The fact that this album made the list is a testament to the sole fact that it sounds so good. Train’s importance is twofold. Firstly, a young, brilliant upstart producer named Hi-Tek is introduced to us on a grand scale. Second, a straight-up lyrical juggernaut in Talib Kweli is introduced as a solo emcee to the world. And at the end of the day, the dudes show and prove. You just go from track to track and it’s banger after banger. One can even take a look at the video for “The Blast” and see what type of steez these guys were on. I mean there was straight up DANCING in that video—Alvin Ailey-like dancing. These guys really made hip-hop beautiful, but dope at the same time. This is perhaps the first time in the new millennium that raw hip-hop—beats and lyrics—were maximized as pure art.

The sonic canvass that Hi-Tek created coupled with Kweli’s sharp, intricate, and profound lyrics set a stage for cerebral, heart-hitting music that has rarely been seen since. Take tracks like “Love Language” or “Good Mourning”. It is hard to think of two tracks in the new millennium that are more honest, introspective, and emotional with this “new” type of hip-hop sound. The album is so musical too. What was up with that random sax solo “Love Speakeasy”? Simply put, a gem of a reprise of the song that preceded it. And this sound was distinctly Hi-Tek. There was a sentiment at the time that he might be the next Primo...premature, yes…but that’s definitely something that was said. A track like “Memories Live” embodies and exemplifies beauty all over a wistful beat the likes of which I had never heard. “This is how hip-hop was meant to be”, Kweli muses…Amen.

The Hero said, "There is not an album that I have heard, perhaps in my life, that can touch all of the elements that this album has. The album is truly an artistic experience. Hi-Tek on the beat and Kweli on the mic. I mean, Kweli, displays all facets of emceeing: the battle rhyming, conscious, introspective, uplifting...he has it all. The "Four Women" hidden track at the end is the greatest hip hop adaptation of anything."

At the end of the day, the album is undeniable for anyone who has respected hip-hop at any point in their life. From the lowliest backpacker to the 17 year-old 106th & Park watcher, there is a general consensus that this album isjust dope—which is what hip hop is supposed to be—dope. The ultimate point is this: within that niche of hip-hop, the whole Rawkus/underground "type" sound, beats and rhymes; this is probably the best album that niche created. That’s heavy.