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Post by thebluebus on May 26, 2020 18:54:17 GMT -5
Rank any artist's/band's discography and explain your rankings.
Figured I'd start with The Beatles cause well, they're the fking Beatles and my rankings of their albums probably don't align with many others so it makes for more debate and discussion.
1. Help! 2. Abbey Road 3. Sgt Pepper 4. Let It Be 5. The White Album 6. Magical Mystery Tour 7. Rubber Soul 8. Revolver 9. A Hard Day's Night 10. Beatles for Sale 11. Please Please Me 12. With the Beatles 13. Yellow Submarine
I know not many would have Help! very high, and certainly not #1. But I was going back thru their catalog not long ago and there's so many great songs on that album. "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," "Yesterday," "Ticket to Ride," "I've Just Seen a Face," and a lot more. To me, Help may have the most songs I really enjoy, although as a collective album, it may not compare to Sgt Pepper, Abbey Road or others. To be honest tho, any of my top 3 are interchangeable depending on what mood I'm in. Same can be said for #4 thru #8.
I know Revolver is high on most lists, and probably ranked too low here for some. It's not that I dislike it. Just like a few others a little more. Like I said, not much gap in any of those #4-#8 and all are pretty interchangeable (especially Rubber Soul and Revolver.) It's also hard to balance quality vs. quantity. In terms of volume, The White Album has an advantage of being a double album but doesn't have quite the quality of others.
Post by Jake Jortles on May 26, 2020 19:50:37 GMT -5
I'll be in this thread quite a bit.
I'll start with Jay-Z
1. Blueprint - It's really tough for me to rank the top three. I've switched them around a million times over the last 13 years or so since I first blasted through his discog. Currently, I'm giving BP the nod because it is the Jay Album that had a cohesive, new sound. You go to Blueprint and only Blueprint if your are looking for that feeling, whereas Reasonable Doubt isn't quite as easy to pick out of a lineup of albums that came 2 years before and after it. The three song stretch of Heart of the City - Never Change - Song Cry is perfecto. U Don't Know, Takeover, Momma Loves me... all stand outs. Izzo, Girls, Renegade... there are just so many legendary moments throughout.
2. Reasonable Doubt - His best lyrics. The first 8 songs are all classics in my opinion. I think D'Evils is the best written hip-hop song of all time. Much like I do with Jay's top 3 albums, I consistently change my opinion on what the best song on here is between Can I Live, Dead Presidents and D'Evils. Again, I don't think this one changed the game or stood out when it was dropped as much as Blueprint. Though I do think Jay's rapping here is much better than... say Nas on It Was Written from the same year.
3. The Black Album - This could be the one I frequent the most. I really only skip Change Clothes. So aggressive. So many classics. I've legit felt like this is the best Jay album at many points recently. It does feel like it has a little less soul to it than the first two though. And it feels a little less cohesive. 99 Problems, Dirt Off, PSA are obvious standouts but I almost wanted to write out every song on the album there. Lyrics on Threats and Justify my thug are nasty. What More Can I say is so fun especially at the end... ugh.
Tier 1 Cutoff: Each of these 3 albums land in my Top 20 hip hop albums ever, and they are primarily why Jay would be right there with OutKast as my favorite Hip-Hop act of all time.
4. 4:44 - Yayy Jay made a 4th great album! Cohesive. Doesn't feel like he is forcing anything like it did on other later material. The title track and Story of OJ will probably go down as classic Jay tracks. Production throughout is great though.
5. American Gangster - Would have this as a good but not quite great album. I do think it was important in that he got his footing back after KC. I have it below 4:44 as I don't think the content and sound was as up to date for the time each album was released. This would also win over 4:44 if you asked "which Jay album could you delete from his discography and not really notice the difference?" But I do want to shout out Fallin', Roc Boys, Success as some really strong tracks. Why the fuck Blue Magic and the Title Track were considered bonus material is fucking beyond me. Very very annoying and could have lifted this one above 4:44 potentially.
6. Volume 1: In My Lifetime - A very frustrating album. 6-7 top shelf Jay tracks bogged down by a few terrible singles and a couple other dated tracks that just didn't hold up. Very unfortunate. I don't think you can truly be a Jay fan if you don't have this same love/hate relationship with this album. You Must Love me, Intro, Where I'm From, Lucky Me, Rap Game Crack Game, Streets is Watching... my god. American Gangster and 4:44 were more consistent albums, but this one had higher highs.
Tier 2 Cutoff: I think the 3 above albums would be more highly regarded if they weren't in the shadows of his Big 3.
7. Dynasty: Roc La Familia - This will probably be weird for people to see. I think there is some personal bias somewhere here. I don't know why but I think this album is so fun and the rapping from Beanie and Jay is so good throughout. I think about punchlines from this album all of the time like when I'm doing chores and shit. Its totally not as good as any of the Volumes objectively, but idk I like it.
