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Hip-Hop's Best Albums of the Decade - Rhapsody: The Mix

25. The Roots
Phrenology, 2002

The Bad Brains homage "!!!!!" ends in the nick of 25 seconds, "Quills" is sadistic in an arty way -- two more sinful episodes in a cheating-song cycle where the guitar of new blood Ben Kenney takes hip-hop from behind and calls the baby rock 'n' roll. This isn't some critical metaphor. It's the plot of the tale of betrayal and recompense told by 2002's freshest roots rock track and jamming-est avant rap track: the album's centerpiece, "The Seed (2.0)." You can glean the backstory, if there is one, from the gossip industry. I'll just note that on this record Kamal's keyboard hooks could pass for piano. And believe that after years of racial mythology, the Roots found it in their talent to put black music's long tradition of tune and structure into practice. -- R. Christgau

24. Jay-Z
The Black Album, 2003

Whereas Jigga's confessional raps have always been confined to the margins, the self-anointed God emcee pushes introspection to the forefront on the Black Album. "Allure" draws a parallel between drug addiction and the pull of hip-hop, while "Public Service Announcement (Interlude)" finds Jay-Z wrestling with the possibility of personal transformation, concluding, "You was who you was 'fore you got here/ Only God can judge." Hits "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" and "99 Problems" are among the catchiest in Jigga's career, and "What More Can I Say" finds him dealing with his premature retirement. -- Sam Chennault

23. Scarface
The Fix, 2002

After nearly 15 years on the mic, Scarface still delivers thoughtful street narratives like no other. For his seventh solo album, the veteran Houston emcee enlists a slew of guests, including Jay-Z, Nas and Faith Evans. The Fix is top-notch storytelling rap. Standouts include "On My Block" and "Guess Who's Back." -- Brolin Winning

22. Mac Dre
Thizzelle Washington, 2002

As Mac Dre proves on Thizzelle Washington, the Bay Area is perhaps the only place in the hip-hop universe where it's OK for a gangsta to be goofy. Classic G-funk meets psychedelia on "Stuart Littles" and the now-classic "Thizzelle Dance." Interludes and guest spots abound, reinforcing the street corner/acid casualness that permeates the disc. -- S.C.

21. The Coup
Pick a Bigger Weapon, 2006

The Coup understand that there are no easy answers in life or politics, so instead of going the route of anti-Bush screeds, the true heirs to Public Enemy's throne of agitprop hip-hop opt for the dicey task of negotiating political disillusionment with personal salvation. "I'm a walking contradiction like bullets and love mixin'" is the album's first line, and over the course of Weapon's 17 tracks, frontman Boots declares himself "Kunta Kinte with a Mack 10," reassures his girlfriend that they're "in bed together like Bush and Hussein" and confesses that "I'm here to laugh, love, f*ck and drink liquor/ And make the revolution come quicker." The album reaches its zenith on the sultry and apocalyptic "BabyLet'sHaveABabyBeforeBushDoSomethingCrazy." Good luck finding a better hip-hop album this year. -- S.C.

20. Eminem
The Marshall Mathers LP, 2000

Though the template of laying irreverent societal critique over bouncy Dr. Dre beats is left essentially intact, Marshall Mathers is darker and meaner than Eminem's previous releases. It mixes homophobia and misogyny with murder fantasies. The epic narrative "Stan" was Eminem's attempt to reconcile his responsibility as an influential public figure with his role as an entertainer and artist. But the distance between art and reality wasn't as clear as the song would lead us to believe, and the violent fantasy "Kim" reportedly led his wife, the song's subject, to attempt suicide. This is volatile, obscene and great art. -- S.C.

19. Lil Wayne
Tha Carter, 2004

The Cash Money Millionaire and Hot Boy representative continues his reign as one of New Orleans' most consistent and charismatic rappers. Produced by in-house beat specialist Mannie Fresh, Wayne's third solo album finds him serving up swift rhymes about the Dirty South drug trade and his lavish, ice-drenched lifestyle. Check out the jumpy lead single "Bring It Back." -- B.W.

18. Mos Def
The Ecstatic, 2009

Mos Def has largely abandoned traditional song structure. Verse-chorus-bridge-coda? Forget about it. The raps here are rambling, stream-of-consciousness rants that appropriate the griot braggadocio of spiritual enlightenment before pivoting to the apocalyptic fury of political fear and loathing. Songs barely reach the two-minute mark, while the sound ranges from twisting Bollywood pomp to weepy Mediterranean psych. And just when you think it's over, Dilla shows up on an unexpected Black Star reunion. The album is a rabbit hole, and its stab at hip-hop transcendentalism is as messy as it is beautiful. -- S.C.

17. MF DOOM
King Geedorah, Take Me to Your Leader, 2003

Top-notch hip-hop from the enigmatic MF Doom. Taking his alias from the three-headed space dragon/Godzilla challenger, Geedorah throws down grimy but soulful production and an abundance of ill wordplay, interspersed with cinematic skits and thunderous collaborations. Check out "Fazers," "Next Levels" and "Anti-Matter." -- B.W.

