Is Apple's Top 100 Albums List THAT Bad?

okay everyone Anthony fantano here internet's busiest music nerd I hope you're doing well Apple music my personally preferred music streaming service has just come out with a top 100 albums of alltime list micro doing it over the course of like a week or so uh the entire list is out now so let's go over the 100 and see if this list hits okay no mus no fuss we're going in no warl here's the 100 let's get into it assembled with the help of artisan experts it's a modern love letter to the records that have shaped the world we live and listen in today nobody asked me all right let's get going here we go 100 it's Robin with body talk not a personal favorite of mine but when it comes to 2010's dance pop it's a classic it's a record that's withstood the test of time I I I don't see why it should be knocked off of a list like this but it's not high priority for me Hotel California it's fine but there's so many more better bands and records from this era of Music specifically groups that like operated in a lane similar to the Eagles this really did not need to be on the list as is also the case for Aster world because uh uh freaking Rodeo is better better songs better production was more groundbreaking for the time has aged better as well uh Astro World is absolutely positively not the better record it's just when dude's named Tanner started listening to Travis Scott and that's all ooh rage's first album honestly should be higher but excellent record nonetheless even if I do prefer evil empire myself uh Lord Pure Heroin what are you doing there are a few good Bops on this record but it's not a very versatile album it's very one-dimensional uh it's very much painting itself into a corner pretty quickly Lord's follow-up is the one with the better production the more anthemic songs that is the record that I think is really going to withstand the test of time what are we doing here with pure heroin let's move on uh Usher Confessions there are better R&B records from this era uh while I respect Usher's Talent um I don't think he's one of the best at least when it comes to storytelling and songwriting uh as a singer he certainly got it and a bit of a spoiler and a shocker here there's no weakened on this list so how are we making room for this Usher album and literally no weakened albums bro literally revolutionized R&B for the 2010s and no mention whatsoever okay burial untrue uh one of the greatest electronic music albums and dubstep albums of all time uh should be higher though but still incredible record one thing I find kind of odd though is while I do agree with this record being included into the list I find a lot of these Classic record lists these very kind of critic lists tend to just outright ignore and just want to have nothing to do with IDM which is also sadly the case for this list over here I don't know what what it is about just like kind of being deaf toward this uh revolutionary highly influential like wave of 90s and 80s electronic music producers uh that undoubtedly uh left a huge impact on burial but they they're just they're just not here um Solange seat at the table I have no issue with Solange being included in this list uh as far as alternative R&B goes um Indie type singer songwriter music that involves a fusion of different genres she is one of the more solid and respectable artists out there however Flower Boy Tyler at 92 kind of low and it should have been eigor I get that flower boy is like the more streamable more easy listening album but uh eigor is more creative more daring more risk-taking more interesting really Tyler at a peak of conceptuality and really just uniqueness as an artist I feel like we're kind of lowballing the number and picking the wrong album cuz it is kind of a consistent thing uh in this list that we uh are kind of mostly doing one record per artist a few artists get away with two but for the most part it's one per no idea why they picked this George Michael album I don't think it's his best solo LP um if you were going with this album I wouldn't have even put it on this list uh ACDC Back and black it's fine but as far as like hard rock goes I feel like there are better bands and there are better artists ACDC certainly has a distinct sound but um some of the the best records in hard rock I I don't know Lady Gaga Fame Monster uh maybe could be a little bit higher considering how incredible it is I mean it's one of the best pop albums of the 2000s if not the best as far as mainstream stuff goes but yeah this is a pretty epic as heck album for sure um not my nah pick but uh nah absolutely generally regardless of which album you're picking uh should be much higher she's like a top 50 artist at least that's like conservative that's lowball calling it for nah uh how she's at 88 I don't know uh nice to see a trip hop nod with massive attack uh that's nice I feel like this placement number-wise is fine uh Mary J blig good inclusion uh liking that a lot too Casey Musgraves I I still do not mess with this record all that much I find it Bland I find it boring as far as country music I just don't really think it has a lot of flavor uh a lot of taste