Apple Music Reveals Top 10 Albums of All Time

[C0ncreteBl0nde]

So I went to apples website and you can listen to the albums on the top 100,

Thank you for this information. Not only did I educated the music on some of the artists unknown to me, but there is so much more information about how this list was chosen and by who, etc. If you want to know even more, there is a podcast about the process.

 

[gco212]

This is embarrassing calling this a "modern evaluation" or in other words a subjective selection process involving a biased group of people without objective data.

I can't imagine what would go wrong when making a best album list without using objective metrics.

I'd love to see the best album list that relies on objective measures, but, unfortunately, only God has access to that.

 

[Beyo]

You must be kidding...Thriller not on 1rst place?

 

[Aves]

On a more serious note, so is this just American/UK based musicians? No international music? I can probably name 20 albums from Latin American musicians that are worlds better than a lot of the junk they selected.

thinking about Heroes del Silencio (Spanish band), what a poetry lyrics Bunbury wrote!

 

[Analog Kid]

Hmm, it seems perhaps you’re unaware of this, but people don’t always read the article before commenting. Case in point…

Apple Music Reveals Top 10 Albums of All Time

Is there a larger list? This article only references a top 10, and there’s is no one named “Aja” on it…

forums.macrumors.com

In any case, it’s kind of weird to be so combative over me simply stating the ranking of the album of the artist you had referenced. If you want to take offense to that… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm not going to say it was a terribly meaningful or humorous comment but apparently I need to break it down for you in more detail so my explanations of that point seem less, combative, offended, or whatever you choose to project them as...

Steve Jobs was a huge Bob Dylan fan. He discussed it at length with Issacson, Woz recalls the two of them chasing Dylan concerts and bootlegs in their early days, Dylan popped up in a number of Jobs' music related keynotes.

There are constant comments in these forums about what would be different if Jobs were still alive. I find those conversations tiresome, but in the tradition of those comments I pointed out that if Jobs were alive Dylan would have been in the top 10.

That is all. Nobody's combative over your misplaced corrections or offended that you assumed I can't read the big picture in post #1. You simply didn't understand the point I was making: This post revealed the top 10 of that list of 100 best albums. Dylan wasn't in that top 10. Jobs wouldn't approve of that.

I hope it is all clear now. Feel free to reply to this so you can have the last word and we'll be done.

 

[vipergts2207]

I'm not going to say it was a terribly meaningful or humorous comment but apparently I need to break it down for you in more detail so my explanations of that point seem less, combative, offended, or whatever you choose to project them as...

Steve Jobs was a huge Bob Dylan fan. He discussed it at length with Issacson, Woz recalls the two of them chasing Dylan concerts and bootlegs in their early days, Dylan popped up in a number of Jobs' music related keynotes.

There are constant comments in these forums about what would be different if Jobs were still alive. I find those conversations tiresome, but in the tradition of those comments I pointed out that if Jobs were alive Dylan would have been in the top 10.

That is all. Nobody's combative over your misplaced corrections or offended that you assumed I can't read the big picture in post #1. You simply didn't understand the point I was making: This post revealed the top 10 of that list of 100 best albums. Dylan wasn't in that top 10. Jobs wouldn't approve of that.

I hope it is all clear now. Feel free to reply to this so you can have the last word and we'll be done.

I think you’re confused.

Apple Music Reveals Top 10 Albums of All Time

Seemed it was obvious we were talking about the top ten...

forums.macrumors.com

This snarky post as well as posting the top 100 albums picture in reply to me are what I’m referring to as being combative, not your reference to Jobs liking Dylan. Happy to be done now. 🙂

 

[sjsharksfan12]

The fact that this list had 0 country albums on it makes it even more of a joke. Where is Dolly, or Johnny Cash, or Loretta.

 

[DeepWebinar]

This is embarrassing calling this a "modern evaluation" or in other words a subjective selection process involving a biased group of people without objective data.

I can't imagine what would go wrong when making a best album list without using objective metrics.

why not just google the top streamed albums then? regardless of how anyone feels about the list, that’s obviously not what they’re going for here. and i’m personally glad they didn’t, that sounds really boring.

 

[Velli]

You’re furiously rationalizing but you’re still wrong. An album is a collection of songs. You can nit pick over the word “track” or “single” but that’s meaningless nonsense. The word “single” is short for single SONG. Just as the word “track” refers to a single SONG. So the album is absolutely suited to pop music.

I was not arguing that albums are not suited for pop music! I was arguing against saying it doesn’t fit Classical.

Classical on the other hand is not composed of songs. The various segments of a classical or orchestral piece are integral with one another. The piece works as a whole, not as a collection of single songs.

Now you are the one who is “dead wrong”. Classical music is very often performed in bits, rather than the whole piece, and many compilations exists, with bits of various pieces being played out of context. The differentiation that you are arguing exists, is much smaller than you seem to think. It’s just a case of most people considering Classical music a completely different topic, not even just a different genre.

So bottom line is still the same. You’re wrong.

Disagree.

 

[DougTheImpaler]

Yes, Apple’s 100 Best Albums List Is Ridiculous and Exists Almost Expressly to Make You Mad

As long as it prompts you to stream something, Apple's 100 Greatest Albums list is fine with making you angry with its randomness and recency bias.

variety.com

I could post 10 more links of this list being lampooned.

Free advertising for Apple!

 

[ric22]

Free advertising for Apple!

I'm still not convinced all advertising is good advertising 😅

 

[cfountain72]

It makes me wonder where the list came from. Apple used to tout human curators. Not anymore. I think there’s a very high probability that this list is a reflection of iTunes sales more than anything else and it probably originates from software, not a human being.

If that was true, we'd see the top slots filled by Taylor, Taylor, Taylor, Beyonce, Taylor, Beyonce, Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar.

