Over the weekend, Eminem celebrated the 20th anniversary of his proper studio debut, The Slim Shady LP.
The album not only established the soon-to-be Hip Hop legend’s dedication to shock rap but ignited the career path that led to him to becoming the second highest-selling male artist of all time.
But how does the rest of his catalog stack up?
The HipHopDX staff was reminiscing as the album hit streaming services and got to debating as to which Eminem albums are better than the next.
Here’s what we came up with. Enjoy!
10. Revival
Trent Clark (HipHopDX Editor-in-Chief): So let’s start from the bottom. Everyone in here hates Recovery the most, right?
Kyle Eustice (HipHopDX Senior Writer): I am not a huge Eminem Stan like that, but I think Recovery and Revival should be at the end.
Now that I’m saying it out loud, I actually think Revival was the worst. Good lord I hated it.
Daniel Spielberger: (first-year HipHopDX contributor) Recovery is super corny and interchangeable with Revival as the worst.
Trent: Thank you! WTF is this???
Daniel: Well … I still think Revival probably deserves the honor. There’s that horrible Ed Sheeran song and that god awful “I Love Rock N’ Roll” sample on “Remind Me” … it sounds super cheap for a Chart-topping artist.
Aaron McKrell (three-year HipHopDX contributor): I liked Recovery. It was flawed but it showed considerable personal growth. “Not Afraid” was a fearless song to make. This was AA-rap at its finest. Yes that’s a thing, because I said so (Laughs). But no, Em was on his pen with that album. “No Love, On Fire, the hidden track at the end. It’s campy, sure. But it feels hella good.
Relapse, however, can go to all seven hells from Game of Thrones. That album is recycled shit full of bullshit accents, superficial production and tired themes. I hope that album gets hit by one of Tony Soprano’s waste management trucks.
Dana Scott (seven-year HipHopDX contributor): Relapse was actually slept-on because “Crack A Bottle” was a bad lead single, even though it won a Grammy, but it was a comeback thing. But “3 AM” was a good song and the other stuff was great. Will Ketchum did a good job breaking that down a couple years ago in his piece on the DX site.
Trent: Relapse is better than SSLP.
I’m probably the only one in here who never loved SSLP. I actually never even bought it. It always felt like a gag album to me. I’m sure they sold it at Spencer’s too.
Dana: Spencer’s … (Laughs)
Aaron: Yeah but … consensus (Laughs). That album was lyrically amazing and I’ve always felt the production was underrated. “Guilty Conscience” is amazing social commentary. “If I Had” and “Rock Bottom” are blues rap done right. “Bad Meets Evil” with Royce is some of the best shit Em has ever done. It does get a little cartoonish but I think that’s part of its charm.
Trent: Yeah, charm! That’s it! I always wondered why Redman and Ludacris never got any Diamond plaques.
9. Recovery
Aaron: (Laughs!!!) I know I know he benefited from the ghostliness of his skin. I still think it’s a great album based on artistic merit.
Dana: I never liked SSLP much either, but it made him a household name and grabbed everyone by the throat, and made Busta Rhymes smash his head through his tour bus windshield.
Trent: Speaking of consensus, Revival is easily his worst received album but there are songs on Recovery I just can’t believe made it out of the studio.
Justin Ivey (HipHopDX Staff Writer/Editor): SSLP is way better than Relapse and needs to be Top 3. For me, Recovery is the worst.
Overall, he probably just has a mid-tier a discography. It doesn’t contain the consistency of others but has it’s high points. Like many others, there’s trail of diminishing returns. If you discount Infinite as a glorified demo, the first three make for an impressive run.
8. Infinite
Kyle: I still revisit “Stan” actually. Haven’t listened to “Drug Ballad” in a minute though!
Trent: Where does this catalog rank in the all-time MCs discographies?
Kyle: Well, MMLP has aged for me — it’s harder to stomach some of that misogynistic, homicidal stuff these days.
Trent: Amazingly enough, I’ve never been offended by “Kim” and digested it similar to watching something like Mark Wahlberg in Fear.
It’s pure fiction and as a diehard Mortal Kombat fan, I can’t even begin to pretend to picket. I’ve always found it remarkable he stays on beat screaming like that (Laughs).
Daniel: All of his albums after 2009 have been subpar. He’s a shadow of what he used to be. Even though his first few albums were generally great, there’s just too much mediocrity for him to have an iconic catalog. He has occasionally shown off his technical prowess but the production is either lackluster or what he is actually rapping is super cheesy. Rapping super fast is cool and all, but seems like he has run out of things to say.
For example, “Rap God” was technically impressive but the actual content was a rehash of his homophobia. Shocking just to be shocking…yawn. He hasn’t delivered a proper comeback album artistically speaking (yet). He’s missing his proper “4:44″/ reminder that he takes time and care into the craft and has matured… maybe nobody is telling him “no”? Subsequently, I think his catalog should be ranked fairly low.
7. Kamikaze
Aaron: Yeeeeeesshhh! I believe Trent once compared Rakim to Oscar Robertson, as in “great for his time.”
Trent: (Laughs!!!) The Oscar Robertson comparison still stands but we’ll save that for another day.
Aaron: I wouldn’t rank his catalog that high, either. MMLP is a 4.8 or .9, solely because “Kim” is unlistenable. If I was going to give one a 5.0 (And this changes my No. 1) it’d be The Eminem Show. The production is top-notch, start to finish. There are some sophomoric moments but there isn’t one weak cut from start to finish. Even “Square Dance” is enjoyable for the way he pokes fun at Canibus. And the best songs on The Eminem Show (“Sing For The Moment,” “Till I Collapse,” “Hailie’s Song,”) stand up to “Criminal,” “Stan,” and “The Way I Am” from MMLP.
Dana: It feels like this is where we’re currently at:
10. Revival
9. Recovery
8. Kamikaze
7. Encore
6. Infinite
5. MMLP2
4. SSLP
3. Relapse
2. The Eminem Show
1. MMLP
Encore and everything after that was blah. I’d rather listen to Martika’s “Toy Soldiers” than Em rapping over it. The only thing really poignant about that track was its video that depicts Proof getting shot and killed, which actually happened two years later.
Trent: This is going to sound slightly crazy but Encore is the Em album that’s most endeared to me. A favorite if you will.
I bought MMLP the first day it came out during my junior year of high school (putting me smack dab in the music’s target demo) and wore out the CD. But I listened to Encore heavily while I was in Iraq (2005) and didn’t have a lot of the media and other side stories in my face. It was just me and the music and I think it has some of his most earnest content to date like “Love Me More,” “Like Toy Soldiers,” “We As Americans” and “Evil Deeds.” I think the silly songs really eclipsed everything for a lot of listeners though.
Kyle: That makes sense why you’d have such a strong connection to it.
Aaron: That album is very much slept-on. The tracks he made that were corny and childish (“Big Weenie,” “Ass Like That,” “Rain Man”) were made while he was in the throes of addiction. Without those and a few others, we have a great album on our hands. “Like Toy Soldiers” is Eminem at his finest. “Mockingbird” is Marshall Mathers at his finest. The problem – besides the pills – was that he kept trying to make room for Slim Shady on that album, and it was clear he’d progressed beyond that.
Justin: It’s a weird album and a clear step down from his work prior to that point. There’s no reason to revisit it. It exists.
Its reputation has only gotten better because he released worse stuff in subsequent years.
Everyone: DAMN!
Dana: I get y’all connections to Encore. I guess I had a different point of reference about Eminem seeing his artistic evolution, or devolution, at that point in 2005 when he hit his peak after The Eminem Show and made that horrible song with D12 “My Band” which got too kitschy for my taste. I understand it was hard to top MMLP and The Eminem Show. I was in my mid-20s at that point and was still rocking my backpack a lot, so I condemned what he was doing and his platform on MTV became an afterthought to many of us Gen Y-ers in the early iTunes era.
