I feel like either this or an emcee's ranking or both were done YEARS ago. I've wanted to do this for a while since hip hop and lists are two of my favorite things, but I feared I'd receive crickets. A post for top 10 rappers just got a lot of traction, so I figured this is as good a time as we're gonna get as activity on this board continues to dwindle.

Post UP TO 25 of your favorite hip hop albums (key word: favorite, lets not have this looking like every major publication's top 10 list) of all time, starting with your favorite/#1 and going down.

1. Favorite album (please use Artist - Title format, ex: Nas - Illmatic)
2. Second favorite
3. 3rd favorite
..
..
..
..
25. 25th favorite

I'll log all the responses and count the votes, with points being distributed on a weighted basis.

1. If you don't include #'s with your rankings, I'm assuming the top album is your #1 and so on unless otherwise noted.
2. If you don't want to submit 25 albums, submit however many you want (up to 25) and they will still count. Anything greater than 25 won't be counted.
3. After this post is a few weeks old and seems to have died down (no new entries), I'll close out voting and post the results in a new thread, probably with the Top 50 (maybe more depending on how many responses this thread gets).

I graduated from high school in 1996.
This list definitely reflects that.

01 NaS - Illmatic
02 A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
03 Ice Cube - Death Certificate
04 Pete Rock & CL Smooth - The Main Ingredient
05 OutKast - ATLiens
06 A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
07 De La Soul - Stakes Is High
08 De La Soul - De La Soul Is Dead
09 Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
10 The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde
11 Mobb Deep - The Infamous
12 Raekwon - Only Built For Cuban Linx
13 Wu-Tang Clan Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
14 OutKast - Aquemini
15 Slum Village - Fantastic Volume 1
16 Gangstarr - Moment Of Truth
17 Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt
18 Redman - Muddy Waters
19 Dr. Dre - The Chronic
20 Jeru Tha Damaja - The Sun Rises In The East
21 Souls Of Mischief - '93 Til' Infinity
22 Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
23 J-Live - The Best Part
24 Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
25 Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly

And I’m sure I forgot some that I’ll later realize and be mad about it. But I’ll give it a shot:

1. Pete Rock and CL Smooth - The Main Ingredient
2. A Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory
3. Little Brother - The Listening
4. Outkast - ATLiens
5. Nas - It Was Written
6. The Roots - Things Fall Apart
7. Gangstarr - Moment of Truth
8. Little Brother - The Minstrel Show
9. LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out
10. Reflection Eternal - Train of Thought
11. Warren G - Regulate....G Funk Era
12. Scarface - The Untouchable
13. Nas - Illmatic
14. Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
15. Big KRIT - 4EvaNaDay
16. EPMD - Business As Usual
17. Smif N Wessun - Da Shinin
18. Q-Tip - The Renaissance
19. Foreign Exchange - Connected
20. Black Milk - Tronic
21. UGK - Underground Kingz
22 DJ Quik - Safe and Sound
23. Pete Rock - Soul Survivor
24. The Twinz - Conversation
25. Common - Like Water For Chocolate

While I realize and understand it won't be at a lot of Top 10 lists for Hip Hop,
I love everything about it. It's definitely a favorite of mine.

I love every second of music on the Main Ingredient, right down to the transition/interlude beats! Or it might be more accurate to say “especially those”. That album is magical to me.

>I love every second of music on the Main Ingredient, right
>down to the transition/interlude beats! Or it might be more
>accurate to say “especially those”. That album is magical
>to me.

Possibly/probably in the top 10, def top 15.

I don't want to forget anything which I'll undoubtedly do unless I take a little time to consider everything.

Once I started writing them down it actually came pretty easily.

1. Reflection Eternal - Train of Thought
2. Common - Resurrection
3. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
4. Dr. Dre - The Chronic
5. De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate
6. OutKast - Aquemini
7. Blu & Exile - Below the Heavens
8. Nas - Illmatic
9. The Roots - Game Theory
10. PRhyme - PRhyme
11. DJ Quik - Safe & Sound
12. Foreign Exchange - Connected
13. JayZ - The Blueprint
14. Pete Rock & CL Smooth - The Main Ingredient
15. Q-Tip - The Renaissance
16. Warren G - Regulate ... G Funk Era
17. Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
18. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
19. Phonte - Charity Starts at Home
20. Kanye West - Graduation
21. GangStarr - Moment of Truth
22. Little Brother - The Minstrel Show
23. Madvillain - Madvillainy
24. A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
25. BlackStar - Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are ...

... I feel like my favorite artists would've been over-represented and really, when I think about it, I listen to for example Resurrection, ODIAMS, LWFC, and Be very often and love them generally because Common is my all time favorite MC. So I decided to just go with which album of his I revisit the most to represent him on this list.

I realize that may skew the results to some degree (assuming people take part in this poll) but I did that so that I didn't leave out any albums and artists I listen to probably just as often as Common but who have just one album I listen to over and over again as opposed to 3-4 like I do with Common, De La, Nas, OutKast, and a few others.

All that said I realize that Phonte shows up on this list 3x, and Mos and Kweli twice lol but technically the albums are by different groups or "artists"/monikers so ...

But those LB, Tribe, and Nas albums I haven’t ever stopped wearing out, so there was no way I was leaving any of them off.

There’s other albums from Scarface, ‘Kast, GangStarr, The Roots in particular that could’ve been on my list but they weren’t albums that I wore out any more than the bottom of my list, so I spread it out a bit. There’s probably a solid 75-100 other albums I could put on the list with no problem and once I get past the top 10 or so, a lot of these become somewhat interchangeable. This is a tough exercise, and some of my list would definitely look different on a monthly basis.

I'm with you for the most part. What was good for me was that, to provide a good example, I probably wore out One Day It'll All Make Sense to the same extent I did BlackStar. So while I would probably choose One Day over BlackStar in just a straight up "which do you like better" battle, it's not such a wide margin that I felt I needed to include a 2nd Common album instead of making sure Mos and Kwe got their proper due for their classic album.


>But those LB, Tribe, and Nas albums I haven’t ever stopped
>wearing out, so there was no way I was leaving any of them
>off.
>
>There’s other albums from Scarface, ‘Kast, GangStarr, The
>Roots in particular that could’ve been on my list but they
>weren’t albums that I wore out any more than the bottom of
>my list, so I spread it out a bit. There’s probably a solid
>75-100 other albums I could put on the list with no problem
>and once I get past the top 10 or so, a lot of these become
>somewhat interchangeable. This is a tough exercise, and some
>of my list would definitely look different on a monthly
>basis.

Like, to compare them to an album in that lane on my list....theyre all right there with LWFC. All of them could’ve been on my list.

That first round of Black Star albums(including Hi-Tek) was something else. 4 classics IMO.

And yeah, I might’ve ultimately taken LWFC for that reason....I already had Train of Thought. And maybe I subconsciously wanted something Dilla starred on, on the list.

Shit, I could’ve put Ruff Draft on here.

I could’ve put like 5 Scarface albums here.

I love this post, lol. It’s going to make me play so many of the albums I see people listing, because I don’t think I’ve seen an album I don’t like, yet.

But I consider that more in the vein of like Lyricist's Lounge and the like as opposed to a one artist album, as unfair as that probably is considering it's Hi-Tek's album

Hi-Teknology 2 was terrific as well.


>Like, to compare them to an album in that lane on my
>list....theyre all right there with LWFC. All of them
>could’ve been on my list.
>
>That first round of Black Star albums(including Hi-Tek) was
>something else. 4 classics IMO.

Yea man - obviously all of us here are on a similar page when it comes to that "first round of Black Star" run you mention, I consider it like the Rawkus/Soulquarians era. I laughed when I looked at my list and saw that it was all Rawkus/Soulquarian and g-funk stuff, outside of like Jay and Nas basically lol. That tracks pretty well for me haha.


>And yeah, I might’ve ultimately taken LWFC for that
>reason....I already had Train of Thought. And maybe I
>subconsciously wanted something Dilla starred on, on the
>list.
>
>Shit, I could’ve put Ruff Draft on here.
>
>I could’ve put like 5 Scarface albums here.
>
>I love this post, lol. It’s going to make me play so many
>of the albums I see people listing, because I don’t think
>I’ve seen an album I don’t like, yet.