15. (tie) Jay-Z
The Blueprint, 2001

Blueprint marked Jigga's return to boom-bap formalism, but rarely has a retreat sounded so enticing. Chipmunk soul beats provided by newcomers Kanye West and Just Blaze made yesterday's swagger seem like tomorrow's sound, while the dearth of guest spots and club bangers allowed Jay to focus on Jay. There are at least three classics here, and the album is listenable from front to back. You could argue that this was a high water mark for the B-K vet. -- S.C.

15. (tie) Nas
Stillmatic, 2003

Nas comes back hard on his fifth album, retaliating against Jay-Z and haters worldwide. Stellar beats come courtesy of Premier and Large Professor, while Mr. Jones finally drops the Escobar nonsense and returns to his Nastier style. Check out "2nd Childhood," "Rewind" and "Ether." -- B.W.

14. Blu and Exile
Below the Heavens, 2007

In 2007, while hip-hop had diverted into fantasyland, the debut from L.A. combo Blu and Exile strove to paint the minutiae of everyday lives. On the vibe-anchored "Simply Amazin'," Exile's rickety, lo-fi hip-hop recalls early Reflection Eternal or the masterworks of Common producer No I.D. Emcee Blu, meanwhile, has a knack for day-in-the-life vignettes that are emotionally transparent and project a quaint, b-boy charm. The contrast between Blu's spiritual ambitions and his dirty-curb, urban existence is a well-worn formula that works here. -- S.C.

13. Slum Village
Fantastic, Vol. 2, 2000

One of 2000's most celebrated CDs, Fantastic is the link between neo-soul and underground hip-hop, though it would not strictly adhere to the parameters of either. From the atmospherics of "Players" to the stomp of "Raise It Up," the album's production -- courtesy J Dilla -- was groundbreaking and provided a nice counterpoint to the group's misogynistic playboy raps. -- S.C.

12. Nas
God’s Son, 2003

During the recording of God's Son, Nas' mother died, the rapper was besieged by jealous rivals, and he separated from his longtime companion, Carmen -- who was having an affair with Jay-Z. Understandably, God's Son is Nas' most emotionally raw album to date. "The Cross" finds him playing the role of hip-hop martyr, while "Last Real N*gga Alive" provides a semi-objective look at his duel with Jay-Z. The album's denouement, "Heaven," is an intense meditation on mortality that explores suicide and salvation. Over the track's odd 6/8 tempo, Nas raps, "This world is my home/ But world I would leave you." -- S.C.

11. T.I.
Trap Muzik, 2003

Though his first LP, I'm Serious, failed to generate much hype or sales, Atlanta's T.I. stayed on the grind and came back huge with Trap Muzik. Seriously thumping beats, soulful keyboards and charismatic flows abound throughout the album, especially on "24's," "Rubber Band Man" and the Kanye West-produced, Zapp-influenced "Let Me Tell You Something.” -- B.W.

10. Cam’Ron
Purple Haze, 2004

Purple Haze takes the gangsta mindset to its hyper-masculine logical conclusion, inadvertently uprooting any connection the music may have to reality and placing it squarely in the realm of fantasy. Crack anthems such as "More Gangsta Music" and "The Dope Man" can't -- and shouldn't be -- taken too seriously, which makes them comfort food for laptop hustlas. -- S.C.

9. Ghostface Killah
Fishscale, 2006

Crackling samples, loose soul loops and doo-wop harmonies waft through the mix as Ghost pleads, coos and threatens on vignettes "Beauty Jackson," "Columbus Exchange/Crackspot" and "Big Girl." The LP is bathed in shadows and dread, and populated with characters held hostage by cruelty and obsession, making Fishscale the equivalent of postmodern urban noir. Another classic from Ghost. -- S.C.

8. El-P
Fantastic Damage, 2002

Dark, cavernous and confrontational, Fantastic Damage is more concerned with being respected than it is liked, which makes it the perfect soundtrack for a post-9/11 U.S. Throughout, El-P's jaded rhymes are oblique and delivered in halting rhythms, while the album's lo-fi, electro-infused production is simply jarring. A landmark indie release. -- S.C.

7. Madlib (aka Quasimoto)
The Unseen, 2000

Madlib and alter ego Quasimoto take a weird, tangential and nuanced journey through the day in the life of a blunted b-boy. The production revisits Prince Paul's sampledelica, while Id surrogate Quas raps about hos and blunts. This is what happens when hip-hop's tightly wound world collides with psych's expansive inner-space. In a word: classic. -- S.C.

6. Outkast
Stankonia, 2000

This was a hell of a way to begin the decade. Dark, sexy, weird and wild, Outkast’s fourth album exploded on the pop charts, featuring what still may be pop’s most difficult single of the decade, “B.O.B.,” as well the revolutionary “Ms. Jackson," which seemed to be an indictment of hip-hop’s misogyny. The music here travels the back roads of funk, from the dark stomp of “Gasoline Dreams” to the murky psych of “Snappin’ & Trappin’” to the smooth roll of “So Fresh, So Clean.” This album contained multitudes, and nearly a decade later, its complexities are only now beginning to unravel. -- S.C.

