A Brief Reprieve with some Musical Content…

I know, I know...it's been a busy week on the court, from Golden State gracefully bowing out to the Machiavellian brilliance of the one-sided outcome concerning the machinery behind judging the ramifications of Rob Horry's forearm 'shiver' (anything less than a Suns defeat in this series would be a surprise now...thanks again, David). It's almost too much to immediately digest, so for the moment...I give you the following list.

I guess it's a couple of weeks ago now, but I entered a list of the 'Top 25 Hip-hop Albums of All Time' arranged by noteworthy blogger in this area, to whose writing and content I'm partial to. So he and another dude put together the results, which included a follow-up breakdown of the data as well. It's some good stuff, although I personally found the results somewhat surprising, the inherent biases of the sample are addressed by the conductors of the poll in the post discussion. It's an interesting look still, and hopefully we'll see the results from a Top Singles poll sooner than later...

So here's the official Dot Runnings list, pretty much the most important hip hop I listened to and personally acquired, with the abject majority still lying around in tape form (whether purchased or dubbed or whatever else...) somewhere. However, due to the nature of the subject, I felt it necessary to divulge a longer list...so here's the Dot Runnings Top 70 (yes...70) Hip Hop Albums of All Time...suffice it to say, I thoroughly recommend each and every selection to the rap listener.

70. The Roots - Illadelph Halflife

69. Ultramagnetic MC's - Critical Beatdown

68. Jay-Z - Blueprint

67. Blahzay Blahzay - Blah Blah Blah

66. Fu-Schnickens - F.U. Don't Take It Personal

65. Slick Rick – The Great Adventures of Slick Rick

64. NWA – Straight Outta Compton

63. Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt

62. Ice Cube –AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted

61. Tha Alkaholiks - Coast II Coast

60. Ghostface Killah – Ironman

59. Camp Lo – Uptown Saturday Night

58. Heltah Skeltah - Nocturnal

57. GZA – Liquid Swords

56. UMC’s – Fruits of Nature

55. Outkast –Aquemini

54. De La Soul – Buhloone Mind State

53. Leaders of the New School - Future Without A Past

52. O.C. – Word…Life

51. Cypress Hill- Cypress Hill

50. Ras Kass - Soul on Ice

49. Big L – Lifestylez ov da Poor and Dangerous

48. KMD – Mr. Hood

47. Little Brother – The Listening

46. EPMD – Business Never Personal

45. Method Man – Tical

44. De La Soul – De La Soul Is Dead

43. Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo – Wanted: Dead or Alive

42. X-Clan – To the East, Blackwards

41. Gang Starr – Moment of Truth

40. Cru – Da Dirty 30

39. Fugees – The Score

38. Goodie Mob – Soul Food

37. J-Live – The Best Part

36. Del the Funkee Homosapien - I Wish My Brother George Was Here

35. De La Soul – Stakes Is High

34. Black Star – Mos Def and Talib Kweli are…

33. Snoop – Doggystyle

32. Slum Village – Fantastic Vol. 2

31. Pharcyde – Bizarre Ride II

30. Organized Konfusion – Stress: The Extinction Agenda

29. Smif N Wessun – Da Shinin’

28. Souls of Mischief – ’93 Til Infinity

27. Beatnuts – Street Level

26. LL Cool J – Mama Says Knock You Out

25. Jeru the Damaja – The Sun Rises in the East

24. Gang Starr – Hard to Earn

23. Black Moon – Enta Da Stage

22. Diamond D – Stunts, Blunts and Hip-Hop

21. Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth – Mecca and the Soul Brother

20. Mos Def – Black on Both Sides

19. Brand Nubian – All For One

18. Redman – Whut Thee Album

17. Main Source – Breakin’ Atoms

16. The Roots – Do You Want More?

15. Mobb Deep – The Infamous

14. Common – Resurrection

13. Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

12. Black Sheep – A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

11. Notorious B.I.G. – Ready to Die

10. Dr. Dre – the Chronic

9. De La Soul – 3 Feet High and Rising

8. ATCQ – Midnight Marauders

7. Big Daddy Kane – Long Live the Kane

6. Wu Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers

5. Eric B and Rakim – Paid in Full

4. BDP – Criminal Minded

3. Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions…

2. Nas - Illmatic

1. ATCQ – Low End Theory

Now I know I may have made some egregious mis-steps with regards to the over-all protocol of what should be valued in the genre. I admit, there is a lot of subjectivity to the list, the two most obvious factors being timing and taste. Although the top 25 portion may have been more suited towards a larger scale view (i.e. Black Sheep got bumped out of the top 5 for the sake of 'perspective'...) , the list essentially encompasses my exposure to hip-hop and the history of it. By no means could hip hop ever be considered mainstream when I first became a listener (growing up in that era of commercial radio silence until House of Pain stumbled along), so whatever I got a hold that caught my ear inevitably made its impression. I will admit I have an unabashed East Coast bias…it’s what I like. Obviously, I was listening to more albums, per say, in my youth: although come would say it was because they were more listenable back then. And certain classic groups may have missed the mark because I wasn’t properly exposed at first (say... Run DMC), which may seem like a major failing, but I actually bumped all the albums on this list…so I can’t take it back. I think a top 100 list would cover most folks, anyways. Plus, these are albums: there are many artists who’s individual singles got wore out in the deck, so to speak, but I never really got into or just got a hold of their albums. The singles list would look considerably different.

So there it is, hate it or love it. Hopefully, at the very least, it will remind you of some good music.