Wednesday, December 29, 2010 at 1:06PM 
38)T.I. King
Was at his best on this album. Finally was able to put together something cohesive as a whole. This might be the All Eyez On Me of the generation.
That intro that DJ Toomp built for "What You Know" is Rap's version of the intro to "The Final Countdown." Only difference is that "What You Know" wasn't cheesy.
37)Clipse - Lord Willn, Hell Hath No Fury
The reason I have put all three of these in the mix is the fact that it was almost like a trilogy. The first album was so breakthrough to me because I hadn’t heard content like that in such a fresh way in a long time. The second was the darkest album I had heard since that 2nd Mobb Deep and, to this day I still think these are some of the greatest beats the Neptunes ever crafted. The last album just had so much lyrical depth to it. While upon first listen I was lukewarm in the reception, digging into it some more into it showed the tale of repentance and ultimate realization about how a man lives his life. Malice was the star of this one where Pusha T was on the last. Either way this is one of the best groups to emerge out of this decade.
36)Raekwon- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II
The reintroduction of raw rap again. It had been awhile since anything from the Wu (besides Ghostface) had assembled anything memorable. This brought these guys back up in discussions again. This is everything that 8 Diagrams should have been.
All members of the Wu rap that gangsta lyricsm, but all had their subtle style. Ghostface is loud, explicited and brass. Method Man had the swagger flow. But with Raekwon, he would flow as if he was voicing over a black and white film noir. As you listen to Raekwon rap, you could even smell the cigar smell in the air.
35)N.E.R.D-In Search Of...
Why this on the list is cause if it wasn't for this I don't think we would of have had a relevant Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake as a solo artist, or half of the hits post 2003 from Chad and Pharrell. This allowed them to expand their sound plateau while letting their own creative devices materialize.
34)Alicia Keys-Diary of Alicia
Her best album by far. The production was on some other level. Some of today's best were behind her the boards on this one, and they definitely provided the landscape necessary to advance her past all other young starlets at the time.
Sometimes timing and luck can make a great album so much more successful. "The Diary of Alicia Keys" came out when Kanye West's production was in it's pinacle of the label "Soul Beats." Luckly for her, her second single "You Don't Know My Name" was produced by Kanye and was able to ride that Soul train. Also who can forget the Duet with Usher with "My Boo." While this song didn't appear on "The Diary of Alicia Keys," the song help give the extra push of promotion and overcome the ill fated sophmore slump curse of matching the sucess of "Songs in A Minor."
33)Will. I. Am-Lost Change
32)Bubba Sparxx-Deliverance
Timbaland I thought was just a great beatmaker. This was the album where he became a great producer. The Southern sound-scape he provided/oversaw was nothing less than remarkable. A definite classic in hip-hop, before Bubba was forced to search for Mrs. New Booty, he was adding another unique tell of tragedy turned triumph to some of Timbaland's finest music to date.
Bubba Sparxx was able follow the footsteps to what made Eminem sucessful. But it wasn't trying to be as equally gangster as his other African American rap peers or even try to copy Eminem's style verbatum, it was just trying to be himself that people appreciated.
31)Janet Jackson-All For You
The last good Jackson album happened back in 01 when Janet and her team put together some fun futuristic material for the world. Does not sound dated at all and a bunch of young ladies entering their thirties will definitely be seen bumping this from their cars still on a girls night out.
The Previous album "Velvet rope" was very bleek and depressing. Almost unexpected yet something we should have seen since she is a Jackson. So for Janet to come back Happy and liberated was what Janet fans were hoping for, and she delevered.
30)Eminem-The Marshall Mathers LP
It’s sad that his second album was his really his last cohesive work. I really was rooting for the guy when it was all said in done. He had skills, a unique story, and a great creative spirit. Unfortunately the drugs, and drama would limit his talents as time progressed. Anyways this album was for its time something else. His sound was more alive than ever here, and with some of Dre’s best production this decade. Em went in on this album. I can’t name a song besides the Lose Yourself that made me that would remind me of his true greatness after the after this album. Brilliant lyrics, and a style that was just basically ahead of a good amount of rappers at the time. This is a true work of his genius on display.
"Stan" shouldn't have been sucessful mainstream song at all because it broke all the rules. But like "Bohemian Rhapsody," it was such a great song because it was exploited all the rules. Sampling a song that coincidentally would come out the same time (Dido's "Thank You), having ultra violent lyrics, and having 4 verses instead of 3 would make any A&R cringe to be release as a single. But the brilliance of the song made it overcome conventional music industry rules.
29) Lupe Fiasco-Food & Liquor
Another one of the best hip-hop albums this decade. The guy was on some next level rhyming, while speaking on social ills today, had a great lead single that wasn't trying to get crunk or anything else that was popular at the time. Plus one of the best in the game(Jay-Z) was his Executive Producer. What else do you want?
The great thing that Lupe Fiaso was able to do was to show the difference between Diversity and Gimmicky. I bet most rappers were to be put in Lupe's position of having a sucessful song about Skateboarding, they would have done a "Sir Mix-A-Lot" and exploited that song until people got sick of it. Instead, he moved on and continued to show his individuality and delivered his talent of being a lyricist.
