In my opinion, a 'Perfect Album' must have at minimum 3-5 timeless songs and ZERO skips, every song can be revisited and enjoyed and the timeless songs can always be put in rotation. Also the songs must fit together chronologically for me and either keep a theme or take you through multiple different theme segments.
To Pimp A Butterfly is a perfect album for me. There’s literally nothing wrong with that record. Also for me personally the first 4 songs of an album gotta be timeless and there gotta be 0 skips for me to consider it as a perfect album.
To Pimp A Butterfly isn’t a perfect album to me because I wouldn’t ever listen to For Free and For Sale, unless I’m revisiting the whole album. good kid, m.A.A.d city in the other hand is by far one of the greatest albums ever made. Without the bonus track that album is skip less and even with the bonuses track only one of them I would skip.
Flawless in this sense isn't really the same as perfect though. There are 4-5 songs on MBDTF that are better than every song on Kids See Ghosts. KSG isn't an album of 7 timeless classics. It's an album with maybe 1 and then 6 "just great" songs. imoimoimo
A perfect album has a central concept it’s trying to convey, no skips, multiple iconic songs, and the best writing and production the genre has to offer.
Doesn’t have to be a concept album though. Maybe if that’s the target audience but let’s say something like tha Carter 3 or if you’re reading this it’s too late, they go for more bangers and high energy songs that sound enjoyable to listen to
@@ryansteiner8858 nah I think it has to be conceptual but that concept doesn’t have to be narrative or storytelling based like gkmc, or could be musically like ok computer, yeezus, rodeo etc…
For me, a perfect album is not necessarily a 10/10 album, but one that successfully achieves it goal to its full potential. Take Mac Millers swimming for example, one of my favourite albums of all time. It’s not a 10/10 album, more of a 8-9. However, I do think that it’s a perfect album. The opening and closing tracks are perfect in the sense that the open and close the album in the best way possible. There are 0 skips, (Obviously), and the atmosphere/mood is just right throughout. There are no flaws in the production, and the vocal performances are to the best of his ability. A 10/10 album, on the other hand, would be something like TPAB. Perfect in every way possible, and in my opinion the best album of all time. Swimming is no To Pimp a Butterfly, but they are both perfect album in their own ways.
I understand what you’re saying, but if an album is a 8-9 you can’t say it’s perfect cos there’s still clearly enough flaws to make it drop points. It may fulfil its goal but that doesn’t make it perfect, there’s a difference.
It always amazes me how so many people can be stupid enough to consider TPAB better than albums like Illmatic and Ready To Die. An album can’t be the best of all time if it has close to ZERO replay value
Food for thought - I'm pretty convinced that there can never be a consensus perfect album. It's kind of paradoxical. The albums that are "perfect" are labeled that by a particular subset of listeners, and get that distinction because they "perfectly" fit what that subset is looking for. But the wider that subset expands, naturally it gets harder for consensus to be reached on what that perfect fit entails. In that sense, I think that at a certain point the best we can do in finding a "perfect" album is one that is universally considered a classic...
No skips, massive replay value, flawless execution of what it set out to do sonically/conceptually. Enjoyable on both a surface level and a deeper level lyrically Holds up to or betters previous albums in that genre/sub genre. But most importantly if I FUCKING LOVE IT.
As a "perfect" album, I think its easier to make a case for Stillmatic. It got many classics too: you're da man, ether, one mic, got yourself a gun ..., It has no skip, the backstory is incredible, and it has both insane prods and insane lyrics. I think illmatic is better, but not perfect, its somewhat "lacking" on the prod department where its not THAT good imo
A perfect album should be personal to the listener. If the album gives the individual everything you wanted and asked for or maybe even succeed expectations is perfect.
I think a perfect album that doesn't get enough talk is little simz 'GREY area'. Such a nice, short tracklist with a lot of variety. Amazing lyricism, amazing production, amazing flows, amazing feature singers. Just everything hits.
You guys should make a video on what makes a perfect song, and give examples and go over the song structure and what makes the production, content, performance, & replay value Perfect.
I think a lot of it has to do with nostalgia and the memories connected to that album. It’s so hard to call an album perfect on first listen because music grows and takes on new meaning as you continue to listen.
4 rules for perfection you need at least 2 for a classic: 1.hits and rememberable songs 2. Groundbreaking sounds or styles 3. Good or entertaining substance or theme or vibe 4. Low amount of bad or mid songs (0-3)
@@vi2935 tpab i agree and i dont personally think its a perfect album for that reason, its amazing, clever and a classic but its not as enjoyable as a *perfect* album should be in my opinion good kid maad city is no skips for me though and i thoroughly enjoy all the tracks and it *is* a perfect album for me
For me, the best example of a perfect album is Madvillainy. ALL tracks are of the highest level in production and lyrics, and all have great value, both for replay and for album content. I would say it's the best album ever, because I've never heard such special production and lyrics like this album has!
Idk about “perfect”, but being great and transcendent thru time is even more of an accomplishment. No matter how much time goes by, people will listen to Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue, The Velvet Underground and Nico, Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division, Ys by Joanna Newsome, Fever to Tell by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc.
Yeah we need to get away from the word perfect. It's a pretty dumb word honestly because for one we live in an imperfect world. I think there are still ways to distinguish pieces of work being top of the line without using the terminology perfect.
