The 100 Best Albums of The Complex Decade (original) (raw)

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Ten years is a mighty long time in music. Countless careers have popped, flopped, and risen again since Complex first launched. But music—all types of music—has always been essential to who we are and what we do here at the Plex. So as we celebrate our 10th anniversary, it seemed only right to take a little stroll down memory lane and count down The 100 Best Albums of The Complex Era.

It was a tough task that required endless meetings, and some serious (at times even heated) team dialogue. For one thing, the album format has gone through some major changes over the past decade; we ended up including a few mixtapes on this list because they deserved to be on there.

When all was said and done we ended up with a monster list that runs the gamut from hip-hop heroes to indie faves, some unstoppable pop stars, electronic eclectics, and everything in between. So click through as we review these certified Complex Classics.

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Label: Top Dawg Entertainment

"People say I speak for generation Y," explains 24-year-old Kendrick Lamar on Section.80. "Why lie? I do." That might sound like a bold claim, but after listening to this independently released mixtape/album, we've got to agree. Touching on everything from drug addiction and sexual abuse to fake industry types and crabby-ass haters, the artist formerly known as K. Dot doesn't just rhyme from perspective of today's youth; he speaks their truth.

Label: Domino

It's impossible to listen to this album without tapping your foot or nodding your head along, which is strange, because The Kills are anything but cookie-cutter pop. The bad-ass rock duo hews closer to punk and blues, but with a few well-placed handclaps, big beats, and sing-along choruses, Midnight Boom gave their sharp, serrated sound a much-needed accessibility.

Label: Shady, Aftermath, Interscope

Em won his battle with drug addiction on the album prior to this one. But Recovery, the biggest selling album of 2010, was the set that proved he was still an elite rapper. Marshall showed growth lyrically, addressing domestic violence with Rihanna and facing his own tough times head-on with “Not Afraid,” while ditching all those sloppy pop culture references that bogged Relapse down. We can't wait to see where he goes next.

Label: Downtown

The crew responsible for crafting pop classics like "Toxic" for Britney Spears stepped out as artists in their own right—and the results were fantastic, if not exactly mainstream. You probably didn't hear these songs on Top 40 radio, but with catchy pop sensibilities for days, it's easy to see how their sound has scored hits for other artists.

Label: N/A

By 2006, Joe Budden was stuck in rap purgatory. Despite scoring a hit with “Pump It Up," his first album wasn't successful enough to prevent him from getting lumped in with the mixtape rappers of his era. Worse yet, his label Def Jam refused to release his sophomore LP, The Growth.

Beat but not beaten, Budden returned to the underground with a mixtape that featured mostly original production and a grim outlook on life. It ended up it defining his career—as mixtapes have done for oh so many rappers over this past decade—getting him a write-up in the New York Times, and making him a favorite on these Internets. Years later, he hooked up with Slaughterhouse and they signed to Shady Records. Now that's growth.

Label: Universal/Tuff Gong

It came as no surprise that Damian Marley's third album won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album—Welcome To Jamrock was just that good, plus his family has kinda cornered the market on Reggae Grammys. But winning a second Grammy, in the Urban Alternative category, spoke to the widespread impact of the album's rough-tough title track—that "out in the streets they call it murder" hook can still rock any party—and also suggests the album's stylistic diversity.

Jamrock includes a strong Nas collabo ("Road To Zion"), Bobby Brown's best record in years ("Beautiful") and the dancehall boomshot "Khaki Suit" featuring Eek-A-Mouse and Bounty Killer. "Move" brings Bob Marley's "Exodus" into the dancehall era, while "Pimpa's Paradise" (featuring Stephen Marley and Black Thought) reworks one of Bob's more obscure album cuts into something even bigger and more ambitious than the original.

Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam

Freeway's grossly underrated debut album has only gotten better with age. Like much of the music released in the Roc-A-Fella era, _Philadelphia Freeway_was a coalescence of gritty street tales and glimpses of the flashy lifestyle.

The album boasted features from Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, and Snoop Dogg among others, and was majority produced by Roc-A-Fella hitmaker Just Blaze. The break-up of the Roc would ensue only a short time later, but Philadelphia Freeway captured the time in a way that we'll never forget.

Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam

What is there left to say about Kanye West's sophomore effort? Late Registration has earned numerous accolades—from hit singles ("Gold Digger," "Diamonds") to a Grammy Award (Best Rap Album). This was the disc that carved out Kanye's place beyond the alternative “backpacker” audience, placing him firmly in hip-hop's mainstream.

Nobody could call him a producer who was trying to rap anymore. Late Registration established him as a real MC with better rhymes, stronger hooks, and a more focused yet grandiose vision than anybody else in his lane. Ye might not have been on the throne quite yet, but he was certainly on his way.

Label: Frenchkiss, Columbia

It's easy to see why Passion Pit's debut smash, Manners, was so popular: hooks, synths, and beats. What was less apparent was the inventiveness that lent itself as the foundation to that pop appeal and elevated the album from just a no-name band's pop chart breakthrough to a work of art warranting its placement on year-end (and decade-end) best-of lists.

The sharp sampling of "Sleepyhead" and the cascading melodies of "Little Secrets" were just the beginning; the rest of Manners was a collection of these moments—spastic bursts of creativity that yielded some of the best art-pop we've heard in years.

Label: Def Jam

Dropping the "Killah" from his name did little to quell Ghostface's introverted genius. Though intended to be a more pop-leaning release, The Pretty Toney Album continued on with GFK's brand of Champion hoody, Timberland boot rap.

Yes, the production was a bit shinier but the rhymes are just as veiled in dense slang. The highlight of the album came in the form of the RZA-produced "Run," which features a stellar verse from Jadakiss and finds Ghost vowing to his fans, "I will not give up". We're still hoping he never does.

Label: Locked On, 679

The U.K.'s grime movement kinda came and went, but with its dense, spoken word-ish raps that read like noir books on tape, AGDCFF left its mark. The album was a concept record documenting a day spent seeking to recover lost money. Trends come and go, but flow—even when it's masked as "anti-flow"—is forever.

Label: LaFace, Arista

One of the most fearless projects hip-hop has ever seen, Big Boi and Andre 3000's separate-but-equal billing may have come off as bizarre ploy but it still produced some great music and two No. 1 smashes. Big Boi's side that turns out to be the more experimental of the two, and at times more exciting—“Ghetto Musick” is insane. Whereas 3 Stack's half ran a little too long, "Hey Ya" notwithstanding. Although we can't help but wonder what might have been had they made these albums together, the results are still stunning and undeniable.

Label: 101 Distribution

When Jay-Z claimed on “D.O.A.” that he might send his beat to the “mixtape Weezy” this is the guy he was probably referring to. Dedication 2 wasn't just one of the first mixtapes to get sold in retail and reviewed by numerous mainstream music critics, it was also hip-hop's collective “HOLY FUCK LIL WAYNE CAN RAP HIS ASS OFF” moment.

Riding high off the success of the first Carter albums as well as the original Dedication mixtape, this one proved that Weezy F. Baby was no fluke. These days it's hard to remember how that was even a question.

Label: N/A

What makes A$AP Rocky so special is that he jumped into the game as a fully formed artist with a defined sound and a unique aesthetic. The Harlem native may draw inspiration from Houston—while borrowing flows from Bone Thugs and UGK—but that doesn't make him any less of his own artist, because few active rappers sound like him.

Despite his laid-back persona, he's electric and precise on the microphone. Ten years from now, when we look back on what we can only hope will be a fruitful career for young Rocky, this will be remembered as the mixtape that started it all.

Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam

American Gangster was Jay-Z's way of hitting the reset button. Fresh off his disappointing comeback effort Kingdom Come, Jay drew inspiration from the movie of the same name about former drug kingpin Frank Lucas and put together an inspired, cohesive project.

The film's subject matter found Jay reliving the thoughts and emotions of his own drug-dealing days. Combining these with the sophistication he had picked up over the years, what emerged was a more complete and revealing picture of the hustler in full. American Gangster's production blended old-school sounds with new school interpretations, creating a the perfect nostalgic backdrop for a sophisticated rapper to reflect on his intense, unrefined youth.

Label: VP Records

Best known to American listeners for his massive hit single "So Special," Mavado's mournful voice and unapologetic gangster tales made him the most important dancehall singer of his generation. His debut album collects all the hits that solidified his reputation—"Weh Dem A Do," "Full Clip" (featuring Busy Signal), "Real McKoy," and "Last Night"—not to mention his home-turf anthem "Gullyside."

On the song "Dying" (featuring Serani) Mavado channels his favorite rapper in one of the most successful Tupac interpolations ever attempted. Now signed to DJ Khaled, Mavado's career has entered a new phase, but Gangsta For Life stands as an enduring record of one man's rise from the gully to the world.

Label: Young Money, Cash Money, Universal Motown

Despite the declining value of "realness" in the game, certain types of behavior remain unacceptable. Within the first three songs of Thank Me Later, Drake raps about his parents' divorce, two relationships that crumbled painfully, and wondering what the fuck he's doing sleeping with one woman while receiving texts about a regretful abortion from another. Making private things public in such an unprecedented way was bound to make some segments of the rap world uncomfortable.

Many saw Thank Me Later as failing to live up to the promise of _So Far Gone_—and it has less sneering braggadocio than Take Care. Thank Me Later's greatest moments—“Karaoke,” “Shut It Down”—are about loving women. But lots of people weren't ready for an album where Drake wistfully wishes he could still have sex with a former flame in his dorm room. Bottom line, Drake will always make some people angry. And guess who doesn't care?

Label: Epic

Before this album, Modest Mouse was already adored in the indie world. Their previous album, The Moon And Antarctica, was considered a masterpiece by many, but making the transition from indie darling to mainstream success is tough. With Good News For People Who Love Bad News, Modest Mouse sharpened their skills and took their unhinged style to the masses.

"Float On" was more instantly accessible than anything they had done in the past, but it was also something that original fans could be proud of, and instead of falling into the trap of becoming a sell-out, Modest Mouse managed to open themselves up to a larger audience while still keeping their core fanbase happy.

Label: Gold Standard Laboratories, Universal Records

Mars Volta displayed shifting soundscapes in their ambitious debut De-Loused in the Comatorium. A loose concept album, Comatorium followed the troubling life story of Cerpin Taxt, a childhood friend who committed suicide.

It featured some of their most spastic elements, fusing jazz, tribal rhythms and hardcore sounds. The experimental release was a step forward in the new wave of prog and punk, giving Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez one of their most compelling releases.

Label: Bad Boy, Atlantic

As Diddy Warbucks spat many years prior, “Don't worry if I write rhymes. I write checks.” He (and/or his ghostwriters) delivered lyrically here. Puff also showcased his skill as one of hip-hop's best conductors, leading his production team The Hitmen to victory by producing a solo rap hit with a Pussycat (“Come to Me”) as well as an unlikely smash duet in “Last Night” with Keyshia Cole.

Label: Virgin

Sensing the height of our post-millennial nostalgia wave, Anthony Gonzalez—the mastermind behind the French electropop outfit M83—capitalized on it with an album that wouldn't sound out of place in a John Hughes film.

It was a formula he'd been building on with four previous releases, but now that '80s-inspired synth sound was fully realized. "Kim & Jessie," "Graveyard Girl," and "We Own The Sky" have appeared in a gang of commercials and movies since, all evoking that same feeling of comfort and wonder we experience when we listen to Saturdays=Youth.

Label: Ice H2O/EMI Records

It may have taken way longer to arrive than we would have liked, but Raekwon's sequel to his classic debut was one of the few sequels worthy of its title. The album worked because Rae's aesthetic was timeless—so long as he stuck to the script and stayed true to the Wu, he would be fine. He did just that by refusing to try and “bring New York back” or hop on trends. Wu-Tang Clan strikes again!

Label: Domino

When the post-punk revival was in full swing, the boys from Scotland were the face of the movement. Their benchmark single "Take Me Out" hit it big in the UK and it wasn't long before MTV and mainstream press had made them darlings Stateside. The whirlwind was deserved though, as their debut is truly a tour de force that doesn't let up for 11 tracks. Tracks like "The Dark of the Matinée" and "Michael" throw everything from infidelity to homosexuality in your face with no apologies and enough gritty, melodic cool that you'd never ask for one.

Label: Duck Down

One of the most unexpected albums of the last 10 years came courtesy of Duck Down's Sean Price. Price began his career in the '90s as one half of Heltah Skeltah and as a member of the Boot Camp Clik. But by the 2000s, he was so poor he dubbed himself “the brokest rapper you know” and was selling two-ways pagers and pills just to get by. He returned to the scene as a solo act in 2005 with _Monkey Barz_but he really hit his stride with his sophomore set.

Sure, nearly all the songs involve Price rapping about how he'll punch you in the face and rob you but what's not to love? Price was both engaging and witty and offered a hardcore alternative just went rappers jeans were getting a little too tight. Championed by sites like NahRight, the album saved Duck Down records and was the first Boot Camp release to crack the Billboard 200 chart since the '90s. Score one for the old guys, it's P-Body!

Label: Lies, Last Gang

Perhaps best known for their out of control antics off-stage and the reckless abandon of lead singer Alice Glass, the debut album of Crystal Castles was where the legend was originally conceived. Equal parts dark, pounding dancefloor and crazed video game score, the self-titled record never let up its relentless energy. Think Ed Banger-esque grinding synths meeting Mario on methamphetamines and coming out completely badass. Even with influences firmly rooted in 8-bits, nu-rave synths, and house rhythms, it's impossible to see this as anything less than punk to its core.

Label: Fool's Gold Records

On XXX, Danny Brown takes pride in exposing his scars and mistakes, making no apologies for who he is or where he comes from. The album is a vividly illustrated and, at times, uncomfortably naked look at everything that's made the Detroit spitter who he is.

The production is mainly uptempo and electro-infused, a perfect match for Danny's brash, unorthodox style of rapping. He spits out painful memories and reflections of drug use and struggle with a disconcertingly blithe, humorous attitude. Though the subject matter is gritty, there's no trace of self-loathing or reaching for sympathy. XXX is the perfect introduction to a welcome newcomer.

Label: Sub Pop

The album's title is a misnomer. The songs on Beach House's third record are expansive, polished, rich (in both money and feeling—the recording was an expensive one). Your average teenager dreams of sweaty sex and yoking up adults. Teen Dream asks that you follow the husky, full voice of Victoria Legrand into bright soundscapes where drum machines interlock with live percussion (the majestic “Silver Soul”) and songs bloom into ethereal codas that fade and fade (see “Walk in the Park” or “Lover of Mine”). Fever Dream might've been more appropriate. Less boners than the title suggested, but this is a Beach House LP; you were asking to be misled, to become lost, to have the gauzy wool that is their music pulled over your eyes.