28)Mariah Carey-The Emancipation of Mimi
Was the album that made us remember one of the best pop voices of our time again. Jermaine Dupri decided to take her back to what she did best straight up R&B material, and then it was a match made in heaven. We had a great mid-tempo (what happened to these?)club jam, some classic slow jams, and one of the best sounding ballads of all time in You Could Be Mine. A great reintroduction to R&B just when it was getting a little too confused with hip-hop.
I read somewhere that "The Emancipation of Mimi" was delayed a year because higher executives said the album wasn't to par and had her remake it. Whoever made that call was a genious.
27)The White Stripes- Icky Thump & Elephunk
All of a sudden Blues was in, I had grown tired of the indie sound personally at when these guys started taking off. By these are two of the later albums when the band had found a little more fame, yet they didn't commercialize their sound at all and kept it very rootsy and raw. Jack White is one of the greatest guitarist/producers of our time. Love how he took the blues to the next level with these albums.
26)Xzibit - Restless
25)Little Brother The Minstrel Show
One of the best concept albums ever made. This is right up there with De La’s first two, and took some shots at hip-hop industry in the process. Phonte, Big Pooh, with 9th Wonder on the beats made some hilarious skits about black entertainment, as well as making some great music as well. All For You still is one of my favorite songs of all time.
24)Snoop Dogg- The Last Meal, R&G Rhythm and Gangsta
The Last Meal is hands down the second best album in Snoops discography. This album recaptured a lot of the same playful energy from Doggystyle while updating the G-Funk sound. R&G was the album brought snoop into his second career. This is where he added more pop elements to his sound as well as implementing more heavily his taste for old-school R&B. The Neptunes supplied Snoop with some of their ideas of where he should go and snoop just kept building on that ever since.
23)Talib Kweli & Hi Tek Reflection Eternal-Train Of Thought
Because of this album I officially was able to understand and get into the more conscious rap. I was too young for the whole Native Tongues movement when that happened, so this was my chance to catch the next wave. Such a well done album, Kweli and Hi-tek elevated the underground to new heights with this collection of thought provoking, fun, intelligent songs.
22)Ghostface Killah Supreme Clientele, Fishscale, Apollo Kids
21) Common Be, Electric Circus, and Like Water for Chocolate
Common this decade was pretty much at his prime the early part of the decade. Though many criticize Electric Circus, I place right up there with all the other good stuff he did. Be was the album the hip-hop heads wanted, Water For Chocolate helped capture the whole Soulaqurian movement at it's peak. All were great, and all belong on this list. Common was on top of his game for the most part this decade.
Not only did Common bring what hip-hop heads want, he brought stage showmanship that no other rapper was bringing at the time. Without having the budget of Jay-Z or Kiss during his touring, Common still knew how to throw a show. If you have to see only one rapper perform, I give my nomination to Common.
20)Sufjan Stevens-Illinoise
18)Usher-Confessions
One of the best pop albums ever made. Besides the huge single that Yeahh!! was, it integrated a lot of what made R&B music great through the years into more mature songwriting. Jermaine Dupree might be the Quincy Jones of this decade.
One thing that facinated me was that "Yeah!!" was so polar opposite of the album. You have those albums that would put a lead single that was considered the "hit" but then when you purchase the album the rest would be garbage. But this wasn't the case here. It was as if Usher lure people into his album with a Unhealthy sugar donut song "Yeah!!" but once entering the album you got fed a healthy chicken soup that lead you to want more.
17)Big Boi-Sir Luscious Left Foot: Son Of Chico Dusty
in the recent absence of Andre 3000 over the last few years, Big Boi has almost single-handily kept the Outkast movement going. This album, continues on with what the ATLiens have done since they came in the game...making next level music for us to catch up too.
16)DJ Quik-Under The Influence
Quik is this generation's Coltrane. I think he got overshadowed by Dre, but musically was light years ahead of him. His full genius was on display throughout this one. He showcased his whole bag of tricks, expanding the G-Funk to new levels. From the first track you knew he had it with this album.
DJ Quik worked hard. Ever Since 91 he has able to get production done. Just look at his Production Credits
15)Erykah Badu Mamas Gun, New Ameryka pt 1&2, World Wide Underground
I think she must be from another planet. In some form or another she has been a part of a lot of great music to come out the last ten years. These four albums were just ahead of the curve. Shoot it took me two years to catch up to World Wide myself. So it would be a complete deserve to place any of this above, or below each other.
14)The Roots-Phrenology, Game Theory, Rising Down, & How I Got Over
These four albums by themselves are great but together tell the story of a decade of wonder, hope lost, and hope found. I don't know what four albums encompass what the decade was about any better.
After the commercial success of The Tipping Point, The Roots went into a direction that most groups/bands wouldn't have gone. They went dark with their new direction. It was as if they spat on their newly success so that they wouldn't compromise their artist integrety. But what's great was that they were able to twist that around with "How I Got Over," a more positive album that still reflected the mood of thier previous 2 albums.
