Top 10 Hip Hop Albums of the 90s

This is my personal opinion of the top 10 Hip Hop albums of the 90s. I base my choices on production and lyrics, not record sales or popularity.



Thanks for all the responses. A lot of you have questioned some of my choices and I respect differences in opinion. Ready To Die, Reasonable Doubt, and 36 Chambers are the three albums I see a lot of people questioning why they are not on the list.


1. Ready To Die: Although this album is not on the list I did purchase it the week it dropped and I still love it today. If you were of club age at that time you already know that every DJ played cuts from this album every 10 minutes. Plus the radio DJ's would not give it a rest either. It got to the point you could turn to three different radio stations and hear "Big Poppa" playing. Then everyone in your building was playing the album, on the train, in cars. Basically I overdoes on the album. Puffy being in every video didn't help either.


2. Reasonable Doubt: This album was definitely a banger and I especially loved "Regrets". The biggest problem with the album is Jay tried to make another Illmatic. Illmatic had a great influence on Jay and he tried to make a street hustling - crime scene - cocaine on the triple beam, type album and Nas had already closed that chapter. There were other albums out at the time that were more unique. Maybe on a top 25 list it would have made it. By the way, Reasonable Doubt is Jay's hottest joint.


3. 36 Chambers: I don't really have a good excuse for not having this on the list. Basically I slept on Wu when they came out. I just could not get with the 8 Emcees in one group thing. I was not until the Wu started dropping individual albums (all bangers) that I started to go back and listen to 36. So 36 should be on there.

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• 90s
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[madskilladil]

Excellent video, very accurate i think in the sense that the 10 you featured really personify the sound of the 90s. each tune nearly bought tears to my eyes, it moved my heart and took me back to the era. Damn i miss them days... I also love the explanation for the 3 albums you missed out even though i dont think Reasonable Doubt qualifies for top 10 at all.

[rarenature]

@madskilladil - thanks for the response

[PrimeNoble]

Nice albums!...way too many to name...some of my other favorite albums (no order)...

Capone-N-Noreaga - War Report, 2Pac - Me Against the World, Main Source - Breaking Atoms, O.C. - Word...Life, Diamond D - Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop, AZ - Doe Or Die, EPMD - Business Never Personal, Camp Lo - Uptown Saturday, The Pharcyde - Night, Bizarre Ride II Tha Pharcyde, Showbiz & A.G.- Runaway Slave, Ghostface Killah - Ironman, Killah Priest - Heavy Mental, Scarface - The Diary, Smif-N-Wessun - Dah Shinin'

[KryptonDaVillain]

@nickeloden891 I don't need to explain shit to somebody that's just going to counter whatever I say, I'm done. You believe artists with great lyrics are all that then it's cool, at least we won't be seeing each other on the same videos.

[nickeloden891]

@KryptonDaVillain And what is he garbage at really? Just explain. You sayin' he's garbage, but just explain to me pellucidly what he's garbage at.

[KryptonDaVillain]

@nickelodeon891 ODB? The only reason he isn't discredited is because his flow and energy were on point. In fact, it's what elevates him to his legendary status. Canibus vocabulary is far more extensive than most rappers but he's garbage.

[nickelodeon891]

@KryptonDaVillain So if a rapper was spittin' some nursery rhymes, it's still okay as long as he got flow? So what you're sayin' is that if a rapper's lyrics were wack but his flow was sick, he would win in a rap battle, right? Yeah, I thought so too.

[KryptonDaVillain]

@nickelodeon891 I don't need to listen to shit. Lyrics don't mean more than flow, consistency, energy and the beat.

[nickelodeon891]

@KryptonDaVillain Lyrics mean everything. That's like saying a B-ball player can't be in the hall of fame if he doesn't have a ring. If lyrics don't mean shit, then Illmatic don't mean shit. And Canibus is the sickest lyricist ever. Listen to Poet Laureate Infinity. Your mind will be blown.

[nickelodeon891]

Here's my list 1990 (Ice Cube - Amerikka's Most Wanted) 1991 (A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory) 1992 (Redman - Whut? Thee Album) 1993 (Wu Tang Clan - Enter the Wu) 1994 (Nas - Illmatic) 1995 (2Pac - Me Against the World) 1996 (Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt) 1997 (Busta Rhymes - When Disater Strikes) 1998 (Gang Starr - Hard To Earn) 1999 (Mos Def - Black On Both Sides) What y'all think?

[basehead617]

solid list.. i'm not one of those people that ever understood the popularity of 2pac and biggie.. they're OK but nothing like this stuff..

[basehead617]

@RsHelpNpvp Oodles of O's - amazing song

[KryptonDaVillain]

@chargersarecool If lyrics define what greatness is then Aesop Rock and Ras Kass are the greatest rappers of all time. Lyrics don't mean shit. If lyrics made albums hot then Canibus' debut would of been critically acclaimed. I'd pick a whole bunch of rappers over Nas to listen to when examining his whole discography.