So I have been a fan of Eminem the last 3 years and i have pretty much listened to his every song. I wanted to give you guys a little insight on my opinion of his best albums.
9. Infinite
Infinite was Eminem polishing his lyrical ability while attempting to find his own style. People were comparing him with Nas and AZ. As Eminem says: "No rapper wants to be told he sounds like this guy or that guy. Even if that guy is Nas."
Infinite is not a bad album at all considering the quality of production. Most copies were sold by Marshall out of the trunk of his car.
In my opinion, the best track on this album is actually called Infinite. Infinite is very drum heavy, and the melody is very minimalistic because that was the current era of hip hop. This was all before the Slim Shady persona. Before being on a major label. Before meeting Dr Dre. Before My name is etc...
The 90s era was purely about lyricism, abstract ideas and content. It was all about showcasing your vocabulary, and that's why Eminem used a lot of "big words".
A lot of things were said simply because they sounded beautiful. This is a quote from Eminems book: "That was the 95-96,the era of just rhyming for the hell of it".
Top 3 songs:
- Infinite
- 313
- It's OK
8. Revival
In my opinion in Revival, Eminem is adressing the insecurities that have piled up over the last couple of years. Revival starts off with the song Walk On Water. It is about how he set such a high standard and how it increasingly gets harder to reach it. This album is often criticized about being to political, and I agree to an extent. I think he went a little bit overboard when he said that he doesn't see you as a true fan if you support Trump. He dedicated a whole song to Trump - Like Home. He calls out Trump on all the bad things he's done and insults him with some funny lines. Em also called Trump a Nazi, so yeah...
While I was listening this album, I was like: "Wow this is a pretty mediocre album." But then I heard the last two songs, Castle and Arose. Castle is a song dedicated to his daughter Hailie. It tells the story of his thoughts on how he was going to raise her from before she was born and during her childhood years. In the third verse Em talks about how he shouldn't have exposed Hailey in the spotlight. In the song 97 Bonnie and Clyde Em talks about killing his wife Kim, and he used Haileys vocals in the song while she was a baby.
Arose. is a detailed description of how he nearly died in 2007 due to an overdose on pills. He talks about all the things he would have missed if he died that day. At the end of the song, the beat comes back to "Castle", where he is grateful for staying alive. He then reminds us, listeners" that all of this happened ten years ago and he's released several albums since.
7. Encore
Encore album is considered as Eminems point of downfall in his career, especially because the album previous to this one "The Eminem Show" is considered one of the best if not the best album he has ever created.
On Encore Eminem delves into few subjects such as:
- Relationship with his ex-wife Kim
- Relationship with his parents
- His childhood
- His daughter Hailey
Later on in his career he said it himself that he didn't like how the album came out to be. While the album was in the making, Eminem got addicted to prescription drugs(mostly valium). Many belive that that is the reason why the album wasn't up to his standard.
Top 3 songs:
- Like Toy Soldiers
- Mockingbird
- Yellow Brick Road
6. Relapse
Relapse is Eminems first album after nearly 5 years. The reason he took such a long break is because of his addiction(Ambien, Vicodin, Valium, NyQuil). Eminem had a problem and he was aware of it. In Relapse he decided to adress it.
In the song "Déjà Vu" Eminem talks about what has been happening with him over the years: addiction, rehab, overdoses, ambulances... Some people said that they never heard a song describe addiction so well. He then continues to blame his mom for his drug addiction on a song called "My mom" . He also talked about child molestation.
Eminems favourite song on the album is: "Beautiful".
"There’s only one song on the record that I produced. It’s a track called Beautiful, and one of the only reasons that I put that track on there is that I feel like it’s the best song out of that batch that I did when I wasn’t sober. At the time I felt like, ’This is it for me.’ I wrote the first verse and a half in rehab, and when I came out, I finished it. It was the only song that marks that period without bringing me back to that place. Every other track not only didn’t fit with the album, but when I listened to it, it would bring up bad memories."
At it’s core, this is a song about depression, but by the end of the track, Eminem expresses optimism and hope for the future.
Top 3 songs:
- Déjà Vu
- Beautiful
- 3 a.m.
5. Recovery
The album opener is "Cold Wind Blows" and it's probably the closest Eminem came to the Slim Shady/Marshall Mathers LP terittory at the time."Motherfucker, I’ll show you pussy footin’ / I’ll kick a bitch in the cunt till it makes her queef / And sounds like a fuckin’ whoopee cushion / Who the fuck is you pushin’?".
