Your 10 best hip-hop/rap albums of all time

[Lowerdeck]

Looking at the debate going on in the Illmatic topic, I'm curious as to what you view as the 10 best rap albums of all time.

1. Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death

2. GZA - Liquid Swords

3. Wu Tang Clan - 36 Chambers

4. Nas - Illmatic

5. Nas - I Am

6. Eminem - Slim Shady LP

7. Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die

8. Nas - It Was Written

9. Dr. Dre - The Chronic

10. Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury

This was tougher than I thought...

[gunnar hendershow]

1. Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die

2. GZA - Liquid Swords

3. Wu-Tang Clan - 36 Chambers

4. Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet

5. Nas - Illmatic

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

7. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory

8. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique

9. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising

10. Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt

Give me 5 minutes and I'll make a totally new list for you. Top 3 is probably not gonna ever change though.

[Iain76er]

1. DJ Shadow- Endtroducing...

2. Pubic Enemy- It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

3. GZA/Genius- Liquid Swords

4. The Roots- Phrenology

5. Dizzee Rascal- Boy In Da Corner

6. The Streets- A Grand Don't Come For Free

7. Public Enemy- Apocalypse '91... The Enemy Strikes Black

8. Eminem- The Marshall Mathers LP

9. Jay-Z- The Black Album

10. Ghostface Killah- Fishscale

... probably.

[Skummy]

1. GZA - Liquid Swords (which I've seen performed live, in its entirety. YES.)

2. Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions...

3. Wu-Tang Clan - 36 Chambers

4. Dälek - Abandoned Language

5. Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die

6. Public Enemy - Fear Of A Black Planet

7. NWA - Straight Outta Compton

8. Saul Williams - Saul Williams.

Can't think of another two.

[Spee]

N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton

Dr. Dre - 2001

Busta Rhymes - E.L.E. - Extinction Level Event

Buck 65 - Situation

M.I.A. - Kala

Ice Cube - The Predator

DJ Shadow - Endtroducing...

Cyne - Evolution Fight

MC Solaar - Mach 5

Madvillain - Madvillainy

[reyrey619]

1. Wu-Tang Clan- 36 Chambers

2. Lupe Fiasco- The Cool

3. Lupe Fiasco- Food and Liquor

4. Jay-Z- The Blueprint

5. Kanye West- College Dropout

6. Raekwon- Only Built For Cuban Linx

7. Ghostface Killah- Fishscale

8. Public Enemy- It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

9. Dr. Dre- 2001

10. Jurassic 5- Quality Control

[VerbalPuke]

1. NWA - Straight Outta Compton

2. Eazy E - 187 It's On

3. Busta Rhymes - Extinction Level Event

4. Erik B. and Rakim - Paid in Full

5. Mr. Lif - I Phantom

6. Beastie Boys - Check Your Head

7. Mr. Lif - Emergency Rations

8. Erik B. and Rakim - Follow the Leader

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

That's it for me.

Edited August 19, 2008 by VerbalPuke

[illmatic]

1. NaS - "Illmatic"

2. 2Pac - "All Eyez On Me"

3. Dr. Dre - "The Chronic"

4. NWA - "Straight Outta Compton"

5. NaS - "Stillmatic"

6. Wu-Tang - "36 Chambers"

7. NaS - "Untitled" (we all know the real name of this album)

8. NaS - "I Am..."

9. The Roots - "Game Theory"

10. 2Pac - "Me Against The World"

[penguinman]

This isn't in any order at all. I couldn't decide on which album to put for 10 so I just put both.

1 Mos Def and Talib Kweli - Black Star

2 Eminem - The Slim Shady LP

3 Nas - Illmatic

4 Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt

5 Mos Def - Black on Both Sides

6 Kanye West - College Dropout

7 2pac - All Eyez on Me

8 Wu-Tang - 36 Chambers

9 GZA - Liquid Swords

10 Talib Kweli - Reflection Eternal or Quality

[StylesClashLover]

1. 2pac - All Eyez On Me

2. Immortal Technique - Revolutionary (part 2)

3. Jedi Mind Tricks - Servants In Heaven, Kings In Hell

4. Jay Z - Reasonable Doubt

5. Big Pun - Capital Punishment

6. Nas - Illmatic

7. Jedi Mind Tricks - Violet By Design

8. Jay Z - The Black Album

9. Kanye West - College Dropout

10. Joe Budden - Mood Muzik 3

[Lord Nibbler]

1. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) - Wu-Tang Clan

2. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx - Raekwon

3. Ready To Die - The Notorious B.I.G.

4. Reasonable Doubt - Jay-Z

5. Illmatic - Nas

6. Liquid Swords - GZA

7. The Chronic - Dr. Dre

8. Rip the Jacker - Canibus

9. Black Star - Black Star (Mos Def & Talib Kweli)

10. The Marshall Mathers LP - Eminem

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

1. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising

There's no school like the old school. (Y)

[DeeJam]

1) Ready To Die - Notorious B.I.G.

2) The Chronic - Dr. Dre

3) Doggystyle - Snoop Dogg

4) The Great Adventures of Slick Rick - Slick Rick

5) Illmatic - Nas

6) Food & Liquor - Lupe Fiasco

7) The Shadiest One - W.C.

8) The Eminem Show - Eminem

9) Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A.

10) The Blueprint - Jay-Z

[RPS]

1) Outkast - Stankonia

2) Kanye West - Graduation

3) Jay Z - The Black Album

4) Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP

5) Missy Elliott - Miss E: So Addictive

6) Dizzee Rascal- Boy In Da Corner

7) Kanye West - College Dropout

8) N.E.R.D - In Search Of

9) Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty

10) Outkast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below

Kanye West

[DMN in the House]

I don't even know if I have ten hip hop/rap albums I like enough anymore to make a list...

1. The Lucy Ford LP - Atmosphere

2. God Loves Ugly - Atmosphere

3. The Marshall Mathers LP - Eminem

4. Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A.

5. The Chronic - Dr. Dre

6. The Slim Shady LP - Eminem

7. Stankonia - OutKast

8. All Eyez on Me - Tupac Shakur

9. Doggystyle - Snoop Dogg

10. Ready to Die - Notorious B.I.G.

[JStarr]

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

2. N.W.A.--Straight Outta Compton

3. Beastie Boys--Paul's Boutique

4. LL Cool J--Mama Said Knock You Out

5. Eminem--The Marshall Mathers LP

6. De La Soul--3 Feet High and Rising

7. Eric B. and Rakim--Don't Sweat the Technique

8. Big Daddy Kane--Taste of Chocolate

9. Gang Starr--Hard to Earn

10. PM Dawn--The Bliss Album

Not necessarily an album, per se, but I've been playing a lot of the Def Jam 10th Anniversary box set lately. Lots of LL, PE, Beasties, 3rd Bass, Onyx, and some great one-off tracks. Released right before Russell started getting more into fashion and poetry and Rick Rubin started working with Johnny Cash.

[mikevandam]

1. Beastie Boys--Paul's Boutique

2. Dr. Dre - The Chronic

3. Outkast - Stankonia

4. Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die

5. Wu-Tang - 36 Chambers

6. 2pac - All Eyez On Me

7. NWA - Straight Outta Compton

8. Nas - Illmatic

9. Jay-z - Reasonable Doubt

10. Gangstaar - Step in the arena

[Jook]

1. Why?- Alopecia

The only hip-hop album I've liked the whole way through.