100 Best Albums Radio

100 Best Albums Radio

Welcome to 100 Best Albums Radio, where we reveal our definitive list of the greatest albums ever made. Assembled with the help of artists and experts, it’s a love letter to the records that have shaped the world we live and listen in. Below you’ll find the official countdown, daily radio episodes with our hosts’ reactions, and stories behind each of the albums. Dive in, (re)discover some classics, and see if your favorite albums made our list.

  1. The Story of No. 1: Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Extended Preview)

    22/05/2024 · BONUS

    The Story of No. 1: Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Extended Preview)

    On this deep dive into Lauryn Hill’s masterpiece The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Apple Music’s Nadeska Alexis unpacks the story and legacy of the album voted No. 1 on Apple Music’s definitive list of the 100 Best albums of all time. In this excerpt, Nadeska learns the emotional story behind “To Zion," Lauryn Hill’s ode to her newborn son. Nadeska finds out why, when Lauryn was told to “use her head," she chose to “use her heart” instead. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill dropped on August 25, 1998, and changed everything. It’s a deeply personal collection of songs that document a time of major change in a young artist’s life. The album not only expanded the sound of hip hop, it massively extended its reach as well: Miseducation has been credited for helping to push hip hop firmly into the mainstream all over the globe. But, as we hear in this podcast, it’s an album that might never have been released. In this series, Apple Music subscribers can hear the remarkable story behind this groundbreaking and culture-shifting album, find out the truth behind the blistering opening track “Lost Ones,” discover what happened behind the scenes at Bob Marley’s studio in Jamaica, and learn how the album helped launch the career of another music superstar. Contributors include: Jayson Jackson, Lauryn Hill’s former manager Dr Joan Morgan, hip hop journalist and author of She Begat This: 20 Years of the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Commissioner Gordon Williams, the album’s engineer and production supervisor Music stars including H.E.R., Rapsody, Dua Lipa and John Legend

    8 min

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  • On his namesake show and New Music Daily, Apple Music 1’s flagship shows, host Zane Lowe brings users unparalleled music knowledge with headline interviews, breaking news, and emerging music from around the globe every day. It’s become the world’s go-to for the best brand-new music, sure, but it’s also popular music’s premier confessional booth: Day after day, Zane—who’s also Apple Music’s global creative director and co-head of artist relations—gets the biggest, most elusive superstars, from Justin Bieber to Taylor Swift to Kanye West, to let their guards down—laughs, tears, and news-making quotes are the norm. “I’m a curious person, I ask questions, and I guess if I'm passionate about something, I'll talk about it and engage people about it. I want to start a conversation and learn,” Zane explains of his approach. “Because the more you share, the more you learn, and vice versa. It’s just a circle that keeps spinning.” Zane earns guests’ trust with a music obsessive’s curiosity and enthusiasm, compassionate questioning, and firsthand music knowledge of life as an artist—he started his music career recording and performing, and continues to write, produce, and record. “The artist side of it, that really drives what I do,” he explains. “I'm not a conventional media-type personality. I’m no good at being a host, really. I'm not a journalist. I don't write, I'm not a writer. What I do is feel and translate.” Check out Zane on The Zane Lowe Show every Monday through Thursday on Apple Music 1 at 9 am LA/12 pm NYC/5 pm LDN and New Music Daily every Friday at 9 am LA, 12 pm NY, and 5 pm LDN.

  • COLORSxSTUDIOS has a new show on Apple Music 1 to celebrate the release of their catalog of original recordings in Spatial Audio. COLORS THREE-SIXTY FM RADIO will consist of six episodes, all co-hosted by artists who have released their own COLORS shows, where they'll play their own music, share tracks that inspire them, and chat about their individual experiences recording their COLORS shows.