I find the Twang and more rustic instrumentation on her previous records to be a lot more interesting and as far as singer songwriter music goes I feel like there are much better picks that you could be making here generally especially with like you know this uh newer wave of singer songwriters that have come out of the Indie woodwork over the last couple of decades like for example another spoiler on this list uh no sufian Stevens not even a Joanna Nome nod like what the hell are we doing doggy style Snoop Dog not mad at this placement inclusion in this list makes sense uh Patty Smith horses probably could be higher amazing record Classic record one of the best Proto Punk albums and art rock albums of all time uh 83 is kind of lowballing it however I am kind of confused about the inclusion of Get Rich or Die trien I get it 50 had a run he had his moment but in my eyes to my ears this is his only decent album and this record itself as an album as an album experience is not that great of a listen it gets really daunting and kind of like just chore to listen to toward the end it's not that versatile of a record when it comes to production choices and overall rap ability and lyricism 50 Cent is nowhere near one of the best of his generation I mean we could have instead had an early Cameron project here a diplomat's album uh freaking Supreme Clientele but nope none of that here unfortunately uh Neil Young after the Gold Rush good pick of an album though I am sure there are some people that are kind of sore about him Landing in the 80s uh not me though um Marshall matters LP 80 that's fine it's an okay placement I suppose and that is the uh record to choose certainly NFR I feel like her latest LP is quite a bit better than NFR in terms of its versatility and its lyricism and storytelling but NFR is still an incredible record great production great songs all around and uh you know really the first moment in Lana's career where I feel like everybody could universally love and celebrate her music because it just truly had everything uh going on for it uh so uh you know great pick um maybe a little low for some fans but uh Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road that's the pick that's the album uh 78 isn't too bad either I suppose uh Madonna Like A Prayer is an interesting choice because I feel like with Madonna there are numerous albums and eras that you could go with you could go with her debut you could go with the sensual erotica you could go uh with her Revival moment with ray of light that's often kind of the critic favorite but uh still like a prayer is not really a bad pick kind of shocked that this very bloated album from Bad Bunny is landing this high on the list I'm not mad at its inclusion because I feel like Bad Bunny has really kind of like made an undeniable Lane for himself in the music industry today but like there's so many amazing consistent classic records that have landed prior to this this placement to me just is kind of shocking um right up against Missy Elliot super duper fly the should be here absolutely I'm not mad at uh the' 70s placement though we could go a little bit higher with the downward spiral though like this is an incredible uh industrial Rock album really kind of like the industrial Rock album of note not to mention the record is so good its creativity is so Transcendent across genres that there are producers uh in numerous Lanes of music that have taken a lot of notes uh from Trent resner stuff uh be that in rock and pop and hipop in soundtrack music obviously with a lot of the stuff he's made for various films over the years too this album while it's lyricism here and there maybe cringe it needs to be higher H Steely Dan Steely Steely Dan you know there's a lot of incredible jazz players and Jazz Classics and Jazz rock albums Maha Vishnu Orchestra Frank Zappa so on and so forth nowhere near this list not even touching this list not even a hot rats what but instead we're getting one of the blest mashes of jazz and pop and rock over here um yeah I I just don't really get the appeal of this album all that much there are numerous artists that are much more interesting in the Rock Lane in the Jazz Lane in the fusion Lane uh in my opinion this shouldn't even be here uh moving on from there siza SOS I mean in my opinion I I love the record I think it's a very good record it's an incredible and versatile sparkling and emotional blend of pop and R&B and singer songwriter music I mean it is a little bloated and it's not the most consistent album out there and I think 72 is uh pretty high for the record but I'm not mad at it uh Landing in here I'm kind of surprised it didn't go with control though that sort of seems to continue being the fan favorite but that's neither here nor there uh craft work trans Europe Express incredible record uh one of the greatest groups electronic music has ever known um surprised that it's not a little bit higher honestly but consider considering there are a lot of classic lists such as this that uh just totally turn their ears off when it comes to any electronic music whatsoever I can't really be too mad at it NWA Straight Out of Compton uh kind