Top 50 Albums of the 00's

BLITZ_Molloy

http://passionweiss.com/2009/08/03/passion-of-the-weiss-top-50-rap-albums-of-the-00s-50-41/

I quite like this list. The writeups on each album are excellent.

Boom_Bap

BLITZ_Molloy wrote: »

http://passionweiss.com/2009/08/03/passion-of-the-weiss-top-50-rap-albums-of-the-00s-50-41/

I quite like this list. The writeups on each album are excellent.

cheers for that, it's a slow day in the office today so this will keep me busy.

horsebox09

Thanks for this.

Just had a quick browse through, a few things that pop out, ''tha carter 3'' ahead of albums like a long hot summer and the unseen

Graduation at number 7, that shouldn't be that high imo.

Ghostface - the pretty toney album at 25

No Cunninlyguists albums, A piece of Strange especially should be there imo.

I think ''the future is now'' deserves a place, especially seen as this a top 50 list, Brother Ali not being there is a surprise aswell.

Still, its a good list, i dont really like the order of some of the albums but not everyone is going to agree

btw, 3 Kanye albums in the top 11, thats some achivement

Boom_Bap

horsebox09 wrote: »

Thanks for this.

Just had a quick browse through, a few things that pop out, ''tha carter 3'' ahead of albums like a long hot summer and the unseen

Graduation at number 7, that shouldn't be that high imo.

Ghostface - the pretty toney album at 25 ( this ahead of supreme clinetelle??? which isn't even the list )

No Cunninlyguists albums, A piece of Strange especially should be there imo.

I think ''the future is now'' deserves a place, especially seen as this a top 50 list, Brother Ali not being there is a surprise aswell.

Still, its a good list, i dont really like the order of some of the albums but not everyone is going to agree

btw, 3 Kanye albums in the top 11, thats some achivement

Supreme Clientele is #2

I think the writer says that its not a definitive list that everyones taste will agree with...i know i certainly dont, but they are landmark albums in the past 10 years. There are even a few that i havent heard before that i've always said i would get around to someday. So it's been a nice little reminder.

Oh, and the piece about pinning up the Source top 100 albums and ticking them off.....done that myself!

horsebox09

Boom_Bap wrote: »

Supreme Clientele is #2

I think the writer says that its not a definitive list that everyones taste will agree with...i know i certainly dont, but they are landmark albums in the past 10 years. There are even a few that i havent heard before that i've always said i would get around to someday. So it's been a nice little reminder.

Oh, and the piece about pinning up the Source top 100 albums and ticking them off.....done that myself!

So it is, didn't even notice that:o:o

Your right alot of the albums there are landmark albums,i had a feeling either college dropout or the blueprint would be 1, and i cant argue with that because they where both HUGE albums, especially the blueprint.

I do think the mixing of mainstream and lesser known albums was a good idea, good to see albums like fantastic vol.2 and the cold vein gettig a mention, but as you say not everyone will agree on the albums picked

Have the source done a top 100 albums of the decade aswell ??

Boom_Bap

horsebox09 wrote: »

Have the source done a top 100 albums of the decade aswell ??

Not that i'm aware of, but many years back when The Source was my bible, they had a Top 100 issue

my friend google managed to find the list....from 98! Heres 2 of the search results:

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/DaTempetz/the_source_magazines_100_best_rap_albums/

http://niketalk.yuku.com/topic/151216/t/Top-100-rap-albums-Circa-The-Source-Magazine-January-1998.html

horsebox09

Boom_Bap wrote: »

Not that i'm aware of, but many years back when The Source was my bible, they had a Top 100 issue

my friend google managed to find the list....from 98! Heres 2 of the search results:

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/DaTempetz/the_source_magazines_100_best_rap_albums/

http://niketalk.yuku.com/topic/151216/t/Top-100-rap-albums-Circa-The-Source-Magazine-January-1998.html

Cheers, ah I see now what the writer of the article the O.P posted meant by comparing the 2, there is some difference!

Still, I think a few of the albums on Weiss' list would get onto the Sources

BLITZ_Molloy

Yeah I wouldn't agree with all the list either. But then my list would just be all Doom, Clipse and Outkast in the top 10 so it'd be a bit iffy to most people.

