Embedded Files
By Owen Johnson
I’ll be doing something a bit different for this month's article. A Top 10 list would never do justice to the sheer number of albums that I consider flawless. These projects probably have the best lyricism, vocals, rapping, production, and so on, that I have ever heard, so these are my Top 25 favorite albums of all time. Keep in mind that these are just my opinions. (Also, all of these are 10/10s, so adding scores would be kinda pointless).
25. Ms Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
1998
Neo-soul, conscious hip hop, contemporary R&B
16 tracks, 1 hour and 17 minutes
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is a glorious blend of hip hop and R&B, although it leans more towards an R&B style. Punctuated by Lauryn’s wonderfully unique voice, punchy boom bap instrumentals, and rich choruses, it’s an excellent album that manages to deliver soulful melodies while also providing deep and refreshing commentary on the struggles of urban life for African American youth.
24. Death Grips: Exmilitary
2011
Rap rock, experimental hip-hop, industrial-hip hop
13 tracks, 48 minutes
Death Grips’ debut mixtape is a furious mix of glitch hop, synth punk, footwork, ambient, noise, gabber, vaporwave, and even dubstep, culminating in 48 minutes of absolute chaos. Frontman MC Ride never fails to deliver with his trademark yelling, and it makes me feel like I’m face to face with a paranoid man who’s trying to convince me that we’re living in a simulation and all world leaders are aliens.
23. Tyler, The Creator: IGOR
2019
Neo-soul, alternative R&B, psychedelic soul, experimental hip hop
12 tracks, 39 minutes
Tyler’s magnum opus IGOR takes us on a journey into his brief hypothetical relationship with a closeted bisexual man and how its resulting breakup affects him romantically and emotionally. His pitch-shifted vocals, intended to ease the embarrassment caused by his singing voice, are charming and beautiful, and when paired with fuzzy retro synths and booming 808 basslines, they make for a powerful and memorable listening experience.
22. Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven
2000
Post-rock, field recordings, drone, chamber music
2 discs, 4 songs, 1 hour and 27 minutes
Ranging from unsettling ambient drones to recordings of children playing street games and sweeping orchestral chords over slow and minimalist drum patterns, GY!BE’s sophomore album is filled to the brim with atmospheric and cinematic compositions that extend well beyond 10 minutes in length.
21. black midi: Hellfire
2022
Progressive rock, brutal prog, jazz-rock
10 tracks, 38 minutes
Black midi’s current final (on indefinite hiatus for the members to fly us on their solo work) album Hellfire is an incredible display of musicianship and storytelling. Geordie Greep’s operatic vocal style perfectly complements the rapid and intense instrumentals, and his use of various literary techniques in his lyrics is poetic to the highest degree.
20. The Beatles: Abbey Road
1969
Pop rock, progressive pop, art pop
17 tracks, 47 minutes
Abbey Road stands out as one of the most groundbreaking albums of the '60s, pushing the boundaries of pop music to create an entirely new and unique sound that would go on to influence more than thousands of artists today.
19. Death: Symbolic
1995
Technical death metal, melodic death metal, progressive metal
9 tracks, 50 minutes
Symbolic is the perfect blend of beautifully composed melodies and impressively technical breakdowns. Lyrically, it’s basically a Tolkien novel in musical form, with vocalist Chuck Schuldiner retelling dramatic tales of mystical beings and hellish alien landscapes amid a sea of polyrhythmic guitar chugs, atmospheric guitar solos, and rapid thrash passages.
18. Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life
1976
Soul, funk, progressive soul
17 tracks, 1 hour and 44 minutes
Songs in the Key of Life is an album that consists of 17 tracks of faith, love, peace, and joy, featuring funky basslines, soulful choirs, amazing brass accompaniments, and Stevie Wonder’s absolutely stunning tenor vocals. It's flawlessly happy and inspiring and it has admittedly made me cry a few times.
17. Metallica: Master Of Puppets
1986
Thrash metal, progressive metal
8 tracks, 54 minutes
Master of Puppets stands out from most mid-80s metal albums with its technical instrumentation, fantastic production, political and philosophical commentary, lengthy song structures, and James Hetfield’s melodic vocals.
