Honorable Mention

In my last post I talked about the top 5 albums of the last decade. I know there are going to be people who feel like my list wasn't the best it could be. I decided against doing a top 10 for one reason, it's wack. Sometimes to really see the cream rise you have to eliminate things and if you look at the list, those albums really had a significant impact. In the interest of extending this and taking a look at some really good albums who just lacked the panache of the top 5, here are some honroable mentions, not in any particular order.


Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 (2005)



Now I feel that Jeezy is one of the worst artists ever when it comes to lyrics. He has one subject and no depth yet somehow he managed to truly create a movement. This album had impeccable production and obviously hit its target in the heart of the streets. More importantly, he inspired and led the way for today's Gucci Mane, OJ Da Juiceman, Lil' Boosie, and more.





Finding Forever (2007)

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This album by Common is typical of his career. A little gem amongst the more commercial fare available. The production of Kanye West helped to propel Common close to the next level of stardom where he has been long ignored as one of the best mc's in the game. This one included the heartfelt single "The People", and the sexy "I Want You". Throughout a well-paced album Common manages to show that he has varied topics and sides while keeping his calm demeanor intact.



The Truth (2001)

Beanie Sigel burst onto the scene and truly made Roc-a-fella records look unbeatable. The Truth was 14 solid tracks of straight lyrical fire. From the title track to "Raw Uncut" to "Remember them Days" Sigel showed that at the time, he was the voice of the people in the streets. He was the dude on the corner to Jay's kingpin and you just knew that everything he said was authentic.




The Documentary (2005)

The Game was the West Coast savior du jour when he was released and unlike the others that had come out between the days of Death Row and that point in 05, Game had just that, game. With a great marketing plan and the assistance of the hottest artist in the world at that time, the Game managed to create an album that was decidedly West Coast but that had an East Coast appeal. "Hate it or Love it" and "This is How We Do" got the radio cranking and Dre's production did the rest. Though you could hear that he was still a bit raw lyrically, relying on name dropping for his best punchlines, you knew the Game had the "it" factor.





Back for the First Time (2000)




Ludacris was already well known as a radio DJ and made the successful transition to an independent artist. From that set of actions he was signed to Defjam and blew up. The hit jingle "What's Your Fantasy" introduced Ludacris to the world and got us used to him hitting us with creative singles year after year and solid albums.


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