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Top 10 Hip Hop Albums: 2009

Posted by: Kevin December 31, 2009 in Lists 40 Comments

Kevin: This list was sort of tough for me as most of the music I listened to this year were actually free releases. Because we have a separate list for those, I didn’t want to include any here. Then we also have a separate list for smaller releases, so this list is more or less for more major hip hop releases. Though a lot of albums on my list are still underground, I felt they deserved Top 10 recognition. I broke it down by albums that I actually bought and then further by albums that got constant rotation.

Justin: OB4CL2 is the easy choice for me, Rae matched the high expectations that came with all the delays and the name of this LP. Cyne created another gem and Fashawn gave us a great debut. Max Minelli capped off a busy 09 with his long awaited Pain Medicine and the legendary lyricist K-Rino may have created one of his best albums in Solitary Confinement.

Thomas: A Pipe Dream and a Promise is probably the best album no one has heard of. The album dropped in April 09 and seven months later still sounds fresh. The neck snapping tracks mesh perfectly with Finale’s rhymes. A burner from start to finish.

Kevin

01. Fashawn – Boy Meets World
02. Brother Ali – Us
03. Tanya Morgan- Brooklynati
04. Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II
05. Clipse – Til the Casket Drops
06. Slaughterhouse – Slaughterhouse
07. Skyzoo – The Salvation
08. Royce Da 5’9 – Street Hop
09. Diamond District – In the Ruff
10. Souls of Mischief – Montezuma’s Revenge

Honorable Mentions:
* Wale – Attention Deficit
* Mos Def – The Esctatic
* Marco Polo & Torae – Double Barrel
* Jay-Z – Blueprint 3
* Eminem – Relapse
* Method Man & Redman – Blackout 2

Justin

01. Raekwon- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II
02. Cyne- Water For Mars
03. Fashawn- Boy Meets World
04. Max Minelli- Pain Medicine
05. K-Rino- Solitary Confinement
06. Mos Def- The Ecstatic
07. Blitz the Ambassador- Stereotype
08. Kam Moye- Splitting Image
09. Brother Ali- Us
10. UGK- UGK 4 Life

Honorable Mentions:
* Souls of Mischief- Montezuma’s Revenge
* People Under the Stairs- Carried Away
* Wu-Tang- Chamber Music
* Tanya Morgan- Brooklynati
* Curren$y- This Ain’t No Mixtape
* Finale- A Pipe Dream & a Promise
* Method Man & Redman- Blackout 2

Thomas

01. Finale – A Pipe Dream and a Promise
02. Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II
03. Fashawn – Boy Meets World
04. Sha Stimuli – My Soul To Keep
05. Brother Ali – Us
06. Marco Polo and Torae – Double Barrel
07. Mos Def – The Ecstatic
08. Slaughterhouse – Slaughterhouse
09. Diamond District – In the Ruff
10. Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3

Honorable Mentions:
* Eminem – Relapse
* Rick Ross – Deeper Than Rap
* Joe Budden – Escape Route
* Skyzoo – The Salvation
* DOOM – Born Like This
* Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon: The End of Day
* Wale – Attention Deificit
* Clipse – Til the Casket Drops
* Ghostface Killah – Ghostdini Wizard Of Poetry In Emerald City
* Method Man & Redman – Blackout 2

About Kevin

Owner - Kevin is the owner and founder of KevinNottingham.com. Originally from Virginia Beach, VA he now resides in South Florida. In addition to this site he runs HiPNOTT Records, a small independent Hip Hop label and is an Executive Producer of the upcoming documentary DEMOS: An Independent Artist's Guide To Success. Other than music, he is a techie by trade and holds a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology.

http://clifsoulo.bandcamp.com/ Clif Soulo

Respect these lists….
http://kevinnottingham.com Thomas

Finale’s joint is a banger from front to back. I thought Joe Budden on Escape Route was better than Joe Budden on Slaughterhouse. Yes I enjoyed Rick Ross’s album and I was a big hater on DOOM’s joint. I said I wasn’t going to buy it, but ended up getting it after bangin it for 2 wks straight.