6. Relapse
Daniel: I like “Like Toy Soldiers” a lot. I agree that Encore is slept on. Even the silly songs weren’t that bad either compared to his other silly music. “Ass Like That” is irreverent/ goofy but definitely catchy.
Kyle: I think Kamikaze should be up a little higher. Not only was he able to completely drop it out of thin air, he was also seemingly reinvigorated and came out swinging. I loved that element of it.
Aaron: I feel like that album was overrated. He spent much of his time emulating Trump’s blanket hatred of all things media and a bunch of time decrying mumble rap. Plus a few random relationship ballads. Shit was mediocre.
Trent: (Laughs) Isn’t Revival the Trump album? Kamikaze is komeback lite and I co-sign with Daniel he’s never had a true 4:44 moment. But it’s better than Infinite for sure.
Kyle: Well, I can’t stand mumble rap so [Kamikaze] spoke to me. I loved how much it stirred up. I love that Machine Gun Kelly thought he could out rap Eminem. I love Hopsin lost his shit when he realized Em actually mentioned him in a positive light. I love how Lil Pump wouldn’t dare try to come back with a rebuttal or how it got Joe Budden’s attention.
5. Encore
Trent: So switching gears to the top, what makes MMLP better than The Eminem Show? If we’re splitting hairs here, can we all agree The Eminem Show has better music? And if it’s impact and shock value, how can we praise MMLP for that in one breath and tear it down for going overboard with the next?
Dana: I think The Eminem Show is more sonically and lyrically cohesive and less chaotic than MMLP. I always looked at MMLP as a parallel to Nirvana’s Nevermind and The Eminem Show as In Utero, or Redman’s Dare Iz A Darkside and Muddy Waters in that same order.
Aaron: I’m in full support of putting The Eminem Show at No. 1. It was the peak balance between angry Em and vulnerable Marshall, with wild Shady sprinkled on top for fun. In prior years he was cartoonish to a fault, in later years he’d be sentimental to the point of cheesiness.
Justin: MMLP is No. 1 because it’s a fascinating work of character building, storytelling and blurring the lines of reality. Beats are dope. Lots of memorable lines and quotables. Had an undeniable influence and impact. It’s a classic. I think there’s arguments for SSLP and The Eminem Show too, but MMLP is clear cut and one that can only be knocked for being offensive. With much of it being over the top horrorcore, it’s just par for the course to me.
Dana: Insofar, MMLP was all about his rage, anger, not knowing how to deal with fame, but Dre was really the star at the height of his powers and played like Butch Vig at the boards controlling everything on Nevermind. On The Eminem Show, Em showed his range as a producer and songwriter, and knowing his power, like Cobain knew and traced that to make better songs that didn’t all focus on grit and rage on In Utero.
Em was sober during the making of The Eminem Show because he was on probation, so that played a significant factor in the enhanced songwriting that was political, funny, and vulnerable like we never heard him before (i.e. “Cleaning Out My Closet”). And “Till I Collapse” was all about his duty for Hip Hop culture, not just himself.
4. MMLP2
Daniel: I agree with Kyle. Some of the songs are very cringeworthy and I can’t imagine him surviving today with that album. However, “Drug Ballad” and “Stan” have aged well for me.
I am fine with either The Eminem Show or MMLP being No 1. I interpreted the question of it aging well as how it would fit in our contemporary context. A lot of problematic music is still good.
Aaron: That said, I just finished MMLP while we were having this convo and am halfway through The Eminem Show. I have to say that at least so far, the former is technically superior and production-wise, just a step behind The Eminem Show. The tiebreaker for me is my own maturity. MMLP is that album I listen to once or twice a year and I’m like, “Wowwwww that was dope.”
The Eminem Show is that album I’ll listen to more often because I’m older, calmer, and even at its heaviest is more digestible. The Eminem Show for the win. MMLP is a close second, SSLP undisputed third.
My loudest vote, though, is for MMLP2 at No. 4. The album is not without its faults – Marshall over-rapping, ignoring the beat in that angry flow of his – but it was truly a brilliant way to visit the chaos and topics of MMLP from a more mature, clear-eyed perspective. Plus, I may be in the minority of those who love those classic rock samples on “Rhyme or Reason” and “So Far…” courtesy of Rick Rubin.
Everyone: …
3. SSLP
Aaron: Beyond that, “Without Me” was the first time we ever truly heard that breakneck pace of rhyming Em does now. He’d speed rapped before, frantically on his first two albums, but not with such control and precision on “Without Me.” He’s beaten it into the ground now, but the album’s lead single remains remarkably technical.
Justin: MMLP was/is always the best to me. I argued my point for it already, but I don’t think The Eminem Show matches it front to back. Even comparing comedic lead singles, “The Real Slim Shady” is a much more important and memorable cut in the Hip Hop history books than “Without Me.” One was silly with a message. The other was just silly.
Daniel: MMLP is a more cohesive project and I feel like it has the best versions of each genre of Eminem songs. He definitely has a formula for making albums but this one is the best iteration of that formula. “The Real Slim Shady” = his best ‘silly/goofy’ track. “Stan” = the crown jewel of his catalog and his best narrative/ self-reflective work. “Kill You” and “Kim” are his best pushing the envelope/horrorcore tracks. When I judge whether an album is the best in an artist’s catalog, I base it off whether or not it exemplifies what makes the artist distinct and memorable.
For example, I consider My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Kanye’s best for that reason although — it’s not necessarily the one I return to frequently. It’s the artist perfecting what makes them distinct and like Aaron said, a perfect storm of sorts.
2. The Eminem Show
Justin: I think it’s aged as well as it possibly could. There’s no way it ever would “age well” when half of the lyrics aim to offend. Obviously, it’s a different world now. Just like if I’m watching a classic like Blazing Saddles, I’m not gonna apply today’s standards of what goes in comedy to it. MMLP was offensive back then, so it’s only gonna look worse years later (Laughs). But I can still enjoy it.
Sonically, it’s also aged well for me. In my mind, that’s where music is really judged when it comes to aging well. There’s stuff that is unlistenable to me because it was literally created to only be relevant for the year it was made. Just think of how awful some of that ringtone rap is. MMLP is still something that sounds good. Someone could drop a freestyle on one of the beats today and it wouldn’t be jarring to me.
Trent: We made a helluva case for The Eminem Show, but at the end of the day, it’s kind of hard not to consider MMLP No. 1 overall, right?
Aaron: Yeah. It’s still an incredible album. Tracks like “Marshall Mathers” and “Drug Ballad” still leave my jaw on the floor. He’s much more introspective on that album than he’s sometimes given credit for. I think the only two cuts that I don’t like are “Under the Influence,” which felt like an excuse to give D12 some shine, and “Kim,” which was horrific from a decency and artistic standpoint. I know there’s supposed to be no or few lines in rap, but I mean, damn. Overall, still a classic, still worthy of at least a 4.8.
And it should be noted how much he still impacts people on the margins of society. He’s so often lambasted for being mainstream and for being big in part because he’s white (both of which are true), but it should be said how much, for better and for worse, Marshall speaks to people with mental health issues.
Y’all have read my editorials, you know my history, so I can say this: you walk into a behavioral health unit and there’s usually gonna be a few young dudes rapping Eminem songs. His willingness to be painfully vulnerable, as well as his ability to articulate a rage that the common person may not feel (or may not want to admit they feel) has made him a spokesperson for people with mental illnesses. Not to mention, he’s been open about his own depression and OCD. But it’s not just his angry songs. “Not Afraid” and “Headlights” are introspective, allowing the man who once killed his wife on wax to do a 180° and rap about sobriety, compassion, strength and forgiveness. His opening spiel on “Not Afraid” belies a mature man who is willing to be an outlet of hope for the people for which he was once an outlet of rage.
I was the classic Eminem-loving white kid with “Brain Damage” pounding my ear drums, but as I’ve grown, albums like The Eminem Show, Encore, and even Recovery and The Marshall Mathers LP 2 have become more enjoyable to me than his first two major label joints.
