CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Licensed to Ill

by: Beastie Boys

Release Date March 28, 1995
When examining the over-the-top gangsta posturing of mainstream hip-hop in the past 15 years, it's easy to see why some cats neglect to pay homage to one of the golden age's finest. This album single-handedly popularized hip-hop in all aspects of mainstream music, as it was the first #1 album in hip-hop history. Rick Rubin's uncanny mix of old school party beats over highly memorable rock samples is one of the most copied formulas in hip-hop history. It stands as some of Rubin's most memorable and excellent production ever. The production isn't the only reason this album was as wildly successful as it was. King Ad-Rock, MCA, and Mike D were three of the most relatable emcee's in history. They were a tight-knit crew of white party-loving fratboy ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Paul's Boutique

by: Beastie Boys

Release Date July 19, 1989
Respect to the Beasties for the courage to grow up. That said, however, this, their second album, was their creative zenith, at least as a straight hip hop crew. I'm obssessed with the song "high plains drifter" and am going to, at some point in my life, try everything mentioned in the song. I've already spent a night at the motel 6.....

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Check Your Head

by: Beastie Boys

Release Date April 21, 1992
You probally wouldn't expect much from The Beastie Boys after releasing Paul's Boutique. After all, it pretty much was a king of sampling, and there's no real way to top that album, especially since sampling wasn't going too well after the album being released. So instead of panicking, The Beastie Boys decided to employ their own beats more, and add some of their early rock influence, and live funk courtesy of keyboards.

It works, extremely well. Whether Mike D (that's my guess, since he usually played drums) or a sample was backing the beat, I can't help but feel this may be the most organic rap album as far as beats, always heavy, funky, great. Oh, and there's the percussion too. They still sample, but it's not very dominated ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Ill Communication

by: Beastie Boys

Release Date May 31, 1994
Out of the five original albums, the golden years, this stands as being their second worst. It's got plenty of cool tracks, but some of the tracks aren't great either. There isn't many horrible songs on this album besides Sabatoge (which sucks), but songs like Do It, The Scoop (?), Ricky's Theme, these songs just aren't up to snuff, and forgettable. I won't waste your time explaining ever single ________ detail or how they changed their sound They definitely, however, added more though, they tried new things and made plenty of cool experiments and new styles. Just trust me on that one. Track listing time (______!).

1.Sure Shot-They don't fail with this one. Great flute sample, and the beat is great and heavy.
2.Tough Guy-Nice ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Solid Gold Hits

by: Beastie Boys

Release Date November 08, 2005
Great cd compilation of the original Brooklyn white-boy rappers. This cd has all of their hits, establishing them as one of the original Def Jam, old-school rappers. I love how they included other non-typical hip-hop instruments into their tracks such as rock guitar riffs.
A must in any one's hip-hop/rap collection.
Definitely your money's worth.
JA

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Hello Nasty

by: Beastie Boys

Release Date July 14, 1998
This doesn't hold a candle to Check Your Head or Paul's Boutique. There are some decent tracks, but lyrically this was a huge slide for them. It just sounds forced and there is a lot of mediocre filler...

Buy one of those two albums first (CYH or PB), then get Ill Communication and Licensed to Ill. This album is better than 5 boroughs but thats about it...

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

The Mix-Up

by: Beastie Boys

Release Date June 26, 2007
This is an all instrumental album by the Beastie Boys. It won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Despite that fact, it's not really a "pop" album, it's a funk album. Almost all of these funk instrumentals are about three and a half minutes long. They are pretty good instrumentals, although the Beastie Boys aren't the best funk instrumentalists of all time. If you take it for what it is, it's pretty enjoyable.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

The In Sound from Way Out!

by: Beastie Boys

Release Date April 02, 1996
if you put a modeski, martin & wood cd in a blender with 6 cups of water, this is what it would sound like.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

To the 5 Boroughs

by: Beastie Boys

Release Date June 15, 2004
The Beastie Boys came totally correct with this album. As one of the few artists who can create a whole new sound for themselves and still sound good, the Beastie Boys created another hip-hop masterpiece.

The production on this album is very stripped down and unique. It's clearly inspired by old school 808 beats (which we all know the Beastie Boys love). There is no heavy sampling, no heavy bass and no punk elements as you might expect. Instead we get some really catchy , up beat productions, with a truly unique sound.

The rapping is surprisingly good considering it's done by almost 40 year old white guys. The three exchange verses with ease and complement the beats perfectly. MCA sounds very raspy on the album, but it actually sounds great. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

The Sounds of Science

by: The Beastie Boys

Release Date November 23, 1999
I don't really have any other Beastie Boys but this is a great anthology. The songs are wonderful and have a great beat. I love this compilation