 | The Dusty Foot Philosopher by K'NAAN
Buy new: $29.99 / Used from: $6.73 This should be required listening for anyone who says they love hip-hop.
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 | It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy
Buy new: $8.99 / Used from: $2.90 One of my top 5 albums of all time in any genre.
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 | Nas by Nas
Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $1.50 Not my favorite by him, but definitely one of the top-15 hip-hop albums released in the last three years.
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 | Me Against the World by 2Pac
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $8.93 His best ... means it is one of the best albums of all time.
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 | The Tipping Point by The Roots
Buy new: $13.98 / Used from: $1.64 Ten tracks, ten winners. This is the way to make a killer-no-filler hip-hop album!
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 | Funky Beat: The Best of Whodini by Whodini
Buy new: $7.98 / Used from: $7.48 It's hard to recommend one Whodini album that would appeal to everyone (though I'm a fan of all of them.) However, no one can deny the greatness of this collection. From "Freaks" to "Friends" to "Five Minutes Of Funk" to much more, this is nothing but great stuff!
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 | Joyful Rebellion by k-os
Buy new: $8.99 / Used from: $2.49 Here's a guy who's trying to take all his influences and make a hip-hop gumbo. It works beautifully.
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 | The Beautiful Struggle by Talib Kweli
Buy new: $13.98 / Used from: $3.39 You already have this right? You should.
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 | Be by Common
Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $2.75 Like most of the artists on this list, I could choose just about any of Common's albums for this list. I chose this one because of the same reason I chose the Roots' entry: it gets right to the points, hits it, and quits it while still on fire.
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 | The Chronic by Dr. Dre
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $8.65 You'll feel better just by listening to the Chronic, no need to toke on any.
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 | The Great Adventures of Slick Rick by Slick Rick
Buy new: $8.99 / Used from: $3.82 This guy is probably the best storytelling emcees ever, or at least one of the top 3. He should have been a mega-star for the last two decades, but, well, ish happens.
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 | The Minstrel Show by Little Brother
Buy new: $15.98 / Used from: $4.33 Sometimes you hear something and just ... just know that it's right. This is that thing.
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 | Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition by Murs
Buy used from: $6.25 Murs should be a hip-hop mainstay until he retires.
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 | The Craft by Blackalicious
Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $2.99 Exquisite!
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 | Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor by Lupe Fiasco
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $4.99 This young cat has one of the most natural flows I've ever heard. Twenty years from now, he might just be on the Mt Rushmore of hip-hop.
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 | Voices from the Frontline by Various Artists
Buy new: $16.98 / Used from: $0.01 You want something that keeps it "real". Here are real soldiers on the frontline in the middle east spitting real raps about what's really going on with them. It doesn't get much more real than this.
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 | Raising Hell by Run-D.M.C.
Buy used from: $3.61 You don't know hip-hop till you've run with these guys.
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 | Living Large by Heavy D & The Boyz
Buy used from: $20.50 CLASSIC!
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 | When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold by Atmosphere
Buy used from: $7.82 Very good. My favorite by Atmosphere.
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 | Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 by Guru's Jazzmatazz
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $0.28 Guru didn't always hit homeruns with this series, but there are enough winners to make this one of the most noteworthy series in hip-hop.
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Listmania!
