20 Hip Hop Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

11. Jay Z - Reasonable Doubt

Jay Z isn't considered one of the greatest rappers of all time for no reason. No, it's because of his incredible flow, dynamic lyrics and the fact that he's damn good at picking out beats. Although he's on his 12th solo album, it's his debut record Reasonable Doubt that really shows fans the best of him. And it's not because he's gotten worse as he's older now, which is a problem a lot of the elder statesmen of rap have had to deal with.

It's because he's hungry on this album and it shows. On tracks like Can't Knock The Hustle featuring the incredible Mary J. Blige and Dead Presidents II, Jigga tells deep and dark stories of the drug game and its perils in such a way that if you closed your eyes it would almost feel like a movie was running in your head. Also, if you can go bar-for-bar with the legendary Biggie Smalls on a track and not look a mediocre rapper then you deserve the highest of praise, which is exactly what he did on Brooklyn's Finest.

He might be a multi-million dollar media mogul now and Reasonable Doubt might've been the lowest charting record of his entire career, but it's where most people's love of Jay Z began and it's one of most important reasons why fans have stayed with him throughout a near 20-year career.