1. MMLP
All of his albums are trash after the eminem show.
Agreed!!!
I also agree, and I even think he’s one of the most talented to ever touch the mic. But with that said, he’s made a lot of crappy music. Idc what people say about Kamikaze, Eminem in the early 2000s was making classics that shit on that album. Eminem made such good songs, that people who don’t like rap music even enjoyed those songs.
I would switch up Encore and MMLP2, and then switch Relapse and Recovery. Relapse was bad, there’s only one song from it I would still consider playing now (Deja Vu). Recovery had at least 4 or 5 that were decent. Even the pop ballad “Love the Way you Lie” hit a sentimental nerve and “No Love” has to be one of Em’s top 5 masterpieces post 8 Mile. I’m surpriesed Relapse was so much higher. Haven’t heard Kamikaze, so I’ll trust that they placed it right, and I love the lo fi majestic sound of Infinite, but I get that he was still developing so we’ll say that is fair. Those are my personal critiques, but its a solid list. The top 3 were spot on.
Y’all made this shit way harder than it had to be. He has three good albums and the rest are ?. Rank his first three and the order of the rest really doesn’t matter.
Whoa thats a trash numbering scale. How the hell you put encore, relapse over recovery and kamikaze?
The thing that Eminem doesn’t seem to get is his audience has grown up and he hasn’t in some cases with his music. I love MMLP but TES was his all around best album. Encore was great but he killed it with the silly songs. When his being introspective, he’s at his best.
Relapse
Revival
Encore
Recovery
Infinite
SSLP
MMLP2
Kamikaze
Eminem show
MMLP
Worst to best
This list was trash. Here is the order
1. The Eminem Show
2. Marshall Mathers LP
3. Slim Shady LP
4. Kamakaze
5. Recovery
6. Marshall Mathers LP
7. Revival
8. Relapse
9. Infinite
10. Encore
Kamikaze over Infinite LMAO? Perhaps if you like the sound of today’s rap….
Kamikaze is way better than Infinite. Although I like songs like Infinite, 313, and It’s OK, Em didn’t really have his own style yet. Kamikaze is a dope fuckin album. It’s just not as memorable as some of his other stuff.
Did you listen to Fall?
People who talk about things “aging” and “holding up” are lowbrows. No cultured art critic evaluates things in that way. Fitting into mainstream culture is NOT a sign of artistic merit. It’s a sign the work is either kitsch, contains kitsch elements, or has something incidental about it (such as the looks/sexual attractiveness of those involved) that has popular appeal. None of those things are artistic merit. For in order for something to fit into mainstream culture, it must appeal in some way to popular, lowbrow tastes. That’s the specific reason WHY it is mainstream culture; most people are not cultured. And the goal in mainstream marketing is to sell to the commoners.
There ARE things in mainstream culture that are of artistic merit, but the artistic merit in said things has absolutely nothing to do with its mainstream success or influence. For artistic merit is not what sells.
“No cultured art critic evaluates things in that way”. “Not cultured.” LMAO. You’re the most pretentious pos I’ve seen on this site. Get that stick out of your ass, you stuck up snob. To say ‘holding up’ isn’t an important factor when evaluating any form is art is not only erroneous but absolutely fucking stupid.
Relapse, however, can go to all seven hells from Game of Thrones. That album is recycled shit full of bullshit accents, superficial production and tired themes. I hope that album gets hit by one of Tony Soprano’s waste management trucks.
Relapse was Eminem’s 4th best album, so no. The production is far better than the poppy shit he had had on every album since. And he is actually flowing in pocket.
“flowing in pocket”. lmao. Dude thinks she’s hot.
Revival
Recovery
Kamikaze
Encore
The Marshall Mathers LP 2
Infinite
Relapse
The Slim Shady LP
The Marshall Mathers LP
The Eminem Show
1. The Eminem Show 2. Marshall Mathers LP 3. Slim Shady LP 4. Marshall Mathers LP 2 (Deluxe Edition) 5. Relapse 6. Recovery 7. Kamikaze 8. Infinite 9. Encore 10. Revival. #1 is between Eminem Show and MMLP. I have MMLP2 on the same level as Slim Shady LP. Relapse has horrible singles, but the highlights are some of his best work. Recovery has amazing singles, but a lot of filler. Kamikaze is a solid album with a memorable release, but not stellar. Infinite has a few signs of what was to come. Encore and Revival have a few good songs, but are horrible overall.
When Recovery came out everyone was on Shady’s nuts. Wtf. This list should not have been made by anyone who wasn’t around for the journey. 98-2018. I bet these guys started listening to Eminem just this decade.
1 – Eminem Show
2 – MMLP2
Relapse is his most cohesive album, and best IMO, from production to flow. Underground, Stay wide awake, Beautiful I’ll put against anything he’s ever done. My Mom, Hello and Insane knock like other songs from him never do. Maybe MMLP or Eminem Show before it but nothing else…
“Maybe MMLP or The Eminem Show before it”
Maybe? You’re delusional.
Relapse was ruined by the accent. The production was flawless but the content and how he sounded really wasn’t great.
People still running with that nonsense? He had an accent on bagpipes, outside of that he threw it in here and there, it’s nowhere as bad as you making it seem
Fully agree. Relapse is nearly flawless. Has every version of Em on there, almost entirely produced by Dre, Em does all the hooks (rather than some random pop singer)… I still can’t believe it when i see it panned as a dud. Had his SSLP when the year it came out and got MMLP when it leaked a week or so early so, I’m no casual fan either.
1) The Eminem Show
2) MMLP
3) SSLP
4) Recovery
5) Encore
6) Relapse
7) MMLP 2
8) Infinite
9) Kamikaze
10) Revival
1) The Eminem Show 4.75
2) MMLP 4.75
3) SSLP 4.5
4) MMLP2 4.25
5) Revival 4
6) Encore 3.75
7) Infinite 3.5
8) Kamikaze 3.5
9) Recover 3.25
10) Revival 2.75
You could switch TES and MMLP or Infinite and Kamikaze and I wouldn’t argue. If you replace some of the shittier Encore songs with the bonus tracks and other tracks from that era, it bounces up between SSLP and MMLP2 as a fourth classic.
1 mmlp / 2 tem / 3 relapse / 4 sslp / 5 recovery / 6 encore / 7 infinite / 8 kamikaze / 9 mmlp2 / 10 revival
Literal showcase of how much you fellas actually know about hip-hop. I´m ashamed i even read through the article, you obviously know jack shit about what you´re talking about and display it proudly?! Horrible. Just horrible. Go be ashamed of yourselves in a corner while listening to soundcloud rappers.
Of course he’s an all time great. To suggest otherwise is just biased and no doubt somewhere along the line, racist.
His achievements speak for themselves and he is still constantly hounded by “critics” who themselves couldn’t make good music if their life depended on. Stop hating and accept that he has blown most people out of the water for 2 decades. Fact.
Hes not BLACK
Yes you cant be racist if your not BLACK
Not liking his music is racist? Racism has a whole new meaning these days.
1. MMLP 2. The Eminem Show 3. SSLP 4. Kamikaze 5. MMLP2 6. Infinite 7. Encore 8. Recovery 9. Relapse 10. Revival
This. this is the proper list.
Very close to perfect
Reading this list made me think about his discography. I’m not a big fan, but I appreciate good hip hop. Revival failed because it was too rock based, and rock is a dead genre (sorry but true) the accents ruined relapse, the pop songs ruined recovery, the technical rapping ruined mmlp, and the clunky production ruined kamikaze. Everybody knows this because he’s still in the spotlight after 20 years. Which leads me to my next point, what ruined all jay-z’s bad albums? Nobody cares enough to point it out. Bp3, MCHG and 4.44 were all worse than Eminem’s albums from 2009. Bp3 is his recovery, MCHG is his mmlp2, and 4.44 is the most boring album I have ever listened to, and I honestly think it’s worse than revival (which isn’t a good album)
4:44 is better then half of Eminem catalog. Stop reaching Stanley
4:44 is dumpster juice. Jay rapping offbeat and he’s not even mixed well. It’s the most overrated album ever due to the content. Vol.3 blows it out the water and Jay rated that as one of his worst. Both Em and Jay post 2010 have been pretty trash. Nas ain’t too far behind them. They should all collectively hang it up.