Hahah same, I'm with you - I was thinking earlier as I was putting my list together that I hope this post takes off tonite cuz I could use some in-depth, old school Lesson hip-hop chatter to avoid thinking about politics for a bit lol.

>But I consider that more in the vein of like Lyricist's
>Lounge and the like as opposed to a one artist album, as
>unfair as that probably is considering it's Hi-Tek's album
>
>Hi-Teknology 2 was terrific as well.
>

It really was, and maybe because that was in a different “era” than their first run and because the group was dead and Mos and Kweli were both making some questionable shit at the time so there was no “brother-sister albums” to link it with... it’s easy to forget about. Excellent album though.

01. Jay-Z - The Blueprint
02. Jay-Z - The Black Album
03. Joe Budden - Mood Muzik 2 (Can It Get Any Worse?)
04. Foreign Exchange - Connected
05. Evidence - The Weatherman
06. Nas - It Was Written
07. Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
08. Big Boi - Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors
09. Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek - Train of Thought
10. The Roots - Rising Down
11. Kanye West - Graduation
12. Jean Grae & 9th Wonder - Jeanius
13. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
14. Jaylib - Champion Sound
15. A Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory
16. Skyzoo - A Dream Deferred
17. De La Soul - The Grind Date
18. Bubba Sparxxx - Deliverance
19. Little Brother - Getback
20. Jadakiss - Kiss of Death
21. Common - Be
22. Elzhi - The Preface
23. T.I. - Urban Legend
24. Lupe Fiasco - Tetsuo & Youth
25. Nas - The Lost Tapes

And I'm glad you listed them so that they come into play when overall rankings are eventually determined.

Specifically The Grind Date which I listened to pretty much non-stop for 6 months after it came out haha. But as I said above I tried to limit myself to one album per "artist" and Buhloone is definitely my favorite DLS album so unfortunately I had to leave Grind Date off.

But damn is that album great.


>01. Jay-Z - The Blueprint
>02. Jay-Z - The Black Album
>03. Joe Budden - Mood Muzik 2 (Can It Get Any Worse?)
>04. Foreign Exchange - Connected
>05. Evidence - The Weatherman
>06. Nas - It Was Written
>07. Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
>08. Big Boi - Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors
>09. Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek - Reflection Eternal
>10. The Roots - Rising Down
>11. Kanye West - Graduation
>12. Jean Grae & 9th Wonder - Jeanius
>13. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
>14. Jaylib - Champion Sound
>15. A Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory
>16. Skyzoo - A Dream Deferred
>17. De La Soul - The Grind Date
>18. Bubba Sparxxx - Deliverance
>19. Little Brother - Getback
>20. Jadakiss - Kiss of Death
>21. Common - Be
>22. Elzhi - The Preface
>23. T.I. - Urban Legend
>24. Lupe Fiasco - Tetsuo & Youth
>25. Nas - The Lost Tapes

I know they needed a "single" back then.....but Shopping Bags sucks lol. I always thought Shoomp was better....tho that prolly wouldn't got any spins either,

Much More was always the single IMO.

>I know they needed a "single" back then.....but Shopping Bags
>sucks lol. I always thought Shoomp was better....tho that
>prolly wouldn't got any spins either,
>
>Much More was always the single IMO.

Shopping Bags was not only a terrible song but just so anti-De La haha.

"Ohh" is an example of the perfect single for a group like DLS.

That’s an OKP blast from the past to me! Forgot about that one. It’s amazing the sheer volume of good-great beats 9th made back then. He was just cranking them out: Little Brother, majority of the early beats for most of a big ass collective(EA Floe, Median, Comanche, and...hot take!!....maybe his best work - L.E.G.A.C.Y.) , Jeanius, the Murs albums, that Kaze - Spirit of 94, that first Skyzoo EP, and then all the tracks he did for the bigger name acts - Jay, Destinys Child, Mary J, Badu, Masta Ace, De La.....smh. Legendary.

can't remember what the issues were that they had to change the beats up. Also she is one of the best shows ever, saw her and 9th squash whatever beef this caused between the two of them at Black Cat in DC.

First summer where one of my friends had their license, this, College Dropout, Hunger For More and Ma$e's comeback album (LOL!) were in constant rotation. My first time really experiencing the music I liked in the car (not including listening to my discman in the backseat).

I for one know that even if I sit on it a few days I'm still gonna have second, third, fourth thoughts as soon as the edit period expires.

Glad to see this isn't bricking though. And so far the lists are exactly what I was hoping for, great mix of the universal classics, OKP staples, and random shit that obviously hit the person who listed it completely different than everyone else.

great mix of the universal
>classics, OKP staples, and random shit that obviously hit the
>person who listed it completely different than everyone else.

For favorites, I listed only one album per artist and kept them relatively from back in the day...

1 Pete Rock & CL Smooth - The Main Ingredient
2 OutKast - ATLiens
3 Nas - Illmatic
4 OC - Word...Life
5 GZA - Liquid Swords
6 Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
7 Mobb Deep - The Infamous
8 Gang Starr - Moment Of Truth
9 The Roots - Illadelph Halflife
10 Mos Def - Black On Both Sides
11 Scarface - The Fix
12 A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
13 Common - Like Water For Chocolate
14 M.O.P. - Firing Squad
15 The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die
16 AZ - Doe Or Die
17 De La Soul - Stakes Is High
18 Xzibit - 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz
19 iNi - Center Of Attention
20 Smif-N-Wessun - Dah Shinin’
21 Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt
22 Camp Lo - Uptown Saturday Night
23 Pete Rock - Soul Survivor
24 2Pac - Me Against The World
25 Artifacts - That’s Them

Ultimately I went with albums I revisited most often. 40 Dayz is #26.


>For favorites, I listed only one album per artist and kept
>them relatively from back in the day...
>
>1 Pete Rock & CL Smooth - The Main Ingredient
>2 OutKast - ATLiens
>3 Nas - Illmatic
>4 OC - Word...Life
>5 GZA - Liquid Swords
>6 Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
>7 Mobb Deep - The Infamous
>8 Gang Starr - Moment Of Truth
>9 The Roots - Illadelph Halflife
>10 Mos Def - Black On Both Sides
>11 Scarface - The Fix
>12 A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
>13 Common - Like Water For Chocolate
>14 M.O.P. - Firing Squad
>15 The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die
>16 AZ - Doe Or Die
>17 De La Soul - Stakes Is High
>18 Xzibit - 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz
>19 iNi - Center Of Attention
>20 Smif-N-Wessun - Dah Shinin’
>21 Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt
>22 Camp Lo - Uptown Saturday Night
>23 Pete Rock - Soul Survivor
>24 2Pac - Me Against The World
>25 Artifacts - That’s Them

Absolutely love that shit from top to bottom.
Focus and Deeper are so dope!
Recycled Assassins is a classic.

Albums I left off due to one per artist;
Aquemini
It Was Written
Jewelz
Things Fall Apart
One Day It’ll All Make Sense

You’ve got a lot of great albums that I love....that I didn’t forget but just didn’t include.

But I absolutely didn’t think of that one! Gotta play it soon, now! What an album.

And I’m damn near shedding a tear at all this Main Ingredient love.

It's currently my Facebook cover photo lol.

Rocking Doe Or Die for that 25th Anniversary and I needs to move that up.

Swap it for Firing Squad in the order.

