'Ready to Die' Tops Rolling Stone's List of 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time

Notorious B.I.G.'s 1994 magnum opus "Ready to Die" took the top spot on Rolling Stone's recently published list of the 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time.

While it seems that few would argue against the validity of the magazine's pick for No. 1 — or at least the fact that the deceased Brooklyn Bard should be in contention for the coveted spot —the rest of the list drew immediate criticism from fans of the genre following its release Tuesday.

"Look, I get that lists are subjective but Rolling Stone's top 200 hip hop albums is f*cking ridiculous," Andreas Hale wrote on Twitter, citing Cardi B's "Invasion of Privacy" claiming the No. 16 spot as an example.

Look, I get that lists are subjective but Rolling Stone's top 200 hip hop albums is f*cking ridiculous. Any list that has Cardi B's "Invasion of Privacy" ranked higher than "Illmatic," "Midnight Marauders," "Aquemini" and "Doggystyle" is null and void.

— Andreas Hale (@AndreasHale) June 7, 2022

He added, "Any list that has Cardi B's 'Invasion of Privacy' ranked higher than 'Illmatic,' 'Midnight Marauders,' 'Aquemini' and 'Doggystyle' is null and void."

Other fans piled on the list as well. 

Shawn Edwards, a former journalist with bylines in the hip-hop bible The Source,  called the entire list bullsh—t. 

"I WANT my culture back!" Edwards posted on Twitter. "I’m highly insulted! About to fly to their offices and pull an @icecube!"

I WANT my culture back! @RollingStone’s list of the 200 Best Hip Hop albums is egregious! The entire list is bullshit. As a former journalist who wrote for the @TheSource I’m highly insulted! About to fly to their offices and pull an @icecube!#rollingstone #hiphop #thesource

— Shawn Edwards (@sedwardskc) June 7, 2022

this screenshot alone invalidates the rolling stone top 200 rap albums of all time pic.twitter.com/FD6YhDoTDp

— Kyan (@Kyan__223) June 7, 2022

For its part, the magazine said, the rich history of rap LPs forced its panel to make some painful choices, describing their methodology as such:

"When confronted with a choice between the third (or fourth or fifth) record by a classic artist (Outkast, for instance, or A Tribe Called Quest) and an album from an artist who would make the list more interesting (The Jacka or Saba or Camp Lo), we tended to go with the latter option. The result was a list that touches on every important moment in the genre’s evolution — from compilations that honor the music’s paleo old-school days, to its artistic flourishing in the late Eighties and early Nineties with Public Enemy, De La Soul, Eric B. and Rakim and others, through the gangsta era, the rise of the South, the ascendance of larger-than-life aughts superstars like Jay-Z and Kanye West and Nicki Minaj, and on and on into more recent moments like blog-rap, emo-rap, and drill, from New York to L.A. to Houston to Chicago, and beyond."

The top 50 albums are posted below:

1. The Notorious B.I.G. - 'Ready to Die' (1994)

2. Outkast - 'Stankonia' (2000)

3. Jay-Z - 'The Blueprint' (2001)

4. Public Enemy - 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back' (1988)

5. Kendrick Lamar - 'To Pimp a Butterfly' (2015)

6. Kanye West - 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' (2010)

7. Missy Elliott - 'Miss E... So Addictive' (2001)

8. Wu-Tang Clan - 'Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)' (1993)

9. A Tribe Called Quest - 'The Low End Theory' (1991)

10. Lauryn Hill - 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' (1998)

11. Drake - 'Take Care' (2011)

12. Clipse - 'Lord Willin' ' (2002)

13. Dr. Dre - '2001' (1999)

14. Ghostface Killah - 'Supreme Clientele' (2000)

15. Eric B. and Rakim - 'Paid in Full' (1987)

16. Cardi B - 'Invasion of Privacy' (2018)

17. Kanye West - 'Yeezus' (2013)

18. Madvillain - 'Madvillainy' (2004)

19. Lil Kim - 'Hard Core' (1996)

20. Future - 'DS2' (2015)

21. Lil Wayne - 'Da Drought 3' (2007)

22. DMX - 'It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot' (1998)

23. UGK - 'Ridin' Dirty' (1996)

24. Nas - 'Illmatic' (1994)

25. Eminem - 'The Marshall Mathers LP' (2000)

26. Jay-Z - 'Reasonable Doubt' (1996)

27. Outkast - 'Aquemini' (1998)

28. Mobb Deep - 'The Infamous' (1995)

29. 2Pac - 'All Eyez on Me' (1996)

30. Beastie Boys - 'Paul’s Boutique' (1989)

31. Nicki Minaj - 'Pink Friday' (2010)

32. Chief Keef - 'Finally Rich' (2012)

33. De La Soul - '3 Feet High and Rising' (1989)

34. Various Artists - 'The Sugar Hill Records Story' (1997)

35. Snoop Doggy Dogg - 'Doggystyle' (1993)

36. Chance the Rapper - 'Acid Rap' (2013)

37. Raekwon - 'Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...' (1995)

38. Kendrick Lamar - 'good kid - m.A.A.d city' (2012)

39. Lil Wayne - 'The Carter III' (2008)

40. Dr. Dre - 'The Chronic' (1992)

41. Kanye West - 'Late Registration' (2005)

42. Big Daddy Kane - 'Long Live the Kane' (1988)

43. Run-D.M.C. - 'Run-D.M.C.' (1984)

44. Genius/GZA - 'Liquid Swords' (1995)

45. LL Cool J - 'Mama Said Knock You Out' (1990)

46. Tyler, the Creator - 'Call Me If You Get Lost' (2021)

47. Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott - 'Supa Dupa Fly'

48. J Dilla - 'Donuts' (2006)

49. N.W.A - 'Straight Outta Compton' (1988)

50. EPMD - 'Strictly Business' (1988)