The 25 Greatest Albums of All Time (As Voted On By the Internet)
What you’ve been waiting for…
Among the more popular business ideas of recent times has been James Surowiecki’s Wisdom of Crowds ( which also comes in book form). The one-line description is that so long as information is shared across a broad spectrum of people, large groups make better decisions than more isolated elites. Faith in wise crowds is the idea that drives Digg, Wikipedia, and all kinds of internet fads, from lasting innovation to indulgent whimsy. In some ways, Surowiecki’s idea is the perfect meta-philosophy for our contemporary era, a time that has seen best-seller lists dominated by mass-appeal scholarship that has fused business strategy with behavioral research and easily understood examples. What is the popularity of common-sense literature such as Freakonomics but an example of crowd wisdom? Rather than simply accepting information from monolithic sources, people are increasingly interested in a democracy of information and new mechanics for learning, all so that a greater “truth” can be known.
These innovative ideas fuel business and are, themselves, a business. It’s why Malcolm Gladwell can build a small fortune by showing up at at various places and sharing his thoughts with important people, or just regular people (don’t forget, wise crowds). Hip-hop, always on the cutting edge of technology and business, is just one more arena in which an appeal to crowd wisdom was wholly logical. Among people who consider themselves rap fans, you have an incredibly diverse and collectively erudite population.
Placing our faith in a crowd, the accounting firm Passion & Bangin’, LLC endeavored to discern which rap albums were regarded to be the 25 greatest of all time among the people whose taste truly matters: the people. After weeks of discussion and voting, ballots were cast and counted, and a result was determined…
We are pleased to present the Greatest 25 Hip-Hop Albums of All Time (until the next time someone does this). 101 people voted, and all ballots were counted equally. Voters were asked to rank the 25 albums which they felt were the greatest, and points were assigned to each album’s position on each ballot. Any album receiving a #1 ranking was given 25 points; any album receiving a #2 was given 24 points; and so forth. After all ballots were submitted, we tallied each nominated record’s cumulative score and then divided the total by the total number of voters. This was done to ensure that some wack-ass record by Lloyd Banks couldn’t appear ranked #1 on a single ballot and end up with an average score of 25.
Today, the top 25 is being made available, along with the master scoring spreadsheet. On Monday, further analysis, critique, and rumination will be posted. From our perspective, it appears as though this project was yet another affirmation that groups of people tend to make smart choices. What do y’all think?
Below, please find the top 25 and a link to the scoring sheet. Underneath each album, we have included excerpts from various submissions. Passion & Bangin’ would like to thank all participants.
- Download the spreadsheet here!
25. Jay-Z Blueprint
“A lot of people will argue that Reasonable Doubt is Jay’s best. Reasonable Doubt was too derivative for my taste. But on The Blueprint Jay was at his most obnoxious, playful and Machiavellian i.e. his best. It’s the sound of a man consciously putting the genre on his back and bum rushing the mountain top.” - Angry Citizen
Download:
MP3: Jay-Z -”Takeover”
24. Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star
“I remember coppin’ this, Aquemini, and Lenny Kravitz’s 5 on the same day. Needless to say, I was jammin’ for months. I miss those days.” - Boo Goo Doo Boom
Download:
MP3: Black Star-”Hater Players”
23. Common-Resurrection
Common just overwhelms the listener with his wordplay. The production is understated and lets him shine.” - Wendell
Download:
MP3: Common-”I Used to Love H.E.R.”
