Everyone slaggin MTV yet ye don't even have Rakim in your list?  

 And for those of you saying MTV created it's downfall, that's bullshit. MTV gave it the stage it needed to come into the mainstream and become the great successful industry that it is. It's the idiots and assholes with zero talent rapping about bitches and rims that are inducing Hip-hops downfall.
I don't like putting numbers on it, because it's too hard to name favourites, but i`ll try in the interest of sticking with the thread. It would go something like this.
1 - Eminem : Most interesting, entertaining and versatile rapper there is, imo.
2 - Rakim : Genius lyricist, "easy as sunday mornin" flow and introduced complex lyrics to hip-hop.
3 - Nas : Arguably the best flow in rap, intelligent song concepts, just great all round.
4 - Big Pun : Love his energy (on the mic, lol), flow and complex lyrics, really gets me pumped up!
5 - Canibus : Huge vocabulary, intelligent complex lyrics, and a killer flow.
6 - 2 Pac : Pac is a legend deservedly, rap poet, amazin flow and one of the coolest voices ever in rap
7 - Biggie : The wordplay wizard and freestyle flatliner, Kick-ass voice and offbeat soulful flow
8 - Ice-T : In '92 "O.G" was the 1st rap album I fell in love with, strong voice and great delivery
9 - Ice Cube : Original N***A with attitude, only lyrical rapper in N.W.A, made some great solo albums
10 - Apathy : Great hope for the future, awesome flow, song concepts and complex lyrics
REmember I only made numbers for this "chart" topic, all my top 7 would just be my favourites full stop. I numbered them only in relation to what interests me most. If alll those numbers were releasing rercords on the same day, the numbers are the sequence I would by them in.