Sirens sounded, they seemed astounded: THE ILM RAP MUSIC OF THE GODS ALL TIME 100 GREATEST ALBUMS OFFICIAL THREAD

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand heere we gooooooooo.....

100. Son of Bazerk - Bazerk Bazerk Bazerk (4 votes, 108 points)

MOD EDIT: DELETED IMAGE

Can I just say that I'm not sure there is an album to crack the list that makes me as happy as our #100. Love u guyz, made it all worth it.

Yes! Good start.

Now I don't feel as bad about not getting my shit together enough to submit a ballot!

Nice sleeve! Now put the year up as well please, a hoy hoy.

oh my bad, it came out in 1991

More albums on my ballot from that year than any other I think.

sweet

#99 may not bring such good vibes.

99. Kanye West - Graduation (5 votes, 109 points - 2007).

http://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/covers/graduation.jpg

i voted for a kanye record, but not this one.

tbf it has the best sleeve of any kanye record. that and flashing lights. but it's no three times dope.

sleeve is great, but I think the best kanye cover art is 808s & Heartbreak, even tho it is totally emo.

honestly dunno what he was thinking w/ the last record cover. i mean..

never really got into any of kanye's albums.

98. Quasimoto (Madlib) - The Unseen [4 votes, 112 points - 2000]

http://www.vinylsearcher.com/largeImages/3372504.jpg

Love that Bazerk album. Which rapper looks best in a suit?

love madlib. don't love the quasimoto voice.

love the Quasimoto voice, can take or leave most other Madlib stuff

Quasimoto is so great. Such a shame the Astronaut EP is so hard to get - everyone should have a copy.

one summer i lived with a friend who was getting heavy into that Quasimoto record and Anticon stuff, it was kind of the seed of me staying as far away from artsy backpacker stuff as possible for the rest of my adult life

real excited about seeing the results, go a hoy hoy!

Quasimoto is so much better rapped than the vast majority of Anticon stuff tho, it's a different thing really.

oh i know i wasn't comparing them, just saying he was into a whole spectrum of Rap I Have No Interest In

97. Viktor Vaughn (MF Doom) - Vaudeville Villain [5 votes, 114 points, 2003]

http://cdn.pitchfork.com/media/8514-vaudeville-villain.jpg

Didn't vote for it but that's my favourite MF Doom record alongside Madvillain. The guy releases too much stuff.

no he doesn't! he's released like 1 record in 6 years!

The guy releases has released too much stuff.

<3 98 & 97!

96. 3rd Bass - The Cactus Album [4 votes, 119 points, 1989]

http://poetryforgravediggers.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/3rd_bass_cactus_album.jpg

^^^^^dope

Oval Office <3

Great album art on all the picks so far.

I remember walking down to the Cellar, where I used to eat lunch in college, and finding 3rd Base signing autographs while Tim Dogg was performing Fuck Compton on the dinky little stage.

sorry Bass

The other side of hip hop album art also needs to be represented:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UxYjfPk8AJQ/SZH78Klai5I/AAAAAAAAAHM/58pRWSAABdg/s400/Ice+T+Home+Invasion.jpg

nice! I voted for this cactus album.

ICE-T really has some clunkers

I voted Viktor Vaughn and 3rd Bass.

Cactus Album is an undeniable classic.

Love the cover of Home Invasion

really suprised home invasion made it, hope that means power, OG, and freedom of speech made it

also glad to see two last minute ones i had to cut: son of bazerk and 3rd bass, make it :)

Home Invasion isn't on the list, someone just posted the cover art to make fun of it

yes, I also cut the Cactus Album at the last minute; voted 3rd Bass on my singles list though

didn't vote for any of these, love the thread title

Home Invasion isn't on the list, someone just posted the cover art to make fun of it

― a http://bit.ly/kv895M (some dude), Tuesday, May 31, 2011 10:43 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

ah duh! ok that makes sense that would have been a pretty o_O result

i'm really feeling bad about cutting cactus album now, production is so perfect on that album from front to back. sam sever, simulated dummies rule

son of bazerk might be the ultimate bomb squad album in some ways

Yah that Ice T image threw me too, lets not post pictures in here anymore yah (besides hoy hoy, obv)?

So happy to see Son Of Bazerk and The Cactus Album. Son Of Bazerk needs a nice reissue to focus some light on it.

I remember walking down to the Cellar, where I used to eat lunch in college, and finding 3rd Base signing autographs while Tim Dogg was performing Fuck Compton on the dinky little stage.

― President Keyes, Tuesday, 31 May 2011 15:49 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

omg this sounds like heaven.

sorry, had to pop out to see my mum. let me boot up excel and we can continue.

Quick. I have to go out soon so this is my last chance to cock up the thread with confusing jpegs of bad album art.

95. Kool Keith - Black Elvis/Lost In Space [4 votes, 122 points, 1999]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7oORHEsI5cs/TWbUcv1jkaI/AAAAAAAAAxs/9ZyaWx-gNXU/s1600/Black+Elvis-+Lost+In+Space.jpg

first record i've never heard. and having been put off by many kool keith records, i'm not sure i'm gonna bother.

The way this is going I'm expecting a Def Jux record soon

And so it begins.

lol the rest record is about as anti-def jux as they come :D

one might even say that instead of being a def jux it is a def jam

94. LL Cool J - Radio [7 votes, 125 points, 1985]

http://crocmusic.com/images/albums_large/725/ll_cool_j_radio.jpg

it's a classic but not the ll i voted for

this one got cut from my list in the final editing stage - I rationalized giving it the axe by putting a lot of weight behind Rock the Bells in the trax poll.

One of two LL records to make my ballot. Huge touchstone for me and my friends.

I've just noticed 94/93 are a tie, sorry.

93. Gang Starr - Step In The Arena [4 votes, 125 points, 1990]

http://www.lyric2go.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Gang-Starr-Step-inot-the-Arena2.jpg

sign o the times = in the sleeve photo, guru is sporting Patrick Ewing-brand sneakers

(tie w/ #91) 92. Pete Rock & Cl Smooth - Mecca and the Soul Brother [5 votes, 128 points, 1992]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RkPV80RMXDQ/TOLtMLtPgPI/AAAAAAAAAB8/japGr7ncuFQ/s1600/Pete%252BRock%252B%2526%252BCL%252BSmooth%252B-%252BMecca%252BAnd%252BThe%252BSoul%252BBrother%252BCOVER.jpg

ooh that's a good one

I prefer The Main Ingredient, but that's generally considered blasphemous.

Mecca has TROY on it which makes it better than most records ever made but overall, TMI is most prob better.

(tie w/ #92) 91. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter II [5 votes, 128 points, 2005]

http://www.rapartists.com/_files/albums/full/1317_tha_carter_ii.jpg

is that unexpectedly low or unexpectedly high? not that I voted haha

About right i think? It's not a record I care for but it's strong points are ridiculously great.

first one i voted for! i'm happy that it placed period.

i like things that ramble and i have no probs with it but it is the archetypal "woulda made an incredible single album" joint

lol it is a single album

also voted weezy & PR/CLS

is it? lol mp3 era, i always thought it was a double

Glad to see Step into the Arena make it but I really hope that's not the only Gang Starr album to place.

archetypal "would have made an incredible EP" joint

Gang Starr voting threw me tbh

(tie w/ #89) 90. Scarface - The Fix [5 votes, 129 points, 2002]

http://cdn.sk.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/scarface-fix1.jpg

look kids when i were young that were enough tracks for a double vinyl never mind these 70-odd minute CD bollockses

Mr. Scarface is Back will still place tho, right?

(tie w/ #90) Cypress Hill - Black Sunday [6 votes, 129 points, 1993]

http://image.lyricspond.com/image/c/artist-cypress-hill/album-black-sunday/cd-cover.jpg

The Diary > The Fix > Mr Scarface is Back

Glad to see Face place tho.

I <3 The Fix, maybe Kanye's best work. Or up there with the first Cam Roc-a-fella record anyway.

Never actually listened to Black Sunday, even though I love the debut. Have seen it in too many collections of teenage friends with horrible taste to have ever thought about hearing it.

Wish I'd voted in this, but excited to see the results. Never even heard of Son of Bazerk!

88. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides [4 votes, 130 points, 1999]

http://talcy.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/mos_def_-_black_on_both_sides.jpg

Never even heard of Son of Bazerk!

oh you are in for a TREAT, that album is fantastic

<3 that cover. also i haven't done my singles list yet but i may have umi says at #2

Black Sunday - I feel guilty here, I threw it a few points. I don't actually like it much - that screechy sample, jeez - I just ran out of other albums to vote for.

the next is the first of many, if you feel like speculating.

if ppl voted for black sunday and not the s/t debut album that would be problematic

(tie w/ #86) 87. Wu-Tang Clan - The W [4 votes, 132 points, 2000]

http://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/covers/the-w.jpg

lol if every wu tang album makes this list...

if ppl voted for black sunday and not the s/t debut album that would be problematic

too true, and btw how did Hand on the Pump not get nommed in trax?

the w? um

Duke of Earl loop is one of the most genius things ever.

xp

the w - it's rae and ghost's record really. when they are on, it's SUPERB. when someone else steps up... eh.

I like the W alright, but it has no business in this list imo.

Agree with Cypress Hill complaints too.

if Iron Flag shows up, then things really will have gone too far.

don't worry, the next one will wipe the slate clean.

i like the w ok, but yeah it's just like it's weird to me that out of all the rap albums ever that would make someone's list of the top 50

(tie w/ 87) 86. Black Moon - Enta Da Stage [7 votes, 132 points, 1993]

http://www.strangefamousrecords.com/store/images/large/CDs/blackmoon_entadastage_LRG.jpg

Seriously, if you haven't heard that record, your life has been kinda shitty until now. Go find it, srs. It's p much the pinnacle of boom bap.

hell yeah! I voted for this album & honestly am a little surprised to see it here b/c I honestly had no idea how well-liked or known these guys were on ilx.

Never heard of it/them before ever. Gonna check into it.

Great lp, its my third favorite Duck Down/Boot Camp Clik release.

shockingly, i've not heard the next record until now. it's p much sam bait. ty ilx for showing me to listen to:

85. Heltah Skeltah - Nocturnal [4 votes, 133 points, 1996]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4z_YFyxeS-8/SjbDatSFIHI/AAAAAAAAAHU/9IIQYw7dOzs/s1600/heltah+skeltah+-+nocturnal.jpg

And thats my numero ONE Boot Camp/Duck Down release.

Love "Who Got da Props?" and "I Got Cha Opin" but never checked out any of Black Moon's albums. Will remedy that.

Nocturnal was in my top 25, and my first pick to place.

Therapy, Letha Brainz Blo, Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka, Grate Unknown <- check those tracks

Only just heard the Black Moon album a few weeks ago, really liked it.

Never heard of Heltah Skeltah. I'm hoping this list will give me plenty of albums to check out for the first time, I'll start with that and Son of Bazerk.

the next record is p much the most paranoid and dark ny hiphop got in the 90s, which is really saying something

84. Organized Konfusion - Stress: The Extinction Agenda [4 votes, 134 points, 1994]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uHXk9c0aNA8/S8dve537JgI/AAAAAAAAADs/Rarly9jUFvs/s1600/stress_extinction_agenda.jpg

This video

Stress should be top 50 at least. Thought it would place higher.

Does this mean their first album won't make it? I like Stress a lot but much prefer the debut.

OK totally rule. Another welcome surprise! I did not vote for this one, tho I rated another of their albums & one track very highly, so maybe..

Either way I'm glad it made the list - it was some votes in the last 2 or 3 ballots that bumped it up. It really is a great record for late at night walks, on headphones, while angry at the world. <--- a niche market, sure, but an essential one.

83. Kanye West - Late Registration [6 votes, 138 points, 2005]

http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/k/kanye-west/album-late-registration.jpg

I have never even heard of the last 3 albums

xp

I have heard of Kanye lol

if every Kanye album makes this list...

and I know I'm late to the party here but Son of Bazerk is great - primo era Bomb Squad

this is the kanye album I voted for & it def belongs imo, but I'd like to think we've seen the last of him for the albums poll. then again, a lot of folks around here stan for 808s, right?

808s will not make the list by virtue of not being rap

lol tru

(still my favorite Kanye album btw)

I can't fault LR. Even The Game sounded dope on it. But the last track is what made a pure classic for me.

Such a shame he fell off sooooooo badly though.

(tie w/ #81) 82. Black Sheep - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing [6 votes, 139 points, 1991]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_R-wex9j3--g/SpfjrnnYrcI/AAAAAAAACMQ/n_BRPuZilgo/s1600/Black+Sheep+-+A+Wolf+In+Sheep%27s+Clothing+%5BCover%5D.jpg

yessssssssss

yup

wish the foot high flat top would make its way back

I love that "The Choice Is Yours" is in that car commercial with the hamsters, because my 7 year old niece is now obsessed with that song.

YO WHO THE FUCK USED MY TOOTHBRUSH

just noticed that cover could go on Up-the-arse corner

the hamsters... why

album is great though, always good for a laugh

Flavor of the Month is like a top 20 of all time jam for me.

underrated track: "Similak Child"

next record is the first to place with a #1.

sorry i am going through these so quickly btw, but i was hoping to get an hour nap before work tonight. tomorrow it'll be better paced.

(tie w/ #82) 81. DJ Quik - Rhythm-al-ism (5 votes, 1 #1 vote, 139 points, 1998]

http://image.lyricspond.com/image/d/artist-dj-quik/album-rhythm-al-ism/cd-cover.jpg

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM, my number 1.

If it has a first-place vote, doesn't that break the tie?

it is 1 higher.

hadn't heard that album until a few months ago but yeah the love is well-deserved. production/beats are top notch party fonk

quik is the quintessential "i should listen to him more" artist

when the overdriven delay vocal effect kicked in in the title track I was like "whoooh shit okay this is something different"

(tie w/ #78 and #79) 80. Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary [4 votes, 141 points, 1988]

http://cdn.sk.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Boogie-Down-Productions-By-All-Means-Necessary-album-cover.jpg

I really want one of these jackets.

^^^album is half unbelievably awesome, half horrible bullshit FYI

RE: Quik - I'm guessing I should prob check this out asap. I have not listened to any DJ Quik b/w Way 2 Fonkee & BlaQKout, but now that he's having this great late-career upswing, I've been meaning to get to his (rather extensive & sorta intimidating) back catalog

damn, that is a young-looking KRS-One

^^^album is half unbelievably awesome, half horrible bullshit FYI

― metally ill (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 31 May 2011 19:00 (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this is so otm. shame blueprint usually gets overlooked for it, as that is 95% great.

quik is the quintessential "i should listen to him more" artist

― WHO THE FUCK READS THE (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, May 31, 2011 1:58 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

lol

p certain if you don't love the next record, ilx will sb the shit out of you

(tie w/ #80 and #78) 79. Camp Lo - Uptown Saturday Night [5 votes, 141 points, 1997]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3413/3208630493_457836bd27.jpg

this is so otm. shame blueprint usually gets overlooked for it, as that is 95% great.

I would just say Criminal Minded is all around better/more consistent and leave it at that

QUIK: His catalog is not that extensive tbh. Start w/ Rhythmalism though. The late career "upswing" is a sham, he never fell off, the media just finally caught up.

i'd be pretty hyped if the first 3 Kanye records made the list and MBDTF didn't

<3 Camp Lo

re: Quik - Tonite is awesome and it was like the first thing he did!

xp

gotta admit, I do not know this Camp Lo

i think you need to rectify that immediately pillbox.

(tie w/ #80 and #79) 78. Run-DMC - Run-DMC [8 votes, 141 points, 1984]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4XFoAn0cSBQ/TFrD5nYVVLI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/tqYJ5IIEeEs/s1600/51EF0B7EmWL.jpg

Uptown was my number 4, so good.

RIP Jam Master Jay :(

everyone loves the black nostaljack

Black Sheep is the first of my top 10 to place. Love that album. When it came out I started calling one of my female friends "Similak Child" and she thought it was cute. That she still thinks it's cute when I break out with a "You're the woman" is awesome.

lolz. run-dmc s/t is way too low but i think most will be saving their way too low shouting for the next record.

77. Big Pun - Capital Punishment [6 votes, 142 points, 1998]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wPQ2QzTcYqo/TaOtfBY1hvI/AAAAAAAAAq4/G55nvUHMqn0/s400/big-pun---capital-punishment.jpg

RIP BIG PUN

never liked him and his creepy tongue waggling

oh lol I forgot that I own this

he really was big

another record i think suffers from being too long but otoh he died before making Yeeeeah Baby properly so any pun is worth it i guess

Album is a ripoff. Barely any puns at all.

and the last of the day, another i am ashamed of never hearing...

my brother saw Pun either on an awards show or at some local festival and said that the first thing the roadies did was bring out a stool for Pun to sit on so he could wheeze

Capital Punishment has held up really well.