Label: Cash Money, Universal Motown

One of the most anticipated albums in hip-hop history, Tha Carter III had an almost impossible amount of hype to live up to. What C3 proved is that Weezy is an artist on the move; one who couldn't be defined by an album alone but by a medley of mixtapes, guest spots, chart hits, and album cuts.

We wanted an album that could serve as the essential Lil Wanye, one that put his massive catalog in perspective. What we got was a bunch of songs with only one common ingredient: an untamed rhyme beast named Lil Wayne.

OK, so maybe the album didn't live up to all the hype—then again what album ever could? Still, there was plenty here to love (including one of his best songs, “A Milli,” and biggest pop hits, “Lollipop”). TC3 is a remarkable achievement, a mix of eclectic and eccentric—much like Tunechi himself.

Label: Def Jam

On “Dear God 2.0” Black Thought laments, "I'm off work, right back to work again/I probably need to go ahead and have my head examined/Look how they got me on the Def Jam payment plan." It's true, by the time this album came out The Roots had gotten a day job—they were consistently rocking the crowd on _Late Night with Jimmy Fallon_—and they were still occasionally doing gigs.

Yet somehow, on their ninth LP ?uestlove and co were as inventive as ever. They incorporated indie rock elements (with guest spots from Dirty Projectors, Joanna Newsom, and Monsters of Folk) into the sonic scope of a flawlessly sequenced record that featured some of Black Thought's deepest, darkest rhymes and some of Questo's hardest drumming ever. The end result was a bleak beatscape that's the perfect soundtrack for self-destructive loners on a gray Saturday.

Label: Stones Throw

MF DOOM is one of the best MCs to get saddled with mediocre producers (see his albums as Viktor Vaughn). When he corrected this by joining forces with Madlib for the Madvillain record, the results were perfect. The story goes that the deadpan spitter and the perpetually-blunted beatsmith would work for hours in the recording studio without speaking. Because they didn't have to.

Like true comic book characters, they communicated telepathically (or something suitably next-level) to create an album of endless richness and variety. Like Wire's Pink Flag, the tracks whiz by in micro-bursts of creativity, samples culled from only the dankest of mildewed basements, verses that treat genre conventions like a lab rat to be prodded and infected with some horrible sickness. Blink and you'll miss it.

Label: Beat Club/Interscope

The first and only redneck rapper to really kill shit. Deliverance is to Bubba what Lord Willin'' is to Clipse: a single-producer album (in this case, Timbaland, with some help from Organized Noize) that marries verse and sound in a once-in-a-lifetime syzygy. Look it up!

Label: Modular

Casual and breezy, this album is loaded with summer feel good songs built for the dance-floor. There's an endless mishmash of styles and genres on here and it's all up-tempo. Serving as a example of just what can happen when indie meets electric while dipping in psychedelia, there's few albums that's as easy to love as this one.

Label: Rap-a-Lot

Devin The Dude's sophomore effort will go down as some of the best riding/smoking music hip-hop has ever produced. More polished and with production from Dr. Dre and DJ Premier, among others, Just Tryin' Ta Live showed tremendous growth from Devin's debut album The Dude.

Devin stuck to his strengths and made music from a pothead's perspective. It's a slowed down, more simplistic way of life that he combines with his southern sensibilities in order to create a unique sound. Whether you smoke or not though, Just Tryin' Ta Live was everything you needed when life got a little too hectic. A decade later, it's still one of our favorites.

Label: Downtown, Atlantic

Where would Cee-Lo Green be without Danger Mouse's production, this introspective soul album, and its eerie smash “Crazy” to launch him into the pop stratosphere? St. Elsewheretook Cee-Lo many places: The Grammys to pick up some hardware and in a rotating chair to judge aspiring singers on NBC's The Voice.

Label: Roc-A-Fella, Diplomat, Def Jam

Cam'ron had fallen off the map after his disastrous sophomore set, S.D.E., so he was looking to come back in a big way in 2002. Signing with Roc-A-Fella was a good start, but lighting the radio up with “Oh Boy” was even better. In the end, this album showed just how much a Roc-A-Fella co-sign was worth in the early aughts and jump-started the Dipset movement.

Label: N/A

In an era where Trey, Dream, and Usher ruled R&B, who even saw this Ocean kid coming? And who would have thought he'd get noticed by going the rapper route—releasing his woozy existential effort via mixtape? The standout single “Novacane” was what made many, his own Def Jam label included, feel him. And we can't wait to see where he takes us next.

Label: Ed Banger Records

The French electro-house/opera-disco duo's debut album, Cross, featured appearances from Slipknot, Queen, and 50 Cent. Kind of. On the overly sampled track "Genesis," producer Xavier de Rosnay said over 400 albums were used as "micro"-sampled material on Cross-so small that no one would notice.

But the two producers didn't need the guest appearances on Cross. With heavy bass to the beat of disco patterns tracks like "DVNO" and "Waters of Nazareth", Justice made their crossover electro-pop album certified gold in the UK and spread across clubs, video games, and TV commercials. "D.A.N.C.E.," their dedication to Michael Jackson, was sampled in Swizz Beat"s "On To The One" and got Wale recognition for his remix, "W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E."

Label: XL, Columbia

Adele didn't just beat the sophomore slump with 2011's 21; she demolished it. Commercially, there hasn't been a better-selling album in what seems like forever. It continues to top the Billboard 200 more than a year after its release and has sold more copies in the UK than Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.

Sales figures aside, 21's accolades are endless: Six Grammys, critical acclaim across the board, and more statues than you could ever imagine. But what truly makes 21 so remarkable is its timelessness. Though it's less than two years old, the album has already become the quintessential break-up album, and without question, one of the finest vocal performances of all time. No matter how many times we hear "Rolling in the Deep," that huge, commanding voice still gives us chills.

Label: 1st & 15th, Atlantic

Carrying on the Chicago tradition of conscious, street-wise rappers was this bespectacled kid with a name based on a Japanese manga cartoon. Lupe Fiasco was rapping about skateboarding and streetwear a good five or so years before the rest of the game became enamored with the "alternative" lifestyle.

With production handled by big names like The Neptunes, Kanye West, and Mike Shinoda—as well as a few of his in-house producers—Lupe put together a debut that explored what life was like for a kid who was from the hood but didn't let that fact define him. As much as Kanye helped usher in a new set of sensibilities within rap, Lupe played a big part as well with his blend of great storytellling and sociopolitical commentary.

Label: Interscope, Fiction

Rock went back to its stripped down roots in the aughts, with an emphasis on the basics: guitar, drums, and vocals, and nobody had a voice quite like the Yeahs' Karen O. "Maps" ended up being one of the best love songs of the decade, and we can finally admit it: Chick-fronted indie rock groups are cooler than chick-fronted rap groups (sorry Crime Mob!).

Label: Star Trak, Arista

No high school lunch table was safe 10 years ago. There was bound to be someone that would attempt to reproduce the Neptunes' vicious “Grindin'” beat on it. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo's gleaming soundscapes paired with Malice and Pusha T's crafty coke raps is still one of the best marriages in hip-hop a decade later.

Label: GOOD, Sony Urban, Columbia

Mixing R&B, soul, and pop, John Legend's debut product Get Lifted was a welcomed departure from the sex-crazed R&B dominating the radio at the time. An honest, well-written effort with excellent production from Kanye West, will.i.am, longtime collaborator Devo Springstein, the album showed that hip hop-infused soul didn't have to be crass or cheap. Indeed, it lifted R&B to place where newer artists are still striving to go.

