My original comment was never actually directed at you. I think top 5 lists are worthless for the very reasons that you mention and that's why I don't make them. My comment was simply that I was surprised that, as multiple people started mentioning their top producers, not a single one of those 5 had been included, yet. I assumed that at least one person would include Q-Tip for example. I don't expect any one of them to be on every list, but after multiple lists, it seems surprising that nobody is mentioning some of these guys. You just chose to respond to why YOU personally didn't add them and with who deserved to be "in the running." If that's just who would be "in the running" for your personal list, that's cool. If it's who deserves to be "in the running" in general, that's, obviously, a whole different discussion, altogether. I'm not telling you to like EL, or to put anyone on your list of personal favorites -- it doesn't matter to me -- I'm just stating in general why all of those producers deserve to be considered in the conversation, overall. Nobody "criticized" your choices. If you're taking it that way, then there's the disconnect between what each of us are discussing.
There's always the question about whether these lists are about mentioning your personal favorites or who you actually believe deserves the spot -- for example, I think the best WEEN album is the POD, but for personal reasons, Pure Guava is my favorite.
In your response to my post, you specifically took only Pete Rock and Q-Tip out and stated that those two, specifically, would be "in the running." Meanwhile, you already mentioned Earl, so you effectively left out DOOM and included Earl over him, but it doesn't matter. I like Earl. I'm just surprised by all these newer cats being on the list, when I can't hear a lot of them without hearing where they came from. But, again, I don't expect anyone to put Grandmaster Flash on here either, so it's all subjective. Just because you did it first doesn't always mean you did it best. Then there's the discussion of catalog and legacy, because -- as you know -- it's not uncommon for some young cat to make a single album and already find themselves in the GOAT discussion surprisingly fast these days.
Regarding EL, he has fallen off for me quite a bit in recent years, but nothing was sounding like Funcrusher when that came out and Cold Vein will always be considered an objective masterpiece. Like I said, everything is a personal preference, though, which is why I don't give a shit about Eminem and love Kool Keith, but if I'm personally ranking things, I'm thinking about impact. EL changed shit in a way that a lot of people may not recognize or acknowledge. RZA, TIP, Premier, Dre... they all left blueprints that people followed. Same with DOOM. That being said, I don't care for Timbaland, so I'm not saying you have to like anybody. I don't really give a shit. I think it's what we personally consider as individuals when we make these lists. What criteria are we going by. With emcees, I like lyricists, but others might lean more towards who can make the best song, or style, voice, or best concepts.
Another reason that I mentioned those 5 that I did is simply because, with all of the endless choices, it's easy to let even the most obvious choices slip past you. History is a funny thing, though. I don't remember people clamoring for Labcabincalifornia when that came out, so it took a while for the masses to warm up to Dilla. Today, you're pretty much expected to put his name down on a list like this automatically.
