#315Albums is a list of 315 albums that appear on both the Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, as well as the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die book, edited by Robert Dimery. At its best, it is a representation of some of the greatest music ever released; at its worst, it is a journey through the history of music that the majority see as important, influential, and/or relevant. If nothing else, these albums are worth experiencing at least once to get a better understanding of music, which is why we are working to complete all #315Albums.
No. 049
“On his debut, the self-proclaimed ‘first [rapper] with a Benz and a backpack’ beat the producer-tries-to-rap jinx and broke boundaries others wouldn’t acknowledge…”
Artist: Kanye West
Album: The College Dropout
Released: 2003
Label: Roc-A-Fella
Rolling Stones Ranking: 298
Damn, this is a fantastic album. I see why people walk around wearing “I Miss the Old Kanye” shirts (seriously, my co-worker wore one the other day, and it cracked me up). The College Dropout has a handful of tracks I knew from the radio, but I genuinely had no idea they were Kanye West songs (like “All Falls Down” and “Jesus Walks”). This album is exactly the type of rap album I look for: great beats, fun and/or powerful lyrics, and lots of replayability. It’s one I can see myself going back to a lot in the future. I’m now interested in continuing through Kanye’s albums to see what else I’ve been missing out on.
Cinefessions’ #315Albums Rating: 83%
Image and quote courtesy of Rolling Stone Magazine.
Branden has been a film fan since he was young, roaming the halls of Blockbuster Video, trying to find the grossest, scariest looking VHS covers to rent and watch alone in the basement. It wasn’t until recently, though, that Branden started seeking out the classics of cinema, and began to develop his true passion for the art form. Branden approaches each film with the unique perspective of having studied the art from the inside, having both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in acting. He has been a film critic since 2010, and has previously written for Inside Pulse Movies, We Love Cult, and Diehard Gamefan. His biggest achievement as a film critic, to date, has been founding Cinefessions and turning it from a personal blog to a true film website, housing hundreds of film and television reviews, and dozens of podcasts.
