>like seriously who gives a flying fuck. rap was never
>"suppose" to blow up and some aspects of it did, doesn't
>negate the way various folks who worked within the "genre" to
>explore musical, experiential and emotional boundaries

I never said it negated anything. Obviously it matters to fans which is part of the reason that some of the more under appreciated albums tend to not get mentioned immediately. When ever someone mentions the top 5 of anything most people are going to name the albums that had the most influence and had the most replay value over time.
>
>i wrote parallel and not in opposition, and you over hear
>trying to say gangster/backpack division.
>
>the point is some of those other gangster rap records didn't
>blow up either and it adds to the mystique that the real west
>coast shit is the gangster shit

Most of what people in this thread and in general are listing are albums that were huge and that's just a fact. Nobody is naming Low Profile "We're In This Together" even though it's one of my favorite albums partially because not as many people have heard that record and it's not constantly referenced by artist from the next generation. Simple as that.