The album rankings.

• A Tribe Called Quest – "The Low End Theory" Review: The Most Timeless Album in Rap History — 10/10

• Eric B. & Rakim – "Paid in Full" Review: The Most Influential Rap Album Ever Made — 10/10

• GZA – "Liquid Swords" Review: The Most Lyrically Precise Album in Wu-Tang History — 10/10

• Kanye West – "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" Review: The Greatest Maximalist Rap Album Ever Made — 10/10

• Kendrick Lamar – "To Pimp a Butterfly" Review: The Greatest Rap Album of the 21st Century — 10/10

• Lauryn Hill – "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" Review: The Record That Proved Hip-Hop and Soul Were Always th — 10/10
• Lauryn Hill – "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" Review: The Record That Proved Hip-Hop and Soul Were Never Opp — 10/10

• Mobb Deep – "The Infamous" Review: The Darkest Album of the Golden Age — 10/10

• Nas – "Illmatic" Review: The Greatest Rap Album Ever Made — 10/10
• Nas – “Illmatic” Review: The Greatest Rap Album Ever Made — 10/10

• OutKast – "Aquemini" Review: The Most Adventurous Rap Album of Its Era — 10/10

• Public Enemy – "It Takes a Nation of Millions" Review: The Most Politically Important Rap Album Ever — 10/10
• Public Enemy – "It Takes a Nation of Millions" Review: The Most Politically Important Rap Album Ever Made — 10/10

• Raekwon – "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx" Review: The Greatest Wu-Tang Solo Album Ever Made — 10/10

• The Notorious B.I.G. – “Ready to Die” Review: The Album That Put the East Coast Back on Top — 10/10
• The Notorious B.I.G. – "Ready to Die" Review: The Most Emotionally Complete Debut in East Coast Rap — 10/10

• Wu-Tang Clan – "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)" Review: The Most Original Collective Debut in Rap History — 10/10
• Wu-Tang Clan – “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” Review: The Album That Changed Everything — 10/10
• Wu-Tang Clan – “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” Review: The Album That Rebuilt New York Rap — 10/10

• 2Pac – "All Eyez on Me" Review: The Last and Greatest Statement — 9.5/10

• 2Pac – "Me Against the World" Review: The Last and Greatest Statement — 9.5/10
• 2Pac – "Me Against the World" Review: The Last Statement Before the Storm — 9.5/10

• A Tribe Called Quest – "Midnight Marauders" Review: Their Most Melodically Perfect Album — 9.5/10

• Beastie Boys – "Paul’s Boutique" Review: The Most Ambitious Sampling Achievement in Rap History — 9.5/10

• Clipse – "Hell Hath No Fury" Review: The Greatest Cocaine-Rap Album Ever Made — 9.5/10

• De La Soul – "3 Feet High and Rising" Review: The Most Joyful Album in Rap History — 9.5/10

• Dr. Dre – "2001" Review: The Record That Defined Late-90s West Coast Rap — 9.5/10

• Dr. Dre – “The Chronic” Review: The Album That Invented G-Funk — 9.5/10

• Eminem – "The Eminem Show" Review: The Most Complete Album of His Classic Trilogy — 9.5/10

• Eminem – "The Marshall Mathers LP" Review: The Album That Broke Everything — 9.5/10

• Eminem – "The Slim Shady LP" Review: The Debut That Broke Everything — 9.5/10

• Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – "Piñata" Review: The Finest Rap Collaboration of Its Decade — 9.5/10

• Ghostface Killah – "Supreme Clientele" Review: The Greatest Wu-Tang Solo Album Ever Made — 9.5/10

• Jay-Z – "Reasonable Doubt" Review: The Most Artistically Uncompromised Album of His Career — 9.5/10
• Jay-Z – “Reasonable Doubt” Review: The Most Honest Album He Ever Made — 9.5/10

• Jay-Z – "The Black Album" Review: The Greatest Retirement Album Ever Made — 9.5/10

• Jay-Z – "The Blueprint" Review: The Album That Changed Hip-Hop Production Forever — 9.5/10

• Kanye West – "Late Registration" Review: The Grammy-Winning Sophomore Masterpiece — 9.5/10

• Kanye West – "The College Dropout" Review: The Album That Rewrote the Rules — 9.5/10

• Kendrick Lamar – "DAMN." Review: The Pulitzer Prize Album That Hit Different — 9.5/10

• Nas – "Stillmatic" Review: The Greatest Comeback Album in Rap History — 9.5/10

• OutKast – "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" Review: The First Rap Album to Win the Grammy for Album of the Year — 9.5/10

