It was voted as the best album of the year by Rolling Stone magazine and in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll , was ranked # 1 in Spin magazine 's `` 40 Best Albums of the Year '' , and received a near-perfect 4.5 mic rating from The Source . It was voted as the best album of the year by Rolling Stone and in The Village Voices Pazz & Jop critics poll . Spin ranked it number one on its list of 40 Best Albums of the Year .