 

[Surf Monkey]

I'm still not convinced all advertising is good advertising 😅

What would give you that impression? I think you’re referring to the phrase “all publicity is good publicity.” But that’s a fallacy. Publicity is not a universally good thing. In fact the bulk of publicity is negative in most cases. Advertising? The VAST majority of ads are outright crap that probably hurt their brands more than help. And I say that as someone with over 30 years of experience working at large advertising agencies.

 

[Surf Monkey]

If that was true, we'd see the top slots filled by Taylor, Taylor, Taylor, Beyonce, Taylor, Beyonce, Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar.

Not necessarily. As some of us already demonstrated you can prompt ChatGPT to spit out a comparable list with a single sentence.

 

[Analog Kid]

It makes me wonder where the list came from. Apple used to tout human curators. Not anymore. I think there’s a very high probability that this list is a reflection of iTunes sales more than anything else and it probably originates from software, not a human being.

The Apple microsite says humans are involved, but I don't see them named:

"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."

 

[Surf Monkey]

The Apple microsite says humans are involved, but I don't see them named:

"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."

That’s what I mean. Initially Apple touted human curators as the primary differentiator for AppleMusic. They made a big deal of naming the curators and the curating sources like AllMusicGuide. Now they pay glancing lip service to it but without naming any specific individuals it’s just so much hot air. A strong presumption remains that the list is mainly an algorithmic artifact that’s somehow “spruced up” by unnamed humans.

 

[scorpio vega]

How? There are many r&b albums better than this album. Every Beyonce album is better than the miseducation of Lauren Hill. Knowing what these results are based on would be helpful (copies sold, streaming, etc.) Opinions are subjective but as a fan of all kinds of music, Lauren Hill's lyrics don't speak to me and I'm not a fan of the melodies in her music. If you enjoy the album, good for you, but I personally think the album is garbage. Silkk the shocker makes better music than her and he stutters so much that he can't even stay on beat half the time. Lol

I’m beehive and no every Beyoncé album is not better than miseducation. Renaissance is a terrible album for example.

 

[scorpio vega]

What do you even mean by that? Nicki Minaj doesn't do Hip Hop?

She does but she sucks not to mention the man she married lol

 

[scorpio vega]

If that's what you think, then you should rewrite some of your comments in this forum because they contradict this. If you are ok with times changing then why can't you appreciate what people older than you enjoyed in their time? You can't just point a finger and try to cancel someone because they don't like the same things you do. I'm not going to the store to try and cancel dairy just because I'm lactose intolerant. In your effort to get the things you like accepted, don't try and take away what others like just because you're not a fan.

Who am I canceling?

 

[Tago]

That’s what I mean. Initially Apple touted human curators as the primary differentiator for AppleMusic. They made a big deal of naming the curators and the curating sources like AllMusicGuide. Now they pay glancing lip service to it but without naming any specific individuals it’s just so much hot air. A strong presumption remains that the list is mainly an algorithmic artifact that’s somehow “spruced up” by unnamed humans.

Disclosing sources (or curators) would be the appropriate thing to do given a desire to be perceived as serious about it, agree. Basically, people discuss the list and not what's included at which spot, could provide perspective as far as the perceived importance goes.

Whether "the guys" or "gals" having provided input just left toddlerhood or recently got a driver licences for walking chairs tend to add some sort of bias to what's included or excluded.

I'll probably stick to what I prefer/like/love and play what I know my friends and family likes. Whoever constructed that list don't know nothing about that. (Oh yeah, I'm aware of being included in the stats. The smurfs are hard at work.) And they know nothing at all about my radio habits.

 

[DeepWebinar]

i’ve been thinking about this more and i’m still not mad at lauren hill being #1, it’s an out there choice but the album is great, but the fact that taylor swift cracked the top 25 shows how unserious this list is

 

[purplerainpurplerain]

Each generation has a taste in music. I'd put even Weird Al Yankovic over Beyonce myself, but that is because we all have different taste. What no Bruno Mars? Creating an "all time greatest" list of anything is impossible unless you get so specific that it becomes irrelevant to most. I can see the posting now... Apple releases the all time top list of songs according to Gen Z listeners who prefer cross-over country/R&B, vote conservative, live in urban areas, go to public schools, and who's average family income is below 100k! Can't wait to download that playlist! And as to it being US-centric, let's be honest, it comes from a place where we have titles like "World Champions" for competitions limited within our boarders. But to be less negative, I do appreciate seeing lists like this. It pulls me out of my comfort zone and tempts me to go check out albums I may not have otherwise.... which means maybe it is doing its job well! I'll stream some of these but not buy. Kinda shocked ol' T-swift is not represented here. I guess Kanye must have stormed Apple HQ and demanded the Beyonce be the best. #KanyeSitDown
View attachment 2381259

Beyoncé is ok (Tina Turner did it better) sometimes but Weird Al at his best was top tier song writing talent.

T

 

[reidmangel]

Thank you for this information. Not only did I educated the music on some of the artists unknown to me, but there is so much more information about how this list was chosen and by who, etc. If you want to know even more, there is a podcast about the process.

Can you link to the podcast about the selection/voting process?

 

[C0ncreteBl0nde]

Can you link to the podcast about the selection/voting process?

It was buried in an article Apple had on their website but if you Google "Apple podcast 100 Best Albums" you will find a link to it.

 

[Surf Monkey]

It was buried in an article Apple had on their website but if you Google "Apple podcast 100 Best Albums" you will find a link to it.

So, to revise my comments on this list from earlier, having now listened to some of the podcast I retract the assertion that it was likely generated by AI. They did in fact use human curators to build the list and that makes it vastly more legitimate.