From the jump, the production is an improvement over Em's debut. 'Kill You' suffers a touch in the lyrics for me. The scribble effect on 'Stan' really should be a few DBs lower, otherwise, it's a unique song that the brilliant Dido adds to. 'Who Knew' is decent, 'The Way I Am' is one of Em's strongest songs with a strong performance from him and good production. The single 'The Real Slim Shady' is a lot more catchy than the lead single and similarly themed 'My Name Is' from his debut. From there it's just a consistently good listen with a strong second half. Eminem sounds like Tim Dog on 'Amityville' with some intense vocals, as we see on 'Kim' as well! 'B**** Please II' is a standout thanks to the amazing production. I think 'The Eminem Show' features the highest number of his greatest songs but this is a level above his debut. 3.5-4. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Stan, The Way I Am, The Real Slim Shady, Marshall Mathers, Amityville, B**** Please II

This and K. Young's 'Free Will' are the best R&B albums that I've heard this year. Q. Parker doesn't go for those dance-pop or hip hop crossover tracks (apart for a feature from Styles P) that many mainstream artists go for, most of these are just smooth contemporary R&B ballads. The best songs are brilliant catchy R&B. Best Tracks: Show You How, All About You, Yes, Cupid (acoustic remake), Just Us.

I remember hearing 'Jesus Walks' on a music video show one weekend and I was immediate hooked. I also recall spending some time on the net afterwards looking for it to listen to it again. While Kanye didn't/doesn't have the best voice or rapping talent, the church/choir influenced production is brilliant which I've always loved and I ended up purchasing the album. Once past the annoying intro and other skits throughout the album, (my advice to anyone who hasn't heard this album would be to delete the skits out of your playlist), you are mostly left with a mix of thirteen great tracks. The skits criticize college, which is fine, but I don't think they are that engaging for repeated listens. The couple of exceptions, and the tracks I'm not infatuated with are, 'The New Workout Plan' which drags on, and the massive hit 'Slow Jamz' which I never got the great deal with. Another Twista hit, 'DJ Play a Love Song' is a better song. Apart from those, everything is pretty-pretty good. It's one of those albums I've been torn between a 4 and a 4.5 out of 5, and have maybe leaned toward the four at times as Kanye ain't a great rapper, but given the amount of brilliant tracks, which most albums would be happy to contain one of them, it gets a 4.5/5. And they DCFS, some of 'em dyslexic / They favourite 50 Cent song '12 Questions' :) Best Tracks: We Don't Care, Jesus Walks, Never Let Me Down, Two Words, Through the Wire, Family Business

I can't say I feel this album as much as most do. I don't really feel any track a huge amount until 'The Ecology' at track six (which is great) and overall while I like most songs to a certain degree, overall the jazz-rap/boom bap/west coast beats aren't giving me a huge amount of pleasure on the songs that aren't listed below. Best Tracks: The Ecology, Our Way, Samsonite Man, Father, When She Calls

This doesn't do it for me as I expected. I find Doom's rapping unimpressive, like he needs to find the perfect rhyme to every bar and his overall voice... I know other artists rhyme a lot - that's hip hop - but with Doom I just notice it more... Hard to explain... He is extremely overrated as an MC. Production wise also, as with past Doom I've heard I haven't really been the biggest fan of it. I find it raw and with no real colour to a lot of it. Overall the best tracks are alright but the rest of it does little for my ears. Best Tracks: Still Dope, Angelz, Yessir!, Gazzillion Ear