Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by JamesMowbray

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Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 09/24/2018]
Year of Release:
2003
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,577
Rank in 2003:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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I feel like the main draw of music that's sad or that covers difficult subjects is that it gets across a feeling of not being alone but I'm not sure that it does a lot to make anyone feel better. In fact, some of Black Dresses' own music can have the opposite effect on me. Something like 'Hell is Real' might make me feel a bit more miserable but it's also cathartic, the emotional honesty feels important. 'Peaceful as Hell' does something different. It gives a sense of resolution and being able to cope with difficulties without making up some fairytale story where everything works out in the end. There was a sketch of this approach on 2019's 'Love and Affection for Stupid Little Bitches' where a track as harsh as static talks about never having felt more alive without undercutting the tone of the track. These types of themes are more affective here. "There's a part of me that wants to keep destroying me" is repeated over and over on 'Damage Suppressor' but it's followed up with "I'll keep coming back together again". The album celebrates the slow progress and small victories without looking for some sort of unattainable complete recovery, it celebrates the bravery we show when we try to get better. The outro to their 2019 track 'Death/ Bad Girl' has Rook say "I'm glad we're in the struggle but I wish we didn't have to define ourselves by the struggle at all", 'Peaceful as Hell' reverses this statement and speaks it louder than ever. [First added to this chart: 01/22/2022]
Year of Release:
2020
Appears in:
Rank Score:
254
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13. (14) Up1
United States Nas
Buy album United States
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Right from its first moments illmatic takes you to the places it's talking about like no other album ever made with the combination of grimy east coast beats, razor sharp lyrics and sparingly used sound effects like the railroad that starts the album.

The record starts with 'The Genesis' to ease the listener in before 9 tracks packed full of dense lyrical content and perfect wordplay, whilst also sampling Nas' verse from 'Live at the BBQ', probably the first sign along with his feature on MC Serch's (an executive producer on the record) 'Back to the Grill Again' that Nas had incredible potential. This potential is met immediately in standout first track 'NY State of Mind'. An eerie piano loop, courtesy of DJ Premier, acts as the backdrop for some of the most powerfully vivid verses ever spit. The first verse manages to be thrilling with lines like "I ran like a cheetah with thoughts of an assassin" whilst also being contemplative about the state of the streets. This interpolation only increases the effect of each aspect of the verse by tying the 2 styles together.

'Life's a Bitch' starts with probably the best guest verse in all of hip hop by AZ. "Visualising the realism of life in actuality, fuck who the baddest, a person's status depends on salary" makes a welcome change from the undeniably fun but less real G-funk that had dominated the west for years at this point. In spite of this Nas is in no way upstaged delivering a verse that is in every way the equal of AZ's guest spot, in it he manages to talk only about himself without sounding egotistic by filling the verse again with very real, introspective lyrics like "I switched my motto, instead of saying fuck tomorrow that buck that bought a bottle could've struck the lotto", which may be the best bar on the album. The production on this track has a less negative vibe than 'NY state of mind' but the blunt hook and outro from Olu Dara keep the sound grounded with the subject matter.

A third classic in a row is delivered with 'the world is yours', the catchiest track on the album featuring the immortal line "I'm out for dead presidents to represent me", which became the foundation of one of Jay-Z's best ever songs.

After these harsher tracks 'Halftime' gives Nas a chance to spit insanely creative rhymes without the limits of keeping up the atmosphere of the previous tracks. This is complimented by a mean bassline and jazz samples in the hook which provide a great sound and rhythm without ever swallowing up any parts of the verses.

'Memory Lane' calms down the vibe of the album and goes back to the conscious content of the earlier part of the record. Again the sound immerses you in the city but with a less oppressive and more reminiscent atmosphere, echoed in the lyrical content of the verses.

'One Love' provides the best storytelling on the album by using letters Nas has written to his people in jail, giving the context for Nas to describe all the smaller details of his neighbourhood adding significantly to the more general and bigger issues described in the rest of the album.

