Top 50 Hip-Hop/Rap Albums Of All Time.

KenKaniff said:
I think a top 50 would be too stressful for me to make. That's what's holding me back. How am I supposed to come up with fifty albums throughout my entire life, and then I'll inevitably be bummed when I realize I've forgotten some gems.

Also, are we talking about bests or favorites here? Big difference.
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I dont think 1 person can really do a best cause ultimately its just they favorites lol

For a proper best list I think it needs to be a group effort. And each person in the group has to vary in age/religion/culture/location ect otherwise the results will be all messed up. You would probably need a huge "group" aswell to really get the an accurate look at something that might resemble a best.

And even once this was done everyone would hate it because the top 3 wasnt a young thug album or some hip new mumble rapper.
 
Believer101 said:
I dont think 1 person can really do a best cause ultimately its just they favorites lol
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There's definitely a big difference between best and favorites. For sure there's overlap, but there's times where they don't intersect.

Example: JAY Z - Volume 2 is one of my absolute favorite albums. I enjoy the music plus there's an emotional connection to a certain time/experiences of my life. I also know that if I take my personal taste and feelings out of it, I don't think it would be top 50 from an outsider point of view.
 
If I try think of everyone and consider what might be the most safest albums to be on a best list then this would probably be all I can muster.

  • Kanye West ‎– My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) Hip-Hop
  • 2pac - All Eyez On Me (1996) Hip-Hop
  • Fugees ‎– The Score (1996) Hip-Hop
  • N.W.A ‎– Straight Outta Compton (1988) Hip-Hop
  • OutKast ‎– ATLiens
  • Dr. Dre - 2001
  • Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
  • 2Pac- Me Against the World (1995)
  • Dr. Dre - The Chronic
  • Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
  • Nas - Illmatic
  • Outkast - Aquemini
  • Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die
  • Ice Cube - Letal Injection


And that is all I could come up with that might generally be on everyones best list for the most part lol.. pretty small lol (not in order) @KenKaniff

And I bet tons of people hate this list lol

@Clint Howard already hates it because it has an album that isnt that old in it
 
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This is tough to do, here's my top 30:

  1. Nas - Illmatic
  2. Common - Be
  3. Kanye West - Late Registration
  4. The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
  5. Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool
  6. Jay-Z - The Blueprint
  7. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
  8. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
  9. Fugees - The Score
  10. The Game - The Documentary
  11. Childish Gambino - Camp
  12. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
  13. Eric B. & Rakim - Follow the Leader
  14. Wale - Attention Deficit
  15. Jay-Z - The Black Album
  16. Saba - Care For Me
  17. Kanye West - The College Dropout
  18. Juvenile - 400 Degreez
  19. Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
  20. Jay-Z and Kanye West - Watch the Throne
  21. Beastie Boys - Greatest Hits
  22. The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death
  23. Nas - Stillmatic
  24. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
  25. Pusha T - Daytona
  26. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.
  27. Kanye West - Graduation
  28. Black Star - Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star
  29. A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
  30. GZA - Liquid Swords
 
RowBearToe said:
This is tough to do, here's my top 30:

  1. Nas - Illmatic
  2. Common - Be
  3. Kanye West - Late Registration
  4. The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
  5. Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool
  6. Jay-Z - The Blueprint
  7. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
  8. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
  9. Fugees - The Score
  10. The Game - The Documentary
  11. Childish Gambino - Camp
  12. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
  13. Eric B. & Rakim - Follow the Leader
  14. Wale - Attention Deficit
  15. Jay-Z - The Black Album
  16. Saba - Care For Me
  17. Kanye West - The College Dropout
  18. Juvenile - 400 Degreez
  19. Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
  20. Jay-Z and Kanye West - Watch the Throne
  21. Beastie Boys - Greatest Hits
  22. The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death
  23. Nas - Stillmatic
  24. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
  25. Pusha T - Daytona
  26. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.
  27. Kanye West - Graduation
  28. Black Star - Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star
  29. A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
  30. GZA - Liquid Swords
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Great list :) tons of classics!

Dont think ive seen DAMN get over his other titles ;) but pleased to see some people think childish gambino is great.
 
Believer101 said:
Great list :) tons of classics!

