Top 50 Hip-Hop Albums of All-Time
Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 10:54PM 
What do you do when you’re bored and have nothing to do for 3 hours? Yep, that’s right, put together your 50 favourite Hip-Hop albums of all-time. I got the original shortlist down to 84 albums, so as you can imagine, there are quite a few classics that didn’t make the list. Listening through my whole iTunes library and finding albums that I haven’t listened to for years was thoroughly enjoyable, and I think the end product is a pretty accurate reflection on what I feel is the best Hip-Hop releases I’ve ever heard. Hit the jump to see the list, and make sure you let me know if there are any albums that didn’t make my list, but would be in yours. My favourite track from each album is in brackets and can be listened to on the player below each album.
1. Common – Like Water For Chocolate (The Light)
2. Slum Village – Fantastic, Vol. 2 (Fall In Love)
3. A Tribe Called Quest – Beats, Rhymes & Life (Keeping It Moving)
4. The Notorious B.I.G. – Ready To Die (Suicidal Thoughts)
5. Jay-Z – Reasonable Doubt (D’evils)
6. NaS – Illmatic (One Time 4 Your Mind)
7. Mobb Deep – The Infamous (Survival Of The Fittest)
8. Wu-Tang Clan – Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (Ain’t Nothin’ To Fuck Wit)
9. KanYe West – The College Dropout (Family Business)
10. Slick Rick – Art Of Storytelling (Adults Only)
11. OutKast – ATLiens (Babylon)
12. Snoop Dogg – Doggystyle (Serial Killa)
13. The Foreign Exchange – Connected (Brave New World)
14. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (Remember Me?)
15. Jay-Z – The Black Album (Allure)
16. Gang Starr – Hard To Earn (Mass Appeal)
17. The Pharcyde – Labcabincalifornia (Runnin’)
18. GZA – Liquid Swords (Shadowboxin’)
19. Pete & CL Smooth - Mecca & The Soul Brother (T.R.O.Y)
20. Little Brother – The Listening (The Way You Do It)
21. KanYe West – Late Registration (Addiction)
22. A Tribe Called Quest – Midnight Marauders (Electric Relaxation)
23. Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (Incarcerated Scarfaces)
24. Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor (Sunshine)
25. Q-Tip – The Renaissance (Manwomanboogie)
26. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (Lost Ones)
27. Ghostface Killah – Ironman (All That I Got Is You)
28. The Streets – Original Pirate Material (Has It Come To This?)
29. NaS - God’s Son (Get Down)
30. The Roots - Illadelph Halflife (What They Do)
31. Jay-Z – The Blueprint (U Don’t Know)
32. Common – Be (Love Is…)
33. Clipse – Lord Willin’ (Grindin’)
34. Dr. Dre – The Chronic (Ain’t Nuthin But A G Thang)
35. KRS-One - Return Of The Boom Bap (Black Cop)
36. Ty – Upwards (Rain)
37. Souls Of Mischief - 93 ‘til Infinity (93 ‘til Infinity)
38. Talib Kweli/Mos Def – Blackstar (Definition)
39. Guru - Jazzmatazz Vol. 1 (When You’re Near)
40. Skinnyman - Council Estate Of Mind (I’ll Be Surprised)
41. DJ Jazzy Jeff - The Magnificent (For Da Love Of Da Game)
42. 2Pac – Me Against The World (Dear Mama)
43. Pharoahe Monch – Internal Affairs (Official)
44. Eric. B & Rakim - Paid in Full (Eric. B Is President)
45. Method Man – Tical (I’ll Be There For You)
46. N*E*R*D – In Search Of… (Bobby James)
47. G-Unit - Beg For Mercy (Smile)
48. Public Enemy – Fear Of A Black Planet (Fight The Power)
49. Busta Rhymes – The Coming (Woo Hah!)
50. De La Soul – 3 Feet High & Rising (Buddy)
Reader Comments (1)
This is the worst atrocity of a hip hop list known to man. If this is your personal list then that is fine no beef..but the greatest hip hop albums ever? Nigga G-unit? Over anything that is done by the revolutionaries known as public enemy? Dj jazzy jeff? Ty? Skinnyman? Lmao bruh come on. Why is the westcoast so lacking? You have 3 and they should all be ranked higher in terms of influence and impact..the chronic at 34 and the clipse ranked higher? Please tell me ur jus fishing for controversy because that is backhand worthy. There is 1 southern artist in outkast. 1. What about the ghetto boys? UGK, Scarface, T.I, hell throw a bone and put nelly on there but damn the eastcoast bias is sickening. In all there a few good classic albums on here but the order and rank is ridiculous. Common and Slum Village huh? I guess when LL makes his comeback he will be bulldozing his way into your graces. Enjoy these albums but i hope people dnt read too much into this and feel they are the greatest albums ever cause if they do i have a freeway i would like for them to play hop scotch on.