'One Time 4 Your Mind' slows the pace from the rapid rhymes that have dominated up to this point giving the listener more time to appreciate the lyrical prowess at work. 'Represent' contrasts this with having the most rhythmic beat of the album and shouts of "represent" acting as the hook. Again Nas uses lyrics about himself to build a picture not just of himself but of his lifestyle and therefore the reality of the streets he's grown up in.

The spoken outro of 'Represent' gives a breather before closer 'It Ain't Hard to Tell' which has probably the most layered and chaotic beat of the record which switches slightly when the first verse hits so there's nothing to distract from some of the best verses on Illmatic. The track uses more complex rhyme schemes to match with the more 'out there' production to make it one of the most interesting tracks on the project.

Illmatic completely deserves its place at the top of most lists regarding hip hop albums, not only was it influential on some of the best hip hop in the years that followed (like Jay-Z's 'Reasonable Doubt' and Mobb Deep's 'The Infamous'), but it features lyrical ability that hasn't been matched since and the best east coast production of the 90s along with 'Enter the 36 Chambers'. Honestly the album's only drawback is that it overshadowed the brilliant 'It Was Written' simply because nothing could successfully follow up a record of this quality.


Best Track: NY state of Mind
[First added to this chart: 11/11/2016]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,570
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Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 11/16/2016]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,802
Rank in 1988:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 08/16/2018]
Year of Release:
2001
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,562
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Overall Rank:
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Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 11/11/2016]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
51,238
Rank in 1967:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
17. (15) Down2
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 12/01/2017]
Year of Release:
2004
Appears in:
Rank Score:
41,955
Rank in 2004:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 11/14/2016]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,305
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
19. (17) Down2
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 11/11/2016]
Year of Release:
2014
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,192
Rank in 2014:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
20. (19) Down1
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 11/11/2016]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
77,370
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 100. Page 2 of 10

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade Albums %


1930s 0 0%
1940s 0 0%
1950s 2 2%
1960s 17 17%
1970s 16 16%
1980s 8 8%
1990s 9 9%
2000s 17 17%
2010s 26 26%
2020s 5 5%
Artist Albums %


Radiohead 6 6%
David Bowie 5 5%
The Beatles 4 4%
Bob Dylan 4 4%
Swans 3 3%
Joanna Newsom 3 3%
Charles Mingus 2 2%
Show all
Country Albums %


United States 51 51%
United Kingdom 36 36%
Mixed Nationality 5 5%
Canada 4 4%
Germany 2 2%
Australia 1 1%
Norway 1 1%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest climbers
Climber Up 11 from 26th to 15th
The Glow Pt. 2
by The Microphones
Climber Up 11 from 20th to 9th
Loveless
by My Bloody Valentine
Climber Up 9 from 64th to 55th
Unknown Pleasures
by Joy Division
Biggest fallers
Faller Down 7 from 91st to 98th
Isn't Anything
by My Bloody Valentine
Faller Down 6 from 69th to 75th
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
by John Lennon
Faller Down 6 from 72nd to 78th
The Ooz
by King Krule

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Average Rating: 
89/100 (from 25 votes)
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03/12/2022 15:59 hoyquarlow  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 3187/100
 
95/100
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02/18/2022 18:48 Cytoma  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 17190/100
 
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01/24/2022 16:46 Johnnyo  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,00579/100
 
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01/23/2022 22:45 NowhereMan  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 25582/100
  
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12/03/2021 06:37 Tamthebam  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 54985/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
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This chart is rated in the top 3% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.4/100, a mean average of 90.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.8/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 6.6.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

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Rating:  
90/100
From 01/24/2022 16:46
Very nice chart indeed
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 02/21/2019 05:52
One of the great chart I've ever seen on this site...
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 10/28/2018 23:59
Some really nice picks here and appreciate the depth with which you've made your track by track notes, if it seems a little random as to which ones you've given writing to. Can't wait for more!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 12/17/2017 21:34
I may not always agree with you, but your taste is brilliant!
Plus your Illmatic description is just wow
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

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