So why is Dr. Dre’s 2001 on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
One oOne of the many fun challenges with producing a project as audacious and massive as the best 1,000 albums ever is the “game within the game” aspect, where not only did I challenge myself to curate “everything” into a Top 1,000 list, but there’s also the part where every album that a band or artist has produced is inherently compared to each other at the same time.
I mention this because I recognize that for most music critics and hip-hop fans, Dr.Dre’s The Chronic is considered to be a groundbreaking classic. I don’t disagree with this, as I have it at #163 of the best 1,000 albums ever (while Rolling Stone has it all the way up at #37 on its greatest 500 albums list).
But I’m making the argument here that 2001 is just that much “better.”
The production work, helmed by Dr. Dre himself along with Mel-Man and Lord Finesse, is a big part of it. Credit where due to our old friend Stephen Thomas Erlewine over at All Music for calling out the album’s use of “ominous strings, soulful vocals, and reggae,” though in typical STE form he then gets super snarky and backhanded compliment-y from there, framing Snoop Dogg’s participation as “nearly as tired as the second-rate rappers” who are considered to be “pedestrian” on 2001, among other things.
For my money, Snoop is in top form on both The Chronic and 2001, but it’s the introduction of a certain rapper from Detroit known as Eminem – along with other great guest appearances, especially from Xzibit – that push 2001 right up to the very edge of the best 100 albums ever.
Example: “What’s The Difference” leverages Dr. Dre’s weaponized west coast gangsta rap production – which has never sounded better than on 2001 – replete with bombastic horns and expert deployment of Eminem and Xzibit.
As on tracks like “Guilty Conscience” on Marshall Mathers’ debut, The Slim Shady LP (#108 of best 1,000 albums ever) – like 2001, also released in 1999 – there’s very few things better in rap music than when Dre and Em trade bars back-and-forth.
Another great Dre and Em collab: the manic and fun “Forgot About Dre.”
But it’s the Snoop and Dre collaboration on “Still D.R.E.” that reaches true masterpiece status. The use of strings and repeated, pulsing piano chords is a brilliant choice against a hip-hop beat, and it’s a triumphant statement that Dr. Dre still stands triumphant in the rap game as the 1990s close out.
Since the last time you heard from me, I lost some friends
Well, hell, me and Snoop, we dippin’ again
Kept my ear to the streets, signed Eminem
He’s triple platinum, doing 50 a week
While there’s plenty of cursing and lyrics that relate to violence and (especially) misogyny on 2001 that bother me much more now than a quarter century ago, there’s a pervasive theme of caution and even dawning wisdom about the whole nature of the gangster life. You can hear this clearly in the first full-length track, “The Watcher,” a tense and nearly spooky number that is entirely effective.
How would you feel if n—-s wanted you killed?
You’d probably move to a new house on a new hill
And choose a new spot, if n—-s wanted you shot
I ain’t a thug, how much 2Pac in you you got?
“Bang Bang,” featuring Hittman and Knoc-Turn’al is, if you’ll forgive me, a banger. The use of a shotgun cocking during the chorus is really nifty, and overall it’s one of the best west coast rap songs that should get its due among the all-time greats.
I often listen to a Spotlight playlist of instrumental, ambient, and electronica tracks while I’m working these days, and the instrumental version of “Bang Bang” has found its way into heavy rotation on this one.
Some stats & info about Dr. Dre – 2001
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? West Coast Rap, Gangsta Rap, Hardcore Rap, Rap, Hip Hop
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was 2001 released? 1999
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #101 out of 1,000
Dr. Dre’s 2001 on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Dr. Dre’s 2001 that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Still taking my time to perfect the beat, and I still got love for the streets.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.