Poll: The Greatest Hip-Hop Album of All Time?
Saturday August 26, 2006
Forget our Ten Essential Albums. Never mind our Top 100 Hip-Hop Albums. It's time for you to take control. Give us your ultimate choice for the No. 1 Hip-Hop Album of All Time title. The One. Yes, I'm aware that this list is too short, that's why you should also feel free to list your preference in the comment section if it's not on the list. Vote away.
1) Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt2) Eric B & Rakim's Paid in Full
3) Nas' Illmatic
4) Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
5) N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton
6) Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die
7) 2Pac's Me Against the World
View Results
This poll is now closed.
Comments
I would think K-Rino’s “Worst Rapper Alive” and Afroman’s “Afroholic…The Even Better Times”. Crazy albums on the underground.
Can you decide on “one” out of those three?
K-Rino “Worst Rapper Alive” the best then.
“It Takes a Nation of Millions.” Believe dat.
Illmatic no doubt
Yo I have to go with Reasonable Doubt. For me, it was just a track that I could relate to more than any of the others. It just gave me that classy Mafia Don kind of things. Second would have to be my man 2Pac’s Me Against the World. It is better than Ready to Die because I think that Biggie’s album just didn’t seem as authentic as 2Pac’s. Third would be Illmatic, top to bottom no filler, but I have more relation to the top 2 than to this one. Straight Outta Compton was great, but I think that it really relied on the shock factor.
Alex,
I think it’s easier to see SOC as a shock value-hinged release now that we’ve had plenty of time to digest it. Honestly, it’s even hard for me to appreciate it fully today, but I’m certain that it inspired folks to “take back the land.”
WHAT Illmatic is the craziest album ever how is it not winning?!?!?! Arguably the best lyrical performance of a rapper ever. THat combined with awsome production made a classic that has survived the ages. I can listen to it in its entirety after more than a decade- an amazing feat that cannot be matched. My favorite album BY FAR
for me i think its jus crazy that all eyez on me or don killuminati arent even bein considered cos for me they’re rite up there wiv tha best of the best
All Eyes on Me, wasn’t even close to 2pac’s best work, tons of filler, Illmatic is the greatest hiphop album of all time techinally, shows Nas’ amazing skill, Me Against the World by 2Pac is the deepest and the most emotion packed so I’ll have to go with that.
Reasonable Doubt is a double 15-20 album not a top 5 at all.
Paid in Full made the other albums possible though, Rakim still sounds modern from some of his cuts even today cause he was so fast, and so techinal, it shows how 50 cent and other rappers (tons of southern cats) are like 5 steps backwards for our genre.
Pac used too many recycled lines his delievery made him great and his voice, Nas bets him everywhere else.
Where is heck is Doe or Die, which is way better then Reasonable Doubt, AZ flows slightly better then Jay-Z and his lyrics are on Nas’ level!
Btw, I decided to go with Illmatic, with Paid in Full second, then Me Against the World, then It takes a nation of millions, then Me Against the World, then Ready to Die, then Reasonable Doubt, Straight out of Compton wasnt even my favorite NWA album (overrated group, I would take Tribe Called Quest over NWA anyday)
^You went with Me Against the World twice? Is it really that good? LOL
Btw. I don’t consider Reasonable Doubt top 10. (See my 100 Greatest Albums post)
Dre’s Chronic albums are the best ever
Hey I was writing at work I had to look over my shoulder, since I wasnt on a break.
Anyway to clarify:
1) Illmatic
2) Paid in Full
3) Me Against the World
4) It Takes a nation..
5)Ready to Die
6) Straight Outta Compton
7) Reasonable Doubt
I flipped 6 and 7, changed my mind NWA was influental, even though I dont like that g-funk bs. Doe or Die is better then Reasonable Doubt, Ready to Die’s beats were too poppy, and its subject-matter was one-dimension even though it showed biggies’ amazing flow and lyrics. Me Against the World is the msot powerful hiphop albume ever, it reasonates deeply.
I can’t decide between Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders as the best album of all time. The Sun Rises In the East and ‘93 Til Infinity have to be up there too.
To here is my top 5 favorite albums of all time.