Label: Ill Will, Columbia

Having ethered Jay-Z, buried his mom, and met his future wife, Nas was in a unique creative space when he got down to work with Salaam Remi on God's Son. Remi understood that classical MCs need classical breakbeats, a winning philosophy that led to jams like "Get Down" ("Funky Drummer"), "Made You Look" ("Apache"), and even the overly virtuous "I Can" ("Impeach The President").

Other standouts include "Thugs Mansion," a posthumous duet with 2Pac, and "Heaven" in which Nas speaks on his mom's battle with cancer and contemplates the hereafter. All in all, God's Son remains Nas's most cohesive album since It Was Written.

Label: Sony BMG

As with every Three Six Mafia album, the group's primary members DJ Paul and Juicy J have a simple formula. Take hardcore rhymes, a knack for rumbling Southern production and you get an album that is filled with propulsive anthems not for the weak.

Most Known Unknown is the group's most popular album with “Stay Fly,” “Side 2 Side,” and “When I Pull Up In The Club” all gaining mass appeal. And of course, this wouldn't be a Three Six album without references to sex, drugs and profanity. It's a go-to classic from the Memphis outfit.

Label: 4AD, Interscope/Touch and Go

Now that they've become a funk band with an eye for romance, it's safe to say that TV on the Radio will never have another “Wolf Like Me,” the angsty, anthemic first single from high-water mark Return to Cookie Mountain. Both CSI: Miami and _Bones_used the song, to give you an idea of the track's popularity and accessibility.

David Bowie lends his voice to “Province,” another burning anthem (“Love is the province of the brave,” as the refrain goes). In other words, all the band's stars aligned with this record, a front-loaded introduction to their mishmash of styles. TV on the Radio's work has often been exhilarating—Dear Science, will have you dancing; Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes is clever and provocative—but Return to Cookie Mountain quickens the pulse, seethes with energy. This is what all the howling is for.

Label: Domino

Strawberry Jam is the record where Animal Collective becomes the band most listeners wanted them to be, whether they knew it at the time or not. All your friends who lost their shit whenever “My Girls,” the smash from Jam's follow-up, Merriweather Post Pavilion, came on, that wouldn't have been possible without this album. Which isn't to say this album is pop; rather, it's poised somewhere in between.

Opener “Peacebone” is too grating to be a dance-floor packer; the relentless arpeggiator that anchors “#1” finds Avey Tare, Panda Bear, and co. still futzing with the formalism that defines their early recordings. Every moment is excellent though, challenging but jubilant, grounded in repetition just to achieve moments of such tremendous release that you understand there was a method behind all the blown-out song structures.

Imagine that the record is all one track, building to the momenton “Derek,” the final song, where after a minute and a half of watery guitar and chunky maracas, a drumline explodes everything that has come before. Hippie shit, to be sure, a jam band for nerds.

Label: LL

Despite Lykke Li's soft, sugar-coated voice and catchy melodies, she's never been your average pop singer. Björn Yttling of Peter Björn and John provided the understated production for the Swedish songstress on her debut, and she laces it with exceedingly sweet vocals that somehow manage to be all at once cute, depressing, and seductive. It's a complicated combination that made it very hard not to fall in love with Lykke Li.

Label: Island

The Killers breakout studio debut Hot Fuss, wasted no time ingraining it's catchy hooks and eerie melodies into the minds of everyone who listened to it. The album spawned a plethora of hit singles, including "Somebody Told Me,"" "Mr. Brightside," and "Smile Like You Mean It," and sold over seven million copies worldwide.

To say this album put The Killers on the map would be an understatement. It immediately brought attention back to "New Wave," post-punk as a viable mainstream and radio success, and solidified their position as a chart topping mainstay.

Label: XL, Interscope

Why do we love M.I.A. so? Her debut disc suddenly made everything that came before it seem older and less urgent. From her dancehall-flavored raveup "Galang" to the haunting "Sunshowers," which still gets flack for shouting out the PLO, the album was a fully loaded banana clip of musical mayhem.

Who would have thought this girl would revolutionize the electronic dance pop ragga axis with her bedroom demos? But that's exactly what she did—banging out basic beats on a borrowed Roland drum machine, spitting agit-prop lyrics in a global esperanto slanguage all her own, and never losing sight of the fact that it always comes down to boys and girls dancing. Before long everybody wanted to speak the slang.

Label: Street Dance

This prophetically titled mixtape changed the definition of a mixtape and in turn, it changed the rap game. 50 popularized the idea of taking someone else's beat and flipping it into your own song.

What's forgotten about the whole process was how good a songwriter and how funny 50 was—he had an uncanny knack for turning other people's hooks on their heads and making songs catchier than anything that had ever been on any mixtape before it. This tape is the reason why a short while later 50 could declare, “Every bootlegger you know, pump my shit!”

Label: Island

After picking up the pieces from Glitter and her failed contemporary-pop album, Charmbracelet, Mariah introduced fans to her alter-ego Mimi in her 10th album, The Emancipation of Mimi. Once she set Mimi free, it brought back the R&B soulful songstress on tracks like 'Fly Like A Bird', 'We Belong Together' and 'Mine Again', and became the best-selling album in the U.S. in 2005 and her best-selling in a decade.

With appearances from Jermaine Dupri, Snoop Dogg, Pharrel, Twista, and Nelly, Mimi revived her career with singles like 'It's Like That' and 'Shake It Off'. Rumor has it Mimi and hubby Nick Cannon listened to 'We Belong Together' immediately after the birth of their twins...after playing 'Fantasy', of course.

Label: VP Records,Atlantic

The most successful dancehall reggae album in history, Sean Paul's sophomore release had a immediate and lasting impact on pop culture that's still felt to this day. Rather than relying on remixes and guest features, Sean Paul won on his own terms, riding raw uncut riddims straight out of Jamaica's dancehalls all the way to the international pop charts.

From the breakout single "Gimme The Light" to the chart-topping "Get Busy" Sean kicked in the door for dancehall reggae on a worldwide scale. Club favorites "Like Glue" and "I'm Still In Love With You" cemented his position at the toppa top. His secret? Those dutty, hard-edged flows and an uncanny ability to craft hooks that stick in the brain like the highest-grade ganja.

Label: CTE, Island Def Jam

In 2005, Young Jeezy charmed his way into virtually every rap rotation and playlist in existence. It was a combination of the Snowman's confidence, charisma, and honesty that set him apart from the average rapper with a cocaine flow.

The album featured some huge singles, including “Soul Survivor” and “And Then What,” and it featured from the likes of Jay-Z, T.I. and Bun B, among others. His voice and ad-libs were fresh and effortless, and his ability to weave honest tales of street hustling into melody made TM101 an incredible debut album.

Label: V2, Loyauté, Glassnote

Phoenix spent years honing their indie-pop sensibilities before most people had ever heard of them, until a massive breakthrough in 2009. Those years spent under the radar were not wasted, though, as Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix proved that they had their craft perfected down to a science. That album, far more than any other in recent memory, was the perfect mix of pop and indie; a potent blend of huge, crowd-pleasing hooks and subtly impressive artistry.

Label: Maybach Music Group, Slip-n-Slide, Def Jam

Showcasing The Boss' insatiable appetite for lush yet thugged out beats, this is the album that made people wish Rozay could A&R some of his peers' albums, too. J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League closed out their “Maybach Music” trilogy with heavy orchestration. While Lex Luger pummeled the bass in speakers all over with thumpers in “B.M.F.” and “MC Hammer” as Ross' bars danced around the competition.

