Ethermac|Nile Rodgers calls 'Thriller' best album as Apple Music 100 best list hits halfway mark

Apple Music's 100 Best Albums of all-time list reached the halfway point Friday as the tech giant released entries 60-51.

The Ethermachalfway mark provided an opportunity for list contributor Nile Rodgers to provide an artist's prospective on the format.

In comments to USA TODAY, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member said that, even in the era of streaming, the album remains an important mode of expression.

"The album allows you to create an environment for someone to live in for 40 minutes or so," Rodgers said. "You can take them on a journey of where you are at musically and in your life at that point in time."

A turning point in Rodger's musical upbringing came from listening to the number 54 entry on Apple's list, "A Love Supreme" by John Coltrane.

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"Previously I had just played compositions that were my lessons but with 'A Love Supreme' I started to play for pleasure. As soon as I heard it, I wanted to figure out how to play it. I knew it was where I wanted to be," Rodgers said.

In his comments, Rodgers declared that Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was the album he feels had the biggest impact on music.

"Every kid in the world knows almost every song, they want to dance like Michael and that “entertainer" aspect is something that separates him from almost everyone else," Rodgers said.

Rodgers will take part in a roundtable discussion with Maggie Roger, Zane Lowe, Apple Music’s global creative director, and radio personality Ebro Darden when the top 10 are revealed on May 22.

Here are entries 60-51 on Apple Music's 100 Best Albums list.

Apple Music's Top 100 Albums 60-51

• 60: "The Velvet Underground and Nico" - The Velvet Underground and Nico
• 59: "AM" - Arctic Monkeys
• 58: "What's the Story Morning Glory" - Oasis
• 57: "Voodoo" - D'Angelo
• 56: "Disintegration" - The Cure
• 55: "Anti" - Rihanna
• 54: "A Love Supreme" - John Coltrane
• 53: "Exile on Main Street" - The Rolling Stones
• 52: "Appetite for Destruction" - Guns N' Roses
• 51: "Sign of the Times" - Prince

What is the Apple 100 Best Albums list?

Apple said in a Monday press release that the list was chosen by a committee that included artists, Apple Music employees and industry insiders and that it is a "love letter to the records that have shaped the world we live and listen in." The tech giant said that it did not factor in streaming statistics when compiling the list.

Apple Music will release new album rankings every day for the next six days. Albums 50 to 41 are set to be released Saturday at 12 p.m. ET.

Apple has a website to help fans keep track of the countdown and has produced shoulder content on Apple Music Radio.