  • London-based Matt Wilkinson first bubbled up as a writer and editor at renowned UK music magazine NME, where he reported on artists who were changing pop culture one song at a time. His first interview was with Amy Winehouse, in a cemetery in Bristol, when she was one of the biggest names in music—a foundational experience for Matt. “Even though I was totally inexperienced,” he says, “that Amy interview was life-changing for me. When she realized I was there to talk about music rather than her private life, she just came alive—waxing lyrical about ’60s girl groups, hip-hop, the lot. This was the first time I’d ever sat eye-to-eye with a big-name musician and really connected with them. And forging that connection is still what I aim to do when I speak to artists today.” As the host of his namesake show on Apple Music, Matt brings that sense of music history and connection to the air, mining the most interesting new music, chronicling the best of the UK scene, and telling the stories behind the songs of the day with revealing interviews and more. But above all? He’s a music fan obsessed with the idea that “there are still classic songs waiting to be discovered,” he says. “I’m forever looking for the 'hairs on the back of the neck' feeling to happen. That unnameable, rare thing where you hear a song and it suddenly changes your life. It happens every so often and it's the best thing ever.” Hear The Matt Wilkinson Show every Monday through Friday on Apple Music 1 at 4 am LA/7 am NYC/12 pm LDN.

  • “Some of the best conversations I’ve ever had have been around a fire,” Nashville star HARDY tells Apple Music. The singer-songwriter brings those conversations to Apple Music Country on his new radio show, The Fire With HARDY. Over the course of several episodes, he invites guests to share stories and musical influences, all while revealing his own personal journey. “I’ve always been intrigued at how people develop their musical tastes,” he says. “Do they credit it to fond memories of their childhood? Did they discover it on their own? I wanna dig into some of my favorite musicians’, songwriters’, and producers’ brains to see what and how music influenced them to become the successful people they are today.”

  • A defining character of New York’s music scene and a trusted voice in hip-hop, Apple Music 1 host Ebro Darden brings the city's urgent mix of music and culture to the world. “When I hear something with real heart and energy,” he says, “I want everyone to hear it.” Ebro splits his time at Apple Music as host of his namesake show and Rap Life Radio and global editorial head of hip-hop and R&B, genres in which Apple Music has proved dominant. A longtime fixture in New York radio, he brings a five-boroughs outlook to Apple Music 1’s global audience, but in a way that incorporates both music from all over the African diaspora and Black culture’s worldwide impact. Shot in Apple Music’s studio near Manhattan’s Union Square, The Ebro Show “has a New York City lens, but because New York City is an international city, we embrace a lot of different cultures,” Ebro—who grew up in the Bay Area but has called New York home for decades—explains. “We lean heavily on rap, but hip-hop is a very international music, so through there comes what's going on in Africa, what's going on in the UK, what's going on in Latin America, what's going on in Australia, what's going on in Asia. I don't know of any show that plays as much Caribbean music as we play.” But the show doesn’t only touch on music. “I don’t shy away from talking about social issues as it pertains to the community, specifically Black and brown people,” Ebro adds. “I try to find records that speak to that, music that speaks to that.” Tune in to hear Ebro on The Ebro Show every Monday through Thursday at 12 pm LA/3 pm NY/8 pm LDN and on Rap Life Radio every Friday at 10 am LA/1 pm NY/6 pm LDN.

  • Jayde Donovan is many things—an award-winning host, a storyteller, a philanthropist, a mother with a wicked sense of humor. But she’s also positive energy personified, so it makes sense that her radio show would offer just that. Weekday mornings, she shares her colorful take on pop hits throughout the decades, curating a nostalgic and lively radio experience that only she can deliver. Jayde is a three-time Gracie Award winner, a writer, a television host, and an active philanthropist through her nonprofit, Apple a Day, which supports kids in cancer treatment. She founded her organization in memory of a friend she lost to neuroblastoma. Jayde and her team have gifted thousands of smart devices to kids fighting cancer throughout the US. Check out Jayde Donovan every morning on Apple Music Hits, Monday through Friday, 8 am-10 am PT.

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Ratings & Reviews

4.5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Welcome to 100 Best Albums Radio, where we reveal our definitive list of the greatest albums ever made. Assembled with the help of artists and experts, it’s a love letter to the records that have shaped the world we live and listen in. Below you’ll find the official countdown, daily radio episodes with our hosts’ reactions, and stories behind each of the albums. Dive in, (re)discover some classics, and see if your favorite albums made our list.

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