The 100 Greatest Hip Hop Albums (20-16)by Henry Adaso, About.com 100-96|95-91|90-86|85-81|80-76|75-71|70-66|65-61|60-56|55-51 |
20. Main Source
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"Main Source's debut album, Breaking Atoms, is one of the quintessential cult classics in hip-hop history. Underappreciated compared to peers like A Tribe Called Quest, Gang Starr, or even Brand Nubian, the album probably doesn't get wider acclaim because it was recorded for the ill-fated Wild Pitch label, and thus remained out of print for much of the time its reputation was spreading." ~ Steve Huey, All Music |
19. Snoop Doggy Dogg
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"As Nirvana's Kurt Cobain groans, "I do not want what I have got," on In Utero, Snoop opens Doggystyle talking about giving up his kingdom. But Snoop is no disaffected suburbanite whose millions are messing up his artistic credibility. Snoop's nihilism was born of generations of poverty, but his biggest problem now is the high price of black dreams. Doggystyle is filled with verbal and vocal feats that meet its three-mile-high expectations." ~ Toure, Rolling Stone |
18. Fugees
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"Their remake of "Killing Me Softly" was the hit, but that's only the beginning of the story. A hip-hop trio whose talents reach out into the world of the pop song (Wyclef Jean is a fine guitar player, and Lauryn Hill's a heck of a singer), the Fugees are also all distinctive, inventive rappers--you find yourself waiting for each of them to take the next verse in turn. The beats are the familiar crossed-armed boom-bip, but the group's understated grooves and subtle effects lie low in the mix. Aside from two kicky covers of classics (the other is Marley's "No Woman, No Cry"), The Score's focus is on the stars' rhyming with the free-form grace of performance poets and showing that they've thought deeply about the issues they raise." ~ Douglas Wolk, Amazon |
17. Beastie Boys
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"There is a visceral thrill to hearing those muscular riffs put into overdrive with scratching. But, much of that is due to the producing skills of Rick Rubin, a metalhead who formed Def Jam Records with Russell Simmons … He made rap rock, but to give him lone credit for Licensed to Ill (as some have) is misleading, since that very same combination would not have been as powerful, nor would it have aged so well — aged into a rock classic — if it weren't for the Beastie Boys, who fuel this record through their passion for subcultures, pop culture, jokes, and the intoxicating power of wordplay." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music |
16. Cypress Hill
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"Cypress Hill were one of the first rap groups to bridge the gap with fans of both hard rock and alternative rock. And, most importantly, they created a sonic blueprint that would become one of the most widely copied in hip-hop … despite its legions of imitators, Cypress Hill still sounds fresh and original today, simply because few hip-hop artists can put its sound across with such force of personality or imagination." ~ Steve Huey, All Music |
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