I have a long list of my perfect albums that are based on enjoyability, the flow of the album, the production and the "all hits, no skips" criteria. (i don't really dive that much into lyrics but i do take into consideration the theme of the album, what and how it talks about it) Marvin Gaye - What's Going On The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds Radiohead - OK Computer, Kid A, In Rainbows, A Moon Shaped Pool Led Zeppelin I, II, III, IV, Houses of The Holy Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals King Crimson - In The Court of The Crimson King Michael Jackson - Thriller Kanye West - MBDTF, Yeezus Kendrick Lamar - good kid, M.A.A.D. City, To Pimp A Butterfly Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out Dr. Dre - The Chronic Tame Impala - Currents, InnerSpeaker, The Slow Rush Nina Simone - Pastel Blues Gorillaz - Plastic Beach Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures Daft Punk - Discovery Ms. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Death Grips - The Money Store N.W.A - Straight Outta Compton, Efil4zaggin Silk Sonic - An Evening With Silk Sonic A Tribe Called Quest - PITATPR, The Low End Theory Eric B. & Rakim - Don't Sweat The Technique edit: Nas - Illmatic The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
a few perfect albums in my opinion(last 5 years) cheat codes - black thought 4:44 - jay z piñata - freddie gibbs call me if you get lost - tyler oxnard - anderson paak
Be from common is nearly a perfect album to me . Earl sweatshirt’s IDLSIDGO is close .. Kanye’s Graduation has literally no flaws and that nostalgia feeling it gives every time I revisit.. all of those albums have the right amount of elements and aspects and substance to make it perfect , never gets old , timeless classics
A perfect album. Everything is flawless. Execution. Theme. Vision. Game changing. Timeless. last 20 years? TPAB and MBDTF ever: those 2 and Illmatic (and some others)... like Dark Side of the Moon
A perfect album for me has to, of course, have 0 skips and it has to stand the test of time, and the album has to flow perfectly. Not a must, but I do feel like the album can't sound basic. They can't just sound like every other album in the artist's discography. To me, a couple perfect albums are: KIDS SEE GHOSTS Good kid maad city Where Have All The Flowers Gone? - Deb Never TPAB iridescence - BROCKHAMPTON
I’ve got the obvious perfect albums, Illmatic’s, Ready to Dies, TPAB,Madvillainy, Miseducation, Me against the world, 36 chambers, etc, you know the type. But ones that I reckon some people won’t have, Jurassic 5 by Jurassic 5, don’t know how many people know them but it’s because even after 24 every song on their hasn’t got old for me, that’s one of the only seven albums ever that’s done that for me and from such an under appreciated group it’s such a great album. And they’re the only group on the planet who have better chemistry than Wu tang Great Adventures of Slick Rick Liquid Swordz Hot cool and viscous, by Slat n Pepa. Long Live the Kane And finally 3 feet high and rising
All the albums I consider perfect are- TPAB Punisher LP! (Offline version) Dopethrone For Emma, forever ago Black on both sides Lift your skinny fists like antennas to heaven A moon shaped pool Elliott smith Since I left you Yankee hotel foxtrot Illmatic In rainbows Wish you were here Spiderland Madvilliany In the aeroplane over the sea The velvet underground and Nico Water babies The glow, pt.2 (my favourite album of all time)
A perfect album for me is just an album with zero skips and something so good that I can't even choose a favorite song from it. Also, I have to have an emotional attachment or good memories associated with either the album or a couple of songs from it. The only albums like that for me are Folklore, Good Kid Maad City, After Hours, Damn, Swimming, Red TV, 1989, and Midnights.
I appreciated the nuance in this conversation, especially when addressing the criteria for what we may consider a perfect record. There are many angles to tackle this topic. Still, no one can genuinely define these criteria to a T, especially when discussing two albums with no sense of being compared. You won't judge Future's DS2 as you would billy woods' Hiding Places. That's what's so fantastic about music and the conversation surrounding it; that 10/10 can be something profoundly personal to the listener. I feel that way, especially about Mac Miller's Circles and Nirvana's In Utero. These two projects may have inherent annoyances that are personal to me; however, the listening experience goes far beyond trivial gripes.
I feel like a perfect album consist of a theme the whole time, with songs that time into each other or have deep meanings with the lyrics being meaningful…something that fans can real understand and feel in their soul.
Sometimes even the skits make the album more enjoyable when it's listened from front to back because they're funny asf😆, like The College Dropout, Late Registration, Efil4zaggin
Hey guys, love the videos, always make my day a bit better. Just asking if it would be possible to get an office tour in the future. Love the channel. Road to a mil 🙏
This was a really good discussion, i agree that "perfect" is a lot more subjective than "classic" and theres so much that can go into a perfect score including personal reasons and contexts, but i think the no-skip point is a good criteria for having a perfect album anyways, like an A is a great score but its not a perfect score like an A+. Some albums definitely stratal the line between perfect and classic like Kids See Ghosts and TPAB since they both have that much acclaim in all rap circles.
To me the perfect album is like the perfect multi-course meal. Just the right portion, extremely delicious but you feel overstuffed after, and it has a number surprises sprinkled throughout
Not related to rap at all, but taking into account, the coherent nature of each song, cohesive instrumentals which literally fit into each other like puzzle pieces, aswell as dark and exuberant lyrics that paint a certain atmosphere, I'd have to go for Red by King Crimson. My personal favourite track from the album would be starless; the sax interpolation is timeless and Fripp's playing of the guitar is just masterful.
Another thing i would like to point out is what genre it is. Like for example rodeo is not lyrical like TPAB, but it doesnt need to be. You listen to rodeo for the vibe.
A perfect album for me has got to have a some kind of mental worth, like it has to make me feel something or think somethingas well as just “oh yeah this is a banger”. Like on the Eminem show you’ve something like Sing for the Moment but you’ve also got Without Me. It has to have a balance of mental worth and personal enjoyment. If I’m looking at it in a critical way like I’m looking for lyrical prowess and really deep production it’s kinda self explanatory, meaningful and advanced lyrics, pin point flows, layered production. Job done.
Forrest hill drive hands down ☝🏾 front to back just the personal feelings the swag the storytelling and relatable tracks intro literally asks something personal do you wanna happy Cole just really take it deep
To me personally without making it overly complicated, a perfect album is a non-skip album to where I LOVE (not just like) every single song. Now because I love every single song, I can’t even pick a favorite song from the album because they change, months even years after the album dropped.
so many great points made in this video. I have a small handful of albums I deem perfect. Overall for me the what stands out the most is simply how much the album resonates w you and how much you enjoy it. some rap songs to me is a perfect album and an album I will listen to til the day I die.
