Originally posted by Ascension

Well hopefully the fact that she finally delivered the album you've spent years grumbling about her not making, you can ease up with the resident Hive grouch routine.

I agree tho. I don't think it's extremely far ahead of ST -- it'd be much closer if not for the presence of "Pretty Hurts" on ST, but it's definitely well above 4. Even ignoring the Pretty Hurts trainwreck on ST, I think Bey just found such a perfect balance of all the things I love about her as a long term fan. She really perfectly combined every element from the earlier eras -- the funk/soul/old school influences, the hip hop elements without regressing from things she picked up in later eras -- the softness and vulnerability of 4; the strong concept, lyrical content and maturity of ST -- really everything that I've personally asked for or was lacking from one era to the next.

ST was marred by her pop pandering in the worst possible way with Pretty Hurts; 4 was a definite progression from IASF, but it had the same issue with songs like BTINH/I Was Here and it also was weak conceptually and was less cohesive than I would've liked it to be. IASF had a strong concept and theme, but it was just terribly executed and all over the place and it was very generic and bland save for certain tracks. B'Day was sonically explosive and fun, but it's extremely weak lyrically. DiL was a nicely executed contemporary R&B album, but aside from the singles and few standout album tracks, it's nothing all that special or memorable. None of those things that held back her previous works for me -- even ST which was close to perfect -- are issues on Lemonade. She really delivered a perfect storm as far as having everything I personally want in a body of work.

As of right now I rank the discog:

Lemonade > ST > 4 >/= B'Day > DiL > IASF

Originally posted by King Maxx

B'Day > 4 > BEYONCE > LEMONADE > IASF > DIL