5. Kanye West – Graduation (2007)
Consistency track-wise has been the soft spot of 21st-century rap, yet, somewhat ironically but mostly sad, not for the most hated rapper ever Kanye West. And while 808s and Heartbreak is his highest rated album, it’s not quite as rap as it is electropop/R&B. Graduation, on the other hand, is pure rap, a fresh take on the genre, providing with great music and some of the best rap quotes ever. Monster hits and the innovation that it brought is the reason we let Kanye’s antics slide.
4. The Notorious B.I.G. – Ready to Die (1994)
Biggie is regarded by most as one of two best rappers ever, and he managed that with only two albums made during his lifetime, so that means they must be amazing. The rap legend’s debut album Ready to Die holds most of Biggie signature tracks, two of the most famed – Juicy and Big Poppa, and it also has the man’s own favorite track Machine Gun Funk. It’s arguably the best rap album when it comes to the flow and the delivery.
3. N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton (1988)
There is a common belief that gangsta rap peaked and originated in the ’90s, it was this 1988 album that made the first, and the biggest splash in the sub-genre The track the album got its name from, Fuck the Police, and Express Yourself had an undeniable influence on the culture, and the recent movie of the same name sealed the legacy of THE rap group’s first album. If N.W.A. didn’t express itself through its debut album as harshly and raw as it did no way that rap would become the powerhouse it is now.
2. Snoop Dogg – Doggystyle (1993)
While today rap is a mainstream genre, the artist today don’t even bother to make an album that is holistic in its theme or in its quality, and to risk sounding like a jaded old man, that wasn’t the case back in the day. You could pop in an album like Doggystyle and forget about skipping a track or two, even the skits were great and the picture Snoop Dogg paints with it is enough to cement his place in the top 10 list of best rappers ever even though he became a parody of himself.
1. 2Pac – All Eyez on Me (1996)
Of course the man himself had to have a spot on the list, and of course, it had to be number one. You have the best rap lyrics, you have the fresh beats, you have the unique pure energy, and you have the basis for the biggest legacy of the genre. 2Pac’s fourth studio album and the last one released during his life had incredible 27 tracks, with none of them being a skit. And when at least 15 of them are classic, it’s certain that this is the best rap album of all time!
Do you agree with our assessment of best rap albums of all time or are you making a diss track?