I think something underrated for deciding if an album is perfect is it's accessibility. With super complex and concept records like TPAB I think their deep topics take away from their accessibility and make them quite difficult listens. You have to be really in a specific mood to hear it from top to bottom. For Kendrick I'd say DAMN would be his perfect album in that it covers deep topics, is unique, has a concise tracklist, still brings the bangers and just packs it all in an accessible listen
For me it’s Mr morale. There are some skips but those songs have a deep meaning or stylistically impressive performance so I can still enjoy them when really listening to it.
@@streyy1740 idk I just liked how not mainstream in terms of sound, it was actually my first time really listening to Kendrick so I’m not a Kendrick rider lmao. It’s the only Kendrick album I listen to regularly
I think the best example of a perfect album is Enter the wu tang (36 chambers) -pioneer -impact -track list -concept -variety -performance It has everything and for a big rap group for it to work was incredible. And the amount of impact that album has had. The amount of rappers who have quoted wu tang.
@@rjdXx. all eyez on me is a good album but I don’t think it’s too important. I mean don’t get me wrong it’s up there but I would put straight outta Compton and nations of millions above it
albums i consider perfect (no specific criteria, but when you know an albums perfect it’s perfect. music is subjective): 1999, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, DAMN, Circles, GKMC, Graduation, MBDTF, Aquemini, Goodbye & Good Riddance (besides the skits), and Kids See Ghosts
@@spollory it's just super inconsistent. it has some songs that are average or decent, and on the same album have some of the best hip-hop songs of all time like Lean Wit Me
@@andrew_gould lean wit me is not one of the greatest hip hop songs of all time. it's probably my most nostalgic song and i still know it's not up there
A "perfect album" is massively subjective to the listener which is why this question is hard to answer objectively. I do agree that an album that's deemed "perfect" needs to have no skips and have some clear standout songs, but even then how do you judge that metric? I think I've Cube's "Death Certificate" is a perfect rap album from start to finish, but somebody may listen to it and think it's heavily outdated and the production is subpar. I have my own list of perfect albums, and I know there will be those who just don't agree but that's why this is more of a subjective than objective question. Here's a few of them: The Weeknd - After Hours Michael Jackson - Thriller Jay Z - The Black Album Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition Freddie Gibbs - Pinata and Bandana Kanye - The Life of Pablo Eminem - The Eminem Show FKA Twigs - Magdalene Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters Miley Cyrus - Plastic Hearts Benny the Butcher - Burden of Proof D'Angelo - Black Messiah Kendrick Lamar - GKMC, TPAB, and DAMN Rihanna - ANTI Boldy James - Manger at McNichols Drake - Nothing Was the Same Taylor Swift - Folklore Nirvana - Nevermind JPEGMAFIA - All My Heroes Are Cornballs Ka - Descendants of Cain Tierra Whack - Whack World Anderson. Paak - Oxnard There's more, but this is it for now.
For me it's when the album is cohesive Flows like one big track from Start to finish Obviously innovative production/ content matter that that's ahead of the curve is what separates a great listening experience ans 'perfect ' album for me . Liquid swords (Gza) .I want you ( Marvin Gaye ) . Stronger than pride ( sade ) . Hounds of love ( Kate bush ) Just to name a few ......
For me, the two of the perfect albums of all time are Illmatic by Nas and To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar. Both of those albums have really great conceptual base and I get lost everytime I hear them❤️🔥
One example could be drunk and hot girls off Graduation. I know it's not a skip for y'all (I skip it every time personally) but it is a highly contested song that many fans don't like. And that's probably like the only song on the album with that level of divide among the fans. & At that point, wouldn't it mean the album is not perfect? I know you guys have both said it is but if an album has a skip that's a tough call lol either way much love to you guys and the content 👊🏽👊🏽
For me personally, I determine a perfect album based on a few different factors. The most heavily weighted factor for me is track for track enjoyability, and the overall enjoyability of the album as a whole. For me if an album has perfect and enjoyable production/soundscape for the entire tracklist I’d consider it perfect even if it doesn’t have the impact, status writing, or storyline/concept that other albums might have. I do still weigh in these other factors, but I don’t have it as criteria that a perfect album must meet
i didn’t start the video yet but this is my thought: this may not make sense to anyone else but me but here’s how i see ranking albums: 1. Perfect 2. Classic 3. 10/10
Not a hip hop album but an album that I'm confident to say is a perfect album is the new album from Weyes Blood called "And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow"
I feel like an album is perfect when you plan on playing a single track, and you just end up listening to the whole rest of the album because you just can't help yourself. This isn't a hip-hop or rap album, but a recent example is "De Todas Las Flores". The second Laforcade starts singing in "Vine solita" I knew this wasn't going to be like anything I'd ever heard before, and that record is one of one. My god, what a masterpiece.
My perfect albums: To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Aethiopes - billy woods Some Rap Songs - Earl Sweatshirt Madvillainy - MF DOOM Those are probably my only perfect albums tbh
Two albums that I don't see coming up that often on the perfect conversation but I absolutely think they are, Igor by Tyler and Taboo by Denzel... I'd die on a hill saying those are two of the greatest albums ever made
Igor is really close, but I think running out of time and I don’t love you anymore kind of hold it back, not bad there still good but don’t compare to songs like puppet, earfquake, are we still friends, what’s good etc… I also think that it’s not sonically as complete as something like mbdtf or tpab which touches on a wide array of sounds but under one style. Still I would give it like a light to decent 9
great video! really feel like perfect just comes down to firing to the max on all categories. concept is fully thought out if there is one. prod & mixing is arranged perfectly setting the mood for the album. the writing and performances are perfectly executed and there’s not one wack bar etc etc. that’s why even skip less albums aren’t always perfect imo bc it can just be consistently good. a perfect album shouldn’t have a single nit pick or anything that takes away from the album in its context.
