1. (Tie) I'm Back/Almost Famous (The Marshall Mathers LP, 2000/Recovery, 2010)
I had to put these two together for a tie because upon further listening they serve the same purpose. For starters, I'm Back was Shady talking to all those who feared and despised his presence following his debut release. He's not going anywhere and not only that, he's back with more vicious and unrelenting rhymes than before. The beat is funky and stripped down, with Shady spitting some of his most fluid and gut-sticking rhymes on the entire LP. The song details his opinions on his newfound success and how his life has drastically changed as a result of it. Regardless, he's not going to change his attitude or tone down his lyrics for the sake of appeal. He attacks the media, politics, social hypocrisy, and pop icons with no restraint. Fast-forward a decade later after his slow career decline post-Eminem Show and return with Recovery, you reach a song like Almost Famous and for the first time in a long time, as a fan you are struck with that fire you hadn't heard since 2002. This was post-Encore's I'm Back, and was a reminder that he was still Eminem. The song had also brought something new as Marshall spent the entire song chronicling his underground roots to signing with Interscope/Aftermath to being "in Dre's studio cupping his balls screaming the wood off the panel and cussing the paint off the walls" that would catapult him to super stardom. We had always gotten bits and pieces of his pursuit of success but this was an all out onslaught, take-no-prisoners dedication to his success story creating a destined parallel with I'm Back.