Our favorite track from the Likwidation LP. Spare beats with a staccato piano line throughout plus the sound of rolling bottles as percussion, with a great appearance by the late great ODB! 12-inch, Vinyl record

Early single from old school pioneer Busy B. With that live/party sound along the lines of Grandmaster Flash's "Birthday Party." The production has a little less of the 'slap bass' sound than some of the other Sugarhill singles from that time. 12-inch, Vinyl record

12 tracks, and 4 skits, with E Double's newer hot sound in the beats, and Keith Murray and the Funk Doctor Spock joining him on the mic, including "Countdown", "Full Cooperation", "Rhymin Wit Biz", "The Game (Freestyle)", "Can You Dig It?", "No Guest List" and "Def Squad Delite". LP, Vinyl record album

Original version produced by Diamond D, remix by the Beatnuts. 12-inch, Vinyl record

"This here is the victory lap," raps Hov midway through The Black Album, probably the most consistent front-to-back listen of all his albums. One of the nicest things about the Black Album is the brevity – with a very manageable 14 tracks, no guest rhymers, and a consistent overall sound and mood thanks in part to strong production by Kanye West, 9th Wonder, Neptunes, Timbaland, Eminem, Rick Rubin and DJ Quik. It's a wildly disparate cast behind the boards, but this thing flows incredibly well thanks to Jay-Z's predetermined mission to make a great album, not just a hot record. We may still have to lean towards Blueprint as his late masterpiece, but this is way up there. "December 4th", "What More Can I Say?", "Encore", "Change Clothes", "Dirt Off Your Shoulder", "Threat", "Moment Of Clarity", "99 Problems", "Justify My Thug", "Lucifer", "Allure", "My First Song", and a couple of brief interludes. LP, Vinyl record album

We're not entirely certain if this is the same Jocko's as the one who cut "Rhythm talk" for Philly International a few years earlier, but this cut's in the same bag, with a bouncing commercial early 80s sound, not unlike Sugarhill Gang or Whodini. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Just-Ice wasn't actually part of the old school – although to some, the 1986 release might seem pretty darn close – but he definitely does a good job here of keeping things nice and clean on his classic debut! Production is from Mantronik, but there's also a harder edge than most of his other work in the studio – maybe thanks in part to edits by the great Chep Nunez, who was responsible for doing some great work on the Ultimate Breaks & Beats series! The sound blasts out of the deck with a very booming 80s sound – and the set also features some human beatboxing from DMX, who often explodes with the quality of a drum machine. Titles include "Back To The Old School", "Gangster of Hip Hop", "Latoya", "Cold Gettin Dumb", "Little Bad Johnny", and "Put That Record Back On." The picture cover is a dope notebook-style graffiti drawing of Just-Ice, DMX, Latoya, and Mantronik – that last of whom is carrying a Roland 909! LP, Vinyl record album

The solo debut of Mase, after time in Children Of The Corn, and a role as one of Puff Daddy's up-and-coming stars – emphasized here by Sean Combs name on the back of the album cover, and the set's placement on Bad Boy! Yet as the record will attest, Mase has a straightforward, hard-edged approach that's not the typical P-Diddy/Puff Daddy sound – some echoes of the harsher world that was lingering out there in the wake of Biggie's death, and emphasized by some of the fresher producers here – including the young Neptunes and Jermaine Dupri. Guests include Jay Z, Busta Rhymes, Eightball, MJG, DMX, Lil Kim, and Puff Daddy himself – and titles include "Mad Rapper", "Will They Die 4 You", "The Player Way", "What You Want", "24 Hours to Live", "Do You Wanna Get $", "Need To Be", "Niggaz Wanna Act", "Take What's Yours", "Love U So", "Feel So Good", and "Wanna Hurt Mase". LP, Vinyl record album