I don't care for Kanye's rapping but I suppose the quality of the production is what lands them in those positions.

horsebox09

BLITZ_Molloy wrote: »

Yeah I wouldn't agree with all the list either. But then my list would just be all Doom, Clipse and Outkast in the top 10 so it'd be a bit iffy to most people.

I don't care for Kanye's rapping but I suppose the quality of the production is what lands them in those positions.

Doom, Clipse and Outkast got alot of love from the guy who made the list, the Viktor Vaughn album was very low though

Im not a fan of Kanyes rapping either, i do like his production though, but the Graduation is way too high imo.

Still, I give the guy who made the list credit, I wouldn't be able to make one myself, definetly not in order anyway!

Makaveli

Knew what number one was going to be before I clicked on the link. All in all if you don't actually look at it as a ranked list it's a good list. No Cunninlynguists is a bit of a shocker though, A Piece of Strange is my album of the decade. I still think the inclusion of The Lost Tapes in these lists is cheating though. There's not really too many glaring omissions anyway.

InKonspikuou2

Decent enough list although i wouldn't agree with the order. Some quality albums left out as well that i'd put ahead of some listed. But you can't please everybody.

horsebox09

Makaveli wrote: »

Knew what number one was going to be before I clicked on the link. All in all if you don't actually look at it as a ranked list it's a good list. No Cunninlynguists is a bit of a shocker though, A Piece of Strange is my album of the decade. I still think the inclusion of The Lost Tapes in these lists is cheating though. There's not really too many glaring omissions anyway.

Agree 100%, Cunninlynguists could have 3-4 albums on here, but a Piece of Strange is a must imo, best album of the past 4 years, at least it is for me.

Yeah i think the albums chosen are good, and i wouldnt argue with most of albums picked, its just the order that their in.

Yeah lost Tapes is leftover tracks from the 90's, quality album but shouldnt be there for that reason.

horsebox09

InKonspikuou2 wrote: »

Decent enough list although i wouldn't agree with the order. Some quality albums left out as well that i'd put ahead of some listed. But you can't please everybody.

Yeah I definetly think there were some great albums left out, what would you have chosen/replaced??

I'd take a good few albums over the likes of Tha Carter 3 and T.I's album.

Makaveli

First to get the axe would be DOOM's new one. I wouldn't have 3 Kanye albums either and Common's Be would be gone. Devin the Dude got no love at all and neither did Murs or Mr Lif (both I Phantom and Black Dialogue (Perceptionists)) would make my 50. Brother Ali - Shadows on the Sun would definitely be on there as would DJ Format - Music for the Mature B-Boy.

BLITZ_Molloy

Agreed. I'm the biggest Doom fanboy evar but the new album was horse****. Venemous Villain was better, perhaps even Dangerdoom at a stretch.

Be is the only Common album I've listened to but I found boring. Kanye is a magnificent producer but his rapping is too poor to take up 3 spots in a top 50.

Boom_Bap

after seeing how high Born Like This was on the list it got me thinking a bit more about it. At first i didnt think it was anything special but i noticecd that i was going back to litening to it very regularly. Probably not worthy of a top 50 list but they album has grown on me quite alot.

InKonspikuou2

horsebox09 wrote: »

Yeah I definetly think there were some great albums left out, what would you have chosen/replaced??

I'd take a good few albums over the likes of Tha Carter 3 and T.I's album.

Without nitpicking too much and changing the order i'd probably have left out

Camron - Purple Haze
TI - The King
Lil Wayne - The Carter 3
Wale - The mixtape about nothing (I haven't heard this but i'm not one of the ones who jumped on his band wagon after Attention Deficit. Think it lacked consistency and struggles to know what it actually is)
The 2 Clipse albums (Some decent tracks between the 2 albums but not a fan)
UGK - Underground kingz (I'm not really into that genre of music these days. Loved it in the 90's though)
The 2 Streets albums ( I just never took to Mike Skinner for some reason although i do recognize his creativity.)
MOP - Warriorz (Some great raw tracks but too much filler & monotony for it to stay with me as a stand out album)


Okay it's not a straight swap out but looking back over the years i think all of the below are definitely candidates for best albums of the 00's. I left out 2009 and indeed some other albums that could easily have made it but excluded because they were too unknown. I also would have ended up with an entirely independent list.


