10 Best Hip-Hop Albums of All Time

[HarDRhymR]

I was late to the 10 Best Hip-Hop Songs thread. After some thought, it seems impossible to come-up with a decent list of songs and not completely omit many deserving songs. Instead I think a list of the 10 best albums is a little easier and probably more fun to speculate.

I too am oldschool. I remember putting 2 "boomboxes" together (speaker to speaker) and recording Lodi Dodi & FlyGirls straight off the radio from 1 box to the next. I remember actually going up and down the neighborhood with cut up cardboard box and radio to have breakdancing contests. I remember fights in school over who was the best beatboxer.

Anyway as a result I do like Hip-Hop in its purest form. Short Samples, looped hooks/bridges and pure rhyme talent. My list basically sticks to this formula while expanding the musics sounds, verbal styles, topics and boundaries.

10. [i][b]Me Against the World [/b] [/i] - Tupac * Some would argue [i]All Eyes On Me [/i] or [i]Makavelli[/i] were better but in my opinion, only in a commercial since. This is Pac's reflections on life. It has his classic anger but is thought through. It is his love for his culture. The production is wonderful. I am an professed funkateer and the Isley Brother's bass on [u]Dear Mama [/u] & Zapp and Roger's sample on [u]Temptations[/u] are perfect. F*ck the World, Death Around the Corner, & Outlaw are preludes to latter music; pure raw gangsta hip-hop. It is also probably more of his legacy then should be remembered. Listening to those songs now is like watching Star Wars episode 2 in anticipation of the emergance of Darth Vader. What more can you say about [b][u]Me Against the World [/u] [/b] other than the term, Song, & Album literally became the anthem of an entire nation of young black men. He was the original Thug and much more.

9. [i][b]Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star [/b] [/i] - Black Star * This album is superior. It is not your typical booty shake, gangsta, or conscious record. High Techs production fits these artists like a glove. It is rare for jazz and rap to build like this particularly on this side of 2000. Mos Def's crowd rocking style and Talib's pure lyricism blend like beans & rice. At a time when conscious hip-hop fans were starving Mos, Talib, & High Tech fed the masses. Damn I'm hungry again....

8. [i][b]Hard To Earn [/b] [/i] - Gangstarr* Its the code of the streets. This is what Hip-Hop should be. If I had to give someone 1 album to express hip-hop this would be it. [i]Ton'z O' Gunz, Mass Appeal, DWYCK, The Planet[/i]...Premier is in a production class only Dr Dre can join him in. It is his best work. Guru is an icon who has not and probably will not get the credit he deserves. Gangstarr is a group that has not changed with the times and still produce new and classic material. Alot of people will not feel this album. It is not exactly club or radio friendly. It is 2 masters doing what they do.

7. [i][b]ATliens[/b][/i] - Outkast * Greetings earthlings! As opposed to Gangstarr, Outkast with each new album constantly change and come up something total different from the masterpiece they release before it. When [i]Southernplayalisticadillacfunkymusic[/i] dropped it was dripping funk but had that special southern flavor never before heard. It was great. [i]ATliens[/i] goes in another direction and it works beautifully. BigBoi is pimp. Always was and always will be. This is the point where Andre's raw talent meets maturity. My favorite rap performance by an individual on a group album.

6. [i][b]The Chronic [/b] [/i] - Dr Dre * It bumps. Pure riding music. Its the album everyone had. Its the Chronic

5. [i][b]Enter the 36 Chambers [/b] [/i] - Wu Tang Clan * Never has a hip-hop album been wrapped in a concept so ingenuous. The idea of pairing the greatest collection of lyrical talent with soundbites of my favorite old kung-fu flicks. It was new and changed the game. I personally don't think this was the greatest Wu Tang effort. [i]Cuban Links, Forever, & Supreme Clientele [/i] were overall better. But this one let the cat out the bag. They over saturated the market, but that sound is so genuine and fresh that this albums mark on the culture is laid in cement.

4. [i][b]Illmatic[/b][/i] - Nas * The best lyrical album ever.

3. [i][b]Straight Outta Compton [/b] [/i] - NWA * This album captured the feelings of hoodbrotha's all over the country. We realized we had everything and nothing in common with the cats on the West Coast. It was Commando, Rambo & the Good the Bad the Ugly on wax. The hardest music every. It gets no rawer. Everyone was wearing Loc's, Raider hats, and Chucks after this. We would argue who would win a fight (let alone a rhyme battle) between, MC Ren, Cube, & Dre. As much as we loved it the mainstream media hated it. This is the Archetype Gangsta album.