1. Reasonable Doubt
2. Me Against the World
3. Illmatic-Yeah it’s not first, but I just love the top 2 more.
4. Ready to Die
5. Straight Outta Compton-Even though it relied a lot on shock, it had little filler.
Heres my most overrated albums of all time:
1. All Eyez on Me-Good album, but has way too much contradiction and pop filler.
2. The Blueprint-Again great album, but it benefited from being released in the current dark age of rap.
3. Life After Death-Thought Biggie really showed that he still followed 2Pac’s lead here. COming out with a double album full of filler and pop fluff.
1) Hands down best album, Tupac’s “Me Against The World”. Content, Emotion, movie star delivery on every track…It is equivalent to the Godfather movie, in content. A microcosm of an individual born in the street and the trials and tribulations common people must fight for and against when making life’s crucial choices.
2)Public Emeny…When this album came out Run DMC, LL COOL J and all other cats had never come close to speaking this politically. Never had comedy and politics mixed so well in an entertainment fashion then Chuck D and Flavor Flav. Great entertainers and under rated musicians. Also not since Rakim, had one rapper, have such a powerful voice in the rap game at the time of this release…The phrase “Don’t believe the hype!” is still used today; proving its classic nature. Madonna took the beat from one of their songs off this album and used it for “Justify My Love”, PE sued and won. They still win today. “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos” had the Muhammad Ali ‘authority’ thing going on, just remember the lines “I got a letter from the government/the other day/I opened and read it/it said they were suckers/they wanted me for their army or whatever/picture me giving a damn/I said NEVER.
3)”Straight Outta Compton”, music is about saying what your time and generation should and wants to say. NWA…The name says it all. The songs say more; Gangsta Gangsta, F***k the Police, Eight Ball, Dopeman, Staight Outta Compton. Pioneers: no one had ever cursed and talked so much about drugs on one album since Cheech and Chong’s and Richard Pryor’s albums, no one had ever taken so much pride from their hood on a whole album, songs-yes, but not a full album, the west coast style of gangster rap was created here and is still a genre of rap…The equivalent of a rated R genre of gangster films. Dre’s beats, Cube and E’s lyrics still relevant today and each individual is a milestone in their own right.
4) Paid In Full; never has a rapper so lyrically and potently stood the test of time in influencing younger rappers than Rakim. You name them; 50 Cent, Eminem, NAS, Jay Z, The Game, Ice Cube, Dre…In a way Rakim is the Michael Jackson of hip hop, not in the performance sense, but in the melodic sense of just trying new styles of delivery on songs and making them work. Rakim’s voice is like a good shot of tequila, no lemon or salt necessary, it goes down smooth and is potent. Eric B’s genius can be seen on this record and other collabs with Rakim, in fact Rakim’s only good songs ARE with Eric B, I wish they would do it again one more time. Rap and having fun counting money never sounded so good and effortlessly, like a champion on his throne, Rakim threw it down just right.
5) The new school…NAS, Illmatic. Talented and fun album, still rapping in Tupac’s shadow when it comes to delivery and lyrics. Lyrics are artistically clever…Wu-tang and other NY rappers had to of looked up to this album for inspiration.
6)”Ready to Die” Notorious BIG…Talented individual, who had a better delivery then NAS, too bad the album as a whole wasn’t better, great cuts on this one though. He really showed his commercial value here.
7) “Reasonable Doubt” Jay Z, Its Jay z man, not enough classics for this guy to be celebrating. Great hustler though, challenges P. Diddy in that category, although Diddy is weak as a rap person.
ADD ALBUMS:
Beastie Boys: Licensed To Ill (Bad ass production by Rick Rubin. Funny white boys before Eminem)
LL COOL J: Radio (love hop was created here)
Jay Z: The Grey Album (his best album to date)
Public Enemy: Fear of a Black Planet (PE’s other masterpiece) Fight the Power!
Run DMC: Raising Hell (have to give pioneers props, rap never sounded so commercially good and fun) This album opened the door to MTV…The Jackie Robinson of the new age.
What about Enter the Wu-Tang 36 Chambers?
BUt Illmatic was still better from an album stand point.
But Paid in Full was more revolutionary in sound and just when it dropped it changed things and had more of an effect on future hip-hop.