I thought 09 has been a good year.
bigon

MY TOP 10:

01. Fashawn – Boy Meets World
02. Kid Cudi – Man On The Moon/ The End Of Day
03. Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II
04. K-OS – YES!
05. DOOM – Born Like This
06. DJ Honda – IV
07. Faboulus – Loco’s Way
08. Trife Disel – Better Late Than Never
09. Kurious – II
10. Jadakiss – The Last Kiss
http://kevinnottingham.com Thomas

I didn’t like the DJ Honda joint. Jada’s joint was uneven in some spots.
bigon

overall the fashawn album is the number 1
http://twitter.com/whatizhiphop Kinge

Kev your list is on point.
bigon

at Thomas:

you don’t like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAb13b_yy00

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc-TNLllaco

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZSDVQ5E05U

this are all bangers for me.
http://myspace.com/razorsharpeny razorSHARPE

Blaq Poet’s album was a banger in ’09!!!
http://www.myspace.com/abstraktsoundz Abstrakt Soundz

I agree wit most, some I havnt heard n was a bit of a skeptic on others… N was that fashawn album really that dope? I guess I gotta check it out…
bigon

@abstrakt:

modern classic i think.
http://twitter.com/whatizhiphop Kinge

My Top 10

1. Brother Ali – Us
2. Slaughterhouse – Slaughterhouse
3. Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II
4. Jay-Z – Blueprint 3
5. Mos Def – The Esctatic
6. Tanya Morgan – Brooklynatti
7. Fashawn – Boy Meets World
8. Ghostface – Ghostdini Wizard Of Poetry In Emerald City
9. Eminem – Relapse
10.Royce Da 5’9 – Street Hop
http://kevinnottingham.com Thomas

@bigon
I liked the first two and the Sean Price. The other’s didn’t really stand out to me that much.
komplexx904

1. Diamond District – In The Ruff
2. Skyzoo – The Salvation
3. Tanya Morgan – Brooklynati
4. Camp Lo – Another Heist
5. Dela – Changes of Atmosphere

It was hard for me to come up with five because most of my favorite joints were mixtapes.
http://kevinnottingham.com Justin

I thought that Dela album dropped in 2008, not sure though. Camp Lo is a good choice too.
http://kevinnottingham.com Jon Garcia

FA-SHAWN
JLH

K’Naan’s Troubadour most definitely top ten of the year
komplexx904

You probably right J. I was in Afghanistan earlier this year so that might have been one of the joints I had to catch up on when I got back. I’ve bought a lot of music in the last few months so it kinda runs together. That Camp Lo was hella slept on though.
http://www.myspace.com/psymunsays Psymun

relapse should be on the lists
Thomas

Relapse is on honorable mention list for Kev and myself.
http://www.myspace.com/psymunsays Psymun

word for sure. i just feel like it should be in the top tens. it’s all good tho, the lists look great
Thomas

Hate or love album.
http://www.roadsart202.com Roads-Art

What about Jay Stay Paid…how didnt that make anybodys top ten?????
Thomas

Jay Stay Paid is on my slept on list. Honorable mention I believe.
LePenseur

What about Elzhi’s album!?!?!? Noone mentioned it =s
JLH

if you’re talking “The Preface” it came out last year
hellyeah

as always great list thomas
J. Rizzle

All of you got a hella tight list !!! No Gucci..LMAO..jus’ phuckin’ wit’ y’all !!!
Aman

Hey, Can anyone suggest more albums like Slaughterhouse and OBCL II but NOT like Brother Ali and Mos Def?
http://deleted Lukus

Fashawn gets my vote, if I had to decide the rest of my top 10 I’ll still be here till 2011…
Mugz101

OC&AG OAsis
Ben

Y’all sleepin on that new Gift of Gab “Escape To Mars”… Hella dope in my opinion!
http://kevinnottingham.com Thomas

@Mugz101

I put OC & AG on my slept on list. Def a dope album.
http://kevinnottingham.com Kevin

Thanks Ben, I’ll check it.
jarizzy

TOP 3 hands down

1) Kero One – Early Believers
2) Fashawn – Boy Meets World
3) Jay – Z – Blueprint 3
http://twitter.com/fuhnahtik FUHNAHTIK

OC&AG was dope, as was Masta Ace & Edo G. Wale was my favorite I think, maybe Skyzoo or Foreign Exchange, dont know if R&B technically counts? Great lists here – I only missed a few of the ones picked in my collection. Props.
http://kevinnottingham.com Thomas

FE came out last year fam.
chimera

K-Rino always so dope absoultly my num. 1 through 10.
Hes a real legend
SSP Soundz

I personally would have put J Dilla’s Jay $tay Paid on my list …
True

dead prez-Pulse of the People needs to be up in here

was also diggin X-Clan’s Mainstream Outlaw, Rakim’s 7th Seal, Mos-Ecstatic, Cuban Linx 2, Blackout 2, Wu Tang Chamber, Ghostface Poet of Emerald City, KRS/Buckshout-Survival Skillz, Cormega’s joint was hot too.
esejota

No one liked Rakim’s album??