Dont think ive seen DAMN get over his other titles ;) but pleased to see some people think childish gambino is great.
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Yeah, I'm still up in the air with my Kendrick choices haha I was late to the game and didn't listen to GKMC or TPAB when they were released. I listened to, and loved, DAMN. when it came out and then went back and listened to those albums and didn't fall in love with them. I actually was listening to DAMN. when I made this list and it didn't resonate with me as much as I remembered it doing a couple years ago. I think I need to go back and spend more time with those other two releases for sure.

Childish is another one I struggle with, I absolutely love everything he's done, but the two latest albums are hard to classify for me. Awaken, My Love is a funk album to me, and Because the Internet I don't really see as fully hip hop for some reason haha I'm weird, but Childish is tough to put a label on with his most recent stuff.
 
RowBearToe said:
Yeah, I'm still up in the air with my Kendrick choices haha I was late to the game and didn't listen to GKMC or TPAB when they were released. I listened to, and loved, DAMN. when it came out and then went back and listened to those albums and didn't fall in love with them. I actually was listening to DAMN. when I made this list and it didn't resonate with me as much as I remembered it doing a couple years ago. I think I need to go back and spend more time with those other two releases for sure.

Childish is another one I struggle with, I absolutely love everything he's done, but the two latest albums are hard to classify for me. Awaken, My Love is a funk album to me, and Because the Internet I don't really see as fully hip hop for some reason haha I'm weird, but Childish is tough to put a label on with his most recent stuff.
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I'm that cat that didn't love Good Kid after adoring Section 80. I remember texting my brother after Fly Lo's album dropped and being like... I think Kendrick's about to drop a masterpiece. I listened to TPAB roughly 50 times in a month long period that March/April. It'll go down as my album of the decade unless something miraculous happens.

That said, I have a close friend who is more of a Kayne type (not saying that's true of you). but Damn was the album that finally got him to pay attention.

Also, I've been digging through these lists... I forgot how fire the Jay-Z unplugged album is. Was on a road trip with college buddies to gut houses post-Katrina when I heard it for the first time. Had never been a big Jay-Z guy, but it's what triggered my love for The Blueprint. (Same road trip that I heard Black Star for the first time). Gonna have to find a copy and re-listen.
 
I dunno why but TPAB was my fav album for a long while but mad city just getting into my brain and now takes the spot. its such a brilliant album.
 
the lack of replies on this thread suggests to me why hip hop is now a classic item. im not putting down whatever it is thaty call hip hop these days (its not); but it seems like the next generation simply doesnt know. i feel like its std awareness- how do we educate these kids?
 
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I am actually having a very good feeling about the culture after going through the thread. Most of the lists on here do not line up with my own, but I love the thinking behind them.
 
jaycee said:
This Jungle Brothers convo is great

If people who are interested in understanding the difference between the culture and the game, and maybe learning a little something check it out. It's worth the whole hour of time

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Saw this and love it.
 
jaycee said:
This Jungle Brothers convo is great

If people who are interested in understanding the difference between the culture and the game, and maybe learning a little something check it out. It's worth the whole hour of time

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I still stand by the fact that they invented industrial rap. Crazywisdommasters was Death Grips in 93. Fight me.

PVDUBBER said:
I am actually having a very good feeling about the culture after going through the thread. Most of the lists on here do not line up with my own, but I love the thinking behind them.
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I agree. It's fun to see where people are coming from but I can't speak for everyone else but there was like 10-20 albums I thought of that should be on there within the next day or so immediately after posting my list. I'm sure it's the same for others.
 
Dead C said:
I only scanned the first page, but I didn't see Liquid Swords, so I already know that my list would differ. I did see some Kool Keith and Co-Flow, though, and that makes me happy.
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Yeah, Liquid Swords is definitely one of my oops, why didn't that make it on there mixups.. but again, i feel like i could change 10-20 of those listed at any given time.
 
Clint Howard said:
Yeah, Liquid Swords is definitely one of my oops, why didn't that make it on there mixups.. but again, i feel like i could change 10-20 of those listed at any given time.
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That's exactly why I don't even want to start trying to make one of these. Plus, I'm entirely convinced that I could hear an album tomorrow that I'd just never come across or given the appropriate time to, and it could jump right in the mix like that. That's why you guys need to get that label/club situation going. I find something new every day and don't plan to stop doing that, ever.
 
sorcerer said:
sucks that it got really mixed reviews from people

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He played it off cool but I think it hurt him bad the reactions it got.
So Im expecting his next project to be like his other ones but I didnt mind his experimental side it just took a while to grow on me.
 
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