What Pribs said, also The Infamous by Mobb Deep. Out of the 7 albums that can get votes how is Illmatic just not killing everything else. NWA is good but overrated. Not a top ten album, it was groundbreaking, yes, but not close to any of the other albums you can vote for. Jay-Z’s debut has nothing on Nas’. Illmatic sounds like it was made yesterday and its 12 years old, nothing else out there can say that. Illmatic
Infamous was classic, Shook Ones is the best track ever.. period.. even though I would give the nod to Keep Your Head Up, Dear Mama and other posistive songs, Shook Ones had an amazing beat by Havoc and Prodigy brought it with the verse.
Illmatic no doubt.
If everyone’s voting for Illmatic, how come Jay-Z is still ethering Nasir Jones on the poll?
Anyone who knows rap is going to rank Reasonable Doubt that the bottom of that list of seven, it was slick and cool but not revolutionary. Paid in Full perhaps deserves the nod over Illmatic, Me Against the World for all its emotional depth and delievery didn’t lyrically even come close to Illmatic. I think your getting a bunch of 15-year old big pimpin’ fans voting for Jay-Z
What about the Wu? Got damn…
How could you leave off The Roots, “Things Fall Apart” and Common’s “like Water For Chocolate”?
as usual you have to get us doing homework lol! My numero uno is a tie between biggie’s “Ready to Die” and Nas’s “Illmatic”. two hard to decide between these definitive joints.
My other #1 is Ras Kass’s “Soul On Ice”. his tune “nature of a threat” has to be one of the best rap tunes ever (bar the controversial stylings citing the white man as the devil). ok i’m chatting to much.
great list regardless (to much New York though).
Once again yall dont give south love…. Outkast ATLiens was best album of all time.
this is mad hard yo but to be honest i think the blueprint better than reasonable doubt. i would go with biggie, ready to die is one of the most influential albums and people keep stealing both biggie’s lines and beats for their songs today.
My # 1 is B.I.G. Ready 2 die. But NWA’s Niggas 4 life was better than Straight Otta Compton 2 me.Also the first Brand Nubians album very, very dope.
De La’s Three Feet High n Risin.
none of these albums are the greatest of all time. this list is sad.
Guys, I just want re-emphasize the fact that this list is incomplete (the poll only takes so many). For a comprehensive list of our top picks, see the top 100 albums post.
Also, if you’d like to vote for an album that’s not listed in this pol, feel free to nominate ONE album in the comment section.
Finally, do folks really think Reasonable Doubt is the GOAT?
I say the greatest hip hop album of all time is Jay Zs the Black Album.
Best rap albums post 1992
1. Eminem Show- not quite as much a critical success as The Marshal Mathers LP but my personal favorite…also I am white and can indentify with Eminem more readily
2. Illmatic- Illmatic was great for what it did for rap, stillmatic only great for what it did for Nas
3. Life After Death- turns the Biggy phenomenon into a legend and all-time greatest MC contender
4. All Eyez on me- Two weeks to make and the first book alone contains such greats as “All bout U” “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted” “Life Goes On” “How Do U Want It” “California Love” and “I Aint Mad at Cha.”
5. The Blue Print- Ha I am not a huge Jigga fan but this album contains “The Takeover” and my all-time favorite LYRICAL performace Eminem’s verses in “Renegade”
6. Stillmatic- Nas returns triumphant. Exhibit A “Ether”
7. 8 Mile Soundtrack- “Lose Yourself” is my favorite song ever. Add “8 Mile Road” and 50 Cent’s “Wangsta” and you have 2 masterpieces and a great song…too bad the rest of the album is mediocre.
8. Chronic 2001- I must admit again my 1993 onward bias…otherwise clearly The original Chronic was more influential etc.
9. Doggystyle- First rap album I ever heard. My older brother got it in 1994 I was in fourth grade. I liked the cartoons on the cover and the sound of the music even if I didn’t yet understand the lyrics
10. Get Rich or Die Tryin’- 50’s debut. New school gangsta rap with enough critical praise and commercial success.
Hands down, De La Soul’s “3 Feet High and Rising.” At one point the whole “gangsta” thing was an awareness-raising thing but it got old fast. The pimp thing is boring. But what if…what if?! What if hip hop had taken a different path? Oh well. 3 Feet High was brilliant in so many ways.
yeah i think reasonable doubt is the greatest of all time. I mean I have my own personal tastes, i grew up with that album. it just spoke to me in a way that illmatic didnt, just jay-z’s swagger, flow, and basically his whole outlook on life matched mine.