Nas - Illmatic MF DOOM - Madvilliany Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here Kendrick Lamar - TPAB Weezer - The Blue Album Childish Gambino - Because The Internet There are more, but I don’t want to be typing for an hour
there are multiple albums that come to mind. Kendrick’s whole discography College Dropout Graduation SSLP 2014 FHD (yes i think its 10/10) Swimming GRODT
In the Hot 97 Tyler the creator 2021 interview he talks about reference point. For example, If ARTV doesn't think Kanye has any good albums, he's not wrong because his referance point is consumed of mostly rock & metal bands. As NFR Podcast consuming mostly rap music think Kanye has a perfect album, they're not wrong either. This is why people who consume mostly jazz might think tpab is Kendricks perfect album when most rap fans would choose Good Kid Maad City. This is also why fantano reviewing a wide variety of albums via different genres makes him the most popular music review channel. Or why Shawn Cee gets into his R&B bag Everytime mentioning anything in his top 10. It's all subjective & Referance Point.
To pimp a butterfly and the college dropout are the only perfect albums ik, the rest are super close Edit: I’d now swap the college dropout for Yeezus (ik it sounds weird but that shit is perfect)
a perfect album is an album i enjoy and connect with the most, plain simple. donda is my favorite album of all time cuz i love how it's a trap album (my favorite genre), yet it also has my favorite themes of self-growth, forgiveness, peace, love, etc. . there is 1 track i really don't like on it (heaven and hell), but it's still my favorite album because that 1 song is so miniscule in the grander scheme of the album for me--*everything else* is perfect *for me*
Idk, it’s kinda hard cause even if an album isn’t perfect, there are some that I hold in similar regards to a perfect album. Damn by Kendrick for example, there’s a couple skips for me, but the songs that I do love are perfect tracks and I feel like those perfect tracks make up for the ones that I don’t particularly care for
Excellent discussion. I personally mean it as "essentially perfect" because technically the YOU THINK HE TOUCHED THEN KIDS?! On tpab is a bit out of pocket but bro I'm not gonna snub it over about a second moment
In my opinion, a 'Perfect Album' must have at minimum 3-5 timeless songs and ZERO skips, every song can be revisited and enjoyed and the timeless songs can always be put in rotation. Also the songs must fit together chronologically for me and either keep a theme or take you through multiple different theme segments.
Madvillainy :)
Shouldn't every song be timeless for it to be perfect?
illmatic
@@jakemilano8868 exactly
Illmatic
To Pimp A Butterfly is a perfect album for me. There’s literally nothing wrong with that record.
Also for me personally the first 4 songs of an album gotta be timeless and there gotta be 0 skips for me to consider it as a perfect album.
Why the first 4 songs in particular?
To Pimp A Butterfly isn’t a perfect album to me because I wouldn’t ever listen to For Free and For Sale, unless I’m revisiting the whole album.
good kid, m.A.A.d city in the other hand is by far one of the greatest albums ever made. Without the bonus track that album is skip less and even with the bonuses track only one of them I would skip.
@@a.i.f.9236 For Sale, sure. But For Free???
@@peamut547 for sale is so much better lol
@@a.i.f.9236 for sale is fire bro
Kids See Ghosts might not be in many top 10 lists but it's the best example for a flawless piece of art I can think of. Too bad it's only 7 tracks.
Madvillainy
Flawless in this sense isn't really the same as perfect though. There are 4-5 songs on MBDTF that are better than every song on Kids See Ghosts. KSG isn't an album of 7 timeless classics. It's an album with maybe 1 and then 6 "just great" songs. imoimoimo
Kids see ghosts is mid tho
Ksg is good but them songs not even top ye or cudi songs. It doesnt give the perfect vibe
@Patrick Massively overated there's nothing special about it, shit put me to sleep the first time I heard it 💀
A perfect album has a central concept it’s trying to convey, no skips, multiple iconic songs, and the best writing and production the genre has to offer.
and it has to innovitave/creative in some way. mbdtf and tpab did it
Doesn’t have to be a concept album though. Maybe if that’s the target audience but let’s say something like tha Carter 3 or if you’re reading this it’s too late, they go for more bangers and high energy songs that sound enjoyable to listen to
@@ryansteiner8858 nah I think it has to be conceptual but that concept doesn’t have to be narrative or storytelling based like gkmc, or could be musically like ok computer, yeezus, rodeo etc…
@@chrisb.heckons637 mbdtf has multiple skips. not perfect.
@@ewan897mbdtf has no skips
For me, a perfect album is not necessarily a 10/10 album, but one that successfully achieves it goal to its full potential. Take Mac Millers swimming for example, one of my favourite albums of all time. It’s not a 10/10 album, more of a 8-9. However, I do think that it’s a perfect album. The opening and closing tracks are perfect in the sense that the open and close the album in the best way possible. There are 0 skips, (Obviously), and the atmosphere/mood is just right throughout. There are no flaws in the production, and the vocal performances are to the best of his ability. A 10/10 album, on the other hand, would be something like TPAB. Perfect in every way possible, and in my opinion the best album of all time. Swimming is no To Pimp a Butterfly, but they are both perfect album in their own ways.
I understand what you’re saying, but if an album is a 8-9 you can’t say it’s perfect cos there’s still clearly enough flaws to make it drop points. It may fulfil its goal but that doesn’t make it perfect, there’s a difference.
It always amazes me how so many people can be stupid enough to consider TPAB better than albums like Illmatic and Ready To Die. An album can’t be the best of all time if it has close to ZERO replay value
@@qaqtix6700ready to die is disqualified from being perfect because of THAT skit
Food for thought - I'm pretty convinced that there can never be a consensus perfect album. It's kind of paradoxical. The albums that are "perfect" are labeled that by a particular subset of listeners, and get that distinction because they "perfectly" fit what that subset is looking for. But the wider that subset expands, naturally it gets harder for consensus to be reached on what that perfect fit entails. In that sense, I think that at a certain point the best we can do in finding a "perfect" album is one that is universally considered a classic...
I agree 100%
preach brother
TPAB is the definition of a perfect album
Literally great hits, great production, great substance, groundbreaking too
yeah, it's about as close as you can get to perfect really.
The singles on that album are average
Eh, gkmc >
@@rgabeatz5225 if Alright, These Walls, King Kunta, and The Blacker The Berry are average songs then i cant imagine what a great song would be to you.
No skips, massive replay value, flawless execution of what it set out to do sonically/conceptually.
Enjoyable on both a surface level and a deeper level lyrically
Holds up to or betters previous albums in that genre/sub genre.