In the song Not Afraid Eminem says how he's aware that Relapse wasn't his greatest work.
"Let’s be honest that last Relapse CD was ehhhh/Perhaps I ran them accents into the ground/Relax, I ain’t going back to that now".
He then apologises again in the song Talking 2 Myself:
"This time around it’s different/them last two albums didn’t count/Encore I was on drugs, Relapse I was flushing em out/I’ve come up to make it up to you no more fucking around/I’ve got something to prove to fans I feel like I let em down/So please accept my apology/I finally feel like I’m back to normal."
A lot of songs on this album are poppy(Not Afraid, No Love, Love The Way You Lie) but that doesn't mean they are bad.
Top 3 songs:
- Not Afraid
- Cold Wind Blows
- Talking 2 Myself
4. Marshall Mathers LP2
MMLP2 is a sequel to arguably his best album. Accordingly, he basically lived in the studio and, as he told Rolling Stone, he worked hardest he did in the last 10 years. The song Bad Guy is a sequel to Stan. It follows the perspective of Stans little brother. He is blaming Eminem for his death.
Headlights is a song where Eminem apologizes to his mother and all the awful things he said about her. You can hear the song is genuine and comes from Eminems heart. This song is basically about Eminems bad foresight
Rap God is a song where Eminem brags about how he is "Rap God" and nobody comes close to him. The song starts of with "I'm beginnin' to feel like a Rap God, Rap God". This is what he had to say about that line:
"The hook was the first phrase I thought of when I heard the track. I thought “Okay, this has something to it and might be catchy but — I’m a “rap god”? Why? If I’m going to say that, I need to validate that."
He then says how the theme of the song is that rapping is all he knows to do, exept that he can play a little bit of basketball.
Sure the MMLP2 isn't nowhere near its predecessor, but it's a great album nonetheless.
Top 3 songs:
- Rap God
- Headlights
- The Monster
3. The Eminem Show
Since "The Marshall Mathers LP" went diamond, Em could've stuck to the horror theme and dropped another hit album. But this album means more. It's about everything he went through. His beefs, problems with his wife, and even victories. It's all on here. He talks a lot about how the rap game wouldn't be the same without him.
Top 3 songs:
- Sing For The Moment
- Without Me
- Soldier
2. The Slim Shady LP
The Slim Shady LP is where his insane alter-ego Slim Shady was born. It was a genius idea because it gave him the excuse to diss whoever he wanted to. Dr. Dre risked a lot by signing Eminemt directly from Rap Olympics, but Eminem showed up, rapping over some vintage Dre beats. Given the fact that this is his actual debut album Eminem delivered a hell of a first impression. It had some flaws but he cleared them up by his next album (Marshall Mathers LP) the following year .This album caused a lot of controversy. Especially songs "My Name Is" and "Role Model". In "Role Model" he is talking to the parents. He talks about how he isn't a person that is supposed to be a role model, and talks about all the bad things he's done.
Top 3 songs:
- Rock Bottom
- Role Model
- My Name is
1. The Marshall Mathers LP
"The Marshall Mathers LP" is basically the extension to "The Slim Shady LP". It's where he truly embraces the Slim Shady persona. The album is incredibly controversial, violent and has a lot of gore, but that's what makes it amazing. All of the violent, mysoginystic and homophobic rants on this album are just on here to mock politicians, critics... The beats are simple but they are really good. They are dark, moody and really set the tone.
Top 3 songs:
- Kill You
- Stan
- The Real Slim Shady
This is all just my opinion. Feel free to discuss the list in the comments. :)
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Lol
that's a pretty full on review for someone who has only been listening to the music for 3 years. Marshall is one of the poets of his generation and he packs so much in. sOme of his music is great, some is downright awful. I went off him until I saw his recent work. He is a masterclass in rhyme and reason. 8 mile is hard
Thank you! :) He really is one of, if not the best rapper to ever grace the planet earth.
he's certainly up there. standing on the shoulders of some giants and with full respect to a number of amazing rap artists who came before him. but nonetheless, he is a very talented poet and I really like his honesty, courage and ability to speak about subjects, both political and philosophical, not just how big he thinks his balls are, which I imagine have grown somewhat over the couple of last decades.
Completely agree
I fully agree with your ranking of Em's catalog. Eminem has a wide range and is extremely versatile as is evident in his discography.
I noticed you didn't include revival? Maybe because it's still too new lol.
Thank you for this!
Thank you, I honestly have no idea why I didn't include Revival. I'll probably edit it today. :)
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