Best Ever Albums

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

Skinny — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 22:19:40 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 03/25/2021 02:19

2002 wins, 10-1.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

baystateoftheart — Sat, 20 Mar 2021 20:23:38 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 03/21/2021 00:23

Original Pirate Material: 3.5/5
Blazing Arrow: 3.5/5
Lose Yourself: 3/5
One Mic: 4/5

2002 Total: 14/20

Mr. Wonderful: 2.5/5
Oblivion Access: 3.5/5
Early: 4/5
Europe Is Lost: 3.5/5

2015 Total: 13.5/20

2002 narrowly takes this match for me on the strength of more consistent albums.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

Skinny — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 03:44:41 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 03/19/2021 07:44

cestuneblague wrote:

2015 is surprisingly a lot of fun, certainly enjoyed the Action Bronson work and Lil Ugly Mane was... pretty solid, too (never really heard Mac's works before now, hmm). Run the Jewels I'm completely neutral towards and this song is no different. I usually prefer Tempest the sing-speaker over Tempest the rapper as their flow can be distractingly clumsy, but I do actually really like this track even with it's pretty on-the-noise and not-always-lyrically-graceful messaging.

Ouch, 2002 is a boss though. The Streets def takes you back to that time period as he was definitely getting plenty of buzz stateside at the time as well, and this album is among the more exciting and pretty downright huge debuts of the aughties (even if I'm the contrarian wimp who slightly prefers his followup), and Blacakalious is again really strong if it's the exact kind of hip hop I easily enjoy more so than really go crazy for, but strong record nonetheless. And yes there was a time when Lose Yourself could've put me off this team considering how nauseatingly ubuqitious this track was for a time, but now it's ya know whatevs, a fairly paint-by-numbers anthem for Eminem clearly meant to advertise his movie. Again, would be tough to do '02 without an 8 mile reference in there somewhere.

It's interesting you mention this, because I was heavily invested in him at the time - here was a rapper who looked and sounded something like me, who'd grown up in the same area, attended the same primary school as me, attended the secondary school I now work at - and whilst the debut garnered a certain amount of buzz and spawned some minor hits, his second record was the one hailed more widely as the masterpiece in the music press and the one that seemingly everybody owned a copy of, with monster hits to boot ('Fit But You Know It' and 'Dry Your Eyes' were genuinely Oasis or Coldplay levels of inescapable over here). Over the years, the critical (or internet-led) concensus has seen the debut anointed, rightfully in my opinion, as the undisputed Streets masterpiece, but in the UK that certainly isn't the popular concensus; I know loads of people who prefer Grand. (To take the aforementioned Oasis comparison further, I often get the feeling that Morning Glory is at least as beloved by the general population as Definitely Maybe, though you'd never know it from the general critical concensus.) Therefore, I don't really see that opinion as contrary or strange, though I understand why people would.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

LedZep — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 08:42:48 GMT

Author: LedZep

Posted: 03/17/2021 12:42

This 2002 team might be the best of the round. Blackalicious and The Streets at that moment in time were both incredible, those two albums are very close to each other on my 2000s chart. I'd probably say Blazing Arrows is slightly better, but it doesn't really matter. All 4 singles of this round are excellent, it could very well be the best singles round in the tourney. Or at least among the best. Early might not be the best song on RTJ2, but it bangs. I love most of Kate Tempest work, Europe is Lost is one of her best songs. One Mic is underrated imo and Lose Yourself is a classic. Basically nothing to separate them. Unfortunately, Action Bronson's Mr. Wonderful, while eclectic, varied and interesting throughout, doesn't hit all the right notes. He's an ok rapper, but not charismatic enough for me to hold that batch of tracks together. It doesn't help that some of the songs are more of a cool idea than a good finished track. It was loads of fun though. I've never heard this Lil Ugly Mane album before but it's excellent. Doesn't even bother me that it's barely hip hop. Unfortunately for Pash, the teams he's faced in the last 2 rounds were fantastic and he barely stood a chance. Enthusiastic vote for 2002.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

cestuneblague — Tue, 16 Mar 2021 23:15:22 GMT

Author: cestuneblague

Posted: 03/17/2021 03:15

2015 is surprisingly a lot of fun, certainly enjoyed the Action Bronson work and Lil Ugly Mane was... pretty solid, too (never really heard Mac's works before now, hmm). Run the Jewels I'm completely neutral towards and this song is no different. I usually prefer Tempest the sing-speaker over Tempest the rapper as their flow can be distractingly clumsy, but I do actually really like this track even with it's pretty on-the-noise and not-always-lyrically-graceful messaging.

