Saturday, October 22, 2011

Top 20 Greatest L.A. Rap Albums of All Time (Revised)


My love/hate relationship with "lists" lives on... For the past few days, LA Weekly had been slowly rolling out a list of the "top 20 greatest L.A. rap albums of all time", collaborated upon and compiled by scribes Jeff Weiss, Ben Westhoff, Rebecca Haithcoat and Ian Cohen - or as I'm going to call them now, The Avengers of L.A. Rap Blogging. Click here to read their article; see below for their top 20:

LA Weekly Presents: Top 20 Greatest L.A. Rap Albums of All Time

1. Dr. Dre - The Chronic (1992)
2. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle (1993)
3. N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton (1988)
4. 2Pac - All Eyez on Me (1996)
5. The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde (1992)
6. DJ Quik - Quik Is the Name (1991)
7. Ice Cube - Death Certificate (1991)
8. Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill (1991)
9. The D.O.C. - No One Can Do It Better (1989)
10. Freestyle Fellowship - Innercity Griots (1993)
11. Ice-T - O.G. Original Gangster (1991)
12. The Game - Doctor's Advocate (2006)
13. Dr. Dre - 2001 (1999)
14. Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990)
15. Suga Free - Street Gospel (1997)
16. Tyler, The Creator - Goblin (2011)
17. Eazy-E - Eazy-Duz-It (1988)
18. Kool Keith - Sex Style (1997)
19. Blu & Exile - Below the Heavens (2007)
20. Madlib - Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6: A Tribute to Dilla (2009)

Their list is solid and every album is definitely a must-have. In fact, their top four is identical to my top 4. Overall, I'm in approximately 80% agreement with the group and publication's final tally. But I'm the kind of person who vents his frustrations out on an ergonomic keyboard, so clearly 80% just isn't good enough for me. Or 99% for that matter. Kool Keith? Tyler? #CmonSon! So without further adieu, here's my personal list of the top 20 greatest L.A. rap albums of all time:

Hip Hop Is Read Presents: Top 20 Greatest L.A. Rap Albums of All Time

1. Dr. Dre - The Chronic (1992)
2. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle (1993)
3. N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton (1988)
4. 2Pac - All Eyez on Me (1996)
5. Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990)
6. Ice Cube - Death Certificate (1991)
7. Dr. Dre - 2001 (1999)
8. 2Pac - Me Against the World (1995)
9. Tha Dogg Pound - Dogg Food (1995)
10. The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde (1992)
11. The D.O.C. - No One Can Do It Better (1989)
12. Eazy-E - Eazy-Duz-It (1988)
13. Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill (1991)
14. Warren G - Regulate...G Funk Era (1994)
15. DJ Quik - Quik Is the Name (1991)
16. Cypress Hill - Black Sunday (1993)
17. Low Profile - We're In This Together (1990)
18. N.W.A. - Niggaz4Life (1991)
19. The Game - Doctor's Advocate (2006)
20. Xzibit - Restless (2000)

Honorable Mentions:

21. Westside Connection - Bow Down (1996)
22. Ice-T - O.G. Original Gangster (1991)
23. Above the Law - Black Mafia Life (1992)
24. House of Pain (no, they're not from Boston!) - House of Pain (1992)
25. Freestyle Fellowship - Innercity Griots (1993)
26. Compton's Most Wanted - Music to Driveby (1992)
27. Mack 10 - Mack 10 (1995)
28. King Tee - At Your Own Risk (1990)
29. Compton's Most Wanted - Straight Checkn 'Em (1991)
30. Snoop Dogg - Tha Last Meal (2000)

Honorable Honorable Mention:
(i.e. if Kool Keith's Sex Style could make their list, surely this one's up for grabs too:)


**. Scarface - The Untouchable (1997)