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[Andrew Korenchkin]

Yeah, self explanatory. But yeah, a few reasons why you came to your choices would be great, simply so we are not throwing around lists with little chance for discussion. I'll start, duh.

Fav all time is ATCQ's People's Instinctive Travels, because it's moody, and perfect in terms of music and mood. The beats are perfect, and the lyrics match. Besides, any album that extols the virtues of low cholesterol food is cool in my book.

Second is Bizarre Ride II. Nothing quite as animated as that album is. 36 Chambers rounds out the top three for being everything that rap should be: Full of personality, wild, and downright crazy.

 

[loudbill]

My favorite hip hop album would have to be The Low End Theory. The rhymes are on point, and so are the beats. The kicks and snares are god tier
My other favorite is ATLiens by Outkast. I listen to it so much. I love the vibe of it, its so chill you could fall asleep to it.

 

[Andrew Korenchkin]

My favorite hip hop album would have to be The Low End Theory. The rhymes are on point, and so are the beats. The kicks and snares are god tier
My other favorite is ATLiens by Outkast. I listen to it so much. I love the vibe of it, its so chill you could fall asleep to it.

Also, a shout out to Magic and Karl Malone...and Busta Rhymes IMO has the best verse on the entire album

 

[Jay-Hova]

Reasonable Doubt, created by my username-sake.
It's the prefect mix of high quality lyricism, not just mainly multi-syllable rhyming ala Nas or Eminem but top tier multi-syllable rhyming with amazing punchlines, metaphors, and a variety of other literary techniques that I believe Jay does better or as good as anyone else.
And then there's Jay Z's amazing flow(s) and humor/wit.
And lastly just the amazing song-writing which all of that play's apart in.
Something like Can I Live isn't a "rippity rapping" song, but it still display's a high level of technical proficiency while seeming simple effortlessly while Jay provides an amazing description into the exasperating, I don't know what to call it....life? Mentality of a hustler? While dropping gems and two verses that are qoutables as a collective, one of the best songs of all time.
And that's just one song, and this is just one album in his amazing career.
Man there's more I want to write about this so bad, honestly it's like a work of divine intervention, just that good, which I guess is why we call him Hova.

 

[blame space]

elephant eyelash is better than alopecia.

 

[dream]

It felt timeless in 1994, and still feels timeless in 2016. Smooth, conscious, sometimes-baffling raps spit over equally smooth jazz-infused beats. To me, there is no finer album in any genre.

 

[Spenny]

Illmatic - Nas

It my favorite because of Nas's ability to lyrically paint a picture of living in the shit end of NYC. Also, his insane rhyming ability still blows my mind to this day.

 

[Jacob]

Illmatic. Possibly the best-rapped album ever made, and the beats are all top notch. It's fantastic even if you ignore its influence.

Edit: beaten by less than a minute!

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Eminem's The Slim Shady LP. Just has my favourite tracks of his.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

I still have a lot of catching up to do, but here are mine at the time being.

It Was Written by Nas
Illmatic by Nas
A Piece of Strange by Cunninlynguists
Hard Core by Lil' Kim
Labella Mafia by Lil' Kim
Habit That You Blame by Gavlyn
Rebel Soul by Isis
L.I.F.E. (Living in Fear of Extinction) by Nefertiti
Jeanius by Jean Grae
College Dropout by Kanye West
Cold Winter by Sheisty Khrist x Lo Fidel

I'll expand on these sometime in the daylight. Need my sleep.

 

[burgervan]

I'm old and been listening to hip hop seriously since the early 90's so it feels weird choosing something so recent, but I've come to accept the fact that Kendrick is now my favorite MC of all time and Good Kid Maad City is my favorite rap album. It's damn near flawless.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Top 3

Ready to Die - Biggie. Incredibly original at the time. Only 1 guest spot. Just Biggie ripping through singles and raw beats.

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx - Raekwon. No filler. Ghostface and Raekwon going back and forth over Rza in his prime beats. Really a tossup between throwing this or Liquid Swords on here.

Capital Punishment - Big Pun. Great album with no bad tracks. Was torn between this and CNN War Report but Pun was just so consistently good on every track.

 

[brokenbeans]

I love everything about this album, it's dark and punchy full of fantastic rhymes that paint pictures in my mind so clear it's like watching one long rap video.

Till this day it's still an album that is constantly overlooked.

10,000th post, woop!

