I have patrolled the forum, read reviews from dozens of websites, taken into consideration the awful BET Hip Hop Award candidates… And have officially listened to every album that has been tagged with Album of the Year potential (Note: I included mixtapes). I sat down and listened to them all one by one. And then I did it again, just so I can hear them all after hearing the others. And then I made a playlist with all of the songs from each album and went about my daily routines while listening (driving, working out, etc.). I have integrated each of these albums into my life over the last few weeks and based on my experiences, this is how I ranked them:

16th —

When Fish Ride Bicycles

by The Cool Kids

Proof that I don’t favor Chicago artists more! If you think The Cool Kids are good lyricists, our opinions on hip-hop differ entirely. This, to me, is rap for listeners that don’t want to have to think about the rap. I could hear this album in the background of a skate session on X Games. And I don’t like the X Games.
Favorite track: Gas Station

15th —

Lasers

by Lupe Fiasco

Fuck the man yet conform to the pop culture? Not on my watch. Lupe is a phenomenal rapper, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to listen to good rhymes over the worst production of the year. It sucks that Lupe put this out… He is such a talent, but it went to shit on this album. The only reason I put this at 15th and not 16th is because of sheer rapping ability. But it takes more than personal ability to make a reasonable Album of the Year contender.
Favorite track: All Black Everything

14th —

Blood, Sweat & Tears

by Ace Hood

When it came time to write this, I asked myself “Why the fuck is Ace Hood on here?” Hustle Hard is a good track. I like trap and I loved that beat and that hook. See Young Jeezy’s G-Mix for a better version.
Favorite track: Hustle Hard

13th —

I’m Gay

by Lil B

The album is an attempt at being more serious. The guy isn’t much of a lyricist and the themes are a bit rehashed at this point. I prefer Lil B being sarcastic. On the other hand, production isn’t bad. Was that a Goo Goo Dolls sample?! If Lil B is a really good rapper, I haven’t heard it yet. But at times, I think that’s intentional. If he upped his skill level, would he be as much of a hot topic? Lil B is a smart guy; the gimmick here is the drama, and he knows it.
Favorite track: (none)

12th —

Rolling Papers

by Wiz Khalifa

Let’s get this out of the way: I do not smoke pot. With that said, this album isn’t all I hear it’s cracked up to be (not that I’ve heard people on here praise it). It makes sense that this is nominated for “CD of the Year” at the BET Hip-Hop Awards. It’s catchy, it’s cheesy, it’s average, I do not like Roll Up.
Favorite track: On my Level

11th –

Tha Charter IV

by Lil Wayne

If I liked anything on Tha Carter IV, I forgot about it already. This album is so average it hurts. Wayne has fallen off and I’ve lost interest in his attempt at climbing back up; if that’s even what he’s doing… How to Hate is a miserable song.
Favorite track: 6 foot 7 foot

10th –

Goblin

by Tyler, the Creator

Same deal as Return of 4Eva, I liked it — didn’t love it. There were some verses that I liked a lot. I smiled a few times at some of the lines, but that isn’t enough to be my Album of the Year. Bastard was better. Tyler must have not given a shit about production, because Goblin didn’t have anything noteworthy. Maybe that was intentional, to sound even more sloppy.
Favorite track: Nightmare

9th —

Watch the Throne

by Jay Z and Kanye West

The production outweighed the talent. Better than most, but in the larger picture, it was a bit of a let down. Niggas in Paris is an incredible beat. That shit cray. Lyrical content was rather bland on the majority of the album, per usual, Kanye and Jay Z convincing us of their popularity. A number of tracks had a good theme behind them, but nothing to write home about. Lift Off was such a scam!
Favorite track: Niggas in Paris

8th –

The Eleven One Eleven Theory

by Wale

Wale is slowly becoming my favorite rapper. He has an addicting flow and a calm demeanor that I find truly appealing. The diss on Harold’s though… WOW does that strike a nerve. That aside, I am patiently waiting for November so we can get an actual Wale album. Not a bad mixtape by any means, but falls behind a few others released this year, which ended up higher on my list. (Or further down? It is a countdown).
Favorite track: Passive Aggres-Her