of thought this one would be a bit higher uh considering its influence its cultural impact over the years but uh still I'm glad it's here Metallica Master of Puppets uh this really could have been quite a bit higher it's one of the greatest metal albums of all time uh definitely Metallica's best in my opinion uh so influential and so huge that there are a lot of artists that take numerous notes from it outside of the metal space I'll just kind of use this as an opportunity to say there's not a whole lot of metal on this list to begin with we really could have used some priest and some Maiden at the very least moving on from there The Strokes is this it uh one of the greatest indie rock records of the 2000s but again there there's not a whole lot of room for Indie music generally on this list it just sort of seems like they uh wanted to play to some of the more mainstream aspects of it but uh you know again I I find that kind of curious with apple music because they typically like to Market themselves as being a little bit more you know hip and a little bit more in touch with what's going on culturally Apple music isn't just for the mainstream we we we're sort of like you know a little bit below that surface however we're not going to dig much deeper than The Strokes that's pretty unfortunate htis head dummy honestly uh should have been higher great production killer vocals from Beth Gibbons who also has a new LP out recently which is incredible in my opinion I think also they could have brought the Smiths a little bit higher like you know maybe like a top 50 type record uh you know this is the D jangle pop indie rock album of note uh but there are no damn skips on this record and it's just so incredible performance-wise writing wise uh there are very few albums that are more solid than the queen is dead so I I feel like just on a writing and an album craft standpoint this uh needs to be quite a bit higher um also could have been a lot higher on the De La Soul too this is one of the most creative fun and groundbreaking hip-hop albums of all time deas Soul not only brought great production and good lyrical skill but uh boatloads of Personality which remain unmatched uh for Generations honestly which is part of why this album has withstood the test of time to the degree that it has um bism I would have gone with Mama's gun but I'm glad Erica is in the mix there probably could have been a bit more Neo Soul some Jill Scott somebody like that uh in the list as well while we're talking about inclusions uh electric ladyland is a much more interesting record to me but um this is kind of like you know the Hard Rock psych rock gold standard uh are you experience so I'm not uh you know too surprised about Apple music going with this one all eyes on me uh obviously Tupac is a hugely influential and incredible figure great rapper um one of the best and one of the most impactful of his generation but I feel like there was a lot of production Aesthetics and songs on this record that haven't aged super well over the years um I don't know if I would put it above some of the albums we've seen so far but around the 60s seems right to me shade love Delux love that shade continues to uh see love and see respect on lists like this um not mad at this placement at all uh kind of shocked at this being as low as it is though this is like literally the art rock the Proto Punk album of all time there are numerous records that are placed higher than this Velvet Underground album over here uh that would not be here if not for this album and yet 60 and not only 60 but right underneath Arctic Monkey am you've got to be [ __ ] kidding me in no context in no timeline in no Dimension is am a better record than Velvet Underground and Nico this isn't even the best Arctic Monkeys album totally gutless and boring Rock album and no way uh oasis's what's the story morning glory is also again better and more interesting than velet underground and Nico following this we have D'Angelo's Voodoo which is an incredible groovy and entrancing R&B album though I would say his his latest record is sounding better and better every year the here disintegration not really too mad at a mid-50s placement though I do think anti is kind of overrated on this list I do like the artsy kind of Vibes and atmosphere that Rihanna provides on this album but does this record bring her best songwriting and vocal performances in my opinion not necessarily A Love Supreme classic one of the best jazz albums of all time uh obviously it was going to be included on this list as far as Rolling Stones picks go I I feel like we could have gone with stick fingers we could have gone with um Let it bleed and place it a bit higher I feel like the song writing on those records is a lot more succinct and Punchy uh Guns and Roses Appetite for Destruction above the stones I mean this is their best record I'm not really denying that but 52 and again above Velvet Underground get get out of here I mean actually now that I'm thinking about it considering again some of the groups that did not make make the cut you could even say that I don't know if this this record should even be in the mix there's no Van