 

[Hip Hop]

Common's BE album is my favorite of all time.

All production handled by Kanye West, minus two tracks that were handled by J Dilla. No one else featured on the tracks rapping wise but Kanye on one verse. It's Hip-Hop distilled to its purest, with no nonsense or filler.

 

[Jay-Hova]

Common's BE album to me is my favorite of all time.

All production handled by Kanye West, minus two tracks that were handled by J Dilla. No one else featured on the tracks rapping wise but Kanye on one verse. It's Hip-Hop distilled to its purest, with no nonsense or filler.

I remember walking to school and listening to that album for the first time, I thought it was so amazing (and it still is).
My favorite song has to be It's Your World, seriously that's one of the best songs of all time and it's probably my favorite Common song.

 

[Andrew Korenchkin]

I love everything about this album, it's dark and punchy full of fantastic rhymes that paint pictures in my mind so clear it's like watching one long rap video.

Till this day it's still an album that is constantly overlooked.

10,000th post, woop!

I.ordered a copy of the album online...almost thirty dollars. Totally worth it.

 

[vern]

My favorite hip hop album would have to be The Low End Theory. The rhymes are on point, and so are the beats. The kicks and snares are god tier
My other favorite is ATLiens by Outkast. I listen to it so much. I love the vibe of it, its so chill you could fall asleep to it.

These two were what I was coming to say. ATLiens is my number one though. Never get bored of any track on there. Been listening to it for 20 years now 😳

Other top albums:
Future Development by Del the Funky Homosapien - I love the jazzy sound and I think it is peak Del lyrically and flow wise.

Soul Food by Goodie Mob - a couple of beautiful soulful tracks surrounded by extremely solid 90s southern rap. Whole album is listenable still to this day.

Illmatic - everyone has said it a million times, but it's amazing.

Ready to Die by Notorius BIG - dude was the smoothest

Southernplayalistic... By outkast - nearly a perfect album, notch below atliens. Claimin' True is the shit. Andres best verse ever IMO.

 

[brokenbeans]

I.ordered a copy of the album online...almost thirty dollars. Totally worth it.

It really is I also have a physical copy too.

People need to hear this album.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

Tribe Called Quest: Low End Theory

it has "Scenario" =)

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Wow, been a long time since I thought about this:

I guess as for why, they all represent pretty interesting takes on production, as well as differing types of delivery when it comes to the vocals. Each of those albums is a pretty key moment in the life of the rapper/group, and a fairly unique entry in their relative discographies.

 

[Nyx]

Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle

Pure gold, with just a few exceptions.
Fantastic production, great raps.

Cypress Hill - Temples of Boom

Cypress Hilll at it's best.

ATCQ - The Low End Theory

ATCQ at it's best.

Compton's Most Wanted - It's A Compton Thang

Nostalgia overload.

House of Pain - Same As It Ever Was

I can listen to this till I die. (and have been since it released)

Eazy E - It's On 187um Killa

Every second is damn good.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

YESSS a CMW mention.

 

[Nyx]

YESSS a CMW mention.

Underrated group indeed!

 

[Fugu]

Ready to Die, and it's not a tough decision for me. It's just so smooth!

 

[Jay-Hova]

Quite possibly my favorite album after Reasonable Doubt but won't really go into it as much.
But the production, and the humor/wit, and the sheer number of great songs just put's this on top for me.
And it has one of the best album openers of all time and two of the best closers with Gone and Late (late counts because it's a hidden track not a bonus track).

Top 3

Ready to Die - Biggie. Incredibly original at the time. Only 1 guest spot. Just Biggie ripping through singles and raw beats.

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx - Raekwon. No filler. Ghostface and Raekwon going back and forth over Rza in his prime beats. Really a tossup between throwing this or Liquid Swords on here.

Capital Punishment - Big Pun. Great album with no bad tracks. Was torn between this and CNN War Report but Pun was just so consistently good on every track.

I was just wondering, what about Capital Punishment makes you say this? I've only listened to it three times so I should probably spin it again, but besides a few standout tracks it just felt like a rhyming exhibition with no really amazing songs (this is just my opinion).

 

[Piston Hyundai]

Pretty happy to see Stakes is High and Future Development getting love. Both are great albums.

 

[JinjoUnchained]

Opening verse of Illmatic...

"Rappers I monkey flip em with the funky rhythm I be kickin', musician, inflict the composition"...

...and it only gets better from there.

