What is the best rap album of all time?

From Nas' Queensbridge poetry to Kanye's maximalist epics, rap has produced some of the most complex and innovative music of the past half-century. Vote for the rap album that changed everything.

1

Illmatic

Nas's flawless 1994 debut, recorded in Queensbridge, is widely considered the gold standard of East Coast lyricism.

2

Ready to Die

Biggie's 1994 debut captures Brooklyn street life with cinematic storytelling and an unparalleled flow.

3

The Chronic

Dr. Dre's 1992 classic defined West Coast G-funk and launched Snoop Dogg and a generation of rap stars.

4

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

Nine MCs from Staten Island forged a gritty, kung-fu-influenced debut that reshaped underground hip-hop forever.

5

Reasonable Doubt

Jay-Z's 1996 debut is a masterclass in street poetry, laying the foundation for one of hip-hop's greatest careers.

6

Me Against the World

Recorded while Tupac awaited sentencing, this introspective 1995 album is his most personal and vulnerable work.

7

The Blueprint

Jay-Z's 2001 reinvention of boom-bap luxury rap features soul samples that influenced hip-hop for decades.

8

Aquemini

OutKast's sprawling 1998 third album bridges Southern rap, psychedelia, and funk with visionary ambition.

9

The Marshall Mathers LP

Eminem's 2000 darkly comedic and brutally confessional album remains one of the best-selling rap records ever.

10

Madvillainy

Madlib and MF DOOM crafted a lo-fi, abstract 2004 hip-hop masterpiece beloved by crate diggers worldwide.

11

Liquid Swords

The most cerebral Wu-Tang solo album features GZA's razor-sharp chess metaphors over RZA's cinematic production.

12

good kid, m.A.A.d city

A 2012 short film in album form following a teenager's day in Compton, demonstrating Kendrick's narrative genius.

13

To Pimp a Butterfly

A 2015 jazz-and-funk meditation on Black identity, success, and injustice that redefined what rap could be.

14

Paul's Boutique

A hyper-dense 1989 collage of pop-culture samples by the Beastie Boys, ahead of its time and an audiophile favorite.

15

Stankonia

OutKast's 2000 genre-defying double album blends rap, funk, and pop into one of the most adventurous records ever.

16

The College Dropout

Kanye's 2004 debut challenged rap's obsession with street cred with soulful beats, wit, and raw vulnerability.

17

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

An opulent 2010 maximalist epic by Kanye West, hailed by critics as one of the greatest rap albums of the decade.

18

All Eyez on Me

2Pac's 1996 double album is the definitive statement of West Coast rap excess and bravado.