01 OutKast • Aquemini
02 Mobb Deep • The Infamous
03 The Notorious B.I.G. • Life After Death
04 Ice Cube • Death Certificate
05 Dr. Dre • 2001
06 UGK • Ridin' Dirty
07 Scarface • The Fix
08 Common • Like Water For Chocolate
09 Snoop Dogg • Doggystyle
10 Gang Starr • Moment Of Truth
11 Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth • The Main Ingredient
12 Missy Elliot • Supa Dupa Fly
13 DJ Quik • Safe + Sound
14 Tha Dogg Pound • Dogg Food
15 Mos Def • Black On Both Sides
16 Kanye West • The College Dropout
17 The Diplomats • Diplomatic Immunity
18 Redman • Muddy Waters
19 Blu & Exile • Below The Heavens
20 Reflection Eternal • Train Of Thought
21 Freeway • Philadelphia Freeway
22 Clipse • Lord Willin'
23 Slum Village • Fantastic, Vol. 2
24 Diamond District • In The Ruff
25 Black Milk • Tronic

I don’t even really like Missy like that, but that album??!! SMH. She was a monster. And Philadelphia Freeway and Lord Willin? Yeah, those definitely take me back to a certain specific time period. That was a great year.

Shout to Oddisee!

werd.

I took my batch of most listened to albums and then tried to rank them and was surprised that times listened didn't always correlate exactly with favorite, at least in retrospect.

1. BDP - "Edutainment"
2. Gangstarr - "Moment of Truth"
3. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - "He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper"
4. Outkast - "ATLiens"
5. Lords of the Underground - "Here Come the Lords"
6. Smif N Wessun - "Dah Shinin"
7. BDP - "Sex and Violence"
8. Likwit Junkies - "The LJ's"
9. Compton's Most Wanted - "We Come Strapped"
10. Nas - "Illmatic"
11. UMC's - "Fruits of Nature"
12. dead prez - "Let's Get Free"
13. Kid Sensation - "The Power of Rhyme"
14. Common - "Resurrection"
15. Aceyalone - "A Book of Human Language"
16. Sticky Fingaz - "Autobiograhy of Kirk Jones"
17. Skyzoo and Apollo Brown - "The Easy Truth"
18. Big Daddy Kane - "It's a Big Daddy Thing"
19. Pete Rock & CL Smooth - "The Main Ingredient"
20. Ian Kamau - "One Day Soon"
21. De La Soul - "3 Feet High and Rising"
22. Paris - "Sleeping with the Enemy"
23. OC - "Jewelz"
24. Ras Kass - "Soul on Ice"
25. KRS ONE - "Prophets vs Profits"

Wow, that was hard, I was like "do I have 25?" counted and it was like 48, the paring down was a killer.

Maybe I’m getting old and forgot, but I don’t even remember hearing of that??!!

I looked it up, and have listened to all the other Skyzoo albums. What was I doing when this dropped? Gotta check it out.

You’ve got the most unique list yet. Couple others on your list that I’ve never heard and will check out.

It was pretty damn good. Weirdly flew under the radae.

01. Kanye West - The College Dropout
02. Jay-Z - The Blueprint
03. Nas - Illmatic
04. The Roots - Game Theory
05. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
06. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
07. The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death
08. Blu & Exile - Below The Heavens
09. Dr. Dre - 2001
10. Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city
11. Reflection Eternal - Train of Thought
12. Madvillain - Madvillainy
13. Kanye West - Graduation
14. Common - Like Water For Chocolate
15. J Dilla - Donuts
16. Edan - Beauty & The Beat
17. Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor
18. OutKast - Aquemini
19. Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth
20. The Roots - Things Fall Apart
21. Jay-Z - The Black Album
22. Big Boi - Speakerboxxx (technically an OutKast record, but I specifically love SB and treat it as its own unique album)
23. Nas - It Was Written
24. Big K.R.I.T. - K.R.I.T. Wuz Here
25. Little Brother - The Minstrel Show

A not-so-quick note on my favorite album, The College Dropout... This album checks all the boxes for me personally. It oozes nostalgia (probably more than all but maybe one other album), is still a super enjoyable listen front-to-back 16 years and countless spins later, and most importantly, this album really kickstarted my search into conscious/non-mainstream hip hop and I probably wouldn't have dug into the catalogs of Talib, Mos, or Common (3 artists featured in this very list) as soon as I did without Kanye/this album. Because of what music I would end up discovering because of it, this is definitely the most impactful album on my life as a hip hop fan. Plus, while I'd consider albums like Illmatic and The Low End Theory as objectively "better", I was 3 and 6 when those albums dropped and I didn't experience them in the moment like I did with this album. MBDTF is probably Ye's "best", and yeah this album has the gall to put two skits back-to-back, but man do I miss the old Kanye. Hilariously confident opposed to annoyingly conceited and in an obviously more fun, optimistic and hungry mood. Kanye is still learning how to rap, it's obvious where he's punching in and out throughout the entire album, but that's part of its charm. It's dated in a good way, I love the time period it represents and highlights. Sped-up-soul-sample Kanye production was always my favorite, and every single he produced/was featured on from this period was a hit to me.

I contemplated doing the whole "one album per artist" rule, but I just couldn't see myself leaving off albums like Graduation, It Was Written, or Things Fall Apart. I did however decided to keep it to two albums per artist, so I did had to cut off MBDTF.

A huge chunk of my list are albums that either dropped between 2004-2007, or that I discovered during that time period, which was my last few years of high school and first few years of college. This was definitely my "prime" as far as music discovery, and also coincides with some of the most impactful years/moments of my life as far as changes, growth, etc. An album like Game Theory brings me back to freshmen orientation of college whenever I listen to it, especially the start of "Baby".

Dre's 2001 is, in my opinion, the best engineered/mastered album. That shit sounds so god damn perfect. It's the ultimate headphones album, and it's the first thing I play when I get a new set. In a sense, it's my favorite album to *listen* to. Life After Death is another album that I love listening too just because it's *sounds* so good. Cinematic, crisp, etc. Shit, there is a lot I don't care for on LAD, and I'd prob consider Ready to Die as a whole a superior album, but LAD really demonstrates Biggie's ability to make a mainstream song legit with real lyricism, and a street song accessible with enjoyable flows and hooks.

OKP had such an impact on my list. Both the late 90s/early 2000s by OKP artists (Roots, Mos, Talib, Common) and albums/artists I pretty much found because of this board. The Minstrel Show was really on the cusp, and definitely benefited from me cutting out a 3rd Kanye album, but because this is The Lesson I needed to include it because that album and Little Brother/Phonte in general really represent exactly why this board was so important in HS/college as far as music discovery and helping shape my taste. The Minstrel Show in particular was the first album where I took part on the hype on The Lesson in the months leading up to it and lived up to every bit of hype everyone on here had for it. I tried desperately to put my friend on it back in HS. Years later he'd become a big Drake fan, and when it became obvious that Drake was biting off of Phonte early in his career I messaged him an article explaining such and told him that I knew I'd eventually get him to listen to Phonte, even if he wasn't technically listen to him/LB.

1. Pharcyde - Labcabin
2. De La - Stakes Is High
3. ATCQ - Marauders
4. PR / CLS - Main Ingredient
5. Bush Babees - Gravity ---- (ya didn't see that comin!)
6. OutKast - Atliens
7. The Roots - Things Fall Apart
8. The Roots - Illadelph
9. Dr Dre - Chronic
10. People Under The Stairs - OST
11. GangStarr - Hard to Earn
12. Wu - Tang - Enter the 36
13. ATCQ - Low End
14. De La - De La Soul Is Dead
15. Mos-Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star
16. Nas - Illmatic
17. The Roots - DYWM
18. Jay-Z - Black Album
19. Kanye - College Dropdown
20. Mos Def - BOBS
21. Reflection Eternal - Train Of Thought
22. J-Live - The Best Part
23. Eminem - Infinite
24. Foreign Exchange - Connected
25. LL - Momma Said Knock You Out

werd.

01. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
02. Ice Cube - Death Certificate
03. Goodie MoB - Soul Food
04. OutKast - ATLiens
05. Souls of Mischief - 93 'til Infinity
06. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
07. UGK - Ridin' Dirty
08. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
09. Nas - It Was Written
10. Slick Rick - The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
11. Smif N Wessun - Dah Shinin'
12. Dr. Dre - The Chronic
13. Scarface - The Diary
14. GZA - Liquid Swords
15. Gang Starr - Hard to Earn
16. The Beatnuts - The Beatnuts
17. Eightball & MJG - Comin' Out Hard
18. Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
19. Mobb Deep - Hell On Earth
20. 2Pac - Me Against the World
21. The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde
22. Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary
23. De La Soul - De La Soul Is Dead
24. Pete Rock & CL Smooth - The Main Ingredient
25. Redman - Dare Iz a Darkside

Not easy...