This DUMB staff should just refrain from doing any more ranking showdowns.
A freaking men
MMLP2 and revival are un-listenable. His first 4 albums are great. Kamakazie I was over that in 2 days.
TES is easily his best. His first two have too much corn in them.
Uh, it’s exactly the opposite, you utter imbecile. SSLP and MMLP are the works of a genius. TES is where he became corny with his superficial teenage anger. But then again, you’re a lowbrow idiot, so this kind of hilarious stupidity is to be expected.
Haha. You call yourself a Art Expert…obviously not a word expert. If you think TES has more corn than his first two, particularly his debut, ur a fkn moron and dont know what corny means. Fk urself, you triggered dipshit.
Uh, no, YOU are the moron who doesn’t know what “corny” means. Imbecilic wannabe street turd rap fans like you have completely bastardized the word, “corny.”
The word, “corny,” refers to something that is on-the-nose/unsubtle and/or cliched-sentimental.
For an example of a corny rap song, Tupac’s “Changes” is corny. He hits on every “racial equality” cliche there is, and he does it while playing it straight. You can avoid being corny when dealing with cliches by either reinventing/reinterpreting them to create actual meaning (or new meaning) out of them, or merely by mocking them. Tupac doesn’t, though. The stuff he was saying wasn’t corny when Martin Luther King said it, but it sure was decades later.
And it’s even cornier when rappers try to repackage this shit while saying absolutely nothing new today. Nas is a cornball. These conspiracy theory rappers are cornballs.
Corny is not synonymous with “lame” or “uncool.” Corny things are considered lame and uncool, but they’re a specific type of lameness/uncoolness.
Corny is also not synonymous with not being “serious,” or being goofy/humorous/playful. Those things have nothing to do with something being corny, although someone might say or do something intentionally corny as a joke…but then only the corny thing being said/done jokingly is corny.
Eminem’s first two albums were the furthest thing from corny. The Eminem Show, on the other hand, is when he started saying corny things, such as in many parts of Sing For the Moment, etc.
corny – ‘Trying to be cool, but ultimately very uncool indeed, and often even extremely embarrassing.’ That’s his first two albums more so that EMS. You’re a fucking moron.
Uh, no, YOU are the moron who doesn’t know what “corny” means. Imbecilic wannabe street turd rap fans like you have completely bastardized the word, “corny.” The word, “corny,” refers to something that is on-the-nose/unsubtle and/or cliched-sentimental. For an example of a corny rap song, Tupac’s “Changes” is corny. He hits on every “racial equality” cliche there is, and he does it while playing it straight. You can avoid being corny when dealing with cliches by either reinventing/reinterpreting them to create actual meaning (or new meaning) out of them, or merely by mocking them. Tupac doesn’t, though. The stuff he was saying wasn’t corny when Martin Luther King said it, but it sure was decades later. And it’s even cornier when rappers try to repackage this shit while saying absolutely nothing new today. Nas is a cornball. These conspiracy theory rappers are cornballs. Corny is not synonymous with “lame” or “uncool.” Corny things are considered lame and uncool, but they’re a specific type of lameness/uncoolness. Corny is also not synonymous with not being “serious,” or being goofy/humorous/playful. Those things have nothing to do with something being corny, although someone might say or do something intentionally corny as a joke…but then only the corny thing being said/done jokingly is corny. Eminem’s first two albums were the furthest thing from corny. The Eminem Show, on the other hand, is when he started saying corny things, such as in many parts of Sing For the Moment, etc.
what in the actual fuck is going on with all the text? you would think each block would be explaining you opinions, but it’s just random conversation text with eminem albums in between
You cannot dislike our editorial. Your comment will be banished!!
Yeah the editing/writing on this entire article is horrible and all over the place.
If you compare his catalogue of music to other artists like LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Jay Z, Black Thought/The Roots, Tupac, Redman etc Em doesn’t even belong in the same conversation as them, they have catalogues full of timeless songs, and albums, and he simply doesn’t. Em has also shown no real growth as an artist unlike those I mentioned.
I think the problem is Ems fan base blindly worship him so his music is secondary, as long as the like Eminem the person they’ll always consider him the greatest even when the music speaks to the contrary.
Ironically it’s his fans and circle of yes men like Royce (another artist with a better catalogue of music) who have held him back the most, if every piece of shit you make gets hailed as 5/5 then you’ll have no motivation to push harder, to try and grow, and that’s what’s happened with Marshal.
When Eminem has the best selling catalog maybe of all US (The Beatles, Metallica and Eminem are very close) maybe it´s becuse he has timeless songs, you dont like his songs and its okay, but your statment is the most hilarius joke that i have ever heard
Sales don’t defy greatness
Erm sales don’t mean shit dude, and even if they did MJ’s Thriller album on its own has sold over 10 million copies more than Eminem has sold on his 18 albums combined (including compilations and d12 sales within them) so Em’s catalogue sales don’t impress me, especially not knowing MJ outsold that entire catalogue with one joint.
“sales don’t mean shit dude” – most funny sentence ever. Keep complaining about Eminem greatness, meanwhile he has broken attendance records all over the word, he has sold more than any artist during this century and is the third most succesful artist in the streaming era (after Drake and Ed Sheeran). Why Eminem is the only rapper with stadiums tours? Because the same people who buy his music expend their money in his tickets.
Keep crying poor dude, but musicians sells a product, music, I cant see any mainstream artist giving their music for free. And please, could you give me the name of the artist who was so good during MJ era but didn’t sell a shit.
not for nothing, but the last few LL, Ice Cube, and Redman albums haven’t been that good. Jay had some ‘meh’ ones as well. Tupac put so much music out in such a small amount of time, we’ll never know the growth he might have shown as an artist. To be real, he stuck with the same script over and over again (it’s either a gangster song, a party song, or a softer song). The Roots though…. I can’t recall a bad album from them. But there are a collection of musicians giving input on each album, not just one guy.
For the most part though, I agree. Em is a great lyricist and can rap circles around people, but I don’t consider any of his albums a classic seeing how there are songs I skip on all of them. Well…. the earlier ones at least. TBH, I never really paid much attention to him in the past 10 years.
Yep R.Pgh21 agreed LL and Cube both have some lesser albums but both have countless classic songs that are truly timeless, and I’d say Cubes first four minimum are all flawless, plus they each especially LL show growth as artists. LL has made every kind of song imaginable, used every delivery imaginable, invented styles and continuously shown us growth and elevation, I can’t think of anyone else who I can say that of other than regarding great album after great album consistently like Cubes first 4 other than and I should’ve said him originally because while not one of my favourite lyricists he does have one of the dopest catalogues of music GFK like Ghostface is great joint after joint after joint, and they all feel different, might be one or two lesser ones in there but I don’t think anyone else has as many great albums as him.
“Em has also shown no real growth as an artist unlike those I mentioned.”
Quite literally all I needed to hear to know that you haven’t listened to his new shit.
Eminem has had many timeless songs, whether you enjoyed them or not it’s simply blind hatred to disregard his work. Hell, a good number of the artists you listed have named him as one of the best to ever do it, how can you sit there and act like he doesn’t belong on a top list? You’re as bad as an Eminem dickrider lol.
Look at this low IQ, racist moron.
You don’t know lyricism from a hole in your ass from a hole in the ground.
Ur a pretentious fkn moron. Stop posting.
No, I’m just infinitely smarter than the embarrassing dolts who are posting in this comments section. People this dumb shouldn’t be allowed to share opinions on…well, anything.
Recovery should be number 3!