8. Volume 3: Life and Times of S. Carter - This album weirdly sounds more dated than Vol 2 somehow. And it has less of an identity, but I like it more. There is a brutal stretch in the middle third of the album, but the beginning and ending tracks are so damn good. I always imagine a super album that is like 12 tracks drawing the best of Volume 1 and Volume 3 that would have made for a classic album that could have rivaled his top 3... I have that playlist somewhere
1. A Million and One Questions 2. So Ghetto 3. Big Pimpin 4. Imaginary Players 5. The Streets is Watching 6. Dope man 7. Lucky Me 8. Do It Again 9. Where I'm From 10. Come and Get Me 11. You Must Love Me 12. Hova Song Outro
9. Volume 2: Hard Knock Life - This sound does nothing for me. It's Like That is one of the all time underrated Jay tracks though. His flow there is prime.
Tier 3 Cutoff: These three are decent.
10. Blueprint 3 - Similar to Kingdom Come, starts great then tailspins. There are a couple more good late tracks to keep it above by a couple spots.
11. Blueprint 2 - The land of misfit toys. Trying to keep up with some trends. Sound is not timeless. Title track fucking knocks. I hate double albums. Ahhh it does have some great tracks sprinkled in but they can't overcome the overall fluff.
12. Kingdom Come - This albums starts off amazing then tailspins badly. A little underrated tbh.
Tier 4 Cutoff: Not good but there are enough redeeming qualities and standout tracks to be found to make each album worth a couple listens.
13. Magna Carta Holy Grail - What purpose did this album serve. I go back to none of it. Embarrassing.
Watch the Throne may land at number 7 or so, but I'm not including it in this list.
Great idea! I personally have Rubber Soul near the bottom, because it just feels like the b-sides of Help and Revolver, which are two of my favorites. Abbey Road tops my list, and the rest of my list generally lines up the same. I haven't listened to Jay-Z's discography so I can't comment on that. I will be back with some rankings of my own.
1. Blueprint - It's really tough for me to rank the top three. I've switched them around a million times over the last 13 years or so since I first blasted through his discog. Currently, I'm giving BP the nod because it is the Jay Album that had a cohesive, new sound. You go to Blueprint and only Blueprint if your are looking for that feeling, whereas Reasonable Doubt isn't quite as easy to pick out of a lineup of albums that came 2 years before and after it. The three song stretch of Heart of the City - Never Change - Song Cry is perfecto. U Don't Know, Takeover, Momma Loves me... all stand outs. Izzo, Girls, Renegade... there are just so many legendary moments throughout.
2. Reasonable Doubt - His best lyrics. The first 8 songs are all classics in my opinion. I think D'Evils is the best written hip-hop song of all time. Much like I do with Jay's top 3 albums, I consistently change my opinion on what the best song on here is between Can I Live, Dead Presidents and D'Evils. Again, I don't think this one changed the game or stood out when it was dropped as much as Blueprint. Though I do think Jay's rapping here is much better than... say Nas on It Was Written from the same year.
3. The Black Album - This could be the one I frequent the most. I really only skip Change Clothes. So aggressive. So many classics. I've legit felt like this is the best Jay album at many points recently. It does feel like it has a little less soul to it than the first two though. And it feels a little less cohesive. 99 Problems, Dirt Off, PSA are obvious standouts but I almost wanted to write out every song on the album there. Lyrics on Threats and Justify my thug are nasty. What More Can I say is so fun especially at the end... ugh.
Tier 1 Cutoff: Each of these 3 albums land in my Top 20 hip hop albums ever, and they are primarily why Jay would be right there with OutKast as my favorite Hip-Hop act of all time.
4. 4:44 - Yayy Jay made a 4th great album! Cohesive. Doesn't feel like he is forcing anything like it did on other later material. The title track and Story of OJ will probably go down as classic Jay tracks. Production throughout is great though.
5. American Gangster - Would have this as a good but not quite great album. I do think it was important in that he got his footing back after KC. I have it below 4:44 as I don't think the content and sound was as up to date for the time each album was released. This would also win over 4:44 if you asked "which Jay album could you delete from his discography and not really notice the difference?" But I do want to shout out Fallin', Roc Boys, Success as some really strong tracks. Why the fuck Blue Magic and the Title Track were considered bonus material is fucking beyond me. Very very annoying and could have lifted this one above 4:44 potentially.
6. Volume 1: In My Lifetime - A very frustrating album. 6-7 top shelf Jay tracks bogged down by a few terrible singles and a couple other dated tracks that just didn't hold up. Very unfortunate. I don't think you can truly be a Jay fan if you don't have this same love/hate relationship with this album. You Must Love me, Intro, Where I'm From, Lucky Me, Rap Game Crack Game, Streets is Watching... my god. American Gangster and 4:44 were more consistent albums, but this one had higher highs.
