Ain't no party like a Alkoholik party – and year after year, this debut album still stands as one of the group's strongest moments! The album's a real landmark from the west coast scene – served with straight up, stripped down beats from E Swift and King Tee – plus a couple of very early Madlib tracks as well! And although the album's got more rhymes about booze than we could have imagined in rap, then or now, it transcends the motif big time – never too sloshed to raise the bar – maybe making that move from politics to party that Black Flag did the decade before. Titles include "Lik Wit", "Only When I'm Drunk", "Last Call", "Can't Tell Me Sh*t", "Turn Tha Party Out", "Bullsh*t", "Soda Pop", "Make Room", "Mary Jane", and "Who Dem Ni**as". LP, Vinyl record album

The highly anticipated full length from the Minneapolis hip hop RhymeSayers crew. Slug rhymes like a storyteller, in his prime when weaving songs of demented heartbreak, his voice pushes forth in a tortured singing style, hook friendly, ironic, and angry (dude still hasn't gotten over Lucy). Ant does all the production, with some dubby beats, some nice spidery piano loops, some drums are a little more quirky and off kilter (in a good way) than his previous work. 18 tracks in all, including "Onemosphere", "The Bass And The Movement", "F#ck You Lucy", the creepy anthem "God Loves Ugly", "Saves The Day", "Vampires", "Modern Man's Hustle", "Blamegame" and "Shrapnel". CD

Produced by the Alchemist, with rhymes by Channel Live, RA the Rugged Man, Craig G and Agallah. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Aggro experimental hip hop and fiercely creative noise from Death Grips – their first for Epic Records – and it's still one of the most surprisingly uncompromising, genre-defying records to get a major platform at the time! The way the group splices scattershot yet momentum-building beats with rawly shouted, yet hip hop-rooted rhymes makes them impossible to categorize, but it's truly gripping stuff. Includes "Get Got", "The Fever", "Lost Boys", "Blackjack", "Hustle Bones", "System Blower", "The Cave", "F*** That", "Punk Weight" and "Hacker". CD

A classic from the late 80s school! "Strong Island" is a straight-up masterpiece – with laidback rhymes, incredible beats, and punchy samples – a triumph of period hip hop craft if there ever was one! 12-inch, Vinyl record

Kanye West finally dropped the full length in early '04 – and it's one of the best hip hop albums of the year. Kanye is probably the hottest beats producer of the year, too, having dug through the greatest soul hooks of the past few decades for his samples, and piled on the chunkiest, catchiest, thickest beats anywhere. And if he doesn't have the greatest vocal delivery in hop hop (if he did, he'd be Superman considering his production pedigree), he makes up for it with some masterful lines, like "I gotta apologize to Mos and Kweli/is it cool to rap about gold if I told the world I copped it from Ghana and Mali?" from "Breath In Breath Out". Hilariously, Kanye also found just about the sharpest theme for a record that we've scene in a while – the tangential connection between gang bangers and frat boys! He ain't granola, he ain't bling bling, he's just a guy from Chicago with a sometimes astoundingly strong production aesthetic, very smart rhymes and a lot of people who owe him great guest spots, and deliver. Were you looking for more than that? It's a triumph, one that Chicago couldn't be more proud of! "We Don't Care", "Graduation Day", "All Falls Down" with Syleena Johnson, "Spaceship" with GLC & Consequence, "Never Let Me Down" with Jay-Z, "Get 'Em High" with Talib Kweli & Common,"New Work Out Plan", the great single "Slow Jamz" with Twista & Jamie Foxx and more. CD