22. Outkast-Atliens
“No album before or since has had such an initial impact on me. I literally remember walking to the record store the day this came out. I had plans to go out that night and wanted to get home so I could quickly listen before my ride got there. When my ride came, I told him I was staying home and I sat there and listened to this album straight thru, over and over, until sometime the next morning. Since then, I’ve only grown more fond of it. A complete package in terms of an overall feel, fantastic lyricism and stellar production that is unrivaled.” - Kwis
Download:
MP3: Outkast-”Atliens”
21. The Notorious B.I.G-Life After Death
“…He would create what is widely regarded as hip-hop’s first blockbuster album.” - Fresh Cherries from Yakima
Download:
MP3: The Notorious B.I.G-”I Got a Story to Tell”
20. De La Soul-3 Feet High and Rising
“Changed the game. Period.” - Straight Bangin’
Download:
MP3: De La Soul-”Eye Know”
19. Run DMC-Raising Hell
“More lyrical and musical than most rock albums of the same era.” - Nerd Cake
Download:
MP3: Run DMC-”Peter Piper”
18. Fugees-The Score
“The samples and rhymes are so smooth and unabrasive, and the drum loops are strong, but not so hard-hitting that your ears start hurting after extended listening. The Score represents, to me, the perfect musical collection: interesting, challenging, and moving, but at the same time, poppy, catchy, and accessible.” - Jamie Radford
Download:
MP3: The Fugees-”The Score”
17. Snoop Doggy Dogg-Doggystyle
“The greatest party gangsta album ever. The best Dr. Dre beats ever.” - Zilla
Download:
MP3: Snoop Dogg-”Gin & Juice”
16. Boogie Down Productions-Criminal Minded
“The Beatles have never sounded this good.” - Unkut
Download:
MP3: Boogie Down Productions-“The Bridge is Over”
15. Jay-Z -Reasonable Doubt
“Jay copied from the best to come up with this one. ” - Start Snitching
Download:
MP3: Jay-Z-”Friend or Foe”
14. Ghostface Killah-Supreme Clientele
“Who knows what the fuck Ghost is saying but damn does that shit sound fly.” - Searching for my Swagger
Download:
MP3: Ghostface Killah-”One”
13. N.W.A.-Straight Outta’ Compton
“The effects of this record still leave me confused as to what the net effect of N.W.A. was on rap.” - SS
Download:
MP3: N.W.A.-”Fuck tha’ Police”
12. Genius/GZA-Liquid Swords
“ always the most intellectual member in the legendary wu, genius lives up to his moniker over this dark, brooding collection of rza’s coldest beats.” - Fresh Cherries from Yakima
Download:
MP3: Genius/GZA-”4th Chamber”
11. Outkast-Aquemini
“Besides the pop hits, the more artistic side of this album took a while to grow on me. But now I wonder what the fuck was wrong with me.” - Woodsonian Institute
Download:
MP3: Outkast ft. Raekwon-”Skew it on the Bar-B”
10. Mobb Deep-The Infamous
“Prodigy’s lyrical performance on this pushes it above and beyond. With their first two albums The Mobb helped usher in the street thug era as much as BIG and Jay did.” - The Assimilated Negro
Download:
MP3: Mobb Deep-”Shook Ones Pt. II”
9. Eric B & Rakim-Paid in Full
“Party records. MC records. Fast rapping. Slow rapping. Perfect for the car, the stage, a mix show. Rakim never wastes one bar and the beats fit him like a glove while sampling the best parts of the best soul records ever (Barry White, Lynn Collins, James Brown, Kool and The Gang, Syl Johnson, etc.)” - Zilla
MP3: Eric B & Rakim-”I Know You Got Soul”
8. A Tribe Called Quest-Low End Theory
“…this record feels more like a whole than almost anything else I’ve ever heard. Every song is perfect, from the ridiculous stripped down and spare production to the massive talents shown by both MCs.” - Better Than Butt Sex
Download:
MP3: A Tribe Called Quest-”Scenario”
7. A Tribe Called Quest-Midnight Marauders 
“Looks like we’ve found the greatest hip-hop group of all time.” - Woodsonian
“This album deserves a coronation ceremony as the greatest hip hop album of all time.” - The Assimilated Negro
Download:
MP3: A Tribe Called Quest-”Award Tour”
6. Public Enemy-It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back
“Easily one of the top five most important records in hip hop history, with a mid-album trifecta of monumental importance: ‘She Watch Channel Zero,’ ‘Night of the Living Baseheads,’ and the chilling ‘Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos.’” - Flood Watch Music
Download:
MP3: Public Enemy-”Rebel Without a Pause”
5. Dr . Dre-The Chronic
“This album defines a generation.” - Dallas Penn
Download:
MP3: Dr. Dre-”Deez Nuuts”
4. Chef Raekwon-Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
“The epitome of early 90’s east coast hip hop.” - SfmS
Download:
MP3: Chef Raekwon-”Verbal Intercourse”
3. The Notorious B.I.G.-Ready to Die
“So many choice cuts and Biggie rips through verses with such an amazingly captivating style: this album’s charms are impossible to resist.” - From Da Bricks
Download:
MP3: Notorious BIG-”Things Done Changed”
2. Wu-Tang Clan-Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers
“A group of nerds from Staten Island mixed kung-fu, obscure mythology, gully talk and a cult religion to change rap forever.” - SS
“Hip-hop’s version of Sgt. Pepper.” - Passion of the Weiss
Download:
MP3: The Wu-Tang Clan-”Da Mystery of Chessboxin’
1. Nas-Illmatic
“Whenever some hippie music rag puts together a Top 100 albums of all time list it always includes Kind Of Blue at the expense of every other Jazz album ever released. When hip-hop reaches that level of recognition, Illmatic will be the album to make the list. And by the way, Nas won.” - Angry Citizen
“The Sun, Moon and stars along with the spirit of RAKIM ALLAH came together to form this rap music manifesto masterpiece.” - Dallas Penn
Download:
MP3: Nas-”New York State of Mind”
Stumble It!
