100 Greatest Rap, Hip-Hop Albums

Album covers for It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back and good kid, m.A.A.d city
Criteria: The 100 Rap music albums listed here were chosen for Impact, Influence, Critical Acclaim, and Lasting Popularity in the genre of Rap and Hip-Hop. All realms of Rap/Hip-Hop are included.

Last Updated: 2017-09-06
Newly added names are in  Red 
Greatest Rap, Hip-Hop Albums
  1. It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back - Public Enemy
  2. good kid, m.A.A.d city - Kendrick Lamar
  3. The Marshall Mathers LP - Eminem
  4. Paid In Full - Eric B. & Rakim
  5. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill
  6. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West
  7. The Blueprint - Jay-Z
  8. Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A
  9. Raising Hell - Run-D.M.C.
10. 3 Feet High And Rising - De La Soul
11. The Chronic - Dr. Dre
12. The Low End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest
13. To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar
14. Stankonia - Outkast
15. Illmatic - Nas
16. Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) - Wu Tang Clan
17. All Eyez on Me - 2pac
18. Pauls Boutique - Beastie Boys
19. Late Registration - Kanye West
20. It's a Big Daddy Thing - Big Daddy Kane
21. Supa Dupa Fly - Missy Elliott
22. Ready To Die - The Notorious B.I.G.
23. Aquemini - Outkast
24. Tha Carter III - Lil Wayne
25. Radio - LL Cool J
26. Things Fall Apart - The Roots
27. Criminal Minded - Boogie Down Productions
28. King of Rock - Run-D.M.C.
29. Madvillainy - Madvillain
30. The Message - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
31. The College Dropout - Kanye West
32. Fear of A Black Planet - Public Enemy
33. R.A.P. Music - Killer Mike
34. Run-D.M.C. - Run-D.M.C.
35. The Score - The Fugees
36. Me Against the World - 2 pac
37. License To Ill - Beastie Boys
38. The Untouchable - Scarface
39. Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J
40. O.G. Original Gangster - Ice T
41. Long Live the Kane - Big Daddy Kane
42. Kurtis Blow - Kurtis Blow
43. Planet Rock - Afrika Bambaataa
44. Doggystyle - Snoopdogg
45. Black on Both Sides - Mos Def
46. The Black Album - Jay-Z
47. Mecca and the Soul Brother - Pete Rock & CL Smooth
48. Reasonable Doubt - Jay-Z
49. My Name Is My Name - Pusha T.
50. Speakerboxx/The Love Below - Outkast
51. Lyte As A Rock - MC Lyte
52. The Slim Shady LP - Eminem
53. AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted - Ice Cube
54. KRS-One - KRS-One
55. The Great Adventures of Slick Rick - Slick Rick
56. Life After Death - The Notorious B.I.G.
57. Nothing Was The Same - Drake
58. Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star - Black Star (Mos Def / Talib Kweli)
59. Very Necessary - Salt-N-Pepa
60. Liquid Swords - GZA
61. Oxymoron - ScHoolboy Q
62. Under Construction - Missy Elliott
63. Oh My God - Doug E. Fresh
64. I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside - Earl Sweatshirt
65. All Hail The Queen - Queen Latifah
66. '93 Til Infinity - Souls of Mischief
67. Phrenology - The Roots
68. DAMN. - Kendrick Lamar
69. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels
70. Like Water For Chocolate - Common
71. Midnight Maruaders - A Tribe Called Quest
72. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... - Raekwon
73. Straight Out the Jungle - The Jungle Brothers
74. No One Can Do It Better - The D.O.C.
75. Follow the Leader - Eric B. & Rakim
76. Big Tyme - Heavy D. & The Boyz
77. Run The Jewels II - Run the Jewels
78. Blacks Magic - Salt-N-Pepa
79. Strictly Business - EPMD
80. Get Rich or Die Tryin' - 50 Cent
81. Mantronix : The Album - Mantronix
82. Coloring Book - Chance the Rapper
83. Tha Carter IV - Lil Wayne
84. By All Means Necessary - Boogie Down Productions
85. It Was Written - Nas
86. Daily Operation - Gang Starr
87. Its Dark and Hell is Hot - DMX
88. Quality Control - Jurassic 5
89. Capital Punishment - Big Pun
90. Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders First Lady - Eve
91. Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde - Pharcyde
92. Sex Packets - Digital Underground
93. The Greatest Story Never Told - Saigon
94. Escape - Whodini
95. Critical Beatdown - Ultramagnetic MCs
96. How Ya Like Me Now - Kool Moe Dee
97. The Coming - Busta Rhymes
98. 3 Years, 5 Days, and 2 Months in the Life of... - Arrested Development
99. Cadillactica - Big K.R.I.T.
100. Chicken-N-Beer - Ludacris

Honorable Mentions
Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill
Loc-ed After Dark - Tone Loc
Death Certificate - Ice Cube
Check Your Head - Beastie Boys
Done by the Forces of Nature - Jungle Brothers
Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space) - Digable Planets
Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty - Big Boi
The Fat Boys - The Fat Boys
Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip-Hop - Boogie Down Productions
People's Instinctive Travels and The Paths of Rhythm - A Tribe Called Quest
Apocolypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Back - Public Enemy
The Big Picture - Big L
The Cactus Album - 3rd Bass
Nellyville - Nelly
One For All - Brand Nubian
In Full Gear - Stetsasonic
Goin' Off - Biz Markie
Hot Cool & Vicious - Salt-N-Pepa
He's the DJ, I'm The Rapper - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Please Hammer, Don't Hurt Em - MC Hammer



It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back album cover


good kid/m.A.A.d. city album cover


The Marshall Mathers LP album cover


Paid In Full album cover


The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill album cover


My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album cover



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