I think erverone has their own list and that´s cool that way. I personally believe Kamikaze and Infinite should be in his top 5. First i listened in Infinite and feeled his hunger…then I listended to Kamikaze and he still goes over 100 percent…that is impressiv and just showes his Love for the culture…
1. SSLP 2. TES 3. MMLP.. also how the fuck you gonna put Encore on 5.? That album was straight doodoo y’all!
TES > MMLP > SSLP > KAMIKAZE> MMLP2 > RECOVERY > INFINITE > ENCORE > RELAPSE > REVIVAL
TES
MMLP
SSLP
KAMIKAZE
MMLP2
RECOVERY
INFINITE
ENCORE
RELAPSE
REVIVAL
Why all the hate on recovery? Its just an artist showing a different side to his music than people thought was possible. Honestly i think its one of the best albums he has, this is coming from a huge fan though.
1. The eminem show 2. Recovery 3. MMLP 4. MMLP2 5. SSLP 6. Encore 7. Relapse 8. Kamikaze 9. Revival 10. Infinite
No hate on infinite, i fucking love it its just i love all of his albums and infinite is by far the one i listen to the least (probably cause its not on spotify or amazon music) but yeah that’s just my honest opinion. But i prefer anyone of his albums over a large majority of music out nowadays.
LOL… This list sucks. Encore # 5 over Kamikaze… What? Recovery > Encore. This would be my list:
1. SSLP
2. MMLP
3. TES
4. MMLP2
5. Kamikaze
6. Relapse
7. Recovery
8. Infinite
9. Revival
10. Encore
I loved his first 3 albums (not counting Infinite as an album, but I liked that as well). Pretty much disregarded the rest of his catalog. Problem with Em is as I grew up and matured, I lost the taste for his music. Maybe the last few albums are good, but I was more so a few listens and done with them.
No, the problem is you never understood what made him great to begin with, and you still don’t. You liked him for superficial reasons when you were young and dumb, and now that you’re old and STILL dumb, you still don’t get it.
Acting like u know everyone. Get off the internet you stupid pos.
Uh, I know exactly where this moron’s idiotic views come from because what he said is objectively wrong and inconceivably moronic.
So I point out how Trent tries to be smart by making a point that eminem himself made about his sales and my post gets deleted. Cool, this site is a joke. And again, keep Luda out of any conversation involving Eminem. He’s good, but nowhere near Em status.
You’re adorable, come back when Eminem spits a quadruple entendre like Lupe has done a dozen times instead of that bullshit kindergarten wordplay shit he’s always using. Seriously dude used a fucking Urine/You’re in wordplay in 2017 like that shit wasn’t played in the mid 90s hahahaha
You’re joking, right? Eminem has multiple quadruple entendres on MMLP2 alone lmao. Lupe is one of the best, but he’s not on the level of artists like Aesop, Em and DOOM.
… why did you bring Lupe into it? You’re a clown. Read my post again. I love Lupe you moron.
Punchlines are the scourge of rap. No intellectual takes that horrendous shit seriously. And those aren’t “entendre,” either. A double entendre is Eminem saying, “one, two, free” in 97 Bonnie and Clyde.
“No intellectual”. This clown thinks she is so intelligent. LMAO.
I am several standard deviations in IQ above you and most of the people in this thread.
It would have been helpful to have the dialogue focused on each album instead of an overall rant that doesn’t follow the albums shown between.
10. Revival
9. Recovery
8. Kamikaze
7. Infinite
6. Relapse
5. MMLP2
4. Encore
3. The Eminem Show
2. MMLP
1. Slim Shady LP
10. Recovery
9. Revival
8. MMLP2
7. Infinite
6. Kamikaze
5. Encore
4. Relapse
3. SSLP
2. Eminem Show
1. MMLP
Relapse, Encore and Inifinite being rated so high made me die a little inside.
Better music gets ranked higher.
pure haters right there ?????? you like it or not..he is one of the best mc’s ever .. facts..its not about been a stan or not… its just facts my people
wow y’all really just put Encore and Relapse over Kamikaze. This is why I never come to this website lmao
Encore over Revival? Encore AND Relapse over Kamikaze? This list is a joke lol.
Keeping it mad brief.
This is from an Eminem fan.
MMLP2 shouldn’t be in the top 5. Kamikaze should be ranked higher because that was a good comeback album. MMLP2 was the second worst album Eminem has had, filled with tired gimmicks and frowned-upon production and features (excluding Rihanna). Kamikaze is his best “bounce-back” album. Recovery is his second bounce-back, from Relapse, but this one garnered some “firsts” in his career, so it edges out Kamikaze. Encore wasn’t a great follow-up after The Eminem Show.
1) MMLP
2) The Eminem Show
3) SSLP
4) Recovery
5) Kamikaze
6) Encore
7) Relapse
8) Infinite
9) MMLP2
10) F**kin Revival
You can honestly switch 4 and 5 around, or even 6 and 7.
I’m Black, no Stan by any means and I know more about hip hop than most (which I have to justify to pre-empt nonsense retorts). How we treat our legends in hip hop is a disgrace. Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye and Madonna released some shit in their time. The hate on this man is unreal. Eminem has sold because he is white, fact but if he was black there is no way he would receive the hate he does. He would be held in as high esteem as Jay. Jay’s discography can be scrutinised in same way as Em’s but he is beyond that now. Eminem is a GOAT, possibly the best MC that has lived regardless of how you rate his albums or measure his sales. The fact is his style may not have influenced as many as a Wayne but without Em half of hip hop wouldnt be eating as well as it does. Middle class America buys hip hop because of Eminem. Fact. Also how many white stars with that kind of platform would risk their platform to speak facts like he did on Revival. Put some respect on that man’s name.
From best to worst…
Marshal Mathers LP
Eminem Show
Slim Shady LP
Recovery
Kamikaze
Marshal Mathers LP 2
Revival
Encore
Relapse
Infinite
RELAPSE IN MY OPINION WAS ONE OF EM’S STRONGEST ALBUMS LYRICALLY.
Most artists are consistently bad or consistently good, even if they have albums and songs that don’t hit as good as others. Em has made some of the best hip hop music ever and some of the worst. I’d seriously rather listen to ICP or Mumble rap than most of the crap on revival, relapse, or the song “Fack”. That’s a pretty wide margin of musical quality.
One of the things that hurts Eminem is he has so many fans who prefer so many different types of song. From the beginning all of his albums have a variety of silly, serious, childish, grown up, rap and pop. As he gets older the silliness is hard to sell to these kids because he’salmost 50, and the kids don’t value lyrics or messages anymore so that is gone too. People say “grow up”… he’s been grown since Infinite. If he were to make a “serious” album people would want slim shady back. He’s a victim of his own success. And as mentioned somewhere below, he gets shit on more because he’s white. Every name that is in the traditional GOAT debates has weak music, he gets killed the most for it. Jay has super weak albums. Nas and Tupac have music that is unlistenable, straight up terrible, but nobody mentions it because they’re legends. Biggie had small sample size and even Life After Death was just above average, way too much filler.
It’s bullshit. Such disrespect.
Yo, STFU
1. Eminem Show
2. MMLP
3. SSLP
4. Relapse
…don’t care much about the rest
10. Encore – 9. Relapse – 8. Infinite – 7. Revival – 6. Kamikaze – 5. MMLP2 – 4. Recovery – 3. SSLP – 2. MMLP – 1. TES
1. SSLP 2. MMLP 3. SHOW 4. MMLP2 5. RELAPSE 6. KAMIKAZE
To me it goes 1 recovery because it was a great comeback album after relapse
2 mmlp classic
3 Eminem show classic
4 sslp classic
5 kamikaze because of his references to the way the rap game changed and his flow was insane
6 mmlp 2 was dope plus the bulonus tracks we’re good
7 infinite gotta love it
8 encore was funny
9 relapse I only really liked deja Vu and beautiful I mean it was funny but eh
Then I guess revival last even though I liked the first track
10. MMLP2 9. Revival 8. Relaspe. 7. Encore 6. SSLP 5. Infinite 4. Kamikaze 3. Recovery. 2. MMLP 1. ES
For me
10. Revival
9. Infinite
8. Recovery
7. Encore
6. Relapse
5. Kamikaze
4. Mmlp2
3. Sslp
2. Eminem Show
1. Mmlp
I would also wanna say that
D12 Devils Night
D12 D12 world
And Bad Meets Evil
All were top projects.