The Coup - Party Music
Killah Priest - Priesthood
Cormega - The Realness
Atmosphere - God loves ugly
Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow
Mr. Lif - I Phantom
Non Phixion - The future is now
Brother Ali - Shadows on the sun
Louis Logic - Sin-a-Matic
Murs - The end of the beginning
Wordsworth - Mirror Music
Tonedeff - Archetype
Fort Minor - The rising tide
One Be Lo - S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M
The Perceptionists - Black Dialoque
Blue Scholars - Bayani
Black Milk - Tronic
J Live - The what happened?

HalloweenJack

It is all subjective of course but I do also 15 of those albums so I was able to have a feel for it.

I think "Graduation" shouldn't be in there at all. I'm a Kanye fan but I'm not too fond of it (still better than 808 though!). I also feel "Late Registration" is a bit high up.

I think De La's "The Grind Date" should be higher, it's an amazing album. It's nice to see J'Dilla's "Donuts" so high up, it was an instant classic in my books.

A few albums I'd have in there are Xzibit's "Restless", Talib Kweli's "Quality", Snoop Dogg's "Tha Blue Carpet Treatment" and "Paid Tha Cost To Be Da Boss", Redman's "Malpractice", Dungron Family's "Even In Darkness", Missy Elliott's "Miss E...So Addictive", Lil Jon & The Eastside Boys' "Crunk Juice", Jurassic 5's "Power In Numbers", Nappy Roots' "Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz" and "Wooden Leather".

spacecoyote

Yeah can't say I'd agree with some of the choices there, IMO "The Grind Date" is one of De La's weakest, as is "Be".

Definitely would be including Cunninglynguists, A piece of Strange & Will Rap for Food, both classics.

Also Panacea, Ink Is My Drink would be on mine

InKonspikuou2

Can't believe i left out Music, Magic, Myth by Last Emperor. One of my favorite albums ever.

Spacecoyote, what you think of The scenic route if you've heard it? I prefer it over their debut. It's more enjoyable and has this better feel good factor to it. There isn't one thing i can criticize about it. I hate this top lists because there is so much you end up leaving out. I'd be constantly revising mine if i ever made one.

Nolanger

Have 30 - must get the rest. Would have put Dilated Peoples' 20/20 in somewhere.

Bubs101

Graduation is nowhere near as good as Chasing Amy

Also, the fact Tha Carter III is there and Tha Carter II is nowhere to be seen is a bit of a disgrace

Makaveli

Carter II is indeed far superior to Carter III. I guess because it's a list compiled by votes some of the newer albums are going to edge out older ones. There's a nice balance to it though, not overly backpacker and not overly mainstream.

Nolanger you mention 20/20, I never really liked that album, thought it was a massive let down after Expansion Team which is another album overlooked here.

I'm finding the more you analyse this list the more you notice how many great albums didn't make it on there but as a snapshot of the decade it's decent.

Bubs101

If you're only picking 5 albums a year alot of great albums are obviously going to miss out

Le King

I like the list. Some of the positions? Maybe not. Plus the absence of any Cunninlyguists albums annoys me. Nevertheless, good list.

BLITZ_Molloy

The best thing about a hip hop list like this is nobody can make an argument for there being a 2Pac album in it.

spacecoyote

InKonspikuou2 wrote: »

Can't believe i left out Music, Magic, Myth by Last Emperor. One of my favorite albums ever.

Spacecoyote, what you think of The scenic route if you've heard it? I prefer it over their debut. It's more enjoyable and has this better feel good factor to it. There isn't one thing i can criticize about it. I hate this top lists because there is so much you end up leaving out. I'd be constantly revising mine if i ever made one.

haven't picked up the new album yet. I struggle to get my hands on much new music these days (wedding to pay for next year) might have to stick it on the christmas list. Cheers for the heads up. if its better than Ink is my Drink, then it must be fairly exceptional

Orizio

Its not, 'Ink Is My Drink' is their best album.

floggg

haven't much to say onon the list, which i read last week, and that was aiight, but only - lots there that i wouldn't have, and lots that was missing that should be there.

i'm more interested in the repsonses! really really struggling to figure out the love affair with DOOM. heard a few of his stuff and didn't dig it, the delivery and voice grates, songs and samples are too quirky, and it might be witty, be he talks (as opposed to raps) a whole load of nonsense. only songs i liked are the two he did with kweli, and i doubt they'd be much without kweli!