16. Sufjan Stevens: Illinois
2005
Chamber pop, singer-songwriter, indie folk
22 tracks, 1 hour and 14 minutes
Sufjan (pronounced “soof-yon”) Stevens’ wonderfully whimsical masterpiece blends indie folk, chamber music, and baroque pop into a lush, multi-layered exploration of both the personal and the geographical. From the beautifully melancholic “Casimir Pulaski Day” to the theatrical Chicago and mournful “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.,” Illinois is a diverse and poetic album that is as powerful and grand as the state it’s named after.
15. Nick Drake: Pink Moon
1972
Singer-songwriter, contemporary folk
11 tracks, 28 minutes
Nick Drake’s final album before his tragic passing in 1974 is cozy, melancholic, and warm. With a sole piano part on the title track, the minimalist composition of Nick and his acoustic guitar is very comforting, and the often sorrowful lyrics are simply beautiful.
14. Talking Heads: Remain In Light
1980
New wave, post-punk, Afrobeat, funk
8 tracks, 40 minutes
Leading new wave band Talking Heads’ Remain In Light is an endlessly fun 40-minute thrill ride that will certainly get you dancing. With fantastic production, energetic vocals, and creative instrumentation, even its slower moments are exciting.
13. Mobb Deep: The Infamous
1995
Gangsta rap, East Coast hip hop, boom bap
16 tracks, 1 hour and 6 minutes
The Infamous album helped define an entirely new and unique brand of hardcore hip hop, with its innovative production and often dark lyrics concerning life in New York City during the nationwide crime wave of the 90s. Featuring deeply EQed basslines, eighth note hi-hats, punchy drums, and eerie jazz samples, it’s one of the most well-produced albums of the 90s.
12. A Tribe Called Quest: The Low End Theory
1991
Boom bap, East Coast hip hop, jazz rap, conscious hip hop
14 tracks, 48 minutes
Preaching their gospel of peace and positivity at a time when the East and West Coast rap scenes were at war with each other and drug problems were deeply rampant across the country, A Tribe Called Quest brings together various samples and lyrical messages to create a unique sophomore album that stands out amongst many other releases from that era.
11. JPEGMAFIA: LP! [Offline Version]
2021
Experimental hip hop, glitch hop, cloud rap
20 tracks, 56 minutes
With his charismatic delivery, anti-Trump and anti-autotune ideology, producer and rapper Barrington DeVaughn Hendricks, otherwise known as JPEGMAFIA, utilizes an incredibly diverse collection of glitchy and distorted samples across multiple genres and forms of media to produce a provocative album that completely subverts all expectations of what rap music is supposed to sound like.
10. Have a Nice Life: Deathconsciousness
2008
Post-punk, shoegaze, post-rock
13 tracks, 1 hour and 24 minutes
A colossal, beautiful, and crushing album, Deathconsciousness blends shoegaze, post-rock, ambient, post-punk, and doom metal into a sorrowfully beautiful and dark 84-minute cavern of sound punctuated by often sobering lyrics.
9. Outkast: Aquemini
1998
Southern hip hop, conscious hip hop, neo-soul
16 tracks, 1 hour and 14 minutes
A staple of southern hip hop, Aquemini pushes stories of black struggles and life in Atlanta’s hoods. Big Boi and André 3000’s complex rhyme schemes, combined with production make for a relaxing, yet exciting listening experience.
8. Nas: Illmatic
1994
Boom bap, East Coast hip hop, jazz rap, conscious hip hop
10 tracks, 39 minutes
Like The Infamous, Illmatic is a gritty portrayal of street life in NYC, dedicated to those who passed away from crime and drug use, as well as shouting out other rap groups and those trying to stop the violence. Nas utilizes multi-syllabic rhymes and many different flows over Q-Tip’s bass-and-sample-heavy jazz beats, creating an atmosphere that switches from cool and vibrant to dark and abrasive.
7. The Microphones: The Glow, Pt. 2
2001
Indie folk, psychedelic folk, field recordings
20 tracks, 1 hour and 6 minutes
The Microphones, led by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Phil Elverum, create a warm and soothing sound on The Glow, Pt. 2. Featuring clanky pianos, down-tuned guitars, buzzy lo-fi production, wonderfully composed lyrics, multilayered vocals, and a reoccurring foghorn motif that plays throughout the album, it reaches a climax with its 9-minute closing track of haunting ambient drones and samples of previous songs. Overall, it’s an enthralling and uniquely enjoyable album that may very well make you cry.