2. [i][b]Criminal Minded [/b] [/i] - KRS-1 * Rap is currently suffering from the influence of media companies who cookie-cut artists and push commericality as opposed to expression and skill. [i]Criminal Minded [/i] crushes this mentality before it got started. The teacher exposed many of us to our first thoughts of consciousness. I view [i]Criminal Minded [/i] as the first installment of a trilogy which also included, [i]By Any Means Necessary and Edutainment[/i]. In my opinion these albums caused more people to question their tradition ways of thinking then any highschool or teacher every could. The Blast Master lays the groundwork for the Teacher here by collecting street cred while giving us some of the greatest raw hip-hop beats ever spun. [u]Criminal Minded, South Bronx, The Bridge is Over, Super Hoe[/u]...the album reads like a alltime great rap songs collection album.

1. [i][b]Paid In Full [/b] [/i] - Eric B & Rakim * This was not the first full rap album, but it might as well have been. There is Hip-Hop before and then after this album. It is hard to put into words how this album made me feel when I first heard it. On [i]Streets Disciple [/i] Nas has a song that is an unauthorized biography of Rakim. At one point in the song Nas says the Muslims were amazed how Rakims lyrics could make people adopt Islamic ways without converting or being taught. That statement is true and also goes for Rakim's influence on all MC's. Listening to the lyrics of artists before and then after this album is like a Model T to a 2007 Bentley. It is impossible for there to be another jump in the quality of rhyming like this record caused. And the beats....just listen to the oldschool instruments [u]Eric B for President & Chinese Arithmetic[/u]. Whatever happended to hip-hop instrumentals? I challenge anyone to listen to [u]I Ain't No Joke [/u] and think it has to be an alltime great rap song. [u]Check Out My Melody[/u]. [u]Move the Crowd[/u]. But the thing that makes this album my #1 is the fact that ALL THE SONGs are like that. You are not a true Hip-Hop fan/head/b-boy/whatever if you don't have this album in your collection.

Sorry for the long post but once I got started I couldn't stop. Finally to all the "nu school" fans a question. If you ask a true jazz fan about the "old school" artists how do they respond? They can tell you their songs, styles, record labels, who they played with, etc...They are true fans of the art. Do you think Bradford Marselis would diss Coltrane? If you have not or refuse to listen to the old school artists and acknowledge their greatness you are not a true fan. You should quit playing cool and just be pop.

[Guest BadassBengal]

Overall, damn fine list. I've never been a big fan of KRS, though. And I can't really stand Outkast except for a few songs like B.O.B. and The Whole World, but great list.

[Guest ONYX]

[quote name='HarDRhymR' post='274327' date='May 28 2006, 01:36 PM']1. [i][b]Paid In Full [/b] [/i] - Eric B & Rakim * This was not the first full rap album, but it might as well have been. There is Hip-Hop before and then after this album. It is hard to put into words how this album made me feel when I first heard it. On [i]Streets Disciple [/i] Nas has a song that is an unauthorized biography of Rakim. At one point in the song Nas says the Muslims were amazed how Rakims lyrics could make people adopt Islamic ways without converting or being taught. That statement is true and also goes for Rakim's influence on all MC's. Listening to the lyrics of artists before and then after this album is like a Model T to a 2007 Bentley. It is impossible for there to be another jump in the quality of rhyming like this record caused. And the beats....just listen to the oldschool instruments [u]Eric B for President & Chinese Arithmetic[/u]. Whatever happended to hip-hop instrumentals? I challenge anyone to listen to [u]I Ain't No Joke [/u] and think it has to be an alltime great rap song. [u]Check Out My Melody[/u]. [u]Move the Crowd[/u]. But the thing that makes this album my #1 is the fact that ALL THE SONGs are like that. You are not a true Hip-Hop fan/head/b-boy/whatever if you don't have this album in your collection.

Sorry for the long post but once I got started I couldn't stop. Finally to all the "nu school" fans a question. If you ask a true jazz fan about the "old school" artists how do they respond? They can tell you their songs, styles, record labels, who they played with, etc...They are true fans of the art. Do you think Bradford Marselis would diss Coltrane? If you have not or refuse to listen to the old school artists and acknowledge their greatness you are not a true fan. You should quit playing cool and just be pop.[/quote]




Paid in Full was awesome. I remember going to the record store and buying the 12" vinyl.

However, I think Snoop Dog's debut album deserves at least an honorable mention.

