We can name classics, we can name trash.
We can even name near classics pretty easily.

But those albums that where 8 songs out of 14 are good....

What you got?

And to make it more fun, open it up to more than just hip hop.

one
k. orr

Drake ....."Thank Me Later"

*ducks*




























but it's true, tho

I like 1 and 2 over 3-4, 5 doesn't count.

over 1 & 4, but I admittedly came to Southernplayalistic late.

far from a classic, and is actually my 2nd least fav outkast lp.

well, the first 4

dunno abt fire in the hole or any of that shit

i agree with this. don't know if you're being serious but i think All For One and Foundation are overrated here.

they made some great songs (and of course a few classics)

albums never were that great tho, solid but not great

Sorry

Non Hip Hop

Mary J My Life 2

I love that album. Chamber Music itself makes this album a 3.5

Wu-Tang Forever, while slightly flawed, is still a masterpiece. 4.5 or 5 imo

but the good stuff on this album outshined the crap. though, in true mid/late-'90s fashion... this was basically the beginning of the end IMO

I'd give it a 4, since the whole crew seemed to regroup and feel like 1 unlike the rest of their career as a unit

For Jay, it was lower than this, but for it to be a regular Rap album, it wasn't THAT bad at all. Had some great production, some interesting content, and a few standout bangers.

Blueprint 3 as well, though that's probably closer to a 3 than a 3.5.

this was the dude who had made some great rhymes over some middle-of-the-road beats the album prior and spawned a billion remix projects

Starts off incredible, but by the time we get to the Kweli and Common features I'm asking myself what the hell happened?

average/good or "slightly" above good

there are way more avaerage/good lps than great or terrible lps

usually the great lps arent truly great

I dont want to start anything so I wont attack a so called great lp that to me is only a 3.5

so Ill just chose randomly: The Liks Likwidation

http://rateyourmusic.com/collection/Nodima/r3.5

boring, I know.

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas

http://www.last.fm/user/NodimaChee
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Nodima/run_that_shit__nodimas_hip_hop_handbook

>
>boring, I know.
>

. . .very inaccurate.

~Austin

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Some great songs on there though

but the filler/off tracks on both are probably some of the worst in his career... barring Blueprint 2.

Nice & Smooth's "Jewel of the Nile"
Big Daddy Kane's "Taste of Chocolate"
Master Ace's "Take a Look Around"
Lupe Fiasco's "Food & Liquor"
Black Milk's "Popular Demand"
Slaughterhouse's first album

Most Prince albums since the 90's

Clipse, "Lord Willin'"
Maxwell, "Now"
Dave Matthews Band, "Crash" & "Before these Crowded Streets"
GZA, "Beneath the Surface"

What's interesting for me is when an artist has several of their best songs on a 3.5 album. I put "Grindin'," "I'm Not You," "Virginia," & "Gotdamn" up with anything Clipse has ever done. But several other songs on "Lord Willin'" are very skippable. At the same time, the good stuff on "HHNF" isn't as good to me but I do much less skipping.

An awful song tends to offend my ears. I might be able to ride out a boring one, especially if it's sandwiched between 2 better ones.

To the point that it's my second favorite Nas album, and maybe even be his second best as well.

Tash--Rap Life
Lushlife-Cassette City
Method Man-421 the day after
J-Zone-Pimps don't pay taxes
Too short-Cocktails
7l and Esoteric-egoclapper
Jake One-White Van Music
Pete Philly and Perquisite--MindState



***Side note, i play albums like these often times WAAYYY more than i do 5 mic albums...They always seem to be the albums that define a period in time, get crazy burn, played out, and then i come back to them to remind me of the time i bumped the shit out of em...Weird

>Tash--Rap Life
>Lushlife-Cassette City
>Method Man-421 the day after
>J-Zone-Pimps don't pay taxes
>Too short-Cocktails
>7l and Esoteric-egoclapper
>Jake One-White Van Music
>Pete Philly and Perquisite--MindState
>
>
>
>***Side note, i play albums like these often times WAAYYY more
>than i do 5 mic albums...They always seem to be the albums
>that define a period in time, get crazy burn, played out, and
>then i come back to them to remind me of the time i bumped the
>shit out of em...Weird

I respectfully disagree with you on Pimps Don't Pay taxes. The production was bananas and the two cats featured heavily besides J-Zone, Al-Shid and Huggy Bear, complemented each other PERFECTLY. They're styles and delivery were as different as two could possibly be but I haven't encountered too many albums like PDPT that lyrically have as many 'oh shit did you hear what the fuck he just said' moments, maybe Enigma. "No Consequences" is one of my top ten beats all time, easy.

