Which album do you guys think is better? At first I thought it was a definite win for Ghost, but that Blueprint just gets better with age. I don't know now.

http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=65144

Supreme Clientle>Blueprint IMO. The article is interesing and I think it's central point, that mainstream music critics view Jay-Z as the #1 greatest rap artist of the last two decades/all-tim is hard to dipsute. Any time you see a list with mainly rock records from a mainstream publication they will usually throw in a Jay Z record somewhere in the top 20 just for relevancy. Many of the people who write for these mainstream/old guard music press publications are just dinosaurs who don't know/care about any of the emerging trends in music until they become too big to ignore. They are simply good networkers who can regurtiate a press release with style. Look at all the top decade lists coming out and think of how many have overlap in the 80-90% range. Pitchfork and blog hype has become the dominant way in which music is discovered and understood. Independent critics and tastemakers are getting lost in the shuffle or just relegated to niche markets.

/end rant.

I dont even have Blueprint. I used to be anti-Jay back in the day. So in that showdown Im takin Supreme all the way.

Last couple of weeks ive been mentally compiling my favourite hiphop albums of the decade... Supreme Clientele is top 5  but not number 1.

Blueprint. More definitive of a time/era and as stated earlier, gets better with age. There's narrative on Blueprint songs. 

Don't get me wrong, I love Ghost. But really Supreme Clientele is Fishscale is just Ghost using clever lyrics to talk about nothing. Does anyone really understand what he is talking about if its not about sex??

Agurred, Trinity. Ghost's narratives were and are convoluted to the point where they often lose any sense of actually telling a story. He has some crazy lines, but even Lil Wayne's bizarre shit usually is making a point. Often Ghost plays with words to the point where it doesn't mean anything anymore. RZA's beats are very good, but I'm a pop-rap guy production-wise and classic Ye, Timbaland before he became a hack and Just Blaze being as awesome as usual give Blueprint the edge in that category, as well.

Then again, I'm riding Jay's crotch (except the new album, wtf Shawn?) and have never much cared for Ghost, so it's not like I'm coming from an unbiased perspective here.

I don't know how either of you clowns could be qualified to talk here. Listen to Shakey Dog; that shit is like street reporting; it just doesn't have a good chorus like Big Pimping.

Supreme Clientele > Fischscale > Lord Willin' > Blueprint

Supreme Clientele > Reasonable Doubt > Fishscale > Blueprint > Bulletproof Wallets

Jay's best work was reasonable doubt,, Takeover, Heart of the city, never change and renegade are all sweet tracks, but on reasonable doubt there isn't even room to breath.

Honestly if you cant reckognize Ghost as one of the best story tellers in the game... your not listening. 

Andross already covered the expert execution on Shakey Dog but also;  Beauty Jackson, Whip you with a strap, Underwater... all stories that explore themes outside the realms of the tired poppin crys rollin with money raps. Ghost has got diversity in subject matter that only a master story teller posseses.

Again I dont even have Blueprint so Im Ghost by default. But for someone to say Ghost uses clever lyrics to talk about nothing...?  Your ears obviously cant process hip hop if it hasnt been dumbed down and polished for the airwaves. If the only thing you can digest is candy raps and bubble gum beats, than you shouldnt be in a hip hop thread pretending like you know whats up.

Fishscale > Supreme Clientele

(Im a story rhyme junkie. And I still think Fishscale had smoother and more compelling stoires than Supreme)

"Supreme Clientele > Reasonable Doubt > Fishscale > Blueprint > Bulletproof Wallets"

I totally agree with this assesment!

Gotta add to the chorus in defense of Ghost's storytelling skills. Once you get inside his rhymes it's pretty amazing. He's also just more creative/interesting/crazier than Jay.

My point wasn't that Ghost doesn't have storytelling skills. My point was that he gets convoluted in his own wordplay. Okay, sure, backstory on people in the "Shakey Dog" apartment is cool, but is there a point to us knowing about the seventy-seven year old's history? I suppose you could argue that he's trying to set the scene of the building, but just the fact that he's busting in on some drug dealers with gats effectively does that.

Also, to imply that "candy raps and bubble gum beats" aren't a worthwhile part of hip-hop is pretty ignorant. There's an art to a memorable, jubilant rap chorus just as there's an art to insane internal rhyme schemes. To discredit one because you favor the other is, well, stupid. "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" is an amazing track specifically BECAUSE of its "bubble gum beat."

It's why I prefer Blueprint to Reasonable Doubt, too. Jay's debut was more raw in sound, and more energetic. "No room to breathe" is a good way to put it. But there's something impressive to me about blase confidence that Blueprint projects. It's like Jigga feels like he doesn't need to fill up every available space to get his point across.

Regardless, I think we can all agree that Built 4 Cuban Linx II is the best hip-hop record this year.

And my point was Blueprint > Everything Ghost has done, except for Ironman (that's still my favorite Ghost album). And I don't care what anyone says I stand by it.

And for the record I grew up in the 80-90's listening to nothing but hip-hop. REAL hip-hop before it became commercial and generic for mass consumption. Rakim, Public Enemy, KRS and Boogie Down, EPMD, the Native Tongue movement, I was once given detention for brining a NWA tape to school. And in my teens no words could describe how much I loved Wu-Tang. Liquid Swords and Gravediggaz' 6 Feet Deep will both forever remain ranked among my all-time favorite albums! But as I got older I learned to appreciate someone like Jay-Z who has mastery lyrical skill and is able to bring that into the mainstream ("commercial") side of hip-hop. And that is why I love Blueprint.

For the record Part II... Reasonable Doubt is my pick for Jay's best. 

For the record Part III: The Search for Spock... While I liked Cuban Linx II, my favorite hip-hop album of the year came from Mos Def, The Ecstatic. 

Yo-

Both y'all still wack.