# What is the best rap album by a duo or group of all time?

> Wu-Tang, Run-DMC, N.W.A, OutKast — some of hip-hop's greatest moments came from collectives. Which duo or group rap album is the best of all time?

*By YPB Team · Published April 17, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-rap-album-by-a-duo-or-group-of-all-time*

---

## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)**
   Wu-Tang Clan's 1993 nine-member Staten Island debut, one of the most influential group albums in hip-hop history.
2. **N.W.A – Straight Outta Compton**
   N.W.A's 1988 debut, the West Coast group's bombshell that launched gangsta rap and rattled mainstream America.
3. **A Tribe Called Quest – The Low End Theory**
   ATCQ's 1991 jazz-rap album featuring Q-Tip and Phife Dawg at their most electric, the gold standard of duo rap.
4. **Outkast – ATLiens**
   Andre 3000 and Big Boi's 1996 cosmic breakthrough that established them as hip-hop's most visionary duo.
5. **Eric B. & Rakim – Paid in Full**
   Eric B. and Rakim's 1987 debut, a duo masterpiece that set new standards for flow, sampling, and MC skill.
6. **Run-DMC – Raising Hell**
   Run-DMC's 1986 third album that crossed hip-hop into rock audiences and featured the era-defining 'Walk This Way'.
7. **Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back**
   Public Enemy's 1988 Chuck D and Flavor Flav-led sonic revolution, the most politically charged group rap album ever.
8. **Mobb Deep – The Infamous**
   Prodigy and Havoc's 1995 two-man Queensbridge epic, a moody and violent duo masterpiece.
9. **Pete Rock & CL Smooth – Mecca and the Soul Brother**
   Pete Rock and CL Smooth's 1992 debut, a duo classic blending jazzy samples with smooth introspective rapping.
10. **Gang Starr – Step in the Arena**
   Gang Starr's 1991 album, a landmark pairing of DJ Premier's jazz sampling and Guru's understated wisdom.
11. **Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill**
   Beastie Boys' 1986 debut, the first rap album to reach number one on the Billboard 200.
12. **De La Soul – 3 Feet High and Rising**
   De La Soul's trio debut in 1989, a playful psychedelic alternative rap classic built around sampling and humor.
13. **EPMD – Strictly Business**
   EPMD's 1988 debut, a duo masterpiece of funk-heavy beats and tag-team rapping that was instantly influential.
14. **Clipse – Lord Willin'**
   Pusha T and Malice's 2002 debut, a Neptunes-produced cocaine-rap classic with icy precision.
15. **Run the Jewels – RTJ2**
   Killer Mike and El-P's 2014 free-release, an aggressive punk-rap duo record hailed as one of the decade's finest.
16. **Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal**
   Bone Thugs' five-member 1995 Cleveland album that blended melodic rap with their signature rapid-fire style.
17. **Boogie Down Productions – Criminal Minded**
   BDP's 1987 debut that paired KRS-One's street philosophy with DJ Scott La Rock's production to create hardcore hip-hop.

Tags: hip-hop, music, bands, rap