1. Illmatic - groundbreaking work from a then 19 year old Nasir Jones over the entire album. Nas influenced so many other artists with the style he first became famous for on his debut album. Universally regarded as one of the best rap albums of all time.
2. Chronic 2001 - this album was just a masterpiece and while Dr Dre isn't a tremendous rapper he is amazing at putting people on the right songs and on this album there are countless classics with verses from the likes of Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Hitman, Xzibit, and of course Dre himself. My personal favorite is "Xplosive".
3. Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt - by far Jay Zs best album from a lyrical perspective and I think the beats are timeless. While Kanyes work on the Blueprint makes it a close second to RD, I think Jay Z made clear it was his most important work by agreeing to trade in all his ownership of Roc A Fella records for the rights to the master copy of Reasonable Doubt.
4. Wu Tang Clan - Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers) - just a wild album from start to finish with beats that are complex and fun and dark all at the same time. The lyrical work is top notch across the whole group but I especially love ODBs contributions as well as method mans. RZA is one of the best producers to ever do it.
5. Biggie Smalls - Ready to Die - was tough to exclude several classics here (College Dropout, All Eyez on Me, The Chronic, Good Kid MAAD City, Stillmatic, Marshall Mathers LP, almost any of Outkast early work) but I am partial to Biggies best work. He was such a unique talent and showcased his wide array of skills across a lot of top notch beats - while incorporating some amazing storytelling to boot. Gimme the Loot, Juicy, and Big Poppa stand out but suicidal thoughts is also very good.
2. Chronic 2001 - this album was just a masterpiece and while Dr Dre isn't a tremendous rapper he is amazing at putting people on the right songs and on this album there are countless classics with verses from the likes of Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Hitman, Xzibit, and of course Dre himself. My personal favorite is "Xplosive".
3. Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt - by far Jay Zs best album from a lyrical perspective and I think the beats are timeless. While Kanyes work on the Blueprint makes it a close second to RD, I think Jay Z made clear it was his most important work by agreeing to trade in all his ownership of Roc A Fella records for the rights to the master copy of Reasonable Doubt.
4. Wu Tang Clan - Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers) - just a wild album from start to finish with beats that are complex and fun and dark all at the same time. The lyrical work is top notch across the whole group but I especially love ODBs contributions as well as method mans. RZA is one of the best producers to ever do it.
5. Biggie Smalls - Ready to Die - was tough to exclude several classics here (College Dropout, All Eyez on Me, The Chronic, Good Kid MAAD City, Stillmatic, Marshall Mathers LP, almost any of Outkast early work) but I am partial to Biggies best work. He was such a unique talent and showcased his wide array of skills across a lot of top notch beats - while incorporating some amazing storytelling to boot. Gimme the Loot, Juicy, and Big Poppa stand out but suicidal thoughts is also very good.
