Was it really a secret that Alchemist got influenced by Madlib and Oh No a few years ago? I thought that was really obvious, and Alchemist has certainly not made it a secret or anything. He's 100% said that Madlib has been a big influence over him recently. The fact that people are using that as a "gotcha" type thing seems strange to me, but whatever. Or maybe I'm reading some of the posts wrong.
They're both top 5 guys out there. I'm actually gonna take a step that might get me flamed, but I'll say that I think Dilla actually used a lot of Madlib's style to a certain extent, especially after Jaylib. The same way Premier, Muggs, and Madlib have inspired Alchemist, the same way Pete Rock, RZA, Premier, and Dilla influenced 9th Wonder...
If you go back and listen to Jaylib the joints that sound like Dilla joints from the Donuts era/fans jumping on the bandwagon, are actually the Madlib beats. To me a lot of Donuts seemed like Madlib shyt. Again, not trying to offend any super Dilla heads out there.
As far as the argument Bog Mel started (lol) at hand--I would rather listen to Alchemist's discography because of the rappers he's worked with (Mobb, Nas, etc.), but I don't think anyone would say you're crazy for thinking Madlib is a better producer. Which makes it even stranger that you made this thread. Just my humble 2 cents.