13)Nas-Gods Son, Stillmatic
All it took was a diss from Hov and Nas was awoken with a fire like never before. These two albums showcase that energy focused, and though he might of had one of the most lyrically aggressive rebuttals of all time with Ether, the body of work was incredible for both. Made You Look was a new street album, Rewind was one of the most creative stories told on a wax, outcry for justice of Poison, or the Slick Rick styled Bridge Is Over, the man had it. One of the greatest of all time, being just that.
12)De La Soul Art Official Intelligence: Bionix, The Grind Date
Bionix was a life changer, Trying might be one of the best rap songs ever written, and The Plugs were finally having fun again while easing into adulthood. Bionix was full on fun from the guys, and basically just picked up the ball right after Bionix left off, some of the illest rappers alive basically just showcased why they were just that, and it was nothing but business as usual to them.
10)Madonna-Music
All this Electro stuff coming back around isn’t anything new under the sun. Back in 2000, Madonna had already had an incorporated this sound into her works, but it was hit and miss. This was all good. She was gold with this one, and even though I am a straight (oh the clichés in the US) man, I had to give props were props were do. None of these new jacks have yet to touch this one.
9)Jay-Z - The Bluprint, Black Album, American Gangster
Jay-Z had just turned my head again with a few tracks from The Dynasty Album but as a whole it had been a while since I had respected him as an artist. He had made so much Nelly type music that I was thinking he was in that category. Well these two albums cemented his place in history. You put those three and Reasonable Doubt together, and it adds up well. He was finally saying something again, and connected with the souls of people everywhere.
I knew Jay-Z wasn't going to retire. Still I thought the Black Album was the best way to leave the game. It was such a cohesive album as it mixed in reflective personal thoughts, his biography, and some lasting words that to make you think "man he is leaving." To top it all off he ends the album with "My 1st Song," rapping fast like how he used to in his early career.
8)Kanye West- The College Dropout,Late Registration, Graduation, Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye is the artist of the decade. His movement in music has impressed us all; even his toughest critics have to admit this. The progression of his sound is what impresses me the most. Though he has worked with everyone from RZA, Jon Brian, to Kid Cudi in the process, his vision still stays strong. The man is fearless in terms of creativity and if it wasn’t for his outburst here and there, he would be the Michael Jackson of this generation.
What worried me about Kanye when Late Registration came out was that alot of his unreleased old material was recycled. I was and still am a huge Kanye fan. So when I was collecting alot of his unrealeased music, I would notice alot of reused verses. I was starting to feel skepitcal of his ability to become a great rapper. Yet Kanye was able to squash that skepticism by rapping like a real MC on a wave of guest remixes all over the mixtape circuit and came out with the mixtape "Can't Tell Me Nothing" to promote the Release of "Graduation." My favorite 2 guest verses that I still feel are great today are "Because of You" with Ne-Yo and E-40's "Tell Me When to Go."
7)Raphael Saddiq- Instant Vintage
crime of the century was how did this not win a Grammy? The man almost single handily reinvented soul this one. Yet, after being up for five nominations went home empty-handed? Don’t know what happened there, but this is and will always be one of the great soul albums of all time.
6)Bjork - Vespertine
All voices, that's all this was. But it was done in such a way that hadn’t been tried in the mainstream. The work is not just unique though, it was good music. The way that voices became instruments and Bjork is just as great as they come when it comes down to it.
5)Scarface-The Fix
One of the best to ever do it Scarface worked with up-in-coming mainstream talents such as The Neptunes, Just Blaze, and Kanye West to create one of the best albums of all time.
Scarface is one of the greatest for not only his great wise storytelling, but with also the use of his narrative commanding voice that would be equal to Morgan Freeman or James Earl Jones. When you listen to him rap, you can picture whats going on with the song.
4)Kirk Franklin- The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin
the future of gospel music was this man. I don't know a musician alive who doesn't appreciate this work. Incorporating hip-hop, r&b of yesterday, pop and more into a live recorded work of greatness. The arrangements were out of this this world ...like possibly God himself might of hand in this.
3)Loretta Lynn-Van Lear Rose
I remember reading about this album when it came out and thought it would just be another over-hyped work from all the uppity music journalist. Boy was I wrong. This is one of the best country albums ever made. Though I tend to stay away from this music for the most part now days, I have always appreciated the old stuff. Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, and of that sort. This is more in tradition with that music. Not just some comeback album featuring a new jack where they try to adapt them to the new sounds. This is rooted in blues-rock, and gospel. Just like the songs of yesteryear, yet doesn’t sound dated.
2)Janelle Monae-The Archandroid
I have raved about this album all this year. Most creative body of work I have heard in a while. I don’t even know how to classify it. The thing is though that a large share of it is great. She is in a league of her own with this one, and might have opened the doors for a lot more diversity in music for the next generation.
1)D’Angelo Voodoo
The one album I would take with me anywhere, anytime, anyplace. This was and will be forever one of the greatest works ever made. He was somehow able to draw from the soul of old and embrace the sound of new and make something that sounded fresh. Devils Pie, Send It On, Left & Right, Africa, and so many other songs connect with each other beautifully at that point. This was the rebirth of soul right here. Might be the closet we get to a 70’s Marvin, Stevie, or Mayfield for a while.
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