Thursday, July 10, 2008

Favorite Album From Each Year of My Life

Before I get back into my own faggotry, Joey's list convinced me to ride on the Weiss auto-musical phenomenon and notate the albums, per year I was alive, not counting Dec '86 when I was conceived, that make up the internet's number 2 greatest mulatto music blogger.

1987: Boogie Down Productions- Criminal Minded
1988: Pixies- Surfer Rosa
1989: Pixies- Doolittle
1990: Entombed- Left Hand Path
1991: De La Soul- De La Soul Is Dead
1992: The Prodigy- The Experience
1993: Wu-Tang Clan- Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
1994: Notorious B.I.G.- Ready To Die
1995: Raekwon- Only Built For Cuban Linx
1996: Ghostface Killah- Ironman
1997: Jay-Z - In My Lifetime Vol. 1
1998: Refused- The Shape of Punk to Come
1999: Mos Def- Black on Both Sides
2000: Badly Drawn Boy- The Hour of Bewilderbeast
2001: Converge - Jane Doe
2002: Clinic- Walking With Thee
2003: Three 6 Mafia- Da Unbreakables
2004: Death From Above 1979- You're A Woman, I'm A Machine
2005: Kanye West- Late Registration
2006: Converge- No Heroes
2007: UGK- Underground Kingz
2008: Danity Kane- Welcome To The Dollhouse

A couple of interesting things- 1989, 1991, 1994, 2000-2004, 2006 and 2007 were hard to pick a favorite because there were a bunch of albums that were fucking amazing. Also, 2005 had no great rap album besides Late Registration, which is interesting in retrospect since 2007 and 2006 had a bunch of great ones and the public discussion on the creative death of rap started around 2006. In fact, 2007 and 2002 were probably the hardest years and I had to listen to UGK, Devin, Kanye and Battles all at once to choose my favorite album of last year.

Since the tie-breakers were based on musical preference, doing this was very informative about what kind of sounds and genres I tend to prefer on gut reaction, as opposed to seriously and objectively weighing the albums out. So really, this becomes "the albums that I'd rather listen to at any given time than the other albums that came out that year that were great".

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh snap. i just read this after i commented on your article on hip hop homophobia ..where i implied the possibility of raekwon's "only built for cuban linx" being s&m bondage chain link related. didnt know this was tht important an album for you. sorry. your list brings up fond memories. im a huge pixies fan. ditto abt those seriously sick converge and refused albums. worst part abt your list is that it reminds me of DFA1979's brilliant album - god i miss that dirty sound. i cant even bear to listen to MSTRKRFT coz i see them as the yoko ono to DFA1979(totally unfair i know, but I am at peace when im pointing fingers). There's a couple albums/artists here, that I've merely skimmed through in the past, (entombed and three 6 mafia in particular) that im gonna download rightaway. thanks. -jaykay

Anonymous said...

aaaaah...i know i probably look narrow-minded for focusing on Jay here, but i still am trying to figure out what the hell people see in Vol. 1. his worst album, easily. yes i'm including Kingdom Come.

props on LR though, at the risk of still sounding narrow-minded lol

Christopher said...

Trey- You're bugging. Vol. 1 is a great. Up there with the Black Album, Hard Knock Life, and below Blueprint.

F.T.I. said...

thats mine, since i was born in 1991, but i m not sure for all of em (i support many really underrated rappers as u ll see):
1991: Sac Town Funk (by KRD)
1992: Psycho Active (by X-Raided)
1993: Shock Of The Hour (by Mc Ren)
1994: Funk Upon A Rhyme (by Kokane)
1995: Season Of Da Siccness (by Brotha Lynch Hung, my fav album)
1996: Gang Banging Poetry: The Sequel (by Gangsta Dre)
1997: Loaded (by Brotha Lynch Hung)
1998: Inner City Poer (by Gangsta Dre)
1999: If These Walls Could Talk (by Sicx)
2000: EBK4 (by Brotha Lynch Hung)
2001: Anghellic (by Tech N9ne)
2002: Big Black Bat (by First Degree The D.E.)
2003: Revolutionary Vol. 2 (by Immortal Technique)
2004: 21 Gun Salute (by Loki, maybe not anythin great but nothin else came in my mind)
2005: A-1 Yola (by Esham)
2006: Ghetto Famous (by Hollow Tip)
2007: Twin Evil (by Sav Sicc & Bleezo)
2008: Acid Reflex (by Paris, or "The 3rd World")
2009: Unforgiven Vol. 2: Assisted Suicide (by X-Raided)