5. Cannibal Ox
The Cold Vein, 2001

Produced entirely by sonic adventurer El-P, Cann Ox's debut album rocks some of the fiercest, weirdest beats ever laid to wax. Densely layered, post-apocalyptic soundscapes lay the foundation for wordy but rowdy mic attacks from Vast and Vordul, exploring the science of life in the city. Unlike any other LP before or since, the Cold Vein is uncompromisingly ill.

4. Kanye West
College Dropout, 2004

Loaded with quotable verses and exceptional beats, College Dropout is one of the most anticipated debuts of 2004. Chicago emcee and Roc-A-Fella super-producer Kanye West comes through with his signature soul-sampling tracks, while Jay-Z and Ludacris show up for quality cameos. Believe the hype. -- B.W.

3. J Dilla
Donuts, 2006

Dilla has always been one of the most stylistically adventurous producers in hip-hop, flipping between the warm, jazzy boom-bap of his earlier years and the colder, more forceful electro of his middle period. But Donuts -- in its fractured, ADD glory -- presented the producer at his most naked. Culled from a series of beat CDs that had been circulating for some time, most of the songs on Donuts are little more than sketches. No song touches the two-minute mark, and a few barely even progress beyond simple loops. Though fragments, they collectively offer an intensely personal meditation on the soul music that dominated Dilla’s childhood in Detroit. -- S.C.

2. Ghostface Killah
Supreme Clientele, 2000

Ghostface has never been the best lyricist in hip-hop, but he is consistently the most exciting and the most unpredictable. And, by most accounts, Supreme Clientele is his masterpiece. Throughout, there’s desperation in his voice, a 3 A.M. laced-blunt paranoia that pulls the listener into the Shaolin master’s warped world. And once there, you’re confronted with a ghetto-surrealist, stream-of-consciousness collage that suggests equal parts Romare Bearden, Jack Kerouac, and Slick Rick. It’s supremely subjective and scarily intimate. -- S.C.

1. Madvillain
Madvillainy, 2004

The collaboration between underground hip-hop’s most adventurous producer (Madlib) and its most treasured lyricist (MF DOOM), Madvillainy was the most singular hip-hop album of the decade. It is full of dark alleys and trapdoors, both musically and lyrically. DOOM still has a knack for recycling and warping antiquated clich�s -- like in "Great Day," when he instructs us to "Put ya'self in your own shoes" -- and for engaging in extended vocabulary workouts that employ polysyllabic, inner and slant rhymes; ample doses of alliteration; and sudden line drops, such as the one in "Meat Grinder": "Trouble with the script/ Digits double dipped, bubble lipped, subtle lisp/ Midget/ Borderline schizo/ Sorta fine tits though." Yet there are times when Dumile peers through the Dada-ist carnival of words and speaks directly, honestly. In "Accordion," he acknowledges his age, rapping, "Living off borrowed time the clock ticks faster," before later concluding that it's "nice to be old." Madlib’s production, meanwhile, is pure pastiche, a smorgasbord of world music, classic soul and outsider music. Snippets of childhood recordings rub against each other with Sun Ra and Sonny Rollins. It’s dark, funny, strange and sudden. S.C.

Honorable Mention (in no particular order)

David Banner, Mississippi Chopped and Screwed
Devin the Dude, To The X-Treme
Prodigy, Return of the Mac
Jaylib, Champion Sound
Black Milk, Tronic
Oh No, Dr. No's Oxperiment
Messy Marv, Keak Da Sneak, PSD, Da Bidness
Lil’ Wayne, Tha Carter III
Wu Tang, 8 Diagrams
Q-Tip, The Renaissance
Nas, Untitled
Lupe Fiasco, The Cool
Madlib, Beat Konducta
Mos Def, The New Danger
Cee-Lo Green, Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections
Kanye West, Graduation
Three 6 Mafia, Da Unbreakables
UGK, UGK 4 Life
Scarface, MADE
Missy Elliott, Under Construction
Lil’ Wayne, Tha Carter II
MIA, Kala
Dizzee Rascal, Boy in Da Corner
Andre Nickatina, Conversations with a Devil
GZA, Legend of the Liquid Sword
Pimp C, The Sweet James Jones Story
Federation, It's Whateva
Turf Talk, West Coast VAccine
Traxamillion, The Slap Addict
Deltron 3030
Dj Quik + Kurupt, Blaqkout
Young Jeezy, The Recession
Tayne Morgan, Brooklynati
Flying Lotus, Los Angeles
Juvenile, Reality Check
Killer Mike,
Bubba Sparx, Deliverance
Ludacris, Word Of Mouf
Big L, The Big Picture
Ghostface, Pretty Toney
AZ, AWOL
RJD2, DeadRinger
Prefuse 73, Vocal Studies and Uprock Narratives
Haiku D'Etat, Coup De Theatre
The Roots, Game Theory
Zion I, The Takeover
The Game, The Documentary
Murs, Murs 3:16
Little Brother, The Listening
Dalek, From the Filthy Tongues of Gods and Griots
Onra, Chinoiseries
Madlib, Beat Konducta 5-6