# What is the best alternative hip-hop album of all time?

> Left-of-center, experimental, and unapologetically original — alternative hip-hop has always pushed boundaries. Which album is the greatest?

*By YPB Team · Published April 17, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-alternative-hip-hop-album-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **De La Soul – 3 Feet High and Rising**
   De La Soul's 1989 debut that introduced hip-hop's playful, psychedelic alternative with groundbreaking sampling.
2. **A Tribe Called Quest – The Low End Theory**
   ATCQ's 1991 jazz-rap landmark that remains the defining record of alternative hip-hop's golden era.
3. **The Pharcyde – Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde**
   The Pharcyde's 1992 debut, a warm and humorous West Coast alternative rap classic full of vibrant storytelling.
4. **Outkast – Aquemini**
   Outkast's 1998 double-platinum album pushing their sound to sprawling, cosmic alternative rap territory.
5. **MF DOOM – Madvillainy**
   MF DOOM and Madlib's 2004 collaborative masterpiece, a dense, psychedelic underground classic.
6. **MF DOOM – Operation: Doomsday**
   MF DOOM's 1999 debut, recorded while living in a parking garage, that launched one of hip-hop's most beloved personas.
7. **Tyler, the Creator – Flower Boy**
   Tyler's 2017 lush and emotionally open album, a sonic departure into neo-soul and introspective hip-hop.
8. **Childish Gambino – Because the Internet**
   Donald Glover's 2013 concept album exploring internet culture, identity, and alienation with avant-garde ambitions.
9. **Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly**
   Kendrick's 2015 jazz-funk masterpiece that transcended genre boundaries and redefined what rap could be.
10. **Digable Planets – Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)**
   Digable Planets' 1993 debut blending jazz, soul, and hip-hop into a relaxed, politically progressive soundscape.
11. **Aesop Rock – Labor Days**
   Aesop Rock's 2001 El-P-produced album tackling labor, identity, and modern alienation with dense lyrical complexity.
12. **Atmosphere – God Loves Ugly**
   Slug and Ant's 2002 Minneapolis album of confessional rap that became a cult bible for alternative hip-hop fans.
13. **Danny Brown – Old**
   Danny Brown's 2013 album split between party-rap hedonism and darker reflections on addiction and Detroit street life.
14. **Gorillaz – Demon Days**
   Damon Albarn's 2005 virtual band opus blending hip-hop, rock, and electronics into a dystopian concept album.
15. **Run the Jewels – RTJ2**
   Killer Mike and El-P's 2014 free-released punk-rap assault praised as one of the most exciting records of the decade.

Tags: hip-hop, music, indie, rap