Ouch, 2002 is a boss though. The Streets def takes you back to that time period as he was definitely getting plenty of buzz stateside at the time as well, and this album is among the more exciting and pretty downright huge debuts of the aughties (even if I'm the contrarian wimp who slightly prefers his followup), and Blacakalious is again really strong if it's the exact kind of hip hop I easily enjoy more so than really go crazy for, but strong record nonetheless. And yes there was a time when Lose Yourself could've put me off this team considering how nauseatingly ubuqitious this track was for a time, but now it's ya know whatevs, a fairly paint-by-numbers anthem for Eminem clearly meant to advertise his movie. Again, would be tough to do '02 without an 8 mile reference in there somewhere.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

RoundTheBend — Fri, 5 Mar 2021 21:56:10 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 03/06/2021 02:56

2002 (captain: babyBlueSedan) (9.5)
The Streets - Original Pirate Material (1.5)
Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow (3)
Eminem - Lose Yourself (2.5)
Nas - One Mic (2.5)

vs.

2015 (captain: Purplepash) (8.25)
Action Bronson - Mr. Wonderful (1.5)
Lil Ugly Mane - Oblivion Access (2)
Run The Jewels - Early (2.5)
Kate Tempest - Europe Is Lost (2.25)

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

babyBlueSedan — Thu, 4 Mar 2021 18:23:37 GMT

Author: babyBlueSedan

Posted: 03/04/2021 23:23

Oblivion Access is a really interesting album. Is it a good album? Yes. Is it a good hip hop album? Ummm... One thing I found after two listens is that I wish there was more rapping on it. Miller's performance is great but there are a lot of tracks that just feel like interludes or have very little hip hop influence. And I could definitely do without the harsh noise tracks. The track with the computer generated vocals is interesting because on one hand I think it works in a cold and detached way, and on the other hand those are some of the hardest bars on the album and I wish a real person was delivering them. I also think it's interesting that, while I think Mista Thug Isolation is a better album, this feels like a much better look at Miller as a rapper. Mista Thug felt like him making an homage to a scene whereas this feels much more like it was created under his vision. It's certainly a more personal album. So yeah, I like the album a lot but it's hard to compare it to most of the other albums in this tournament. I think that's a good thing though, and I'm glad it was picked because it's one of my favorite first listens of the tourney.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

travelful — Thu, 4 Mar 2021 14:49:58 GMT

Author: travelful

Posted: 03/04/2021 19:49

Yeah this was a really one sided match-up for me. I love Action Bronson and Lil Ugly Mane but neither of these projects are favorites of mine from them. I love the RTJ track but that's about it from 2015, plus I woulda preferred Lie Cheat Steal as a single as both El-P and Killer Mike shine a bit more on it imo.

2002 has a lineup of classics and it easily gets my vote.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

kokkinos — Mon, 1 Mar 2021 12:23:18 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 03/01/2021 17:23

My ranking for the singles:
T- 1st: Nas - One Mic/Run The Jewels - Early/Kate Tempest - Europe Is Lost
I can't say that any of those blew me away, rather forgettable to be honest.

4th: Eminem - Lose Yourself
No comment.
So, despite 2015 dominating the singles department, it would take much more to dethrone The Streets and 2002. Case closed.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

kokkinos — Mon, 1 Mar 2021 12:17:46 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 03/01/2021 17:17

Lil Ugly Mane - Oblivion Access continues the series of outlandish picks by the 2015 team - I was gonna say it's the most eccentric of them all, but then I remembered you nominated Death Grips, so this is almost standard in comparison. Ok, talk about an unfair analogy, this is significantly better, neither as annoying nor as distressing, I would have no problem classifying this as listenable - but still takes a quite peculiar taste to actually enjoy it. The noise seems to be under control and it actually has a point, it tries to convey a message. All in all, major props for nominating this, but no thanks.
To sum it up, The margin seems irreversible at this point, it would require both 2002 singles to be completely unlistenable (well, one of them is) and both 2015 singles to be G.O.A.T. material for a turnaround.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

baystateoftheart — Sun, 28 Feb 2021 14:13:05 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 02/28/2021 19:13

