my top 25 rap albums of all time
 

1. nas - illmatic

,,.

fuck everything else.

This couldn't be yer first post?

nah.. didn't wanna ruin TEH SUSPENSE.

louder, I've been waiting for you to do something like this since I got here!!!

so you don't listen to hip hop from before 1992 or what?

Whoah Whoah Whoah Whoah Whoah Whoah ...

You included Life After Death but not Ready to Die?!
Explain yourself, louder.

Other than that, and perhaps Jeezy, this is a very reasonable list. Classics, all. Good list for newcomers and beginners, as it recommends albums that define purist hip-hop.
So on the whole I approve, but the Biggie matter requires immediate attention.

I had the same thought, but in all honesty my own list would only include oldies out of obligation or to establish credibility. Who needs another pretentious "hip-hop historian" list? Nobody who doesn't know Flash and NWA is going to be looking at this anyway.

I for one find it refreshing. Though my own list would be almost entirely different.

yay!! :)

i forgot to mention this is more like a list of personal favs, rather than the albums which are technically supposed to be the greatest of all time.

Rob - i appreciate a lot of older hip-hop, well more individual songs than full lengths to be specific.
but honestly i'm still learning. didn't wanna talk about shit i'm not very familiar with. like Severian said i can't lie just to make others satisfied.

Severian - you don't like Jeezy or any trap music at all?!
anyway rapping-wise Ready to Die IS a 10/10 album. Life After Death has some filler it's true, but also happens to have my fav Big tracks on it. i just find it more fun to listen to.
there's absolutely nothing wrong with Ready to Die though, at all hah; in fact i did make a statement about it being on par with Illmatic.
i guess i just prefer albums where the production is a lot more dominant.
Illmatic wouldn't have been the same without Preemo's beats, nor Reasonable Doubt without Ski's, etc.
R2D has some great beats, but as a whole the prod doesn't really stand out IMO.

(excuse me for my lame grammar i'm tired)

would be dope to see that!

It'll take some thought, but maybe I can throw something together.

as a bonus, i'll add my father's review on Goblin:

"this kid's gimmick is rhyming everything with 'fuck' and 'shit' so he doesn't need to put effort in his lyrics.
bla bla bla FUCK bla bla bla SHIT.
i've already counted him using the word 'fuck' 47 times on that song."

then i showed him a pic of Tyler, he said "he looks like a good boy but his mouth is so dirty".

ether

I wanna dissect yr whole list d00d. IT's a good list. Some overlap with my own for sure. Some WTF REALLY? But all honest and cool man. I dn't even know if I could make my own. But you know yr one of the small handful that even makes me check this board, right? *bro-hug*

best hip hop prime time newscast:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ltw8msUgd8

i can already try and guess which albums you didn't like. it's all good though. :)
you should post more often bro. last year wasn't that great after all but lots of good stuff are coming out this summer.

ha yes. i remember listening to 36 Chambers for the first time, i had no idea what was going on, but i knew that i like it. eventually it became a strong contender for my fav album of all time.

Strangely, though I know this was a tongue in cheek comment, I feel the same way.

I'm intrigued. Which do you think I didn't like?

well, Get Rich is the obvious one. i thought i'd get bashed for that.

i don't care for Fiddy's discog at all, i don't think he was ever Pac or Ice Cube, or even Cam'ron, but his debut was awesome. dope beats and infectous hooks.

50 is one that I truthfully haven't even spent enough time with to comment. I could agree with you. I have no idea. All I have is some mixtapes. But srsly. Go through yr 25, tell me which you think I'd agree with and which you'd think I'd disagree with. It's interesting to me. And could spark enough to make me make my own list perhaps.

^^^AGREE: pretty much all those dark, minimal 90's recs.

Movies for the Blind
Return to the 36 Chambers
The Infamous
Liquid Swords
Life After Death
It Was Written
Me Against the World
The Chronic
The Blueprint
Reasonable Doubt
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Illmatic
* plus Carter 2


DISAGREE: most of the mid-00's - early 10's stuff.

Section.80
Pilot Talk
Hell Hath No Fury
TM101
Below the Heavens
Madvillainy


i just have a feeling. hell i might be dead wrong.
no idea about the ones i haven't mentioned.
:confused:

THE ONES YOU THOUGHT I'D AGREE WITH:

Movies For The Blind - is amazing. Though woulnd't be in my 25.
Ret to 36 - is great. Not in my 25.
Infamous - FUCK YEAH
Liquid Swords - FUCK YEAH
It Was Written - underrated. Not in my 25.
Life After Death - I don't really like. I'm a much bigger fan of Born To Die, but not a huge Biggie Fan.
The Chronic - Fuck yeah.
The Blueprint - FFFFFFUUUUUUCKYEAAAAHHHHHHHHHH
Reasonable Doubt - nope. Jay is one of my favorite rappers of all time. But I don't quite get the adore of this album really. I think it's good. But not great. I prefer Blueprint and American Gangster big time.
Enter The Wu - OF COURSE
Illmatic - YESSIR

ONES YOU THOUGHT I'D HATE

Hell Hath No Fury - is fantastic. Not in my 25 though.
Madvillainy - is great. Not in my 25 (prefer King Geedorah, Operation Doomsday, and a handful of other DOOM albums actually).