1. Nas "Illmaic"
2. Tribe "Midnight Marauders"
3. Reflection Eternal "Train of Thought"
4. EL-P "I'll Sleep When Your Dead"
5. Common "Like Water For Chocolate"
6. Ghostface Killah "Supreme Clientele"
7. Mos Def "Black on Both Sides"
8. Nas "It Was Written"
9. Mobb Deep "The Infamous"
10. Madvillain "Madvillainy"
11. Jeru The Damaja "The Sun Rises in the East"
12. Phonte "Charity Starts at Home"
13. Blu and Exile "Below the Heavens"
14. El-P "Cancer 4 Cure"
15. Jay-Z "Reasonable Doubt"
16. Pete Rock and CL Smooth "Mecca and the Soul Brother"
17. Redman "Whut? The Album"
18. Tribe "The Low End Theory"
19. De La Soul "Stake is High"
20. J-Live "The Best Part"
21. Gangstarr "Moment of Truth"--will never understand how the "The Mall" got on there, but whatever...
22. Eric B. and Rakim "Let the Rhythm Hit'em"
23. Edan "Beauty and the Beat"
24. Aesop Rock "None Shall Pass"
25. MF DOOM "Mm...Food"

Which is hilarious considering Talib think OKP hates him.

Also.....now I understand why y'all were so harsh on the second Kweli & Hi-Tek album lol. I still think that album was dope besides the couple radio single attempts.

I like the album, but not like this.

... how perfect that album is to me. But here we go I'm gonna try again I guess lol. Every single aspect of it is a homerun IMO.

Production - flawless. It's diverse and wide-ranging but still coherent and consistent without ever getting repetitive. Hard to pull that off. And each beat fits each song's theme/lyrics *perfectly*. The chemistry between Kweli and Hi-Tek was so palpable. At that moment in time they were so clearly musical kindred spirits.

Lyrics - flawless. Kweli has always been a monster on the mic but he's become more insufferable and preachy as the years have worn on. He was still young, brilliant, conscious but not preachy, insightful and introspective, and had fresh and interesting shit to say on this one front to back. He was dynamic, fit perfectly with all of the production, and covered a lot of ground in terms of subject matter.

Guest appearances - the features were well placed and didn't take away from or distract from the central feel and tone of the album. Xzibit and Rah Digga were both great on "Down for the Count," "Soul Rebels" w/De La is so fun, Kool G Rap brought it on "Ghetto Afterlife," etc.

And while I generally don't care for skits outside of the early classics, Chappelle is always a welcome addition to any piece of art. And it's especially meaningful considering both he and Kweli/Hi-Tek were just starting to break thru at that time so it's a cool time capsule of all these fledgling artists (although Dave was a little further along, I suppose considering Half Baked had come out 2 years prior) in what could be considered their primes.

The whole album is just such an experience. There's so much feeling in the music, in the lyrics. There's so much soul behind it. I still get teary eyed sometimes when "Memories Live" comes on. That beat just hits me for some reason, and Kweli's bars are beautiful. "In my lifetime, ain't too many things better than watchin your first son put his sentences together," "fact that's where I'll take the fam when the Reflection joint is done/by the time you hear this, I'll be baskin' in Africa's sun like wooooooow .... yes, we made it." Mannn I'm getting chills just typing these out lol. It almost feels like a celebration of black art combined with some timeless social commentary that is all just as important now as it was then, and still resonates.

It's a perfect storm of an album considering all the above, and came together at the perfect time for both Kweli and Hi Tek. It's also tied up in a lot of personal nostalgia being that I was still in the infancy stages of my exploration of "underground" hip-hop, so this album (along with all the Rawkus/Soulquarian releases of that time period that dominate my top 25 list above, and that we all talk about so often around here) dropped at the perfect time for me personally. I can vividly recall skipping class to go buy it, then returning to school, sitting in the hallway in my HS by my locker with headphones on, telling my friends as they passed by that they needed to go buy this shit ASAP, etc.

But all that said, the quality of the product is why I rank it #1 .. in other words, I don't think I'm overrating ToT because of personal nostalgia like I may do with some other albums - this one is just that good, objectively.

What an incredible album, released during such a great moment for hip-hop in general.

>Also.....now I understand why y'all were so harsh on the
>second Kweli & Hi-Tek album lol. I still think that album was
>dope besides the couple radio single attempts.

The only good thing I can say about RPM is that it put an even greater spotlight on just how perfect Train of Thought was and is haha.

It's hard to recreate that type of magic, so it's kind of unfair to try and compare the two honestly. RPM has a couple really good songs but the chemistry they had on ToT was so clearly long gone, you could feel its absence. They shouldn't have even tried, they were doomed before they started recording.

The sad part is that it was mostly the production that let me down on RPM; Kweli was spitting his ass off. Dre ruined Hi Tek IMO. After he started working w/Dre his beats became so sparse and had too much empty space. His strength early in his career was making busy, hardhitting beats that still had rhythm and groove. The production on RPM was so flat in comparison IMO.

if this was R&B I could absolutely name them but I don't listen to most rap actively enough. Like to enjoy an ENTIRE rap album it must be top tier. That being said:

Aquemini - okay this is clearly number one but the others are kind out of order

Black on Both Sides, Like Water For Chocolate, Stankonia -

this was my first stopping point. I'll fill the rest in with albums I just really like

Kendrick - Good Kid Maad City
Soul Food - Goodie Mob
Still Standing - Goodie Mob
ATLiens - Outkast
Illmatic...sure - Nas
Midnight Mauraders...why not? - Tribe
Uptown Saturday Night - Camp Lo
Blackstar - Mos & that nigga
Reflection Eternal - that nigga
The College Dropout - that other nigga
Things Fall Apart - The Ruts
Enter the 36 Chambers - Wu
One Day It'll All Make Sense - Com

1. De La Soul - 3 feet high...

2. UMC's - fruits of nature

3. Eric B & Rakim - Follow the leader

4. Queen Latifah - all hail the queen

5. Public Enemy - it takes a nation
.
6. KMD - Mr. Hood

7. Main Source - breakin' atoms

8. Keith Murray - the most beautifulest...

9. X-Clan - to the east backwards

10. Ol' Dirty Bastard ' n**gals please

11. The Gravediggas - the hammer, the pick...

12. Poor Righteous Teachers - holy intellect

13. Eric B & Rakim - paid in full

14. EPMD - strictly business

15. Keith Murray - enigma

16. Chill Rob G - ride the rhythm

17. Kool G Rap & Polo - road to the riches

18. K-Solo - tell the world my name

19. G-Dep - child of the ghetto

20. Special Ed - youngest in charge

21. Jungle brothers - straight out the jungle

22. Ol' Dirty Bastard - return to the 36 chambers....

23. Eric B & Rakim - let the rhythm hit 'em

24. Three Times Dope - original stylin'

25. Organized Konfusion - Organized Konfusion

i've been listening "fruits of nature" all weekend. such a fun album.

1. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions...
2. De La Soul - De La Soul is Dead
3. Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory
4. Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
5. Pete Rock and CL Smooth - Mecca and the Soul Brother
6. Run-DMC - Raising Hell
7. Eric B. and Rakim - Paid In Full
8. BDP - Criminal Minded
9. Ultramagnetic MC's - Critical Beatdown
10. Cypress Hill - s/t
11. The D.O.C. - No One Can Do It Better
12. KMD – Mr. Hood
13. Raekwon – Only Built For Cuban Linx
14. EPMD – Business As Usual
15. Ice Cube – Death Certificate
16. GZA – Liquid Swords
17. Nas – Illmatic
18. Ghostface – Supreme Clientele
19. De La Soul – 3 Feet High and Rising
20. Masta Ace – Slaughta House
21. Slick Rick – The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
22. Main Source – Breaking Atoms
23. Outkast - ATLiens
24. Cannibal Ox – The Cold Vein
25. Edan – Beauty and the Beat

No real order for these, but I could also list this as my 25 and be happy.