But most importantly if I FUCKING LOVE IT.
Nas - Illmatic is a perfect album for me. The personification of 90's hip hop and he was only 19 years old.
Agreed
It's was ahead of it's time that's for sure but perfect,NO
@@sethu5742 Exactly! I don't understand how its considered perfect
As a "perfect" album, I think its easier to make a case for Stillmatic. It got many classics too: you're da man, ether, one mic, got yourself a gun ..., It has no skip, the backstory is incredible, and it has both insane prods and insane lyrics.
I think illmatic is better, but not perfect, its somewhat "lacking" on the prod department where its not THAT good imo
1999 by joey bada$$
A perfect album should be personal to the listener. If the album gives the individual everything you wanted and asked for or maybe even succeed expectations is perfect.
I think a perfect album that doesn't get enough talk is little simz 'GREY area'.
Such a nice, short tracklist with a lot of variety. Amazing lyricism, amazing production, amazing flows, amazing feature singers. Just everything hits.
You guys should make a video on what makes a perfect song, and give examples and go over the song structure and what makes the production, content, performance, & replay value Perfect.
I think a lot of it has to do with nostalgia and the memories connected to that album. It’s so hard to call an album perfect on first listen because music grows and takes on new meaning as you continue to listen.
the word perfect goes hand and hand with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
THE FEATURES AND PRODUCTION IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR ME for example ASTROWORLD, Heroes and villains or even if your reading this it late
4 rules for perfection you need at least 2 for a classic:
1.hits and rememberable songs
2. Groundbreaking sounds or styles
3. Good or entertaining substance or theme or vibe
4. Low amount of bad or mid songs (0-3)
gotta be harsher, 0 mid songs is a requirement, even 0 "ight" songs
@@alexo_pog ok maybe not mid but songs you dont love. There songs on tpab or gkmc that i dont really go back to but there not trash there just cool
@@vi2935 tpab i agree and i dont personally think its a perfect album for that reason, its amazing, clever and a classic but its not as enjoyable as a *perfect* album should be in my opinion
good kid maad city is no skips for me though and i thoroughly enjoy all the tracks and it *is* a perfect album for me
For me, the best example of a perfect album is Madvillainy. ALL tracks are of the highest level in production and lyrics, and all have great value, both for replay and for album content. I would say it's the best album ever, because I've never heard such special production and lyrics like this album has!
Facts. That’s literally my 2nd favorite album of all time.
@@ItsTaken__ is your 1st favourite your picture?
@@jameshayes164 Yeah you got that
Eye might be my favourite interlude ever
@@fettywapsmissingeye yeeeees! supervillain theme too
A perfect album is one that has replay value to last a lifetime.
That's what you want in music?
@@-Scrapper-you want music that has no replay ability?
@@colinedelman6392 it's not my biggest takeaway. especially in rap
Idk about “perfect”, but being great and transcendent thru time is even more of an accomplishment. No matter how much time goes by, people will listen to Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue, The Velvet Underground and Nico, Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division, Ys by Joanna Newsome, Fever to Tell by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc.
exactly, the impact and influence of the album is a good criteria, and how timeless the album feels
Yeah we need to get away from the word perfect. It's a pretty dumb word honestly because for one we live in an imperfect world. I think there are still ways to distinguish pieces of work being top of the line without using the terminology perfect.
TPAB is the definition of a perfect album for me
LMAO
@@streyy1740 What was so funny?
Love this conversation! Keep it up guys
I have a long list of my perfect albums that are based on enjoyability, the flow of the album, the production and the "all hits, no skips" criteria. (i don't really dive that much into lyrics but i do take into consideration the theme of the album, what and how it talks about it)
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Radiohead - OK Computer, Kid A, In Rainbows, A Moon Shaped Pool
Led Zeppelin I, II, III, IV, Houses of The Holy
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals
King Crimson - In The Court of The Crimson King
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Kanye West - MBDTF, Yeezus
Kendrick Lamar - good kid, M.A.A.D. City, To Pimp A Butterfly
Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue
The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out
Dr. Dre - The Chronic
Tame Impala - Currents, InnerSpeaker, The Slow Rush
Nina Simone - Pastel Blues
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
Daft Punk - Discovery
Ms. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Death Grips - The Money Store
N.W.A - Straight Outta Compton, Efil4zaggin
Silk Sonic - An Evening With Silk Sonic
A Tribe Called Quest - PITATPR, The Low End Theory
Eric B. & Rakim - Don't Sweat The Technique
edit:
Nas - Illmatic
The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
Dope list only additions are :
songs in the key of life by Stevie wonder
Curtis- Curtis mayfield
Extensions of a man- Donny Hathaway
Oh also Bob Marley exodus and I’m meeting a few non American albums I can’t think of right now
And illmatic
@@joshuavesk787 yeah i just listened to and it's flawless and f amazing, i gotta say i still have a lot to listen(eg. the beatles)
@@lorenzohernandez5677 I would add All Eyez On me on that list💯
An album that I think is perfect: Man On The Moon 1 by Kid Cudi, all bangers, no skips.
🐐
My modern day perfect albums would be:
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West
After Hours - The Weeknd
Yeezus - Kanye West
Kanye Stan😂
Yeezus????????????? I’m a huge Kanye fan but Yeezus??????
@@EMAH669 Yeezus slaps till this day though
a few perfect albums in my opinion(last 5 years)
cheat codes - black thought
4:44 - jay z
piñata - freddie gibbs
call me if you get lost - tyler
oxnard - anderson paak
Be from common is nearly a perfect album to me . Earl sweatshirt’s IDLSIDGO is close .. Kanye’s Graduation has literally no flaws and that nostalgia feeling it gives every time I revisit.. all of those albums have the right amount of elements and aspects and substance to make it perfect , never gets old , timeless classics
A perfect album. Everything is flawless. Execution. Theme. Vision. Game changing. Timeless.
last 20 years?
TPAB and MBDTF
ever: those 2 and Illmatic (and some others)... like Dark Side of the Moon
Ds2 washed both.. rodeo too.