May 10th, 2007 at 1:38 am
This made my whole fucking night. Thanks for putting it up. I’ve been waiting for the results for what seems like forever. This was a great idea, thanks for putting it together and dedicating so much time to making it happen!
May 10th, 2007 at 6:34 am
damn!!! and spreadsheet included!
very impressive.
May 10th, 2007 at 6:40 am
Fuck Tha Police is incomplete.
May 10th, 2007 at 6:49 am
Great work guys. You should do this once a year but with different categories within hip hop. It was great to see how many people got involved. This poll single-handedly saved hip hop in ‘07. Also, so did MIMS and Lil’ Wayne mixtapes.
May 10th, 2007 at 8:13 am
[…]The Top 25 Hip Hop Albums of all time according to us bloggin’ folk. (Shout out to Passion & Bangin’, LLC!)[…]
May 10th, 2007 at 9:21 am
The NWA should be fixed now. Thanks for the kind word guys, glad you’re enjoying the list.
May 10th, 2007 at 9:59 am
the soundtrack to my life…thanks!
May 10th, 2007 at 10:30 am
Big ups for doing this. I thought myself as pretty on point with Hip Hop releases, but here’s a few joints on that list i’ve never heard of.
would love to see how a greatest songs list could be worked out.
May 10th, 2007 at 11:27 am
great job. thanks for asking me to be a part of it. one mistake - i voted for jay-z’s the blueprint, not vol. 3. it doesn’t look like the 14 extra points would push the blueprint any higher though.
May 10th, 2007 at 11:47 am
Crusty Kenny Brown in 11th Grade: “Outkast got five mics! Outkast got five mics!”
May 10th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
great work. i’m gladdened that my herd-like taste in rap (15 out of the 25 made my list) marks me out as “intelligent” on the internets.
are you planning to present nas with a fitting award, perhaps some tasteful cut glass?
May 10th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Damn…Illmatic was #1 and Enter The 36 Chambers was #2? Amazing. The biggest thing I learned from this list? That I am fuckin’ OLD. LOL. Excellent work all around. One.
May 10th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
awesome work Jeff! The spreadsheet is out of control and on some super rap nerd shit.
May 10th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
I’m just happy Illmatic is number one.
Nas really did win.
May 10th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
fine work, gentlemen. Not too much to disagree with here.
Already looking forward to future lists/polls.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:35 am
That spread sheet is the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen posted on a music blog
May 11th, 2007 at 4:50 am
Isn’t that a little much OutKast? I mean, they’re fine and all but wow. Never realized your readers liked them so much. And I like TCQ, but I wouldn’t put them in the top 25 and if I did it woudl be their first album. I just love El Segundo.
Needless to say, only a few of my picks made it. I am a man of exceedingly odd taste.
Fantastic idea, and thanks for doing it. My own spin off version of indie albums pumped my numbers up to over 6k hits a day! And it’s thanks to me stealing your idea.
So thanks again to one of the best of the Bloggerati.
Ekko
http://www.berkeleyplace.wordpress.com
May 12th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
i can honest say, i don’t have to leave my room. i have all these albums, either on CD,LP’s or tapes.
May 13th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Passion,
I hated Hip-Hop for turning out to be nothing but a money grabbing ho bitch until you and SB created this project.
It allowed me the chance to remember all the good times that Hip-Hop and I had together before he cheated on me and gave me the clap.
And I’m not talking about applause…
May 14th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
While I think this is a good list, full of classic albums, there is a definite geographical bias. There are thrown in there SOME of the west coast classics, but there are a few very noteworthy albums that don’t make the cut, including 93 Til Infinity (which doesn’t even break the top 50?), Bizarre Ride (which did show up on some of the individual lists and went relatively high, I guess, but it’s definitely top 25 if not top 10), and DEL who doesn’t show up solo until late 100s and as Deltron until late after 100 too…we really need some west coast representation here.
