# Should I buy an Eminem CD?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 9, 2004, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232 "2004-07-09T04:23:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@dreamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dreamer)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2004, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232/1 "2004-07-09T04:23:31Z")
I was pretty impressed with his lyrics and music in 8 Mile and a few other things I’ve heard, but I’m really not into Rap. At least not the usual style MTV Rap that’s all about sex etc…
Any suggestions on a CD of his I should try out?
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### Author:  [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2004, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232/2 "2004-07-09T04:32:13Z")
I think the Marshal Mathers LP is probably my favorite.
Maybe.
It’s really hard to say…
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232/3 "2004-07-09T04:45:20Z")
> [@dreamer](#):
>
> I’m really not into Rap. At least not the usual style MTV Rap that’s all about sex etc…
I haven’t heard enough of him to recommend one album over another, but he’s definitely not all about sex. (It’s all about him. ;))
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### Author:  [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2004, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232/4 "2004-07-09T05:11:08Z")
I’ll second the _Marshall Mathers LP_ as overall his best. _The Eminem Show_ does have his best song, White America.
If you’re anything like me, what’s going to happen is that you’ll listen to the album all the way through a couple of times, and then after that you’ll know just when to hit the skip button. I’m sorry, he’s a great artist, but some of what he’s done is just flat out disgusting and I can’t listen to it. His best stuff is spectacular, and I don’t regret paying for the shit that comes with it.
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### Author:  [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2004, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232/5 "2004-07-09T05:21:01Z")
**Marley23** wrote
> [@](#):
>
> I haven’t heard enough of him to recommend one album over another, but he’s definitely not all about sex. (It’s all about him.)
Talk about fighting ignorance.
**The Marshall Mathers LP** is my fave. But really **The Slim Shady LP** and **The Marshall Mathers LP** are like a double album.
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### Author:  [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2004, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232/6 "2004-07-09T05:24:58Z")
Yeah, the Eminem Show is definitely good. White America for sure, as well as Soldier and My Dad’s Gone Crazy. Business… the whole album, really. But, yeah, I’d probably still recommend the MM LP first. Or you could get both of them.
I’ll also go ahead and agree that some of his raps are obnoxious, but they’re worth it for the rest of the album.
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### Author:  [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2004, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232/7 "2004-07-09T05:47:55Z")
I bought **The Slim Shady LP** well before he was popular only because I found it hilarious. His persona nowadays gives me an instantly negative impression about anything he does, he used to be funny, now he’s a media whore.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2004, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232/8 "2004-07-09T06:01:24Z")
> [@Bill H.](#):
>
> Talk about fighting ignorance.
Que?
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### Author:  [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2004, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232/9 "2004-07-09T06:55:25Z")
**Marley23** wrote
> [@](#):
>
> Que?
Perhaps I misunderstood. Did you walk into a thread asking advice on an artist, and give the advice “I don’t know his work, but I can tell you it’s not very good”?
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2004, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232/10 "2004-07-09T07:10:51Z")
No, I didn’t. It’s pretty close to the opposite, actually. I said “I haven’t heard enough of him to recommend one album over another,” meaning that I’ve listened to his stuff (mostly on my girlfriend’s iTunes), but I can’t recommend one CD because I don’t know which tracks are on which album. I’ve heard enough to know he doesn’t fit the “usual style MTV Rap that’s all about sex etc…” and said so.
And I actually like Eminem. I think he’s funny and very clever. I just said he talks about himself a lot, which he does. It wasn’t even intended a criticism (see the wink).
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### Author:  [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232/11 "2004-07-09T07:21:05Z")
I’d recommend The Eminem Show. Aside from two tracks (Haley’s Song and some Obie Trice abortion that Eminem only raps background on), everything on it is gold, even the skits.
My favorites are “White America” and “Square Dance” although “Soldier” is pretty good too.
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### Author:  [@SilentButDeftly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SilentButDeftly)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2004, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232/12 "2004-07-09T13:26:05Z")
What everybody else said. _The Slim Shady LP_ is just a frickin’ hilarious album to listen to at times – he’s not afraid to make fun of himself at all. _The MM LP_ is quite a bit darker and a bit outright disgusting at times. I’ve only listened to “Kim” maybe twice, and I felt like I needed a long shower both times afterwards. “Stan” was a big hit that deserved to be one. Still, it’s a bombshell of an album, it captures (for me, at least) the “feeling” of that time between Columbine and 9/11. _The Eminem Show_ is different from the earlier two, but still an enjoyable listen. I personally would recommend beginning at the beginning (ignoring _Infinite_ for the time being) and starting with _The Slim Shady LP_ and then listening to him evolve. His guest spots on Dr. Dre’s albums are classic too, if you’re looking to hear him on other tracks as well.
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### Author:  [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2004, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232/13 "2004-07-09T13:37:34Z")
Hell, you should just buy all three! I’d definitely start out the Slim Shady LP, though I had the Marshall Mathers EP first. Whoever said that the two of them really go together is absolutely right. Much of the Marshall Mathers EP is in response to the negativity Eminem received after Slim Shady came out. Stan was the song that finally got my husband listening to rap. The Eminem Show was pretty good too, but I felt he’d lost some of the rawness and originality that I found so gripping in the other two.
And since nobody else has warned you, you can skip D12. I haven’t heard the new album (and likely won’t), but Devil’s Night sucked the big one.
Whoever mentioned Eminem’s cameos in Dr. Dre songs was also absolutely right. He’s got some great ones in Dre’s 2001, which is an excellent album.
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### Author:  [@dreamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dreamer)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2004, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232/14 "2004-07-09T15:04:52Z")
OK, thanks everyone. I will start with the _The Slim Shady LP_ and the _MM LP_ then. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-an-eminem-cd/254232/15 "2004-07-09T18:25:57Z")
Anyone ever seen his video for _White America_? If not, [go here](http://www.rollingstone.com/artist/videos?id=44&pageid=rs.Artistcage&pageregion=triple5).