No way DsotM is perfect, way too boring
maybe WywH
MBDTF is a 6/10 at most
@@MortanAMrk WYWH is def better
The blueprint Jay z is perfect
A perfect album for me has to, of course, have 0 skips and it has to stand the test of time, and the album has to flow perfectly. Not a must, but I do feel like the album can't sound basic. They can't just sound like every other album in the artist's discography.
To me, a couple perfect albums are:
KIDS SEE GHOSTS
Good kid maad city
Where Have All The Flowers Gone? - Deb Never
TPAB
iridescence - BROCKHAMPTON
Albums that are 10/10 for me are: To Pimp A Butterfly, Hamilton Broadway soundtrack, Thriller, Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, 21 by Adele
I’ve got the obvious perfect albums, Illmatic’s, Ready to Dies, TPAB,Madvillainy, Miseducation, Me against the world, 36 chambers, etc, you know the type.
But ones that I reckon some people won’t have,
Jurassic 5 by Jurassic 5, don’t know how many people know them but it’s because even after 24 every song on their hasn’t got old for me, that’s one of the only seven albums ever that’s done that for me and from such an under appreciated group it’s such a great album. And they’re the only group on the planet who have better chemistry than Wu tang
Great Adventures of Slick Rick
Liquid Swordz
Hot cool and viscous, by Slat n Pepa.
Long Live the Kane
And finally 3 feet high and rising
As a 34yo I condone this msg
An album that captivates the listener and makes you think "wow that was incredible" after listening to it in full
All the albums I consider perfect are-
TPAB
Punisher
LP! (Offline version)
Dopethrone
For Emma, forever ago
Black on both sides
Lift your skinny fists like antennas to heaven
A moon shaped pool
Elliott smith
Since I left you
Yankee hotel foxtrot
Illmatic
In rainbows
Wish you were here
Spiderland
Madvilliany
In the aeroplane over the sea
The velvet underground and Nico
Water babies
The glow, pt.2 (my favourite album of all time)
A perfect album for me is just an album with zero skips and something so good that I can't even choose a favorite song from it. Also, I have to have an emotional attachment or good memories associated with either the album or a couple of songs from it. The only albums like that for me are Folklore, Good Kid Maad City, After Hours, Damn, Swimming, Red TV, 1989, and Midnights.
2014 Forest Hill drive is the perfect rap album imo
I appreciated the nuance in this conversation, especially when addressing the criteria for what we may consider a perfect record. There are many angles to tackle this topic. Still, no one can genuinely define these criteria to a T, especially when discussing two albums with no sense of being compared. You won't judge Future's DS2 as you would billy woods' Hiding Places. That's what's so fantastic about music and the conversation surrounding it; that 10/10 can be something profoundly personal to the listener. I feel that way, especially about Mac Miller's Circles and Nirvana's In Utero. These two projects may have inherent annoyances that are personal to me; however, the listening experience goes far beyond trivial gripes.
Mac Miller-
Watching Movies, Faces, Good A:M
Would you like an actual perfect album recommendation?
I feel like a perfect album consist of a theme the whole time, with songs that time into each other or have deep meanings with the lyrics being meaningful…something that fans can real understand and feel in their soul.
I think a perfect album has to be enjoyable in EVERY SINGLE second of it without counting the skits
@@allanthomson9372 i agree with you, especially with ready to die f me interlude
Sometimes even the skits make the album more enjoyable when it's listened from front to back because they're funny asf😆, like The College Dropout, Late Registration, Efil4zaggin
@@lorenzohernandez5677 bro best musical skit of all time is skit 4 of late registration, if you know you know.
@@Prodbyjah464 is that the one that predicted among us?
@@sirspiritt4687 precisely
Hey guys, love the videos, always make my day a bit better. Just asking if it would be possible to get an office tour in the future. Love the channel. Road to a mil 🙏
This was a really good discussion, i agree that "perfect" is a lot more subjective than "classic" and theres so much that can go into a perfect score including personal reasons and contexts, but i think the no-skip point is a good criteria for having a perfect album anyways, like an A is a great score but its not a perfect score like an A+. Some albums definitely stratal the line between perfect and classic like Kids See Ghosts and TPAB since they both have that much acclaim in all rap circles.
A perfect album takes you to a world with 0 skips.
To me the perfect album is like the perfect multi-course meal. Just the right portion, extremely delicious but you feel overstuffed after, and it has a number surprises sprinkled throughout
Swimming is truly perfect
tpab is like literally perfect no debate either from head to toe I am captured reeled in
Not related to rap at all, but taking into account, the coherent nature of each song, cohesive instrumentals which literally fit into each other like puzzle pieces, aswell as dark and exuberant lyrics that paint a certain atmosphere, I'd have to go for Red by King Crimson. My personal favourite track from the album would be starless; the sax interpolation is timeless and Fripp's playing of the guitar is just masterful.
Another thing i would like to point out is what genre it is. Like for example rodeo is not lyrical like TPAB, but it doesnt need to be. You listen to rodeo for the vibe.
Illmatic is a perfect album
Genesis is horrible
@@-Scrapper- what 💀🤣
@@-Scrapper- ????💀
@@-Scrapper-bro called skit teerible💀
A perfect album for me has got to have a some kind of mental worth, like it has to make me feel something or think somethingas well as just “oh yeah this is a banger”. Like on the Eminem show you’ve something like Sing for the Moment but you’ve also got Without Me. It has to have a balance of mental worth and personal enjoyment.
If I’m looking at it in a critical way like I’m looking for lyrical prowess and really deep production it’s kinda self explanatory, meaningful and advanced lyrics, pin point flows, layered production. Job done.
Forrest hill drive hands down ☝🏾 front to back just the personal feelings the swag the storytelling and relatable tracks intro literally asks something personal do you wanna happy Cole just really take it deep
I have a suggestion
Yall can do old album reviews,like 2001,444,It was written, Good Kid
To me personally without making it overly complicated, a perfect album is a non-skip album to where I LOVE (not just like) every single song. Now because I love every single song, I can’t even pick a favorite song from the album because they change, months even years after the album dropped.
so many great points made in this video. I have a small handful of albums I deem perfect. Overall for me the what stands out the most is simply how much the album resonates w you and how much you enjoy it. some rap songs to me is a perfect album and an album I will listen to til the day I die.