Eminem has been a recluse for 15 yrs, doesn’t collab with “hot artists “, dropped out of sight TWICE for 4 yrs, and Kamikaze went #1 in 103 countries. It was the bestselling international album in China (5th overall) 2.5M. He outsold Every Artist on the Planet for 20 yrs (4th 2018). He has the Most Diverse fanbase ever, and is bigger than ur fav in Africa. Someday ppl will focus on why that is, beyond his skin color, cuz all he gives ppl is his music.
Michael Jackson is the bestselling artist of the 90’s, has the bestselling album ever, and had the world dressing like him. Beyonce is the bestselling female of the 00’s, Mariah Carey the most #1 hits, Rhianna is massive, Drake has lived on the Hot 100 more than Any Artist Ever, Hip Hop is the #1 genre in the World, and still 90% Black. Nobody talks about this when bring up Em’s success though.
10.Revival
9.Relapse
8.Infinite
7.Encore
6.Kamikaze
5.SSLP
4.MMLP2
3.Recovery
2.TES
1.MMLP
I think it would be hard to say anyone has a “g.o.a.t discography” but if I’m comparing his to Jay-z and Nas, then I think he does.
Rakim never bleed over into mainstream like Eminem or even Jay. So to me Eminem isn’t in the category of he only sounds good for his time.
Infinite shouldn’t be counted. Kamakazie is way better than Encore. Recovery was a well-rounded album. I do think the Eminem Show is the perfect mix of styles.
My list goes like this: 1.) Eminem Show 2.) MMLP 3.) SSLP 4.) Recovery 5.) MMLP2 6.) Kamakazie 7.) Relapse 8.) Revival 9.) Encore
If you compare Eminems best album to classics like It takes a nation of millions, Illmatic, 36 chambers, infamous, only built 4 cuban linx, liquid swords, ready to die, midnight marauders, hard to earn etc… it doesn’t even come close. The same goes with Jay z way overrated. Some of Jay’s songs/albums are straight wack yet gets praised like he some untouchable makes no sense.
I think Eminem’s greatness isn’t tied to albums, nor does it have to be. By that measure Kanye would be a GOAT rapper.
Eminem’s contribution to the culture is his technical ability and word play, his respect for the culture itself and the fact that he took Rap to millions of middle class white kids all over the world in a way that hadn’t been done before. Rap wouldn’t be the number one genre in music without Eminem.
Eminem has shit albums but then he has verses and flows that would best any rapper out there. It is quite a feat to be as innovative a wordsmith as an MFDoom with the palatability to cross different demographics as Adele.
More insane stupidity. Kanye’s albums are utter trash. The guy can’t even rap…and somehow we’re supposed to be impressed by his beats…which is just him sampling OTHER PEOPLE’S MUSIC.
Eminem’s first 3 are easily the 3 greatest rap albums ever made (because before Eminem, the culture contained nothing but 80 IQ pothead thugs). Eminem not only had something to say (to actually say…not spew a bunch of black American cliches and random references to da trife life), but he did it as the greatest poet to ever write music with impeccable phrasing, thematically connected mutli-syllabic rhymes, perfect word choice, and fluid story telling.
@ Art Expert What a ignorant racist comment to make. There would be no Eminem if wasn’t for the likes of Rakim, Kane, G rap, Nas, Wu Tang, Mobb deep, Biggie, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Redman. Eminem is prob the most overrated rapper on the planet along with Jay z (it was lil wayne before but his hype has faded). Yes Eminem has top level skills and can rhyme against anyone but that’s not enough a lot of his content is straight backward trash and his albums don’t come close to the 80-90s classic hip hop. He is not even the best white rapper Ra Rugged man has prob more skills if not his music is def better.
Rakim’s whole career was rapping about rapping. He couldn’t make a concept song to save his life. The same basically goes for every other black rapper. Eminem made chicken salad out of chicken. You – being a really dumb individual – don’t understand that Eminem is in a completely different genre from every other rapper. He’s in the genre of REAL lyricism; not a bunch of random Ebonics making random street references rapped by guys who would be in prison if it weren’t for rap.
Talking nonsense as usual and you clearly dont know what you are talking about. A lot of Eminem’s music is mediocre or trash, way overrated by people like yourself.
Rap was entirely mediocre or trash before Eminem came along.
More insane stupidity. Kanye’s albums are utter trash. The guy can’t even rap…and somehow we’re supposed to be impressed by his beats…which is just him sampling OTHER PEOPLE’S MUSIC. Eminem’s first 3 are easily the 3 greatest rap albums ever made (because before Eminem, the culture contained nothing but 80 IQ pothead thugs). Eminem not only had something to say (to actually say…not spew a bunch of black American cliches and random references to da trife life), but he did it as the greatest poet to ever write music with impeccable phrasing, thematically connected mutli-syllabic rhymes, perfect word choice, and fluid story telling.
@ State of the culture He is no goat people way overrate him. A lot of his lyrics are not good even though his skills are at a high level. You are talking about impact and sales that’s different to the quality of music a artist produces which I think is more important than how much a artist sells. Look at Vanilla ice and Mc Hammer both huge stars for their era but quality of music was not good most of the time. Also Kayne is overrated also as a artist he is a good producer but there are a lot of producers who are better. Rap wouldn’t be no.1 genre without Eminem? that’s not true. Before Eminem you had 2pac and Biggie and other artists who made just as big impact if not more. 2pac is def held in higher regard than Eminem overall and he was only 25 when he died.
Yeah, it doesn’t come close because Eminem is infinitely better than these random Ebonics-spewing, sub-100 IQ thugs. No academic can take that kind of rap music seriously unless they lower the bar of expectations and go, “well, that’s the best that poorly educated, pothead black people can do.” Eminem, on the other hand, was a legitimately brilliant lyricist – the best to ever pick up a pen.
What a ignorant racist comment to make. There would be no Eminem if wasn’t for the likes of Rakim, Kane, G rap, Nas, Wu Tang, Mobb deep, Biggie, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Redman. Eminem is prob the most overrated rapper on the planet along with Jay z (it was lil wayne before but his hype has faded). Yes Eminem has top level skills and can rhyme against anyone but that’s not enough a lot of his content is straight backward trash and his albums don’t come close to the 80-90s classic hip hop. He is not even the best white rapper Ra Rugged man has prob more skills if not his music is def better.
9. Recovery
8. Encore
7. Revival
6. Relapse
5. Mmlp2
4. Kamikaze
3. Sslp
2. Eminem show
1. Mmlp
TES – MMLP – SSLP – MMLP2 – Relapse – Recovery – Kamikaze – Encore – Infinite – Revival
MMLP
Eminem Show
SSLP
MMLP2
Kamikaze
Infinite
Encore
Recovery
Revival
Relapse
slim shady lp is his best album it was skillfully clever and full of humour. mmlp album is second although a little too commercial and clean sounding. encore is his third best but this is when he tried to sound street/gangster. slim shady lp is his best work
sorry i meant eminem show not encore.
I blame everyone who underrated and trashed Relapse upon its release for the past 10 years of Eminem’s career. It was his last truly cohesive album.
Recovery and kamikaze are in top 5 easily. You list makes me scratch my head.
Recovery is trash and I love Em. Not playable.
Won’t back down and Cinderella man are classic. Now go get your ears checked
Really Cinderella Man and Won’t Back Down are the songs you say are classic when defending Recovery??? Cinderella Man was unlistenable for me the “Cinderella Man, Cinderella Man“ that came up I think every 8 bars was annoying and ruined the song IMO. If it didn’t have that it would have almost been like a Til I Collapse. Won’t BacK Down was cool but lacked lyrics that really mattered compared to other songs on the album.