 

[Catvoca]

Opening verse of Illmatic...

"Rappers I monkey flip em with the funky rhythm I be kickin', musician, inflict the composition"...

...and it only gets better from there.

You hear N.Y state of mind and you're like "This is the most insane rap song ever, how could could it get any better then this".....and then Life's a Bitch comes on.

 

[dafinezt]

It used to be Aquemini but over time I've come to love Stankonia just a bit more.

Weirdest, funkiest rap album I know of. It's filled with crazy sounds and awesome ideas.

 

[brokenbeans]

3 classics

 

[unempLLOYD]

I'm a production kinda guy.

 

[SolarPowered]

Illmatic - Nas
Lord Willin' - Clipse
Slim Shady LP - Marshall Mathers
Stillmatic - Nas
Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor - Lupe Fiasco
Modal Soul - Nujabes
The Eminem Show - Marshall Mathers
The Incredible True Story - Logic
Metaphorical Music - Nujabes
Koolmotor - Five Deez

Some of the ones that come to mind. Nas just nails the intensity of NYC rap as far as I'm concerned. Eminem was always ridiculous, over the top and lyrically awesome (despite how downright offensive he could be) and others like Nujabes have such beautiful melodies and variety of sounds that I can't not list his music. Clipse just has so many sick beats that I made Lord Willin' my unofficial Project Gotham 2 Racing soundtrack. If I ever drive a car that is more expensive than my net worth his album will likely be high on the list for driving music.

 

[sploatee]

Run The Jewels 2 is amazing.

But for me it's Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein.

Liquid Swords would probably be close behind.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

It's hard to explain why, it's just bigger than a collection of songs to me.

Plus, it has the Lennon and McCartney of rappers in it.

 

[EricTheRed]

My choice regularly changes but for me this represents the epitome of gangster rap and is, in many ways, the perfect rap album.

 

[Baron Doggystyle von Woof]

Illmatic
Enter the Wutang

My two favorites. After that it's Eminem and the rest by a mile.

 

[catashtrophe]

Best Group Album
Bone Thugs N Harmony - E 1999

This album is perfection from the amazing production to the way Bone flow through each track there is not a single weak song on the album

Alkoholiks - Coast to Coast

This is probably my 2nd fav group album, love this album and its so under-rated

Best Solo Albums
Ras Kass - Soul On Ice

When i first heard this i was blown away by the subject matter. Had Ras been able to follow this album up with other good albums he would have been one of the great but that was not to be.

Chino XL - Poison Pen

I love this album and listen to it often, tracks like Wordsmyth, Beastin, Skin just show how sick Chino is on the Mic

Nas Illmatic

Album is perfection so not much to say

Xzibit - Speed of Life

This album is brilliant and imo Xzibit's best work

Big Pun

Incredible album that blew me away when it came out

 

[What A Time To Be Alive]

 

[StrawberryJam]

Run The Jewels, RTJ2. An improvement on the first album in every way. First album is amazing as well though.

 

[zerotol]

Souls of mischief - 93 til infinity
Pharcyde - Bizarre ride
Goats - Tricks of the shade
All the early Wu tang solo stuff
Tribe Called quest - midnight marauders
Gang Starr- hard to earn

That's off the top of my head, I can't remember all the rest

 

[davidbloop]

Everyone's already listed some of my faves, but I figured I'd throw some different ones to the table, some of my favourite albums from Australian artists.


Vents - Marked for Death

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8-Wz3C_8LY

Just a great all around album. Entire tracklist is solid and consistent. Vents is one of my favourite emcees and coupled with Trials on production, just a good dream team and a very solid album


Hilltop Hoods - State of the Art

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq8PyyMbrYQ

I know a lot of people would choose The Calling as it's the album that really kicked things off for the Hoods, but for me State of the Art is the culmination of their abilities coming together in the tightest package.


Brad Strut - Legend Official

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8V_D6RZOJw

This album is a great example of consistency in lyricism. While not the greatest example of musical talent or production, it nails the essence of australian hip hop and embodies the sound of the genre when it was released. Just solid overall and again no tracks to be found to let it down.


Seth Sentry - Strange New Past

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwjnQEtc4p4

The newest album on my list, this album took what Seth Sentry was doing previously and managed to refine it into a darker overall tone. Seth manages to deliver on his lyrics and maintains a sense of humour through most tracks. Great production by Styles tops it off. Overall another great solid album.