February 11th, 2008 at 11:42 am
[…] the year. Anyways, what better way to celebrate the end of an era at Oh Word than by celebrating thegreatest hip hop album of all time? What follows is a breakdown of all the key samples that went into the making of Illmatic, beat by […]
February 11th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
i agree with the list mostly
but im kinda bothered wit blueprint being up there and no All Eyes on Me or Me Against the World on here IMO both betta then blueprint
February 16th, 2008 at 1:02 am
OK list but I can tell it’s mostly those underground hip hop heads who be shittin on the South… Hip Hop in the South is more than the Outkast albums… What about all of Scarface albums, UGK’s first joint, and yes Master P’s Ghetto Dope was hot as hell!!! 8 Ball & MJG. Three six Mafia’s - when the smoke clears… Trick Daddy’s - www.thug.com - don’t sleep on it. Last but definetly not least 2 Live Crew - as nasty as they want to be… Why you ask 1) you can play doo doo brown anywhere and bitches will get freaky 2) They are the ones who went to the Supreme Court, fought & won the right for your top 25 albums to be explicit as they are and don’t you forget it young bucks!!
February 16th, 2008 at 2:17 am
One more thing… When Lil Kim first came out niggas was on her like she was Beyonce… Word Up when Big & Junior Mafia came to A&T in 96, niggas was climbing the bleachers trying to get at that bitch. I mean cats was drooling over this chick like she was Christina Milian or Melyssa Ford stripping. Also contrary to popular belief your man Hov was a nobody until after BIG died and Streets is Watching came out. Him and Puffy both blew after that. Don’t get it twisted. Finally Illmatic is boring and way too short. It’s wayyyy overrated and I’m a Nas fan!! His best joint to me was the I Am bootleg with drunk by myself and all that other shit. If he would of taken the best joints from the bootleg and the album it would of been a classic!!!
March 1st, 2008 at 3:35 am
I agree with A.Neal when he says that Illmatic is overrated. I mean, lyrically, Nas is on point. He had the beats. But hey, how can he NOT make a classic when he had the best hip-hop producers in the gotdamn world producing for him? The producers said it would be the best rap album ever made. If they had left out “One Time For Your Mind” (which I think is very annoying and the only average track on the whole album) and extended the album with a few more songs, let’s say 4, it would’ve been the best album ever, no matter the genre. Another pretty annoying thing is the chorus for Life’s A Bitch. It’s amazingly good the first times you hear it. But after listening to it more than a hundred times I just want to skip the chorus because AZ’s voice was so damn annoying! The lack of a real concept is also something bad in my opinion, and the fact that Nas’ isn’t so personal in his raps makes it weaker than it had the potential to be. It’s still a top 20 album in my opinion, maybe even top 10, but definetly not #1.
Ready to Die, on the other hand, is. It might not be as lyrically good as Illmatic, but Biggie compensates it with his amazing wordplay, his storytelling, his flows and his personality. He was so much more personal in the way he rhymed than Nas will ever be. The fact that Ready to Die had perhaps (and this is very overlooked in my opinion) the best concept of all rap albums EVER is also a huge plus. It was a story of his life, it started with his birth and ended with his death. There’s two bad things though, the skit and ‘Respect’ (although it’s lyrically one of the best songs on the album, in my opinion), which suffers from a whack beat.
March 1st, 2008 at 3:44 pm
firstly, i am not the biggest jay-z fan, but he was hot from day one. reasonable doubt, as far as i am concerned is his best album. as far as nas and illmatic go, if you think it’s boring then you need to listen to it some more. new york hip hop is (or at least was) about minimal but head bobbing beats, a few nice samples, and an mc that is clever, smart, and poignant. it doesn’t have acid-like casio keyboard sounds, or machine gun beats. you shouldn’t have to hide bad rhyming behind a bunch of crazy sounds. as far as this list goes, i think it’s pretty good, but i would like to see MF Doom, Black Moon, Smif-n-wessun, hieroglyphics, masta ace, or Pharcyde get a little respect.
good list though.
peace
March 27th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
[…] brilliance of the record and why nearly 15 years after its release it’s regarded as one of the genre’s finest. It’s not really my place to say whether it’s good or not, but I had more fun writing […]
May 4th, 2008 at 10:30 am
great list I have all these albums at home. I have to listen to at least one everyday.
