10 Favorite Albums of the Decade

With everyone complaining about the quality of rap music today (myself included) I decided I'd post my 10 favorite albums of the decade. Now I'm not saying these are the best albums in that time span, although there's certainly at least a few on here that would be acknowledged as such, but more so the 10 I'd bring with me to a deserted island.

I thought about trying to rank them 1-10 but the truth is on any given day any of these cd's could be number 1 for me.

On to the list...

Kanye West- The College Dropout (2004)

No question Kanye's best album. Late Registration was great but it's just not on the same level as this. There must've been at least 5 solid radio singles off this and then you have songs like Two Words and, possibly my favorite, Last Call. I remember going to dinner with a friend and his family and playing this in the car the day it came out and even his parents were nodding their heads to this.

Madvillain (MF DOOM+Madlib)- Madvillainy (2004)

The off-beat flow, monotone voice, obscure references and anti-radio production are more than enough reason for most people to not think twice about listening to this album, and that's exactly why I like it so much. It sounds absolutely NOTHING like any other album on this list, or any other rap album really for that matter. When people ask me for music to listen to when high this is always one of the first I offer up.

Joe Budden- Mood Muzik 2 (2006)

Yes, I know it's a mixtape. But when a mixtape eclipses the albums of other rappers it warrants equal consideration. As it gets near impossible as a fan to defend Budden these days for the countless L's he's taken, this remains his best, most complete work. Budden is one of those rappers that, despite immense talent, just can't seem to put it all together for that classic album, but Mood Muzik 2 is as close as he'll get.

Freeway- Philadelphia Freeway (2003)

I understand that people don't like Freeway because of his voice but if you can get past that he has one of the most unique rhyme patterns of any rapper out. Combine that with production from Just Blaze, Kanye and Bink! and features from Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, Nate Dogg and the rest of the R.O.C. and what you have is one of the most underrated, underappreciated albums I can think of. If you missed this album then you may have missed What We Do, in which case slap yourself, listen to it on youtube, and slap yourself again for being so late. By the way, Freeway>Jay-Z>Sigel on the song.

Cee-Lo Green- Cee-Lo Green and his Perfect Imperfections (2002)

After his work with Goodie Mob and before becoming one-half of Gnarls Barkley, Cee-Lo dropped this solo gem that, along with Madvillainy, serve as the "odd men out" on this list. I remember listening to this heavily in my 10th grade Biology class and getting clowned for it because, well, Cee-Lo is a pretty funny looking guy. His style is half-rapper half-gospel preacher, and with production that is heavily jazz/funk influenced it's an album I throw in when I need a change of pace from everyday rap.

Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek)- Train of Thought (2000)

I wish more artists would do an album with just one producer as it usually gives the album a more cohesive, complete sound (any coincidence that 3 other albums on this list fall under this category?). This album is a perfect example as Talib expertly navigates the flawless production from Hi-Tek with his socially-conscious lyrics. I could go on about why this is on the list but if you've listened to it even once it's self-explanatory.

Cam'Ron- Come Home With Me (2002)

It was only a matter of time before Cam showed up. I had a little trouble deciding between this and Purple Haze but Welcome to New York City was the difference. It's been speculated that Cam was a factor in the Roc-A-Fella breakup (most notably that Jay didn't react favorably to Cam being named Vice President of the R.O.C.) so the fact that Jay featured on a track was kind of a big deal as it was really the only time him and Cam worked together.

Little Brother- The Listening (2003)

Such a smooth album all the way through. Great production throughout from 9th Wonder with Phonte and Big Pooh spitting about everyday life situations. On "Speed" Phonte raps "It's afternoon I'm talking shit to my alarm clock/cuz I gotta, face this world of capitalistic onslaught...pushin' 80 miles an hour to this, call center/tryin to pick up a check I only see 20 percent of" which is some true shit I think about everyday.

Ghostface Killah- Supreme Clientele (2000)

Easily one of the most consistent MC's ever Ghost has been in the rap game over 18 years and at age 39 he hasn't seemed to have lost a step. Ghost is so great at telling stories with such vivid imagery that it's like watching a movie. On "Wu Banga 101" he spits, "Bottles going off in the church, we broke the wine slapped the pastor/didn't know Pops had asthma/he pulled out his blue bible, change fell out his coat/three condoms, two dice, one bag of dope/oooooh Rev ain't right, his church ain't right/Deacon is a pimp you could tell by his ice"

Jay-Z- The Blueprint (2001)

I could've just as easily put The Black Album here but after listening to this again recently there's really only 1 song I skip where as Black Album has 2-3. Not to mention that The Blueprint basically put Kanye on the map as a producer (Takeover, Izzo (H.O.V.A.), Heart Of The City, Never Change) and featured Jay and Em trading verses when Em didn't have to resort to pop culture attacks/references to make his verse.

If you took the time to read this list drop a comment and let me know what you agreed with, where I went wrong, or even your own top 10 of the decade.

By JaffeJu