HipHopHeads: Your best Hip Hop Albums ever!

[HellboyOne]

Personally, I never thought Masta Killa could rap. He kinda just talked and sometimes lines would rhyme. I like about half of the Wu releases. The rest seems like filler to me.

Honestly, Stankonia's probably not Outkast's best album but musically it had some innovative stuff on there and I consider Outkast to be one of the only groups out of the South to be listenable.

[zak29]

Quite a few of my personal faves have been covered already (The Pharcydes Labcabincalifornia is, for me, the pinnacle of music full stop) but I'll try my best. I'll put a few UK fellas that I really recommend checking out in there.
By the way, I'm glad everyones got love for Deltron and Ready to Die, Biggies first is definitely his best.

[da peacekeeper]

before, ugh, 'Be'


Anything by MF DOOM, but my personal fav

[JuggaloJoe69]

Mr. Lif-I, Phantom

Immortal Technique-Revolutionary Vol. 1

Saul Williams-Amethyst Rock Star

Public Enemy-New Whirl Odor

This list has gotten steadily newer anyway. I consider these already or soon-to-become classics.

~*~Seppe~*~

[ragnar]

But also-

Busdriver- Temporary Forever
Above The Law- Time Will Reveal or Uncle Sam's Curse
Geto Boys- We Can't Be Stopped
Themselves- The No Music
Atmosphere- You Can't Imagine... or God Loves Ugly
Jungle Brothers- Done By The Forces Of Nature
Sage Francis- Personal Journals
People Under The Stairs- O.S.T

[HellboyOne]

Ragnar comes out of hiding!

I really really tried to get into Busdriver. Even saw him once (although as an opening act). But I just can't get into his stuff.

I'm also partial to the Geto Boys first album. It's so wrong and, at times, so wrong. Although We Can't Be Stopped was a good one, too.

I personally love Common's latest (the aforementioned "Be"). Maybe not up to par with his older stuff but it's still a breath of fresh air in hip hop.

[Dvontu]

I agree with you Hellboy about Wu-Tang. There was no real organization in the group, and their music really suffered. And as quiet as kept, there were Wu members that just did not feel RZA was the master beat maker everyone made him out to be. And honestly, one of the main reasons Wu-Tang made it, was because EPMD disbanded. Erick and Parrish (Makin' Dollars!) formed the Hit Squad (Redman, K-Solo, Das EFX, DJ Scratch, and Sam Sneed, along with EPMD!) The Hit Squad was supposed to be what Wu-Tang became... A crew of Hot rappers, with crazy beats, style, and a business savy pitch to sell millons of records! Obviously, this never happend. Anywho,the new stuff is cool, but I'm more of a classic Hip Hop guy myself. He's more!

[spacesick]

Ooh, Mantronix. Haven't heard that one in awhile.

Party people in the place to be

[ragnar]

Forgot-

Dr Octagon- Octagonecologist
Black Sheep- Wolf In Sheeps Clothing
Blood Of Abraham- Demos


That DOC album is one of my favorite all time hip hop albums. I used to see DOC around at parties after his accident, his voice was just a raspy whisper. Whirlwind Pyramid is my favorie single from this era.

Rick- I know what you mean about Bus Driver and you're probably right about the Geto Boys. That cover with Bill on the stretcher is a classic though.

[Dvontu]

The picture of Bushwick Bill, taken after he tried to commit suicide, forever made me stay away from Everclear!!!!!

[Thorsten Hasenkamm]

There are quite a few I'd also add to my list...to me a clasic hip hop album is an album that has at least 80% good/very good/great trax on it so you can hear listen through the whole album without skipping trax, with the feeling that nearly every or every track is a great song in itself, "a classic"...

