100 Great Lyrical Albums
by jhuik

Really great list. You definitely got #1 right, and I think your hip-hop selections are solid.

I do think you missed the mark on the two Dylan inclusions you chose. I personally would exclude both from his top 5 albums (lyrically) in favor of: The Times are a Changin', John Wesley Harding, Blonde on Blonde, Desire, and Freewheelin'. In that order, more or less.

From Skinny TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/13/2015 17:18 | #143772

Oh yeah, I was pretty drunk when I wrote this and must've (somehow) skipped over PE and Nas, which are both very reasonable shouts in terms of best lyrical albums. Rakim is definitely deserving of a mention, purely because of his influence in terms of turning lyricism into its own self-analysing (/self-praising) artfom within hip-hop. I would definitely recommend checking out Roc Marciano, who writes rap lyrics in a really impressionistic way, small (albeit vivid) snippets of a criminal lifestyle that all add up to paint a much bigger picture. Also, I love the nigh impenetrable slang of Ghostface (circa Supreme Clientele) and Raekwon. I do understand that they are probably very acquired tastes though. Very happy to see Perils from the Sea and Gil Scott-Heron here though - excellent choices that I wholeheartedly second. I'd also highly recommend checking out Jenny Hval's latest (Apocalypse, girl), which is a funny, confrontational, enlightened look at gender politics and their links to her perceived shallowness of modern Western society (or something - I'm more than willing to hear other theories; the shit is pretty ambiguous, which is basically how I like my lyrics). Also, whilst it's extremely difficult to argue with either of the Dylan choices (especially Blood on the Tracks, which is simply incredible), I'd definitely put a case forward for John Wesley Harding - I left a comment on the album page that basically explains why, but to summarise it's just one of the greatest pieces of self-mythologising I've ever heard, and in particular 'The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest' is - for me, anyway - Dylan's finest moment lyrically. Cheers for the reply anyway mate, hope you're enjoying a fine weekend wherever you are.

From Skinny TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/13/2015 07:33 | #143748

This is a cool idea, with some interesting choices, but also a lot of things I find odd. I mean, Eminem as the highest ranked hip-hop album is bizarre, the inclusion of Watch The Throne likewise (when between them Jay-Z and Kanye are responsible for at least ten albums that are lyrically more impressive), I certainly find stuff like Imagine and late-era Marley pretty trite and preachy lyrically, and there's a lot of songwriting here that strikes me more as being competent than genuinely special. That said, everybody has a different view of what good lyricism involves, and there's plenty here I do like. Might have to use this idea myself at some point.

From jhuik TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/13/2015 12:38 | #143768

@Skinny: all well said. I agree with it, too, except Eminem is the third highest hip hop album. This chart is swayed by feedback like that.

http://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=402824#402824