Nas’ Illmatic is getting over looked. anyone who knows anything knows this. there must be occasionaly listeners who listen to whatevers on the charts voting in a category they know nothing about. Jigga has been doing better on the charts recently then any of these other artists.
George Bush (Resonable Doubt, not that Jay-Z is a a**hole or anything)won the election but everyone knows who shouldve won Al Gore (Illmatic, its getting cheated by Florida (people who dont know nothing about real hip hop))
It aint hard to tell
1)Krs one’s criminal minded definently one the greatest
2)Rakim paid in full
3)Nas illmatic
4)Az Doe or Die an underated classic
5)Public Enemy It takes a nation of millions
6)Ice Cube Amerikkka’s most wanted
7)Scarface Mr.Scarface another classic
8)Dmx It’s Dark and Hell Iz Hott -Classic
9)Big DaDDy Kane Long Live The Kane
10)LL cool Jay I’m Bad
Yeah I’m a high Nas fan but remember for like Streets Disciple nas made like 40 cuts and picked the best 18 or so (thats why his Lost Tapes are always sooo good).. pac made All Eyez on Me in 10 days and 7 Day Theory in 3 days (some say 7 but that was for production and everything).. He made HAIL MARY in 20 minutes!! How amazing is that.
^That’s why many of the songs on All Eyez on Me sound average. Sometimes, you really need to take your time to make the songs timeless. From what I heard, ‘Pac would go to the restroom and re-appear with a full-fledged song 10 minutes later. It showed.
i reckon a few of people have been clicking on jay-z a couple hundred of times lol
k,
Even if they did, it would still count as one vote because the poll only allows one vote per user.
Illmatic
when is this jigga madness gonna stop
Im going to go with Nas Illmatic on this one. Illmatic is a timeless LP, that was made over 10 years ago but still sounds good today.
Honestly, the GOAT questions are hard to come to a conclusion cause hip-hop has went through so many phases (you can tell through the music), some old school hip hop heads might refer to paid in full as GOAT but new school might go for Reasonable Doubt.
As far as Reasonable Doubt winning by a landslide, I like the album but I think Nas’s joint is better. Ironically when Jay was a new MC, nobody was claiming his album to be the GOAT until now since he’s the CEO of Hip Hop.
I love hip hop to death and deciding on my top 5 albums is probably one of the toughest I’ve ever done. I had to actually make a list!
5) Eminem: Marshall Mathers LP.- The reason I put this at number 5 is because there are some wack songs on this LP. For example, “I never knew I and “Drug Song.” Those are lack luster songs, but the rest are bangers I could listen to all day.
4) 2Pac-Strickly for my Ni–az: I loved his lyrical content in this album. He pissed everyone off, just because he was telling to truth. There are some fillers, but the creativity behind some of those songs are one of a kind. The title itself deserves praise.
3) Prince Paul’s Prince Amongst Theives.- Just listen to it. It has content, style, and a host of talented emcees that don’t get any recgonition. The only problem is that the songs are too short: longest song 3:48. Big Daddy Kane as Count Mackula, a nonchalant remix of “Steady Mobbin,” “Steady Slobbin”. So many hot tracks, so little room.
2) Jay-Z-Reasonable Doubt: When I first heard this album, I learned the lyrics in one day. I listened to this thing everyday for a year. I tried to learn what he was thinking while recording this album. True Story: I was in the record story and I had “Reasonable Doubt” in one hand and Nas’s “It Was Written” in the other hand. I had to choose between the two albums, because I only had money for one. I looked at each album and my gut to me to get “Reasonable Doubt.” I did and I souls been praising God ever since. He told me that you’ll relate to every word.
1)SOULS OF MISCHIEF-93 TILL INFINITY: I love this album. It’s undergroud, the beats are slammin, it’s not commercial, and the rhymes are on point. I went to sleep listening to this album and I still do sometimes. It doesn’t get the credit that it deserves, but every true hip hop head has this album and appreciates what these guys put out. Hell, it should be a comglomerate album dedicated to these guys for their work. This only comes out once in a lifetime.
I’m surprised others think Dre. is still king.
But let’s be honest, Dre’s got the ill beats and staying power.
