Comments on: Top 20 Hip-Hop Albums

By: jo blo

jo blo — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:14:27 +0000

i also feel jay-z's black album changed rap… that was the album that put it into the mainstream and changed the idea of how pop a good rap album can be

By: jo blo

jo blo — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:11:46 +0000

shoulda put outkast's first album on here… that album put the south on the map

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:23:39 +0000

@DJ Crisp – Leaving Tupac off of the list was a tough choice, I could easily have included him. When looking at the list and who to include I would ask myself: “What did this album do better than any other hip-hop album?” I loved some of Tupac’s music. I still dance when I hear “I Get Around” and “Holla if ya hear me” still gets me pumped up, but when I listened to his discography, I just couldn’t find a place for a Tupac album. If someone twisted my arm I could be convinced to put his 2nd or 3rd album on here.

But I also learned from the other great list writers here on The Pulp List that a good list is one that sparks debate, and I suspect leaving Tupac off will spark some debate. There are four other artists that I left off that I suspect will spark some debate. I reserve the right to mock the first unfortunate soul who tries to argue for 50 Cent or Eminem.

@Josh- I could not agree with you more. While I appreciate what the Snoop and Dre albums did musically, I have issues with their messages as well. In fact, when I was as teenager and Snoop’s Doggystyle came out I refused to buy it in stores because I did not want to support that kind of music. I actually bought a bootleg copy off the street in NY. That was back in the days when you actually had to leave to comfort of your own home to get illegal music. These kids nowadays with their Kazaa and Napster. I had to walk to a bootlegger uphill in the snow when I wanted music, and I had to pay for it! ($5)

By: Josh

Josh — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:31:40 +0000

Great list Chris. My personal favorite on the list is BlackStar, but I respect that others would consider others better or more influential. After that, I love Nas, Lauryn Hill, and Outkast. hell, most everything on here is sweet.
However, I would like to point out, that most of the garbage rap out there today (do not read as ‘all rap’) is primarily influenced by Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. As much as i like those albums, I’ll always blame them for HipHop going the dumbed down shallow route, as apposed to the more intellectual (see nas, mos def, and public enemy). Then again, i suppose everything that becomes massively popular appeals to the least common denominator.

By: DJ CRISP

DJ CRISP — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:06:27 +0000

Chris, this is a great list,there are some albums that I have never heard of and will check out. What was the reasoning to leave all of Tupac’s albums off the list? I am glad the WU made the list, personal favorite.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:33:21 +0000

im liking the list!

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:02:57 +0000

Actually I’ll be honest Kiya, the Tribe album was one of the more difficult for me to make a decision on. I kept flip-flopping between Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders, but in the end I decided to go with Low End.

What’s even funnier though is that I would joke with people and tell them: “I stopped listening to hip-hop in 1995.” When I did the research for this article and found that there really was a “Golden Age” of hip-hop I was not surprised that it roughly correlated with my own personal CD collection.

By: Kiya

Kiya — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:02:10 +0000

This list just confirms what I have always said. The best Hip-Hop music ever was made between 1990-93 and it has never been the same since.

My #1 has always been “The Low End Theory” But I love the list nonetheless.

Nice work!!