Neither here nor there, but that 2015 lineup must be literally the whitest team of the tournament, with 3.5 out of 4 picks.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

kokkinos — Sun, 28 Feb 2021 14:09:15 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 02/28/2021 19:09

Action Bronson - Mr. Wonderful is an album I by no means expected to see being nominated. Purplepash, you have really added an extra flavour with your colourful and flamboyant - despite not always being my cup of tea - picks throughout the tournament, a big thumbs up. In fact this would make a nice pair with the previous album, Blazing Arrow, it's kinda cool seeing them paired againist each other. A cheerful, uplifting, album with no aspirations to be anything else, simply an easy listening, highly enjoyable and provides tons of fun. Even though entertainment is clearly its primary goal, it doesn't settle for a simple and straightforward sound, it is willing to experiment and you can tell there was some thought - not too much, just enough to keep it from being overly simplistic - and a lot of passion involved in making this. The lyrics are nothing special, but it's one of those cases you can safely ignore them, they neither elevate nor diminish the other aspects of the album.
To sum it up, I would rank this slightly behind Blazing Arrow.
Next one is gonna be Lil Ugly Mane - Oblivion Access.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

kokkinos — Sun, 28 Feb 2021 10:11:30 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 02/28/2021 15:11

Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow is an album with a playful, almost cartoonish mood throughout its running time. And just as if it were actually aimed towards children, - who as a general rule have a shorter attention span - it keeps changing style after style to keep you engaged, while maintaining a surprising and refreshing positive/optimistic attitude ("Free! Like a bird out in the wind in the night Like a 747 to LA that's in flight Free! Like a garden flourishing in the wind Like a student bout to do it when he's graduatin' Free! From any of the energy perception Can never be defined create the definition within Free! Just lovin' life itself and never pretend to be Anything other than the man I was meant to be Travel through time and get a glimpse of the centuries To come a better day is promised remember Free, like my nephew in a few months about to be out the penitentiary"). All these aspects lead to an album that provides tons of fun.
To sum it up, there's no way it could compete with Original Pirate Material but it's not as one-sided as one might expect.
Next one is gonna be Action Bronson - Mr. Wonderful.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

kokkinos — Sun, 28 Feb 2021 09:12:35 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 02/28/2021 14:12

The Streets - Original Pirate Material is an album I was more than glad to see being nominated. I rarely - if ever - listen to either this or the album I chose for my first round team (A Grand Don't Come for Free) these days - and when I do, they admittedly don't sound as good as they did back then - but I will always have a special place for them, I don't even dare to calculate how many times I listened to them starting from 2004/2005 and for more or less the next decade. This one might not have the central narrative that ties their sophomore album together, but when it comes to production this is on a completely different level, pretty much every track is addictive. His rapping barely qualifies as such, it resembles more spoken word than anything else - with his accent being the icing on the cake - but it somehow works into perfection in this specific environment.
To sum it up, my favorite The Streets album, my third favorite album of the whole tournament so far (rather obvious which two I'm ranking above this) and a good enough reason to vote for 2002 without even checking the rest of the picks (of course I will).
Next one is gonna be Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

babyBlueSedan — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 18:21:49 GMT

Author: babyBlueSedan

Posted: 02/25/2021 23:21

Skinny wrote:

Am surprised anybody would pick 'One Mic' over 'Made You Look', though.

This decision was mostly based on keeping my options open if I wanted to use God's Son should I happen to make it through to the next round. Lots of Nas to choose from in 2002.

