Greedmont Park

A creepy and inventive narrative journey through the mind of a drug-addled rock star. Ten times better (and more cohesive) than his first album. Less radio-friendly, more insightful.

Solo effort from Doomtree producer Paper Tiger. It’s mostly instrumental, and it’s one of the most fresh and creative showcases of sampling and the mpc I’ve heard in a while. The four tracks with Dessa and Maggie Morrison are also incredible.

Black Thought and all the other guests on here are great, but the main highlight on this is the music. Soulful, jazzy, hip-hop. I listened to this all summer. Live instrumentation and hip-hop go so well with each other.

Not much I can say about this besides: Quality Fucking Music. Get some beers, some cards, and bump this.

An epic journey of an album, conceptualizing a lifestyle that I never want to be a part of, and somehow making it seem appealing, romantic, and tragic at the same time. Really good music.

Gil Scott-Heron is a master storyteller, poet, singer and revolutionary. There would be no hip-hop without his influence. He’s been through hell and back in the past couple of decades. You can hear it in his voice. It’s raspy and damaged, and when placed next to his singing in “Winter In America,” it’s almost tragic. The music behind this album does a good job at both complimenting and accentuating everything he’s been through. It’s what makes this record important. It’s more than a comeback, it’s his redemption.

Soul revitalized; this album sounds as authentic as any soul album made 40 years ago, but sounds refreshingly new at the same time. Simply put, good music.

Sage Francis enlisted various indie rock bands (and Yan Tierson, composer of the Amelie Soundtrack) who had never dabbled in hip-hop before to write the music to his album. Then he had his band re-interpret the songs and he added his lyrics. The main theme of the album is a denouncement of organized religion, but really it’s Sage Francis reflecting on his relationship to the modern world…a world in which religion still happens to be a big part of.

Say what you will about Kanye West as a person, but as an artist and a rapper, he’s one of the most important figures in pop culture. He’s the most famous rapper alive right now, and the driving force to all his work is a need to expand on his own artistry. Unlike his “mentor” Jay-Z, he refused to recycle old formulas, or limit himself to the realm of hip-hop. This is an epic and incredibly ambitious album, that is almost entirely devoid of radio singles. It’s a fascinating listen.

24 performers collaborated on this album, all wrangled together by producer Ryan Olsen. This album got me hooked my first listen, and seeing these guys live was one of the most fun and inspiring nights of my life. While it is a super-group collaboration, the album is completely cohesive, and flows together in a way few albums do. It’s my favorite album in a long long time, and I think everybody should hear it.