Label: Sub Pop

Back before "emailing the beat," Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie) and Jimmy Tamborello used snail mail for swapping work for their first full-length album, Give Up, and thus The Postal Service was born. In their ode to '80s New Wave, Give Up produced the cliche pop love poem "Such Great Heights," "We Will Become Silhouettes," and the eerily soothing sounds of "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight."

Even Apple tried to reproduce the "Such Great Heights" music video that became an anthem for millennials in love. Meanwhile, the album was Sub Pop Record's best-selling album since Nirvana's Bleach.

Label: Dream On, GOOD Music, Universal Motown

Cudi's five-act debut album was as dark as its title suggests. Detailing the struggles of a man dealing with more than a few problems, End of Day was a booming effort boasting the stoner anthem "Day N Nite" and the hopeful “Pursuit of Happiness.” But as we now know, this End was just the beginning.

Label: Parlophone

On Gorillaz self-titled debut, Damon Albarn teamed up with cartoonist Jamie Hewlett and producer Dan the Automator. By the time their second album rolled around Albarn had lost Dan the Automator. But it didn't really matter since Gorillaz was always masterminded by Albarn who served as a ringleader who plucked talent as he saw fit.

The album ended up being produced by Danger Mouse and featured contributions from everyone from De La Soul to Bootie Brown of the Pharcyde. The result was one of the darkest of pop records imaginable and one of the few albums that truly captured what it was like to live in the bad old days of the Bush era.

Label: Jive, Sony

With a title evoking Willy Wonka escapism, Chocolate Factory was released in late 2002, shortly before Kells was arrested on child pornography charges, but you wouldn't know it listening to the dreamily blissful sounds of "Step In The Name of Love" or the cheery "toot-toot, beep-beep" of "Ignition" (Remix). The album debuted at No. 1, sold millions of copies, and kept the Pied Piper of R&B in the news for something other than the video scandal. Whatever you think about the man's private life, there's no denying the fact that R.Kelly is a musical genius.

Label: Taylor Gang, Rostrum

Boasting all the stoner charm of his OG bestie Snoop Dogg and basically none of ill will the Dogfather came in the game with nearly 20 years ago, Wiz's breakout mixtape became this era's go-to set for doobie chiefing and gin-sipping.

Label: OVO

Though it was Drake's third mixtape, it's safe to call So Far Gone the genesis of his style. The Toronto native and his talented OVO crew—including his omnipresent producer Noah "40" Shebib"—honed their talents on these 18 tracks, expanding on the electro soul-bearing of Kanye's 808s and Heartbreak with expertly crafted tracks like "Houstalantavegas," "Successful," and "The Calm." The free mixtape, which would later be sold at retail as a seven-song EP, hinted at all the plots that Drake would flesh out on his subsequent albums. We've been thanking him ever since.

Label: Merge, Rough Trade

As you may have gathered from the title, The Funeral is a dark album. Where most indie rockers takes on dark subject matter with a reserved, introverted approach, Arcade Fire tackled it with a theatrical onslaught unlike anything indie rock had ever seen. They included strings, layered voices, and grandiose composition, and the album proved to be a game changer for the genre.

The album may have been Arcade Fire's introduction to the world, but it was clear from the very beginning that this was a band ready to rock stadiums. If you've ever heard "Wake Up" live, it's clear that Arcade Fire has always been thinking big.

Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam

808s & Heartbreak was a therapy session recorded on wax. Kanye's mother Donda West had recently passed away, he was dealing with a broken engagement to longtime girlfriend Alexis Phifer, and all the while continuing his ascent to the highest realms of mega-stardom.

This combination of abandonment, grief, and an extreme lifestyle allowed us to witness Kanye at his most fragile. The album saw Kanye singing more than ever before and exposing himself emotionally in a way that hip-hop had never seen.

It may have been controversial at the time, but this album is undoubtedly one of the most influential records of the past 10 years—and continues to serve as a guidepost for some of today's biggest hip-hop acts. Thanks to 808s, rappers now have the freedom to make melodies and to be more vulnerable than ever before. All that pain yielded some beautiful music.

Label: Grand Hustle, Atlantic

It's safe to say T.I. introduced the word "trap" to the rap lexicon. Sure, rappers have been spitting about the drug game forever, but Tip was the first focus not just on the movement of the hard white, but on the environment in which it was bought and sold.

Swinging back and forth from apathy to sincerity, T.I. spits his heart out whether rapping about selling ski-slopes of snow or trying to convince a girl to join him on a getaway. Trap Muzik was unapologetic in its brashness and purposely rough around the corners—sorta like the trap itself.

Label: Fat Possum

Long before they sold out Madison Square Garden, The Black Keys released their sophomore album Thickfreakness, most of which was recorded in 14 hours inside drummer/producer Patrick Carney's basement on an '80s era 8-track recorder. Dan Auerbach's crooning on their cover of “Have Love Will Travel” and the weighty-guitar riffs in “No Trust” and “Thickfreakness” made Akron, Ohio's finest more relevant—and softened the blow of constant media comparisons to The White Stripes. This album is so bad-ass that it's no surprise Sons of Anarchy featured 'Hard Row' in its pilot episode.

Label: Roc-A-Fella, Diplomat, Def Jam

There's nothing quite like Cam'Ron in his prime. With Jim Jones and Juelz Santana holding down the Diplomats, Killa's solo career soared to new heights with his 2004 Roc-A-Fella release Purple Haze. Cam's magnetic flow over soulful and airy beats detailed Harlem life for rap fans to consume. In his laid-back cadence, Cam dished out nonsensical boasts about violence, drug trade, and going toe-to-toe with his enemies. Real talk, these were some of his finest moments on wax. And Haze remains Cam'Ron's most potent album to date.

Label: Radio Killa, Def Jam

Part of the compelling drama of Terius Nash, the man who records as The-Dream, is that he reaches his highest highs when writing for others. “Umbrella” with Rihanna. “Single Ladies” for Beyoncé. Ciara's “Speechless.”

It's important that all of these artists are women. When Nash writes and records as The-Dream, sex and love become interchangeable in way that screams stereotypical dude. There's no distinction between a bared heart and a stiff dick. This can make his work laughably crass. This isn't disrespect, just a fact—try and listen to “Fuck My Brains Out” without smiling.

Love vs. Money is a different beast. The moments of crassness are there—the number of weaves killed during “Sweat It Out” rivals 2 Chainz's best work—but they're tempered by the glory of songs like “Rockin' That Shit,” still his greatest expression of the lifted feeling that love brings. That song, with its serious admission that there's nothing he can say—a sly twist on the chorus of “Shawty Is Da Shit!”—elevates the listener. The synths aspire to be horns just like the chorus of "ooohs" aspires to say everything by not saying anything.

And that's not all. The two-part title cut wallows in self-loathing and anger in a way that today's R&B should more readily acknowledge. Then, of course, there's his masterpiece “Fancy,” a cathedral of a song that damn near demands a professor of architecture to describe its multi-tracked ornamentation and colossal spires of voice.

Label: GOOD Music, Geffen

Three years after the failed experiment that was Electric Circus, Common linked with fellow Chica-go-getter Kanye West and returned to championship form with this taut eleven-track set. The first single—"The Corner" featuring The Last Poets—set the tone: Hard drums, tasty soul samples, and rhymes reminiscent of the Com who lyrically sucker-punched Ice Cube—before slipping into macrame cap mode.

The next two singles, "Go" and "Testify," kept the buzz alive, and uncompromising album cuts like "Chi City" and "They Say" (featuring John Legend and Kanye) left no doubt that Common was all the way back.

