The 5 intro albums..

[Hadez]

why thank you

[j_shady]

1. Paul Wall & Chamillionaire - Get Ya Mind Correct
2. Chamillionaire - Ultimate Victory
3. 2Pac - Me Against The World
4. Soundbombing II
5. The Best of NWA

i'd put more like DJ Qberts - Wave Twisters etc..but u sed 5, so theres ur 5

[pawel]

Just wondering, where are artists like Pete Rock & CL Smooth. They got 2 albums and it's a good listen and good lyrics. so is kweli

[°[~CHR!$~]°]

just to name some top off the head
1-Jin-I Promise
2-T.I.-Urban Legend
3- Run DMC-Raising Hell
4- Eminem-The Eminem Show
5- G-Unit-Beg For Mercy....not sure about this one

[yoshi]

1. Jurassic 5 - Power In Numbers
because it's full of nice beats and awesome lyrics. it's a cool album when you wanna chill out with some positive vibe. i think it's an unique album, i love their style, there's like no anger in their songs, there's still this oldschool feel and it's just different. outstanding, i'd say.

2. Talib Kweli - Quality
because i love Talib, that's one. because Talib's a fuckin genius, that's two. and because it's a dope album, full of great, deep tracks, that's three. it's a dynamic album, and Talib's definitely got his unique style. and he's like one of those conscious rappers, so it's like another, deeper type of rap i'd like to show someone, different than all this 'shawty got low' bullshit.

3. Eminem - The Eminem Show
we all know why.

4. Xzibit - Weapons of Mass Destruction
cause it's my fave X's album of all the time. got some cool tracks and featurings, lots of different types of tracks, from 'Hey Now' to 'Scent Of A Woman', which is a great song btw. good beats, no fake-ass gangsterism, pure dopeness.

5. (...)
well now i got a big problem, because i got to choose between something typically oldschool, like NWA or Run DMC, and something totally commercial like 50 Cent. on one hand, it'd be good to show someone what it used to be back in the days, the funky beats and specific flow, the Heavy D and the Boyz stuff, you know. totally different music, lyrics, clothes, everything. but on the other hand, i'd also like to show someone that hip hop is not equal. i mean, you have Talib or Mos Def who are all about life and social issues, and you got 50 Cent who's all about fucking, sucking and licking. so i'd just ask the person what would she like to listen to, some oldschool stuff, kinda close to Jurassic 5 or something commercial.

[4D]

I like your approach Bar, trying to steady people into it, but i`m not gonna go with that, i`m gonna go full throttle with the great stuff, the albums that inspired me and got the hairs standing on the neck, if these don't do it for them, they don't deserve to discover the music.

1. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers L.P: Seeping with originality, brilliant beats, catchy tunes, amazing lyrics, concepts up the ass, and the ultimate fuck everybody album. I got into hip hop when I was 14, that's 16 years ago, I loved it until around the time Tupac and Biggie died. Then the MMLP brought the rap genre thundering back into my brain, and I've been addicted again ever since.

2. Dr. Dre - The Chronic: Totally re-invented the sound of hip-hop, rap vocals didn't have to be accompanied by a scratchy distorted sounding beat anymore, the beats were as clear as anything on a Michael Jackson record (Which was Dre's aim), introducing the new G-Funk style of hip-hop that was to dominate for years, also introducing Snoop Doggy Dogg on some absolute classics like Nuthin But A G Thang and Let Me Ride.

3. 2Pac - All Eyes On Me: Some people will argue Tupac's earlier albums were better, but this is my favourite. Here's why: Every track is top notch, Dre's beats are insane, Tupac's lyrics and vocals are amongst his best ever, and the two just make a great combination. And it's a double CD, where every single track is consistently very good, and it contains some undisputed classics too.

4. Nas - Stillmatic: As Bar said, every track is very strong, the albums contains brilliant concepts, legendary disses, awesome beats, and Nas at his lyrical and free flowing best. Brilliant album.

5. I can't decide. It's between Canibus - Rip The Jacker, Big Pun - Capital Punishment, or Rakim's 18th Letter. They are 3 artists always residing in my top ten, and those are their best albums imo.

[yoshi]

4. Nas - Stillmatic: As Bar said, every track is very strong, the albums contains brilliant concepts, legendary disses, awesome beats, and Nas at his lyrical and free flowing best. Brilliant album.

i was thinking about putting Stillmatic on my list too, it's in my top 5, but changed it to Jurassic 5. dunno really why, maybe because Nas is better known that J5, and i would simply like to show others the different side of hip hop, more chilled out. i got this feeling like Nas is more angry and agressive than J5.

i love your list though, i also thought of 2Pac and All Eyes On Me, but i'm not a big fan of him, so yeah.. i'm promoting Talib.

[<Stiiccy>]

1.) The Marshall Mathers LP-
I just think this album is clasic...i bought it the week it came out and i was hooked to hip hop

2.) Twiztid - Mostastless
its a clasic album, and very different

3) Insane Clown Posse - The Great Melinko
a very catchy album, that could change the way you look at rap period

4) Mobb Deep - The Infamous
the defition of real shit

5) Dr. Dre - 2001
the beats are incredible

not the greatest list i know