7th –

Shaolin vs Wu Tang

by Raekwon

A bunch of tracks that sound like RZA production but… Zero RZA production…? What I get from this is that the only reason people throw this album into the Album of the Year discussion is the fact that it’s related to Wu Tang. Decent production, poor features, average flows make this album forgettable, not Album of the Year.
Favorite track: Snake Pond

6th –

Hell: The Sequel

by Bad Meets Evil

What I love about this album is that it is obvious that Eminem and Royce are driving each other to go harder, and be better. I MUST give props to Royce for the line: “She said I’m feeling your whole swagger and flow, can we hook up? I said, umm, you just used the word swagger, so no” There were a lot of good tracks, choosing a favorite was tricky. But I’m not a Stan, so this release falls short of Album of the Year.
Favorite track: The Reunion

5th –

Oneirology

by CunninLynguists

Oneirology has wonderful production, tricky and awesome flows and an overall wonderful release. Does anyone know if this was a concept album? The album definitely has an atmosphere to it that is enjoyable. What’s holding me back from giving this my Album of the Year title, is that it’s just not pushing me. I’m not feeling anything once it’s over.
Favorite track: Murder

4th-

Return of 4Eva

by Big K.R.I.T.

Not necessarily breaking the mold of Southern Rap, but there is definitely something about him that separates him from the rest. K.R.I.T. produced the thing himself, which is fucking awesome. It may not be the best production of the year, but doing it all himself, raises the bar. Overall, this is a very good release. And you get the feel that something bigger is coming.
Favorite track: Lions and Lambs

3rd –

Section.80

by Kendrick Lamar

Bringing the West back one track at a time! Damned good production, a couple below average hooks, but Lamar’s talent is obvious and this album really shows that there is going to be more to come. I personally think that this guy’s future is going to be awesome. It was a tough call for me to put this ahead of Big K.R.I.T.’s Return of 4Eva; both have the same end result for me, which is rappers with a stellar release and being on the verge of greatness.
Favorite track: Rigamortus

2nd –

R.E.D. Album

by Game

Game is one of my favorite rappers, so I’m naturally going to give him the benefit of the doubt in most cases. So I turned to a couple of other people for their opinions on tracks that I thought were really good — this way I didn’t overgrade. That said, I had a lot of ‘favorite tracks’ and choosing one was a little difficult.
Favorite track: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

1st —

All 6’s and 7’s

by Tech N9ne

I’ve been developing, editing, and studying this entire project since I signed up to Rap Genius (just over a month). And about halfway through my experiment here, my opinion on what my Album of the Year was had shifted. I was convinced that Game’s R.E.D. Album was the winner, but shit! Tech N9ne got me. Now I have never been much of a Tech N9ne fan, for his relation to the ICP crowd, and then I heard a lot of positive things about this album. And I couldn’t agree more. This shit is good. Somehow I ended up buying (that’s goddamned right. I bought all of these albums) the Super Deluxe Edition with 31 tracks. So I had quite a lot of listening to do. Not once did I get tired of it.
Favorite track: Cult Leader

And do remember, this is my opinion. I am not a professional critic and how I rank them means nothing. I would appreciate if the only people that want to actually discuss my results were ones that also have listened to, hopefully, all of the albums as well. And if you’re going to sell yourself short and listen to only one or two of the albums, please explain your opinion; I don’t care that you love Eminem so you automatically think Bad Meets Evil is the best release this year. Now I do understand that 2011 isn’t over and there are a few albums that are scheduled to get released by the end of the year, but hell, we’ll get to talk about it all over again then!
(Note: The album/mixtape had to be released in 2011 for me to care, so eat shit Friday Night Lights and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, you’re 2010)

Very good, I agree with you on 1#, but you don’t have to be a Stan to have HTS higher on the list.

I would love to see you do a review of All 6’s and 7’s. I loved that album, and I agree on it being the best of the year. Even though I haven’t listened to them all.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy will win the Grammy for said category though.

@ iRod

Get out.

6x hates me :(

There are several projects significantly better than Tha Carter IV and Rolling Papers. Such as Elmatic, Zero Heros, The Soul Tape, Fear of God, Covert Coup, Return to the Winner’s Circle, Weekend at Burnie’s, Verde Terrace, Childish Gambino’s EP, and hell, even Finally Famous and Best Day Ever are better than at least Tha Carter IV.

