Lauryn Hill’s ‘Miseducation’ tops Apple Music’s top 10 list

Published 11:39 am Friday, May 24, 2024

Lauryn Hill performs in October during “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” 25th anniversary tour at Barclays Center in New York. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP File Photo)

LOS ANGELES — Let the debate begin. Who has the best music albums ever?

Apple Music certainly has an idea. The music streaming giant announced on Wednesday their 10 greatest albums of all time with Lauryn Hill’s 1998 iconic “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” claiming the top spot. Hill’s debut album outpaced other classic records from Beyoncé, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Kendrick Lamar, Amy Winehouse, Frank Ocean and Nirvana.

The top 10 albums culminated Apple Music’s inaugural 100 best albums, which started with a 10-day countdown last week. There’s only five artists with two albums on the full list including The Beatles, Wonder, Prince, Radiohead and Beyoncé.

The process started several months ago when Apple Music’s editorial team of editors and music experts — including Zane Lowe (global creative director and lead anchor for Apple Music 1) and Ebro Darden (global editorial head of hip-hop and R&B) — generated a list of candidates from the past 65 years.

Members from Apple Music’s internal team submitted their personal lists of albums through the company’s voting microsite. The votes were weighted according to an album’s placement — the higher the ranking, the more votes assigned.



And now, we’re here. With commentary from Lowe and Darden, here is Apple Music’s top 10 best albums list:

1. Lauryn Hill, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” (1998)

DARDEN: We’re really leaning on what she did on this album. The songwriting, what she shared, what was happening in her life that she effectively put in the music. The fact that she just became a mother. All the R&B vibes. The Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway along with D’Angelo’s “Nothing Even Matters.” The social commentary in “Doo Wop (That Thing).” It’s hip-hop. It’s R&B. It’s got a dancehall element. It’s a powerful woman being independent and being like “Yo, I got something to say.”

2. Michael Jackson, “Thriller” (1982)

LOWE: It’s the greatest blockbuster album ever. I think everyone I’ve spoken to about this list automatically assumes that it’s going to be No. 1. That’s because we’ve spent decade after decade seeing it basically No. 1. “Thriller” is an incredible record. The whole thing is dialed in. But it didn’t bug me that Lauryn came in at No. 1 and “Thriller” landed at No. 2.

3. The Beatles, “Abbey Road” (1969)

DARDEN: “Abbey Road” has taken on a more modern life of its own in the social media space with TikTok. Maybe that’s why it landed so high. It’s very much like more raw Beatles than pop Beatles.

4. Prince and the Revolution, “Purple Rain” (1984)

DARDEN: I love that it was a Black artist making soulful rock and pop records. It’s not my favorite Prince album. I’m more into “Sign O’ The Times.” Dance, music, sex romance. I’m a big Prince fan, so I’m happy this got the votes.

5. Frank Ocean, “blond” (2016)

LOWE: I had this higher than five. I simply adore this album. I feel like Frank is like Prince. He is like Michael. He is like Lauryn. He is like Marvin (Gaye). He is like Radiohead. He is the great outliers who found a way into our hearts on a massive scale. They do not make music to appeal to a large audience, and yet somehow the music they make reaches us.

6. Stevie Wonder, “Songs in the Key of Life” (1976)

LOWE: It starts with a message, and it ends with a time to process everything that’s happened in between. In the end, he finally gives you a moment to just take everything you’ve listened to and just absorb it.

7. Kendrick Lamar, “good kid, m.A.A.d city” (2012)

DARDEN: I’m happy this went so high. It was his debut album. He wrote an audio movie about his neighborhood and basically being a reluctant kid who is surrounded by all this toxicity, mayhem and chaos.

8. Amy Winehouse, “Back to Black” (2006)

LOWE: It talks about heartbreak, rejection, unrequited love and the pain you go through when you have feelings for someone who doesn’t have the same feelings back. You don’t know what to do with that emotion. It’s very human.

9. Nirvana, “Nevermind” (1991)

LOWE: This was a combination of real skill, beautiful instinct, total courage and vulnerability. It showed the ability to dial into what (Kurt Cobain) was feeling and dress it up in a way that made people want to dance, jump, sing and scream. But if you really listen, which tens of millions of people did, it was deeper than that.

10. Beyoncé, “Lemonade” (2016)

DARDEN: This was the first time we got to see Beyoncé’s personal life. I like “Lemonade” but it’s not my favorite Beyoncé album. “Renaissance” is one my favorite Beyoncé albums ever. But if you lived in that “Lemonade” moment, it was a big deal.