Magnetic recording medium utilizing adjacent underlayer and magnetic layer having particular compositions, magnetic storage apparatus, and method of manufacturing magnetic recording medium

A magnetic recording medium comprising:

• a substrate;
• an underlayer including an upper underlayer provided above the substrate;
• and
• a first magnetic layer provided on and in contact with the upper underlayer,
• wherein the upper underlayer includes a compound represented by a general formula MgO(1-x), where x falls within a range of 0.07 to 0.25,
• wherein the first magnetic layer includes an alloy having a L10 structure, and
• wherein the alloy having the L10 structure includes one or more elements selected from a group consisting of Al, Si, Ga, and Ge.