Not Another Top Albums List

[MvP]

#13 Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

I've always been just a casual Foo Fighters fan, but this album stood out to me. Compared to their previous works, I consider this their most complete album, as Grohl kicks off the album with the powerful "Bridge Burning", and keeps the high-energy throughout the rest of the album, ending it with one of the best songs of the band's career, "Walk". It's rare to see a band sound so refreshing 15+ years after their debut, but the Foo Fighters have somehow pulled it off.

Favorite tracks: Bridge Burning, Walk, Dear Rosemary

 

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtXDeCd_URc"]Foo Fighters - Bridge Burning - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax6UXyAXSZo&ob=av2n"]Foo Fighters - Walk (Audio) - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2pROgkMLks"]Dear Rosemary - Foo Fighters - YouTube[/ame]

[MvP]

I'm pretty much just writing these for Woy at this point but I will continue on regardless

[MvP]

#12 Curren$y & Alchemist - Covert Coup

When I first heard that this mixtape was in the works, I thought the duo would be a strange mix. Curren$y is best known for his high energy, marijuana-influenced tracks, and Alchemist is one of the best gutter rap producers out, usually behind the boards for the likes of more hardcore rappers such as Prodigy, Evidence, Styles P, etc. But add the two together and you end up with a pretty damn good project. ALC shows his versatility by providing beats that compliment Curren$y's flow and themes, while remaining true to his roots by providing a 90's feel to the whole tape. Also has to be mentioned that Freddie Gibbs steals the show on this one with his verse on "Scottie Pippens."

Favorite tracks: The Type, Scottie Pippens, BBS

[Woy]

^ Thought that'd be a little bit higher on here - still a pretty good listen now just like when it first dropped in March (?).

MOAR

[dell71]

I'm pretty much just writing these for Woy at this point but I will continue on regardless

I'm paying attention, too. Good stuff. BTW, totally forgot Lloyd Banks was still active. I'll have to give that a listen.


And Skyzoo is a monster.

[CCBrink]

Why don't people complete these lists, and then post them .

[Woy]

Why don't people complete these lists, and then post them .

Mine's been completed for weeks - I just drag out the posts to build suspense.

[MvP]

Why don't people complete these lists, and then post them .

Because this allows me to get 20 thanks from Woy instead of just one.

Gonna post a few tonight.

[NAHSTE]

LOL at knocking undun for short run time then pretending Covert Coup is a full length opus.

[MvP]

LOL at knocking undun for short run time then pretending Covert Coup is a full length opus.

Good point, but there is a lot more actual rapping on Covert Coup so it doesn't seem as short. The last four tracks of undun are minute-long instrumentals lol.

[MvP]

#11 Stalley - Lincoln Way Nights (Intelligent Trunk Music)

I don't really have much to say about this. Stalley is not the best rapper around but he released a very well put-together mixtape (that later turned into a retail release) which put him on the map this year. Now he is pretty much the best weed carrier in Maybach Music Group. He gets bonus points from me here for rapping over John Mayer's "Assassin" track, but I also now hate myself for ranking this higher than Section.80.

Favorite tracks: 330, Hard, Assassin

[MvP]

#10 Elzhi - Elmatic

Detroit rapper Elzhi and a band called Will Sessions essentially recreated and modernized what is highly considered to be the greatest hip-hop album of all-time, Illmatic. They succeeded, and that is enough validation for me to place this in my top ten.

Sidenote: More hip-hop artists need to implement live instrumentation into their projects in 2012.

Favorite tracks: The World Is Yours, Halftime, It Ain't Hard 2 Tell

[MvP]

#9 Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, ultra

2011 will be remembered for unknown R&B artists emerging onto the scene. Frank Ocean, the odd man out in Odd Future (no pun intended), quietly released this mixtape on the OF Tumblr page back in February. I hesitantly downloaded it that day, expecting to end up placing it in the Trash Bin along with most of the other random OF releases I downloaded back then, but luckily I was wrong.

Ocean stood out to me because, like Kendrick Lamar, he sounded like he'd been in the game for a while now. He delivered drug-metaphorical tales like "Novacane" with veteran ease and, in a very bold move, successfully remade* The Eagles' "Hotel California" on the track "American Wedding", a commentary on the modern relationship. With two features on the Watch The Throne album this past summer, and planned upcoming songs with Nas, Jay-Z, and others, Frank Ocean looks to be a key R&B component for years to come.

Favorite tracks: We All Try, Songs For Women, Nature Feels

[MvP]

#8 Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne

"What!? That album sucked, all Jay & Ye talked about was being rich and famous!" Because the majority of hip-hop isn't just the same topics rehashed and reworded over and over, right? I don't think anyone would criticize Mobb Deep for putting out a new album about New York crime life, or if Scarface focused on the everyday struggle in the ghetto on a new mixtape, etc. etc. Some of the same people that criticise The Throne for rapping about the luxurious lifestyles that they've actually lived for the past few years have no problem listening to Rick Ross shouting fictitious tales about being an ex-drug kingpin, or never doubt Nas if he states that he has "flats in other continents" when he was paying over half a million dollars a year in child support. On arguably the duo's most popular song, Hov said it best: "Pardon me I had to laugh at that."

Watch The Throne succeeds because it doesn't take itself seriously, but at the same time is still miles ahead of just about any other hip-hop album this year in terms of innovation and creativity. Jay & Ye made a better ignorant rap song than any ignorant rapper has come out with in the past decade, and basically trolled the entire mainstream in the process. They put out one of the best music videos of the year with the simple plot of two rich black guys having some fun. They ran the biggest hip-hop concert tour of 2011. It was obvious that these two have had the time of their lives the past couple years, and I for one certainly enjoyed listening to the result.

Favorite tracks: No Church in the Wild, Primetime, Niggas In Paris

[Rudi]

I too enjoyed Monitor The King's Chair