As for cunninglynguists, i only heard them for the first time on dirty acres, which is an amazing album, but then was fairly disappointed when i went back a got a piece of strange. was surprised to hear it get so much love. must give it another try, maybe i missed something!

Makaveli

Some things just aren't for you. If you don't like MF DOOM you don't like him, nothing wrong with that. You shouldn't feel obliged to like Madvilliany, Mmm. Food, Vaudiville Villian etc just because you like rap music.

As for A Piece of Strange it absolutely smashes Dirty Acres and I love both but APOS is just a different beast altogehter. There could be no Dirty Acres without APOS.

Boom_Bap

floggg wrote: »

haven't much to say onon the list, which i read last week, and that was aiight, but only - lots there that i wouldn't have, and lots that was missing that should be there.

i'm more interested in the repsonses! really really struggling to figure out the love affair with DOOM. heard a few of his stuff and didn't dig it, the delivery and voice grates, songs and samples are too quirky, and it might be witty, be he talks (as opposed to raps) a whole load of nonsense. only songs i liked are the two he did with kweli, and i doubt they'd be much without kweli!

As for cunninglynguists, i only heard them for the first time on dirty acres, which is an amazing album, but then was fairly disappointed when i went back a got a piece of strange. was surprised to hear it get so much love. must give it another try, maybe i missed something!

as Mak says, each to thier own, but in DOOMs defence, his lyrics may appear to be nonsence but they are actually quite clever. I dont get most of it myself because he is using obscure refernces in some cases but when you disect some of the lyrics, they are genius.

floggg

Makaveli wrote: »

Some things just aren't for you. If you don't like MF DOOM you don't like him, nothing wrong with that. You shouldn't feel obliged to like Madvilliany, Mmm. Food, Vaudiville Villian etc just because you like rap music.

As for A Piece of Strange it absolutely smashes Dirty Acres and I love both but APOS is just a different beast altogehter. There could be no Dirty Acres without APOS.

In the case of DOOM, it was more a case of me wondering what the **** was wrong with you guys! i can see no actual merit in any of the stuff of him i heard. i mean, who raps about vats of urine!

Also, dude seems like a douche - i presume you've heard about the stunt double he sends around to do his shows for him? actually, saw a pretty scathing piece from Kno of cunninglynguists about that a while back, was a good read.

floggg

Boom_Bap wrote: »

as Mak says, each to thier own, but in DOOMs defence, his lyrics may appear to be nonsence but they are actually quite clever. I dont get most of it myself because he is using obscure refernces in some cases but when you disect some of the lyrics, they are genius.

don't get me wrong, i know he can be clever, but at the end of the day, a song about vats of urine is a song about vats of urine. i don't care what its meant to be a metaphor for, i don't wanna hear anybody rap about that!

evil_seed

interesting list. sweet playlist to go with it . i have 32 of these

horsebox09

floggg wrote: »

haven't much to say onon the list, which i read last week, and that was aiight, but only - lots there that i wouldn't have, and lots that was missing that should be there.

i'm more interested in the repsonses! really really struggling to figure out the love affair with DOOM. heard a few of his stuff and didn't dig it, the delivery and voice grates, songs and samples are too quirky, and it might be witty, be he talks (as opposed to raps) a whole load of nonsense. only songs i liked are the two he did with kweli, and i doubt they'd be much without kweli!

As for cunninglynguists, i only heard them for the first time on dirty acres, which is an amazing album, but then was fairly disappointed when i went back a got a piece of strange. was surprised to hear it get so much love. must give it another try, maybe i missed something!

DOOM in my opinion is one of the best artists of the decade. Maybe born like this shouldnt have been listed, but the others deserve to be there, if anything its the love affair with Kanye West that scares me!