76. Devin The Dude - Just Tryin' Ta Live [5 votes, 143 points, 2002

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bIgHZQu-UEA/S_T9evpXBCI/AAAAAAAAAn0/JHKNS_qKlfg/s1600/devin-the-dude-just-tryin-ta-live.jpg

I did not vote for Capital Punishment, tho I gave high placement to a track from it.

Devin! Yay

Good finish to the day.

pretty happy with the results so far. 5 albums i voted for!

I had forgotten "Still Not A Player" was so hot

Yah, but I'm Not A Player is better.

oh yes, absolutely

goddamn I knew he was big but I had no idea he weight 700 POUNDS when he had his heart attack

lol "weighed"

the best fat rapper AND the fattest fat rapper

that's, like, the size of the surviving Fat Boys combined

700 Pounds

So far I have a lot of overlap w/ this poll, which is p cool

Voted For
3rd Bass
Pete Rock & CL Smooth
Lil Wayne
Black Moon
Kanye - Late Reg
Run DMC

cut from initial shortlist
Kool Keith
LL Cool J
Black Sheep
Big Pun

Voted for another album by same artist
Doom
Gang Starr
Scarface
Mos Def
Wu
Organized Konfusion
Devin the Dude

Have not heard, but will seek out post-haste
Bazerk
Quik
Camp Lo

i always meant to check out the fat boy's "rapera" concept album

rapera

that fat boys album is p fucked up & not really at all good iirc

I haven't seen underlining in a post for an age, good work Pillbox

Have not heard, but will seek out post-haste
Bazerk
Quik
Camp Lo

Lucky you.

underline/strike-through = same thing

voted for
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter II
Scarface - The Fix
Organized Konfusion - Stress: The Extinction Agenda
Devin The Dude - Just Tryin' Ta Live
Camp Lo - Uptown Saturday Night

5 classic albums right there. i dig these out all the time except maybe Stress but i used to listen to that all the time when i was younger + angrier.

dope things that didnt make my ballot:
3rd Bass - The Cactus Album
LL Cool J - Radio
Gang Starr - Step In The Arena
Pete Rock & Cl Smooth - Mecca and the Soul Brother
Cypress Hill - Black Sunday
Quasimoto (Madlib) - The Unseen
Black Moon - Enta Da Stage
Heltah Skeltah - Nocturnal
Black Sheep - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

was quite tempted to put black moon on my ballot used to be so into those guys + that whole sound but when i listen now i just don't feel the same way.

stuff i've heard but i'm not into / never listen to
Kanye West - Graduation
Kanye West - Late Registration
Viktor Vaughn (MF Doom) - Vaudeville Villain
Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
Wu-Tang Clan - The W
Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary
Run-DMC - Run-DMC

never heard aka suggest ban corner
Son of Bazerk - Bazerk Bazerk Bazerk
DJ Quik - Rhythm-al-ism
Big Pun - Capital Punishment

space shit that don't even make no sense
Kool Keith - Black Elvis/Lost In Space

ha! oh i checked and turns out i did leave black moon on...

might have to try and find room for 'leflaur leflah eshkoshka' on the tracks

86. Black Moon - Enta Da Stage
85. Heltah Skeltah - Nocturnal
84. Organized Konfusion - Stress: The Extinction Agenda

I have never even heard of the last 3 albums

― metally ill (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, May 31, 2011 1:43 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark

Wait, whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

well okay, minor clarification I know Organized Konfusion

I have their first album but not that one

it always surprises me when shakey doesnt know big canonical ish just bcuz hes always so opinionated in the rap threads

lol it is a single album
― WHO THE FUCK READS THE (a hoy hoy), Wednesday, 1 June 2011 02:50 (7 hours ago)

Noodle's right, Carter II is a double LP

It's like 75 minutes, which is double LP long but not double CD long. Life After Death is about 110 minutes.

Yeah and Life After Death was a triple

A1 Tha Mobb
A2 Fly In
A3 Money On My Mind
A4 Fireman
A5 Mo Fire
B1 On Tha Block #1
B2 Best Rapper Alive
B3 Lock & Load
B4 Oh No
B5 Grown Man
B6 On Tha Block #2
C1 Hit 'Em Up
C2 Carter II
C3 Hustler Musik
C4 Receipt
C5 Shooter
D1 Weezy Baby
D2 On Tha Block #3
D3 I'm A D-Boy
D4 Feel Me
D5 Get Over
D6 Fly Out

List is kinda killing it so far. High fives all around.

surprised how high the big pun is tbh. ahead of some better records

nah pun not high enough

pun way too low, how can anyone hate on capital punishment? i put it top 5

big ups on 'tha carter II'

pun is the sickest

Pete Rock & CL Smooth way too low, i voted for 4-5 things here i think, good list so far

voted for quasimoto, pete/cl, mos def, kanye (late reg.), dj quik. might have voted for viktor vaughn, cant remember. voted for other albums by gang starr, wayne, wu-tang. almost voted for that kool keith, so so good. like a bunch of the others. haven't heard 5-6 or so, will check 'em out.

The results look cool so far, the run from the 90th place to 84th is especially worthy. Out of the 25 albums I voted for these:

89. Cypress Hill - Black Sunday (#13 in my ballot)
87. Wu-Tang Clan - The W (#23 in my ballot)
85. Heltah Skeltah - Nocturnal (#8 in my ballot)
84. Organized Konfusion - Stress: The Extinction Agenda (#9 in my ballot)
77. Big Pun - Capital Punishment (#47 in my ballot)

Yeah, I was one of those savages who voted for Black Sunday, even though I didn't include the first Cypress Hill album in my ballot at all! There are two reasons for this: 1) Black Sunday was one of the first rap albums I was really into, me and my friends were listening to it all the time when we were 14. 2) I just like beats on Black Sunday better. The first album is still much influenced by the early 90s "jazzy" sound, whereas Black Sunday was (alongside 36 Chambers) a herald of a new murky, weeded-out production style. Muggs took this sound even further on Temples of Boom, but the raps on that album are somewhat inferior to Black Sunday, that's why I voted for BS.

I also placed The W above 36 Chambers in my ballot, again because of the beats. RZA had some great ideas for 36 Chambers, but some of the beats still sound weak, especially the drum parts. (Even though RZA imitated Muggs' style on "Protect Ya Neck", in 1993 Muggs was still a better producer than him.) Whereas The W has some incredibly crisp, innovative and off-kilter beats - soundwise, nothing on 36 Chambers compares to, say, "Careful (Click, Click)". And of course The W also has "I Can't Go to Sleep", the best Wu single of all time (alongside "Triumph"). Don't get me wrong, I still love 36 Chambers, especially the raps, but I thought that since it was a lock for the top 5, I might just as well give The W a few more points.

Fair reasoning, cant argue with the context/history of the listener. These are the kind of points that make these kind of threads worth while, even if I disagree.

With polls, everyone has different reasons and styles for/of voting. Like you kind of knew deep down that 36 Chambers is better, but you figured it would place high, so you in turn "threw some points" at something else. Not sure I agree with that line of thinking, but it probably makes for a more unique outcome (maybe worse, idk), like we have so far. I feel like 20-100 will have some wtf moments, but doubt there will be any big surprises (other than specific placement) in the top 20.

never even heard of son of bazerk, feeling fucking BLINDSIDED!!!!

Yeah and Life After Death was a triple

Maybe on vinyl but it was only a double CD/tape.

yeah its not like everyone was clamouring for lil wayne on vinyl

75. Ol' Dirty Bastard - Nigga Please [7 votes, 148 points, 1999]

http://dkpresents.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/30if4pj.jpg

rmde

74. Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill [6 votes, 151 points, 1986]

http://mimg.ugo.com/200808/16335/Licensed-to-ill.jpg

why rmde?

I always kind of avoided Licensed to Ill because of Fight For Your Right but in the past year I have had my eyes open to its greatness. The New Style, Girls, Slow & Low - that record is an all time great.

Back with the classic artwork too. Great sleeve.

xpost Interesting, I have never listened to it for the very same reason despite being a big fan of the three albums they made after it.

(tie w/ #72). Organized Konfusion - Organized Konfusion [5 votes, 154 points, 1991]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eSzTgDTdB54/SxG-iMDHchI/AAAAAAAAEDA/Hwkn5hXoIPg/s1600/Organized+Konfusion+Front.jpg

as much as i love stress and solo monch&po - for some reason i've never listened to other ok.

Slow and Low is probably their finest moment for me. A Run DMC cast off.

(tie w/ #73) 72. MF DOOM - Operation: Doomsday [6 votes, 154 points, 1999]

http://theovun.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/51x0oz6azl_ss500_.jpg

I only voted for my #1 btw. I planned to figure it all out but I got so pissed off after doing the tallying within two days that i never did. If I did - Operation Doomsday would have easily been top 10.