Jungle Brothers – Done By the Forces of Nature
NWA – Straight Outta Compton
BDP – By Any Means Necessary
Eric B. & Rakim - Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em
Pharcyde - Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde
A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
Black Sheep – A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Dr. Dre – The Chronic
Saafir – Boxcar Sessions
Big Daddy Kane – Long Live the Kane
Digital Underground – Sex Packets
Madvillain - Madvillainy
Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet
Redman – Dare Iz a Darkside
Company Flow – Funcrusher Plus
Outkast – Aquemini
Freestyle Fellowship- Inner City Boundaries
MF DOOM – Operation: Doomsday
Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Gangstarr – Hard to Earn
Beatnuts – Street Level
The Roots - Things Fall Apart
Naughty By Nature – s/t
Kool G Rap & Polo - Wanted Dead or Alive
Lakim Shabazz – Pure Righteousness

1 Eric B & Rakim - Paid In Full
2 Big Daddy Kane - It’s A Big Daddy Thing
3 Public Enemy - Nation of Millions
4 Souls of Mischief - 93 til Infinity
5 Goodie Mob - Soul Food
6 Tupac - Makaveli
7 The DOC - No One Can Do It Better
8 Digable Planets - Reachin…
9 Outkast – ATLiens
10 Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang
11 Nas – Illmatic
12 Special Ed - Youngest In Charge
13 Dead Prez - Let’s Get Free
14 Bubba Sparx – Deliverance
15 BDP - By All Means Necessary
16 GZA – Liquid Swords
17 De La Soul - 3 Feet High & Rising
18 Ice Cube – Amerikkka’s Most Wanted
19 Clipse – Hell Hath No Fury
20 3xDope - Original Stylin’
21 Common – Be
22 Kanye – College Dropout
23 Dr. Dre – The Chronic
24 Black Moon – Enta da Stage
25 Run DMC – Raisin’ Hell

1. Low End Theory
2. Midnight Marauders
3. Things Fall Apart
4. De La Soul is Dead
5. Moment of Truth
6. Buhloone Mind State
7. Resurrection
8. Vaudeville Villain (best DOOM album IMO. Actually think the beats are incredible)
9. Koolmotor (Love their vibe so much, no one else quite has it)
10. Illadelph Halflife
11. Paul’s Boutique
12. Stakes is High
13. Uptown Saturday Night (Just one of the coolest most fun rap albums for me)
14. Enter the Wu-tang
15. Train of Thought
16. Fantastic Damage (I love all of El-Ps albums, but this is the only one where I really like EVERY single song)
17. Funcrusher Plus
18. Black Up
19. Beauty and The Beat
20. Only Built 4
21. Lyricist Lounge Volume 1 (I know this isn't objectively one of the greatest rap albums of all time, but it opened my eyes to rap beyond what they sold at Circuit City and really marks a before and after point in my tastes)
22. Ill Communication
23. Cold Vein
24. Madvillainy
25. Further Adventures of Lord Quasimoto (I love weird rap and this album is one of the great weird rap albums)

I couldn't do the "one album per artist" that some did.

So instead, if there was any debate, I tried to just go with the least heralded option if that makes sense.

My employer hates you, this took way too much time.

And I KNOW I'm forgetting some.

1 2pac Me Against the World
2 Reflection Eternal- Train of Thought
3 Com- Like Water for Chocolate
4 Roots- Game Theory
5 Diverse- One AM
6 OK- Stress The Extinction Agenda
7 One Be lo- Sonogram
8 Outkast- ATLiens
9 Most Def- The Ecstatic
10 Kendrick- To Pimp a Butterfly
11 Roots- Things Fall Apart
12 2pac/Makaveli- 7 Day Theory
13 Blackstar
14 Nas- Illmatic
15 Com- Resurrection
16 Elucid- Save Yourself
17 Elzhi- Witness My Growth- yeah I'm cheating a little. I'd pay good money for master, full version
18 Senim Silla- The Name, The Motto, The Outcome
19 De La- Grind Date
20 Blu- Her Favorite Colour
21 Kendrick Good Kid Maad City
22 Com- Be
23 Roots- Illadelph
24 Juggaknots- Use Your Confusion
25 Company Flow- Funcrusher Plus


26 Kast- Aquemeni
27 Mos- Black on Both Sides
28 POS- Never Better
29 Blu- Below the Heavens
30 Armand Hammer- Paraffin
31 Fugees- The Score
32 Nas- Lost Tapes
33 KA- Nights Gambit
34 Milo- So the Flies Don't Come
35 Cult Favorite- For Madmen Only
36 Gangstar- Moment of Truth
37 Jay- Black Album
38 KA- Yen Lo
39 Saafir- Boxcar Sessions
40 GZA- Liquid Swords
41 Gangstarr- Hard to Earn
42 De La Stakes is High
43 Pac- Strictly
44 Tip- Renaissance
45 Jeru- Sun Rises in the East
46 El p - Cancer 4 Cure
47 Elucid- Birt Eat Snake
48 Emanon Dystopia
49 Jay- Blueprint
50 Dilla- Ruff Draft


**edit

And...I'm already kicking myself.

Hezekiah's I Predict a Riot should be in my top 20-ish

Masters of the Universe?
Attack of the Attacking Things?
Quelle Chris N.I.M.?
Black Milk No Poison No Paradise?
Book of Human Language?
Section 80?
Trees and Truth by Mick Jenkins?
any mixtape by the Niyat?
Preachers Son?

This shit is too hard haha

1. De La Soul - 3 ft High
2. Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow
3. K-os - Atlantis
4. The Roots - Things Fall Apart
5. Common - Like Water for Chocolate
6. Outkast - Aquemini
7. The Coup - Pick A Bigger Weapon
8. Erykah Badu - Baduizm
9. De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate
10. Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle
11. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
12. De La Soul - De La Soul is Dead
13. A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels
14. Slum Village - Fantastic Vol 2
15. Dr. Dre - The Chronic
16. K-os - Joyful Rebellion
17. Common - Resurrection
18. 2 Pac - Me Against the World
19. Erykah Badu - Worldwide Underground
20. DJ Quik - Safe + Sound
21. One Be Lo - Sonogram
22. Eazy-E - Eazy-Duz-It
23. Elzhi - Elmatic
24. Blu - Ground & Water
25. Royce Da 5'9 - Book of Ryan

Definitely missing some classics that I would not argue are not better than anything on my list but I wanted to stay true to MY favorites. It was hard to not name every Badu and De La Soul album. I wanted to include a Cypress album but I'm not sure I like any one of their albums more than the 25 I have listed. A combination of their first 3 albums would definitely be on here. Bone is also not represented, felt like Creepin on Ah Come Up is definitely a favorite of mine but didn't include it since it is definitely an EP. I'd say Ground & Water might be short and could be considered an EP but it sounds like a full fledged album to me. ATCQ is similar to Cypress, a combination of MM and LET would be top 10 for me but each individual album isn't.

I'm sure some of these would not be on here if I am asked to name my favorite albums in a year without referencing this list. I would say I'm sure about 15-20 of them.

Yes, I go back to Elmatic more than Illmatic. No disrespect to the original.

1. De La Soul - 3 ft High
2. Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow
3. K-os - Atlantis
4. The Roots - Things Fall Apart
5. Common - Like Water for Chocolate
6. Outkast - Aquemini
7. The Coup - Pick A Bigger Weapon
8. De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate
9. Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle
10. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
11. De La Soul - De La Soul is Dead
12. A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels
13. Slum Village - Fantastic Vol 2
14. Dr. Dre - The Chronic
15. K-os - Joyful Rebellion
16. Common - Resurrection
17. 2 Pac - Me Against the World
18. DJ Quik - Safe + Sound
19. One Be Lo - Sonogram
20. Eazy-E - Eazy-Duz-It
21. Elzhi - Elmatic
22. Blu - Ground & Water
23. Royce Da 5'9 - Book of Ryan
24. Choosey & Exile - Black Beans
25. Deltron - Deltron 3030

I know Badu is only hip-hop if you really stretch the definition so I'll take her albums out. Everything moves up and I added two at the end.

1. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly
2. Reflection Eternal - Train Of Thought
3. Mos Def - Black On Both Sides
4. Nas - Illmatic
5. Slum Village - Fantastic Vol. 2
6. Noname - Telefone
7. Madvilain - Madvillainy
8. OutKast - ATLiens
9. A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
10. J Dilla - Donuts
11. Madlib - Shades Of Blue
12. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill
13. The Foreign Exchange - Connected
14. Common - Like Water For Water
15. Jaylib - Champion Sound
16. BlackStar - Mos Def & Talib Kweli are...
17. GangStarr - A Moment Of Truth
18. The Roots - Things Fall Apart
19. Kendrick Lamar - good kid, ma.a.d. city
20. Q-Tip - The Renaissance
21. Dr. Dre - The Chronic
22. Pete Philly & Perquisite - Mystery Repeats
23. Blu & Exile - Below The Heavens
24. Jay Z - Reasonable Doubt
25. Kanye West - The College Dropout

22. Pete & Perq: wow! so rare seeing somebody to show them some love. i liked the first album (mindstate) a little better, tough

A sleeper I'd also put in this category: Zion-I - True & Livin

I just went off of how hard each of these hit me at the time and how long they stayed in rotation....there are honestly better albums by some of these groups/artists but these are the ones that affected me the most.....


1. Outkast - Aquemini
2. DJ Quik - Rhythm-al-ism
3. PUTS - O.S.T.
4. Blackstar - Mos Def and Talib Kweli are....
5. Common - Like Water For Chocolate
6. The D.O.C - No One Can Do It Better
7. Little Brother - May The Lord Watch
8. Notorious BIG - Ready To Die
9. Nas - Illmatic
10. Aceyalone - A Book of Human Language
11. Kendrick Lamar - Section.80
12. Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
13. Warren G - G Funk Era
14. FELT - Tribute to Lisa Bonet
15. The Roots - Illadelph Halflife
16. Blu and Exile - Below the Heavens
17. Logic - Incredible True Story
18. 2 Pac - Me Against the World
19. Elzhi - Elmatic
20. J. Cole - 2014 Forest Hills Drive
21. Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II
22. Beastie Boys - Check Your Head
23. Del the Funky Homosapien - Both Sides of the Brain
24. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels II
25. Atmosphere - God Loves Ugly

It’s stayed in rotation since it came out. Ultimately it felt too new for me to properly place it, but it’s definitely one of my favorites. Really not a flaw to it as far as I’m concerned.

There's so much to be said about how cynical we all are as listeners now and how hard it is to pull something like that off.

What they accomplished won't be fully appreciated for a long time but as soon as I heard it I knew it was something I needed and had been missing. It filled a HUGE void.

... OutKast, Common, De La (to a lesser extent), a few others (I went with the "one album per artist" rule personally).

But perhaps the hardest was DJ Quik and whether to go with Rhythm-al-ism or Safe & Sound. Ultimately I went with the latter but I'm kind of regretting that. I heard Rhythm-al-ism in real time when I was in 8th grade and that album must've stayed in constant rotation, meaning I listened to nothing else, for 3 straight months. And that's saying something because I bought a lot of great albums around that timeframe but that one hit me really hard. I heard Safe & Sound shortly thereafter *based* on how much I loved Rhythm ... and over time came to love it more, arguably.

But the more I think about it the more I think that Rhythm-al-ism deserves Safe & Sound's place on my list just because it *led* me to Safe & Sound - which I somehow hadn't heard even though I was *obsessed* with Death Row, and therefore knew of Quik, from 92-96 and beyond, but especially during that initial run.

So I may need an edit/addendum the more I think about Quik haha.

And if I redid it again next week, it would be different again. There’s just so many candidates, after I get past my real “deserted island” albums. Like, I don’t even think I had a Wu-Tang album, and if in a few months I’m on a Wu-Tang kick, I might name 5 of them.

I had the same struggle with those two Quik albums as well. They’re neck and neck. Ultimately, Summer Breeze is too essential of a song for me, so I went Safe and Sound.

>And if I redid it again next week, it would be different
>again. There’s just so many candidates, after I get past
>my real “deserted island” albums. Like, I don’t even
>think I had a Wu-Tang album, and if in a few months I’m on a
>Wu-Tang kick, I might name 5 of them.

I'm not a *huge* WuTang fan (I love them, they are just lower on my all time list than most hip-hop heads') so ultimately I don't feel all that bad leaving it off.


>I had the same struggle with those two Quik albums as well.
>They’re neck and neck. Ultimately, Summer Breeze is too
>essential of a song for me, so I went Safe and Sound.

Word - great song. For me it was just about the consistency front to back. That album has heat all the way through and the entire album has a steady feel and tone. I am a sucker for those types of albums.

In a lot of ways, Rhythm-al-ism has higher highs, is way more ambitious (and successfully so), and is overall a more *interesting* album considering he stepped outside of the typical west coast funk feel for the first time - and he nailed it. But there are a couple of like, middle of the road songs on there (I'd have to look @ the tracklist to remember which, I just know in the middle and/or end of the album it drags a bit) so ultimately Safe & Sound got the nod.

But, like you, next week I may totally change my mind on that lol.

>>And if I redid it again next week, it would be different
>>again. There’s just so many candidates, after I get past
>>my real “deserted island” albums. Like, I don’t even
>>think I had a Wu-Tang album, and if in a few months I’m on
>a
>>Wu-Tang kick, I might name 5 of them.
>
>I'm not a *huge* WuTang fan (I love them, they are just lower
>on my all time list than most hip-hop heads') so ultimately I
>don't feel all that bad leaving it off.

Same. I’m a fan, but I’m not one of those Wu heads that has them as the GOAT group or collective. OB4CL, 36 Chambers, and Supreme Clientele could all easily crack my top 25 though.

>>I had the same struggle with those two Quik albums as well.
>>They’re neck and neck. Ultimately, Summer Breeze is too
>>essential of a song for me, so I went Safe and Sound.
>
>Word - great song. For me it was just about the consistency
>front to back. That album has heat all the way through and the
>entire album has a steady feel and tone. I am a sucker for
>those types of albums.
>
>In a lot of ways, Rhythm-al-ism has higher highs, is way more
>ambitious (and successfully so), and is overall a more
>*interesting* album considering he stepped outside of the
>typical west coast funk feel for the first time - and he
>nailed it. But there are a couple of like, middle of the road
>songs on there (I'd have to look @ the tracklist to remember
>which, I just know in the middle and/or end of the album it
>drags a bit) so ultimately Safe & Sound got the nod.
>
>But, like you, next week I may totally change my mind on that
>lol.

Agree with that assessment.

Except I was a few years older already. I'd heard a few Quik songs here and there but Rhythm-al-ism just hit right on time for me. The whole project was fire. The production is STILL stellar. It just hits different. I wore that shit OUT. The dickriding that Dre gets compared to the ghosting that Quik gets is insane to me. You put any of those dudes that Dre had on his albums on a whole album of Quiks shit he'd be getting way more shine. The closet he came was BlaQKout and Kurupt was so wack on that. It's a damn shame cause the beats were really good.

All that being said my favorite Quik album is probably Balance and Options. To me that's Quik's apex. He was hit his stride as a rapper and producer on that.

>Except I was a few years older already. I'd heard a few Quik
>songs here and there but Rhythm-al-ism just hit right on time
>for me. The whole project was fire. The production is STILL
>stellar. It just hits different. I wore that shit OUT.

That's the thing about the production on Rhythm-al-ism, it's *timeless*. I play songs from Rhythm at parties/get togethers often (or at least I did, when we could do that sort of thing) and I never fail to get "who's that ?!" questions from people everytime I do. It's such an incredible album because it's still got hardcore, west coast elements.. but it's also obviously got such a groovy, r&b feel to it that's so universal. No matter who you are or what type of music you're into, you can get into some, or all of that album.