[HarDRhymR]

I agree Doggy Style was dope. Here are a couple others:

Strictly Business - EPMD
Life Is...Too Short - Too Short
Bizarre Ride on the Pharcyde - The Pharcyde
The Low End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest
Midnight Mauraders - A Tribe Called Quest
The Life & Times of Shawn Carter Vol 1 - Jay Z
Ready to Die - Notorious BIG
Illadeph Halflife - The Roots
Amerikkka's Most Wanted - Ice Cube
Hot, Cool & Vicious - Salt N Pepa

[|Bunghole|]

I know I'm being the white guy here, but no Beastie Boys?
They play their own instruments, have killer samples, funky basslines and beats, and have been around literally forever as far as the genre goes.
And I agree, Snoop deserves a mention in their somewhere, if not for his smooth delivery and style then for his early affiliations with Dre.
When I was in the Army in the 80's and early 90's I remember hanging out with my African American friends and listening to "Fear Of A Black Planet" and watching them danceing and pointing at me, the only white guy while they sang along to lyrics like "Elvis was a rascist, simple and plain, muthah fuck him AND John Wayne" and such....good times...
...and most of MY heroes don't appear on a stamp, either....

[Guest mongoloido]

I'm not a Rap guy, but I'd have thought the list was missing:

Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

[HarDRhymR]

[quote name='Bunghole' post='274769' date='May 30 2006, 08:15 AM']I know I'm being the white guy here, but no Beastie Boys?
They play their own instruments, have killer samples, funky basslines and beats, and have been around literally forever as far as the genre goes.
And I agree, Snoop deserves a mention in their somewhere, if not for his smooth delivery and style then for his early affiliations with Dre.
When I was in the Army in the 80's and early 90's I remember hanging out with my African American friends and listening to "Fear Of A Black Planet" and watching them danceing and pointing at me, the only white guy while they sang along to lyrics like "Elvis was a rascist, simple and plain, muthah fuck him AND John Wayne" and such....good times...
...and most of MY heroes don't appear on a stamp, either....[/quote]


I attended Ohio Univ. in 1991-92 and I remember my first night in the dorms. I had a white roommate from Pittsburg who loved Jimmy Buffet, Chicago, and Boston. Needless to say I had to find another friend. I was literally the only brotha in the whole dorm. I went up to the 2nd floor to check out the lay of the land and all I heard was Straight Outta Compton pounding and...I mean pounding. I thought cool, some more brotha's, and went to the room to check it out....damn if it wasn't 3 white guys?!?! Wow. I couldn't believe it. I didn't know how to feel. On one level I was embarrased by the use of the nigg* word in front of white people. Then I was pissed and felt like they had no business bumping NWA anyway. They were cool though and we would hang and talk. We became friends and hopefully better men because we discussed the word nigg*, and affirmative action, and rodney king, other issues of life & race with a comfort level provided by Hip-Hop. The sound & energy of hip-hop was a magnet that bridged different racial & class backgrounds. The political commentary and artistry of the music provided a format to swap ideas.

Anyway serious omit on my part...no PE. They at least should have made honorable mention. It Takes A Nation of Millions should definitely fit in the top 10. Fear of a Black Planet is right behind it. And wow what a concert. They came to Hara Arena in Dayton back in the day. I remember the S1W's marching into the show with Prof Griff leading the way....off the hook. The whole show was hyped.

The Beastie Boys do deserve their credit. I still like the Beastie Boys because they maintained a certain quality of sound. Their stuff became increasing more politically relevant while maintaining a old-school flavor that is the backbone of their vibe and part of what made them relevant. And who didn't have that first album. Paul Revere, Brass Money, Girls....

[BK Cincy Connection]

[quote name='Bunghole' post='274769' date='May 30 2006, 08:15 AM']I know I'm being the white guy here, but no Beastie Boys?
They play their own instruments, have killer samples, funky basslines and beats, and have been around literally forever as far as the genre goes.
And I agree, [b]Snoop deserves a mention in their somewhere, if not for his smooth delivery and style then for his early affiliations with Dre.[/b]When I was in the Army in the 80's and early 90's I remember hanging out with my African American friends and listening to "Fear Of A Black Planet" and watching them danceing and pointing at me, the only white guy while they sang along to lyrics like "Elvis was a rascist, simple and plain, muthah fuck him AND John Wayne" and such....good times...
...and most of MY heroes don't appear on a stamp, either....[/quote]

Snoop probably gets enuff love with Da Chronic...after that album to me Doggystyle was a letdown.