Tier 2 Cutoff: I think the 3 above albums would be more highly regarded if they weren't in the shadows of his Big 3.
7. Dynasty: Roc La Familia - This will probably be weird for people to see. I think there is some personal bias somewhere here. I don't know why but I think this album is so fun and the rapping from Beanie and Jay is so good throughout. I think about punchlines from this album all of the time like when I'm doing chores and shit. Its totally not as good as any of the Volumes objectively, but idk I like it.
8. Volume 3: Life and Times of S. Carter - This album weirdly sounds more dated than Vol 2 somehow. And it has less of an identity, but I like it more. There is a brutal stretch in the middle third of the album, but the beginning and ending tracks are so damn good. I always imagine a super album that is like 12 tracks drawing the best of Volume 1 and Volume 3 that would have made for a classic album that could have rivaled his top 3... I have that playlist somewhere
1. A Million and One Questions 2. So Ghetto 3. Big Pimpin 4. Imaginary Players 5. The Streets is Watching 6. Dope man 7. Lucky Me 8. Do It Again 9. Where I'm From 10. Come and Get Me 11. You Must Love Me 12. Hova Song Outro
9. Volume 2: Hard Knock Life - This sound does nothing for me. It's Like That is one of the all time underrated Jay tracks though. His flow there is prime.
Tier 3 Cutoff: These three are decent.
10. Blueprint 3 - Similar to Kingdom Come, starts great then tailspins. There are a couple more good late tracks to keep it above by a couple spots.
11. Blueprint 2 - The land of misfit toys. Trying to keep up with some trends. Sound is not timeless. Title track fucking knocks. I hate double albums. Ahhh it does have some great tracks sprinkled in but they can't overcome the overall fluff.
12. Kingdom Come - This albums starts off amazing then tailspins badly. A little underrated tbh.
Tier 4 Cutoff: Not good but there are enough redeeming qualities and standout tracks to be found to make each album worth a couple listens.
13. Magna Carta Holy Grail - What purpose did this album serve. I go back to none of it. Embarrassing.
Watch the Throne may land at number 7 or so, but I'm not including it in this list.
I'm sure my Jay-Z rankings are all over the place compared to most but...
1. Black Album - so many bangers for me. Dirt off my Shoulder, Threat, Moment of Clarity, Lucifer, 99 Problems, and on. 2. Blueprint 2 3. In My Lifetime Vol 1 4. Blueprint 5. American Gangster 6. Blueprint 3 7. Vol 3 8. Vol 2 9. Reasonable Doubt - probably way to low for most Jay fans. But it just never did it for me. Probably because I grew up in CA on more west coast early/mid 90s hip-hop. I'd probably rank Nas's Illmatic similarly. I didn't really appreciate the east coast sound until later (at least in terms of production.) But I will admit that lyrically it was one of better ones. 10. The Dynasty 11. Magna Carta 12. 4:44 13. Kingdom Come
Great idea! I personally have Rubber Soul near the bottom, because it just feels like the b-sides of Help and Revolver, which are two of my favorites. Abbey Road tops my list, and the rest of my list generally lines up the same. I haven't listened to Jay-Z's discography so I can't comment on that. I will be back with some rankings of my own.
I can see that. But songs like Norwegian Wood and In My Life are really high on my fav Beatles jams so it was hard to rank Rubber Soul too low.
() Ágætis byrjun Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust Takk... Kveikur Valtari Von
() is one of my favorite albums of all time, easily in my top 5. It hits me in a way no other album really does. Ágætis byrjun is incredible, and it makes sense to me why most people prefer it to (). Valtari and Von are both pretty weak respective to the rest of their discography, but they're both still solid albums. Everything above Valtari is a 9/10, with Ágætis byrjun and () both being 10s.
Post by MrPricklePants on May 26, 2020 23:41:58 GMT -5
Weezer
1. Blue Album 2. Pinkerton 3. White Album 4. Everything Will Be Alright in the End 5. Green Album 6. Black Album 7. Pacific Daydream 8. Make Believe 9. Maladroit 10. Red Album 11. Hurley 12. Teal Album 13. Raditude
Blue is a perfect album. The only weak track on Pinkerton imo is Falling for You (that's gonna ruffle some feathers). Tragic Girl, the best B-side ever, should have replaced it. White Album is so enjoyable and sunny--about as good as Weezer could possibly get in their current form. Jacked Up is their best song post-Pinkerton and deserves more recognition. EWBAITE is decent, but I'm consistently underwhelmed by it. Not a bad track on it but nothing stands out to me as great. Green has Island in the Sun--I mean, classic. Black Album and Pacific Daydream yeah w/e they're consistently meh but marginally enjoyable and entertaining sometimes. I'm not a fan of their noisier Green Day-esque stuff which is why Maladroit is low. The guitars sound too loud and poorly mixed. Teal Album is so so so boring and lame to me.
