# Beastie Boys recommendations
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [June 27, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833 "2003-06-27T20:03:09Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/1 "2003-06-27T20:03:09Z")
My brother gave me the double [DVD](http://www.techtv.com/audiofile/story/0,23008,3301029,00.html) of Beastie Boys music videos (with band and director commentary, 40 remixes, and a couple of short “films” – sweet!) for my birthday, and I’m digging it. Now I want to acquire an album or two…but which one?
If you had to pick which Beastie Boys album you enjoyed the most, what would it be?
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### Author:  [@Ich\_Bin\_s](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ich_Bin_s)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2003, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/2 "2003-06-27T20:07:00Z")
Paul’s Boutique would be my recomendation.
I think the consensus is that this is an album that couldn’t be made today; too many samples from too many artists. In my humble opinion, it’s their best work.
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### Author:  [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/3 "2003-06-27T20:22:22Z")
I agree with **Ich Bin’s** - _Paul’s Boutique_ is far and away their bet work.
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### Author:  [@irkenDoom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irkenDoom)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/4 "2003-06-27T22:19:05Z")
Another _Paul’s Boutique_ suggestion here.
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### Author:  [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/5 "2003-06-27T22:40:19Z")
**Licensed to Ill**
Has some of their best ever:
_Slow Ride
Girls
Fight For Your Right
No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn
Paul Revere
Hold It Now - Hit It!
Brass Monkey
Slow And Low_
And a couple of other songs.
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### Author:  [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2003, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/6 "2003-06-27T22:41:58Z")
Wow. I came here to also recommend **PB** but now I guess that I will just echo everyone else. Fantastic album from front to back.
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### Author:  [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/7 "2003-06-27T22:45:21Z")
_The In Sounds From Way Out_. All instrumental, no lyrics. Just the Beasties jamming. It really shows off their talent as musicians, and it’s also great background music for a party.
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### Author:  [@Jplacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jplacer)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2003, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/8 "2003-06-28T01:33:00Z")
I too would recommend Paul’s Boutique
From the [allmusic.com](http://allmusic.com) review …
“To put it mildly, it’s a considerable change from the hard rock of Licensed to Ill, shifting to layers of samples and beats so intertwined they move beyond psychedelic; it’s a painting with sound”
It’s a painting with sounds, I like that phrase.
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### Author:  [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/9 "2003-06-28T02:23:46Z")
Paul’s Boutique and Check Your Head are both great, but I’ll give the nod to PB, just like everyone else. Go get it.
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### Author:  [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2003, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/10 "2003-06-28T02:32:16Z")
Paul’s Boutique is their best album, like everybody else said. But **Hello Nasty** is my favorite of theirs; maybe because it’s more pop-ish. Plus, “Body Movin’” just rocks.
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### Author:  [@Marlow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlow)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/11 "2003-06-28T02:57:39Z")
Personally, I’m a huge fan of Ill Communication.
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### Author:  [@MikeRochenelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeRochenelle)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2003, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/12 "2003-06-28T04:28:14Z")
I’d have to vote for buying two albums: Licensed to Ill and Paul’s Botique.
Licensed to Ill is just classic Beasties. The guys were in High School still (I think) and it shows in their music. But at the same time this album is just so tremendously fun. Who doesn’t remember “Brass Monkey”?
Paul’s Botique is when the guys were a slightly more musically mature, but not old yet, so it’s a lot more skilled and layered but it’s not boring at all. It’s eclectic with a lot of different styles - switches from a mellow jazzy “For All the Girls” straight into jammin Brooklyn rap “Shake Your Rump.”
Hello Nasty is too pop for me, but it still isn’t bad.
I wouldn’t recommend Check Your Head, I just couldn’t get into the very bare sound of it after being spoiled with Paul’s Botique.
I actually haven’t heard Ill Communication except for the title track which was played on MTV, so I can’t say about that.
-Ben
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### Author:  [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2003, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/13 "2003-06-28T06:52:06Z")
Licensed to Ill by far. Back when they were young punks with something to prove; every song a winner.
Paul’s Boutique did nothing for me.
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### Author:  [@WonTon\_Sean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WonTon_Sean)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2003, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/14 "2003-06-28T07:23:52Z")
All of them.
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### Author:  [@Apoptosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apoptosis)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2003, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/15 "2003-06-28T07:48:12Z")
I generally can’t stand the Beastie Boys. I can’t get enough of _The In Sound From Way Out!_.
-Apoptosis
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### Author:  [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2003, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/16 "2003-06-28T11:04:44Z")
I have trouble recommending any single Beastie Boys album, or even two. I can only say that I listen to _Check Your Head_ and _Hello Nasty_ less than the rest, but I still consider them essential.
_Licensed to Ill_\* is the ultimate party album. _Paul’s Boutique_ is the answer to anyone who disses sampling wholesale based on what Puff Daddy/P. Diddy/whatthefuckever does. _Ill Communication_ teems with solid groove, most notably “Root Down”, and is responsible for my personal favorite video from the 80’s with “Sabotage”.
Just buy 'em all. I seem to see them used more often than I’d expect to.
Dr. J
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### Author:  [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2003, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/17 "2003-06-28T12:05:17Z")
I’ve gotta go with Paul’s Boutique. It’s fun like _Licensed to Ill_ (Is your name Michael Diamond? Naaw, mine’s Clarence) but it has simply amazing work with sound and samples in particular.
Despite that, _Hello Nasty_ is good if you want a general overview of their career, since it’s got pretty much all of it (though no hardcore), and you also just have to get _Licensed to Ill_. It’s not their best album, but it’s just so bratty and fun that you have to love it.
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### Author:  [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2003, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/18 "2003-06-30T13:23:58Z")
God bless Amazon’s used CD sellers – I’ve just ordered five (5) Beastie Boys albums based on your recommendations (I couldn’t pick just one!):
[ul][li]_Paul’s Boutique_[/li][li]_Check Your Head_[/li][li]_Ill Communication_[/li][li]_The In Sound from Way Out_[/li][li]_Hello Nasty_[/li][/ul] …And the whole order came to less than $30. Nice.
I didn’t get _Licensed to Ill_ because one of my local radio stations plays “Girls,” “Brass Monkey,” and “Fight for Your Right” all the time, and they drive me nuts.
In turn, I’m recommending the [double DVD](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004YZGR/qid=1056979696/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-5042648-9753561?v=glance&s=dvd) to all of y’all – it’s really fun, and it’s very well put together. Hey, you can get a used copy for $15.98!
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### Author:  [@BizarroRonJeremy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BizarroRonJeremy)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/19 "2003-06-30T14:39:48Z")
Check Your Head is my personal favorite. I became very intimate with it after listening to it through headphones after a primo spliff.
Of course, Paul’s Boutique is a masterpeice. Nothing beats following along with the punctuation-less lyric sheet.
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### Author:  [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beastie-boys-recommendations/184833/20 "2003-06-30T15:08:50Z")
I have the DVD set already, I’ve also got the _Sounds of Science_ 2-disc anthology, which is a pretty nice collection of music from the entire history of the Beasties, including a couple songs from their early punk days, though as much of the songs included are already on the discs you’ve ordered gallows I can’t really reccomend, though as a long time Beastie fan I love it.