Kanye West finally dropped the full length in early '04 – and it's one of the best hip hop albums of the year. Kanye is probably the hottest beats producer of the year, too, having dug through the greatest soul hooks of the past few decades for his samples, and piled on the chunkiest, catchiest, thickest beats anywhere. And if he doesn't have the greatest vocal delivery in hop hop (if he did, he'd be Superman considering his production pedigree), he makes up for it with some masterful lines, like "I gotta apologize to Mos and Kweli/is it cool to rap about gold if I told the world I copped it from Ghana and Mali?" from "Breath In Breath Out". Hilariously, Kanye also found just about the sharpest theme for a record that we've scene in a while – the tangential connection between gang bangers and frat boys! He ain't granola, he ain't bling bling, he's just a guy from Chicago with a sometimes astoundingly strong production aesthetic, very smart rhymes and a lot of people who owe him great guest spots, and deliver. Were you looking for more than that? It's a triumph, one that Chicago couldn't be more proud of! "We Don't Care", "Graduation Day", "All Falls Down" with Syleena Johnson, "Spaceship" with GLC & Consequence, "Never Let Me Down" with Jay-Z, "Get 'Em High" with Talib Kweli & Common,"New Work Out Plan", the great single "Slow Jamz" with Twista & Jamie Foxx and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Kanye West finally dropped the full length in early '04 – and it's one of the best hip hop albums of that year. Kanye is probably the hottest beats producer of the year, too, having dug through the greatest soul hooks of the past few decades for his samples, and piled on the chunkiest, catchiest, thickest beats anywhere. And if he doesn't have the greatest vocal delivery in hop hop (if he did, he'd be Superman considering his production pedigree), he makes up for it with some masterful lines, like "I gotta apologize to Mos and Kweli/is it cool to rap about gold if I told the world I copped it from Ghana and Mali?" from "Breath In Breath Out". Hilariously, Kanye also found just about the sharpest theme for a record that we've scene in a while – the tangential connection between gang bangers and frat boys! He ain't granola, he ain't bling bling, he's just a guy from Chicago with a sometimes astoundingly strong production aesthetic, very smart rhymes and a lot of people who owe him great guest spots, and deliver. Were you looking for more than that? It's a triumph, one that Chicago couldn't be more proud of! "We Don't Care", "Graduation Day", "All Falls Down" with Syleena Johnson, "Spaceship" with GLC & Consequence, "Never Let Me Down" with Jay-Z, "Get 'Em High" with Talib Kweli & Common,"New Work Out Plan", the great single "Slow Jamz" with Twista & Jamie Foxx and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Kanye West finally dropped the full length in early '04 – and it's one of the best hip hop albums of the year. Kanye is probably the hottest beats producer of the year, too, having dug through the greatest soul hooks of the past few decades for his samples, and piled on the chunkiest, catchiest, thickest beats anywhere. And if he doesn't have the greatest vocal delivery in hop hop (if he did, he'd be Superman considering his production pedigree), he makes up for it with some masterful lines, like "I gotta apologize to Mos and Kweli/is it cool to rap about gold if I told the world I copped it from Ghana and Mali?" from "Breath In Breath Out". Hilariously, Kanye also found just about the sharpest theme for a record that we've scene in a while – the tangential connection between gang bangers and frat boys! He ain't granola, he ain't bling bling, he's just a guy from Chicago with a sometimes astoundingly strong production aesthetic, very smart rhymes and a lot of people who owe him great guest spots, and deliver. Were you looking for more than that? It's a triumph, one that Chicago couldn't be more proud of! "We Don't Care", "Graduation Day", "All Falls Down" with Syleena Johnson, "Spaceship" with GLC & Consequence, "Never Let Me Down" with Jay-Z, "Get 'Em High" with Talib Kweli & Common,"New Work Out Plan", the great single "Slow Jamz" with Twista & Jamie Foxx and more. LP, Vinyl record album

It may not be the BeAllEndAll that the Matador hype machine is trying to cook up, but Large Professor's waaaay too long in the making first LP (first to be officially released, anyway) is a very solid effort, and a strong, raw head bumper all the way through. Nothing fancy, just tried and true hip hop, with a loud and clear, confident verbal flow and stable beats and samples. A welcome trip back to not so distant era of hip hop that the Professor first made his mark (Breaking Atoms, Illmatic, etc) without sounding self-consciously retro. Includes "'Bout That Time", " Kool", "Blaze Rhymes", "Stay Chisel" featuring Nas, "In The Sun" featuring Q Tip, "Born To Ball", "Alive In Stereo", and more. CD