Nas: Illmatic= BEST HIP-HOP ALBUM EVER.
no doubt some of the albums mentioned were great like PE and such but what about company flows album titled fun crusher plus and the whole def jux outfit…and to mention the all mighty teachr krsone…peace
The greatest album of all-time is READY TO DIE by biggie smalls the greatest rapper ever, his flows and lyrics were ahead of his time, second behind this album would have to be Reasonable Doubt by Jay-z this is a undeniable classic jay-z fan or not you have to admit this album is incredible
in no particular order:
westside connection – bow down
snoop dogg – doggystyle
dr dre = chronic 2001
onyx – shut em down
cant believe only 2 of these were mentioned once. best album means EVERY track is good. these are the only cds i have that i dont skip any tracks on
1.IT WAS WRITTEN
2.ILLMATIC
3.ENTER THA STAGE
4.STRAIT OUTTA COMPTON
5.THE KRONIC
6.PAID IN FUll
7.CRIMINAL MINDED
How is Reasonabe Doubt #1,because Jay is CEO, most of these voters on here know nothing about Hip-Hop music.
here is my list:
1-Ice cube Amerikkkas Most wanted
2-Ice Cube-Death certificate
3-Public Enemy-Fear Of A black planet
4-big daddy kane-raw/taste of chocolate
Ice Cube changed everything in hip hop when he came out. he also had the stigma of NWA when he first went solo. he was socially vocal, had a unique style with one of the best voices ever. the things he had to say were unique as in he didnt talk about what he wore,but talked on life! he had both coasts hailing him in his peak, and even talked about the LA riots before they happened. the most influential, controversial and revolutionary (along with PE)artists ever.Defined an era!
1 and 2-Ice cube amerikkkas most wanted and death certificate
3-PE fear of a black planet
4-big daddy kane
Ice Cube defined an era.the most influential, controversial and revolutionary(along with PE) artist ever! NWA were not NWA without Ice Cube.He had the best voice, the unique style and talked about social topics, not like other artists who talked about what they wore or how they approach a mic. Cube had things to say, and in my book was the best!
Reasonable Doubt over Illmatic? Illmatic brought lyricism back to hip hop because it was that great. Reasonable doubt while a classic did not have the impact that “Illmatic” or “Paid in Full” had. Illmatic has highly complex similes and metaphors. The multi-syllabic couplets and internal rhyming are out of this world. They are at the same level as Rakim’s and lets not even mention the way he narrates song after song. Reasonable is a great album as well almost at the same level as Illmatic. But if you really know how to listen to hip hop and know what to look 4, there should be no contest on which one is superior.
only built 4 cuban linx
36 chambers
illmatic
straight out of compton
The greatest rap album of all time is…
1. Illmatic-Nas (1994)-the best hip-hop album ever in history
2. Paid In Full-Eric B. & Rakim (1987)
3. It takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back-Public Enemy (1988)
4. By All Means Necessary-BDP (1988)
5. All Eyez On Me-2Pac (1996)
6. 8 Shots to the Cyclops-Cyclops (1994)
7. Roc La Familia-G-Roc (2001)
8. Straight Outta Compton-N.W.A. (1988)
9. The Low End Theory-A Tribe Called Quest (1991)
10. Hot Boys Forever-Hot Boys (2007)
11. Life After Death-The Notorious B.I.G. (1997)
12. As Rude As They Wanna Be-D.W.B. (1991)
13. Aquemini-OutKast (1998)
14. The Chronic-Dr. Dre (1992)
15. Thug Nation Level 1-DPJH (1996)
16. Reasonable Doubt-Jay-Z (1996)
17. Vol. 1: Venni Vetti Vecci-Earthquake (1994)
18. Doggystyle-Snoop Doggy Dogg (1993)
19. AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted-Ice Cube (1990)
20. Purple Haze-Blizzurp (2007)
21. Death Certificate-Ice Cube (1991)
22. Ready To Die-The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)
23. 9000 Watts: The Autobiography-9 Watts (2008)
24. Me Against the World-2Pac (1995)
25. The Blueprint-Jay-Z (2001)
Those were the greatest rap albums of all time! Keep hip-hop alive baby! Grand Hustle pimp!! KING!!!
lmao @ (42) Henry suggesting Pac would write songs while he’s takin a dump.