Post by Jake Jortles on May 27, 2020 17:26:12 GMT -5
Alright Round 2 for me... OutKast
1. Aquemini - My favorite album of all time. It comes with 2 blemishes and it still gets that spot from me. First blemish is Mamacita. Not a good song. Second blemish is West Savannah which is actually a good song but it is so clearly a leftover cut from their debut album that it throws off the cohesion of the album slightly and nudges it out of the world of perfection. Before I dive into specific songs, I want to point out that I always felt like we saw the evolution from Big Boi's world (Southernplay) to Andre's world (Stank) before things got hairy after the Big 4. The two in the middle were perfect blends of the two worlds in my mind. But Aquemini leaned more to Andre's side as it was more diverse, took more risks, etc...
There are SEVEN absolutely perfect songs on Aquemini. And these are not just safe hip-hop formula tracks. They are all major swings (outside of maybe the title track) and major hits... for me. They aren't actually hits. The seven in order of tracklisting with highlight qualities in parenthesis: Rosa Parks (BB's flow, harmonica dance off), Aquemini (Andre's final verse), Da Art Part 1 (Andre's verse is the greatest verse of all time), Da Art Part 2 (concept, urgency, vocal effect), SpottieOttie (obvious), Liberation (idk actually), Chonkyfire (beat).
And it's not like the rest is filler. Songs like Return of the G, Skew it on the Bar B, Synthesizer, Slump, Yall Scared would all be standouts on most other great albums. The intro and Nathaniel skit are fantastic. Closing Chonkyfire with Andre's Source Awards speech... god I love this thing.
I also love the production here. Andre, Big Boi and Mr DJ produced most of this shit themselves and a lot of the riffs used for beats just sprung to existence from jam sessions. If you look at the liner notes, there are like 20 musicians credited. Not that there is a problem with sample based hip-hop, but it just adds to the one of a kind nature and feel of this album. A true masterpiece in my opinion that will live on forever without sounding dated.
2. ATLiens - Some people struggle with the ATL / Aquemini debate more than I do. There is no Mamacita on ATLiens, so it is more consistent. It does have a sound to it that makes the full project feel unique. It's in my Top 20 Hip-Hop albums of all time and its a major reason why I love Kast so much. But this album tracklist is full of doubles and triples and 3-4 home runs as opposed to 7 like Aquemini. Because it is a safer album. I will say... Big Boi's delivery and flow across this album is all time stuff. Fucking immaculate that slippery motherfucker. I just listen to 2 Dope Boyz N a Cadillac with a grin ear to ear every time. Best Tracks: ATLiens, Jazze, 2 Dope, Elevators with Wheelz, Babylon and 13th Floor right behind.
3. Stankonia - For the longest time I had this at 4. Stankonia just feels like it's speaking to a major audience where the first 3 albums felt like they were speaking directly to me. However, Southernplay loses some points for sounding a little too familiar to what Dr. Dre did the two years prior and their flows and voices weren't yet at an all time level. They took a major jump on ATLiens then another one on Aquemini. Stankonia, while feeling more scattershot and less personal than the two above, is so experimental with such monumental highs that I have it a touch above the debut. Of course there is the big three of Ms. Jackson, So Fresh and BOB. Gasoline Dreams gets love everywhere. A few of my other faves include Humble Mumble, Toilet Tisha and Slum Beautiful.
4. Southernplayalistik - This album is so fucking consistent with so many great songs. There are just a few too many tracks that blend in and are worthy of a skip in 2020. Their style is also less unique here. My favorites are the title track, Hootie Hoo, Aint no Thang and then Crumblin Erb is one of the best Kast songs period.
4.5/ Sir Lucious Left Foot - Son of Chico Dusty - Heyooo Let's go Big Boi. So many great tracks here. Be Still, Shineblockas, Shutterbug, Fo Yo Sorrows, Daddy Fat Sax, etc. Was so into this album when it came out. This is in the league of the two above it for me.
Some space here to recognize the drop off.
5. Speakerboxx / Love Below - Speakerboxx is better than The Love Below to me. Wish Andre would have just let BB take the reigns and added his flair a bit. Could have been another classic. Church, Flip Flop Rock, War, Bowtie, Unhappy are some overlooked jams. Yeah I've never cared about TLB and I think i just resent it as it kind of represents their breakup to me.