Haven't heard the others.

sigh. I came up with this, but I don't feel good about it. I feel like I'd really have to tweak and rethink to be legit. But whatever, this is just conversation ...


A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The 36 Chambers
GZA - Liquid Swords
The Roots - Do You Want More
Nas - Illmatic
Gravediggaz - 6 Feet Deep
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter II
Fugees- The Score
Ghostface - The Pretty Toney Album
2Pac - Me Against The World
Tha Pharcyde - Labcabincalifornia
Jay-Z - American Gangster
King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader
Jay-Z - The Blueprint
Atmosphere - God Loves Ugly
Dr. Dooom - First Come First Served
Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Deltron 3030 - s/t
Sage Francis - Personal Journals
Heltah Skeltah - Nocturnal
Dr. Dre - The Chronic
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
Common - Ressurection
Kool Keith - Thee Undatakerz
cLouddead - s/t

kinda surprised about Reasonable Doubt.
American Gangster is great though and easily my 3rd fav Jay album.

lots of great stuff in your list. Doggystyle and Take Me to Your Leader!!

Goddammit. Now I have to make a list, or succumb to obsessive compulsive neurosis.

Louder, would you like me to put it here, or make a new thread? Your call.

put it here, sure. this could be a thread for all lists, not only mine.

GODLOVESUGLY. i really like this album but rarely listen to it. hmmm..

you know what NR, i'm not a huge BIG fan either.
yeah he was undeniably a great MC, one of the best ever, but i prefer Pac by a large margin.
his image and attitude put Biggie to a shame.

PIGGIE SMALLZ, hah. :cool:

American Gangster > any Nas album from the 00's.

such a great atmosphere in that record. it's the one album i wish i was there in the studio while it was being recorded.
seems like Nas' upcoming album Life Is Good is gonna be his American Gangster.
i see God's Son as Nas' Blueprint - his most personal and intimate listen.
their careers are very similar when you come down to think about it.

they say you are either a Beatles or a Stones person.. then in the eighties it was Prince or MJ.
i think Jay & Nas will go down as the Prince & MJ of our era.

I don't think I could do 25 but a list of my faves would probably include:

Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill
A Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders
Raekwon - Only Built for Cuban Links
Gang Starr - Step in the Arena
Jeru - The Sun Rises in the East
Nas - Illmatic
Mobb Deep - The Infamous
Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill
Schooly D - Saturday Night (or any of his albums, really)
De La Soul - Three Feet High and Rising
Wu Tang Clan - 36 Chambers
LL Cool J - Radio
Public Enemy - Yo Bum Rush the Show (there's better ones but I enjoy this the most)
Run DMC - Raisin' Hell

Same here.

I think Ready to Die is great, but yes, most Pac albums blow it away.

The brilliance of American Gangster is he recorded it to minimal background tracks. And then sent those tracks off and had a bunch of actual musicians add guitars, horns, etc to make the shit sound soulful. It's just so fucking good in an organic way. I love it.

I agree about the Nas/Jay thing. You can like em both, but ther'es one you love. For me it's Jay. I still keep up on Nas, but I don't get excited the same way.

I don't understand how anyone can prefer Pac to BIG. It's incomprehensible to me.

so disappointing to see you give yeezy a spot like that but otherwise it is an OK list i can't call it good until mystic styles is on it because it is silly to not put that on there okay?

shouts out to mobb deep tho

Pac was a good kid with a bit feminine attitude. i think that was the result of growing up without a father or a male role model.

then his harsh life made him transform into the Thug Life Pac we all know..

but Pac's sensitive side never left him and he used music to try and change the world. at his best he'd take average beats and turn them into classic songs, with amazing messages.

at times he also used to go on a rage, make angrier songs with more violent themes. which is all a part of his charm, shows he's human.

he was very honest and direct which is "uncool", i guess when you get older.
nevertheless he was a fascinating character, often very relatable, even if his mic skills weren't on par with Biggie's.

Three Six are great but there are a few other southern acts i prefer.

Get Rich or Die Tryin is more morally objectionable than GG Allin ever was, however you are correct, Its hard to get all moral when P.I.M.P sounds so good.

My list is going to seem so "backpacker" if it's placed next to anything related to Jeezy or 50 Cent. ha.

yeah you seem to see the same thing in him as me.

man it kills me to think about how he died so young, his next album was going to be bigger than this life - Changes, Unconditional Love, Hit Em Up..