Apple Music's 100 Best Albums list surprised us. Here's why

Apple Music has done what many might be tempted to say is impossible: they've created a ranked list of the 100 Best Albums ever made.

With the help of artists and experts, the streaming service says it's "a modern love letter" to the records that have shaped our world today. But, did they get it right?

For this week's Group Chat, music journalists Niko Stratis, Suzy Exposito and Dalton Higgins join Commotion host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about the buzzy list, and why we love to discuss lists so much as a culture.

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow the Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud podcast, on your favourite podcast player.

Elamin: Okay, I want us to get a little bit messy in the sense of, we're going to talk about the entries or rankings on this list that make you go, what the heck were they thinking? Suzy, start us off. What comes to mind?

Suzy: I just don't know what was going on here. I'm curious about who voted. I'm curious about who wrote the descriptions for the albums.

Elamin: Is there an entry that makes you think that?

Suzy: In particular? Not necessarily. I just think it's not good for music journalism that there's no bylines on any of the writing for Apple Music. I mean it is a streaming service, but yeah, Apple Music is not known for having a critical voice. So I don't really know what the metrics were. They explain it had to have been impactful, but I would have liked a little more explanation.

Elamin: A little more information, yeah. The criteria would help us a lot in terms of understanding how they made some of these choices — how Taylor Swift's 1989, for example, is two spots ahead of Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys. That's a legitimate question to ask. Niko, are there any entries here where you go, what the heck were they thinking? Billie Eilish at number 30 for her debut record, which is only from 2019?

Niko: Yeah, some of it definitely does feel like, "We need to put this somewhere. Where can we put it?" It's like when you're building a puzzle and you're giving up at the exact same time. At the end of the day, we're going to walk away from this list and forget where everything was placed. We're going to remember the stuff that was there that we talked about. We're going to remember that Purple Rain is number four, which is a great decision, because we don't see Prince often enough in these lists and it was really nice. That was one of those moments where you're like, "Oh, okay, this is going to be interesting." And that's when I knew the number one was going to surprise me.

We talk about a lot of these people as icons, but then we still put the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the top ten, and they don't need to be there. They're fine. They got their moment. I think the Taylor Swift thing was surprising, but it was always going to be surprising. Anywhere you put her, there's going to be an argument, right? Like, why does she deserve to be above Robyn, who is in the 100 spot? I would have maybe bumped that up a little bit too, just because that Robyn record was so huge. I can make my own list and that would have arguments, but I think the most important thing is, have an opinion, have a feeling on it. I think people having a reaction to it is kind of a beautiful thing because it reminds us we can still react to these things.

Elamin: Dalton, was there a particular entry that made you go, why is this here? Or, my favorite arguments have been, "This is the right artist, but you've chosen the wrong album for this artist."

Dalton: Yeah, totally. I mean, with Kendrick Lamar, good kid, m.A.A.d city at number seven, it's the highest rated rap record on the list. That's nuts. That's not even his best album, right? To Pimp a Butterfly I think personally is a better album. We can definitely debate that. And, good kid, m.A.A.d city is obviously not the best rap album of all time, but it's the top rated album on the list.

Elamin: A lot higher than The Blueprint, which is pretty wild.

Dalton: Yeah, exactly. So if you look at the top 100, there's at least a good 14, 15 rap albums on the list that are better than Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city — A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory, Nas' Illmatic, The Notorious B.I.G. So I don't know about how they positioned good kid, m.A.A.d city at number seven.

Elamin: Controversial take from me: I think Kanye was too low. I think My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy at 26 was a surprisingly low number for the way that that album, I think, changed the culture.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Panel produced by Stuart Berman.