 

[hobblygobbly]

It's Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill

What I love about it is that it's far from serious, it's silly and humorous and really their own best example of their albums that fuses hip hop and rock (rap-rock) incredibly well and the best example in general of it to date in my opinion along side with Run–D.M.C.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

Jedi Mind Tricks - Violent By Design

As for why...the production is not only absolutely beautiful (as Stoupe beats always seem to be), but the juxtaposition of the beautiful beats and Vinnie Paz's horrorcore style really are a nice mix. Jus Allah was the perfect voice to go alongside it throughout the album well. Note: Not all of it is horrorcore if you're not into that. This album is actually free of a lot of it. Mostly contains raw and sometimes thought provoking lyricism over wonderous beats.

Perfect song to exemplify is it Heavenly Divine. Give it a listen if you haven't.

 

[siddx]

5 perfect albums.

Nas- Illmatic
I was a production guy up to this point. This is the first album that made me realize that a really truly great rapper can overshadow any beat he is on. Not to say the production lacks on illmatic because it most certainly does not. But even if it did, Nas was so mesmerizing on this album it wouldn't have mattered.

Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
Chronic was great. Doggystyle was perfect. Just a fun, feel good album that showcases the very best of early 90's west coast. Everyone involved from Dre to Snoop to Daz to Kurupt to Rage were completely on their A game.

Scarface - Untouchable/The Diary
Two albums that are perfect to me in different ways but kind of feel like they belong together so I often listen to them back to back. The diary is his best album when each track is looked at individually. But untouchable feels like one long epic production, like a stage show that flows through a story. It's the soundtrack to every large body sedan cruising around a poorly lit neighborhood in the middle of the night.

Atmosphere - When life gives you lemons
Favorite album from favorite band. Slug found the right tipping point between woe is me and woe is everyone else. Blending arrogance and empathy. `

Ice Cube - Death Certificate
Ice Cube at his peak was the best rapper alive. Death Certificate is his opus, a perfect melding of old and new, right at the line before west coast moved into G funk, it has a modern enough sound that it sounds fresh to this day, while still having some of the old school kick you in the teeth attitude.

 

[Team Filler]

gmcfosho - Gil Killed Hip Hop Pt. 1



































No seriously though, it's Liquid Swords for me. There are a lot of rap & hip hop albums that I love, but to this day Liquid Swords is the one that makes me sit the fuck down and listen more than any other. When I want something in the background, the instrumental version that came with the chessboxing set is a regular staple for me as well.

Illmatic by NAS has had a ton of mentions already, but throw my vote on that one as well. That whole album is just too damn good, but I'll throw out special mention of "Represent". Fucking great track.

 

[navii]

Young Mc - Stone Cold Rhymin'

I dont think there is a single swear word on the album and at the time I thought it was really soft but I managed to listen to it heaps for some reason, probably because all the songs are easy to rap along to.

These days album's sound is pretty unique to me. Also a shout out to RUN DMC Tougher than leather, good album to rap along with.

 

[YesManKablam]

Those are my big three. I can listen the whole way through, at any time, any where.

 

[PillarEN]

GZA- Liquid Swords. The lyrics are great it's true. At the same time though they are sometimes hard to make out for me as opposed to say illMatic or It Was Written. But I love all the guest spots on the album and the tunes behind the rap are great. Key tracks: duel of the Iron Mic, 4th Chamber.

Eminem - the Marshal Mathers LP. I love the absurdity and the vile crap that is being rapped about even though it doesn't represent my views or values. That's fine. This is art and not a morality test. Eminem is so far above all the guests here that it's funny. Kim is a haunting track but it absolutely hits like it should. Key tracks: kill You, Kim, Stan, Marshal Mathers

Dr. Dre - 2001. Turn off your brain and bump this shit while you're driving through your hood. Cars, bitches, gang violence and all the other stereotypical rap BS (aside from the closing track) and I love it. The sound of the album is flawless too. It's a damn party when this album plays. Great guest features on this one. Key tracks: still dre, forgot about dre, the next episode, bitch niggaz, let's get high, the message

 

[Nyx]

For me, 2001 always was like the opposite of The Chronic.

The Chronic has just a few fillers, 2001 has just a few good tracks.

But hey, opinions and all.

 

[Marz]

Illmatic, Liquid Swords, and OB4CL are my top three of all time but I havent seen anyone mention the Infamous or Ironman yet. Both are bangers with no skippable tracks.