6. Idlewild - A little underrated. If you just took the best 10 songs it would have been a great album again, but I guess you can say that about many albums. Idlewild great version below:
1. Mighty O 2. Peaches 3. N2U 4. Morris Brown 5. Chronometrophobia 6. The Train 7. Life is a Musical 8. Hollywood Divorce 9. In Your Dreams 10. Mutron Angel
1. Aquemini - My favorite album of all time. It comes with 2 blemishes and it still gets that spot from me. First blemish is Mamacita. Not a good song. Second blemish is West Savannah which is actually a good song but it is so clearly a leftover cut from their debut album that it throws off the cohesion of the album slightly and nudges it out of the world of perfection. Before I dive into specific songs, I want to point out that I always felt like we saw the evolution from Big Boi's world (Southernplay) to Andre's world (Stank) before things got hairy after the Big 4. The two in the middle were perfect blends of the two worlds in my mind. But Aquemini leaned more to Andre's side as it was more diverse, took more risks, etc...
There are SEVEN absolutely perfect songs on Aquemini. And these are not just safe hip-hop formula tracks. They are all major swings (outside of maybe the title track) and major hits... for me. They aren't actually hits. The seven in order of tracklisting with highlight qualities in parenthesis: Rosa Parks (BB's flow, harmonica dance off), Aquemini (Andre's final verse), Da Art Part 1 (Andre's verse is the greatest verse of all time), Da Art Part 2 (concept, urgency, vocal effect), SpottieOttie (obvious), Liberation (idk actually), Chonkyfire (beat).
And it's not like the rest is filler. Songs like Return of the G, Skew it on the Bar B, Synthesizer, Slump, Yall Scared would all be standouts on most other great albums. The intro and Nathaniel skit are fantastic. Closing Chonkyfire with Andre's Source Awards speech... god I love this thing.
I also love the production here. Andre, Big Boi and Mr DJ produced most of this shit themselves and a lot of the riffs used for beats just sprung to existence from jam sessions. If you look at the liner notes, there are like 20 musicians credited. Not that there is a problem with sample based hip-hop, but it just adds to the one of a kind nature and feel of this album. A true masterpiece in my opinion that will live on forever without sounding dated.
2. ATLiens - Some people struggle with the ATL / Aquemini debate more than I do. There is no Mamacita on ATLiens, so it is more consistent. It does have a sound to it that makes the full project feel unique. It's in my Top 20 Hip-Hop albums of all time and its a major reason why I love Kast so much. But this album tracklist is full of doubles and triples and 3-4 home runs as opposed to 7 like Aquemini. Because it is a safer album. I will say... Big Boi's delivery and flow across this album is all time stuff. Fucking immaculate that slippery motherfucker. I just listen to 2 Dope Boyz N a Cadillac with a grin ear to ear every time. Best Tracks: ATLiens, Jazze, 2 Dope, Elevators with Wheelz, Babylon and 13th Floor right behind.
3. Stankonia - For the longest time I had this at 4. Stankonia just feels like it's speaking to a major audience where the first 3 albums felt like they were speaking directly to me. However, Southernplay loses some points for sounding a little too familiar to what Dr. Dre did the two years prior and their flows and voices weren't yet at an all time level. They took a major jump on ATLiens then another one on Aquemini. Stankonia, while feeling more scattershot and less personal than the two above, is so experimental with such monumental highs that I have it a touch above the debut. Of course there is the big three of Ms. Jackson, So Fresh and BOB. Gasoline Dreams gets love everywhere. A few of my other faves include Humble Mumble, Toilet Tisha and Slum Beautiful.
4. Southernplayalistik - This album is so fucking consistent with so many great songs. There are just a few too many tracks that blend in and are worthy of a skip in 2020. Their style is also less unique here. My favorites are the title track, Hootie Hoo, Aint no Thang and then Crumblin Erb is one of the best Kast songs period.
4.5/ Sir Lucious Left Foot - Son of Chico Dusty - Heyooo Let's go Big Boi. So many great tracks here. Be Still, Shineblockas, Shutterbug, Fo Yo Sorrows, Daddy Fat Sax, etc. Was so into this album when it came out. This is in the league of the two above it for me.
Some space here to recognize the drop off.
5. Speakerboxx / Love Below - Speakerboxx is better than The Love Below to me. Wish Andre would have just let BB take the reigns and added his flair a bit. Could have been another classic. Church, Flip Flop Rock, War, Bowtie, Unhappy are some overlooked jams. Yeah I've never cared about TLB and I think i just resent it as it kind of represents their breakup to me.
6. Idlewild - A little underrated. If you just took the best 10 songs it would have been a great album again, but I guess you can say that about many albums. Idlewild great version below:
1. Mighty O 2. Peaches 3. N2U 4. Morris Brown 5. Chronometrophobia 6. The Train 7. Life is a Musical 8. Hollywood Divorce 9. In Your Dreams 10. Mutron Angel
I think you're wrong. Aquemini is perfect. So is ATLiens but Aquemini is a different level.