However, if your main criteria is that it must have “Album of the Year” potential, then I understand why you left out all the ones I mentioned, since none of them have been nominated for album of the year. I just know they are all better than some of the albums on your list.

All that being said, I agree with your top 10, and your bold number one choice. I didn’t see All 6s and 7s being number one, but it makes complete sense. It is a very good album.

I think you did a great job with this. It clearly took a lot of work and time.

@Nolan

That statement was meant to be taken as: Only a Stan would call this Album of the Year

Is this supposed to be like a general list? Or are these supposed to be the Albums of the Year

editor’s beware: 6x outformats your ass 10 to 1

good list. I would have went with RED

Great list, although the lack of ELmatic is slowly killing me inside. Other than that it’s pretty good just not the order I put it in.

Great list. And I agree with Viktor, definitely needs Elmatic up there. One of my favorite releases from this year

This is the first time I’ve seen/heard anyone mention ELmatic referred to as Album of the Year.

I would love to do a full review of 6’s and 7’s.

If you have done a review of any of the above albums, please feel free to post a link to it.

Nightmare was your fav track on goblin?????You must not have liked the album

I havent heard any website refer to Elmatic as an AOTY contender either, but either way it is one of the best things I have heard all year.

@6xPlatinum Ahh you’re right, my bad. I forgot these were only known AOTY contenders. I take back my statement about you killing me slowly inside.

@6x, got you bro. One other thing is, I wouldn’t have put Blood, Sweat and Tears on the list. While the beats were pretty good, nothing else was special, and all the songs sorta sounded the same.

If this is AOTY candidates and not just a listing, why the hell is Ace Hood and Rolling Papers up there and not other stuff of the same level like Finally Famous

@Nolan

Definitely agree, which is why a painfully average album like Carter IV is above it. But I read an article on the top 5 releases of the summer, which noted Blood, Sweat & Tears as the Trap Album of the Year because of the song Hustle Hard. I don’t discriminate, Trap has a right to be on my list, I can’t promise it will do so hot.

It seems as if my formatting is being praised more than my actual writing, haha.

Because you could have put Soulja Boy as the best album for all people care, they just love your formatting

All of the albums I’ve listed have been mentioned somewhere by someone as Album of the Year or Best of 2011, etc. So Big Sean’s Finally Famous is the same as ELmatic to me… I haven’t heard or read anything about them as a valid Album of the Year contender. You are the first person to have mentioned Finally Famous that I’ve came across.

So how the fuck does Rolling Papers qualify?!?!?

If you considered the BET list, and that’s where you got Rolling Papers from, then why didn’t you include Finally Famous

Man, I really don’t want to be a dick. But are you reading anything I have written?

http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=146009

I’ll tell you what…

You can do copy everything I’ve done here and input Big Sean’s Finally Famous as you see fit.

Thank you. I feel better now.

Return of 4ever and Elmatic aren’t albums. If you include mixtapes, Elmatic needs to be up there. I guess I’m the only one who hates this list. Watch the Throne, Goblin, When Fish Ride Bicycles, and Hell: THe Sequel are all WAY too far back, and no list needs Lasers, I’m Gay, and especially not Rolling Papers. Might as well have put Finally Famous on if you’re gonna do that

I don’t think Blood Sweat and Tears is AOTY quality either… am I the only one who thinks “Go ‘N’ Get It” sounds exactly like Hustle Hard? But hey, your opinion, your hot wings

In my intro I said that I was including mixtapes. I’ve also said that I’ve only included releases that were referred to as Album of the Year.

Please read what I wrote. Don’t just come in here and disagree with the list, say what albums you liked and not explain anything about them.

And dude, you are the only person I came across that called When Fish Ride Bicycles an Album of the Year contender, and I included it because you said it. That album was nothing impressive. Whatsoever. This was the most accurate review I found of the album: http://www.noripcord.com/reviews/music/cool-kids/when-fish-ride-bicycles

Why is Hell: The Sequel higher on your list? What on Watch the Throne made it better to you? How was Goblin better than Eleven One Eleven Theory?

ACE HOOD!?!?? i dont even care if hell the sequel isnt higher, if i ever see the person who said blood sweat and tears was album of the year i would slap them acrows the face

How’d you get up to 0?