I love videos like this from you guys… LETS GO
MBDTF is probably a perfect album for me.
Bet you couldn’t name the last 3 songs by memory
@@EMAH669 I’ll try ok, runaway, lost in the world, who will survive in America? I always forget where runaway is but yeah.
It truely is a timeless masterpiece. 10/10 and probably the best rap album ever made besides Illmatic
@@realkaygrand A few questionable verse’s but otherwise good.
I think something underrated for deciding if an album is perfect is it's accessibility. With super complex and concept records like TPAB I think their deep topics take away from their accessibility and make them quite difficult listens. You have to be really in a specific mood to hear it from top to bottom. For Kendrick I'd say DAMN would be his perfect album in that it covers deep topics, is unique, has a concise tracklist, still brings the bangers and just packs it all in an accessible listen
Aquemini 💯. Be and Finding Forever both by Common are also perfectly balanced.
For me it’s Mr morale. There are some skips but those songs have a deep meaning or stylistically impressive performance so I can still enjoy them when really listening to it.
If it has skips its not perfect
Overhyped album lmao not even top 20 this year YALL just ride kendrick
@@streyy1740 i agree with it not being a perfect album but its deff t20 this year
@@streyy1740 idk I just liked how not mainstream in terms of sound, it was actually my first time really listening to Kendrick so I’m not a Kendrick rider lmao. It’s the only Kendrick album I listen to regularly
@@styleformen7535 I suppose so but for me I have never heard an album where I never skip a song.
I think the best example of a perfect album is Enter the wu tang (36 chambers)
-pioneer
-impact
-track list
-concept
-variety
-performance
It has everything and for a big rap group for it to work was incredible. And the amount of impact that album has had. The amount of rappers who have quoted wu tang.
agreed 36 chambers is the most important album in hip hop imo.
@@sambelyea678 very close between that n all eyez on me
@@rjdXx. all eyez on me is a good album but I don’t think it’s too important. I mean don’t get me wrong it’s up there but I would put straight outta Compton and nations of millions above it
@@sambelyea678 straight outta Compton and 36 chambers are the 2 most important and influential
albums i consider perfect (no specific criteria, but when you know an albums perfect it’s perfect. music is subjective): 1999, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, DAMN, Circles, GKMC, Graduation, MBDTF, Aquemini, Goodbye & Good Riddance (besides the skits), and Kids See Ghosts
you threw juice in there and thought we wouldn't notice. i love that album but it's definitely not perfect
@@spolloryThe only argument against it, is that the production isn’t that good tbf.
@@spollory it's just super inconsistent. it has some songs that are average or decent, and on the same album have some of the best hip-hop songs of all time like Lean Wit Me
@@andrew_gould lean wit me is not one of the greatest hip hop songs of all time. it's probably my most nostalgic song and i still know it's not up there
you guys are so awesome keep it up❤
A "perfect album" is massively subjective to the listener which is why this question is hard to answer objectively. I do agree that an album that's deemed "perfect" needs to have no skips and have some clear standout songs, but even then how do you judge that metric? I think I've Cube's "Death Certificate" is a perfect rap album from start to finish, but somebody may listen to it and think it's heavily outdated and the production is subpar. I have my own list of perfect albums, and I know there will be those who just don't agree but that's why this is more of a subjective than objective question. Here's a few of them:
The Weeknd - After Hours
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Jay Z - The Black Album
Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition
Freddie Gibbs - Pinata and Bandana
Kanye - The Life of Pablo
Eminem - The Eminem Show
FKA Twigs - Magdalene
Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Miley Cyrus - Plastic Hearts
Benny the Butcher - Burden of Proof
D'Angelo - Black Messiah
Kendrick Lamar - GKMC, TPAB, and DAMN
Rihanna - ANTI
Boldy James - Manger at McNichols
Drake - Nothing Was the Same
Taylor Swift - Folklore
Nirvana - Nevermind
JPEGMAFIA - All My Heroes Are Cornballs
Ka - Descendants of Cain
Tierra Whack - Whack World
Anderson. Paak - Oxnard
There's more, but this is it for now.
Actually perfect albums, most of them are unknown if you're interested?
For me it's when the album is cohesive
Flows like one big track from Start to finish
Obviously innovative production/ content matter that that's ahead of the curve is what separates a great listening experience ans 'perfect ' album for me
. Liquid swords (Gza)
.I want you ( Marvin Gaye )
. Stronger than pride ( sade )
. Hounds of love ( Kate bush )
Just to name a few ......
For me, the two of the perfect albums of all time are Illmatic by Nas and To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar. Both of those albums have really great conceptual base and I get lost everytime I hear them❤️🔥
I was literally about to comment this. You have great taste and those are my top two albums of all time both personally and objectively
@@sirspiritt4687 appreciated bro!💪
MBDTF washes both
@@mrmxyzptlk8906 name the last 3 songs by memory 😂
@@EMAH669 blame game, lost in the world, and who will survive in America are the last 3 tracks on the album.
College dropout is the closest possible album to perfect for me
Would you like a actual perfect album recommendation?
One example could be drunk and hot girls off Graduation. I know it's not a skip for y'all (I skip it every time personally) but it is a highly contested song that many fans don't like. And that's probably like the only song on the album with that level of divide among the fans. & At that point, wouldn't it mean the album is not perfect? I know you guys have both said it is but if an album has a skip that's a tough call lol either way much love to you guys and the content 👊🏽👊🏽
For me personally, I determine a perfect album based on a few different factors. The most heavily weighted factor for me is track for track enjoyability, and the overall enjoyability of the album as a whole. For me if an album has perfect and enjoyable production/soundscape for the entire tracklist I’d consider it perfect even if it doesn’t have the impact, status writing, or storyline/concept that other albums might have. I do still weigh in these other factors, but I don’t have it as criteria that a perfect album must meet
Illmatic. Purple Tape. A Piece of Strange. Drogas Wave.
i didn’t start the video yet but this is my thought: this may not make sense to anyone else but me but here’s how i see ranking albums:
1. Perfect
2. Classic
3. 10/10
Not a hip hop album but an album that I'm confident to say is a perfect album is the new album from Weyes Blood called "And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow"
The marathon was kinda perfect
I feel like an album is perfect when you plan on playing a single track, and you just end up listening to the whole rest of the album because you just can't help yourself. This isn't a hip-hop or rap album, but a recent example is "De Todas Las Flores". The second Laforcade starts singing in "Vine solita" I knew this wasn't going to be like anything I'd ever heard before, and that record is one of one. My god, what a masterpiece.