I was torn on whether to swap out Lose Yourself for something that was likely to get better reception. When I first picked 2002 I was looking at lists of singles and I thought "well of course I'll use that!" But as the first couple rounds went on I started to realize it probably wouldn't be popular with a lot of folks. I stuck with it though because I enjoy it a lot and I have a decent amount of nostalgia for it. Definitely the only thing I've chosen that I was actually aware of in 2002.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

kokkinos — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 11:59:29 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 02/25/2021 16:59

Man, this matchup is brutal. I can't imagine voting againist a team that features The Streets. On the other hand, I can't imagine voting in favor of a team that features Eminem. Most likely I will violate the second principle, but it's gonna be a tough pill to swallow.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

Skinny — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 11:13:14 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 02/25/2021 16:13

Original Pirate Material is definitely the heavyweight here. It's the best album of the four by an insane amount. I do have a soft spot for Mr. Wonderful, but it was probably the beginning of Bronson's fall-off, where everything he did suddenly sounded somewhat half-hearted compared to what had come before. His masterpiece is the first Blue Chips, and Mr. Wonderful is quite a way off being at that level, but it has aged surprisingly well and definitely holds up all the way through. The Blackalicious Nia vs. Blazing Arrow debate is a good one - I've contemplated reaching for Nia at various times throughout the tournament, but theirs isn't a style I'm massively enamoured with. They fit into that same tasteful, post-De La Soul category as Little Brother, but I've always preferred the latter.

Am surprised anybody would pick 'One Mic' over 'Made You Look', though. Whenever I've seen Nas live, the crowd reaction for 'Made You Look' always far surpasses that for 'One Mic', and rightly so. It's a much better song. I think I might be allergic to Kate Tempest, but in spite of this I honestly very much enjoyed hearing 'Europe Is Lost' for the first time in a few years. It will probably surprise nobody to learn that I used to frequent rap open mic nights when I was at uni (very rarely stepping up myself, mind), and Kate Tempest very much takes me back to those dingy little bars and hearing half-poet, half-rappers do socially conscious shit in exaggerated London accents over grimy old school beats. My thoughts on Run The Jewels are well-documented at this point, and 'Early' is doing nothing to change my view, whilst I preferred Lil Ugly Mane when he used to do Memphis pastiches, rightly or wrongly. Oblivion Access deserves a relisten, however.

It's a very good matchup.

(The less said about 'Lose Yourself', a song made to soundtrack boxing montages, the better.)

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

babyBlueSedan — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 10:02:09 GMT

Author: babyBlueSedan

Posted: 02/25/2021 15:02

Hayden wrote:

Honestly, that's the heavyweight on the board here.

Blazing Arrow was one of the biggest reasons I picked 2002. I love everything about it. Gift of Gab's fast paced rapping, which still manages to sound largely relaxed and playful despite being so wordy. "Make You Feel That Way" is probably the highlight for me, he sounds so at peace and conversational. But the beats are also fantastic, "Make You Feel That Way" sounds like a series of sunrises and the sung parts of songs like "Day One" and "Sky is Falling" really add a lot to them (I say this as someone who really enjoys this kind of thing in rap music, I know there are some who don't). And the overall feel is so uplifting, I tend to think a lot of conscious hip hop ends up feeling a bit corny but this one avoids that, for the most part.

Funny story, but I didn't intend to use Original Pirate Material when I chose 2002. I had listened to it once ~6 years ago and hated it. I rated it like 2/10 or something. And I didn't want to use any albums that I didn't personally enjoy. But since it had been awhile I gave it another listen and really loved it. The UK electronic styles that form the beats, which I can't hope to talk intelligently about due to my unfamiliarity with those genres, sound so unique on this type of album. And while Mike Skinner isn't really rapping on these tracks, I think his style meshes really well with the beats. Plus it's just full of bangers. I also want to mention, since I didn't have time to comment on the 2004 team that nominated it, that the follow-up to this album is also fantastic and that "Empty Cans" is an absolute masterpiece. Possibly my most listened song so far this year. Skinner has a knack for closing tracks I guess, since "Stay Positive" is also one of the highlights on this album.

I've been meaning to give Oblivion Access a listen so I'm glad I'll finally be able to. I really like Mista Thug Isolation so I'm excited for that. Have to say I don't have great memories of that Action Bronson album but will probably give it another go since I haven't heard it since it was released.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

Tha1ChiefRocka — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 00:12:29 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 02/25/2021 05:12

Hayden wrote:

Honestly, that's the heavyweight on the board here.

It's one of my favorites. Although Nia might be as good or better.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group B - 2002 vs. 2015

Hayden — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 21:42:22 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 02/25/2021 02:42

Purplepash wrote:

I need to listen to Blackalicious

Honestly, that's the heavyweight on the board here.