Almost Famous was by far the best song on Recovery probably the only song that is really “Classic.” It’s a story bout his career and done perfect.
Other songs like 25 to life, Going thru Changes, and even though it’s played out love the way you lie all have lyrics with a lot of meaning most people can’t relate to in one way or another. Spacebound could have been classic IMO if the chorus was different. It should have been one that was written and delivered by EM or if there was just like 4 bars of instrumentation between the verses. Those verses are amazing how they talk about relationships.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the album as a whole due to issues with choruses n other odd musical choices I think done just to make it a more commercial album. If certain things were Changed like the chorus to spacebound taking out songs like Cinderella man and the first 2 songs and a few other things this could have been a very good album.
One last thing on the song So Bad did anyone else pick up on the fact that Eminem is rapping like 2Pac. Listen to the delivery and word choice. Think of 2Pacs voice doing it I’m positive that is what he was going for but most people I’ve told this to think I’m crazy
Mm2? Are you high? Do you ever get nervous?
1) The Eminem Show
2) Marshall Mathers LP
3) Encore
4) Slim Shady LP
5) Marshall Mathers LP 2
6) Relapse
7) Kamikaze
8) Infinite
9) Revival
10) Recovery
why does everyone hate recovery so much??
“That horrible Ed Sheeran song”? Just gi fuck yourself. This was top 1 in so many charts.
“That horrible Ed Sheeran song”? Just go fuck yourself. This was top 1 in so many charts.
But that song still IS horrible!
Great: SSLP, MMLP, D12’s 1st album, Bad Meets Evil… Lame: Every album starting with Re-, Kamikaze, That double compilation, Infinite… The rest is kinda okay.
1.MMLP
2.Eminem Show
3.Bad Meets Evil The Sequel
4.Relapse
5.MMLP2
6.D12 Devils Night
7.Kamikaze
8.D12 World
9.Shady XV
10.Infinite
11.The ReUp
12.Recovery
13.Revival
14.Southpaw OST
I’m an Eminem fan and I can agree that he doesn’t have a GOAT level discography. However I don’t feel most of the GOATs do either. Nas is a GOAT and has plenty of filler in his discography, it just so happens that his high points are standard setters. Jay-Z is one of the more consistent MCs out there and only has a couple of truly weak albums but at the same time, I don’t find him to be that interesting or captivating. Biggie is considered a GOAT but only had two albums. Both of those are classics but having a 100% track record means little when the discography that small. 2pac is my favourite rapper and also has plenty of filler, mainly due to the sheer volume of his output. What makes 2pac a GOAT is because he touched people on a human level and his subject matters will always be relevent. 2pac was a captivating character and that’s what keeps people invested in him. In terms of skill as an MC, he was average. His rhymes were simple and timing was sloppy. However raw passion and energy overrules that. As far as Eminem, he is a victim of expectations cause by peaking so highly at the start of his career. From 1999 to 2003 Eminem was unstoppable and managed to rule both hip hop and pop music. He also continued to work the underground circuit and has a lot of non-commercial gems. Almost half a decade of sitting on top of the game before falling off in my opinion is pretty amazing. It’s easy to sit back and dump all over someone just because you’re not a fan, but credit should be given where due. I also think he gets judged too harshly on subject matter seeing as most of his albums do have a cohesive theme even if the execution is at times questionable. Relapse was Eminem going back his old subject matters and adopting the Slim Shady character in full. Recovery saw him making a sincere attempt to get back to where he was and addressing his drug problems in a more mature tone whilst also regaining some of his former intensity. MMLP2 was a retrospect looking back at MMLP through a more grown up lens. Revival was Eminem trying to talk about current events and be more grown up. Lastly Kamikaze was a middle finger to the critics and a reminder of who he is. While none of those albums are perfect and definitely could have done with some additional editing and revision, they do all have their merits and subject matters. Encore was definitely too goofy to take seriously. Relapse felt forced and the accents ruined a lot of songs. And although Revival has it’s high points, it also has a LOT of filler. The other post Eminem Show albums were solid and deserve credit. I’d be interested to see HHDX do editorials on other rappers and scrutinise them to the same level. You’d find a lot of other wouldn’t hold up either. Sorry for the essay.
One of the worst Discogs of any of the greats. Don’t let the Stans fool ya
Eminem has the best “discog” of any rapper ever. He produced 2 great albums (SSLP and MMLP) and 1 very good (TES). No other rapper has ever made an album worth a shit, because every other rapper is either an 80 IQ Ebonics-spewing pothead or an abstract emo.
FACTS.
Stop lying to yourself LMAO
You’re still here? No one cares about your pretentious conceited delusional ass.
This discussion is bad. Really fucking bad. Especially with the weird moment of praise for Encore, the underrating of Kamikaze, and some of the Recovery hate.
1. The Eminem Show 2. MMLP 3. SSLP 4. Kamikaze 5. MMLP2 6. Recovery 7. Revival 8. Relapse 9. Infinite 10. Encore
1) MMLP
2)SSLP
3) Eminem Show
4) Encore
5) MMLP 2
6) Kamikaze
7) Revival
8) Recovery
9) Relapse
10) Infinite
5-7 are all interchangeable to me though and could be different on a different day
“Rap was entirely mediocre or trash before Eminem came along.” HAHA. Hip hop pass revoked.
U know nothing about hip hop. This music was banging way before M showed up. It will stay dope long after him. Ur just a M fan and nothing more so many hip hop artists have been inducted into the hall of fame. Please know your history!
“Rakim’s whole career was rapping about rapping.” Could you have less of a clue? The ‘Art Expert’ has listened to fk all hip hop if that’s what she thinks.
My friend and I had this discussion way back and my top 10 was the exact same except I switched Encore from 5 to 6 around for Relapse, but other than that this was bang on.
Whoever wrote that last opinion which ill quote here loses ALL credility when he says: I was the classic Eminem-loving white kid with “Brain Damage” pounding my ear drums, but as I’ve grown, albums like The Eminem Show, Encore, and even Recovery and The Marshall Mathers LP 2 have become more enjoyable to me than his first two major label joints.
Eminem Show could be argued as being equal/better than SSLP and MMLP but not by much – but to assert that his two best albums MMLP and SSLP are worse than ENCORE (the worst album he ever released besides maybe Revival)
So to Clarify – this dude thinks MMLP 2 is better than the original MMLP and the SSLP and he thinks ENCORE one of the worst Em albums ever is better than his two Grammy Winning major releases in the SSLP and the MMLP
Sorry but thats the dumbest ish ive ever heard, i know musics subjective but calling MMLP and SSLP worse than Encore is beyond me honesty, and then saying the MMLP sequel topped the original?!? WHAT?!?
As i said musics subjective, there is no right or wrong….but you still managed to be wrong…..So. Wrong.
*im not a stan either, not a fan of much but thought Kamikaze was a step in the right direction but he hasnt been the same guy since The Eminem Show
He didn’t say they were better. He said they’ve become more enjoyable for HIM to listen to as an older person. He still ranked MMLP and SSLP as within the top 3, so relax. you went on a rant for no reason.
1. The Eminem Show
2. MMLP
3. Relapse
4. SSLP
5. MMLP2 (Including Shady XV songs; Vegas, Psychopath Killer & Right For Me are underrated.. This era was overlooked)
6. Kamikaze
7. Infinite
8. Encore
9. Recovery
10. Revival
Give these dudes a pineapple they say why aint it an apple. True beauty can’t be rated. This is so silly.