Label: VP

Getting back in the lab with Bobby "Digital" Dixon, the legendary reggae producer responsible for his 1997 classic Black Woman And Child, Sizzla made what remains the greatest album of his career. Da Real Thing struck a perfect balance between the melodic singing style of his earlier releases and the militant full-throated road heard in his later work.

From hard-hitting cuts like "Solid As A Rock," "Simplicity," and "Got It Right Here" to more tender fare like "Thank You Mama" and the incomparable "Just One Of Those Days" (aka "Dry Cry"), Da Real Thing is a timeless piece of work that will secure this artists' legacy for generations to come.

Label: Def Jam South, Island Def Jam, Universal Records

Scarface was as sharp as ever when he released The Fix, in 2002, eleven years after his debut album, Mr. Scarface Is Back. The new album boasted features from Nas and Jay-Z, among others, and production by Kanye West and The Neptunes.

As expected, Face told his tales of the streets, but it was evident that as much as the hood had changed over the previous decade, the Houston rapper had remained virtually the same. His younger, wilder self had given slightly to his wisdom, so The Fix found Scarface shedding light on the beauty of America's inner cities, and exposing just how much work we have left to do.

Label: Geffen, Mosley

Imagine if your first album won on its own terms, scored a couple of Top 10 Billboard hits, and even managed to go platinum. Now imagine if your second album sold just a quarter as much as first, scored zero hits in the U.S., and was criticized for being too self-indulgent and left-field. That's basically where Nelly Furtado was in 2006.

So what did she do? She got a hip-hop makeover by hooking up with Timbaland and Danja, hit the dancefloor, and came back with the best album of her career. Her new, more overly sexual image may have been a bit awkward at times, but there's no doubt that Timbaland's sound revitalized her music.

The first half of the record had Timbaland/Danja in control, banging out the kinds of next-level extraterrestrial sounds only they could make. The second half had Furtado taking the helm with songs that were true to her roots. Ultimately, the record was the perfect compromise balance an idiosyncratic artist and a sonic visionary.

Label: Young Money

While Dedication 2 exhibited Lil' Wayne's sharp flow and wit, Da Drought 3 mastered his furious intensity. Wayne's double-disc mixtape contained some of his most creative freestyles, dropping brilliant lines at a rapid pace over a bevy of industry beats. He's more unapologetic than ever, funnier and a lot more confident too—biting his tongue for no one. This magnum opus proved that Weezy could not just claim to be the best rapper alive, he could back it up too.

Label: Jagjaguwar

After Justin Vernon went through a breakup and some hard times, he retreated to a cabin in Wisconsin and started writing painfully cathartic music. It was raw, sparse, and even if the lyrics meant nothing to you, the feeling of isolation and dejection was unmistakeable.

Although For Emma, Forever Ago was the product of complete solitude, its overwhelmingly positive reception proved that something about it resonated with a lot of people. We're not always in the mood for this kind of stuff, but when we need true melancholy, we still revisit Bon Iver's debut.

Label: Aftermath, G-Unit, Interscope

The emergence of The Game, under Dr. Dre's tutelage, marked a revival of west coast hip-hop and further solidification of Dre's star-building pedigree. The Documentary introduced the masses to Jayceon Taylor, a rapper caught in a tug-of-war between street wisdom and simply being young and reckless.

Although led by Dr. Dre—the production included contributions from Just Blaze, Timbaland, Kanye West, and Cool & Dre, while the album featured verses from the likes of the G-Unit General 50 Cent—who co-wrote many of the memorable hooks—as well as Eminem and Mary J. Blige. It was a star-studded affair, and certainly a substantive one. Although 50 and Game eventually fell out, The Documentary is still hailed as a modern-day classic.

Label: XL, Interscope

When Maya Arulpragasam decided to name her second album after her mother, she couldn't possibly have known that this would be the record that birthed her second life as a global pop star. As hard as "Bird Flu" and "Boyz" may have been, it was the sleeper success of Diplo's Clash-sampling "Paper Planes"—sparked by its inclusion on the soundtrack to the movie _Pineapple Express_—that really opened the floodgates for the British Sri Lankan cutie with a guerilla pedigree.

Before you knew it, every rapper in the game was dropping freestyles over her track, which was finally sampled by Kanye West to make "Swagga Like Us." And then there Maya was, on the Grammy Awards of all places, surrounded by Jay, Ye, Tip & Weezy, upstaging them all with her pregnant belly. Hi Mom!

Label: Grand Hustle, Atlantic

2006 was a very big year for Tip. King spawned two monster singles, in “Why You Wanna” and “What You Know,” and his debut acting role in the cult-classic ATL premiered just three days later. Already sitting firmly on top of the rap world, T.I. had thrust himself out of mere stardom and into superstardom.

The album meshed the grit and grime to which early Tip fans had become accustomed with the flash and sophistication that his new fans had come to love. King welcomed us all into Tip's coronation.

Label: Downtown Records

By the time Santi White dropped her debut album, "New Wave" was old enough to be a brand new idea again. Channeling Siouxsie and the Banshees, Debbie Harry, The Slits, and The Specials, Santogold made Santi the toast of the downtown cool kids set, with "L.E.S. Artistes" as their anthem. Collaborating with a range of edgy producers including Diplo, Switch, and Spank Rock, Santi took a very hands-on approach to crafting this lovably eccentric album, playing guitar and keys as well as writing and singing everything.

Although Santogold was more critically acclaimed and artistically influential than it was a commercial smash, her music was soon popping up everywhere from Bud Light commercials to Kanye–produced movie soundtrack cuts. This album still sounds as fresh and vital as ever four years after its release, and Santi stands as prroof that an artist who's sure of her convictions really can go left and still be all right.

Label: Dream On, GOOD Music, Universal Motown

The second installment in Kid Cudi's Man On The Moon series revealed a man straddling the line between his old self and who he ultimately wanted to become. The music blended genres, the melodies varied greatly, and the emotional roller-coaster that the album became showed Cudi both challenging himself and becoming more comfortable tearing down the barriers separating his many influences.

Mr. Rager was decidedly darker than his previous effort, but reflected a time in Cudi's life where he was struggling to cope with what his life had become. The highs and lows of the album flow as human emotions do, and the masterful use of mood makes for a very intimate and thought-provoking experience.

Label: Wichita

There's a reason Bloc Party is a household name in indie music, and it all started when they made a debut album so confident and ambitious that it refused to be ignored. Kele Okerere and co. set out to make a guitar rock album stuffed with unforgettable riffs, choruses with pop appeal, and the swagger of rock stars—all delivered with the emotional immediacy of the best alt-rock. The result was an instant classic.

Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam

Where would modern rap be without The College Dropout? At a time when super hero rap was the hot ticket, here came a kid from Chicago rocking pink Polo shirts with popped collars who was rapping about how bad he felt for all the clothes he bought. Behind those rhymes weren't slick keyboard synths, but warm, lovingly chopped soul samples that played like a mix between the RZA and Diddy's Hitmen crew.

From "Through the Wire" to "Slow Jams" to "All Falls Down", Kanye was able to bring the best of the underground to the forefront and infuse it with pop sensibilities. The reverberations of the album could be heard all through the genre, from the more self-effacing lyrics to the re-emergence of soul beats. Ask any rapper under 30 and they'll tell you that they studied The College Dropout.

Label: EMI, Astralwerks, DFA Records

In the middle of the aughts, a handful of bands introduced dance music to the cool kids, the ones who wouldn't normally dance. They did it by appealing to listeners' love for ironic posturing and clever snark. But it always felt like a bitter coating for real sentiment and emotion.