>The
>dickriding that Dre gets compared to the ghosting that Quik
>gets is insane to me. You put any of those dudes that Dre had
>on his albums on a whole album of Quiks shit he'd be getting
>way more shine. The closet he came was BlaQKout and Kurupt
>was so wack on that. It's a damn shame cause the beats were
>really good.

Totally. Quik laced that album with insane, unique beats and Kurupt was just a mess all over it. Too bad too cuz early in his career Kurupt was one of my favorites. He was the west coast Ghostface, spitting a bunch of nonsense but his voice, flow, and nonsensical rhymes were somehow still fire.

Anyway re: Dre I tend to agree with what I *think* is your overarching point: that Quik is more talented overall than Dre, but it seemed like Quik always preferred to stay in his "lane" anyway. Like for example he obviously had a *huge* opportunity to get some shine with a spot on The Black Album and blew it with the boring "Justify My Thug." On a similar but obviously much lower exposure level, I was also bored by his spot on Quality by Kweli. I can't remember the name of the song right now, but both songs were such cookie-cutter Quik beats I couldn't help but be disappointed.


>All that being said my favorite Quik album is probably Balance
>and Options. To me that's Quik's apex. He was hit his stride
>as a rapper and producer on that.

Balance & Options is fire - I love that album, too.

He hates it tho lol.

And Balance & Options...Pitch in on a Party is one of the best songs he ever made.

I would’ve blown the budget on that beat if I was an MC!

Blaqkout, and Cream.

Those 6 would’ve made the greatest EP of all time. I hit the skip button here and there but those 6 I played loud as hell on those early summer days that year(09? Maybe ‘10?)

Ultimately I think Do You Know? was my favorite though. But Ohh! was so dope too, and 9 Times Outta 10 just went so hard. The highs were high on that one!

It came out in 2009.

>Pitch in on a Party is one of the
>best songs he ever made.

I somehow left Lupe off of this which is a CRIME.

2006/2007 Lupe will always be near and dear man. Hip hop was in a real rut and a shitty place around that time and Lupe really was a interesting dude to hit the mainstream at just the right time. Unfortunately his record label did not agree.

The Food and Liquor leak was actually better than the actually album which was a shame....

But The Cool is where he really hit it out of the park....

Paris/Tokyo and Gold Watch are STILL some of my fav joints.

I don’t think quite as highly of The Cool, but there was definitely some classics on there.

1. De La Soul - 3ft High & Rising
2. A Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory
3. Brand Nubian - One For All
4. De La Soul - De La Soul Is Dead
5. A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
6. Biz Markie - Goin Off
7. Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Mecca And The Soul Brother
8. Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded
9. EPMD - Strictly Business
10. Slick Rick - The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
11. Nas - Illmatic
12. Diamond D - Stunts Blunts & Hip Hop
13. Ultramagnetic MCs - Critical Beatdown
14. Showbiz & AG - Runaway Slave
15. The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde
16. Main Source - Breaking Atoms
17. Gang Starr - Hard To Earn
18. Black Moon - Enta Da Stage
19. Raekwon - Only Built For Cuban Linx
20. Jeru The Damaja - The Sun Rises In The East
21. De La Soul - Stakes Is High
22. Pete Rock & CL Smooth The Main Ingredient
23. GZA - Liquid Swords
24. Smif-n-Wessun - Dah Shinin
25. Gang Starr - Moment of Truth

I had Goin' Off on my list, but felt guilty because I don't listen to it much, even though any time I do I think it's one of the best rap albums ever.

>I had Goin' Off on my list, but felt guilty because I don't
>listen to it much, even though any time I do I think it's one
>of the best rap albums ever.


2nd best Gang Starr LP (daily op is close).. and by far the best hip hop record of the late 90s (not even close).. i figured it needed to be there.. I actually thought about putting Ace's disposable arts on there but held back..

Goin Off, especially if you allow the 12" versions from the singles is such a classic and important record.. I still love it today, but it was my Rappers Delight (loved the drip of singles from 86/87 leading to the full LP)

I'm "era chauvanistic" about hip-hop

1. Midnight Mauraders - A Tribe Called Quest
2. Aquemini - OutKast
3. Phrenology - The Roots
4. Doggystyle - Snoop Dogg
6. The Low End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest
7. DAMN. - Kendrick Lamar
8. Endtroducing - DJ Shadow
9. Black on Both Sides - Mos Def
10. The Chronic - Dr. Dre
11. Apocayplse '91... The Enemy Strikes Black
12. Illmatic - Nas
13. Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J
14. Enter the 36 Chambers - Wu Tang Clan
15. To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar
16. Elmatic - Elzhi
17. Joyful Rebellion - K-Os
18. undun - The Roots
19. Moment of Truth - Gangstarr
20. Like Water for Chocolate - Common
21. 40 Dayz and 40 Nightz - Xzibit
22. Mecca and the Soul Brother - CL Smooth & Pete Rock
23. Jewelz - OC
24. Buhloone Mindstate - De la Soul
25. The Black Album - Jay Z

My goal was to pick 25 albums that made a big impression at the time and then tried to compare that enjoyment relative to each other while reflecting throughout my history as a hip-hop lover.

There were a few that almost made the list: Graduation, The Coming, Life is Good, 2001 among others. Looking at the list it seems like '91-'93 made a big impression on me, as well as '98-00. '91-'93 were the years that the seeds for my musical tastes were planted and by '98 they changed to incorporate more complex variations of the stuff from the late Golden Age.

There was a time in between '01 - '12 where music wasn't as important to me. But there were some really good albums during that time, The Minstrel Show, Late Graduation, Be, and Album of the Year. I just couldn't get out of my own way and appreciate the generation of artists that carried the torch from the Soulquarians and Native Tongues.

And even now, outside of Kendrick there isn't an artist whose music inspires me like the musicians I grew to love early on. I'm sure some of that is feeling that the old school acts were better but also and not in a bad way, lyrical content hasn't evolved much over the years. Yes, Kendrick and J Cole and Drake bare more of their inner world and conflicts than artists of the Golden Age, but at age 35 hearing acts talking about 'money, cash, h*es' (c) Jay, but it is repetitive to me. I don't judge the younger cats since, much of your life as a young person is getting to a sense of status.

There were artists I wanted to include on my list, definitely KRS, Method Man, Lauryn. But there wasn't one album in particular of their's that stood out enough to include them. Obviously, Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was a monster of a record but I never really took to it, even though it innovated in a way few albums can claim.

I respect the people who only listen one album per artist. If I did that I'd end up leaving off The Low End Theory, which I just couldn't do. It was my favorite album before Midnight Mauraders so if only because of nostalgia I couldn't leave it off (plus is a truly awesome work of artistry in its own right). Given how much The Roots are in my regular rotation they deserved two albums. And Kendrick 'is just the genius' (c) Raekwon. Some people may think he's overrated or just skates by because he stands out among his peers because they simply don't value lyricism (outside of Lupe). But I find his depth of insight amazing. Plus he has a really good ear for beats, which is an underrated quality for an MC.

This is my revised Top 25:

1. Midnight Mauraders - A Tribe Called Quest
2. Aquemini - OutKast
3. Phrenology - The Roots
4. Doggystyle - Snoop Dogg
5. The Low End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest
6. DAMN. - Kendrick Lamar
7. Endtroducing - DJ Shadow
8. Black on Both Sides - Mos Def
9. The Chronic - Dr. Dre
10. Apocayplse '91... The Enemy Strikes Black
11. Illmatic - Nas
12. Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J
13. Enter the 36 Chambers - Wu Tang Clan
14. To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar
15. Elmatic - Elzhi
16. Joyful Rebellion - K-Os
17. undun - The Roots
18. Moment of Truth - Gangstarr
19. Like Water for Chocolate - Common
20. 40 Dayz and 40 Nightz - Xzibit
21. Mecca and the Soul Brother - CL Smooth & Pete Rock
22. Jewelz - OC
23. Buhloone Mindstate - De la Soul
24. The Black Album - Jay Z
25. Kanye West - Graduation

specifically with elzhi and k-os. i would say damn is my favorite kendrick album too.