Nas' debut LP masterpiece Illmatic – a record that will probably stand forever as one of the greatest hip hop full lengths of its time! Nas has had some creative ups-and-downs over the years, but nothing can take away the impact of this damn near perfect slice of east coast street hop – truly one of the great, filler free, beginning-to-end classics with not a wasted second! Part of the strength of the record is the top-shelf choice of production – work from DJ Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock and Q-Tip – all of whom help the young Nas really find his voice with the right sort of vibe – on titles that include "NY State Of Mind", "Life's A B***h", "Half Time", "One Love", "Memory Lane", "Represent", "The World Is Yours", and "It Ain't Hard To Tell". Columbia has gone all out with the reverence on this double LP reissue, with remastered sound polish and a bonus LP with remixes of "World Is Yours", "Life's A B***h", "One Love" and "It Ain't Hard To Tell", plus bonus tracks "On The Real" and "Star Wars". LP, Vinyl record album

Two from the "All We Got Iz Us" LP. The usual scowling Onyx MC style, but the production on Last Days has a more low-tempo, late-night sound than the usual Onyx material. 12-inch, Vinyl record

"Nature of a Sista", produced by Louie Vega has sort of Bomb Squad wall-of-sound feel. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Features rhymes by Defari & Tash and a remix by E-Swift of the 'Liks. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Includes "Ain't No Thang" by Ghetto Klownz, "Upper Echelon" by Signifiers, "In This To Win This" by Da Dozenz, "Net Weight" by Phil The Agony, "Big Up" by Defari (produced by E-Swift), "L.A.P.D." by Phunky Dialect, "Are You Crazy" by Tony Da Skitzo, "Where Ya' At" by The Colony, "Word To God" by Phelon, "Soul Searchin" by Mykill Miers, "Pay The Price" by Voodu, "Vocal Instrument" by Suns Of The V.I., "End Of The Time" by Dilated Peoples (produced by Joey Chavez), "Hit The Jackpot" by Underground Sound Unit, "For All My Peoples" by Clean Cut Craig, and "Just To Be Famous" by Laswunzout. LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "D&D Soundclash" with Cocoa Brovas and production by Da Beatminerz, "Mic Stance", "Equality", "Defeat", and "Monotony", all with production by Premier, "Whirlwind Thru Cities", "Mortal Kombat" with Masta Killa, "Bring It Right", "Trilogy Of Terror" with Guru & Hannibal Stax, "Self Mastery", "Bigacts Littleacts" with GZA, "Warfare" with M.O.P., "Soul Assassination", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Off the Slam soundtrack. 12-inch, Vinyl record

From the Bullworth soundtrack. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Lifted from the soundtrack to "How To Be A Player", with Dru Hill. 12-inch, Vinyl record

(New Grooves, Hip Hop) CD

One of those early hard to find Next Plateau single, before they were distributed by Polygram. Maybe we're off in our geography, MC Sugar Ray sounds almost like a Brooklyn version of Big Daddy Kane. 12-inch, Vinyl record

A non-album cut from Outkast off the Soul Food soundtrack. 12-inch, Vinyl record

From the Bad Boys II soundtrack. 12-inch, Vinyl record

From the Bad Boys II soundtrack. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Promo single off the Oz soundtrack. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Off the Baby Boy soundtrack, featuring Tyrese and Mr Tan. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Speech does an updated version of/tribute to "What's Going On" that sounds just like Arrested Development. "Impregnated Tidbits Of Dope Hits" has an intro monologue by Dana Bryant. 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

From the Beef soundtrack, with KRS One and Lil Al. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Includes Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five's full 12-inch version of "Beat Street Breakdown", Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force's "Frantic Situation", Arthur Baker's "Breaker's Revenge", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The stand-out cut here is the break dance track "Son of Beat Street" with lots of cutting by Jazzy Jay. Also includes Treacherous Three "Santa's Rap" with beatboxing by Dougie Fresh, Rockers Revenge "Battle Cry" produced by Arthur Baker, and some club cuts by Juicy, Tina B and others. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

With edited and instrumental tracks by Wu-Tang Clan, Three 6 Mafia, Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, Trick Daddy, Devin The Dude, Kool G Rap, Lord Jamar, Talib Kweli, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

Soundtrack to the Roc movie. Some serious beat jacking going on here with mixed results, but they keep it pretty hot for the most part, including the amazing "Bout It Bout It Part III" by The Diplomats with Master P. Other highlights include "Don't You Know" by Jay-Z, "I'm Ready" by the Diplomats, and "1, 2 Y'all" with Bleek, Hov, Lil' Cease, and Geda K. 16 tracks total. LP, Vinyl record album