[BK Cincy Connection]

I won't put these in order but some of my favs:

PE-It Takes a Nation of Millions...
BDP-the one after Criminal Minded w/KRS on the cover posing like Malcolm X.
Eric B & Rakim-Paid in Full
Biggie Smalls-Ready to Die
EPMD-first album? (You gots to Chill, I shot the Sherriff etc.)
Wu Tang-36 Chambers
Tribe Called Quest-Low End Theory
Common-Resurrection
LL Cool J-Radio
Run DMC-King of Rock
Pac-pick em All Eyez on Me, Me against the World, Machivelli
Dre-Da Chronic (skits some of the funniest ever)
NWA-first album (name?) fuck the police-etc.
Eazy mothafuckin E-"we wanna fuck you Eazy, yeah I wanna fuck you too..." (the one with "Dopeman, Dopeman"
Outkast-Atliens

[HarDRhymR]

[quote name='BK Cincy Connection' post='276520' date='Jun 2 2006, 12:43 PM']I won't put these in order but some of my favs:

PE-It Takes a Nation of Millions...
BDP-the one after Criminal Minded w/KRS on the cover posing like Malcolm X. [i]By Any Means Necessary[/i]
Eric B & Rakim-Paid in Full
Biggie Smalls-Ready to Die
EPMD-first album? (You gots to Chill, I shot the Sherriff etc.) - [i]Strictly Business[/i]
Wu Tang-36 Chambers
Tribe Called Quest-Low End Theory
[b]Common-Resurrection[/b]
LL Cool J-Radio
Run DMC-King of Rock
Pac-pick em All Eyez on Me, Me against the World, Machivelli[/quote]

I love Common and Resurrection was a great album. [u]I Used to Love Her [/u] is a classic. Common is the type of artists who will be more appreciated after his gone. [i]Be[/i] is dope too.

[BK Cincy Connection]

[quote name='HarDRhymR' post='276523' date='Jun 2 2006, 12:48 PM']I love Common and Resurrection was a great album. [u]I Used to Love Her [/u] is a classic. Common is the type of artists who will be more appreciated after his gone. [i]Be[/i] is dope too.[/quote]

thx for fillin in those album titles...yeah, Common may be slightly ahead of his time (so is Mos Def, very underappreciated but the shit he says is very sick and his rhymes are very precise, no sloppiness, he puts massive thought into each word-his poet side, then delivers it in a great way with great confidence-actor side...

anybody remember the title of Eazy E's album...if I play that today, I would be going crazy getting amped up just like 89 or so all over again.

maybe Eazy Does It (I know that was a song too)

[|Bunghole|]

[quote name='BK Cincy Connection' post='276594' date='Jun 2 2006, 12:47 PM']thx for fillin in those album titles...yeah, Common may be slightly ahead of his time (so is Mos Def, very underappreciated but the shit he says is very sick and his rhymes are very precise, no sloppiness, he puts massive thought into each word-his poet side, then delivers it in a great way with great confidence-actor side...

anybody remember the title of Eazy E's album...if I play that today, I would be going crazy getting amped up just like 89 or so all over again.

maybe Eazy Does It (I know that was a song too)[/quote]
Was that the Eazy-E album that was basically recorded as a response to "The Chronic"?
"Mr Prankster prankster, storybook gangsta, back in '86 you wore pumps and mascara...."
That one?
"Boys in tha hood are always hard, come talking that trash they'll pull your card...."
Remember when people used to use that phrase, "Pull your card"? Always liked that.

[BK Cincy Connection]

[quote name='Bunghole' post='276596' date='Jun 2 2006, 02:52 PM']Was that the Eazy-E album that was basically recorded as a response to "The Chronic"?
"Mr Prankster prankster, storybook gangsta, back in '86 you wore pumps and mascara...."
That one?
"Boys in tha hood are always hard, come talking that trash they'll pull your card...."
Remember when people used to use that phrase, "Pull your card"? Always liked that.[/quote]

The Eazy album I am referring to predates NWA and thus Chronic...Eazy was the first member to put out an album then he came with NWA...

But "boyz in the hood are always hard, comin talkin that trash, we'll pull your card" is from the album I am referring to.

"ain't nothin in life but to be legit, don't quote me boy, cause I ain't said shit"

Eazy certainly isn't a great lyricist but his was the first Gangsta/West Coast (Kool G Rap held down the East Coast gangstas at that time) style and I liked it, very original at the time dare I say groundbreaking.

Also one addition to my I think top 12 or 13 albums is
GangStarr-Daily Operation

[BK Cincy Connection]

Another for consideration always overlooked on these lists...

Main Source-Breaking Atoms

[HarDRhymR]

[quote name='BK Cincy Connection' post='276641' date='Jun 2 2006, 04:16 PM']Also one addition to my I think top 12 or 13 albums is
GangStarr-Daily Operation[/quote]

No doubt.