15 Lupe Fiasco Food & Liquor Atlantic (2006) Lupe resuscitated the game last year, rapping about soapy toiletries and robots but getting away with it because of the insane proficiency displayed in his mature, cocky delivery. In effect, he provided evidence for argument to those disagreeing with Nas and his "Hip-Hop is Dead" campaign. Instant smashes such as "Hurts Me Soul" and "The Cool" provide an escape from the mundane material themes running the airwaves today, courtesy of witty shots and deep insight into the state of hip-hop and the black community. Breathe of fresh air? More like the yummy gasp of oxygen you inhale after surfacing post a deep-end dive. - Courtney Cox
14 Ghostface Killah Supreme Clientele Razor Sharp/Epic Street (2000) By now, it should be abundantly clear that Wu-Tang Clan is for the children. The Shaolin soldiers were iconic superheroes to wide-eyed kids growing up in the '90s. They taught you countless synonyms for pot and about street justice, snitches and coke deals gone awry. Wu got you high for the first time, and subsequently robbed you for that slow dough. Despite other worthy candidates, uncle Ghostface's sophomore LP gets top honors. Method Man is the accessible, smooth-talking smartass, Ghost crams entire novels of Shakespearean literature into a pop song. Clientele is like a hip-hop episode of Seinfeld - 60 abundantly engaging minutes about nothing and everything at once. On "Buck 50," Pretty Tone even squeezes in a "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocous." Welcome to the next level. - Ramon Ramirez
13 Big Punisher Capital Punishment Relativity (1998) Big Pun is one of the best lyricists to come out of New York City. His 1998 debut gave us the hit single "Still Not A Player," to which girls still shake their asses on a regular basis. This player/bad-boy personality is at the heart of Pun's incredible presence and charisma, but more importantly, Pun always holds down the mic with extraordinary ability and an incredible excess of violent 'hood imagery. You could think of him as a Cuban-American, fast rapping Biggie Smalls. Except instead of getting shot to death like a gangsta, Pun was locked in a life-long struggle with obesity (he once weighed 700 pounds), which he eventually tackled head on, only to tragically fail and die of a heart attack in 2000. His wealth of tongue twisters forever live on with Punishment. - Cass 'Money' Luskin
12 Jay-Z The Black Album Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam (2003) As the grandest figure in hip-hop history, The Black Album is a brilliant career retrospective. Soulful songs like "Encore" and "Lucifer" sound like Blueprint material. Jay reverts to his fast-spitting Reasonable Doubt style on "My 1st Song," while "Change Clothes" comes across as a glossy Dynasty outtake. Point is that Jay has more smooth styles than Calvin Klein. The record is a lean, bumping example of why Jay is the best rapper of the last decade. Jay-Z is at his most innovative and insightful, showcasing the intangibles that took him from being the king of New York to being the king of the hip-hop nation to owning the New Jersey Nets. - Eddie Strait
11 Mos Def and Talib Kweli Black Star Rawkus (1998) If you're familiar with "Mighty" Mos Def or his best friend/ accomplice Talib Kweli, then you understand why Black Star, the only album ever recorded by the two as a duo, deserves a spot on any list of the greatest rap albums . If not, welcome to Conscious Rap 101: "Consider me the entity within the industry without a history spittin' the epitomy of stupidity." "Life without knowledge is like death in disguise." "I'm reachin' past the stars that you're grabbin' at/ my battle raps blast your ass back to your natural habitat." "I find it stressin' that there's never any in between/ we're either niggas or kings/ we're either bitches or queens. ... I suppose it's just another Jedi mind trick that they've been runnin' across stars through all of time with." "Everyday people ask me where all the real emcees is at. They're underground." True that. - Reggie Ugwu
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