The list received mostly negative reviews from fans and critics. Aidin Vaziri of the
San Francisco Chronicle wrote that "the selection sharply contrasts with the traditional rankings by legacy music publications, such as
Rolling Stone." Ben Cohen of
The Wall Street Journal wrote that the list "was clearly a stunt to get attention and sell subscriptions to Apple Music", with its ultimate goal being to "get people to actually engage with these albums", Ryan Teague Beckwith of
MSNBC commented that the list generously represents rock and
hip-hop, while only including "
token nods" to
jazz,
folk,
reggae, and
punk, and neglecting to include
blues,
gospel, or
world music albums. Many fans criticized the list's placement of ''
1989 (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift at number 18, topping highly-regarded pop albums such as Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys and Hounds of Love'' by
Kate Bush, with Cohen calling the placement "absurd". Several critics commended Apple Music's unorthodox placement of
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill as the greatest album of all time. In response to the placement,
Lauryn Hill said, "I appreciate the acknowledgement, I really do, but I'd be remiss not to also acknowledge all of the music and artists who informed and inspired me ... The leaders of community and movements that sparked me, the social dynamics and music scenes, both older and current at the time, that intrigued and inspired me to contribute." == Complete list ==