1. Aquemini - My favorite album of all time. It comes with 2 blemishes and it still gets that spot from me. First blemish is Mamacita. Not a good song. Second blemish is West Savannah which is actually a good song but it is so clearly a leftover cut from their debut album that it throws off the cohesion of the album slightly and nudges it out of the world of perfection. Before I dive into specific songs, I want to point out that I always felt like we saw the evolution from Big Boi's world (Southernplay) to Andre's world (Stank) before things got hairy after the Big 4. The two in the middle were perfect blends of the two worlds in my mind. But Aquemini leaned more to Andre's side as it was more diverse, took more risks, etc...
There are SEVEN absolutely perfect songs on Aquemini. And these are not just safe hip-hop formula tracks. They are all major swings (outside of maybe the title track) and major hits... for me. They aren't actually hits. The seven in order of tracklisting with highlight qualities in parenthesis: Rosa Parks (BB's flow, harmonica dance off), Aquemini (Andre's final verse), Da Art Part 1 (Andre's verse is the greatest verse of all time), Da Art Part 2 (concept, urgency, vocal effect), SpottieOttie (obvious), Liberation (idk actually), Chonkyfire (beat).
And it's not like the rest is filler. Songs like Return of the G, Skew it on the Bar B, Synthesizer, Slump, Yall Scared would all be standouts on most other great albums. The intro and Nathaniel skit are fantastic. Closing Chonkyfire with Andre's Source Awards speech... god I love this thing.
I also love the production here. Andre, Big Boi and Mr DJ produced most of this shit themselves and a lot of the riffs used for beats just sprung to existence from jam sessions. If you look at the liner notes, there are like 20 musicians credited. Not that there is a problem with sample based hip-hop, but it just adds to the one of a kind nature and feel of this album. A true masterpiece in my opinion that will live on forever without sounding dated.
2. ATLiens - Some people struggle with the ATL / Aquemini debate more than I do. There is no Mamacita on ATLiens, so it is more consistent. It does have a sound to it that makes the full project feel unique. It's in my Top 20 Hip-Hop albums of all time and its a major reason why I love Kast so much. But this album tracklist is full of doubles and triples and 3-4 home runs as opposed to 7 like Aquemini. Because it is a safer album. I will say... Big Boi's delivery and flow across this album is all time stuff. Fucking immaculate that slippery motherfucker. I just listen to 2 Dope Boyz N a Cadillac with a grin ear to ear every time. Best Tracks: ATLiens, Jazze, 2 Dope, Elevators with Wheelz, Babylon and 13th Floor right behind.
3. Stankonia - For the longest time I had this at 4. Stankonia just feels like it's speaking to a major audience where the first 3 albums felt like they were speaking directly to me. However, Southernplay loses some points for sounding a little too familiar to what Dr. Dre did the two years prior and their flows and voices weren't yet at an all time level. They took a major jump on ATLiens then another one on Aquemini. Stankonia, while feeling more scattershot and less personal than the two above, is so experimental with such monumental highs that I have it a touch above the debut. Of course there is the big three of Ms. Jackson, So Fresh and BOB. Gasoline Dreams gets love everywhere. A few of my other faves include Humble Mumble, Toilet Tisha and Slum Beautiful.
4. Southernplayalistik - This album is so fucking consistent with so many great songs. There are just a few too many tracks that blend in and are worthy of a skip in 2020. Their style is also less unique here. My favorites are the title track, Hootie Hoo, Aint no Thang and then Crumblin Erb is one of the best Kast songs period.
4.5/ Sir Lucious Left Foot - Son of Chico Dusty - Heyooo Let's go Big Boi. So many great tracks here. Be Still, Shineblockas, Shutterbug, Fo Yo Sorrows, Daddy Fat Sax, etc. Was so into this album when it came out. This is in the league of the two above it for me.
Some space here to recognize the drop off.
5. Speakerboxx / Love Below - Speakerboxx is better than The Love Below to me. Wish Andre would have just let BB take the reigns and added his flair a bit. Could have been another classic. Church, Flip Flop Rock, War, Bowtie, Unhappy are some overlooked jams. Yeah I've never cared about TLB and I think i just resent it as it kind of represents their breakup to me.
6. Idlewild - A little underrated. If you just took the best 10 songs it would have been a great album again, but I guess you can say that about many albums. Idlewild great version below:
1. Mighty O 2. Peaches 3. N2U 4. Morris Brown 5. Chronometrophobia 6. The Train 7. Life is a Musical 8. Hollywood Divorce 9. In Your Dreams 10. Mutron Angel
I think you're wrong. Aquemini is perfect. So is ATLiens but Aquemini is a different level.
Its been weird for me to come to grips with the idea that my favorite all time album isnt perfect in my eyes. I stand by what I said about those two songs but glad we both generally feel the same.
Post by thebluebus on May 27, 2020 20:10:19 GMT -5
Great selection of artists so far.
Would really have to go back thru Sigur Ros catalog to order them, but Takk is definitely #1 for me.
