I have finally listened to all of Eminem's albums in order

[CLV22798]

I have been wanting to do this since Recovery came out to figure out which is truly my favorite Eminem album. I want to give an analysis on each album, and what I think of it now compared to when I first heard it as a kid. Since alot of my feelings toward Eminem's first couple albums, has to do alot with nostalgia. So, here is my analysis:


Slim Shady LP


This was the album that made me become an Eminem fan. So, this album makes me immediately nostalgic hearing the album all the way through. When this album came out I was in 5th grade, and I wasn't even a fan of rap. My brother was a big rap fan, and had me listen to the album. Right away, after listening to the album I became an Eminem fan. When I was a kid, I never really paid attention to the lyrics in the album. What made me like songs back then was a: a catchy hook, good beat, and a good flow. I would rap along to songs even though I didn't totally understand everything Eminem was saying. Now, I took a chance listening to the album again after so many years not really listening to the whole album. and I gotta say, that I like it even more now than I did when I first heard it when I was a kid. I am now able to appreciate the album lyrically, something I was not able to do when I first heard it. There's only 2 tracks that I don't like in this album, and those 2 songs are If I Had and Cum On Everybody. It's not that those 2 tracks are horrible, it's just that those 2 songs don't match up to the rest of the album. I have come to the conclusion that this album was the introduction of someone who would dominate the rap game for years to come.


Marshall Mathers LP


IMO, it felt like this album was made right after SS LP. It feels like a sequel to it, but just one level above it. By this time, everybody already knew who he was. So, he had to prove himself even more to everybody that he wasn't a "one hit wonder". I wonder how much pressure Eminem must have felt while making this album to try and top his first album, which was a great debut album. Whatever pressure he put on himself to top his first album, he achieved it. He ended up reaching a whole other level when he put this album out, since there was nothing like it when it came out. Apperantly his fans thought the same, and the album ended up becoming the fastest selling rap album in history. Selling almost 2 million copies in 1 week. This album, solidified Eminem as the top dog in rap. I could say that I was mesmerized when I first heard this album. There was nothing like it at the time, and I was amazed at what I was hearing. Listening to the album now, I can appreciate the lyrics alot more than I did 10 years ago. It is a great album, with Eminem showing what he was capable of in his prime. With Eminem in his prime, there is really no one better.


The Eminem Show


At the time this album came out, Rap to me was growing a little tiresome. I was slowly but surely starting to like rock more than rap. But, then I heard that Eminem was coming out with a new album called The Eminem Show. Even though I was turning into a rock fan, I was excited to hear that my favorite rapper was coming out with his 3rd album. But, the thing I loved about it most is that when I had heard about him coming out with a new album, it was just a few weeks before the album came out. So, I didn't have to wait long to hear a new Eminem album. I was still anticipating the album alot even though I had just heard about it weeks before. I bought it the day it came out, and rushed home to be able to listen to it from start to finish. The first thing I noticed was that it was definitely different from his first 2 albums. It seemed like a more personal album then his last one, and it was interesting to hear. I came to the conclusion that it was another classic album, just like the 2 albums that came before it. To this day, I still don't know which is truly my favorite of his first 3 albums. Each of them has different things from them that I like, that I can't truly pick a favorite. The good thing though is that he has claim to 3 classic albums in his catalogue of music. That is definitely something that not alot of artists can say, and it's a big accomplishment.


Encore


Now, we have come to this part of Eminem's career that I wish had never happened. This was an album that I knew was coming for about a year. There had been news all over that he was working on an album that was to come out in 2004. I was heavily anticipating Encore considering how good the first 3 albums were. I really wonder how much pressure he was put under to top his first 3 albums. The pressure must have been so high, that this was around the time when he was overdosing himself on drugs. At the time the album came out, I was expecting maybe something monumental from Eminem. Something that would top his first 3 albums big time. When this album finally came out, my anticipation was at an all time high. I went out and bought the album, and again rushed home so I could hear it from start to finish. My first reaction to it, was that I was totally disappointed. and that reaction has not changed one bit. I really tried to like the album, listen to it over and over to find something to like about it. But, for the first time I couldn't find much I liked about an Eminem album. There was maybe 1 or 2 songs Iiked on Encore, but none of them compare to the songs he made in the past. Now, that I know what happened to Eminem at the time. I understand why the music sounded like it did. Even though Encore is not something I'm proud to have in my catalogue of Eminem albums, I just try to act like it never exists.


Relapse


Now, this is another time in Eminem's career where he released something I didn't like. At the time this came out, I had heard all the news about a new Eminem album coming out and I was excited. I was hoping he would make up for the garbage that Encore was. I had heard that Dr. Dre was going to produce the whole album, and I remember reading somewhere that Eminem had said that him and Dre working together were feeling just like the old days when they made music together. So, that made me look forward to the album even more. When the album came out, for the third straight time I went to buy the album and then rushed home so I could hear it from start to finish. For the second straight time, I came away disappointed after hearing an Eminem album and I couldn't believe it. This was not what I wanted to hear Eminem comeback with after being away for 5 years. I was wanting to hear a more personal album, talking about the stuff he's been through. Relapse turned out to be the opposite of what I wanted to hear. The only good thing I have to say about it is that it did turn out to be a better album than Encore.


