What is the best rap album of all time?

AINEC.


Real answer:

Doggystyle
The Chronic
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 chambers)

My top three in no order would be:

Aquemini
Doggystyle
The Chronic

They're so strong front to back. I like G Funk sound more than NY sound, though.

The only non-compilation rap album I own.

Hov is criminally underappreciated on this board

Don’t ever make me choose between Doggystyle and The Chronic

I’ve known ever word to those albums since I was 11

Dr. Dre on production, best lyricist of all time, fresh out of jail, on bail, Double Album. Convince me otherwise

GOAT

Illmatic is the densest hip-hop album there has ever been. Ten tracks. All killer, no filler. The use of multiple producers (Large Professor, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, AND Q-Tip) was a ground-breaking concept that had never really been explored before in hip-hop. Nas was only 20 years old when the album was recorded.

In terms of its lyrical quality, it is a snapshot into the world of the Queens Bridge Projects. It is as socially significant and poignant as any album, regardless of musical genre, as there has ever been. The samples chosen, predominantly by classic jazz, funk, and blues musicians, given the album a timeless feel that contemporary records will never be able to replicate.

It is perhaps the greatest debut album of all-time. It is the Nevermind of the East Coast hip-hop scene.

With that being said, Ready to Die and Enter the 36 Chambers are RIGHT behind.



The only other album I would mention, which is due to my personal adoration for the MC and the underground, is Madvillain's Madvillainy.



The collaboration of MF DOOM (Just remember all caps when you spell the man's name!) and Madlib might be the greatest pairing that hip-hop has ever witnessed. The two might not be as commercially viable as Eminem and Dr. Dre, but this might be the perfect combination of eccentric artists. Kudos to the poster who mentioned Deltron 3030. The trio of Dan the Automator, Del the Funkee Homosapien, and DJ Koala is right in the same vein of underground genius.

But in respect to Madvillainy,few other records released post-2000 are as widely respected by so many generations of artists. Mos Def, Earl Sweatshirt, and Tyler the Creator obsess over DOOM and this record. In a music community where bravado, ego, and arrogance are usually at the forefront, the idea of any artist fawning over another's work is a rare sight.

Madvillainy has significantly more tracks compared to Illmatic (22 to 10). And tonally, the albums are polar opposites of each other.

The former is a fun, humorous, and lighthearted record that lacks much of the social commentary of the mid-90s East Coast scene. There is less focus on socioeconomic plight, crime, and the general everyday struggles of urban African-Americans. Instead, Madvillainy is a playful indulgence of bizarre samples and some of the most clever wordplay ever put to record.

Think of it as a Frank Zappa record, while Illmatic is more reminiscent of Bob Dylan at the height of his social influence. Zappa's record is more eccentric and progressive. It's not as easily accessible to mainstream audiences. At times, its bizarre quality almost seems to alienate fans. But, at it's core, the music is arranged in a very unique and brilliant fashion that deviates from traditional structures. In short, it's experimental. It’s not a social statement, but, rather, an artistic one.

THAT, is exactly what is occurring on Madvillainy. Hell, there are actual Frank Zappa samples on this record. Eclectic artists respect each other, because they know that they are making music for the sake of music's sake (album sales are secondary). Madlib's arrangements are as random and eclectic as anything ever before seen.

DOOM's unmistakable flow and husky delivery are as unique as the iconic vocals of Dylan, Cobaine, and Prince. NO ONE else sounds like him.

The tracks are short and succinct. None of these are party anthems that carry on for extended periods of time. The album is like a bombardment of hit after hit after hit. DOOM subverts the hip-hop ethos with many of his lyrical choices, and his rhyme structures are light years ahead of the AA, BB, CC... stylings of the '80s. His run from 1999-2005 is still in contention as the greatest period of musical productivity in hip-hop. But this...THIS record, is him at the height of his powers. His apex. His magnum opus.

This album came out near the peak of Eminem and Jay-Z's commercial acclaim. As the old guard of the New York scene was becoming less and less significant to audiences, artists like Madvillain, Aesop Rock, Cannibal Ox, El-P, and many others were creating a resurgence in the scene (a renaissance if you will). Madvillainy has steadily crept into the American media nearly a decade after its release. The Boondocks and Master of None, both pay homage to this classic with the use of "All Caps" and "Accordion" respectively.