Steely Dan: 1. Can't Buy a Thrill - such a great album. Hands down my fav from them. 2. Countdown to Ecstasy 3. Gaucho 4. Katy Lied 5. The Royal Scam 6. Pretzel Logic 7. Everything Must Go 8. Aja 9. Two Against Nature
1. Aquemini - My favorite album of all time. It comes with 2 blemishes and it still gets that spot from me. First blemish is Mamacita. Not a good song. Second blemish is West Savannah which is actually a good song but it is so clearly a leftover cut from their debut album that it throws off the cohesion of the album slightly and nudges it out of the world of perfection. Before I dive into specific songs, I want to point out that I always felt like we saw the evolution from Big Boi's world (Southernplay) to Andre's world (Stank) before things got hairy after the Big 4. The two in the middle were perfect blends of the two worlds in my mind. But Aquemini leaned more to Andre's side as it was more diverse, took more risks, etc...
There are SEVEN absolutely perfect songs on Aquemini. And these are not just safe hip-hop formula tracks. They are all major swings (outside of maybe the title track) and major hits... for me. They aren't actually hits. The seven in order of tracklisting with highlight qualities in parenthesis: Rosa Parks (BB's flow, harmonica dance off), Aquemini (Andre's final verse), Da Art Part 1 (Andre's verse is the greatest verse of all time), Da Art Part 2 (concept, urgency, vocal effect), SpottieOttie (obvious), Liberation (idk actually), Chonkyfire (beat).
And it's not like the rest is filler. Songs like Return of the G, Skew it on the Bar B, Synthesizer, Slump, Yall Scared would all be standouts on most other great albums. The intro and Nathaniel skit are fantastic. Closing Chonkyfire with Andre's Source Awards speech... god I love this thing.
I also love the production here. Andre, Big Boi and Mr DJ produced most of this shit themselves and a lot of the riffs used for beats just sprung to existence from jam sessions. If you look at the liner notes, there are like 20 musicians credited. Not that there is a problem with sample based hip-hop, but it just adds to the one of a kind nature and feel of this album. A true masterpiece in my opinion that will live on forever without sounding dated.
2. ATLiens - Some people struggle with the ATL / Aquemini debate more than I do. There is no Mamacita on ATLiens, so it is more consistent. It does have a sound to it that makes the full project feel unique. It's in my Top 20 Hip-Hop albums of all time and its a major reason why I love Kast so much. But this album tracklist is full of doubles and triples and 3-4 home runs as opposed to 7 like Aquemini. Because it is a safer album. I will say... Big Boi's delivery and flow across this album is all time stuff. Fucking immaculate that slippery motherfucker. I just listen to 2 Dope Boyz N a Cadillac with a grin ear to ear every time. Best Tracks: ATLiens, Jazze, 2 Dope, Elevators with Wheelz, Babylon and 13th Floor right behind.
3. Stankonia - For the longest time I had this at 4. Stankonia just feels like it's speaking to a major audience where the first 3 albums felt like they were speaking directly to me. However, Southernplay loses some points for sounding a little too familiar to what Dr. Dre did the two years prior and their flows and voices weren't yet at an all time level. They took a major jump on ATLiens then another one on Aquemini. Stankonia, while feeling more scattershot and less personal than the two above, is so experimental with such monumental highs that I have it a touch above the debut. Of course there is the big three of Ms. Jackson, So Fresh and BOB. Gasoline Dreams gets love everywhere. A few of my other faves include Humble Mumble, Toilet Tisha and Slum Beautiful.
4. Southernplayalistik - This album is so fucking consistent with so many great songs. There are just a few too many tracks that blend in and are worthy of a skip in 2020. Their style is also less unique here. My favorites are the title track, Hootie Hoo, Aint no Thang and then Crumblin Erb is one of the best Kast songs period.
4.5/ Sir Lucious Left Foot - Son of Chico Dusty - Heyooo Let's go Big Boi. So many great tracks here. Be Still, Shineblockas, Shutterbug, Fo Yo Sorrows, Daddy Fat Sax, etc. Was so into this album when it came out. This is in the league of the two above it for me.
Some space here to recognize the drop off.
5. Speakerboxx / Love Below - Speakerboxx is better than The Love Below to me. Wish Andre would have just let BB take the reigns and added his flair a bit. Could have been another classic. Church, Flip Flop Rock, War, Bowtie, Unhappy are some overlooked jams. Yeah I've never cared about TLB and I think i just resent it as it kind of represents their breakup to me.
6. Idlewild - A little underrated. If you just took the best 10 songs it would have been a great album again, but I guess you can say that about many albums. Idlewild great version below:
1. Mighty O 2. Peaches 3. N2U 4. Morris Brown 5. Chronometrophobia 6. The Train 7. Life is a Musical 8. Hollywood Divorce 9. In Your Dreams 10. Mutron Angel
Outkast is probably my favorite hip hop band/duo. Three classic albums imo and those top 3 are really close.
