The Official Needles and Grooves 1001 Album Generator Project (aka Preachin’ about the Preachers if today’s selection sucks)

Lee Newman said:
Wild Beasts -
Music - 3
Singing and lyrics - 1

so a 2?

Do not like thing. Would like to remove the vocals and listen to just the music. Wish these guys were on Big Crown. Lol.
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This is weird to say for a new-ish release compared to the rest of the list... but this album feels like it's very of it's time in the late aughts.
 
Lee Newman said:
10/4/23
View attachment 183855
Nas - Illmatic



www.allmusic.com

Illmatic - Nas | Album | AllMusic

Illmatic by Nas released in 1994. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
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I've generally thought of Nas as an idiot for a long ass while now, but this is an indisputable front-to-back classic right here. The phrase "changed the game" gets bandied around far too often, but this is one of those cases where it's true. Nas really stepped up the lyrical game for the next generation of hip hop with this outing - a pinnacle not even he could reach again in the decades since. 5/5
 
avecigrec said:
I've generally thought of Nas as an idiot for a long ass while now, but this is an indisputable front-to-back classic right here. The phrase "changed the game" gets bandied around far too often, but this is one of those cases where it's true. Nas really stepped up the lyrical game for the next generation of hip hop with this outing - a pinnacle not even he could reach again in the decades since. 5/5
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Also, on the production tip, I feel like he was one of the first MCs to go out and pull the fire beats from multiple producers for a single project, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Q-Tip, Large Professor, etc…

Prior to Illmatic, most acts were produced exclusively by a single producer or production teams; Dr. Dre, The Rza, The Bomb Squad, Prince Paul, Eric B, etc.. the producer was part of the project and while it did tend to unify the sound, I think it cut down on the amount of potential bangers per album. After Illmatic you had this practice become the norm, it was pretty common for albums to feature some combination of songs produced by the likes of Just Blaze, Kanye, Swizz Beats, Scott Storch, The Neptunes, Timberland, etc… for better or worse it’s was a seismic shift in how hip-hop music was created and likely contributed to hop-hops dominance of the Pop charts in the late 90s and 2000s.
 
Lee Newman said:
10/4/23
View attachment 183855
Nas - Illmatic



www.allmusic.com

Illmatic - Nas | Album | AllMusic

Illmatic by Nas released in 1994. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
Click to expand...

TonyHawksProSkaterCore. So for that reason...

Rating: 5/5 [Masterpiece]

Truthfully, it is top10 in 90s hip hop without much of an argument.
Lyrically undefeated.
DJ Premier? Large Professor? Pete Rock? Q-Tip? L.E.S.? A god-tier lineup of producers.
Pretty hard to pick a favorite track on here, isn't it?
Unequivocally timeless.
 
What I found remarkable in a listen last night is that it isn’t full of cringe moments like a lot of nineties rap (especially the more popular, especially those on this list). It holds up well, despite some of his dumber antics since, it is still smart It doesn’t date itself. Good, inventive and yes, game changing. 5 stars.
 
This is my first time listening to Illmatic. A lot of time with classic albums I feel too much pressure to listen and appreciate them that I just never listen to them and this album has fallen to that. I must say that This album absolutely lived up to the hype! The run from “NY State of Mind” to “Halftime” especially blew me away! I really don’t have much to say about this, it’s so simple in how good it is. The second I was done my first listen I hopped back in for round 2. “Life’s a Bitch” is probably the standout song for me
 
Fleetwood-Matt said:
This is my first time listening to Illmatic. A lot of time with classic albums I feel too much pressure to listen and appreciate them that I just never listen to them and this album has fallen to that. I must say that This album absolutely lived up to the hype! The run from “NY State of Mind” to “Halftime” especially blew me away! I really don’t have much to say about this, it’s so simple in how good it is. The second I was done my first listen I hopped back in for round 2. “Life’s a Bitch” is probably the standout song for me
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Some contend it’s the greatest 90s hip hop album ever made and while I personally would put a couple albums higher, it’s not an unreasonable claim.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
Some contend it’s the greatest 90s hip hop album ever made and while I personally would put a couple albums higher, it’s not an unreasonable claim.
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I don’t think it’ll bump “The Score” out of that place for me but i can absolutely see it settling at #2. I should note that 90s rap is a pretty big blind spot for me so I have a lot more of the genre to explore
 
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