Beastie Boys
Discography
Licensed to Ill (1986) - They started off as a punk rock band on their first two EPs.
Licensed is their first mainstream foray in hip hop and includes some of their more well known songs.
B
Paul's Boutique (1989) - This is their landmark album. What they did with sampling has been done since and better, but this is certainly the benchmark for hip hop albums. Thanks to our court system, you will not hear a mainstream album like this ever again.
A
Check Your Head (1992) - Along with their two prior albums, this album showed no drastic drop in quality, which I find rare.
B-
Ill Communication (1994) - Their best post Paul's Boutique album. Great production, solid rhymes.
A-
The In Sound From Way Out! (1996)
Hello Nasty (1998) - Another solid album with stand out tracks like Intergalactic and Body Movin'.
B
To the 5 Boroughs (2004) - After 6 years I would have expected more from them. Definitely a let down.
C-
The Mix-Up (2007) Definitely a departure from any of their previous work. What kind of mainstream hip hop group releases an instrumental album? It works though. It has a bit of a Curtis Mayfield vibe, which I can dig.
B+
Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (2011) - A return to their late 80's greatness. There's certainly nothing groundbreaking on this album, but is a good album for a trio of rappers pushing 50.
B
Note: I'm certainly not the best at writing these sort of reviews. In other words, I should be working for Rolling Stone. Enjoy!
My next discography that I'll peruse is
Jimi Hendrix.