Oddly specific. You can dumb it down to “an album that doesn’t have any flawed songs on it.”
@@Hs022 yeah, but it's more than that though. It's feeling like listening to King Kunta and now all of the sudden Kendrick is interviewing Tupac.
A perfect album in my opinion, is when you can't play a song without wanting to listen to the entire album. In terms of "playing without no skips"
My perfect albums:
To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick
Aethiopes - billy woods
Some Rap Songs - Earl Sweatshirt
Madvillainy - MF DOOM
Those are probably my only perfect albums tbh
"MBDTF" & "TPAB" the only perfect albums to have come out of the mainstream medium the past 15 years. (from a Hip-Hop standpoint)
There are many more
like?
@@yogicentralyt swimming, kids see ghosts...
Late Registration by kanye west is perfect in my opinion
Two albums that I don't see coming up that often on the perfect conversation but I absolutely think they are, Igor by Tyler and Taboo by Denzel... I'd die on a hill saying those are two of the greatest albums ever made
Igor is really close, but I think running out of time and I don’t love you anymore kind of hold it back, not bad there still good but don’t compare to songs like puppet, earfquake, are we still friends, what’s good etc… I also think that it’s not sonically as complete as something like mbdtf or tpab which touches on a wide array of sounds but under one style. Still I would give it like a light to decent 9
TA13OO is a 10
@@Prodbyjah464 fair, I fr should revisit Igor tho.
@@andrew_gould TA13OO IS A 11 MY GUY :)
@@mutou36 honestly valid
Off the dome, my recent perfect albums:
The forever story
Simbi
Care for me
tfs isn't perfect just yet
great video! really feel like perfect just comes down to firing to the max on all categories. concept is fully thought out if there is one. prod & mixing is arranged perfectly setting the mood for the album. the writing and performances are perfectly executed and there’s not one wack bar etc etc. that’s why even skip less albums aren’t always perfect imo bc it can just be consistently good. a perfect album shouldn’t have a single nit pick or anything that takes away from the album in its context.
To me it's more expressive, sometimes a less than stellar album will speak to me and sometimes a classic record will do nothing for me.
Gord Downie, A Secret Path, my first ever prefect album, it is sad, beautiful, amazing, all that, please go give it a listen
Nas - Illmatic
MF DOOM - Madvilliany
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Kendrick Lamar - TPAB
Weezer - The Blue Album
Childish Gambino - Because The Internet
There are more, but I don’t want to be typing for an hour
Wlr
After hours is a perfectly executed album
perfect albums for me is probably is like Late Registration, The View from Here by Futility and like Anti
kanyes skits be elevating his albums to perfect status fr
there are multiple albums that come to mind.
Kendrick’s whole discography
College Dropout
Graduation
SSLP
2014 FHD (yes i think its 10/10)
Swimming
GRODT
In the Hot 97 Tyler the creator 2021 interview he talks about reference point. For example, If ARTV doesn't think Kanye has any good albums, he's not wrong because his referance point is consumed of mostly rock & metal bands. As NFR Podcast consuming mostly rap music think Kanye has a perfect album, they're not wrong either. This is why people who consume mostly jazz might think tpab is Kendricks perfect album when most rap fans would choose Good Kid Maad City. This is also why fantano reviewing a wide variety of albums via different genres makes him the most popular music review channel. Or why Shawn Cee gets into his R&B bag Everytime mentioning anything in his top 10. It's all subjective & Referance Point.
Give me 5 years and I’ll try to make one🤞still need work tho
Forever story had no skips
To pimp a butterfly and the college dropout are the only perfect albums ik, the rest are super close
Edit: I’d now swap the college dropout for Yeezus (ik it sounds weird but that shit is perfect)
4:44 is a perfect album
a perfect album is an album i enjoy and connect with the most, plain simple. donda is my favorite album of all time cuz i love how it's a trap album (my favorite genre), yet it also has my favorite themes of self-growth, forgiveness, peace, love, etc. . there is 1 track i really don't like on it (heaven and hell), but it's still my favorite album because that 1 song is so miniscule in the grander scheme of the album for me--*everything else* is perfect *for me*
My beautiful dark twisted fantasy is the only one I can think of
It has few songs/parts of a song, that for me makes it not a perfect album.
It's an almost perfect album for me (9.5/10)
Some perfect albums (may be some hot takes) no specific order:
My beautiful dark twisted fantasy kanye
Rodeo Travis Scott
Nothing was the same Drake
None of these are perfect imo
forever story a perfect album
There something about the Baby Tate feature that makes me not want to say TFS is a perfect album for me, but it's almost a perfect album through
The Forever Story is perfect imo. Maybe it'll take some time for people to really appreciate it
Nah it’s like an 8
ya, jid is pretty underrated, best album of the year, for me strong 9
Black on both sides is the perfect hiphop album imo
Idk, it’s kinda hard cause even if an album isn’t perfect, there are some that I hold in similar regards to a perfect album. Damn by Kendrick for example, there’s a couple skips for me, but the songs that I do love are perfect tracks and I feel like those perfect tracks make up for the ones that I don’t particularly care for
What are the couple skips?
Excellent discussion. I personally mean it as "essentially perfect" because technically the YOU THINK HE TOUCHED THEN KIDS?! On tpab is a bit out of pocket but bro I'm not gonna snub it over about a second moment
Illmatic and the blueprint are the only two perfect albums in my opinion
Just wanted to ask what stopped The Forever Story from being perfect?
For me, Swimming was the last perfect album.