Some others close to or in this category:

Heather B "Eternal Affairs", 2000


A Tribe Called Quest "Midnight Marauders", 1993


Busta Rhymes "Genesis", 2001


Big Punisher "Capital Punishment, 1999
(German Version with Uncensored and previously intended cover for worldwide release )


Craig Mack "Project Funk Da World", 1994


Cypress Hill "Cypress Hill", 1991


DMX"It's Dark And Hell Is Hot", 1998


EDO G "The Truth Hurts", 2000


EDO G "My Own Worst Enemy", 2004


EMINEM "The Eminem Show", 2002


EMINEM "Encore", 2004


GZA "Legend Of The Liquid Sword", 2002


D12 "Devil's Night", 2001


Method Man / Redman "Blackout", 1999


Mobb Deep "The Infamous", 1995


Nate Dogg "Music & Me", 2001


Xzibit "Restless", 2001


Scarface "The Fix", 2002

[Dvontu]

Eminem is one of the best lyricist ever! But his albums just don't do it for me. To me, it seems his best work, is done when he teams up with other MC's! Renegade, with Jay-Z, has some of Em's hotest, most complicated lyrics ever! And the remix to "The Realest" with B.I.G, 50 Cent, and Eminem, Em literally makes up another language! Amazing!

[da peacekeeper]

At the risk of sounding like a hater(screw that), Common Be was just all right. Here is my reasoning. I stuck with him thru E.Circus (which I liked), and then he comes with Be, which to me sounds like something K.West could have done. My beef is Common is better than Kanye, and I was extremely dissapointed with the sound of Be especially after Electric Circus.

[Dvontu]

You maybe right. But Kanye gave Be what no other album gave Common... Mainstream crossover appeal. We may not like it, but business is business. It's sad, because that's what's wrong with Hip Hop, and music, in general. Kanye gets radio spins, so of course, whatever he produces, gets spins as well. I hate radio (which is the main reason why Hip-Hop is in the state it's in.)

[HellboyOne]

I thought Electric Circus did some interesting stuff musically but it was lyrically weak for Com. And I'm a lyrics guy. Com got back to real writing with Be and Kanye made some beautiful music for him.

Ragnar: Two more I forgot...Dr. Octagon and the great, classic Wolf In Sheep's Clothing. Man, I played the hell out of that tape. (Yeah, I said it...tape.) To this day, if I'm in a hip hop club and they play The Choice Is Yours, the dance floor combusts. Same with the DOC. That accident was a damn shame. I wonder sometimes where his rhyming career would be had he not gotten into that wreck.

Great additions, Dvontu. I stopped listening to commercial radio a few years ago so I often don't know what's getting spin these days. But once in awhile I'll turn on the local hip hop station and get blasted by something terrible. KDAY (the classic AM hip hopstation from the 80s) came back in FM last year playing all old school hip hop and, man! That was good. I haven't listened in awhile (I just get so sick of commercials...) but I hope it's doing okay. Anyway...I think hip hop's doing fine. Mainstream hip hop kinda blows right now, but on the whole there are still a gazillion talented cats out there making great music (whether mainstream or underground). With a little searching, the gems surface.

T-bone: I feel that out of some of the artists you listed, their first albums were far superior. For example:


X to the Z's first is still his best with amazing and underrated beats by the great Sir Jinx
(part of the Ice Cube threesome CIA and producer on his Death Certificate).


What is it about being morbidly fat and being an incredible mc?


Sonically, this is Busta's best. The beats were bizarre and cool and his rhyming was
still sort of LONS style turned up to 11. I wore this cd out.

But you're dead-on about Mobb Deep. Mostly because of how good Shook Ones Pt. II is. Eminem's first two major label albums are definitely his best. Out and out classics.

Some more from me, also listing my Wu favorites:














I bet NOBODY here heard this album. It's so good, it must be mentioned. I'm into concept
albums and this one takes Masta Ace on a journey to a hip hop trade school. Guest
stars MC Paul Barman as his dorm roommate. His newer underground
stuff is nothing like Sittin' On Chrome (itself a bit of a classic) but it's still worth a listen.

And while we're at it...


A bit of what we see in his new stuff comes up on this cruise night classic. There's a
running thread with Ace showing around his west coast cousin around his hood.


I haven't heard their older records yet but I bet they're just as good. This has instant
classic written all over it. "Produced by Lois and Carmen Denominator."