Lauryn Hill's album wins the top spot on Apple Music's best albums of all-time list

Apple Music announced its 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.

“This is my award, but it’s a rich, deep narrative, and involves so many people, and so much sacrifice, and so much time, and so much collective love,” Lauryn Hill said after receiving the news.

The top 10 albums concluded Apple Music’s inaugural 100 best albums list, which started with a 10-day countdown last week. There are 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.

“This list isn’t a popularity contest,” Darden said. “We challenged everyone to not vote based on your favorites. You’re invited into the panel because you have music knowledge beyond what you listen to when you’re on the elliptical machine.”

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.

Apple Music used the same voting methodology for a select group external voters that included artists, songwriters, producers and some media.