A ranking MY PERSONAL FAVORITE rap albums for each year, written with the benefit of hindsight and emphasizing longevity. I stress: These are my favorites, i.e., the ones I most like to listen to–not the most important rap albums of each year (although there is definitely crossover) and not your favorite rap albums. If I’ve missed any, fee free to drop me a comment and lmk.
Y2K was a very strange year for hip hop. There were some really great “real hip hop” albums by innovators and powerful voices. There were also many extremely well-produced “top 40” rap albums that went platinum–and several of those were also very good.
Of all the years I’ve done for this series, I think this is the one I’m most “embarrassed” about. By that I mean that about half my picks aren’t “cool.” Like, not only do I still really dig Nelly’s album, but also I didn’t include Common and J Dilla’s Like Water for Chocolate, which might just be everybody else’s #1 release for this year. What can I say? I enjoy pop rap sometimes and 2000 was a watershed year for it, and also I’m just not a fan of most Common albums. I appreciate what he brings to the table, but I rarely choose to listen to him. Ditto Talib and Slum Village, who also released albums lots of people would have included in a list of GOATs for this year.
8. Pimp to Eat by Analog Brothers. This is my obligatory “off the wall” pick for 2000. Analog Brothers are Kool Keith and Ice-T. Ice-T at the time was fading in popularity a bit, but was one of the best-known rappers around and had produced several top-notch albums that made my top 10 lists. Kool Keith was (and is) Kool Keith: Eccentric, experimental, always interesting to listen to–and least once.
7. Notorious K.I.M. by Lil’ Kim. Say what you want: Yoko of rap. Coat-tail-riding sex rapper. Flash in the pan. There may be a bit of truth to all that, but her talent and charisma is also undeniable. Standout tracks: How Many Licks featuring Sisqo; Lil’ Drummer Boy with Cee-Lo and Redman; and, of course, Suck My Dick. It’s hard to imagine we’d have a Megan Thee Stallion without Kim.
6. Supreme Clientele by Ghostface Killah. Here’s the thing about GFK: His skills are undebatable, but his content is often obscure and dense, which can make him a hard listen. That said, if you’re a fan of Tony Starks (and I am), then this is one of the best things he’s ever done. Two of the best cuts: Apollo Kids featuring Raekwon, and Wu Banga 101 with a bunch of Wu Clanners.
5. Power of the Dollar by 50 Cent. Here’s the thing about 50 Cent: This album and his “big” bestselling official debut are fantastic, even if nobody wants to admit they like them because they were hugely popular and so much of the rest of his catalog is just derivative. Maybe it’s okay if you have to copy yourself after making one of the best mixtapes of all time (this one) and one of the biggest-selling rap albums that didn’t also suck?
This mixtape is great start-to-finish. It’s got his seminal, frequently copied “How to Rob,” of course, and other great tracks include: Your Life’s On the Line, That Ain’t Gangsta, Ghetto Qur’an (Forgive Me), Slow Doe, You Ain’t Gangsta, and I’m a Hustler. All of these were top shelf in 2000 and still hold up today.
4. Back for the First Time by Ludacris. For his first official album, Ludacris included (with some remixed) the best cuts from his mixtape debut, Incognegro, and filled out the shorter release with additional cuts. Ludacris is best known as part of the whole Fast and the Furious team nowadays, but before that albums like this gave him lots of credibility. If you want to see a great Luda movie, go check out Hustle & Flow–which basically has him playing himself.
3. Country Grammar by Nelly. Hot shit! My kids knew a lot of the lyrics to several songs on this album while they were still in car seats. (I’m a terrible father.) I’m also a terrible music blogger with no cred whatsoever because I still love this album and laugh whenever his verse about Vanna White comes on. If you don’t like Nelly, you’re cooler than me. But he’s still fun to listen to.
2. The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem. If you’re reading this site, I don’t need to tell you about one of the best known and most popular rap albums of all time. It’s extraordinary. It could easily have been #1 on my list but for me and my personal preferences. Today, when I’m writing this, Outkast just gets the edge. Barely.
1. Stankonia by Outkast. This is the best example of a rap album that can serve both the “true” fans of the genre and the tourists who just wanna hear something cool. It’s got hard-hitting cuts suitable for clubs or even crossover (Gasoline Dreams and B.O.B.), smooth dance tunes (So Fresh, So Clean and Ms. Jackson), cuts for the streets (Snappin’ and Trappin’ with Killer Mike), raunchy sex (I’ll Call Before I Come), and even an appearance by Erykah Badu. This is about as close to a perfect album as you can get.
Other Notables….Albums I really dig but they’re just not quite good enough to be in my list of GOATs for the year.
- MF EP by MF DOOM and MF Grimm. I’m not putting EPs on my top 10, but if I were this would be above #4. Excellent release.
- Murs Rules the World by Murs. This is the underground legend’s third album. He’s still not nearly as good as he’ll get, but this is the first album that really shows all his potential for greatness.
- Since I Left You by Avalanches. I’m on the fence whether this qualifies as a rap album. It’s good though.
- Quality Control by Jurassic 5. Their sound feels more late ’90s than early ’00s, but it’s still great!
- The Unseen by Quasimoto. Unseen is an insane, dj-driven, sample collage. The creator, Quasimoto, is Madlib and it is as wild as anything you’d get from any of MF DOOM’s personae (DOOM occupies a similar space in rap history). Madlib takes credit as his “rap” identity, Lord Quas, in addition to his producer name of Madlib.
- Deltron 3030 (eponymous) and Both Sides of the Brain by Del the Funky Homosapien. Del the Funky Homosapien’s 2000 output was very good. “Both Sides” was his solo album, and Deltron was a sci-fi concept album co-created with Dan the Automator and DJ Kid Koala.
Worst Rap Album of the Year…This year there were an alarming number of candidates for this “award,” which tries to look at sales, the artist(s) responsible and other factors (not just quality) to find the album that most exemplifies the worst rap had to give for any given year.
But the winner has to be WWF Aggression. Why? Because it took legends like Ice-T, Rass Kass, Run-DMC, Snoop,, and many others and had them rap over wresters’ entrance music. Have I actually listened to it all the way through? Of course not. Do I have to do that to give it this award? Of course no.
Note: A wrestler (The Rock) also appeared on Wyclef Jean’s “Ecleftic” album, which came out this year. It was a light record, but pretty good.
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