Back when Apple Music put out its 100 Best Albums of all time list, some people expressed shock at the No. 1 pick — 1998’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. And now they might be shocked they’re being asked to pay a whopping $450 for a fancy-schmancy, limited-edition coffee-table book version of the whole list. That seems like an Apple move, doesn’t it? But if you’re into it, act fast — only 1,500 copies exist.
However, before you do … you know you could buy an M1 or maybe an M2 Mac mini with that $450, right? Just sayin’.
You can preorder Apple Music: 100 Best Albums book for $450 now
Apple Music released its 100 Best Albums list gradually online over 10 days in May, 2024. Cult of Mac published each set of 10 albums as they came, culminating in the whole list of 100 becoming available on May 22. I expressed surprise that Apple Music thought Lauryn Hill’s record, good though it may be, warranted “best of all time” status. And I speculated that lists like these, which claim to cover all recorded music but leave out whole genres, can’t please everybody (or, seemingly, anybody). But at least now you can pay a ton of money to get a really nice book that your friends can argue over when they visit.
Apple Music put out the hardcover book in collaboration with “luxury book brand” Assouline, founded in Paris in 1994 and headquartered in New York City since 2007. The book spans 208 pages and includes 97 illustrations (mostly album cover art). It weighs 8 pounds. Its exterior is all white with no markings, which sounds like Apple design. But a transparent slipcase includes title information, the Apple Music logo and an etched edition number identifying your book as one of 1,500. You can preorder it now for $450, with shipping expected November 25.
We partnered with @Assouline to make our #100BestAlbums list into a book. Pre-order today: https://t.co/YHgrwvAjIa pic.twitter.com/969l23KkXF
— Apple Music (@AppleMusic) November 11, 2024
Read more about the album list and book from Apple and Assouline
Here’s how the publisher’s website describes the original digital list and the Apple Music 100 Best Albums book that came from it:
A celebration of Apple Music’s inaugural list of the greatest records ever made, Apple Music: 100 Best Albums is a lasting companion piece to the digital initiative, which launched on the streaming service in 2024. With a release limited to 1,500 copies, the books are housed in sleek, transparent acrylic slipcases, each individually etched with its edition number. Inside, readers will find the featured albums, selected by Apple Music’s team of experts alongside an exclusive group of artists including Maren Morris, Pharrell Williams, J Balvin, Charli XCX, Mark Hoppus, Honey Dijon, and Nia Archives, as well as songwriters, producers, and industry professionals. The list is a wholly editorial statement that does not fit any neatly defined criteria—and is fully independent of any streaming numbers. In effect, it’s a love letter to the records that have shaped the world music lovers live and listen in.
Encompassing more than 65 years of music—and multiple genres, from country, pop, and rock to hip-hop and electronic—the list spans from 1959, with Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, to as recently as Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti, which debuted in 2022. The list, which includes artists as stylistically diverse as Billie Eilish and Metallica, Travis Scott and Talking Heads, invited spirited conversations around the world. “If our list sparks more debate among fans outside of Apple Music and gets people talking passionately about the music they love, then we’ve done what we set out to do,” says Zane Lowe, global creative director and co-head of artist relations at Apple Music.
Each entry includes Apple Music’s beloved liner notes, in-depth analysis that brilliantly captures the significance of the album, both to the artists and to the art of music itself. “What we found,” says Lowe, “is that truly great albums are more than just a collection of songs—they become a part of you, a part of your life story. They’re heartbreak, pain, trauma, joy, revolution, and resolution.”
Every book comes in a custom-designed translucent acrylic slipcase etched with the Apple Music logo, while the linen hardcover is debossed with the same logo to perfectly line up behind the etching. The back of the case is engraved with the edition number, and inside the book there is a hand-numbered ex libris to further highlight the limited nature of this release. The edges of the book’s pages are gilded with a sparkling gold that mirrors the title on the spine.
