DAR Music: Who Has A Better Discography- Ginuwine or Joe?
By @TrueGodImmortal
For many, Joe and Ginuwine are two of the most underrated R&B singers of our time. Both have albums that we turn to for our slow jam fix and both have experienced declines in popularity while still continuing to make solid music. For a first ever edition of "DAR&B Wars", we wanted to compare two underrated artists and see who has the best catalog. Now, Joe has had much more output musically than Ginuwine has, but does it mean that he's better? Not necessarily. That's what we're here to examine today. Who has the better catalog between Joe and Ginuwine? Let's get into it.
Ginuwine
When looking at Ginuwine and his catalog, I think the best way to sum up his legacy is in his three greatest albums. He's got 9 official albums (if you count his Christmas and TGT project), but his three greatest projects came between the early part of his career, as it usually does for most artists. This takes nothing away from 2001's The Life, 2005's Back to Da Basics, 2009's A Man's Thoughts, 2011's Elgin, or even the underrated Three Kings album from TGT, but his three best projects are the greatest markers for the quality of his discography. Let's take a look.
*Ginuwine...The Bachelor (1996)
-His debut album brought him prominence as his mostly Timbaland produced entrance into the game shocked us all. Kicking off with the hit single "Pony", Ginuwine came on the scene and instantly became a favorite for many. Though he wasn't the most vocally gifted artist, he had the look that appealed to a number of R&B fans, a bit of star quality, and his songs always carried an infectious hook. This album was special in that respect, and with songs like his rendition of "When Doves Cry", as well as "Tell Me Do You Wanna", and my personal favorite "I'll Do Anything/I'm Sorry", Ginuwine introduced himself to the world the right way.
*100% Ginuwine (1999)
-His 2nd album is not only his best, but one of the best R&B albums of the decade. This is a true R&B classic, packed with solid anthems, slow jams to set the mood, and some of the best production Timbaland had given us up until that point. From the slow rhythms of the slow jam classic "So Anxious", the banging drums and melody of "What's So Different", the hilarity of both "Wait A Minute" and the Aaliyah assisted "Final Warning", to the infectious nature of both "No. 1 Fan" and "Same Ol' G", 100% Ginuwine gave you just about everything you could want in a R&B album and then some. Not to mention the hilarious diss track "Toe 2 Toe", which was directed at Sisqo. That alone makes this album great, but in all seriousness, there's not a single bad track here. Ginuwine upped his game on his sophomore effort and the result is a classic project.
*The Senior (2003)
-His third project is a favorite of mine and I chose it over "The Life" from 2001 mostly because of the fact that I think it has more edge and more balance musically. It featured the solid single "Stingy", the R. Kelly and Baby assisted "Hell Yeah", the ballad "Love You More", and one of my favorite Ginuwine songs "In Those Jeans". The Senior wasn't his greatest, but it was an extremely solid listen all around.
Joe
The Georgia native stepped onto the scene with his debut album "Everything" in 1993, but he wouldn't have the type of success he desired until 1996, when his hit single "All The Things (Your Man Won't Do)" took over the airwaves and led us into his 2nd album, which many confuse for his debut, All That I Am. He's had a long near 25 year career and he has a longer catalog than Ginuwine, but does that mean his catalog is better? In order to get a better idea of the strength of Joe's catalog, much like we did with Ginuwine, let's take a brief look at his three best albums.
*All That I Am (1997)
-In what is one of my favorite R&B albums of the 90's, Joe gave us his best work on this underrated album. The sequencing of this album sort of gives you the best of the best early on, as the three best songs on the album start it off. The aforementioned "All The Things" is then followed by one of the greatest slow jams ever in "The Love Scene", and then gives us the melodic and smooth "Don't Wanna Be A Player", and that's just the first three songs of the album. The rest of the album pales in comparison to that combo punch, but there's still great music on it from "How Soon" to "Come Around" to "Love Don't Make No Sense" and a few others. All That I Am isn't a perfect album necessarily, as it does lose some momentum after the, but to me, it's a 90's R&B classic with quite possibly the best three song combo of any R&B album.
