I am hugely surprised he 1) listed them in the order he did – Usher before Outkast? Really? 2) included himself (No shame yo!) 3) Only included huge urban artists. There are a ton of good rock artists among other genres in Atlanta plus a score of lesser known urban artists *cough* Janelle Monae *cough* he could have included. Cutting edge, really? Cop out?

1. Confessions by Usher
“The best R&B album of this decade, which did wonders for the city musically. It set us apart once again to show the world that ATL is the new Motown.”

2. CrazySexyCool by TLC
“It continued to keep the ATL in the forefront of urban pop music and is the biggest-selling urban female-group album.”

3. Crunk Juice by Lil Jon
“This was the stamp to let the n—as know crunk was real and not a fad. It turned Lil Jon into a rock star and made R&B artists want to make crunk records like Usher’s ‘Yeah!’ Which leads into my next album … ”

4. Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album by Lil Jon
“This was the beginning of everything that’s going on now. The word ‘crunk’ came to life and created a true underground ATL movement.”

5. Life in 1472 by Jermaine Dupri
“This was the beginning of ATL swagger; the true introduction of Jay-Z to the South and the most classic hip-hop record created ‘Money Ain’t a Thang.’ ”

6. Soul Food by the Goodie Mob
“This album shows the real diversity of the city and a glimpse into what ATL sounds like now.”

7. Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik by Outkast
“Southernplayalistic was the first classic rap album to come from ATL and the eye-opener for other cities that our time was coming.”

8. Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below by Outkast
“The biggest rap album from the city and the biggest rap group left in hip-hop. Another huge statement that got us over that ‘ATL is in a slowdown’ hump. No!”

9. Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101 by Young Jeezy
“Not the first look at ATL street rap, but the most successful and the one that opened the door for what dominates ATL now.”

10. Totally Krossed Out by Kriss Kross
“This was the biggest rap album from the city until Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below.”

There’s only one day left to vote.
So make it count.
Don’t let the dipwads decide what’s the best in the city.
Be your own dipwad…

Vote here.

(You know you CAN vote for DaFC. And since Tessa also works at Criminal Records, you might want to vote for them too…just saying.)

But I’ll save you the link and list them for you:

#40 – Windstorm Productions
#39 – Iain Bluett
#38 – The Masquerade
#37 – Tree Sound Studios
#36 – Apache Cafe
#35 – The Black Lips
#34 – Rival Entertainment
#33 – ATF Records
#32 – Margot Smith
#31 – Atlantis Music Conference
#30 – Stomp And Stammer
#29 – Lisa Love
#28 – Eddie’s Attic
#27 – Paste Magazine
#26 – Mastodon
#25 – The Earl
#24 – Russell Carter
#23 – Sugarland
#22 – Butch Walker
#21 – Alan Jackson
#20 – Michele Rhea Caplinger
#19 – Smith’s Olde Bar
#18 – WRAS
#17 – Usher
#16 – Criminal Records
#15 – Leslie Fram
#14 – Lil John
#13 – Brendan O’Brien
#12 – Jazze Pha
#11 – Jermaine Dupri
#10 – Dallas Austin
#9 – Cliff Lovette
#8 – Joel Katz
#7 – V-103
#6 – R.E.M.
#5 – Outkast and the Dungeon Family
#4 – Peter Conlon
#3 – Ludacris
#2 – DJ Drama

and #1 – T.I.

Tessa’s Top 25 Favorite Albums of 2006
Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
Band Of Horses – Everything All The Time
Beirut – Gulag Orkestar
Black Keys – Magic Potion
Bob Dylan – Modern Times
Cat Power – The Greatest
Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere
Grizzly Bear – Yellow House
Hot Chip – The Warning
Josh Rouse – Subtitulo
Lily Allen – Alright, Still
M. Ward – Post War
Mark Lanegan & Isobel Campbell – Ballad Of The Broken Seas
Midlake – The Trials of Van Occupanther
Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers
R.E.M. – And I Feel Fine – Best of the IRS Years (deluxe edition)
Say Hi To Your Mom – Impeccable Blahs
Silversun Pickups – Carnavas
Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped
Sparklehorse – Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain
Twilight Singers – Powder Burns
TV On The Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain
Voxtrot – Raised By Wolves EP
Yo La Tengo – I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass

Woohoo!

Top 30 Albums That Changed My Life From The Past 15 Years*

Afghan Whigs – Gentlemen (1993)
Air – The Virgin Suicides (original soundtrack) (2000)
Beck – Mellow Gold (1994)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – B.R.M.C. (2000)
Blur – Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993)
Coldplay – Parachutes (2000)
Cornershop – When I Was Born For The 7th Time (1997)
Cure – Wish (1992)
Curve – Doppelganger (1992)
David Garza – This Euphoria (1998)
Doves – Lost Souls (2000)
Elliot Smith – Either/Or (1997)
Fiona Apple – When The Pawn… (1999)
Fugazi – Red Medicine (1995)
Interpol – Turn On The Bright Lights (2002)
Jeff Buckley – Grace (1994)
Jump Little Children – Magazine (1998)
Massive Attack – Blue Lines (1991)
Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral (1994)
Ours – Precious (2002)
Pulp – Different Class (1995)
R.E.M. – Automatic For The People (1992)
Red House Painters – Red House Painters [I] (1993)
Remy Zero – Remy Zero (1996)
Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker (2000)
The Shins – Oh, Inverted World (2001)
Slowdive – Sovlaki (1993)
Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness (1995)
Spiritualized – Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space (1997)
Will Hoge – Carousel (2001)

RUNNER-UPS:
Beta Band – The Three EP’s (1998)
Catherine Wheel – Chrome (1993)
Chris Whitley – Terra Incognita (1997)
Cinerama – Va Va Voom (1998)
Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin (1999)
Grace Cathedral Park – In The Evenings Of Regret (2001)
Isidore – Isidore (2004)
James Hall – My Love, Sex & Spirit (1993)
Josh Rouse – Under Cold Blue Stars (2002)
Lush – Lovelife (1996)
My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (1991)
Old 97s – Fight Songs (1999)
Outkast – Aquemini (1998)
Paul Westerburg – Stereo/Mono (2002)
Placebo – Without You I’m Nothing (1998)
Pleasure Club – The Fugitive Kind (2004)
Portishead – Dummy (1994)
Sloan – Pretty Together (2001)
Smashing Pumpkins – Gish (1991)
Spoon – Kill The Moonlight (2002)
Stephen Malkmus – Stephen Malkmus (2001)
Suede – Dog Man Star (1994)
Wilco – Being There (1996)

* Note: I spent a solid month on this list. No I don’t have all your favorite albums on here. No I don’t have all my favorite albums on here. These were the albums that CHANGED my life. It would not be the same without them.

Agree? Disagree? Hate em? What are yours?