Da mouf of da souf returns! This one boasts "100% natural beats/rhymes/lyrics and chicken." Needless to say, 'Cris's Dirty South roots are waved loudly and proudly on this follow up to his mega-breakthrough Word Of Mouf, with appearances by Chingy, Snoop, Lil' Flip and members of the Disturbing Tha Peace clique. Ya gotta love the album, if for nothing else, 'Cris's frequent and relentless badgering of gaseous windbag Bill O'Reilly. O'Reilly seems to think 'Cris's belligerent drunken rudeness (quite obviously a SATIRICAL ACT) is ruining America more than any other element. Let's all write "The Factor", Fox News and the other babysitters and thank them for looking out for the kids, and all of us brainless monkeys who would do nothing but drink, smoke, and beat women if they weren't there to protect us from the evil rappers! (Sheesh.) Tracks include "Blow It Out", "Stand Up", "Splash Waterfalls, "Hard Times", "Diamond In The Back", "Screwed Up", "P-Poppin'", "Hoes In My Room", "Teamwork", "We Got", "Eyebrows Down", "Hip Hop Quotables" and more. CD

The first full length from MF Doom – a record that set the standard for underground hip hop to come! On this modern classic, Doom caps off the 90s with more jazzy soul in the beats, and some semblance of straightforward rhyme mastery from both Doom & his guests – taken to the outer limits! What really pushes this one into legendary status are how well he works with creaky comic adventure samples – using them as the genesis of Doom's metal face supervillain persona. Looking back, the set is clearly the building blocks for deeper insanity to come – but the sense of structure may well make it his best album ever! Includes "Doomsday", "Rhymes Like Dimes" feat Cucumber Slice, "The Finest" feat Tommy Gun, "Go With The Flow", "Tick Tick", "Hey!", "The Mic", "Dead Bent", "?" feat Kurious and much more – including all of the classic skits (yeah, we said it, classic skits, creative sci fi sample genius that are creative as the proper tracks) – with 19 tracks in all. LP, Vinyl record album

Beats by LES, Chucky Thompson and Salaam Remi, with guests Olu Dara, Kelis, Ludacris, Doug E Fresh, Busta Rhymes, Maxwell, and others. Titles include "Nazareth Savage", "American Way", "These Are Out Heroes", "Disciple", 'Rest OF My Life", "Suicide bounce", "Streets Disciple", "Unauthorized Biography Of Rakim", "Remember The Times", "The Makings Of A Perfect B****", "Bridging The Gap" and 'War". CD

Beats by LES, Chucky Thompson and Salaam Remi, with guests Olu Dara, Kelis, Ludacris, Doug E Fresh, Busta Rhymes, Maxwell, and others. Titles include "Nazareth Savage", "American Way", "These Are Out Heroes", "Disciple", 'Rest OF My Life", "Suicide bounce", "Streets Disciple", "Unauthorized Biography Of Rakim", "Remember The Times", "The Makings Of A Perfect B****", "Bridging The Gap" and 'War". LP, Vinyl record album

The top of the heap from the indie class of '96, where Jean Grae, then known as What What got her start. Dope rhymes over smooth, spare beats, from the prime years of the East coast underground. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Shabazz Palaces takes spacey hip hop further out then they've every done before, while still somehow holding ground in hazy, headnodding beats and rhymes – delivering 2 separate albums loosely centered around a cosmic character called Quazarz! Far out as concept is and as thickly atmospheric as the vocals are record, Born On A Gangster Star and Quazarz Vs The Jealous Machines still manage to come across as some of the most immediately accessible music the duo have recorded to date – but still a far murkier, moodier outer space experience than Ishmael Butler's pioneering legendary work with jazz rap pioneers Digable Planets or the underrated Cherrywine. Includes "Since CAYA", "When Cats Claw", "Shine A Light" feat Thaddillac, "Deese Du Sang", "Eel Dreams" feat Loud Eyes Lou, "Parallax" feat The Palaceer Lazaro, "The Neurchem Mixalogue", "That's How City Life Goes", "Moon Whip Quaz" feat Darrius and "Federalist Papers". CD