Take Hot Chip's second album, the record they still haven't topped. What do you remember? Bopping to “Over and Over” and its smart lyrics: “Over and over, and over, and over, and over/Like a monkey with a miniature cymbal/The joy of repetition really is in you.” That's pop music in a nutshell: the song we want to hear again and again, the chorus embedded in your brain, scratching the same itch in the right way every time.

You nodded your head, not just because of the bassline, but because you agreed with the statement. S-M-A-R-T. Now remember the second single from The Warning? Think on “And I Was a Boy from School” and its surprisingly moving outro: “We try, but we didn't have long / We try, but we don't belong.” In Prince fashion, these Brits dressed up a blue feeling in dancing shoes and a shiny shirt. And you took your medicine without even realizing it.

Label: Cash Money, Universal

Before Lil Wayne became a martian, he was a gangster rapper. A pretty damn good one, too. In fact, coming off the success of Tha Carter II and his Dedication 2 mixtape, Weezy was the best there was in 2006. It's not surprising, then, that Birdman, the Cash Money patriarch, decided to use his "son's" flame to light his own fire.

The 20-song set features some of the most fun gangster rap ever recorded. Though rapping about murder and buying things from ill-gotten gains, the two never take each other too seriously. There's always a sort of "wink, wink" attached to every cartoonish claim. It's why when Birdman says "Get money or die," we smile and rap it right back at him.

Label: XO

No song goes to waste. No uncomfortable emotion is left unmolested. No one gets out sober, heart intact. With House of Balloons, The Weeknd synthesized all the major achievements in post-Kanye hip-hop and R&B—the newfound love of sterile electronica, the non-traditional sampling, the Aaliyah obsession, the fixation on private ugliness and misery—and then removed all the hope.

The idea that drugs and sex might make everything OK, if even for a little bit, is revealed as folly by '90s-baby Abel Tesfaye. Like slipping into a warm bath after having slashed your wrists. That sounds histrionic, sure, but in equal measure to the album's garish atmosphere. Nihilism never sounded so right.

Label: Roc-A-Fella Records,Diplomat Records, Def Jam Recordings

In order to birth a bona-fide rap movement, an original sound must first be developed. In 2003, with the release of its group compilation Diplomatic Immunity, the Diplomats found its sound. Building off of the success of Jay-Z's and Roc-a-Fella's early aughts run, the album was soaked in chopped chipmunk soul courtesy of the Bronx production crew the Heatmakerz.

At two discs this ambitious double album was inarguably too long—but tracks like the towering "I Really Mean It", the breezy "My Love", the triumphant "I'm Ready", and Cam's ode to his favorite herb, "Purple Haze," more than made up for the filler.

Label: LaFace, Arista

Usher solidified himself as one of the greatest R&B singers in history with his fourth album Confessions. The 17-track opus instantly became the backdrop to millions of baby-making sessions, and dominated the ringtone game for anyone dealing with a crush, a break-up or a bootycall.

Confessions went on to sell over 10 million copies, a career plateau that has proven hard for Usher to top in the current music marketplace. Usher's fearless candor and vulnerability gave women an intimate look into the mind of a man. He exposed the piercing guilt and shameful secrets that many men are unable to express, and it made for a flawless album, from top to bottom.

Label: Def Jam, Corporate Thugz Entertainment

Jizzle's third major-label release was one of the rare rap albums that touched on more than what's going on in the rhymer's neighborhood. Sure, the set's biggest single was one about repping your city (“Put On”), but at its core, The Recession was a time capsule of sorts, bigging up soon-to-be POTUS Barack Obama and addressing America's financial woes with the unvarnished logic of the trap. This was the record where Jeezy went Wall Street, but his stock didn't fall.

Label: Young Money, Cash Money, Universal Republic

It feels like everything that can be said about _Take Care_has been said already—and that fact alone should let you know that Drake made one of the most important albums of the past 10 years. Even before the night it leaked it was impossible to ignore the impact of Drizzy's sophomore release, and we've been immersed in that moment ever since.

From social networks to passing automobiles, the album's 18 songs have been quite literally inescapable. Not that the most popular music is always the best music, but in this case, those millions of Drake fans can't be wrong.

Shifting between styles with total confidence, Drake puts on a clinic fueled by beats courtesy of producer/engineer Noah "40" Shebib. "Under Ground Kings," "The Ride," and "HYFR" find rappity-rap Drake at his finest, and even his softer tracks are difficult to dismiss when they sound like "Cameras" and "The Real Her." 50-plus-bar blackouts like "Lord Knows" are great, but so are R&B moments like "Crew Love" (featuring The Weeknd) grounded as they are in a thoroughly modern hip-hop sensibility. And then there's "Marvin's Room," a psychological mood piece that rewrites much of the rap rulebook.

Beyond form and function, Drake captures the zeitgeist of the times with songs about the pitfalls of drunk texting that strike chords in the same way Q-Tip's Skytel pager narratives did for an earlier generation. Relevant, honest, and painstakingly crafted, _TC_cannot be dismissed, except on the grounds of deeply rooted personal preferences. To call it anything less than a triumph is straight hatin'.

Label: Roc-A-Fella, Roc Nation, Def Jam

"Black excellence, opulence, decadence," raps Jay-Z on "Murder to Excellence," waiting a full 10 tracks to deliver the album's mission statement. Though, if you couldn't figure out what Watch the Throne was about after peeping the Givenchy-inspired gold-plated album cover, or listening to the infectious, new-age bounce of "Ni**as in Paris", maybe it wasn't meant for you to understand.

A partnership between rap music's two biggest attractions, The Throne is an examination of of life from a height no other rappers have ever managed to ascend to—a whiff of that rarified air that's only sniffed by the likes of Oprah, Will Smith, and a whole lot of non-black people.

Though Jay and Ye have worked together for a decade, this is their tightest collaboration yet. Hov is in rare form, rapping better than he has since threatening to retire, and 'Ye mans the boards and rips the mic with equal aplomb. The result is a frantic project that pushes the boundaries of rap music to its most trumped-up limits.

Yet, beneath all the flossing, there's a heart. Songs like "New Day" and "Welcome to America" find Jay-Z as open as we've ever seen him; and on "Murder to Excellence," Kanye takes a moment from the jet set pimping to speak on the harrowing realities of Chi-City. This album was a gift, one we may never get again, so as Ye suggests, "Let's savor this moment."

Label: Island

One thing about Amy Winehouse, she loved hard—but she never mistook love for sentimentality. Her merciless Brit banter and hard-boiled sense of humor endeared her to a certain type of rap fan who wouldn't have given a toss about your average "retro R&B" artist. Produced by Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, Back To Black was the last album released during Amy's fleeting time on earth.

Now that she's gone, songs like "Tears Dry On Their Own," "You Know I'm No Good," and "Wake Up Alone" sound even more heartbreaking than they did at first listen. The only thing that makes the end of our affair with Amy even slightly bearable is the laughter we can hear behind songs like "Rehab." But way down inside, we're still saying No, no, no.

Label: Columbia, RED Ink

When Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden met at Wesleyan University, they had no intention of starting a band. Sure, they experimented heavily with elements of noise rock and electronica. They even released an EP, but when they got a call from Columbia Records, they thought it was a joke.

Their lack of direction and unwillingness to choose a cohesive sound for their psychedelic debut made Oracular Spectacular sound unfocused and scattered, but it also made it one of the most fun, unpredictable projects of the decade. With singles as huge as "Kids," "Time To Pretend," and "Electric Feel," MGMT proved that being weird and being popular didn't necessarily have to be mutually exclusive.

