Top 30 - My favorite albums [Part One]

I've been thinking about doing this for a while now and I've been thinking real hard about what album actually deserved to be in the top 30.

To help myselv narrow it down (and to put a twist on the whole topic) I decided to pick 10 albums from the last 3 decades. So I have picked 10 albums from the 80s, ten albums from the 90s and ten albums released from the year 2000 and until now.

1980-1989 (in completely random order)

PUBLIC ENEMY : IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS TO HOLD US BACK (1988)
Was there ever any doubt that this album would be on the list? Anyone who read my review knows this is my favorite album of all times. No other hip-hop album comes even remotely close to fucking with this (well, actually one albuim is really close to the greatness found on this album but more on that later).



ERIC B & RAKIM : PAID IN FULL (1986)
Some people prefer Follow The Leader and both albums are classic as far as I'm concerned. I decided to only include the artist once each decade. The production on this album was so innovative at the time and you can't ever deny the influence Rakim had on every single rapper who came out after this album dropped.



BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTION : CRIMINAL MINDED (1987)
The music on this album speaks for itself and although BDP would continue to release some classics albums even after DJ Scott LaRock was murdered I can't help wondering how the BDP/KRS sound would be today he hadn't died so tragically back then. Maybe we would have been spared that god awful "Spiritual Minded" album... This album is dope though, with great (uncredited) production by the one and only Ced-Gee



ULTRAMAGNETIC MC'S : CRITICAL BEATDOWN (1988)
Remember when Kool Keith was dope? Before horrible releases like "Spankmaster" and "Dr Doooom" the man also known as Rhythm X were the only emcee who could fuck with Rakim and Kane. I don't know what went wrong but after the dope Four Horsemen album dropped in 1994 Keith fell the fuck off (although the Dr Octagon deserves props). This album is dope for many reason, Keiths rapid-fire delivery (this shit was FAST!) combined with Ced-Gees gruff delivery made them one of the greatest duo's of the 80's. I Could write for ages about the production but when arguably one of the best hip-hop producers of that era was involved how could it ever go wrong? Ced-Gee was the fucking man!



NWA : STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (1988)
I still remember the first time I heard "Fuck Tha Police"...I was 11 years old and I though this was the coolest thing in the whole fucking world....and it still is. Hard ass beats paired with some of the most charismatic rappers in the history of hiphop (whether Dre, Eazy, Ren or Cube was your favorite doesnt matter, they were all dope). You could argue that "No One Can Do It Better" has better production and that The D.O.C is a better rapper than the NWA guys....you'd be wrong though.



KOOL G RAP & DJ POLO : ROAD TO THE RICHES (1989)
G Rap is always mentioned as one of the godfathers of modern day gangsta rap and no doubt was Road To The Riches one of the first mafia flavored tracks released. But to view this album as the predecessor to some of the albums to come out of Queensbridge 6-7 years later is to miss the point completely. yes, there is a gangster element to the album but the thing that makes this album so damn good is G Raps ability to rap his motherfucking ass off. The dopest tracks (It's A Demo; Men At Work) are just Kool G Rap taking out sucker emcees like he had never done anything else. Oh, the beats are kinda dope too ;-)



BIG DADDY KANE : LONG LIVE THE KANE (1988)
RAW! There is one track that every b-boy/b-girl over 30 can rap in his/her sleep and that track is "Ain't No Half Steppin". This is the 3rd album on this list produced by Marley Marl and there is no doubt that the late 80s belonged to him and the Juice Crew. I've always loved Kanes delivery and tracks like "Raw", "Ain't No Halsteppin" and "Set It Off" are perfect timeless examples of emceeing.



BEASTIE BOYS : PAUL'S BOUTIQUE (1989)
Chuck D was once quoted as saying that the "dirty secret" among the black hip-hop community at the time of release was that "Paul's Boutique had the best beats. This is coming from a man who in 1988 had released the greatest album of all times (and who a year later would release the 2nd best album ever). Was he kidding? Hell no! The album (obviously released before the infamous Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Bros lawsuit) is as sample heavy as they come with the trios warped vocals making the perfect contribution to beats. Essential.



EPMD : STRICTLY BUSINESS (1988)
Just like Pauls Boutique this album would probably be impossible to record today due to the fucked sample laws in the music industry today. It's a funk filled masterpiece sampling everything from "More Bounce To The Ounce" to "Jungle Boogie" (twice!) and making it sound brand new in the process. At 10 tracks it never gets boring as opposed the the bloated 24-track albums we hear today. One of the most influential hiphop albums ever released.



SLICK RICK : THE GREAT ADVENTURES OF SLICK RICK (1988)
Rick has always been known as one of the best storytellers in the game and this album proves why. Witty lyrics, a delivery like no other rappers and production from The Bomb Squad and Rick himself makes this a must-have album for any hiphop junkie. The songs on this album has been sampled by everyone from Ice Cube, KRS-One and Jay-Z to Missy Elliott, Onyx and TLC.



Part two (1990-1999) coming soon. Please leave a comment if you agree/disagree with my choices.

Albums that almost made the list...

Public Enemy : Yo! Bumrush The Show
Eric B & Rakim : Follow The Leader
The D.O.C : No One Can Do It Better (the nearest miss)
Ice T : Power
BDP : By All Means Necessary
Biz Markie : Goin' Off
Low Profile : We're In This Together