(I'll have separate album and mixtape lists at the end of the year)
R.A.P. 0Music - 9/10 One of the best hip hop albums in years. Perfect production great rhymes
Russian Roulette - 9/10 Best album from a producer in ages. This is Alchemist's opus, and thankfully the rappers don't fuck it up
Grief Pedigree 8/10 - No flash just dope rhymes, flows, and gritty NY production
Life Is Good 8/10 - The god's best album in more than a decade. Solid production, amazing rhymes
Stoned Immaculate 8/10- Glossier than previous efforts but still the same solid product from Spitta
Blue Chips - 8/10 - Another solid project from Bronson, and the production is a welcome departure from some of his previous stuff
Cigarette Boats - 8/10 All I'm gonna say is that we need a full project from these two
1999 - 7/10 Very good project from quite an exciting new comer
Respect The Fly Shit - 7/10 Gritty NY shit to the bone. I'm glad Meyhem is getting the love he deserves from fans and producers
HnC - 7/10 Arguably the most hype release of the year. Pure energy
People Hear What They See - 7/10 Oddisee has greatly improved as a rapper and the production is still dope
Straight, No Chaser 7/10 Another solid Reks release, although I like last year's album more. One of the best flows in rap
GFID - 7/10 - Disappointing, but the return to Deeper Than Rap's lush production is a welcome departure from repetitive bass anthem
C4C 7/10 - El-p's rhyme patterns are a bit too odd, but the industrial electronic production is dope
LFTU 5/10 - Biggest disappointment of the year. Nearly impossible for me to reconsider
Albums I need to reconsider: Ab-Soul's album as well as the OC & Apollo Brown album. Oh and the new Gangrene album