May 14th, 2008 at 6:47 am
[…] ‘best hip-hop album’ lists always seem to have this album in the top ten and many times at #1 (http://passionweiss.com/2007/05/09/the-25-greatest-albums-of-all-time-as-voted-on-by-the-internet/). But for me, it will only reach as high as #4. Sorry […]
July 13th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
oh yeeah and where the roots at? no mecca and the soul brother? ironman? reachin’? stakes is high? az? (personal favorite) and don’t forgot about the rugged man.
I still think that labcabincalifornia should be up here. R.I.P Dilla.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:38 am
[…] album in the 13 years since he released his debut Liquid Swords, declared the 12th best album ever by blog group think. Accordingly, anything post-Liquid has been met with the Illmatic curse, in that people will forever […]
October 27th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Thank you for this list.Other than the blueprint being 25 and atliens being on here I loved it.I feel like girls,girls,girls and jigga that nigga are unlistenable and even outkasts debut was better than atliens.I love that there arent any 2pac albums the next time some teenager tells me all eyez on me was the best hip-hop album ever I am going to explode.And life after death shouldnt be anywhere near a top 25 list.Insert The Marshall Mathers LP over Life after Death.Eminem was the best rapper alive in his prime.You gotta fit death cerfificate in there to that was raw.
it goes
10.NWA-Straight Outta Compton
9.GZA-Liquid Swords
8.Dr.Dre-The Cronic
7.atcq-Low in theory
6.Raekwon-Only Built for cuban links
5.Mobb Deep-The infamous-The fact that if this was made by 2pac it would be universally considerd the greatest hip-hop album has always bugged me.
4.Wu-tang clan-enter the wu-tang (36 chambers)
3.Eric.B and Rakim-Paid in Full
2.Biggy-Ready to Die
1.Nas-Illmatic
I am still happy that 0 pac albums made the cut ugh his fans suck.He was good but they can go to hell
November 15th, 2008 at 1:39 am
“firstly, i am not the biggest jay-z fan, but he was hot from day one. reasonable doubt, as far as i am concerned is his best album. as far as nas and illmatic go, if you think it’s boring then you need to listen to it some more. new york hip hop is (or at least was) about minimal but head bobbing beats, a few nice samples, and an mc that is clever, smart, and poignant. it doesn’t have acid-like casio keyboard sounds, or machine gun beats. you shouldn’t have to hide bad rhyming behind a bunch of crazy sounds. as far as this list goes, i think it’s pretty good, but i would like to see MF Doom, Black Moon, Smif-n-wessun, hieroglyphics, masta ace, or Pharcyde get a little respect.
good list though.
peace”
Agreed Illmatic buries the competion.New York hip-hop is the best because its not a bunch of wack rhymes over over the top beats.Thats why the south sucks and the west coast is overrated.Its all to over the top.New York stuff is simple yet complex nice head bobbing beats with sharp whitty lyricism that trumps the competion.Storytelling and thought in the lyrics is what makes it special.The west is overrated but it still is way better than almost all non-outkast,scarface,and z-ro southern rap.Ice Cube is a top 10 mc of all time hands down.Myka nyne from freestyle fellowship was also cold and Xzibit was good.Pac was aight but his fans are retarded 2pac wasnt half the rapper they make him out to be but thats not his fought that they dont know what there talking about.He was alright some good jams and me against the world was good.
December 12th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Take out
the blueprint-jay-z
life after death-the notorious b.i.g
Aquemini-outkast
add
Death Certificate-Ice Cube
Capital Punishment-Big Pun
Doe or Die-A.Z.
I would just swap a few out but other than that this is a decent list.The Chronic is way too high if you ask me and paid in full be should be way higher but its still pretty good.The biggest glaring hole in this is that there is no death certificate?I will never understand that.
December 14th, 2008 at 7:27 am
should just do a top 50.. heaps of LP’s probably coulda made the 25.
mad effort.. Good place to start for kids who don’t know anything about hiphop.
April 24th, 2009 at 3:42 am
[…] had a post that reminded me to finish my list after a few weeks of procrastinating. Back in 2007, this thought provoking experimental post @ Passion of the Weiss probably had heads spinning. I didn’t read it until January/February 2008 and whether you agree […]
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:00 am
[…] two years ago, Joey and I roped roughly half the Internet into voting on a Best 25 Hip-Hop Albums of all-time list. In an attempt to be inclusive, the list essentially reinforced existing group think. That said, it […]
August 17th, 2009 at 10:03 am
[…] and hip hop scholars and then narrow it all down. These are the same guys who proclaimed Illmatic the greatest album of all time. So who got the number one spot? I’ll give you one […]
August 25th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
no pac album?
March 30th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
this is the shizz-nit!