Halen here we do have Prince though sign of the times one of the most predictive pop records of all time um very happy also that this is not the only Prince inclusion we are going to see Kate Bush is at the very least a top 50 artist of all time so uh just barely squeaking it in there with hounds of Love which I'm not mad about uh would not place the Joshua Tree this High ESP especially with just how one-dimensional the guitar playing is on a lot of the record but a lot of great anthems on this album and uh you know definitely you's creative and songwriting Peak ABS freaking lutely Paul's Boutique some of the best sample-based production on any hip-hop album ever great interplay between AD Rock and Mike D and MCA Beasty Boys honestly do not get enough credit uh in the current hipop landscape and I'm glad to see it happening uh here with this list how ever uh Drakes take care come on give me a break right up against beasy boys and in the top 50 it's his best album as far as how it's aged over the years but like if it's going to be anywhere like it shouldn't be breaking 60 this is a joke get it out of here Exodus Bob Marley top 50 artist handily so not mad about that um buk homogenic spoiler this is the only buk inclusion on the list personally would have gone with vespertine but even if we are just stick with homogenic this should be higher this is like top 30 conservatively it's that groundbreaking and influential vocally uh production-wise in terms of its blends of Art Pop and dance music moving on from there Stevie Wonder in Visions was kind of shocked to see Stevie at 44 but uh songs in the key of Life uh ranks a lot higher which I am glad about uh remain in light really should be higher that is a top 25 album at the very least uh Janet Jackson Control I kind of feel like there are multiple Janet records that you could have gone with uh I feel like the pick should have been Velvet Rope and we could have also gone again into the top 25 with Outcast I would have gone with Stankonia though I am not mad at it Landing in the 40s or around 40 artha Franklin for as influential as she is really should be higher especially considering some of the singers and songwriters that land right after this we have Nas elmatic which is fine at 39 um Carol King there are so many songwriters from this era that I feel like could could have gone in this place instead like for example there's no PJ Harvey on this list there is also no Fiona Apple on this list there's no Paul Simon no Simon and gar funkle on this list to me Carol King isn't like ranking on the level of those artists in terms of uh discography creativity influence and impact I mean tapestry a very good album and it's obviously Carol's best and most celebrated it's the pick but the 38 and again at the sacrifice of so many other names who I think should be on this list I don't know moving on from there though 36 Chambers excellent record incredible album um surprised it didn't land at 36 like you know for the meme 37 seems kind of uh like they were being funny with it uh we have Beyonce self-titled this is not the only Beyonce inclusion in the list but I'm kind of surprised they went with the self-titled over Renaissance Renaissance is such an incredibly tight consistent fluid Ode to numerous modes of dance music and I just feel like that album is going to age a lot better over the years frankly we have London Calling The Clash one of the most perfect Rock Records ever recorded could be higher but honestly mid-30s is not bad uh Public Enemy as well it takes a nation of millions to hold this back this is one of my favorite hip-hop albums of all time the bomb squad production on this thing is mindblowing and incredible Chuck D has such a Mastery of uh message and lyricism on top of it he has a voice he has a tone he has a tamber where he can basically say anything and it'll sound cool but instead what he chose is to say some of the most righteous [ __ ] that's ever been recorded on any hip-hop album ever uh for me personally could be higher but I'm not mad at mid-30s uh radio head kid a Okay computer lands higher on the list I feel like if we're going to give radio head to inclusions there are lots of other artists that could have been given to inclusions like be and again what I find funny about this is like what a lot of people pull putt over with this record is like oh yeah it's like so experimental and electronic when like again all of those left field groundbreaking incredible amazing UK IDM producers and Pioneers that influen this album not on this list not on the list we don't have an Apex Twin we don't have a square Pusher we don't have an AER what are we doing it's like we're we're we're turning the blindest eye to this very essential era of Music uh IDM is not the only one but still like a single album would be nice uh we have ready to die they're really kind of hitting all the major hip-hop nods which is fine and is great I'm not really upset with any of the albums they've included so far they're all great albums but uh we're not making a whole lot of room for jazz and metal and electronic music never mind stuff that is from outside the west but that's kind of