Recovery


By this time, I didn't know what to expect when I heard that Eminem was going to come out with another album in 2010. Even though I was disappointed with his last 2 albums, the Eminem fan in me had hope that he still had another classic left in him. I didn't give up in believing that Eminem could still put out a great album. I did my best to stay away from reading all the news about his album, so I don't get my anticipation building up too much. But, then I started to see something good with every collaboration that Eminem did from Forever, Drop The World, Airplanes 2. All 3 of them had great Eminem verses that I did not see in Relapse. It started giving me more hope towards Recovery being a classic album up there with his first 3 albums. No matter what I did, my anticipation started building more and more as Recovery came closer to coming out. When it came out, for the fourth straight time went out and bought it and rushed straight home to listen to the album from start to finish. Before I listened to it, I said to myself that this was my last chance in hoping for a classic album from Eminem. and for the first time since 2002, I was mesmerized listening to an Eminem album. Something that had not happened to me since The Eminem Show. After I listened to it, I came to the conclusion that it was yet another classic Eminem album. and was officially my favorite Eminem album to date. There was only 1 song I didn't like in Recovery, which is a first for me in an Eminem album. Since in every other album there were a few songs I didn't like in each. All I could say is that listening to Recovery made me proud to be an Eminem fan. I kept faith that he had another great album in him and he didn't disappoint.


Finally I am done with my analysis, I'm not expecting to see people write out long detailed explanations like I did. But, I would like to see what people's thought process were when they first heard each album and now when they listen to it, if they have the same reaction.

[gutawafang]

This is longer than the journey to becoming a Pokemon Master.

[Devil'sAdvocate]

This is longer than the journey to becoming a Pokemon Master.

[M15HKA]

This is longer than the journey to becoming a Pokemon Master.

i lol'ed

Will read through it now and give a summary.

[M15HKA]

1709 words bigger than the assignment i have to do

[GenePeer]

This is longer than the journey to becoming a Pokemon Master.

[accutub]

I read it trough,nice.
Unfortunately My Em cd's weren't bought straight away cuz I was a kid (I am still a kid but older) and I didn't wanted to ask my parents to buy me an EMINEM album so

[Cam_24]

Good read, my only gripe was he didn't overdose in 04, over medicating definately...but he didn't overdose until 2007. I remember being in 4th grade hearing MMLP for the first time. Stan and Kim scared the living shit out of me but I couldn't get enough of the album. I remember me and a friend sitting in the corner during recess listening to our walkmans hoping we didn't get busted haha. Thanks for writing that up though, it was a fun read.

[murphmanny]

"The pressure must have been so high, that this was around the time when he was overdosing himself on drugs."

[CLV22798]

Man, I was hoping to get more responses towards what people's reaction where to listening to Eminem's album for the 1st time, and now when their older. I would still love to see somebody write something similar to what I did. Instead of mocking how much of an Eminem fan I am or mocking how long of an essay I wrote.

[RapName]

I thing it's a streach to call what you wrote an "analysis".

You just kinda described your expectations for each album and gave a short summary of your feelings about them.

But bro story cool

[CLV22798]

I thing it's a streach to call what you wrote an "analysis".

You just kinda described your expectations for each album and gave a short summary of your feelings about them.

But bro story cool

Yea, I could agree with that. I was thinking of writing more, but I was already getting sleepy and didn't really feel like writing more. But, I would still like to see people do something similar to what I did. Maybe explaining what they liked about the albums most, and which one was their favorite and why it was their favorite.

[accutub]

relapse was dowp

[pfati]

nice,,,, i agree with alot of the stuff u said about the albums

the only thing is,, i rly didnt think encore was that bad at first... i was like in 5th or 6th grade possibly 7th grade lol cant remember... i'm 17 now someone do the math but anyways i mostly thought the bad songs that most everyone here thinks are terrible like ass like that and big weenie and those,,, i just thought those were funny and i knew the words to so many of those songs... now i def think encore is obviously no where close toas good as his first three albums,,,, but i dont think its a terrible album.... em sounds pretty lazy in a lot of the songs.... dont know how to explain this but i feel like in terms of rapping he seemed much more natural doing it than in recovery and relapse,,,, no i'm not saying encore is lyrically better than both those albums cause encore is no where near as lyrical..... but he just sounds more natural doing it... he seems to beforcing things a little in his next two albums... anyone understand what i'm tryin to say??
anyways ,, i dont think encore is a terrible album but def no where near to being a classic.... i was extremely excited to hear em was commin back with relapse.... i was one of the first people to listen to the album as it leaked on youtube and i was disapointed.... it was mostly the accent and that the whole album sounded the same... but now that i;ve listened to the album alot more i like it alot more but i dont like it more than encore... hate as much as u want,,,, both the albums arent that great to begin with anyways.....
different story with recovery though,,, dowloaded the whole album when it leaked..... orgams,, jizzzeddd all over the place,,, amazing...... now that i've listened to the album a thousand times i dont think its one of his best and i dont think it's a classic,,, it VERY close to being a classic.... but i did not like this albums production... a few tracks that had rly dope beats but damn i rly hated the productionon some of these tracks and i wish em went back and did more tracks with dre but just more personal ones u know... the other thing that i didnt like about the album is that em had alot of other ppl doing the choruses intead of himself... and i'm not saying the choruses aere bad i'm just saying he hadtoo many of the choruses on the album be done by other ppl...... still an amazing album though..... and i am done

[Solace]

This is longer than the journey to becoming a Pokemon Master.

Good review on each albums, I liked the read.