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Apple Music’s “100 Best Albums” book was a $450 limited-edition hardcover made and sold in partnership with luxury publisher Assouline—not an Apple-made device, subscription bundle, or music box set. Announced on November 12, 2024, the edition was reported to be limited to 1,500 copies. That $450 figure is the historical launch price; it should not be treated as a verified 2026 price.
What the $450 product actually was
The official title was Apple Music 100 Best Albums. It was marketed as a premium coffee-table book tied to Apple Music’s 2024 “100 Best Albums” project. Assouline handled the publishing and retail relationship, so calling it simply “Apple’s book” is shorthand: it was associated with Apple Music but was not ordinary Apple hardware or an Apple Books ebook.
Engadget reported the November 12, 2024 launch price as $450 and the production run as 1,500 copies. The original coverage also indicated an expected January shipment, in the context of that 2024 launch.
The ranking behind the book
Apple Music presented its list as an all-time ranking of albums that shaped modern music and listening culture—not a list of the best releases of 2024. The complete ranking remains available on Apple’s official 100 Best Albums site.
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#1 Best Overall
- The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill — Lauryn Hill
- Thriller — Michael Jackson
- Abbey Road — The Beatles
- Purple Rain — Prince
- Blonde — Frank Ocean
That online list matters to the value question: the book’s main distinction was its physical presentation and scarcity, not exclusive access to the ranking.
Who helped choose the albums?
Apple describes the project as being assembled with artists and experts. The Assouline listing, as quoted in the launch coverage, named Apple Music’s expert team alongside artists and music professionals including Maren Morris, Pharrell Williams, J Balvin, Charli XCX, Mark Hoppus, Honey Dijon, and Nia Archives, as well as songwriters, producers, and other industry figures.
Rank #2
The available reporting does not establish the number of voters, voting weights, whether every contributor ranked every album, or how genre, geography, recency, and ties were handled. The ranking is therefore best understood as Apple Music’s editorial canon, not an objective measurement accepted by all listeners.
What buyers were paying for
| The purchase offered | It did not primarily offer |
|---|---|
| Large-format physical presentation | Exclusive access to the online ranking |
| Luxury publishing, design, and display value | A music-streaming device |
| Scarcity from the reported 1,500-copy run | A complete collection of the recordings |
| Gift and memorabilia appeal | An objective or universally accepted “best albums” verdict |
| Association with Apple Music’s cultural branding | Evidence of an included subscription, downloads, vinyl, or CDs |
The available launch reporting indicates selected albums, artwork, and editorial-style presentation, but it does not verify a complete page count, dimensions, paper stock, binding construction, image count, or a fixed number of pages per album. Those specifications should not be inferred from other Assouline titles or marketplace listings.
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At $450, the book sat in the luxury-art-book market rather than the ordinary music-reference market. Assouline positions its publications as art-quality, decorative, and collectible objects; its current catalog includes books priced well above standard illustrated editions. In that context, the price reflects design, manufacturing, presentation, and limited quantity as much as information.
The tension is straightforward: readers could browse the list online for free, while the physical edition asked them to pay luxury-object prices for a curated, displayable artifact. That can make sense for a dedicated music-book collector, an Apple Music memorabilia fan, or a high-end gift buyer. It is much harder to justify if the goal is simply to discover which albums Apple ranked.
What the book did not demonstrably include
No available source establishes that the $450 purchase included an Apple Music subscription, digital downloads, vinyl records, CDs, or special hardware. It should not be described as a bundle of the 100 albums or as a substitute for listening access.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can you still buy it in 2026?
Current availability is unclear. As of August 18, 2026, the original Assouline URL had redirected to the publisher’s general books collection, and the title was not visible among the products displayed there. No current official price or stock status is verified by the available evidence.
That does not prove the edition is definitively sold out, nor does it establish a resale value. Anyone considering a secondary-market copy should verify the exact title and edition, condition, completeness, provenance, seller reputation, and the date and currency of the asking price. A later reprint or variant, if one exists, should not be confused with the reported 1,500-copy release.
Is $450 justified?
As an information purchase, probably not: Apple’s ranking is publicly accessible at 100best.music.apple.com/us. As a collectible, the calculation is different. The buyer is paying for a scarce physical object, luxury production, decorative presence, and affiliation with a prominent music-branding project. Whether that is worth $450—or a higher or lower resale price—is a matter of taste, condition, and collecting priorities, not a fact established by the launch price.
For readers who want the music rather than the memorabilia, Apple’s official service page is Apple Music, subject to subscription and regional availability. For readers interested in comparable luxury publications, Assouline’s current catalog is at assouline.com/collections/books.
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