Though not as technically proficient as Shid and Hug, J-Zone's no slouch lyrically, he says a lot of funny shit. Production wise, you can tell the man learned something about sampling from his association with Pete Rock. To me, it was a cohesive, well thought out project that I still listen to today. It's a shame those three never worked together again to that degree. 'No Consequences' is in one of mine and nearly other head I know's top five.

One man's mediocrity is another man's genius, I guess. A lot of people think Stakes is High is mediocre and that's unequivocally my favorite album.

I actually don't consider 3.5 mediocre, i'd say 2.5 is mediocre, and the difference between the two is like the grand canyon...I LOVE all of the albums posted, including the j-zone joint, and when i put it in i remember the exact moment i played jailbait jennifer the first time on the hour long drive home from madison going nuts over the string sample...I can't say the same thing about albums like illmatic or ready to die...they are substantially "better" albums, but i prefer many of the 3.5 mic albums as they have more to offer in a weird way...

somethings i can't explain, but TO ME 3.5 mics is not mediocre, in ANY way...

They qualify as "engaging background music" (as opposed to just background music which I don't like the concept of). Some Hip-Hop 3.5 off the top:

Alkaholiks-Likwidation
Beatnuts-Stone Crazy
Mobb Deep-Hell on earth
Redman-Doc's da name 2000
ATCQ-BR&L
Jeru Da Damaja-Wrath of the math
Pharcyde-Labcabin...

Some random ones in other genres:

Stevie Wonder-Hotter than July
Prince-Lovesexy, Around the world in a day
Parliament-Gloryhallastoopid
Metallica-...and justice for all
Slayer-Seasons in the abyss
Jesus Lizard-Shot
Pixies-Trompe Le Monde
Napalm Death-Harmony Corruption
Beatles-Sgt Pepper, Abbey Road...
Rolling Stones-Between the buttons
Sly&the family Stone-Dance to the music
Miles Davis-Bitches Brew, In a silent way
Dinosaur Jr-Hand it over
James brown-Hell
...and so on

all solid ass picks!!!

doc's da name is my favorite redman album, not his best, but my favorite...

this argument is like the post '00 yankees...they started buying up all the hottest commodities to make a iron clad, un-fuckwittable team, and they weren't nearly as good as they were in '98 with a bunch of role players that performed consistently...

3.5 mic albums = paul o'neil, not a hall of famer, but solid as all get out and a fan favorite

honestly, this is a recent realization for me. There isn't that one Jay record
that is THE one when I go back and listen to the older ones.
He makes the EPITOME of a 3.5 just about every time out.

Reasonable Doubt is a solid 4, at best 4.5. I know its a fan favorite, but
still not a 5 imo. The Blueprint, which is one of the most
overrated albums of all time, is like a 3.5 imo. That people call it a 5 mic classic
is so crazy to me. If anything I'd argue that The Black Album deservers to have
the highest rank. All the rest stand at about 3.5 (or worse)

Now please, before someone lashes out and calls me a 'hater' because I'm forgetting
record sales, really think on it. I am and always have been a big Jay fan, but his
albums don't stand up individually imo. He has a lot of great material, a prolific
catalog, but imo that truly great album still eludes him.

I'd say his best are RD, BP1, Black Album, and AG.

The rest? Most of them are chock full of hits and duds.

Slightly OT, Weezy has a diff issue. Most of his greatness, I don't think gets captured by his lp's.

Ye' on the other hand, has only had one 3.5 album, 808 and Heartbreaks.

one
k. orr

That is fair to say. I'm not crazy about Kanye, but I have to agree that he makes good
albums that are cohesive, which is a lost art. And I completely agree about Lil Wayne.
I NEVER listen to a Weezy album from start to finish. Whatever genius he has does
not find its form in albums.

Jamal - Last Chance, No Breaks
Mic Geronimo - Vendetta
Das Efx - Hold it Down
Evidence - The Weatherman LP
J Dilla - The Shining
Def Squad - El Nino

It might be my least favorite post-Stillmatic album.

Street's Disciple is probably one as well.

Untitled, though I think was a 4, his best album since Stillmatic.

Hip-Hop Is Dead was a huge disappointment. There are some dope joints,
but too many duds along the way. I think if you took the best joints from
HHID and Untitled you could make a great album out of that. Plus Hip-Hop is Untitled
would be a better title.

is like the definition of a 3.5 star album

D

It really is the epitome of 3.5

OK-equinox
Jamal-fades em all
Boogiemonsters-Riders of the storm
Inspectah Deck-Incontrolled substance
Busta rhymes-ele
Bahamadia-bb queen
Tribe-love moment
Rae-lex diamond story
Lox-entire catalogue

>Rae-lex diamond story

Immobilarity was so bad people skimmed right over this one.