6. Frank Ocean: Blonde
2016
Alternative R&B, art pop, neo-soul
17 tracks, 1 hour
Blonde is a gossamer album punctuated by lush production, airy instrumentals, Frank’s warm vocals, and his deeply intimate and personal lyrics. A tale of love and loss, much like IGOR, Blonde is an emotional gut punch that only gets more heartbreaking and powerful as it plays out.
5. Madvillain (Madlib, MF DOOM): Madvillainy
2004
Abstract hip hop, experimental hip hop, jazz rap
22 tracks, 46 minutes
To put it simply, Madvillainy is absolutely insane. Producer Madlib goes ham and uses some of the most obscure and bizarre samples ever, sometimes using a dozen simultaneously, while MF DOOM utilizes intricate multi-syllabic rhyme sequences and drops some of the finest bars in rap history. Truly an incredible listen from front to back.
4. Björk: Vespertine
2001
Art pop, electronic, glitch pop, downtempo
12 tracks, 55 minutes
Icelandic singer Björk’s Vespertine is an ethereal and mystifying album, utilizing glitches, unconventional drum patterns, microsounds, ambiance, and more to create a uniquely textured and influential sound palette that is still fresh today.
3. Danny Brown: Atrocity Exhibition
2016
Experimental hip hop, hardcore hip hop, industrial hip hop
15 tracks, 46 minutes
Atrocity Exhibition is a nightmarish and bizarre 46 minutes of some of the most unhinged rap ever recorded. Built on incredible samples of various genres and featuring Kendrick Lamar, Earl Sweatshirt, B-Real, Petite Noir, and others, it is an excellent collection of styles and an example of Danny’s creative renaissance at a time when his addiction to drugs and alcohol was at its worst. (He completed rehab after checking himself in in 2022-23.)
2. Kendrick Lamar: good kid, m.A.A.d city
2012
Conscious hip hop, West Coast hip hop, trap
12 tracks, 1 hour and 8 minutes
Apolitical isn’t a word in Kendrick Lamar’s vocabulary. “Lemme teach you some lessons about the streets,” says fellow Compton rapper MC Eiht on one song off of Kendrick’s good kid, m.A.A.d city. Bursting at the seams with double entendres, clever wordplay, incredible rhyme schemes, and characterization, set to a backdrop of thumping boom bap beats and energetic trap rhythms, good kid, m.A.A.d city is an introspective look into Kendrick’s early life chasing women and dealing with crime in his hometown.
1. Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly
2015
Conscious Hip Hop, Jazz Rap, West Coast Hip Hop
16 tracks, 1 hour and 18 minutes
A magnum opus and probably the greatest album of all time, To Pimp a Butterfly sees Kendrick going on a metaphorical philosophical journey; being seduced by the devil and the modern music industry, going back to his roots in Africa, and realizing just how prejudiced and backward modern politics are towards Black Americans. Produced by industry titans including Thundercat, Pharrell Williams, Flying Lotus, Boi-1da, along with features from Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, George Clinton, Ronald Isley, and frequent collaborator Anna Wise, among others, To Pimp a Butterfly stands out with its solid narrative, storytelling, structure, and characterization.
SONGS:
Doo Wop (That Thing)- Lauryn Hill
Guillotine (It Goes Yah)- Death Grips (only song from Exmilitary officially on streaming)
Like Antennas To Heaven…- Godspeed You! Black Emperor
NEW MAGIC WAND- Tyler, The Creator
Talking Heads- The Great Curve
A Tribe Called Quest- Vibes and Stuff
JPEGMAFIA- 100 EMOJI! -INSTRUMENTAL
Have A Nice Life- I Don’t Love
The Microphones- I’ll Not Contain You
Danny Brown- Really Doe (ft Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, Earl Sweatshirt)
Kendrick Lamar- For Sale? (Interlude)
Thank you for reading, please see the music column next month for a new (and hopefully shorter) article!
Page updated
Report abuse