another conversation Jagged Little Pill is way overrated on this list and on top of it I question whether or not it should even be included because while it does have amazing hits Atlantis is an era defining artist the deeper cuts on this album do not Jive well as an overall album experience it is not that great not nearly as great in terms of flow and consistency as some of the records to follow uh like Billy ish's debut over here kind of bold to place it at 30 kind of a shocker however I love this album and I think Billy is one of the most uh creative and odd and interesting pop artists of the modern era I think this record is particularly dark and quirky and intriguing we have low-end Theory amazing album Maybe the best jazz rap album of all time incredible beats and flows from Q-tip and the Gang uh loving this one to death absolutely uh personally would pick animals and wish you were here over Dark Side of the Moon but uh you know some Floyd's got to land somewhere and um yeah I think there's some other Prague picks that we could have gone with uh not not over this but in addition to this because again no rush here um also is is there even in the court of the Crimson King I don't think so which honestly if if if you're trying to talk about the hund greatest albums of all time it's kind of [ __ ] Leed Zeppelin 2 which is by no means I think better than dark side of the moon but also over physical rafiti 26 Dark Twisted Fantasy not only overrated on the list but it should have been College Dropout and we should have left it there um Miles Davis I feel like if any jazz artist is worthy of two picks on this list and he does not get two uh it it is Miles um however we're we're only getting kind of blue we could have also gone [ __ ] Brew but uh you know this this is the Classic this is the pick cool Jazz and all that and amazing album All Around undoubtedly uh Bowie is absolutely a top 25 artist uh Ziggy Stardust may be an obvious pick but it is still an incredible record not denying that um da punk I feel like this is a top 25 album too this is a very solid pick and placement love Discovery one of the greatest electronic dance music albums of all time for sure Bruce Springsteen Born to Run maybe slightly overrated I feel like this could be more in the 30s but it's still a good record uh not the only Beatles placement we get but revolver at 21 I think is kind of bold yeah it's better than Sergeant Peppers which I think is a little overrated but I tend to find the White Album uh a wee bit more interesting uh pet sounds better than revolver according to Apple music you can fight it out in the comments over that um however I don't entirely disagree honestly uh Dr Dre gets a second little placement in the list over here not only through NWA but the chronic as well I don't know if I would rank it all the way at number 19 but uh it's still a great album you know especially not higher than low-end Theory um moving on from there 1989 the Taylor's version which is the objectively worse version the mixes are worse it does not hit the same and the extra tracks I don't really feel like add that much to the discourse but even if we were going with the original 18 18 out of all these albums I don't think so as a songwriter I wouldn't even put Taylor Swift on the level of an Atlantis Moret or a Carol King who I'm also sort of like skeptical about their inclusions here despite again not even a Fiona Fring Apple album on this goddamn list how do you miss Fiona FR Apple Marvin Gay what's going on one of the greatest Soul albums of all time it should be here it's even potentially a top 10 album uh but 17 is fine Joanie Mitchell blue also potentially a top 10 album on a list such as this but 16 is fine uh Adele 21 would not place it this high but she is one of the greatest vocalists of the modern era uh one of the most streamed one of the most popular I get the appeal I understand why it would be here I kind of expected it I'm not mad about it uh Bob Dylan excellent placement for uh really the folk rock album of note Highway 61 there are honestly numerous Bob albums that uh could have gone in this spot and Bob is kind of an artist who I feel like you know could potentially deserve a couple placements be it through this be it through times they are changing be it through Blonde on Blonde but uh highway is not a bad choice uh getting bold with the blueprint placement um I mean I love the album I think it's great uh there are a lot of hip-hop records from the 2000s like again College Dropout uh and especially the 90s that I would Place pretty far above this one um I feel like uh I I don't know like things are a little out of whack with this album being placed over uh many rap Classics I I would say radio head another placement with Okay computer which is fine I feel like we could have even gone with like one radio head album I I feel like uh the fans and the band wouldn't be mad uh if uh they just kind of landed at number 12 here and we you know made some room for some Richard D James but whatever Fleetwood Mac getting just barely cut out of the top 10 with rumors I just kind of find the uh love of their stuff the way that it's kind of swelled