*My Name Is Joe (2000)
-This is a really good album and many people probably consider it his best work. I think this is right in contention with All That I Am, and if someone felt this was better, I wouldn't be mad at that. It's a really solid album with a lot of smooth tracks, which has always been Joe's lane. Tracks like "I Wanna Know", "Stutter", "One Life Stand", and more help round out a very good album that spawned one of the songs that's synonymous with Joe and his career.
*Better Days (2001)
-I chose this album because a lot of the later Joe albums infused a bit too much hip hop for my liking honestly. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy his music, but the smoothness of his albums sometimes gets broken up by a Fabolous or Young Buck verse. That takes nothing away from the album itself, but the flow of the album tends to take a small dive with that. However, with the 2001 released Better Days, Joe avoided that pitfall. It has a feature from Petey Pablo, but for the most part, it sticks to what Joe does best. The Neptunes produced "Isn't This The World" is a standout, as is "What If A Woman" and "Let's Stay Home Tonight", and this is definitely a great listen. It's a small step down from his previous two, but Better Days would rank no. 3 on a list of Joe albums. This album even garnered a Grammy nomination.
The Verdict
While both artists are extremely talented, I'd lean more towards Ginuwine in terms of having the better albums. Joe has released more projects and has the better voice, but there was a period where his albums were just not hitting the mark. From 2001 to about 2011, he went through a period of making solid singles and mediocre albums. Ginuwine, on the other hand, had a great four album run with his "series" so to speak during 1996 through 2003. His last few albums have actually been solid, and while they haven't got the acclaim or attention those first four did, I actually believe his albums are better. If we're talking singles, then I'd edge that to Joe. Ginuwine has classics, but I'd take "All The Things" and "The Love Scene" over just about any Ginuwine song, and yes, that includes "So Anxious". However, it's all opinion and music is subjective, so when the final verdict is rendered from me, I'd say Ginuwine has a better album discography, while Joe makes the better songs/singles. Two underrated artists, just about equal, but Ginuwine's actual catalog edges this one.
-True
For many, Joe and Ginuwine are two of the most underrated R&B singers of our time. Both have albums that we turn to for our slow jam fix and both have experienced declines in popularity while still continuing to make solid music. For a first ever edition of "DAR&B Wars", we wanted to compare two underrated artists and see who has the best catalog. Now, Joe has had much more output musically than Ginuwine has, but does it mean that he's better? Not necessarily. That's what we're here to examine today. Who has the better catalog between Joe and Ginuwine? Let's get into it.
Ginuwine
When looking at Ginuwine and his catalog, I think the best way to sum up his legacy is in his three greatest albums. He's got 9 official albums (if you count his Christmas and TGT project), but his three greatest projects came between the early part of his career, as it usually does for most artists. This takes nothing away from 2001's The Life, 2005's Back to Da Basics, 2009's A Man's Thoughts, 2011's Elgin, or even the underrated Three Kings album from TGT, but his three best projects are the greatest markers for the quality of his discography. Let's take a look.
*Ginuwine...The Bachelor (1996)
-His debut album brought him prominence as his mostly Timbaland produced entrance into the game shocked us all. Kicking off with the hit single "Pony", Ginuwine came on the scene and instantly became a favorite for many. Though he wasn't the most vocally gifted artist, he had the look that appealed to a number of R&B fans, a bit of star quality, and his songs always carried an infectious hook. This album was special in that respect, and with songs like his rendition of "When Doves Cry", as well as "Tell Me Do You Wanna", and my personal favorite "I'll Do Anything/I'm Sorry", Ginuwine introduced himself to the world the right way.
