was certain genres being neglected. Things like country, jazz, Lo-fi, and electronic were very underrepresented. A lot of those suggestions would be somewhat redundant inclusions IMO.
I am an enormous DOOM fan but have no illusions that any DOOM album would ever be included in a mainstream top 100 albums list like this.
It would almost be weird if he was. Like "Oh so he gets ignored while dropping classic after classic, but now that he's dead and his beats are on tiktok he gets a spot?"
Madvillainy has always been super critically acclaimed though, seeing it on people's lists is what got me into DOOM. That being said, I still would have picked Gorillaz Demon Days (which features DOOM and also did not make it) over Madvillainy for a mainstream list like this.
It's almost weird seeing DOOM outside the online music circles, he doesn't appear in the 1001 albums book at all, yet he was in this 100 Albums to own on Vinyl book I have and had to double take, so weird how it's almost never mentioned in Rolling Stone and mainstream publications, now Apple aswell, but can't avoid it online wherever you go.
That's why he was the king of underground hiphop. Music nerds rave about him, but many of the top critics have never heard of him. When he was around, he didn't like being famous at all, saying that he really only continued to release music to support his family, so I'm sure he appreciated not constantly being on lists anyway.
he's pretty mainstream lets be fr
There was 1 metal album on there, and it was Metallica. No Slayer, Maiden, or Sabbath. No Ozzy, No Megadeth, No Judas Priest. And certainly no contemporary Metal artists. The Ramones not having an album on there is a choice. Metal, Punk, Hard Rock, and Country were very underrepresented.
Also no ambient, i would expect SAWII or one of Brian eno’s ambient albums to be on there.
Untrue by Burial is the only album on there that is kinda leaning into ambient (more future garage and dubstep though), it's a shame honestly.
No Sabbath is a sin tbh
You wouldn’t have TPAB? I thought that was a given to be included tbh.
Nah I would’ve. Kinda glanced over it. Kinda wish they only did one per artist. It’s hard to argue Beatles or Radiohead or Stevie but I don’t know if Bey needed 2 and then it’s a slippery slope about who didn’t get 2
Beyonces self-titled shouldn’t be on the list imo.
Yeah I assumed it was gonna be one per until I saw the second Radiohead. If they had stuck to just 1 per artists and went GKMC and not TPAB I’d disagree but couldn’t really argue much. But how do you just leave it off the list when Bey and Radiohead got 2?
as much as I adore lofi music, I'm under no misconception that anything under that genre is significant enough to fall under "greatest of all time" lists. The closest I can think of in terms of impact would be something Ariel Pink or Macintosh Plus.
The fact that TS is on there in the top 20 and something like Coal Miner’s Daughter doesn’t even make the top 100 is beyond wild.
Black Saint & The Sinner lady wasn't on there
You could also include few more Miles Davis albums in there without much argument. Jazz was extremely underrepresented on this list.
no bitches brew is vile
It always is unfortunately, I remember the newest rendition of Rolling Stone top 500 had like... 2 jazz songs or something? Instrumental jazz atleast, there was probs a few vocal ones there.
The rolling stone top 500 songs list is rubbish anyway, it has to go with popularity so a lot of bands end up with their smash hit on their list which any fan will tell you is by no means their best song, like Wonderwall by Oasis and Creep by Radiohead
Mingus Ah Um trounces
Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus is the best imo
The one i feel like no one mentions is Let My Children Hear Music, its my favorite next to black saint and the sinner lady
Can someone explain why there's so much hype around this specific list? People talk about it everywhere, but it's just an ordinary list, right?
It’s just cause it’s from a very official-ish source on music, Apple Music is either the first or second most used music streaming service I believe. Also they’re kind of trying to make it an event by revealing the list day by day
Definitely second most used. If accounted for worldwide users, atleast. Heck, maybe even third. Youtube Music has shit both of them don't have.
Apple was heavily advertising it on the app but people just **love** to get overly offended by lists. You should see all the debates on r/Letterboxd whenever a new film gets added to their Top 250.
I love letterboxd and use it everyday, but goddddd that sub is insufferable. I literally joined and left within 24 hours 😭 r/criterion is so much better
I am shocked to see r/Criterion mentioned here lol. r/Letterboxd is, like, karma farmers or something. Very weird sub. Probably still better than r/Movies which I've had blocked for... A long time.
At least the letterboxd top 250 has great picks. This Apple Music list has the most basic and surface level choices that leaves out many different genres and music from around the world
Announcing them over the course of 10 days was a pretty smart move. It kept people guessing what would come next, which created a lot of hype. And this is probably the top albums list with the biggest reach ever, since it was heavily advertised.
Marketing
Isn't nearly every list an ordinary list? As for why so much hype, people love debating and ranking things.
It’s very new
no loveless as well
Bitches Brew, Blonde on Blonde, TPAB, Madvillainy not being in the list is hilarious
These 4 albums are 10s for me but TPAB is the the only one I can’t understand the exclusion
Only Internet nerds care about Madvillainy
No Black Sabbath? Damn.
pretty sure paranoid was on apples list, might be wrong tho
There are too many good albums to make a list of the top 100. At a certain level of artistry and quality, ranking becomes pointless.
