> It's a shame that albums like "It takes a Nation of Millions..." or "Paul's Boutique" couldn't be made today

While I completely agree with your sentiment, I also think it's important to point out that some truly incredible sample-heavy albums have been made "today" (read: post- Golden Age of Hip Hop):

  - Since I Left You by The Avalanches [0] (said to contain over 3500 samples)
  - Endtroducing... by DJ Shadow [1]
  - Songs of a Dead Dreamer [3], Person Pitch [2], the entire discography of Girl Talk [4], the entire discography of The Books [5], most hip-hop mixtapes posted online...

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Since_I_Left_You#Production [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endtroducing.....#Production [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Person_Pitch#Track_listing [3] http://www.allmusic.com/album/songs-of-a-dead-dreamer-mw0000... [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_Talk_(musician) [5] http://www.junkmedia.org/index.php?i=963

The "Paul's Boutique" example is always my favorite, because it's one of my favorite albums, and the astronomical amount it'd take to release today. Although it could just be that the Beastie's are one of my favorite groups, and I happened to be listening to them as I read this comment.

What do you mean? People are still writing sample-based music.

Those were particularly sample heavy albums (Paul's boutique samples more than 100 songs), which are impossible to do today unless you're Kanye West or too underground to matter.

After Biz Markie was sued, sampling changed completely: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Upright_Music,_Ltd._v._Wa....

...except the internet means that bootleg albums and unauthorized samples are used more than ever.

It also means that once an artist gets big, he loses some of his creative freedom. Kendrick Lamar couldn't clear Cartoon and Cereal for GKMC. Danny Brown couldn't clear ODB for Old. In both cases, they would be among the best songs in the album.

It's a shame...