Liana Abraham

IGOR by Tyler, The Creator

This album is a fantastic starter album, and a favorite to many listeners. The soundscape is easy on the ears, and one of a kind. It specializes in smooth analog synths and fuzzy boom bap drums. The beautiful pitched up singing and hooks are fantastic. One of the best songs is “RUNNING OUT OF TIME”. And the live Coachella version with Childish Gambino is recommended to check out.

DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar

One of the best concept albums of all time. It catches you from the get go with an interesting story that takes a dark turn. The Kendrick Lamar production with trap drums has him transitioning to a modern soundscape effortlessly. It’s recommended to watch Tennis Tom’s video breaking down the concept if you like the music. A highlight track is “XXX. (feat. U2)”.

Graduation by Kanye West

Possibly the best summer album ever created. This album has a clear and signature sound. Its lush synths and smooth distorted drums provide a sound that is definitely attractive to the ear. Although an incredible piece of music, it is still far from his best. If there is one definitive best song from the album it would definitely be “I Wonder”. The piano sample still gives chills. A strong second place is certainly “Everything I Am”.  An amazing album for the stadium sound.

ASTROWORLD by Travis Scott

The album’s fresh sounding trap production is one of a kind. It has so many hits and easy to listen to songs. Some of the tracks you should hear are “CANT SAY”, “STOP TRYING TO BE GOD”, and “ASTROTHUNDER”. Everyone has heard “SICKO MODE” at least once, and you’ve most likely heard of the controversy. The Hummer gives its utmost sympathy to all the families whose relatives passed away at the 2021 Astroworld Festival, no family should have to endure that. To those who haven’t heard. The controversy revolved around poor stage design. This caused overcrowding from fans, resulting in 10 deaths from compression asphyxia. Many people blamed Travis Scott for not stopping the show, but he claimed he had no knowledge of the events occurring in the crowd.

CHROMAKOPIA by Tyler, The Creator

One of the best rap albums we’ve gotten in the 2020s. An amazing feature of this consistent album is its acoustic percussion. We see Tyler in his most vulnerable state. He said himself that one of the reasons he’s wearing a mask on the cover is because he’s talking about such personal things that he needs to hide himself to say these things. We also see the energy on the album decrease but in a beautiful way. The hard hitting songs transition into slower personal songs. To quote a wise man “The first half of the album is ballin’ but the second half of the album is bawling.”

2014 Forest Hills Drive by J. Cole

This album is a stroll through J. Cole’s past. There are so many bangers on the tight tracklist. One thing it does worth mentioning is the mesh of bangers and emotional tracks. Two notable songs on the album are “Fire Squad” and “Apparently” A note about the album is how “G.O.M.D.” sounds like the movie and book Holes. If you enjoy this, it’s recommended listening to 4 Your Eyez Only, one of the best albums of all time.

Camp by Childish Gambino

Camp is an experience. It’s Donald Glover’s debut album and into the music scene. He isn’t only good at music either, he was an actor on the show Community, which is going to make a movie shortly. But in terms of this album, it has a summer soundscape very inspired by albums like Graduation by Kanye West due to the lush synths and tonal choices. If there are a few songs to be recommended, they would be “Fire Fly” and “Outside”.

Swimming by Mac Miller

The late Mac Miller is one of the best rappers we’ve ever gotten. His calm delivery of lyrics is impressive and certainly one of a kind. This album in particular plays an important role in his discography. This album was officially released months before his death due to a drug overdose. Having this full release feels like a parting gift from Miller, and hits close to home. There are a number of people that believe he is the best white rapper. If there were a few songs I had to recommend they would be “Come Back To Earth” and “Jet Fuel”.

The Sun’s Tirade by Isaiah Rashad

One thing that sets this album apart from the other albums on this list is how it has less streams and commercial success. Although this may sound off putting, you shouldn’t let this take away from the amazing music present in the 2016 release. The TDE signee made what is his best project to date, inspired by artists like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole. If you enjoy this album then you should be happy to know that he released an album this year, and the ratings are good overall. A highlight track is “Find a Topic (homies begged)”.

Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City by Kendrick Lamar

I can’t express into words how much this album has affected my life. This 2012 release is what put Kdot on the map to most people, since this album was covered in hits. When this album first came out, critics were labeling it as an “instant classic” and as years have passed, this statement becomes more and more true. Even later, the surprise hit “Money Trees (feat. Jay Rock)” made even more buzz around the album. This album is also a concept album. The concept behind this album is growing up in Compton and all the things he had to experience in doing so. Out of the consistent tracklist, a major highlight is “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst”.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West

The most expensive hip hop album ever made. When Apple Music made its “100 Best Albums” list, it got placed at 26th. There are many rumors about the recording of this album, such as the people there having to wear black suits in the studio. Although Kanye West and Taylor Swift have a lot of bad blood between them now, it’s Taylor we have to thank for getting this album. After Kanye interrupted her at her VMA acceptance speech, he was experiencing a lot of backlash. He decided to leave the country and make an album to change people’s minds, and for many he was successful. Although the album is very consistent, if there were 2 songs to take away they would be “Devil in a New Dress” and “So Appalled”.