Yeah, I've never picked up the first OK album either, despite owning Stress and The Equinox (which is a very good case for why rap albums should never have skits). The few tracks I've heard from it I liked okay, but somehow they sounded too "goofy" compared to the more dark and ponderous stuff on the latter two albums... Maybe I'm wrong and I should check out the debut though?

(xx-post)

71. T.I. - King [7 votes, 156 points, 2006]

http://www.mixmatters.com/hot/images/ti_king.jpg

70. A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm [6 votes, 158 points, 5 mics, 1990]

http://design-milk.com/images/2009/11/tribe-called-quest-1.jpg

(tie w/ #67) 68. Eric B & Rakim - Follow The Leader [8 votes, 162 points, 1988]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PZYScm1NuZ4/S7P6m32PhsI/AAAAAAAAAZg/ImEqzwNWo7c/s1600/B0008KLVUU.jpg

^^^not that good tbh, even if it has Microphone Fiends. Pt. 2 in 'i want that old school rapper jacket' tho.

(tie w/ #68) 67. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP [5 votes, 162 points, 2000]

http://passionweiss.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/502qc1t.jpg

66. DJ Quik & Kurupt – Blaqkout [7 votes, 164 points, 2009]

http://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/covers/blaqkout.jpg

where did 69 go?

looooooool oh shit. brb let me sort that.

69. Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded [3 votes, 159 points, 1987]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-V2I94F2g3s/TH8ZgSPM_AI/AAAAAAAAARU/seCZf7xAbc8/s1600/bdp.jpg

and on we go let the trumpets blow

65. Ice-T - O.G.: Original Gangster [6 votes, 167 points, 1991]

http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/johmbolaya/covers/IceTOG.jpg

when King showed up i thought "i wonder if that's the most recent album on the list," then BlaQKout popped up and i thought the same thing

my answer to that is maybe, considering i can't remember when the next one came out.

need to go out for a couple hours, so the next is the last till for about 4 hours.

64. J Dilla - Donuts [7 votes, 168 points, 2006]

http://www.fifthelementonline.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/353x/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/j/d/jdilla.jpg

"Fight For Your Right" is literally the WORST song on Licensed To Ill and completely unrelated to anything else going on on that album, which is an all-time great.

I love OG so much! Only three votes for Criminal Minded? Really should have voted

Things getting a little more canonical today, which is cool. But low placement of stuff like Licensed to Ill, Tribe and Donuts makes me feel like maybe there'll be room for at least a couple of surprises toward the top.

DJ Quik & Kurupt will totally be the most recent album to make it. Unless Cuban Linx II sneaks in there (or MBDTF, which knowing this crowd won't).

I will be stoked if Late Registration and Graduation make it, but College Dropout doesn't.

did Last Train to Paris get nom'd?

sam you know you're doing the first part of the list at like 730 am american time right? and like 430 am shakey time - not going to get a lot of discussion

interesting list so far tbh - nothing out and out terrible, altho some of the placings are kind of weird

also deej not sure what you were referring to upthread as "canonical" (Black Moon? OK?)

fwiw I am very curious about the Black Moon album, dunno how that one passed me by at the time - very strange

more albums i left off, more i voted for...p good list so far.

black moon is pretty boom bap backpacker roots canonical imo.....

it gets props iirc

I was hoping Eminem would somehow not show up.

x-post Didn't Buckshot once claim that the Backpacker thing started because he and his crew used to wear backpacks so they didn't have hide their guns in their pants?

I listened to Marshall Mathers and Slim Shady Lp for the first time in 3 years this morning. Thought they were both still pretty fucking great tbh.

Never liked either.

that Marshall Mathers LP cover is some silly-ass emo nonsense btw

(fwiw I don't like Eminem at all apart from some of the singles)

Same here, but maybe only like one or two album cuts, not the singles.

"Kim" and "Stan" are both fantastic IMO

gtfo with that Dido nonsense

you gtfo

*arms crossed*

Guilty Conscience is classic

It's always bugged me that none of the stuff in 'Guilty Conscience' is about conscience at all - does he know that?

isn't the Em voice a conscience?

I mean Dre

The way I remember it, it's about not getting caught, not doing the right thing.

isn't the Dre voice a conscience?

that's nonsense

haha

Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition, or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong.

Dre:Yo! This girl's only fifteen years old
You shouldn't take advantage of her, that's not fair

What am I missing?

Marshall Mathers LP is all over the place, but totally a landmark album. Deserves to be exactly where it is. "Kill You" is unfuckwithable.

sam you know you're doing the first part of the list at like 730 am american time right? and like 430 am shakey time - not going to get a lot of discussion

― max tldr (k3vin k.), Wednesday, June 1, 2011 11:38 AM (51 minutes ago) Bookmark

hey if hoy wants to post albums when i'm up giving the baby his breakfast i will discuss them

sam you know you're doing the first part of the list at like 730 am american time right? and like 430 am shakey time - not going to get a lot of discussion

― max tldr (k3vin k.), Wednesday, 1 June 2011 16:38 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lol my bad. that will just be for today - my week has all been out of wack w/ work n shit. and to continue...

is it just me or is this pretty backpacker-heavy so far

xp

63. Ghostface Killah - Ironman [8 votes, 173 points, 1996]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M3IX8kShhGE/TT3wVVBDhNI/AAAAAAAAALs/68dp8ktQEoc/s1600/Ghostface%2BKillah%2B-%2BIronman.jpg

Lol @high ranking for quik and kurupt

A lovely one to resume with.
xp

supreme clientele was my ghostface pick but i would have expected ironman to place higher

62. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill [7 votes, 174 points, 1998]

http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/l/lauryn-hill/album-the-miseducation-of-lauryn-hill.jpg

I am now kind of mad at this album for breaking Lauryn Hill

btw 'the fix' also got 5 mics. eagerly anticipating 'trill o.g' placing

lol yeah i only thought about doing that post-fix.

my first pick of the day! remember my friend's sister forcing me to buy this in hmv. thanking u friend's sister

(tie w/ #60 and #59) 61. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale [7 votes, 175 points, 2006]

http://nahright.com/news/wp-content/images/fishscale.jpg

'ex-factor' is such a perfect song

whaaaaaaaaaaaat

i'll rep for 'pretty toney' but fishscale shouldn't be on this list at all

I will never ever be able to tolerate Ghostface's screechy voice and offbeat flow for the length of a whole solo album... I do like Bulletproof Wallets though, partly because it has so many guests (so less Ghostface).

love that cover for some reason

am i imagining it or was there a much more funny cover for fishscale that they didn't use?

DJ Quik & Kurupt will totally be the most recent album to make it

Flockaveli?

XP: Fishscale is top notch.

Also, "The Forest" is one of the few tunes where his eccentric rapping style really fits.

ph hold that one u posted is the good one (got images off). the one they actually used was shit

(tie w/ #61 and #59) 60. Missy Elliott - Miss:E So Addictive [7 votes, 175 points, 2001]

http://letrasmp3.com/images/discos_l/miss-e-so-addictive.jpg

yeah i know it wasn't the proper cover but I <3 that one while the actual one was shit.

this is for my people my ecstasy people come on

also <3 y'all for voting missy

great album. i should have voted for it

(tie w/ #61 and #60) 59. Goodie Mob - Soul Food [5 votes, 175 points, 1 first place vote, 1995]

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1027/809376596_3bdc35eff6.jpg

fuck yeah

I need to play that Goodie Mob again soon. Such a solid record.

but every now and then i wonder if the gate was put up to keep crime out or to keep our ass in

I voted for a different Missy album, but that one is great too. her album covers are so random, not sure what undersea mines have to do with ecstasy lol... both those Ghost albums are great but am holding out hope that his actual best album will place higher. Tuomas totally off the money about the best album artist of the 00s btw.

Lauryn Hill album is tiresome bullshit.

I think I voted for a different Goodie Mob record too

58. Ultramagnetic MCs - Critical Beatdown [8 votes, 177 points, 1988

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_L0deb0c7_Rs/SAY9__tokaI/AAAAAAAAAO0/Zf9bmmjJx1Y/s400/Ultramagnetic%2BMcs%2BCritical%2BBeatdown--f.jpg

never got into this one..shrug

really? it may be the best album of 88, which is saying something. it is totally worth its left field charm cult as well

the artwork for the next record still makes me giggle.

Ultramags is some kind of pinnacle - also a great bridge record between old and new school stuff at the time.