1. The Marshall Mathers LP (Masterpiece)
2. The Eminem Show (Masterpiece II)
3. Relapse (Underrated. Cohesive)
4. The Slim Shady LP (Great album)
5. Encore (Like toy soldiers, Mockingbird, Some Spend Time… I mean come on? It’s good)
6. Kamikaze (Don’t like the “Guy” songs at the end but overall it’s really good)
7. The Marshall Mathers LP2 (So much better, Rap God, Evil Twin….)
8. Recovery (So Bad? The hidden track?)
9. Revival (Framed, Castle… The others song are “meh!”)
Mm will never be the best. If mm was black, he would be just another black rapper. Mm has the advantage because the country is mostly white. White people are more interested in watching a white male ACTING black. Plus, mm is just ACTING black like vanilla ice, marky marky and others. They ACTED black until it stops paying to ACTED black. Mm sold out hip hop for pop junk. It’s embarrassing, in my opinion, to hip hop fans and artists to have a white artist ACTING black. I guess it is possible to ACTED Italian and be the best italian cook of all time. I would think italians would feel differently than me.
Yeah right only black Americans come up with this stupid shit. I am a black proud motherfucker from Africa and trust me we like Eminem. I can speak for the majority of the continent that in general we like Eminem. I don’t know what you talk about Vanila Ice, but we do not listen to him. Stop this racist shit. We enjoy Eminem as much as we enjoy Tupac, 50 Cent, Ice Cube, Wu Tang Clan etc.
thank you!
reply was originally for wemba owusu
Eminem Show hands down for me was Em at his peak in terms of production, FLOW and lyrics. The album is my go to album in the gym. I could go through the whole album without skipping over a track. MMLP was dope too but not as dope as Eminem Show in my opinion. That time period where he did Eminem Show also coincided with 8 Mile. That time was Em’s pinnacle. His next album after that Encore was pure garbage. His rhymes and style started falling off.
Sorry idk why it says replay to grinch on my last post
1 The Marshall Mathers LP (Dope flow, beats, features X, Snoop, Sticky, Dre etc. very controversial but a masterpiece, everything is perfect here)
2 The Eminem Show (I have moments where I switch this one with MMLP for the number 1 spot, in terms of instrumentals this I like this better. In the end the MMLP is my personal favorite overall beside the beats which were also dope. That’s the only reason I put this project at number two. It goes toe to toe with the MMLP)
3 The Slim Shady LP (I hate to be the music critique, the only reason this album is not at one is because of the overall production in terms of mix and master. MMLP & TES clearily had better master en overal sound quality. This use to be my number 1 for all time but because I am judging by every criteria I have to keep it real. SSLP was a dope project, but you could hear that this was an album of a lot of demo’s remastered. On this album he has the best flow of all album and his humor is hilarious. If this album had better mix and master overall quality wise. This would be no doubt my number 1.
4. Infinite ( His most underrated album. I think this is a very dope album with a very technical Eminem. There is some incredible punchlines and word play in this project. People say Eminem became a better rhymer en wordplay rapper over the years. But for me he already showed his technical abilities in this one. The only thing is you could clearily hear a talented young man who had to find his rap identity. The beats weren’t very special, but very smooth I can bump some of them all day. He had a lil bit that ”90s underground rapper style” stereotype. Subject & rhyming were perfect though. This album would’ve been his best if he had a lil bit more of his own identity, better beats (peter rock, premier etc) and better features.
5 Kamikaze (This is the first album of Eminem that I enjoyed in a while. This album gave me hope for his future projects again as we speak now. Em finally used proper beats that I enjoyed to listen, flow was incredible good, I liked the features he did with Joyner and Royce. For me this was the real comeback album of Eminem, not Relapse. Only negative feedback is that there were a few tracks that did not match the quality of the rest of the album. The only reason I put this album higher than Encore is because the wack songs of Encore were wacker. Otherwise I’d put Encore above this. As I said Encore is an underrated album if left out the wack songs).
6 Encore (This album is underrated. I see this as a continuation of the eminem show. My only issue is that next to the great tracks like: Never Enough, Yellow Brick Road, Like Toy Soldiers, Mosh, We As Americans etc and so on, there was also too much trash like Big Weenie, Puke, Evil Deeds etc. That’s why speaking as a whole album it was good and dissapointing. Would Eminem replaced some beats and songs like Puke etc and add quality songs like I first mentioned, this album would easily be there with his first 3)
7 MMLP 2 ( At first I judged this album very hard with too high expectations because if you do e sequel of a classic the expectations are incredibly high. It was a dissapointment. Over the years I revisited this album without having a subjective glass on by comparing to the first project. He has some good songs in here. Of course I won’t deny his writing ability. I like a couple of songs that gave you a vintage Em vibe, but in 2019 I don’t really listen any of the songs on this album. The downs for me were some features, too much singing and I am not a fan of the new age Eminem yelling. For some reason I think the Rick Rubin tracks did not work for Em. Potentially this would’ve been a more listenable album if a few instrumentals and features were replaced, less singing and screaming.
8 Recovery (Like MMLP2 there isn’t a single song today of this album that I still listen to. For me the beats were horrible, the content was great though it was interesting to hear a way more grown Em compared to his previous work. The features with Rihanna and Pink were horrible to me. My issue with this album is that there was too much pop radio friendly beats. And this is the project were the annoying yelling started for me. When Eminem was screaming/agressive on MMLP & TES, his voice was way lighter then and it worked perfect for him and a combination with his flow. On Recovery his voice was much heavier so it’s annoying to me combinated with the flow he used. It did sound very robotic to me and unpleasant to listen to. Remember, I never question his pen game.
9 Relapse (This is where the real problems started for me. His overuse of his accent was very annoying. Because of that it was very difficult to listen to this shit in the first place. The beats were dope, classic Eminem style created by Dr Dre. Features only Dr Dre and 50 Cent. If Eminem did this album in his normal voice and maybe trying to be less controversial this could’ve been a potential classic Eminem CD. This CD is one of the lowest, but that small difference with his voice and shenanigans would’ve made a big difference for me. I’d probably would put this in his top 4 etc. Em wasted some dope beats. It really sucks for me because Eminem changed his format forever after this album. Would like to see Eminem in 2019 rap on those beats.
10 Revival (And this is my least favorite Eminem album. I did not like a lot of songs, as mentioned. This sort of album kind of fucked up his discography. I did not like the beats, the features were very horrible and most songs were skipable for me. There were a few corny punchlines. Altough in his defense some of the critics were too harsh with a few songs. Walk on water wasn’t trash. I actually liked what Em had to say. It may not have a replay value, but I could appreciate Em keeping it 100 about how he felt. The Untouchable track wasn’t that bad either in my opinion. Altough I do not listen to any of these tracks except for the Chloraseptic remix.
1. TES
2. Relapse
3. MMLP
4. SSLP
5. ENCORE
6. INFINITE
7. KAMIKAZE
8. RECOVERY
9. MMLP2
10. REVIVAL
I was such an Eminem fan when I was a kid, mostly because MTV gave him so much attention, but now I can honestly say that none of his albums still resinate with me today. In fact, I would make the argument that Eminem sucks. He’s irrelevant to seemingly everyone except for those that don’t really listen to hip hop except for when they’re listening to him.
Recovery is 99999999x better than MMLP2. MMLP2 is arguably his WORST album if it werent for Revival.
10.relapse (interchangeable with revival)
9. revival
8. mmlp 2
7. infinite (although has one of the best songs in his entire catalog with self titled song infinite)
6. sslp
5. encore
4. recovery (slept on! one of his best albums period! arguably better than kamikaze)
3. kamikaze (revitalized dwindling career – em’s back!)
2. eminem show
1. MMLP
there’s pretty much no other way to rank this shit!
Y’all are crazy if your top 3 isn’t as follows:
1. Slim Shady LP – Bad Meets Evil, Just Don’t Give A.., Still Don’t Give A.., and how can you forget As the World Turns, C’mon man!
2. Marshall Mathers LP – Kill You, Who Knew?, Remember Me?, Amityville, B***h Please II, and Criminal
3. Marshall Mathers LP 2 – Bad Guy, Groundhog Day, Wicked Ways, Legacy, Brainless, Evil Twin, and F’n Rap God..I say again, C’mon man!
Outside of those 3 albums, Em has a smattering of great songs, but no other great albums.