1. Aquemini - One of my favorite hip hop albums ever. From Return of the G to Chonkyfire, it's just a great listen all the way through. 2. Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik - Love this album. One of the first rap CDs I ever bought. So many good tracks on here and not many better debut albums. 3. ATLiens - Some of my favorite Outkast songs are off this album. First half of it was 10/10. Started falling off just a bit for me on the 2nd half.
BIG Gap
4. SpeakerBoxx / The Love Below - appreciate Dre's desire to branch out and try something new. Still liked his old rapping self better but I still enjoyed it. 5. Stankonia - solid, not great 6. Idlewild - only album I really didn't care for at all. More of a soundtrack so idk if it should even count.
Post by thebluebus on May 27, 2020 20:33:59 GMT -5
Figured I'd do Lana next. She had my favorite album of last year.
1. NFR! - Really try to avoid recency bias when I rank albums, but this album was a masterpiece. 2. Lust for Life - didn't get the critical acclaim of NFR but personally, I like it almost just as much. 3. Born to Die - just a tad below the other two. 4. Ultraviolence - really good overall, just not as great as the first three. 5. Paradise - Songs like "Gods & Monsters", "Cola" and "Ride" give this one an edge over Honeymoon 6. Honeymoon - Only "eh" album imo. Not bad, just eh.
1. Transatlanticism 2. Plans 3. We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes 4. Narrow Stairs 5. The Photo Album 6. Something About Airplanes 7. Thank You for Today 8. Kintsugi 9. Codes and Keys
I’ll give reasons later but Blood sugar sex magic Mothers milk One hot minute Uplift mofo party plan Californication Freaky styley Stadium arcadium By the way Self titled The getaway Whatever the last one was
And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know you realize that life goes fast - It's hard to make the good things last-you realize the sun doesn't go down - It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round
1. Transatlanticism 2. Plans 3. We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes 4. Narrow Stairs 5. The Photo Album 6. Something About Airplanes 7. Thank You for Today 8. Kintsugi 9. Codes and Keys
Transatlanticism is objectively the best but Narrow Stairs holds a special place in my heart.
I’ll give reasons later but Blood sugar sex magic Mothers milk One hot minute Uplift mofo party plan Californication Freaky styley Stadium arcadium By the way Self titled The getaway Whatever the last one was
I think The Getaway was their last one. Really like Stadium Arcadium. Played it not long ago and remember how good it was.
I’ll give reasons later but Blood sugar sex magic Mothers milk One hot minute Uplift mofo party plan Californication Freaky styley Stadium arcadium By the way Self titled The getaway Whatever the last one was
Really like Stadium Arcadium. Played it not long ago and remember how good it was.
And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know you realize that life goes fast - It's hard to make the good things last-you realize the sun doesn't go down - It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round
Would really have to go back thru Sigur Ros catalog to order them, but Takk is definitely #1 for me.
Steely Dan: 1. Can't Buy a Thrill - such a great album. Hands down my fav from them. 2. Countdown to Ecstasy 3. Gaucho 4. Katy Lied 5. The Royal Scam 6. Pretzel Logic 7. Everything Must Go 8. Aja 9. Two Against Nature
Would really have to go back thru Sigur Ros catalog to order them, but Takk is definitely #1 for me.
Steely Dan: 1. Can't Buy a Thrill - such a great album. Hands down my fav from them. 2. Countdown to Ecstasy 3. Gaucho 4. Katy Lied 5. The Royal Scam 6. Pretzel Logic 7. Everything Must Go 8. Aja 9. Two Against Nature
How the hell do you have Aja that low?
Black Cow > Aja > Deacon Blues is nice but i never really enjoyed side two tbh.
In 14 years, Brèl made 11 albums (and put out two live albums, both spectacular btw). He was a self made man and had a marvelous expression and an extrordinairy voice (gotta look up some of his live performances!). His albums vary between classic 'chanson'/'chanson à texte', vocal jazz, cabarèt and baroque pop. The instrumentations are always candid and dreamy yet vivid and full of emotions. Sometimes they're meant to be ridiculous (cabarèt) other times they're dramatic. His peak for me was in the last couple of years right before he quit music to persue an acting career (that didn't last long because he got ill) though a lot of people consider 'N° 4' his best work so.
1. Ces Gens-Là ('66) 2. 67 ('67) 3. J'arrive ('68) 4. self titled ('62) 5. N° 4 ('59) 6. N° 5 ('61) 7. Les Bigotes ('63) 8. Quand on n'a que l'amour ('57) 9. Jacques Brel et ses chansons ('54) 10. Jef ('64) 11. N° 3 ('58)
Last Edit: May 28, 2020 8:22:12 GMT -5 by Bing - Back to Top
