[albummaster]

Today's album of the day

Late Registration by Kanye West (View album | Buy this album)

Year: 2005.
Country:
Overall rank: 253
Average rating: 83/100 (from 1003 votes).

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Tracks:
1. Wake Up Mr. West
2. Heard 'Em Say (Feat. Adam Levine)
3. Touch The Sky (Feat. Lupe Fiasco)
4. Gold Digger (Feat. Jamie Foxx)
5. Skit #1
6. Drive Slow (Feat. Paul Wall & GLC)
7. My Way Home (Feat. Common)
8. Crack Music (Feat. Game)
9. Roses
10. Bring Me Down (Feat. Brandy)
11. Addiction
12. Skit #2
13. Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix) (Feat. Jay-Z)
14. We Major (Feat. Nas & Really Doe)
15. Skit #3
16. Hey Mama
17. Celebration
18. Skit #4
19. Gone

About album of the day: The BestEverAlbums.com album of the day is the album appearing most prominently in member charts in the previous 24 hours. If an album, or artist, has previously been selected within a x day period, the next highest album is picked instead (and so on) to ensure a bit of variety. A full history of album of the day can be viewed here.

[Mercury]

This is maybe Kanye's greatest album. I'm weird and put The Life of Pablo there as its only challenger. But man this album blew my little 16 year old mind when it dropped. I don't know what else to say, it was just such a rare instant classic. Within days of its release I had a strong idea this would go down as a masterpiece and I wasn't wrong. (The other albums I felt like that for from 2005 were The Game's The Documentary, and a little later John Mayer's Continuum...and those are less revered these days. So it wasn't like I was a great soothsayer.)

"Gone"...I mean, come the f on!
_________________
-Ryan

ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!

[DommeDamian]

Fun Fact: a few weeks ago, I decided to listen to good kid m.A.A.d city, since it's been a while. After an entire sitting of carefully listening to every lyric, delivery, instrumental, I felt let down. I didn't enjoy it that much (especially in comparison to how much it used to be). I thought to myself that maybe I'm not in the right mood or something. And I remembered that the album got a 9.5 from Pitchfork, and what other album got the same score from the same magazine?!... this one. So I immediately listened to Late Registration and I was STUNNED. I enjoy that SOOOOOO MUUUCH MOOORE than gkmc, and maybe it's because I feel Kanye is a much more structurally coherent music-man, with much more originality and authenticity but Idk. This album is motherfucking classic. Always a pleasure and experience bumping it, wherever I'm at. It's a blast, genius in variety and never ages. It has been my favorite record of his for some years, but now MBDTF has taken over. But if you said that this is your favorite album ever, I respect that full on out.

My description on the chart of mine (at #18th):
Have you ever felt like having writer’s block, and are having it hard not to copy paste and credit another review of the project you’re on about? Well, if or not, that’s me right now, looking at some excellent ass reviews on RateYourMusic of Late Registration, by the truly one and only Kanye West. One of the most important yet controversial musical figures of the century. ‘Cause as much as I despise his personality, and his senseless, dried out preaching, and attention-seeking a month before a new mediocre album, I cannot help but adore him for his musical genius, principally his early stuff. The College Dropout was my favorite, for a couple of months. But since then, I’ve grown to love Late Registration for all the same reasons and more. Before, let’s say, 6 months ago, I would mostly look and njoy the record for entertainment and surface-music purposes only. And I know, that it comes off as sounding pretty thin when I write it, but….it’s just not - that’s how I likely enjoy most music. But until now I found out, there are actually more layers hidden behind those samples and verses, than I just thought would be in your average great hip hop album. Prime example of it, would be the song-opener Heard ‘Em Say, that starts with the echo of ‘Wake Up Mr. West’. The piano has a classical atmosphere, and Kanye’s verses here are profound in the scheme of completely WOKE. (Claiming money is the key, so keep on dreamin / And put them lottery tickets just to tease us / My Aunt Pam can't put them cigarettes down / So now my little cousin smokin them cigarettes now). Wow. Kanye’s verses on this effort cannot be pigeonholed, and they shouldn’t. They are really something spe-ci-al. Another awe-inspiring cut is Hey Mama, which in my little unpopular opinion, tops Dear Mama, although let’s not debate hehe. The Roses song is by no doubt one of my favorite songs by Kanye, lyrically. And the way he balances the instrumentation to the story….don’t even get me started. Yes the beats and production are at least just as legendary. From (like I said) classical influence, to jazz fushions, to incredible soul-sampling all over. The Curtis Mayfield sample fits exceptionally perfect on Touch The Sky. The track Addiction is still able to blow my mind in terms of production, and especially the absolutely unique soundscape of its songstructure. Diamonds From Sierra Lione is like a pre-version of Power. Another wunpopular opinion, Gone’s the greatest Ye closer./ I'm normally a critic, but if this was my project, I would not change anything up, or perfect the grooves or framing for it - 'cause this is timeless for what it is. I'm also a bit retaining when it comes to features on an album, but Late Registration has one of my favorite feature lists (in terms of character, concept and performance) to a hip hop record in general: Isn’t it weird that a 2005 LP is having Jay-Z on a cut, then you can hear Nas’ voice on the next one?! The skits is more consistent & colorful, than the debut.
Bravo Limo Alfa Sierra Tango, this album is. If you like his new (*cough *cough* *cough* garbage *cough*) music, buy this album right the fuck now.

"There'll always be haters, that's the way it is
Hater niggas marry hater bitches and have hater kids
But they gon' have to take my life 'fore they take my drive
Cause when I was barely livin', that's what kept me alive"
_________________
My Top 100 :
www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=4...amp;page=1

My music:
- www.hyperfollow.com/dommedamian

[HoldenM]

Probably my favorite Kanye record. Beyond that, it's wild that virtually nothing else sounds like this. It doesn't even seem like anyone ever tried to replicate or expand upon the more baroque sensibilities of this record. Whatever the case, it's a near-perfect album, and the defining document that proved Kanye West was not only not a one-hit wonder with The College Dropout, but that he was going to explore stylistic frontiers that no one has really matched in their innovation and accessibility. Love him or hate him, it's that sense of adventure that makes Kanye West one of the best artists of his generation. My only complaint with Late Registration is that "We Can Make It Better" didn't make the official track listing. Super underrated B-side.

Track picks
3. Touch The Sky (Feat. Lupe Fiasco)
4. Gold Digger (Feat. Jamie Foxx)
11. Addiction
13. Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix) (Feat. Jay-Z)
16. Hey Mama
_________________
Inversion Verses
https://thesplitinfinitives1.bandcamp.c...ion-verses

[CharlieBarley]

this is a great album

I remember the video to Gold Digger being everywhere when it dropped. And I remember being really touched by Heard Em Say when it was released as a single too. Songs like that one and Through The Wire and Jesus Walks on his debut album showed Kanye has depth of personality.

Plus he can be real funny too.