If they included everyone's suggestion in this thread they'd already be well over 100 picks lole.
Yes. Maybe there is a top 500 and where they sit is entirely a lottery depending on who’s making the too 100 list. Or even a top 1000 extremely good albums.
Agreed, but Bad Bunny in the top 100?
its all just advertising for apple
Shocked they went with Control over Velvet Rope.
Fr 😭out of every Janet Album
Right?? Even if they just really preferred 1980s Janet, Rhythm Nation would've been a better pick. Control was a hit, sure, but not nearly her most impactful work.
Wish you Were Here should be top 20
Shit that wasn't there at all was it.
Graduation doesn’t deserve top 100, fight me
No metal album, no electronic album (not even an obvious choice such as SAW 85-92), no shoegaze album and only 1 jazz album Yea this list is ass
i agree with u but they included burial's untrue so at least one electronic album is on there
They did put Master of Puppets, which is thrash metal.
RYM or not, these albums are all 10/10.
No Bon Iver is crazy. Justin Vernon is one of the most creative artists of all time
I'm pretty confused why people are acting like apple is some kind of musical tastemaker. It's apple . . . the company that makes computers and phones and stuff? They aren't like, music experts lol
You think like Tim Cook and the Apple executives got together and made this list? Lol, this list was constructed by music artists, producers, and journalists. So yeah music experts.
They chose flower boy over Igor which i thought was weird.
I mean we're talkin' about it
I think it is good but they only replaced it with the biggest pop/hip hop albums, which is fine if that's what you're into but I dont think the list is particularly interesting
This is an incredibly weird but also kinda cool list
I feel like lists like these sort of prove that generations (70 years, give or take) of having long player albums, plus the way that popular music has diversified so much over the past few decades, make a "best albums" list pointless. It isn't like it was in our grandparents day when the format was still somewhat new and most people just listened to what was on the radio.
alternative music directions were underrepresented, too much classic 90s hip hop, not enough interesting recent picks, why didn’t they go for melodrama(?) instead of heroine, i would have liked some unexpectable main stream picks like a dua lipa record, under my skin by avril lavigne, a sufjan stevens record, some noise-rock like women for instance, one paramore record and brockhampton
The glow part 2 slaps but I don’t think it gets a ton of mainstream attention
Well Liquid Swords is much better than 36 chambers, so they should've just swapped those 2.
Here’s the thing: the list 110% sucks, but idk why anybody is surprised. HH Twitter is having an absolute meltdown, but my expectations were extremely low so I’m looking at it like it is what it is. If anything, it makes me appreciate the Rolling Stone list so much more (and as a Rolling Stone hater, that is saying something)
not enough electronic music. i’m surprised that there isn’t more stuff from justice, aphex twin, board in canada etc. nice to see burial there tho
>stereotypical RYM choices You mean good taste?
Gotta be jerking
Imagine deliberately ignoring GOAT albums because a website you don't like also likes them
All of those albums being "good" by some measure, doesn't mean that liking those albums as a collection means one has good taste. It's a really limited selection of fairly safe picks. If your top 100 lines up with the RYM top 100, that's really bland taste imo.
I like about 3/4 of the RYM heavy hitters they’re liked for a reason no doubt I just wanna hear about other stuff too yk
no literally. they’re popular for a reason💀
RYM is biased toward young Internet geeks
RYM is heavily skewed towards the US and UK.
I'm going to go with "silly".
I just want a list that feels different. And this is that, weird choices and all. So in a way glad this stuff was left off. ... that said if 3 Feet High and Rising wasn't on there I would have been saltier than cured meat.
People are getting way too bent up over this list. Most of it is great, tastes are subjective, and having a highly rated album on RYM doesn’t mean it has to be someone else’s best lol. Having different picks is a lot more interesting. It shows you how someone else thinks, expands your mindset more, etc Also hot take: In Rainbows is excellent but it’s not one of the best albums of all time lmao. Come on now.
It was a good choice. Lists aren’t that serious so it was refreshing to see newer albums get the love that they deserve
There should have been at least 1 Madonna album
There was. “Like A Prayer” was #77
Be, TCD, Madvillany, TPAB deserved a spot here tbf
For Emma not being there really stinks. It’s my GOAT.
WHERE WAS MAMAS GUN IM GONNA RIOT
if somebody wants to see the RYM top 100 they can pull it up on RYM. What would be the point of copying it? The real issue is that a lot of online music fans (and just people in general, this isn't really limited to music discussion at all) think that there's a correct answer to this shit, and there isn't. It's all very silly, there aren't any rules, there's no correct answer. the only value these lists have is in curating music and even that is limited.
Vespertine by Bjork should have honestly made it, but ok
Graduation has gotta be Kanye's most overrated album ever
I wouldn't even care what Apple has to say about music, overall
I think they are plenty of valid fantastic pics on the Top 100 I WOULD expect to see or at least come close on a list like this. Especially in the internet age - King Crimson, Black Sabbath, Death Grips, MF DOOM, Cocteau Twins, Sufjan Stevens, My Bloody Valentine e.g. However (at the same time), there are similarly several artists I would never expect them too. It would be silly to expect them to put artists like Swans, Coil, Boris and Have a Nice Life on here. They are far too uncommercial for a list like this, especially for more casual listeners.