There are higher highs on To Pimp a Butterfly but in terms of themes and cohesion and ease of listening, DAMN. is his best. To me at least.

Also, it is cool that you listed Erykah on your list. Her music pulls from hip-hop so much that including her on your list makes a lot of sense.

i mean shes definitely been making music with hip-hop artists her whole career but since she wasnt rapping (usually) i didnt see it as hip-hop. i do think hip-hop as a genre doesnt need to have rapping anymore. theres even music that has rapping that i wouldnt really consider to be hip-hop.

that said, i initially included her because i thought it was all time favorite albums, no genre. it wasnt until i read through some comments where i realized it was meant to be only hip-hop. i was tempted to leave it but figured it would be good to redo the list with albums that should be unquestionably considered hip-hop.

my memory on kendrick is a bit hazy. i know i had listened to section 80 and gkmc. im not sure if it was before tpab or after. i do think around tpab i wasnt really sure who kendrick was. if i had listened to his earlier albums i didnt really connect them to tpab. tpab made him a known rapper to me. i enjoyed the earlier albums but this one was impossible to ignore. i really enjoyed hearing an album with a consistent theme and all the nods he was doing musically. i didnt quite enjoy most of the songs as stand alone tracks though.

damn. made me realize i could actually enjoy the newer, at the time, sound. it was so consistent and i really enjoyed basically every song, even ones that are sometimes clowned. it seems like a lot of kendrick fans put damn. at the bottom of his discography. its definitely the one ive listened to the most. its just a really enjoyable album.

Results to follow soon after.

Honestly, the order doesn't matter that much but this is how I'm feeling today:

1. Nas - Illmatic
2. Mobb Deep - The Infamous
3. Digable Planets - Blowout Comb
4. Raekwon OB4CL
5. Wu-Tang - Enter the 36 Chambers
6. OutKast - Aquemini
7. ATCQ - Midnight Mauraders
8. OutKast - ATLiens
9. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
10. ATCQ - Low End Theory
11. Black Star - Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star
12. Organized Konfusion - Stress: The Extinction Agenda
13. GZA - Liquid Swords
14. Souls of Mischief - 93 'til Infinity
15. The Roots - Illadelph Halflife
16. De La Soul - Stakes Is High
17. Aesop Rock - The Impossible Kid
18. Common - Like Water for Chocolate
19. Company Flow - Funcrusher Plus
20. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - The Main Ingredient
21. Edan - Beauty and the Beat
22. Reflection Eternal - Train of Thought
23. Armand Hammer - Shrines
24. Goodie Mob - Soul Food
25. Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein

1. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation...
2. OutKast - ATLiens
3. Dr. Dre - The Chronic
4. Madvillain - Madvillainy
5. Goodie Mob - Soul Food
6. The Roots - Illadelph Halflife
7. Ice Cube - Death Certificate
8. 2Pac - Strictly 4 My...
9. A Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory
10. De La Soul - De La Soul is Dead
11. Mobb Deep - Hell on Earth
12. Nas - It Was Written
13. Redman - Whut? Thee Album
14. Snoop - Doggystyle
15. Ghostface - Supreme Clientele
16. Slum Village - Fantastic vol. 2
17. Gangstar - Daily Operation
18. Pharcyde - Bizzare Ride...
19. Common - Like Water for Chocolate
20. GZA - Liquid Swords
21. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
22. Deltron 3030
23. Black Moon - Enta Da Stage
24. Scarface - The Fix
25. DMX - It's Dark and Hell is Hot

This will quickly lose any sense of order...

1. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
2. A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
3. The Roots - Things Fall Apart
4. Slum Village - Fantastic, Vol. 2
5. El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
6. Little Brother - The Listening
7. Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein
8. Aesop Rock - The Impossible Kid
9. The Roots - Game Theory
10. Common - Like Water for Chocolate
11. Outkast - ATLiens
12. Outkast - Aquemini
13. De La Soul - De La Soul is Dead
14. De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate
15. De La Soul - Stakes is High
16. J-Live - All of the Above
17. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
18. Hieroglyphics - Third Eye Vision
19. Soundbombing II
20. Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death
21. Nas - Illmatic
22. Edan - Beauty and the Beat
23. J. Dilla - Donuts
24. Rjd2 - Since We Last Spoke
25. Pharcyde - Labcabin

1 The Roots - Illadelph Halflife
2 Outkast - Atliens
3 De La Soul - 3ft High and Rising
4 Nas - Illmatic
5 Big - Ready to Die
6 Tribe - Low End Theory
7 Dre - The Chronic
8 Rae - Only Built for Cuban Links
9 Gangstarr - Hard 2 Earn
10 Common - Like Water for Chocolate
11 Dilla - Donuts
12 Mos Def and Kweli are - Blackstarr
13 Lauryn - The Miseducation
14 KRS One - KRS One
15 Mobb - Hell on Earth
16 Black Moon - Enta Da Stage
17 Eric B & Rakim - Follow the Leader
18 Slick Rick - The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
19 LL - Bigger and Deffer
20 Kane - It’s a Big Daddy Thang
21 K. - good kidd maad city
22 Pete & CL - The Main Ingredient
23 Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions
24 LB - The Listening
25 Madlib - The Beat Konducta Vol 1-2

I almost forgot to post my top twenty-five most listened to hip-hip/rap albums of all-time, I know I missed a few or have more diversity on it but this is basically what I listen to a lot these past ten or fifteen years.

(1)Slum Village "Fantastic Vol.2"
(2)Quasimoto "The Unseen"
(3)A Tribe Called Quest "Low End Theory"
(4)Kev Brown "I Do What I Do"
(5)J-Dilla "Welcome 2 Detroit"
(6)Dj Magic Mike "Bass Is The Name Of The Game"
(7)Group Home "Livin' Proof"
(8)Mobb Deep "The Infamous"
(9)Diamond D & The-Psychotic Neurotics "Stunts, Blunts, & Hip-Hop"
(10)De La Soul "De La Soul Is Dead"
(11)Pharoahe Monch "Internal Affairs"
(12)Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth "Main Ingredient"
(13)Common "Like Water For Chocolate"
(14)Slum Village "Fantastic Vol.1"
(15)The Roots "Do You Want More?!"
(16)OC "Jewelz"
(17)Q-Tip "Amplified"
(18)Pete Rock "Soul Survivor"
(19)Mos Def "Black On Both Sides"
(20)Gang Starr "Step Into The Arena"
(21)Showbiz & AG "Runaway Slave"
(22)Jeru The Damaja "The Sun Rises From The East"
(23)John Robinson "The Leak Edition Vol.2"
(24)Akinyele "Vagina Diner"
(25)Busta Rhymes "The Coming"

Thanks to all who participated!

BDP - 'Sex & Violence'

BDP - 'Edutainment'

Mos Def - 'Black on Both Sides'

The Roots - 'Things Fall Apart'

Royce Da' 5'9" - 'Book of Ryan'

Gang Starr - 'Hard to Earn'

Gang Starr- 'Step in the Arena'

Showbiz & A.G. - 'Runaway Slave'

De La Soul - 'The Grind Date'

De La Soul - 'De La Soul is Dead'

Wu Tang Clan - 'Enter the 36 Chambers'

KRS-One - 'Return of the Boom Bap'

Digable Planets - 'Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)'

Brand Nubian - 'One for All'

Outkast - 'ATLiens'

Jungle Brothers - 'Straight Out the Jungle'

Public Enemy - 'It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back'

Mobb Deep - 'The Infamous'

Ice Cube - 'Amerikkka's Most Wanted'

Ice Cube - 'Death Certificate'

Ice T - 'O.G. Original Gangster'

ATCQ - 'People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm'

ATCQ - 'Midnight Marauders'

ATCQ - 'The Low End Theory'

Eric B. & Rakim - 'Paid in Full'

just saw polls closed.

This is the type of shit that makes coming here fun and why I still think it's better than ADD social media shit.