*100% Ginuwine (1999)
-His 2nd album is not only his best, but one of the best R&B albums of the decade. This is a true R&B classic, packed with solid anthems, slow jams to set the mood, and some of the best production Timbaland had given us up until that point. From the slow rhythms of the slow jam classic "So Anxious", the banging drums and melody of "What's So Different", the hilarity of both "Wait A Minute" and the Aaliyah assisted "Final Warning", to the infectious nature of both "No. 1 Fan" and "Same Ol' G", 100% Ginuwine gave you just about everything you could want in a R&B album and then some. Not to mention the hilarious diss track "Toe 2 Toe", which was directed at Sisqo. That alone makes this album great, but in all seriousness, there's not a single bad track here. Ginuwine upped his game on his sophomore effort and the result is a classic project.
*The Senior (2003)
-His third project is a favorite of mine and I chose it over "The Life" from 2001 mostly because of the fact that I think it has more edge and more balance musically. It featured the solid single "Stingy", the R. Kelly and Baby assisted "Hell Yeah", the ballad "Love You More", and one of my favorite Ginuwine songs "In Those Jeans". The Senior wasn't his greatest, but it was an extremely solid listen all around.
Joe
The Georgia native stepped onto the scene with his debut album "Everything" in 1993, but he wouldn't have the type of success he desired until 1996, when his hit single "All The Things (Your Man Won't Do)" took over the airwaves and led us into his 2nd album, which many confuse for his debut, All That I Am. He's had a long near 25 year career and he has a longer catalog than Ginuwine, but does that mean his catalog is better? In order to get a better idea of the strength of Joe's catalog, much like we did with Ginuwine, let's take a brief look at his three best albums.
*All That I Am (1997)
-In what is one of my favorite R&B albums of the 90's, Joe gave us his best work on this underrated album. The sequencing of this album sort of gives you the best of the best early on, as the three best songs on the album start it off. The aforementioned "All The Things" is then followed by one of the greatest slow jams ever in "The Love Scene", and then gives us the melodic and smooth "Don't Wanna Be A Player", and that's just the first three songs of the album. The rest of the album pales in comparison to that combo punch, but there's still great music on it from "How Soon" to "Come Around" to "Love Don't Make No Sense" and a few others. All That I Am isn't a perfect album necessarily, as it does lose some momentum after the, but to me, it's a 90's R&B classic with quite possibly the best three song combo of any R&B album.
*My Name Is Joe (2000)
-This is a really good album and many people probably consider it his best work. I think this is right in contention with All That I Am, and if someone felt this was better, I wouldn't be mad at that. It's a really solid album with a lot of smooth tracks, which has always been Joe's lane. Tracks like "I Wanna Know", "Stutter", "One Life Stand", and more help round out a very good album that spawned one of the songs that's synonymous with Joe and his career.
*Better Days (2001)
-I chose this album because a lot of the later Joe albums infused a bit too much hip hop for my liking honestly. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy his music, but the smoothness of his albums sometimes gets broken up by a Fabolous or Young Buck verse. That takes nothing away from the album itself, but the flow of the album tends to take a small dive with that. However, with the 2001 released Better Days, Joe avoided that pitfall. It has a feature from Petey Pablo, but for the most part, it sticks to what Joe does best. The Neptunes produced "Isn't This The World" is a standout, as is "What If A Woman" and "Let's Stay Home Tonight", and this is definitely a great listen. It's a small step down from his previous two, but Better Days would rank no. 3 on a list of Joe albums. This album even garnered a Grammy nomination.
The Verdict
While both artists are extremely talented, I'd lean more towards Ginuwine in terms of having the better albums. Joe has released more projects and has the better voice, but there was a period where his albums were just not hitting the mark. From 2001 to about 2011, he went through a period of making solid singles and mediocre albums. Ginuwine, on the other hand, had a great four album run with his "series" so to speak during 1996 through 2003. His last few albums have actually been solid, and while they haven't got the acclaim or attention those first four did, I actually believe his albums are better. If we're talking singles, then I'd edge that to Joe. Ginuwine has classics, but I'd take "All The Things" and "The Love Scene" over just about any Ginuwine song, and yes, that includes "So Anxious". However, it's all opinion and music is subjective, so when the final verdict is rendered from me, I'd say Ginuwine has a better album discography, while Joe makes the better songs/singles. Two underrated artists, just about equal, but Ginuwine's actual catalog edges this one.
-True
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