• OutKast – "Stankonia" Review: The Most Adventurous Rap Album of Its Era — 9.5/10

• Pusha T – "Daytona" Review: The Most Perfectly Executed Short Rap Album of Its Decade — 9.5/10

• The Notorious B.I.G. – "Life After Death" Review: The Greatest Double Album in Rap History — 9.5/10

• 50 Cent – "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" Review: The Debut That Changed Rap's Commercial Ceiling — 9/10

• Big L – "Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous" Review: Harlem’s Greatest MC — 9/10

• Big Pun – "Capital Punishment" Review: The South Bronx’s Greatest MC — 9/10

• Common – "Be" Review: Common’s Finest Album — 9/10

• DMX – "It's Dark and Hell Is Hot" Review: The Most Explosive Debut of 1998 — 9/10

• Drake – "Take Care" Review: The Album That Defined a Generation — 9/10
• Drake – "Take Care" Review: Drake’s Finest Album — 9/10

• Gang Starr – "Moment of Truth" Review: The Most Complete Statement of the Guru / Premier Partnership — 9/10

• Ice Cube – "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" Review: The Debut That Made His Case — 9/10

• J. Cole – "2014 Forest Hills Drive" Review: J. Cole’s Finest Album — 9/10
• J. Cole – "2014 Forest Hills Drive" Review: No Features, No Singles, Diamond Certified — 9/10

• Jay-Z & Kanye West – "Watch the Throne" Review: The Greatest Luxury Rap Album Ever Made — 9/10

• Jay-Z – "American Gangster" Review: The Most Underrated Album in His Catalogue — 9/10

Release year corrected against Apple Music; the archive table lists 1996.

• Jay-Z – "In My Lifetime, Vol. 1" Review: The Bridge Between the Underground and the Mainstream — 9/10
• Jay-Z – "In My Lifetime Vol. 1" Review: The Bridge Between the Underground and the Mainstream — 9/10

• Jay-Z – "The Blueprint 3" Review: New York’s Unofficial Anthem — 9/10

• Jay-Z – "Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life" Review: The Album That Made Jay-Z a Superstar — 9/10

• Jay-Z – "Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter" Review: Jay-Z Closes Out the Millennium at #1 — 9/10

• Kanye West – "808s & Heartbreak" Review: The Album That Birthed a Decade of Melodic Rap — 9/10

• Kanye West – "Graduation" Review: The Album That Changed Rap’s Commercial Landscape — 9/10

• Kanye West – "Yeezus" Review: Kanye’s Most Formally Radical Album — 9/10

• Kendrick Lamar – "Section.80" Review: The Album That Announced a Legend — 9/10

• Kid Cudi – "Man on the Moon: The End of Day" Review: The Album That Made Emotional Vulnerability a Mainstream — 9/10

• Lil Wayne – "Tha Carter II" Review: The Album Where Wayne Made His Case — 9/10

• Lil Wayne – "Tha Carter III" Review: The Best Rapper Alive Delivers His Masterpiece — 9/10

• Lupe Fiasco – "Food & Liquor" Review: The Finest Debut of the Post-College Dropout Era — 9/10

• Mos Def – "Black on Both Sides" Review: The Most Lyrically Versatile Debut of Its Era — 9/10

Release year follows the checked catalogue record; the archive table differs.

• N.W.A – "Straight Outta Compton" Review: The Record That Changed Rap Forever — 9/10

• Nas – "God's Son" Review: The Underrated Masterpiece in His Catalogue — 9/10

• Nas – "It Was Written" Review: The Sophomore Album They Underrated — 9/10

• Pete Rock & CL Smooth – "Mecca and the Soul Brother" Review: The Most Soulful Album of the Golden Age East Coa — 9/10

• Run-D.M.C. – "Raising Hell" Review: The Album That Took Hip-Hop Mainstream — 9/10

• Snoop Dogg – "Doggystyle" Review: The Greatest West Coast Debut Album Ever Made — 9/10

• The Roots – "Things Fall Apart" Review: The Most Musically Sophisticated Hip-Hop Album of Its Era — 9/10

• Tyler, the Creator – "Flower Boy" Review: Tyler’s Creative Breakthrough — 9/10

• Wu-Tang Clan – "Wu-Tang Forever" Review: The Full Clan at Their Commercial Peak — 9/10

• Jay-Z – "The Blueprint 2" Review: The Gift and the Curse of a Double Album — 8.5/10

• 50 Cent – "Animal Ambition" Review: The Last Album from a Man Who Stopped Growing — 3/10

• Bow Wow – "New Jack City II" Review: Lil Bow Wow Tried to Grow Up. It Didn't Quite Work. — 3/10

• Chingy – "Hoodstar" Review: Right Thurr Was the Lightning. This Is the Empty Sky. — 3/10

• Diddy – "Press Play" Review: The Best Album of 2006 That Would Have Been Better Without Diddy — 3/10

• Drake – "Honestly, Nevermind" Review: The House Album Nobody Asked For — 3/10

• Eminem – "Revival" Review: The Fall From Grace That Hurt the Most — 3/10

No unambiguous release year was recorded in the scorecard metadata.

