Hip Hop's Top Ten Albums

Listening to this classic now, some of the beat patterns sound simplistic, but KRS One's lyrical finesse allows it to stand side my side with any of the other albums on this list. At the time, bangers like Poetry, 9mm, The Bridge is Over, South Bronx, KRS established him as an MC to be reckoned with. Twenty years later, these tunes have become hip hop anthems.

9. Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers), Wu Tang Clan

Never before -or since- has a click of so many talented MCs come together like this. Drop dead lyrics delivered by Method Man, Raekwon, Ghost Face and the rest of the crew are topped off by the Rza's razor sharp production . The whole rough rugged and raw sound and the grimy, gully style that Wu Tang introduced to the world with this album was unforgettable.

8. Raising Hell, Run DMC

"Rock Box" is the song that kicked in the door to the mainstream, and hip hop has never been the same since. Ironically, when Rick Rubin dropped the concept of remaking the Aerosmith hit, Daryl and Joseph thought he was going too far with the rock/hip hop mashups. The other gems on this album are "My Adidas" (think endorsements) and "Peter Piper." Just try and karaoke that tune with one of your friends and bear witness the skill it takes to deliver such a staccato call and response. There are better albums lyrically and production wise, but the impact of this one cannot be overlooked.

7. Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z

Jay Z got it right with his debut and never looked back. This reflection on the thug life is the hustler's manifesto, and Jigga shows off his lyrical prowess to the world by shockingly delivering clever and complex rhymes that he hadn't even written down. On the classic "Brooklyn's Finest," the torch was passed.

6. Midnight Marauders, A Tribe Called Quest

Streetwise, intellectual and cutting edge, A Tribe Called Quest embodied a new sensibility in hip hop that combined intelligent rhymes with a free-spiritedness that offset the more militant tones of the day (see P.E. and N.W.A.), but it was still rugged enough to satisfy hardcore fans. Hard to choose between this one and The Low End Theory, which was probably the more innovative, but their sound came together on Marauders.

5. Ready to Die, Notorious BIG

Biggie's distinct voice, his uncanny flow, and some outstanding production made this album a standard bearer not only for hip hop but for all popular music. Like in other cases, critics make the case that his sound was more developed on Life After Death, but this was the album that made the big splash.

4. The Chronic, Dr Dre

Dre's production prowess hit its peak on this masterpiece, and it put Dre and Snoop on he map as a formidable hip hop duo. As a lyricist, Dre will never be in the class of a Nas or Rakim, but with this album, he was crowned king of the West and because of him, the producer became more relevant than the DJ.

3. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back, Public Enemy
Chuck D's powerful, soaring lyrics, Flava Flav's comic relief, the urgent beats of Terminator X and the some of the funkiest samples you'll ever want to hear make this album one for the ages. But the lyrics are still relevant, and it is still amazing that he industry ever let this one see the light of day.

2. Illmatic, Nas

There was so much hype over Nas' debut album dropped. The best producers of the day -Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Large Professor- had lined up to work with him. It was almost like that $90 million Nike contract Lebron James signed before he got drafted. People were asking, "is this guy really worth it?" Flash forward a dozen years, cue it up, sit back and listen in awe. It's telling that this album doesn't have one signature hit. Like Nas' entire body of work, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

1. Paid in Full, Eric B and Rakim

Innovative isn't a strong enough word to describe this album. When it dropped, the bar was instantly raised. Nowadays the beats sound very basic, like on "Microphone Fiend," but Rakim's amazing delivery is still as fresh as it was in 1987. There would be no Dr. Dre without Eric B., just as there would be no Nas without Rakim. Simply stated, this album was way ahead of its time. Or better yet, it arrived just in time to catapult hip hop into the creative stratosphere.

But what about:

In addition to other albums by the artists above, here are a few more that deserve some props:

Strictly Business (EPMD): A lesson in the science of sampling

Death Certificate (Ice Cube): Gangsta rap with a socially conscious edge

ATLiens (Outkast): The signature album of the innovators from the Dirty South

Makaveli/All Eyez on Me (Tupac): Good, but if I were stranded on a desert island with either one of these I'd be disappointed.