As he said its his list with his opinions but honestly how can you put the carter 4 ahead of lasers? Even if the production of the album is good there must be something you really hated about Lasers to put it so low.

Rolling Papers > Cool Kids and Lil B!?! Fuck no.

EXPLAIN

You’d think an Editor would take the initiative to. Or in the very least, read what I wrote so you can make a reasonable retort.

You put RED over oneirology?
LOL.. wow. i thought the RED album was pretty bad tbh

Best is Oneirology > All 6s and 7s > bad meets evil > section 80 > Return of 4eva

Imo.

But also if you’re including Mixtapes!

eLZHI’s Elmatic would blow everything up there COMPLETELy out of the water.. same with Los’s Worth the wait

then the list would go,

Elmatic > Worth The Wait > Oneirology > All 6s and 7s > bad meets evil > section 80 > Return of 4eva

easily

Oh shit forgot XV’s Zero Heroes too.. that was amazing work, like an album tbh

List goes:

Elmatic > Worth The Wait > Zero Heros > Oneirology > All 6s and 7s > Bad meets evil: Hell the sequel > Section 80 > Return of 4eva

I take the time to attempt to improve this site, study music, write out explanations and quick reviews, link pictures, lyrics and reviews, give my opinion then ask everyone for theirs… In return you come in here, downvote my work, disregard what I’ve requested everyone to do, type out some half-illiterate response littered with internet slang telling me that I’m wrong and offer zero explanation as to why.

You expect me to agree with you? Disagree with me! But be intelligent about it; otherwise, your opinion is meaningless.

Argument A)
“I like chocolate because it has a classic, sweet taste that a lot of people are comfortable with.”

Argument B)
“lol choclat sucks, fuck that, strawbary PERIOD.”

My bad bro. I just didn’t like Rolling Papers at ALL. I downloaded it and then deleted it after like 3 rotations. :/ I guess its just a matter of personal preference, I can’t really explain it. I just don’t like it.

At the end of the day, everyone will have a different opinion on who is better.

Just gonna keep my mouth shut about HTS lol..
But I think WTT could have been on a 8th or 7th.. The beats are great, and yes, it’s not the best ever made by Jay or Kanye, but it’s a really good album. Some of the tracks were ehh, but then when they had a good track it was AMAZING, in my opinion.

Excellent job 6x, thats some Editor swag to tha fifth right thurr

Now, how many of you who are bitching about his list has acutally listened to each and every of the albums and mixtapes listed? Im not talking about a few songs off each, but the albums in their entirety?

Didnt think so :-o)

I have ^ and most of the mixtapes this year, that’s why i made a list as well

Haha, thank you Habba. However I am not an Editor. But again, thank you for actually reading what I wrote.

Who can say that they’ve listened to each of these releases at least once? I really believe that to develop a true opinion of something takes repetitiveness. It’s a principle that I would apply to most of everything, like skiing. You can’t try it once, give up because you didn’t get the hang of it and then tell everyone that skiing is awful, there are tons of things better. You didn’t even give it a true shot. You didn’t try… The same thing goes for listening to music. Sure there are things out there that you aren’t interested in that you only need to give one listen, like Miley Cyrus. But this thread isn’t about Miley Cyrus or a genre that is miserable. This is Hip-Hop. You can’t convince someone that you know Hip-Hop if you listened to 5% of whats out there.

@Ballaticianaire I almost competely agree with that list. I’d personally put Oneirology 2nd cause that album is so sick. But otherwise I wouldn’t change a thing.

I’ll probably end up making this a blog post for the website, I’ll take off the rankings/ratings and incorporate ELmatic obviously, along with Worth the Wait. As just an informative article about the top albums of the year.

Suggestions?

Expand it to twenty, include mixtapes, and include recommendations (“x” people will like “y” because of “z”).

*Anybody who thinks that HTS is #1 material is kidding themselves. The punchlines don’t hit hard, the beats are mediocre, the material is schizophrenic — the whole album is only worth listening to because of Em’s and Royce’s pure technical skill.

I loved All 6’s And 7’s. One of my favorite albums of all time(listening to it right now BTW)
Th RED Album was great too.

I agree with you on those 2