57. Clipse - Lord Willin' [6 votes, 186 points, 2002]

http://nects.net/slogg/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/lord-willin.jpg

The production on Critical Beatdown was eye-opening at the time Ced Gee was making magic.

oh wait i lie, the best 88 record is where the thread title comes from

Crtitical Beatdown is pretty great, though I actually like the other rapper (Ced Gee?) better than Koo Keith on it. Keith's flow is especially weak on it, it's all start-stop-start-stop, as if he constantly has to pause to think what to say next. Beatwise, though, it's one of the top 20 rap albums of all time.

(xxx-post)

Keith's flow is especially weak on it, it's all start-stop-start-stop, as if he constantly has to pause to think what to say next.

uh this is just wrong

yeah <3 u tuomas but between hating on ghost and calling keith weak you have just been RONG right here :)

Clipse, ugh. All the beats on that album sound like cellphone ringtones. I've no idea why The Neptunes thought those kind of a cheap, plasticky, high-pitched sounds would be good on a rap album, it definitely ruins it for me.

Rong Rong Rong (Ha Ha Hey)

I was gonna overlook complaining about Ghost's voice (eh, okay you think it's thin/whiny = whatever) but Keith was inventing whole new rhyme patterns on CB, stuff that was copied endlessly afterward - he knew exactly what he was doing

xp

Keith's flow is especially weak on it, it's all start-stop-start-stop, as if he constantly has to pause to think what to say next.

uh this is just wrong

Have you listened to the album? He's constantly pausing between lines. It's not like this is some kind of a subjective opinion, anyone can hear it.

and he continues. lord willin has grindin'! and whens the last time! how can you call them cheap?!?!

anyway, the next album has possibly the best guest/debut verse in the history of rap music. not exactly a clue. but they came for that and stayed, for the jams, it's...

56. Main Source - Breaking Atoms [7 votes, 188 points, 1991]

http://www.tobitobsucht.de/wordpress/img/mainsource_breakingatoms.jpeg

I heart 1991

iirc there was some interview when Keith boasted that, a few exceptions aside (*RAKIM* cough) prior to him most rappers just stuck to placing the rhyming syllables at the end of each line. But Keith put his rhymes all over the place - at the beginning of the lines (he does this a lot actually) or in the middle - he was really innovative on this record in terms of odd rhyme schemes, internal rhymes, etc.

xp

He's constantly pausing between lines.

this was not a mistake!! it's called a NEW STYLE sheesh - he was breaking away from just doing A/B/A/B rhymes

i never got into kool keith at all but i get that he's a big influence for ppl

'lord willin' + 'breaking atoms' are both classic 4 me great picks

54. Big L - Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous [7 votes, 192 points, 1995]

http://mp3get.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Big-L-Lifestylez-Ov-Da-Poor-Dangerous-1995-VBR.jpg

guys, berating a non-English speaker for missing the nuances displayed by someone playing with English cadences is nagl

♫♫ looking at the front door ♫♫

oh shit i did it again. i missed #55! it's a stonking great fucking classic too!

Good to see Soul Food, they pulled off conscious southern raps like no one else. The Day Afteris my jam.

i can't remember what that big l album is like at all

ive been meaning to check out "breaking atoms" for the last 15 years but i havent got around to it yet. anyone else think "marshall mathers" should have been higher. i know his shite now but its a staggering record. it was my #2

who had 'soul food' as their number one btw?

sweet ass countdown so far.

Flockaveli will be the most recent album on the list.

55. Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill [8 votes, 189 points, 1991[]

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgfm3irrfr1qc4k6lo1_500.jpg

nice

there are not 54 better rap albums than the first Cypress Hill

There's loads, but it is THERE best album.

THEIR

I really don't like that Big L album. Hadn't even heard it until a couple years ago (thx to some Kool G Rap vs Big L poll) and yeah, just couldn't get into it. Nihilism was just too overbearing, I think.

Yah he was angry, still like it tho.

that Cypress Hill album has held up really well imho. Muggs' beats are such a strange intersection of east coast boom bap and west coast proto-psych-funk or something.

yeah it has

despite their best efforts

He's constantly pausing between lines.

this was not a mistake!! it's called a NEW STYLE sheesh - he was breaking away from just doing A/B/A/B rhymes

I know this, but you can still do internal rhymes and stuff like that without the constant pauses; Rakim had already done that. Compared to him, Keith's flow on CB sounds weak. If you listen to people who have never rapped before trying to rap, they almost always pause between rhymes. It sounds amateurish, you have to practice your technique to make make the raps flow better from one line to another.

lol yeah what the fuck happened

53. Black Star - Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star [7 votes, 197 points, 1998

http://images.wikia.com/lyricwiki/images/c/ca/Mos_Def_-_Mos_Def_%26_Talib_Kweli_Are_Black_Star.jpg

uh oh who let the Post-College White Indie Hipsters up in here

Few great tracks and that's it on Black Star.

the good tracks are nice tho

okay I am retracting my halfhearted defense of Tuomas

i wish they never went with the 'rework old classics on every track' thing because the beats are nice and those dudes are talented

I went with great, still stands.

AStronomy
Defintition
Respiration
K.O.S. (Determination)

The rest is passable.

52. Dr. Octagon - Dr. Octagonecologyst [7 votes, 1 #1 vote, 203 points, 1996]

http://www.swiftsessions.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/dr_octagon-dr_octagonecologyst.jpg

haha

I cant even see listening to that today

ugh.

Tuomas thinks Kool Keith needs to practice... I will let him know

Black Star is totally boring, altho I like Mos Def well enough

never really cared for post-ultra keith. it was either too knowing for its own good or like on dr. octagon, a man who ate a thesaurus without using it to any real effect that would spawn countless imitators who were similarly kinda shitty at pretending they were smart.

1 more album today but its so hot it'll set fire to yr building [clue]

The Prince Paul 'Blue Flowers' mix is the only thing from that project I can get down with still.

51. Jeru the Damaja - The Sun Rises In The East [8 votes, 204 points, 1994]

http://frolab.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/1245293228659f.jpeg

cool to see Missy on here, although i voted for Supa Dupa Fly and Da Real World instead

Come Clean <3

Dr. Doom album and Sex Style are underrated imo

Think I went for 'Wrath..' with my Jeru vote.

"Come Clean" melted my brain when I first heard it

okay this list is officially too backpacker heavy sorry guyz

xp

freaky freaky freaky freaky flow

Dr. Doom album and Sex Style are underrated imo

^^^^this

I never listen to Octagon these days really. it's great but it's sort of... limited? Also I hate Dan the Automator.

control the mic like fidel castro

Primo and jeru went so well together

also from way way way upthread, have now actually listened to Camp Lo 'Uptown Sat Night'. Wonderful. So many thanks to all who voted for it and thus brought it into my life.

I think some folks forgot to continue listening to rap about 10 years ago. Some of this stuff was classic for years, but just hasn't held up at all. Or the names just get passed around so much in hiphop conversations that people just buy into it without actually analyzing the tunes.

which albums in particular spottie?

Doc Oc, Black Star to start.

yeah i dunno i listened to doc oc a while back, still pretty weird cool album to me...black star i was gonna defend but i can only remember the highlights as you said

i didn't vote for either of them in my final list but they were on my larger list

if anything's going to get a short shrift i think it's super early pre-golden age/run-dmc stuff

but maybe lots of that will pop up on the singles list because it was more of a singles format then

The Prince Paul 'Blue Flowers' mix is the only thing from that project I can get down with still.

― Spottie_Ottie_Dope, Wednesday, 1 June 2011 18:36 (17 minutes ago) Permalink

'girl let me touch you there' is still dope imo

i like earth people

maybe lots of that will pop up on the singles list because it was more of a singles format then

Yeah, it was quite a while before the album was a legit concern in rap. The first one that was really consistent front to back (imo) was Whodini's debut.

Thems is good, I admit, maybe I was underselling it a bit, idk. xp

The "General Hospital" skit on Octagon is and always will be the best thing about that record.

Notwithstanding many bad imitations since, Dr Octagon sounded weird and fresh in 96 and I still rate it now. Earth People and Blue Flowers alone are astounding though Shakey has a point re: "limited".

"I think some folks forgot to continue listening to rap about 10 years ago. Some of this stuff was classic for years, but just hasn't held up at all. Or the names just get passed around so much in hiphop conversations that people just buy into it without actually analyzing the tunes."

Maybe people just have different tastes in music. I think the Black Star album towers over Illmatic. I know people will call me crazy, but opinions are all in fun anyway. I don't understand all the analyzing of people's taste.

O_o

I still have a cursory interest in hip hop but really I think the last 10 years worth of albums pale largely pales in comparison to what was coming out in the 80s/90s. because I am a grumpy old man. that hates shitty synth plugin presets.

