1. Midnight Mauraders - A Tribe Called Quest
2. Aquemini - OutKast
3. Phrenology - The Roots
4. Doggystyle - Snoop Dogg
6. The Low End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest
7. DAMN. - Kendrick Lamar
8. Endtroducing - DJ Shadow
9. Black on Both Sides - Mos Def
10. The Chronic - Dr. Dre
11. Apocayplse '91... The Enemy Strikes Black
12. Illmatic - Nas
13. Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J
14. Enter the 36 Chambers - Wu Tang Clan
15. To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar
16. Elmatic - Elzhi
17. Joyful Rebellion - K-Os
18. undun - The Roots
19. Moment of Truth - Gangstarr
20. Like Water for Chocolate - Common
21. 40 Dayz and 40 Nightz - Xzibit
22. Mecca and the Soul Brother - CL Smooth & Pete Rock
23. Jewelz - OC
24. Buhloone Mindstate - De la Soul
25. The Black Album - Jay Z

My goal was to pick 25 albums that made a big impression at the time and then tried to compare that enjoyment relative to each other while reflecting throughout my history as a hip-hop lover.

There were a few that almost made the list: Graduation, The Coming, Life is Good, 2001 among others. Looking at the list it seems like '91-'93 made a big impression on me, as well as '98-00. '91-'93 were the years that the seeds for my musical tastes were planted and by '98 they changed to incorporate more complex variations of the stuff from the late Golden Age.

There was a time in between '01 - '12 where music wasn't as important to me. But there were some really good albums during that time, The Minstrel Show, Late Graduation, Be, and Album of the Year. I just couldn't get out of my own way and appreciate the generation of artists that carried the torch from the Soulquarians and Native Tongues.

And even now, outside of Kendrick there isn't an artist whose music inspires me like the musicians I grew to love early on. I'm sure some of that is feeling that the old school acts were better but also and not in a bad way, lyrical content hasn't evolved much over the years. Yes, Kendrick and J Cole and Drake bare more of their inner world and conflicts than artists of the Golden Age, but at age 35 hearing acts talking about 'money, cash, h*es' (c) Jay, but it is repetitive to me. I don't judge the younger cats since, much of your life as a young person is getting to a sense of status.

There were artists I wanted to include on my list, definitely KRS, Method Man, Lauryn. But there wasn't one album in particular of their's that stood out enough to include them. Obviously, Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was a monster of a record but I never really took to it, even though it innovated in a way few albums can claim.

I respect the people who only listen one album per artist. If I did that I'd end up leaving off The Low End Theory, which I just couldn't do. It was my favorite album before Midnight Mauraders so if only because of nostalgia I couldn't leave it off (plus is a truly awesome work of artistry in its own right). Given how much The Roots are in my regular rotation they deserved two albums. And Kendrick 'is just the genius' (c) Raekwon. Some people may think he's overrated or just skates by because he stands out among his peers because they simply don't value lyricism (outside of Lupe). But I find his depth of insight amazing. Plus he has a really good ear for beats, which is an underrated quality for an MC.