I enjoy some of his stuff, but classic and timeless records??? Compare Kanye's supposed classics to real hip hop classics lie Illmatic, MMLP, Reasonable Doubt, Me Against the World....it doesn't even compare and shouldn't be held in the same conversation IMO.
As a producer, sure....Kanye is great. Though I feel he struggles making GREAT beats without samples. Like 9 times out of 10 it's a beat with a sample. I still wouldn't rate him with Premier or Dre status as far as great hip hop producers.