I love Jeru's voice and general oddness. There was something genuinely off-kilter about him without him having to try too hard to prove it. Kept flip-flopping between this and Wrath of the Math in the poll but settled on this because of Come Clean. Anyone know what his post-96 albums are like?

That's what forums are all about. Xxxp

Jeru post preemo is bad, barring a few singles.

XXXP: I agree with the sentiment as most of the stuff I used to listen to all the time (all LL Cool J, most Run DMC, a lot of Eric B and Rakim, Straight Outta Compton, a lot of Beastie Boys, some BDP and KRSOne) doesn't sound that good to me any more but Dr Octagon still sounds ace to me.

I forgot all about Jeru. That's a great album.

Maybe people just have different tastes in music. I think the Black Star album towers over Illmatic. I know people will call me crazy, but opinions are all in fun anyway. I don't understand all the analyzing of people's taste.

― nicky lo-fi, Wednesday, June 1, 2011 7:26 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yah thats batshit challops

I know. I think Nas and Kanye are the two most overrated rappers ever.

"I am a grumpy old man. that hates shitty synth plugin presets"

I think this is one reason people like different eras. I know a lot of people who think rap production is too club orientated today.

I also know a lot of people who think old school rapping is not gymnastic enough.

which era are we calling "old school" here

80-85

nicky u r a treat

I know a lot of people who think rap production is too club orientated today.

tbh this is why I like a lot more current rap than anything in the last 15 years or so, and I'm not even really a dance stan.

also no one actually has ever rated Kanye's skills as a rapper

While we're getting all this "and then I went to the shops wearing my mother's wedding dress" stuff off our chests. I voted for The W but not Forever. I bought it the day it came out and the initial disappointment I felt with it is something I've never quite got over, while (Tuomas band otm) Careful and Hollow Bones are two of the best songs they ever did.

bang otm

Screw being embarrassed for any of your preferences. Five years of ILX telling me that anyone who prefers Fishscale to Supreme Clientele is an idiot and yet there it is. With any of these poll choices it's not ignorance or not understanding hip hop or not keeping up or "buying into it without actually analyzing the tunes" - it's just taste.

I sort of feel like anyone who can't still see what made those original LL singles so fantastic has forgotten how to live

Singles yeah, for sure but I'd never listen to a whole LL album now and it's not for the want of trying.

its never 'just taste'

fwiw,

ultramagnetic >>> sex style >>> dr octagon

i havent heard black elvis but am weirded out that it made a list of the 100 best albums ever

Explain.

Can't people like what they like? ffs

i havent heard black elvis but am weirded out that it made a list of the 100 best albums ever

?

not if they are uptight, image conscious posers

strike that last post. my bad. I Love Music.

ultramagnetic >>> sex style >>> dr octagon

Agree with this.

its never 'just taste'

this may be true, but the reasons behind it aren't always sinister

ultramagnetic >>> sex style >>> dr octagon

I would rank them this way too, altho I rate Sex Style and Black Elvis about the same

xp

"Screw being embarrassed for any of your preferences. Five years of ILX telling me that anyone who prefers Fishscale to Supreme Clientele is an idiot and yet there it is. With any of these poll choices it's not ignorance or not understanding hip hop or not keeping up or "buying into it without actually analyzing the tunes" - it's just taste."

But really tho, can anyone actually defend Black Star as a full length lp of classic tunes?

Not me for sure but I'd never suggest that obviously means that Dorian hasn't listened to it and doesn't love it. That's a bit much right?

I'm not defending Black Star - never grabbed me - but I think Dr Octagon has enough character and distinctiveness to hold up well. They seemed to be lumped together upthread as "lol backpackers" when they're very different records.

But my point is more than it's not helpful to pick apart other people's reasons for liking what they like. It gets divisive and unpleasant and the whipping boys on a hip hop thread (Black Star + backpackers in general) are always the same. Not to be all peace-and-love but I'm enjoying the rollout as much for the choices which I didn't vote for as the ones that I did. I don't think there's any danger of Jurassic 5 being number one.

I'm sure he has listened to it and loves it. xp

I never made fun of Black Star or said I hated it, has some great singles like I said. My mind cant compute anyone thinking its better than Illmatic though. But oh wells I guess. I like my share of backpacker raps, even tho I'm not sure what that is anymore.

Anyway, I'm for one am relieved to see that MC Tunes is going to be getting a well deserved top 50 placing.

I for one...

http://youtu.be/bI-eMXfA1rM

!

Who is making fun of backpackers?

Not trying to be snippy elitist either, apologies if I came off as such. Its fun to hear people defend/explain their reasoning is all.

xp I can't compute preferring it (or almost anything else) to Illmatic either tbh. I just don't like nicky or anyone else being patronised but OK, great if that's not what you meant.

I don't think Dr. Octagon is a bad record by any means, but a little distance had diluted its charms somewhat (at least for me). I think if its overestimated at all its because at the time it was such an expected left-field thing - no one expected a golden age rapper like Kool Keith to come back with a sci-fi/horror concept album featuring beats from a bunch of previously unknown Bay Area weirdos and a sleeve by a guy previously known for doing Metallica records. I mean imagine if, say, Kool Moe Dee or KRS did this. It was totally out of the blue, it opened up a second phase in his career on a very WTF note. But taken in the context of what he did before and what he did after, it falls somewhere in the middle quality-wise.

xp

so at this rate it looks like a certain public enemy album or liquid swords will be #1

http://youtu.be/bI-eMXfA1rM

^^^this better place up high, motherfuckers.

oddly, the other day my wife and I were talking about what rap is appropriate to play around our daughter and she asked me if there was any decent post-'87 rap that didn't feature the "n-word" or egregious swearing in it and Brand Nubian was all I could come up with. that album is clean as a whistle, in a funny 5 percenter way.

Uh, De La Soul?

Actually wait, "De La Orgee"

rain in england?

^^^winner

Agree with Shakey on Doc Oc.

"oddly, the other day my wife and I were talking about what rap is appropriate to play around our daughter..."

This deserves a thread I think, my kid is 2.5 and I need to start getting some good playlists together.

oddly, the other day my wife and I were talking about what rap is appropriate to play around our daughter and she asked me if there was any decent post-'87 rap that didn't feature the "n-word" or egregious swearing in it and Brand Nubian was all I could come up with. that album is clean as a whistle, in a funny 5 percenter way.

this is entirely dependent on your tolerance threshold for Will Smith

Are there any committed five percenter rappers anymore? At least ones that foreground it? It was so dominant for a short while, along with constantly talking about your "intellect".

xp Nice analysis of Dr Octagon - I like it but I agree it got disproportionate attention for those reasons.

like, I would recommend He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper all day and all night

Can anyone vouch for Run DMC s/t being better than Raising Hell, always wondered if I should get it?

I think you could make a killer LL comp for kids, he's pretty clean, rakim too

just leave off "Doin' It"

Any episode of Yo MTV Raps will have plenty of good ideas in it.

There wasn't much that was "bad" for kids in "pop" rap pre 1988, was there?

like when I was getting into rap in 1985, everything I heard was goofy & non-threatening, which 11 year old me loved.

Blackalicious for kids? I had a teacher ask me this once and I just felt like some really old, out of touch hippy lecturer for suggesting it when her 10-yr old students would presumably, even at that age sooner listen to Obie Trice but I still recommended them to her. And J5 natch.

ah shit, I guess License To Ill was 1986; my parents hated that album.

I bet there is something a kid would like that isn't infinity years old.

nah Raising Hell is totally better

like, I would recommend He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper all day and all night

huh you know I don't have this album and I should - the singles from it are great. however, this is also precisely the limit of my tolerance of Will Smith lol

xp

There wasn't much that was "bad" for kids in "pop" rap pre 1988, was there?

yeah but note I said "post-'87". there's tons of old school stuff that's kid-appropriate and awesome - Whodini, the Biz, etc

Queen Latifah
assorted Tribe
Del the Funky Homosapien
MC Hammer (don't front)

was gonna say the low end theory is pretty low on obscenities

with Tribe I'm gonna have to explain what jimmy hats are...likewise "Bust A Move" is a pretty jolly tune but I have it in a karaoke video game & it's waaaay more lewd than I want to sing with my 10 year old.

let's get it started by hammer is a good one way better than please hammer don't hurt em

xp: this is why you stick with stuff like "Excursions"

i left my wallet in el segundo teaches kids a valuable lesson about keeping track of their wallets

first Tribe has Pubic Enemy on it
Low End Theory has a ton of swearing, plus the date rape song
Midnight Marauders has an ENTIRE SONG about the n-word

Latifah - eh, I dunno, never really been into her cuz I found that "Ladies First" single annoying. Monie Love otoh...