so intensely recently uh very interesting but it is welld deserved because I mean every tune on this thing is uh absolutely incredible that's for sure we're entering into the top 10 we got lemonade which not mad at it's a great record it's an incredible record is 10 kind of high for my taste yeah I feel like there are better pop singer songwriter concept type albums but uh it is one of the best of the modern era of the mainstream Point Blank period never mind I mean gamechanging Rock album there is absolutely no denying that we probably have to censor the cover for YouTube but uh this album started the grunge Revolution uh Kurt Cobain was also an incredible singer songwriter and guitar player in his own right can't also forget Mr Dave Gro killing it on the Skins great production on the record too though there are some fans who uh would debate that they're idiots Amy win housee back to black uh kind of high honestly I I would have placed it maybe uh in the 40s in the ' 50s I mean I love it it's great I feel like Amy is a Timeless artist who was taken from us too soon but there are numerous albums that I don't think I would place this over that have landed previously on the list and I'm not even talking about just simply Nirvana no Fiona Apple on this goddamn list we have good kid mat city that is the Kendrick pick uh we are not going tab apparently no tab on this list which is absolutely frakin nuts this could have landed in the top 25 and then teap could have instead been a top 10 but instead we're doing this which I guess if you want want to it's fine songs in the key of life I'm not mad at it it's for sure arguably a top 10 album it is a fantastically written and performed double LP epic fueled with passion and amazing absolutely amazing performances vocally and instrumentally um blonde top five album of all time I mean I love it but you know there are elements to Frank's music that I feel like can be kind of dodgy plus the opening track on this thing GH I could really take get or leave it it's it's a very sour tone Setter uh for me and I just feel like Frank is not on the level vocally uh that a lot of artists are sort of like you know in his Lane creatively I get it's a huge record I get it's an influential record but um you know top five I think is a a little bold uh prince in the revolution also very much a top 10 album love Purple Rain to death this album is absolutely incredible uh Abby Road also very much a top 10 album not mad at it however Thriller no absolutely not number two album of all time considering like as an album flow goes uh off thewall is so much better I mean the hits on this album are incredible but I feel like this album is just like as far as like overall assembly it's like a compilation of hits and nothing else the Deep cuts are still to this day not that great especially that Paul McCartney track uh there are better Michael Jackson albums uh they're even better Janet Jackson albums this also kind of makes me reflect on all of the new wave and synth pop that didn't really make the cut on this list as well no depes mode no new order like Blue Monday is one of the biggest greatest most widely selling singles of all time but no New Order nod on this list it's kind of preposterous um and number one miseducation of Lauren Hill I mean uh honestly not mad at this number one it's an amazing versatile album that covers so many bases so many Banger songs on it so many passionate personal meaningful substantive lyrics Lauren not only had a knack for rapping and singing but on top of it a great year for production and different musical styles uh to the point where she matched them together very effectively on numerous tracks across this album I mean it's a record that really kind of has everything and has only aged better and better and better as the years have drawn on there are a lot of disappointing placements and backto backs uh and exclusions across this list but uh this place in this pick is uh not uh a bad one this is not one that I'm upset with at all all right well there you go there you have it my thoughts on this list Apple's top 100 you know it could have been worse but I feel like there are some artists they could have cleared out and some repeat picks of artists they could have cleared out in order to make room for just like a smidge more Jazz a smidge more metal uh and actually like you know some real hardcore Ric stuff and to me the Fiona Apple exclusion is just ridiculous not to mention again the the Blind Eye that's totally turned toward the Indie wi of the music industry even with artists whose output is as undeniable as sufan but there you have it that's the list let me know your thoughts on it and uh you guys are the best I'll see you in the next video Anthony fantano Apple music top 100 forever

Channel: fantano

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Keywords: music, anthony fantano, needle drop, apple music, streaming, list, top 10, album, classic, recency bias, pop, rap, hip hop, metal, rock, r&b, jazz, electronic, new, best, lauryn hill, all time, reaction, review, response, indie

Id: rkVJJR-evyI

Length: 31min 53sec (1913 seconds)

Published: Sat May 25 2024