• Hurricane Chris – "Unleashed" Review: A Bay Bay Was the Career. This Was the Aftermath. — 3/10

• Iggy Azalea – "The New Classic" Review: Fancy Was Great. The Album Around It Was Not. — 3/10

• MC Hammer – "The Funky Headhunter" Review: Great Beats, Terrible Identity Crisis — 3/10

No unambiguous release year was recorded in the scorecard metadata.

• Mike Jones – "The Voice" Review: Who? Nobody's Asking Anymore — 3/10

• Nas – "Nastradamus" Review: The GOD's Gray Area Album — 3/10

• Nicki Minaj – "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded" Review: The Best Rap Album of 2012 is Buried in Here Somewhere — 3/10

No unambiguous release year was recorded in the scorecard metadata.

• Snow – "12 Inches of Snow" Review: He Was in Prison When Informer Hit Number One — 3/10

• Tyga – "Hotel California" Review: A Drunk Goldfish with a Tupac Feature — 3/10

• Wiz Khalifa – "Blacc Hollywood" Review: The Beginning of the End — 3/10

No unambiguous release year was recorded in the scorecard metadata.

• Blueface – "Find the Beat" Review: He Is Still Looking — 2/10

• Canibus – "C! True Hollywood Stories" Review: A Gifted Lyricist's Most Baffling Mistake — 2/10

No unambiguous release year was recorded in the scorecard metadata.

• Flo Rida – "Only One Flo Pt. 1" Review: A Failed Attempt at CPR for a Flagging Career — 2/10

• Iggy Azalea – "In My Defense" Review: Five Years Later, Still No Defense — 2/10

• Ja Rule – "Pain Is Love 2" Review: From Number One to Number 197 — 2/10

• Kid Cudi – "Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven" Review: The Man on the Moon Crash Landed — 2/10

• Kreayshawn – "Somethin' Bout Kreay" Review: Gucci Gucci Was Great. The Album Earned $0.01. — 2/10

• Lil Pump – "Harverd Dropout" Review: Gucci Gang Was the High Water Mark — 2/10

• Lil Wayne – "Rebirth" Review: How to Waste a Legacy in One Rock Album — 2/10

• Logic – "Supermarket" Review: The Painful Rock Experiment Nobody Asked For — 2/10

• Marky Mark – "You Gotta Believe" Review: The Album That Made Mark Wahlberg Become an Actor — 2/10

No unambiguous release year was recorded in the scorecard metadata.

• Mase – "Welcome Back" Review: The Pastor Who Forgot How to Rap — 2/10

No unambiguous release year was recorded in the scorecard metadata.

• MC Hammer – "Inside Out" Review: The Album That Ended His Major Label Career — 2/10

• Soulja Boy – "Souljaboytellem.com" Review: One Hit, Thirteen Misses — 2/10

No unambiguous release year was recorded in the scorecard metadata.

• Soulja Boy – "The DeAndre Way" Review: He Wanted Jay-Z. He Got Lil B. — 2/10

• Vanilla Ice – "Hard to Swallow" Review: An A+ Idea Destroyed by D- Execution — 2/10

• Vanilla Ice – "To the Extreme" Review: Spectacularly Hollow and Historically Damaging — 2/10

• Young MC – "Return of the 1 Hit Wonder" Review: The Title Was Honest. The Music Was Not. — 2/10

• Benzino – "Arch Nemesis" Review: The Source Owner Who Couldn't Rap — 1/10

• Kevin Federline – "Playing with Fire" Review: The Lowest-Rated Album in Metacritic History — 1/10
• Kevin Federline – "Playing with Fire" Review: The Worst Rap Album Ever Made — 1/10

• Nick Cannon – "White People Party Music" Review: The April Fools' Album That Wasn't Joking — 1/10

• Silkk the Shocker – "Made Man" Review: A Number One Album That Nobody Needed to Make — 1/10