I dunno which Del album yr referring to, the first one is definitely not kid-appropriate (pissin' on your steps!)

xp

I am talking about songs, not entire albums!

And you should really investigate more of that first Latifah album, esp. "Dance For Me"

yeah maybe this should be another thread

xp

Children's Story by Slick Rick is probably not a good move tho.

or "a gangsta's fairytale"

Wu-tang is for the children iirc

Appropriate hip-hop tracks for children (post 1987)?

Haha, awesome turn this thread has taken!

Spotify playlist of the albums available from 100-51 (37 of them)

http://open.spotify.com/user/onimo/playlist/6wBgdIntW7HS5LN5LsQokj

thx onimo

nice! I am lucky enough to be in Europe for a while so I can use Spotify now (though it looks like I have to start paying after 10 hrs of usage? yuck).

had to go back and listen to Black Elvis bc of this thread and man it's filled with some hilarious hooks:

Supergalactic lover
Comin' from the projects on the hill
Supergalactic lover
In my monkey green rag top Seville

plus this song still rules

Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition, or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong.

Dre:Yo! This girl's only fifteen years old
You shouldn't take advantage of her, that's not fair

What am I missing?

― President Keyes, Thursday, 2 June 2011 02:19 (7 hours ago)

you're missing the lyric:

Dre: I'm your motherfucking conscience
Eminem: That's nonsense!

huh you know I don't have this album and I should - the singles from it are great. however, this is also precisely the limit of my tolerance of Will Smith lol

xp

― metally ill (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 2 June 2011 06:53

The first three albums are all p good, though the singles are usually the highlights

(though it looks like I have to start paying after 10 hrs of usage? yuck).

― Euler, Wednesday, 1 June 2011 23:13 (Yesterday) Bookmark

just restart yr pc, the 10hr count resets itself

holy shit wait wtf new spotify update has killed that. ;_; rip my spotify usage.

I use spotify on my phone as well as at home so I decided to subscribe - figured it was worth the price of a CD per month.

xp How can £10 a month for unlimited listening be prohibitively expensive?

are americans awake yet?

yar.

sup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coyIVpYwUyE

whoop

50. Ol Dirty' Bastard - Return of the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version [9 votes, 206 points, 1995]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2hlnEpE3kWw/S70BrIBw8nI/AAAAAAAAAF8/ydRGUsIJBxQ/s1600/Odb_welfare.jpg

haha yesssssss

unimpeachable.

Seem to recall some MTV piece where they accompanied ODB to the welfare office and asked him if he felt bad claiming benefits when he was in a pretty successful group. His answer was along the lines of "FREE MONEY!"

^^^^yessssssssssss

(tie w/ #48) 49. Dr. Dre - 2001 [8 votes, 207 points, 1999]

http://parlourmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/dr-dre-2001.jpg

^^ very high on my list

challops of the day: 2001 > the chronic

its another that is waaaay too long and much is just filler but when its good, its the best. also rip nate

Woah there, tpp. Great singles though.

i regularly listen to this all the way through.

i just wanna fuuuu-u-u-u-uck you

if you dont fuck with non-singles like 'fuck you' & 'the watcher' i just dk

TBH I can't remember exactly which ones were singles - I always assumed The Watcher was because it's so good. Great half-dozen highlights, I should have said.

compton is the city i'm from
can't never leave the crib without a murder weap-on

the hits from this album are some of the best known + loved rap songs (in my world of uk mid-to-late-20s ppl neway)

(tie w/ #49) 48. Slick Rick - The Great Adventures of Slick Rick [9 votes, 207 points, 1988]

http://image.betamonline.com/sdimages/disk17/146008.jpg

one of the coolest rap voices ever

^^ otm

that album was in my top 3! too low!

I thought this would be Top 20 easy.

needed to make room for every wu-tang album

One of my next-door neighbours is playing 2001 right now

here's the top 50 so far

100. Son of Bazerk - Bazerk Bazerk Bazerk (4 votes, 108 points)
99. Kanye West - Graduation (5 votes, 109 points - 2007).
98. Quasimoto (Madlib) - The Unseen [4 votes, 112 points - 2000]
97. Viktor Vaughn (MF Doom) - Vaudeville Villain [5 votes, 114 points, 2003]
96. 3rd Bass - The Cactus Album [4 votes, 119 points, 1989]
95. Kool Keith - Black Elvis/Lost In Space [4 votes, 122 points, 1999]
94. LL Cool J - Radio [7 votes, 125 points, 1985]
93. Gang Starr - Step In The Arena [4 votes, 125 points, 1990]
92. Pete Rock & Cl Smooth - Mecca and the Soul Brother [5 votes, 128 points, 1992] (tie w/ #91)
91. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter II [5 votes, 128 points, 2005] (tie w/ #92)
90. Scarface - The Fix [5 votes, 129 points, 2002] (tie w/ #89)
89. Cypress Hill - Black Sunday [6 votes, 129 points, 1993] (tie w/ #90)
88. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides [4 votes, 130 points, 1999]
87. Wu-Tang Clan - The W [4 votes, 132 points, 2000] (tie w/ #86)
86. Black Moon - Enta Da Stage [7 votes, 132 points, 1993] (tie w/ 87)
85. Heltah Skeltah - Nocturnal [4 votes, 133 points, 1996]
84. Organized Konfusion - Stress: The Extinction Agenda [4 votes, 134 points, 1994]
83. Kanye West - Late Registration [6 votes, 138 points, 2005]
82. Black Sheep - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing [6 votes, 139 points, 1991] (tie w/ #82)
81. DJ Quik - Rhythm-al-ism (5 votes, 1 #1 vote, 139 points, 1998] (tie w/ #81)
80. Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary [4 votes, 141 points, 1988] (tie w/ #78 and #79)
79. Camp Lo - Uptown Saturday Night [5 votes, 141 points, 1997] (tie w/ #80 and #78)
78. Run-DMC - Run-DMC [8 votes, 141 points, 1984] (tie w/ #80 and #79)
77. Big Pun - Capital Punishment [6 votes, 142 points, 1998]
76. Devin The Dude - Just Tryin' Ta Live [5 votes, 143 points, 2002
75. Ol' Dirty Bastard - Nigga Please [7 votes, 148 points, 1999]
74. Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill [6 votes, 151 points, 1986]
73. Organized Konfusion - Organized Konfusion [5 votes, 154 points, 1991] (tie w/ #72)
72. MF DOOM - Operation: Doomsday [6 votes, 154 points, 1999] (tie w/ #73)
71. T.I. - King [7 votes, 156 points, 2006]
70. A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm [6 votes, 158 points, 5 mics, 1990]
69. Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded [3 votes, 159 points, 1987]
68. Eric B & Rakim - Follow The Leader [8 votes, 162 points, 1988] (tie w/ #67)
67. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP [5 votes, 162 points, 2000] (tie w/ #68)
66. DJ Quik & Kurupt – Blaqkout [7 votes, 164 points, 2009]
65. Ice-T - O.G.: Original Gangster [6 votes, 167 points, 1991]
64. J Dilla - Donuts [7 votes, 168 points, 2006]
63. Ghostface Killah - Ironman [8 votes, 173 points, 1996]
62. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill [7 votes, 174 points, 1998]
61. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale [7 votes, 175 points, 2006] (tie w/ #60 and #59)
60. Missy Elliott - Miss:E So Addictive [7 votes, 175 points, 2001] (tie w/ #61 and #59)
59. Goodie Mob - Soul Food [5 votes, 175 points, 1 first place vote, 1995] (tie w/ #61 and #60)
58. Ultramagnetic MCs - Critical Beatdown [8 votes, 177 points, 1988
57. Clipse - Lord Willin' [6 votes, 186 points, 2002]
56. Main Source - Breaking Atoms [7 votes, 188 points, 1991]
54. Big L - Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous [7 votes, 192 points, 1995]
55. Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill [8 votes, 189 points, 1991]
53. Black Star - Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star [7 votes, 197 points, 1998]
52. Dr. Octagon - Dr. Octagonecologyst [7 votes, 1 #1 vote, 203 points, 1996]
51. Jeru the Damaja - The Sun Rises In The East [8 votes, 204 points, 1994]
50. Ol Dirty' Bastard - Return of the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version [9 votes, 206 points, 1995]

er bottom 50

thankg u for doing that, meaning i don't have to :)

bottom 51, actually </pedant>

sb'd you for that

47. Method Man - Tical [8 votes, 208 points, 1994]

http://www.retrogame-shop.com/shop/images/methodmantical.jpg

^^^ yay

aaand here they come

tical is... well it has great singles at least. totally shouldn't be in the top 100 though.

