[troutman]

For my final pick I select in the Hip-Hop Category, STANKONIA by OUTKAST (2000):




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stankonia

Stankonia is a hip-hop album by OutKast, released by La Face Records (a subcorporation of Arista Records, BMG) on October 31, 2000. The album reached number 2 on the Billboard 200 chart , selling over 530,000 copies the first week of its release. It was critically well-received, obtaining high marks from publications such as Rolling Stone and The Onion. It was also voted as the best album of the year in The Village VoicePazz & Jop critics poll and it was ranked 23 in Spin's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005". In 2003, the album was ranked number 359 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2006, Time magazine named Stankonia as one of the 100 best albums of all time.[1]

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...0:3fpsa9qgl23g

Stankonia was OutKast's second straight masterstroke, an album just as ambitious, just as all-over-the-map, and even hookier than its predecessor. With producers Organized Noize playing a diminished role, Stankonia reclaims the duo's futuristic bent. Keyboardist/producer Earthtone III helms most of the backing tracks, and while the live-performance approach is still present, there's more reliance on programmed percussion, otherworldly synthesizers, and surreal sound effects. Yet the results are surprisingly warm and soulful, a trippy sort of techno-psychedelic funk. Every repeat listen seems to uncover some new element in the mix, but most of the songs have such memorable hooks that it's easy to stay diverted. The immediate dividends include two of 2000's best singles: "B.O.B." is the fastest of several tracks built on jittery drum'n'bass rhythms, but Andre and Big Boi keep up with awe-inspiring effortlessness. "Ms. Jackson," meanwhile, is an anguished plea directed at the mother of the mother of an out-of-wedlock child, tinged with regret, bitterness, and affection. Its sensitivity and social awareness are echoed in varying proportions elsewhere, from the Public Enemy-style rant "Gasoline Dreams" to the heartbreaking suicide tale "Toilet Tisha." But the group also returns to its roots for some of the most testosterone-drenched material since their debut. Then again, OutKast doesn't take its posturing too seriously, which is why they can portray women holding their own, or make bizarre boasts about being "So Fresh, So Clean." Given the variety of moods, it helps that the album is broken up by brief, usually humorous interludes, which serve as a sort of reset button. It takes a few listens to pull everything together, but given the immense scope, it's striking how few weak tracks there are. It's no wonder Stankonia consolidated OutKast's status as critics' darlings, and began attracting broad new audiences: its across-the-board appeal and ambition overshadowed nearly every other pop album released in 2000.

Ms. Jackson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiguFcoKyyk

So Fresh, So Clean