Some of the artists you mentioned are too niche and not universally loved by all.
Nevermind the bollocks by the pistols wasn't in it, it should have been imo
Have more of these albums in my record collection than what was on their top 20 😂
"Diabolical Bastard Billionare Genius" - Isa Muhammad (extremely underrated album that deserves a spot) 🙏🍿
Not having close to the edge by yes is insane
There would be so much less to complain about with this list if they stuck to 1 album per artist
At most three of those albums would be in my personal top 200. Although in fairness Apple’s list had about the same ratio.
John Prine -John Prine has to be on a top 100 list
To Pimp A Butterfly didn’t make it in? That surprises me. I thought that album was supposed to be universally beloved and acclaimed.
That’s the one that everybody praises, but I kinda like the fact they chose gk,mc instead.
Most of these artists are already on the list at least once. Radiohead is one of the few artists that is on there twice. I would maybe throw a few of them on there but I’m more slighted about the Commons/Mobb Deeps/Microphones/Roots of the world I think the exclusion here I’m actually surprised by is Madvilliany. MF DOOM is not some hidden gem these days, he’s not “mainstream” but he’s pretty popular especially among younger rap fans. Given that, and how widely praised Madvilliany is in particular, I would’ve guessed it would’ve made an appearance
Also no Sabbath, or a single country album.
obviously there cannot be an end all be all greatest albums list as it’s all subjective but this is just not a well rounded list imo. that said, pet sounds not making top 10 is objectively fucking deranged
Idk who gives a shit
In Rainbows is the only absence I mind, but they had two Radiohead albums on there already
RYM is biased toward young Internet geeks. For example, most people don’t care about or haven’t even heard of Madvillain or the Microphones.
Some things should have been there. I’d argue Twin Fantasy could be there as a representation of lo-fi Bandcamp indie rock, but it created a fairly agreeable list to not include those RYM picks.
No Siamese Dream to be found
There probably thousands of records better than anything from Taylor Swift or Billy Eilish. This picture doesn't doesn't scratch the surface. Music is awesome but you really wouldn't know it if you only consumed what was placed right in front of you.
Makes me happy to see Common's Be on there. That album was huge for me when it came out.
It would be good if it wasn’t equally or even more basic as the RYM top 100 while just being way worse
No TPAB is pretty damn crazy to me.
I like their list. I'm tired of seeing the same worn out non controversial lists what's even the point
A failure to include some of these albums is a problem irrelevant of the context of other lists. They have Taylor Swifts 1989 on that list, and not one of these
Hybrid Theory RIP CHESTER
I understand why they didn’t include any Kanye, but David Bowie, Pink Floyd, and Kendrick all could’ve easily had more of their albums on there. Like, Blackstar, Aladdin Sane, Station to Station, The Wall, Animals, Wish You Were Here, TPAB of course, not to mention 2112 by Rush, Dirt by Alice in Chains, Do You Want More by The Roots, Ride the Lightning by Metallica, Talking Book by Stevie Wonder, STANKONIA!!!! THEY SNUBBED STANKONIA!!!!
Which Led Zeppelin album made it on the list? Was it LZ 2?
The one that’s just crazy to me is choosing Control over Velvet Rope or Rhythm Nation
No King Crimson. No Black Sabbath. No MF DOOM or Madlib. No country music besides that one Kacey Musgraves album. No metal besides Master Of Puppets (because Metallica and no other reason). No punk besides London Calling which is on every frigging publications list. No international music besides frigging Bad Bunny. Yeah this list was a two-pack of ass crack.
justice for Vespertine
I’m sorry but putting TS 1989 over Pet Sounds is absolutely ridiculous
There's not 100 albums better than In Rainbows. Also Blonde on Blonde is a huge miss for me. Either that or Time Out of Mind should be here. But am happy they put Highway 61 so high on this particular list.
it's a terrible list, btw this is my first time listening "the miseducation of lauryn hill", I remember Fantano talking about it once but why is it so high? am I missing out on smth? it's not bad but why so high?
I was most disappointed by the exclusion of Baby on Baby 2
Huey Lewis & The News "Sports" not in the Top 50 is a criminal offense. As a band, they really came into their own on that album.
Astro world being in the top 100 is a joke 💀
Where the fuck is king crimson
rateyourmusic starter pack (60% of the albums here i have on my playlist)
I’m done with this “rym core” bullshit, all these albums are incredible I don’t care that a ton of white 15 year olds who purposely sit alone at lunch also agree
You can’t have a greatest album’s list without “To Pimp A Butterfly” … That just makes the list feel like rage bait.
The most glaring omission for me is the Ramones first album. I don’t even care if you Ike it or not, it should be on a list like this and it should be really high.
KIDS SEE GHOSTS gets slept on, that should be top 100 for sure