But on DOOM, yeah is definetly an acquired taste, I hated his stuff at first! But he has his own style, similar to Ghostface but more ''out there''. Lyrically, I think he's top notch, I love his wordplay and rhyme schemes, + he's unpredictable! He might seem to spew out alot of nonsense, but like Ghostface and Kool Keith, he sounds good doing it!
He has one of the best discogs in hip hop, at least in the last 10 years anyway

''A piece of strange in my opinion is a masterpiece, very origional concept, and production wise, very few albums released this decade come close too it. Deacan the villain and the guest appearances all came correct aswell ( especially Tonedeff on ''the Gates'' ).

Its all down too opinion, but I'd seriously struggle to find a more consistent rapper than DOOM this decade, or a more complete album than a piece of strange.

DOC09UNAM

horsebox09 wrote: »

Brother Ali not being there is a surprise aswell.

He is severely awesome.

Uncle Sam Goddamn is a classic.

InKonspikuou2

Orizio wrote: »

Its not, 'Ink Is My Drink' is their best album.

Well by your opinion. I think Scenic Route is a more complete album. I remember when it was first released reading a lot of online reviews which heralded it as better than Ink is my drink. So i'm not completely alone on that thought.

Nolanger

QNC - Duo Dynamic is a great album.

horsebox09

Another album to throw up, The Foreign Exchange - Connected
Brilliant album imo, the producion is amazing, and Phonte is his usual self!

Boom_Bap

there is another album that rarely gets mentioned that 've been listening to alot lately. Juggaknots - Use Your confusion. Absolutely brilliant album, nearly a perfect album.

Rjd2

No Spank Rock yoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyo

Boom_Bap

Rjd2 wrote: »

No Spank Rock yoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyo

Great album that doesnt get mentioned much

MrKingsley

I few that i might add to the list are

Fort Minor - The Rising Tied
D12 - Devils Night
50 Cent - Guess Whose Back
J5 - Power in Numbers

A couple id be looking to take out would be Kanye's Graduation and Late Registration and MOP's Warriors.

Good list in general though i think

shane86

Outkast get at least two mentions in a 21st century best 50 list? Why no J Kwon and Soulja Boy? Saying Outkasts post 90s muck output is better than the above two clowns is nothing short of pretentious. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers of hip hop.

BLITZ_Molloy

You'd have an argument for putting J Kwon or Soulja Boy in a hip hop single of the decade list, but album?

Makaveli

What's wrong with Stankonia? It's not like Idlewild is in there.

ghostface ste

shane86 wrote: »

Outkast get at least two mentions in a 21st century best 50 list? Why no J Kwon and Soulja Boy? Saying Outkasts post 90s muck output is better than the above two clowns is nothing short of pretentious. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers of hip hop.

This is ridiculous. Stankonia at the time was a great album and has some outstanding tracks, Love Below/Speakerbox also very good. Forget about Idlewild as its basically a soundtrack album. Comparing to the above artists is hilarious

Rjd2

Boom_Bap wrote: »

Great album that doesnt get mentioned much

Its a shame isn't it? Its one of the most funky rap albums of the last decade as well. totally unrelated did you hear the debut album of long time Spank Rock collaborator amanda Blank? Its not very good at all. :(:(:(

Boom_Bap

Rjd2 wrote: »

Its a shame isn't it? Its one of the most funky rap albums of the last decade as well. totally unrelated did you hear the debut album of long time Spank Rock collaborator amanda Blank? Its not very good at all. :(:(:(

Havent heard it....what's the latest Spank Rock album like?

shane86

ghostface ste wrote: »

This is ridiculous. Stankonia at the time was a great album and has some outstanding tracks, Love Below/Speakerbox also very good. Forget about Idlewild as its basically a soundtrack album. Comparing to the above artists is hilarious

You arent honestly telling me Andre 3000 is less cheesey than, christ, even the Black Eyed Peas. Their post 2000 stuff is embarassing.

ghostface ste

shane86 wrote: »

You arent honestly telling me Andre 3000 is less cheesey than, christ, even the Black Eyed Peas. Their post 2000 stuff is embarassing.

I'd rate Andre 3000 right up there in terms of the best rappers i've ever heard so NO. Funny thing is Will.i.am is a class rapper when he bothers his arse but Blacked Eyed Peas make my skin crawl (well early stuff exempt). Not going on about this anymore, gl