Shabazz Palaces takes spacey hip hop further out then they've every done before, while still somehow holding ground in hazy, headnodding beats and rhymes – delivering 2 separate albums loosely centered around a cosmic character called Quazarz! Far out as concept is and as thickly atmospheric as the vocals are record, Born On A Gangster Star and Quazarz Vs The Jealous Machines still manage to come across as some of the most immediately accessible music the duo have recorded to date – but still a far murkier, moodier outer space experience than Ishmael Butler's pioneering legendary work with jazz rap pioneers Digable Planets or the underrated Cherrywine. Includes "Welcome To Quazarz", "Gorgeous Sleeper Cell", "Atlaantis", "Effeminence", "30 Clip Extension", "Sabonim In The Saab On 'Em", "The SS Quintessence", "Late Night Phone Calls" feat Laz & "Quazarz On 23rd" and more. CD

Once again, Talib Kweli delivers the goods, with thoughtful rhymes over tight, snappin' beats, and more than just a touch of soul to keep things nice! Guest appearances from Bilal, Black Thought, Mos Def, the Cocoa Brovaz, Pharoah Monche and Mos Def alongside production by the Soulquarians, Kanye West, DJ Quik, and Erik Krasno of Soulive (among others. . .) keep this long player fresh from start to finish. 15 tracks in all, including "Get by", "Shock Body", "Waitin For The DJ", "Talk To You", "Guerilla Monsoon Rap", "Put It In The Air", "The Proud" and "Where Do We Go". LP, Vinyl record album

Soulful hip hop from the duo of Blu & Exile – and one of the tightest releases yet on the Sound In Color label! Exile's production brings a heavy mood while still rolling out catchy and funky beats – while Blu's busy, reflective rhymes flow with the best of them. Solid stuff! Titles include "My World Is", "The Narrow Path", "So(ul) Amazin' (Steel Blazin')", "Juicen' Dranks" feat Ta'Raach, "In Remembernce Of Me", "Blu Colla Workers", "Dancin In The Rain", "First Things First" feat Miguel Jontel, "No Great Lvove", "Show Me The Good Life" feat Aloe Blacc & Joseph, "Simply Amazin'", "You Are Now In The Clouds With (The Koochie Monstas)" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Nice, nice, nice New York hip hop from Keith Murray – his one and only full length on Def Jam! The album features production by Clark Kent, Rockwilder, Pete Rock and others and it's just the kind of no nonsense street hop we love around here. Keith rocks it like Nas in a way – he's all about soulful introspection with rhymes that go way beyond call-and-response hoopty rockers and party blasters. His style on the best cuts are definitely of the hard street mentality, but Keith has a genuine thoughtfulness that makes him a lot more complicated than the typical street rhymer – and bely his reputation as a violent hothead. The beats are tight and carefully crafted, and catchy enough to get play with the commercial jams. It's the kind of album that will still sound nice years from now – hardly a trendy concession to be found. Cuts include the great single "Candi Bar", "Carnage", "Oh My Goodness", "Christina", "Say Whaatt" featuring Redman, "Child Of The Streets" (Man Child)", "On Smash" with Busta Rhymes and more, plus some sharp skits with Jamie Foxx. LP, Vinyl record album

With "Bar Code", "L-I-K-S", "Da Da Da Da", "Sickness" and "Another Round". 19 tracks in all, counting the interludes, with guest spots by Xzibit, Defari, Busta Rhymes, King Tee and Kurupt, plus a couple of beats by Rockwilder and the Neptunes in addition to E-Swift. LP, Vinyl record album

11 tracks, plus the intro and outro, with beats by Hi Tek, Jay Dee of the Ummah and Pete Rock. Includes "Flawless", "Miscellaneous", "DRUGS", "The Club Hoppa", "Lemme Find Out", "Bend Ova", "Beats, Rhymes & Phife", "Ventilation" and "4 Horsemen". LP, Vinyl record album

The classic critical breakthrough from The Roots – the one that really cemented their legacy as one great hip hop live bands ever, and help paving the way for many fascinating records to come! Do You Want More is a modern hip hop essential, chainging the way we looked at hip hop, and certainly one of the most successful efforts at bridging live band playing, sample based beats and smart rhymes. Titles include: "Proceed", "Distortion To Static", "Lazy Afternoon", "Mellow My Man", "I Remain Calm", "Datskat", "What Goes On Pt. 7", "Silent Treatment", "You Ain't Fly", "Do You Want More?!!!??!", "The Lesson Part 2" and "The Unlocking". CD