Every time you get into talks with heads about classic albums, you hear the same few albums every time. Illmatic, either Midnight Marauders or The Low End Theory, Resurrection, Reasonable Doubt, and a few other odd-balls. Lately though, I've been getting into lots of arguments about whether Reasonable Doubt is a classic album or not. I'm not the biggest Jay fan, but I do recognize the greatness of Dead Presidents II and D'evils. At the same time, I believe a classic album is one you can listen to from cover to cover without skipping any songs. Isn't that the case for Illmatic?
The biggest deterrent in this argument is the abuse of the word classic. To be a classic album, the album must stand the course of time. That's why I believe no album made after the year 2000 can even qualify to be a classic album. I'm not some stuck-up hip hop head who disregards all the music made today (just most of it). I believe One Be Lo's S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. is one of the best albums ever made, but I won't call it a classic until it ages a few more years. Why is this important? Because as soon as a decent album comes along people regard to it as classic. I do enjoy MF Doom and Madlib's albums, but not all of them are classics! Jake One's White Van Music is not a classic! Give it some time, if it still sounds good in 10 years, then it can be a CLASSIC.
Now that's out of the way, why isn't Reasonable Doubt a classic?

1. Sporadic production- Too many average instrumentals for a classic album. It really detaches from the overall playability. No one wants to have to skip 5 or 6 tracks on an otherwise flawless album.
   
2. Second half blues- The first half of the album is amazing, but once you get past Can I Live, the album really drops off in quality. It doesn't even sound like the same album once you get past the half-way point.
3. A great song isn't a great album- Dead Presidents II, Can I Live, and D'Evils are among the best songs ever made in this hip-hop genre, but a few great songs sprinkled in throughout mediocrity don't make a classic album.

Honestly, I love Reasonable Doubt, but it's just not a classic album. A few songs on the album are classic, but the album itself is not classic.
All arguments welcome.