Talk:List of hip hop albums

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Suggestions for additional lists for this article:

• A best-selling hip hop albums of all time list -- I couldn't find a source. Tuf-Kat

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Most cited where? Google? Wikipedia? Please say so in the article. Kingturtle 06:25 May 5, 2003 (UTC)

I'm not sure how to reword this to make it more clear. They're cited by whatever best-of lists I could find on google.

The list has been derived from a more complete list at list of hip hop albums, inclusive, which collects the data from amateur and professional "best of" lists in order to create an aggregate list of the most influential albums in hip hop; this is the most frequently cited albums from that list

Or are you referring to the intro to the female list? (same method, except for disqualifying the males) Tuf-Kat

[edit] influential?

does this really need to be only influential albums? the ones seperated by artists arent all influential. this should be all hip hop albums --Jaysscholar 00:19, 20 September 2005 (UTC)

I disagree. A list of all hip hop albums would be pointlessly long. The lists of albums by name is also pointlessly long, and should be changed. Tuf-Kat 01:59, 20 September 2005 (UTC)

so how do u suggest it be organized? i think a section that clearly says influential in title should be made. it says hiphop, that implies all hiphop--Jaysscholar 08:27, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

The "influential" is implied because this is an encyclopedia, and encyclopedias don't cover unimportant topics. That's the same reason we have a List of Canadians that doesn't list all Canadians, for one example. Tuf-Kat 08:32, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

true, but not every album in the encyclopedia is influential. if its on the site it should be on the list--Jaysscholar 08:33, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

Well, I disagree that not albums with articles are influential. There are different degrees of influence, but any non-notable album should be deleted. We have a list of all hip hop albums with articles at category:Hip hop albums. Tuf-Kat 08:35, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

To what standard are you appealing, when you make the assertion that something is influential. Influential to what, precisely? Politically, socially, musically? Albums that influenced subsequent hip-hop artists? Albums of historical significance? Controversial albums (remember, something can be controversial without being influential...). Clarify your parameters.129.237.45.175 21:46, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

maybe this list can be arranged by length of article....the more known, respected, notable albums have the best articles...See Illmatic and Ready to Die. Cosprings 04:14, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] rewrite

Hey, I rewrote, resourced and annotated this article along the lines of the list of important operas. Say "word".

[edit] Caveats and explanatory notes

Coleman's book utilizes comment from the artists to him regarding the albums in question. Though the book grew out of the "Classic Material" column he has written for XXL since 2000, and was an expansion of his earlier book restricting itself to the 80s, Rakim Told Me, he may still have been limited in his selections by his access to artists. Also note that the late publication date may belie Coleman's perspective: the most recent album covered dates to 1996.

Shapiro's book attempts a comprehensive A to Z of hip hop by notable artist. For each artist, he recommends essential recordings: sometimes one single, usually (the great majority) one album, very occasionally two or three. His recommendations constitute his list of albums eligible for inclusion here.

Appearing on four lists or more of ten is the criteria for inclusion. A higher bar would have rid the list of recent albums by figures like Outkast, Jay-Z and Eminem, as well as Queen Latifah and a trio of 1990 albums by Five Percenters that are significant as part of a phase of Afrocentricity, pedagogy and/or social comment in mainstream rap along with Public Enemy, KRS/BDP, the Native Tongues groups and others (personally I would probably have preferred something by KMD to any of the three, but what can one do?). A lower bar would have included many fine albums, but also would have most probably stretched the meaning of important beyond usefulness.

The editors of the opera list sought to avoid arbitrariness by selecting nine lists and only including operas on a majority of lists, i.e. five. I could have done something similar (by using 7 lists, for instance, including those on 4) but the article would not be the better for it. Which album appears on what list (and what amount of lists) is clearly indicated, and the nature of those lists limned. Also, inclusion of international and cross-genre listings are useful and interesting. (If there are similarly major and reputable publications to the ones used here in, say, Germany or Japan, who have lists that can be fairly said to approach canonical, they might be worth looking at. I looked into using a list from further afield, France's Les Inrockuptibles, but it did not significantly treat of hip hop. I think it probable that English-language writing has led the way on this topic, and I regard the current article as decent in any case.) 86.44.28.186 (talk) 23:41, 20 May 2008 (UTC)