List of hip hop albums considered to be influential

This list provides a guide to the most important hip hop albums, as determined by their presence on compiled lists of significant albums: see the " for full details. Inclusion on a list is indicated by numbering after each release. The brief accompanying notes offer an explanation of the album's importance.
Since hip hop was a music for 12" singles rather than albums for the period of 1979-1983, the absence of old school hip hop from the list has been compensated for by providing it with its own section of notable releases. Notable compilations of songs which contain important hip hop breaks (short percussive interludes used as the rhythmic basis for a hip hop song) are also included.
Lists consulted
Lists 1-5 are exclusively hip hop publications by writers respected in the field. 6-10 are rock publications; 6-7 are American, 8-9, British. 10 is a British dance music magazine. Albums that appear on any four lists or more have been included.
#"Hip Hop's Greatest Albums By Year" in Sacha Jenkins, Elliott Wilson, Chairman Mao, Gabriel Alvarez & Brent Rollins. ego trip's Book of Rap Lists, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999, pp. 331-337.
#"Top 100 Albums of All-Time", The Source, January 1998.
#Oliver Wang (ed.) Classic Material, Toronto: ECW, 2003.
#Brian Coleman, Check the Technique, New York: Villard, 2007.
#Peter Shapiro, Rough Guide to Hip Hop, 2nd. ed., London: Rough Guides, 2005.
#, Rolling Stone, May 2012.
#"100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005", Spin, July 2005.
#"100 Best Albums Of All Time", NME, March 2003.
#"Top 100 Favourite Albums of All Time", Melody Maker, January 2000.
#"Best Albums of All Time", Mixmag, 1996.
#Rolling Stone, n.d.
#"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", NME, 2013
List of important albums
1984
*Run-D.M.C.: Run-D.M.C. (Profile, 1984) Containing the early singles that saw off the old school, this is considered a superior rap album to any that preceded it.
1985
*LL Cool J: Radio (Def Jam, 1985) Hard, minimalist, self-assertive, and funky, this was a new school blueprint.
*Schoolly D: Schoolly D (Schoolly D, 1985) The predecessor of Gangster Rap and a major influence on the first albums of Ice-T and Public Enemy as well as an influence and sample source for The Beastie Boys and countless others.
1986
*Run-D.M.C.: Raising Hell (Profile, 1986) Crossover hits like "Walk This Way" co-exist with the quintessential hip hop/rap rock of tracks like "Peter Piper", "Perfection", "It's Tricky" and "My Adidas".
1987
*Boogie Down Productions: Criminal Minded (B-Boy, 1987) Minimalist and tribalist, this album contains the material that started The Bridge Wars.
*Eric B. & Rakim: Paid in Full (, 1987) Paid in Full is minimalist hip hop, with DJ tracks complementing the precise, logical and influential style of Rakim's raps.
1988
*Biz Markie: Goin' Off (, 1988)
*Slick Rick: The Great Adventures of Slick Rick (Def Jam, 1988) Slick Rick's roguish tales are noted early narratives in hip hop.
*EPMD: Strictly Business (Fresh, 1988) The slow-moving funk of Strictly Business, with its loud bass and laid-back rapping, was a new sound in hip hop.
*Public Enemy: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Def Jam, 1988) Regarded by music writers and publications as one of the greatest and most influential albums of all time.
*N.W.A: Straight Outta Compton (Ruthless, 1988) Straight Outta Compton ' s first-hand representations of Compton, California life would set the tone for much of future gangsta hip hop.
*Ultramagnetic MCs: Critical Beatdown (Next Plateau, 1988) Critical Beatdown ' s abstract rhymes in strange syncopations laid on top of sampling experiments proved widely influential, from Public Enemy to gangsta rap to several generations of underground hip hop artists.
1989
*De La Soul: 3 Feet High and Rising (Tommy Boy, 1989)
*Beastie Boys: Paul's Boutique (Capitol, 1989)
*Queen Latifah: All Hail the Queen (Tommy Boy, 1989)
1990
*Public Enemy: Fear of a Black Planet (Def Jam, 1990)
*A Tribe Called Quest: People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (Jive, 1990)
*X-Clan: To the East, Blackwards (4th & B'Way, 1990) X-Clan mixed a brand of Egyptology with their Islamic teachings, creating catchphrases still resonant in hip hop today in the process.
*Ice Cube: AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (Priority, 1990)
*Brand Nubian: One for All (Elektra, 1990) This was another Five Percenter album that popularized the religion's influence in hip hop lexicon.
1991
*De La Soul: De La Soul Is Dead (Tommy Boy, 1991)
*Main Source: Breaking Atoms (Wild Pitch, 1991)
*Cypress Hill: Cypress Hill (Ruffhouse/Columbia, 1991)
*A Tribe Called Quest: The Low End Theory (Jive, 1991)
*Scarface: Mr. Scarface Is Back (Rap-A-Lot, 1991)
1992
*Redman: Whut? Thee Album (Def Jam, 1992)
*The Pharcyde: Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde (Delicious Vinyl, 1992)
*Dr. Dre: The Chronic (Death Row, 1992) The era of wide-scale sampling would draw to a close in the wake of this hugely successful and hugely influential record, which used live band "interpolations".
1993
*Souls of Mischief: 93 'til Infinity (Jive, 1993)
*Wu-Tang Clan: ' (Loud, 1993) One of hip hop's true landmarks, this album rescued New York hip hop in a time dominated by the relaxed sounds of the West Coast.
*Snoop Doggy Dogg: Doggystyle (Death Row, 1993)
1994
*Nas: Illmatic (Columbia, 1994)
*Organized Konfusion: Stress: The Extinction Agenda (Hollywood BASIC, 1994)
*The Notorious B.I.G.: Ready to Die (Bad Boy, 1994)
*Common Sense: Resurrection (Relativity, 1994)
1995
*Mobb Deep: The Infamous (Loud, 1995) Considered one of the most important rap albums of all time.
*Raekwon: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (Loud, 1995)
*Tupac Shakur: Me Against the World (Interscope, 1995)
1996
*The Fugees: The Score (Ruffhouse/Columbia, 1996) One of the best-selling albums of all time worldwide and was widely respected.
*Jay-Z: Reasonable Doubt (Roc-A-Fella, 1996) Jay-Z combined elements of the New York City underground with a mainstream sensibility on his debut.
*Nas: It Was Written (Columbia, 1996) Regarded as one of the most important mafioso rap albums of all time.
1997
*The Notorious B.I.G.: Life After Death (Bad Boy, 1997)
1998
*Outkast: Aquemini (LaFace, 1998)
*DMX: It's Dark and Hell Is Hot (Def Jam Records, 1998)
1999
*Eminem: The Slim Shady LP (Aftermath/Interscope, 1999)
2000
*Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP (Aftermath/Interscope/Shady, 2000) The best selling hip-hop album of all time and ranks as one of the best-selling albums of all time.
*Outkast: Stankonia (LaFace, 2000)
2001
*Jay-Z: The Blueprint (Roc-A-Fella, 2001)
*Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein (Def Jux, 2001)
2003
*Jay Z: The Black Album (Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam, 2003)
*50 Cent: ' (Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, 2003)
2004
*Kanye West: The College Dropout (Roc-A-Fella, 2004)
*Madvillain: Madvillainy (Stones Throw, 2004)
2008
*Lil Wayne: Tha Carter III (Cash Money, Universal Motown, 2008)

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