Label: Re-Up, Star Trak, Jive

Hell hath no fury like a rapper scorned. Four years after the release of their successful debut effort, the Brothers Thornton had all but lost the sense of optimism that comes from a platinum album. Hell Hath No Fury is hopeless, dark, and cold. Even on the more pop-leaning tracks, like the buzzing "Trill," or "Wamp Wamp (What It Do)"—on which Pusha raps "Ask what I feel? Nada"—you get the sense that these two are never smiling. Even the boasts and brags ("I ain't spend one rap dollar in three years, holla") are delivered with a sense of grimness.

Pusha T and Malice had something to prove. All but written off by the game that welcomed them less than half a decade ago, the Clipse hit the studio with The Neptunes to craft a measured meditation on the pitfalls of success—What happens when your main hustle is taken away from you? How to manage when your back is against the wall and those who were supposed to be on your side suddenly turn against you? It's enough to give one nightmares, but these guys turned it into beautiful music.

Label: Cash Money, Universal

It turns out Birdman was right all along. It might have taken a few years, but few rappers have gradually morphed from raw talent to fully formed artist quite like Lil Wayne. With its unending, effortless verses, mix of freestyle-ish, mixtape-sounding cuts with polished radio cuts, and uncharacteristically soulful beat selection, this was the album that put Weezy in the "best rapper alive" conversation.

Although it didn't feature any of Top 10 smash hits that would later define Weezy's Billboard prowess, C2 is still the best full length of his illustrious career. What made this well-rounded album even better was the fact that it was released post-Katrina. Weezy shouted out his Hollygrove hood on each and every song.

Label: DFA/Capitol

In the past decade, the indie world has been inundated with danceable, electronic indie pop, but none did it quite like LCD Soundsystem. "All My Friends" is the perfect example of the glaring difference. It captured something that the usually lighthearted genre never came close to touching: powerful, almost overwhelming nostalgia. Instead of dropping a hot album and fading into the background, the weight of Sound Of Silver made LCD Soundsystem one of the most important acts of the past 10 years.

Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam

If Kanye West's fifth solo album (and fourth consecutive number-one debut) felt even more painfully, soul-baringly honest than the rest of his oeuvre, consider the circumstances of its creation. Following West's meltdown at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards and the ensuing media shitstorm, he went into self-imposed exile, and even toyed with the idea of abandoning the music business altogether.

Instead, he took some time to regroup and then camped out in Hawaii with a group of trusted collaborators including Kid Cudi, Pusha T, Q-Tip, and RZA, as well as a good friend or two.

It's hard to imagine a record as emotionally raw as "Runaway" being birthed any other way. While "Monster" and "All of The Lights" dominated radio airwaves, the album's beating heart lay in trangressive tracks like "Hell Of A Life" and the breathtaking "Devil In A New Dress" featuring Rick Ross. MBDTF is all about the struggle for one man's eternal soul, the eternal tussle between spirit and flesh. Call it the last temptation of Ye.

Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam

For a rapper who often likens himself to Michael Jordan, The Black Album was Jay-Z's moment in the clutch, and he delivered. Having released The Blueprint, The Blueprint II, The Best Of Both Worlds and the S. Carter Collection mixtape all in the preceding two-year span, Jay capped the run with one of the best albums of his distinguished career. The added pressure of _The Black Album_being his supposed swan song didn't seem to faze him one bit.

Nearly 10 years later, The Black Album still boasts many of Jay-Z's biggest crowd-pleasers, including “Public Service Announcement,” “99 Problems,” "Encore," and "Dirt Off You Shoulder." Its greatness was bittersweet at the time—as Jay opted for retirement—but for a generation of rap fans, The Black Album is what elevated Jay from one of the best rappers alive to the greatest of all time.

Label: Aftermath, Interscope

Although it's not better than his magnum opus The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show is still one of the most brilliant rap albums of the past decade. In 2002, before drugs ravaged his life, Em was riding high off success. Mostly self-produced, the album found Shady rhyming over the best set of beats found on any of his solo albums. Meanwhile, his legendary wordplay was as sharp as ever.

Although the album didn't break much new ground thematically—aside from harping on politics a bit more than usual—Shady found new ways to discuss familiar ideas. Even well-worn subjects like his mother, his daughter, and the trials of fame were handled with a level of inventiveness. This success of this album, followed with the biopic later that year, would turn Em from controversial villain into unlikely people's champ and leave the entire nation chanting for an encore.

Label: Jive

If his solo debut made Justin Timberlake a breakout star and helped him transcend his boy-band roots, FutureSex/LoveSounds truly pushed the boundaries of pop music. With Timbaland (and his gifted protege Danjahandz) playing Quincy to Justin's Michael, they hit with a quirky techno dance record (“SexyBack”) long before the genre was the "in" sound it is today.

Then they came back with a soulful slow groove in “Until the End of Time” so dope that Beyoncé had to jump on the remix. And let's not forget the T.I.-assisted “My Love,” which was a major R&B hit as well. LoveSounds is one of those rare albums whose playback ability remains high almost six years later. And that's a great thing, cause if the guy keeps on rolling as an actor, we might have to wait another six.

Label: V2

By 2003, the effects of grunge had all but died off, and most rock music in the mainstream arena was watered down with gimmicks and trends and stuck with the "alternative" label. Elephant marked The White Stripes' major label debut, and it was anything but gimmicky or trendy. The noisy duo went in with dark, relentless, unfiltered rock n' roll and bombastic anthems like "Seven Nation Army," proving that epic could still be cool.

Label: Aftermath, Shady, Interscope

As is 50 Cent's wont, let's talk numbers first: 400,000 copies moved on the Tuesday it was released; 872,000 by the end of the first week; 6 million by the end of 2003. Over eight million sold when all was said and done, making Get Rich or Die Tryin' the fourth best-selling hip-hop album ever. But those digits only begin to suggest the immense impact that 50's major-label debut had on the rap game.

Created in a whirlwind—50 Cent, Eminem, and Dr. Dre conceived and recorded seven songs in five days—Get Rich sounded like nothing else at the time. Though it was packed with the sort of harrowing street tales that defined most New York rap, the album was essentially regionless, devoid of either soul-based boom-bap or Cali G-funk. The production was as epic as the grandiose hood superhero image being pushed by the guy on the cover with the designer print gun holster. And then there were the hits.

50's ability to make even the most savage of songs sound radio-ready—with sticky choruses and slick, easily digestible flows—shone doubly bright on the songs he actually meant to be sent to radio. While pop stations played "In Da Club" and "21 Questions," hip-hop mix shows were wearing out every single album cut. Get Rich or Die Tryin' wasn't just an album title, it was a mission statement. Mission accomplished.

Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam

“Tell me what it takes to be number one,” the hook begs on “Champion.” Well, just ask Mr. West. Honestly, Ye's latest solo album may be his most complete effort bar for bar. But this is also the album that made him hip-hop's leading man.

Think about it, Graduation had it all—an experimental Daft Punk-sampling hit record with “Stronger,” “Can't Tell Me Nothing,” which still basically functions as Kanye's mission statement, a synthed out banger that didn't need radio success to set it off in the club (“Flashing Lights”), and oh yeah, it even outsold 50 Cent when the Queens titan went head to head with Ye in a much-hyped release day battle. To put it plainly, Graduation made Kanye king. No cap and tassel needed. He took the crown.