On June 7, Rolling Stone released its ranking of the 200 Greatest Hip Hop Albums of All Time and many fans oppose the list.
Since Hip-Hop is such a broad genre, the popular entertainment news publication limited the list to English language hip-hop only. They also said in cases of repeated albums from legendary catalogs such as OutKast or A Tribe Called Quest, we tended to go with the latter option.
Although many fans disagree with the order and the selections of the albums, Rolling Stone did attempt to cover the entire evolution of the hip-hop genre. The committee selected projects from the early stages of rap such as albums from Public Enemy, De La Soul, Eric B. and Rakim. It also captures records from the ’90s and ‘2000s with acts like Tupac, Biggie, Jay-Z, Nas, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West. The list also mentions tons of new era acts Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Polo G, Travis Scott, Mac Miller, and more.
Here is how Rolling Stone ranked the top 50.
50. EPMD – ‘Strictly Business’ (1988)
49. N.W.A – ‘Straight Outta Compton’ (1988)
48. J Dilla – ‘Donuts’ (2006)
47. Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott – ‘Supa Dupa Fly’
46. Tyler, the Creator – ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’ (2021)
45. LL Cool J – ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’ (1990)
44. Genius/GZA – ‘Liquid Swords’ (1995)
43. Run-D.M.C. – ‘Run-D.M.C.’ (1984)
42. Big Daddy Kane – ‘Long Live the Kane’ (1988)
41. Kanye West – ‘Late Registration’ (2005)
40. Dr. Dre – ‘The Chronic’ (1992)
39. Lil Wayne – ‘The Carter III’ (2008)
38. Kendrick Lamar – ‘good kid – m.A.A.d city’ (2012)
37. Raekwon – ‘Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…’ (1995)
36. Chance the Rapper – ‘Acid Rap’ (2013)
35. Snoop Doggy Dogg – ‘Doggystyle’ (1993)
34. Various Artists – ‘The Sugar Hill Records Story’ (1997)
33. De La Soul – ‘3 Feet High and Rising’ (1989)
32. Chief Keef – ‘Finally Rich’ (2012)
31. Nicki Minaj – ‘Pink Friday’ (2010)
30. Beastie Boys – ‘Paul’s Boutique’ (1989)
29. 2Pac – ‘All Eyez on Me’ (1996)
28. Mobb Deep – ‘The Infamous’ (1995)
27. Outkast – ‘Aquemini’ (1998)
26. Jay-Z – ‘Reasonable Doubt’ (1996)
25. Eminem – ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ (2000)
24. Nas – ‘Illmatic’ (1994)
23. UGK – ‘Ridin’ Dirty’ (1996)
22. DMX – ‘It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot’ (1998)
21. Lil Wayne – ‘Da Drought 3’ (2007)
20. Future – ‘DS2’ (2015)
19. Lil Kim – ‘Hard Core’ (1996)
18. Madvillain – ‘Madvillainy’ (2004)
17. Kanye West – ‘Yeezus’ (2013)
16. Cardi B – ‘Invasion of Privacy’ (2018)
15. Eric B. and Rakim – ‘Paid in Full’ (1987)
14. Ghostface Killah – ‘Supreme Clientele’ (2000)
13. Dr. Dre – ‘2001’ (1999)
12. Clipse – ‘Lord Willin’ ‘ (2002)
11. Drake – ‘Take Care’ (2011)
10. Lauryn Hill – ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ (1998)
9. A Tribe Called Quest – ‘The Low End Theory’ (1991)
8. Wu-Tang Clan – ‘Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)’ (1993)
7. Missy Elliott – ‘Miss E… So Addictive’ (2001)
6. Kanye West – ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ (2010)
5. Kendrick Lamar – ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ (2015)
4. Public Enemy – ‘It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back’ (1988)
3. Jay-Z – ‘The Blueprint’ (2001)
2. Outkast – ‘Stankonia’ (2000)
1. The Notorious B.I.G. – ‘Ready to Die’ (1994)
Entries that sparked debate is Travis Scott’s Astroworld coming at No.200.
Fans were happy with the Mac Miller selection they picked.
And as great as Cardi B is fans do not think Invasion of Privacy is better than Nas’ Illmatic or Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt or Tupac’s All Eyez On Me.
Another fan expressed frustration about the order of Chance The Rapper’s Acid Rap, ranked No. 36. Seeing that it’s above Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. They even begged Rolling Stone to leave the genre alone.