I'm surprised Return didn't chart higher.

well there are a lot of albums by the next group that had to fit in some how

The low end on Tical is so deeep and smooth. Release Yo Delf is my number one jogging/workout song.

46. De La Soul - Stakes Is High [4 votes, 213 points, 1996]

http://startwithtypewriters.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/de-la-soul-stakes-is-high.jpg

^^ I need to play this album more

Also, ODB: Raw Hide is like my favorite Wu solo joint. Just pure filth.

Ooh, I like me some De La.

i think the title track off that may be my favourite de la jam

huh guess I should finally listen to it

or dilla jam while we are here

my fav de la

i was born in 1990 and this is the first time I'm hearing REAL songs. Some of these songs are making me cry because I'm so happy. I NEVER knew rap had real socially conscious content and I thank everyone that uploaded these videos and commented on these videos. All of you pass real music on to me. Thank you for not giving up on rap just because mainstream media has.
dancur0209 1 month ago 7

^^^^needs a pimp slap, fckn de la youtube commenters

socially conscious content exactly why I have avoided stakes is high

Stakes is High is one of the first rap lps I ever bought, I like it but their 04 release The Grind Date has become my favorite of theirs over the years.

Tical way too high

pi

the grind date is dope too

Slick rick losing out to tical is some wu nerd bs

surprised we haven't had any jay or outkast yet

i voted for 3 wu-tang albums none of which we've had :S

Slick Rick really is the best voice in rap. He brought that bling too.

Went with 2 De La LP's but not 'Stakes' although I could easily have done so. Actually I could have gone for 'Buhloone' as well as it's got 'I AM I Be' on it.

surprised we haven't had any jay or outkast yet

― shalmaneser (tpp), Thursday, June 2, 2011 10:44 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

there are a lot of artists we haven't seen yet where i'm just like well it's pretty obvious which of their albums will place super high and which won't place at all

So there might be 3 De La albums in the top 50, hmm.

personally I would expect/hope for Stakes, 3 Feet and Is Dead

45. Madvillain - Madvillainy [11 votes, 216 points, 2004

http://www.zupes.com/img/Madvillain%20-%20Madvillainy.jpg

Had Buhloone and 3 Feet High in my top 20 but i've never been able to get into Stakes Is High for some reason

I guess it is really a toss-up between Buhloone and Is Dead for that 3rd album

that's too high but a good album

4 high votes for stakes is high vs 11 low votes for MV it looks like.

Is Dead is a lock for top 50, way more beloved than Buhloone

44. The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death [9 votes, my #1 vote, 217 points, 1997]

http://ak.buy.com/PI/0/500/60163373.jpg

the next two albums beating life after death are enough to make sb the shit out of ppl (if i could be bothered)

you're nobody til somebody SBs you

i'm gonna put this album on RIGHT NOW. so classic

Yes! MC Tunes

lol Doran

MC Tunes/Definition of Sound 1-2 punch

PLAAAYYYAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAAATEEEEEEEEEEEEER

TURN YO HEAD ROOOOOOOOOOOOOUND

LAY ON THE GROUND
YOUVE BEEN ROBBBBBBBBBBED

Between that and Ma$e's Jealous Guy, you have 2 of the best WTF moments in rap.

43. Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner [9 votes, 222 points, 2003]

http://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/covers/boy-in-da-corner.jpg

okay I love this album

"Jezebel" is all-time

Pure class.

also "Wot U On"

basically aside from "I Luv U" the singles don't do it justice

that album is grime

I like this much more than Life After Death but didn't vote for either.

I'm pretty sure it has some rapping on it xpost

Wtf

^^^^deej gets it

Boy In Da Corner is classic. 'Hold Ya Mouf' 'Cut 'Em Off' 'Jezebel'

kind of the point is that it was a separate thing

I am totally fine with this beating Life After Death

if it had beat Ready To Die I would have been surprised

Should have put the little 5 mic marker on LAD. I guess fuck doing that due to forgetfulness.

fuck 5 i want 108 pints...LAD

42. 2Pac - All Eyez On Me [8 votes, 225 points, 1996]

http://mp3get.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/754c15497f810426e4e411ed3c6.jpg

Should be higher ^

the rest is going to be a bunch of outkast, jay-z and wu-tang albums jammed together right

Flanking Tunes.

plus Native Tongues

every other city we gooo
every other video
no matter where i gooooo
i see them same

41. De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate [9 votes, 225 points, 1993

http://images.wax.fm/de_la_soul_buhloone_mind_state-BLRLP25-1247639238.jpeg

i'ne never actually heard that record other than the two singles

a hoy hoy at the end can you publish what the list would have looked like without any britishes voting?

also, listen to buhloone mindstate, it is a thing of gentle beauty

call it the whiney g whinegarten memorial blud sausage edition

xp

a hoy hoy at the end can you publish what the list would have looked like without any britishes voting?

that would be stupid

yeah fuck off

why stop there; publish what the list would have looked like without any white people voting

I want a full sociological analysis of these results broken down by race, gender, nationality, religion, and economic class

Dizzee beating life after death is crazy. dizzee beating slick rick is crazy

dizzee beating big l is crazy. and i like dizzee!

Would like to point out that "flushing mcs down the loo!!" Is something dizzee actually said once and not something whiney said while mocking britishers

a hoy hoy is proof that being british and having shitty british-y taste in rap are not the same thing

a couple americans voted dizzee too, so don't just go blaming us.

what and you think british people voted for dizzee?

a hoy hoy is proof that being british and having shitty british-y taste in rap are not the same thing

― a http://bit.ly/kv895M (some dude), Thursday, 2 June 2011 16:59 (19 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

aw shucks

I don't care if you're white black a bitch or a fucking bum off of the streets. If you rap about shooting people, smoking blunts, wearing timbs, drinking hennessy, and whatever else, I'll buy your music. If you rap about your girl, but don't call her a bitch, fuck you. If you rap about the economy and how its hurts migrant workers, fuck you. If you rap about your rap telekenisis or some equally retarded nerd shit, fuck you. That basically how I break it down to an extent.

^^^^ how ethan helped ruin ILM in one post

it's ok, ethan got flushed down the loo

the next record is one that i think will bring smiles to faces

"a couple americans voted dizzee too, so don't just go blaming us."

Someone needs to start Calling Out Names.

I don't care if you're white black a bitch or the fucking bum from The Streets

lady sovereign?

xxp

blak twang

40. EPMD - Strictly Business [10 votes, 230 points, 1988]

http://www.zupes.com/img/EPMD%20-%20Strictly%20Business.jpg

the next record is one that i think will bring smiles to faces

uh oh symsymsym might wanna look the other way unless he wants an eyeful of bad dental hygiene

OH SHIT

^^^p much my favourite cover in music history and yet i still kinda wanted to post this

http://www.impawards.com/1991/posters/strictly_business.jpg

rankings here are INSANE. deej OTM about the shit that's placing higher than fucking SLICK RICK come on now

to cheer things up a little, here's ODB picking up his food stamps in his limo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVatze-k7Bc

I don't even really dig Biggie but Dizee over him? gtfo

you realize the issue here isn't the quality of the stuff beating Slick Rick, it's that people aren't remembering Slick Rick esp. in the context of albums

Nice one w/ EPMD. My top 30.

lol tpp

also the um, lack of variety here is kinda sad... every Wu album, every De La album, every Madvillain record (what, no KMD? lol). like, the genre is broader than this, guys. I made a conscious effort to not vote for multiple albums by the same act (um lol with a few exceptions like DU! haha) but I guess not too many others felt the same...

it's that people aren't remembering Slick Rick esp. in the context of albums

yeah this is probably true. if some Dizzee song beats out La Di Da Di tho...

I was wondering when EPMD would show up. I had one of their other albums higher in my list but glad to see the debut make it this high.

39. The Beastie Boys - Check Your Head [8 votes, 239 points, 1992]

http://hotsaas.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/check_your_head.jpg

^^^Licensed to Ill is better

37. Ghostface Killah - The Pretty Toney Album [9 votes, 245 points, 2004]

http://www.hiphopforfree.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/00-Cover-STaT6.jpg

oops that was #38

^^^YESSSS. Ghost's peak.

My fav Ghost too.

cover connections:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_R-wex9j3--g/TO5Ql-BLOTI/AAAAAAAAD28/6mLnerqM_6o/s320/Doug_E_Fresh_Get_Fresh_Crew_-_Worlds_Greatest_Entertainer.jpg