Ranked: The Albums of Eminem
Critics like the new album. Music fans, not so much.
This has been an interesting week in music, with new albums by Wire, Pet Shop Boys, and Eminem. Arguably they are all leading exponents of their particular sub-genres. All well into their careers, although Eminem is the newest. His first album was released in I 1996, compared with 1986 for Pet Shop Boys and 1977 for Wire.
In previous stories, I surveyed the albums of Wire and Pet Shop Boys. This time around I use the release of Music To Be Murdered By (MTBMB) as an opportunity to look at the recording career of Eminem.
As in previous stories, I triangulated the views of music critics and fans to create the definitive ranking of Eminem’s albums.
The critics’ view
A benefit of the relative freshness of Eminem as an artist is that all his albums have been ranked on the critical meta-site Album of the Year (AOTY).
The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, and The Eminem Show were an incredible creative streak from 1999 to 2002. They established Eminem as the most successful rapper to crossover to the…
