- THE BEST OF 1999 -
Best Hip-Hop Album
[The Slim Shady LP - Eminem]
I may get some hate for this decision, but the truth is a white
guy made the best hip-hop album of the year. The Slim Shady
LP has storytelling and humor in addition to tight beats
and rhymes.
Best Techno Album
[Play - Moby]
Combining folk songs with turntablism and lush piano with
electric guitar, drum machines and even his own voice, Moby has
crafted a truly timeless album.
Best Drum + Bass Album
[Ultra-Obscene - Breakbeat Era]
Leone Laws, along with Roni Size and DJ Die raised the bar for
drum + bass musicians everywhere. Rarely does a single album so
advance the evolution of a genre.
Best Folk Album
[Central Reservation - Beth Orton]
If anyone alive has a better voice than Beth Orton she had better
stand up right now. Even when the backing music consists of a
single guitar, nearly every song is heartbreakingly beautiful.
Best Electronic Rock Album
[The Fragile - Nine Inch Nails]
I don't really know what category this album "really" belongs in,
with its masterfully crafted layers of filth piled on top of
sublime melody. A bold step forward for NIN.
Best Fusion of Two Styles
[Hell's Kitchen - Ming + FS]
With hip-hop adapting elements of drum + bass, which was modeled
after hip-hop, a combination of the two seems perfectly natural,
yet something that could only have come from New York.
Best Album To Play At Parties
[The Antodote - The Wiseguys]
British lads playing b-boy in the tradition of Fatboy Slim.
Illegal samples for trainspotters to get excited over. Drunken
revelry, big beat style. What more does one need?
Best Album By An Unsigned Artist
[Venus - Chaz Vegas]
Reminiscent of David Bowie before he became Afraid of Americans.
Sparse, but intricate. A non-overwhelming, but very solid album
from a very capable musician.