“There’s a reason that most of you know at least one person with a Wu Tang tattoo.”

The discussion of what the best hip hop albums are can be debated until the cows come home, but there are few albums which change the flows, the sound and even the look of hip hop like these did.

Each one of these albums are landmarks of the culture that created a whole new style to influence the future generations. From shiny suit flossing, to socially conscious rap, these are the top 10 most influential American hip hop albums, as written by Karl Mangan.

1. De La Soul – 3 Feet High & Rising

Rap music had been the ‘tough kid’ party music for the black and Puerto Ricans of the inner cities, until three nerdy friends from Long Island started to make abstract and emotionally open hip hop that would change everything.

Day glow t-shirts, dashikis and ragged high top fades replaced the tracksuit, gold rope chain wearing MCs that were dominating the radio waves. Not only were the lyrics a complete breath of fresh air but the production has received worldwide acclaim for their innovation. The samples range from Hall & Oates and Steely Dan to the infamous Taana Gardner – ‘Heart Beat’ bass line. A generation of backpack rappers and afrocentric hip hop can trace their beginnings from this masterpiece.

2. Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Chuck D refused to take a record deal from Def Jam records for years, he felt himself too old to be an MC and was content to perform MC Duties for Spectrum City sound system. When the team eventually spawned into Public Enemy, the crew was made of up of S1W’s (the security seam), The Bomb Squad (production), Terminator X (DJ), and Chuck D & Flava Flav on vocals.

Their sophomore album ‘It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back’ became an instant classic which blended cacophonous beats with booming vocals and rhymes that address the ills of the black community in America at the time.

The first truly political rap to hit the radios, they fight not only against the people who attack their community from outside, but also from within on records like ‘Night Of The Living Baseheads’. Every time you hear a rapper name dropping Farrakhan or Huey P Newton it’s Public Enemy who started it.

3. Young Jeezy – Thug Motivation 101

In the mid 2000’s Atlanta took over hip hop. They haven’t really given it back either.

The biggest names in hip hop to this day hail from this city from Migos, Future and 21 Savage, but just over 10 years ago a group of artists, helped in someway by one of the biggest drug gangs in american history (The BMF), took over US airwaves to bring their slowed down southern drawl over regally booming beats detailing their lives as coke dealing trap stars moving kilos by the dozen.

Young Jeezy’s Thug Motivation 101 is one of the first albums of this to really capture the sound of Americas south and talk to rap fans who didn’t live on a coast. With anthems such as Go crazy & Trap or Die. The Snowman built a wave that hasn’t fallen from this album.

4. Nas – Illmatic

There’s not much more that can be said about this album. It has created books, documentaries and college lectures around the world. Its innovation is the reason this album is heralded as the greatest of all time, from its use of multiple producers, its introduction of a whole new lexicon of slang and the off kilter ‘in and out’ flow of Nas.

This record has either directly or indirectly influenced anyone who has ever rapped since its release.

5. Dr. Dre – The Chronic

A masterpiece which fused George Clinton with beat breaks. The Massive production and instrumentation added to the classic samples captured a time in L.A. when it was the gang capital of the world. The sound of the 92 riots, the life of gangbangin’ and 64 Impala hydraulics over the lush beats and laid back flows of Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre took Rap from New York’s hands to create a new genre of hip hop; G Funk.

After his split from NWA, Dre set up Death Row Records which became the most notorious label in hip hop. Its first release, ‘The Chronic’ contained hip hop anthems which still ring out today such as ‘Nuthin But a G thang’ and ‘Lil Ghetto Boy’. The album is infused with disses at rival gangs and Eazy-E’s Ruthless Records. It sparked a west coast rap explosion that cemented Dre and Snoop as musical legends.

6. Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid M.a.a.d City

In the current climate of rap, lyrics for most have taken a back seat, with fans lamenting on their Talib Kwelis and Commons, the call for true story telling and lyricism in hip hop has been seen as a mark of your age rather than your taste.

A new MC was needed to breathe some life and lyrical creativity into hip hop and a Compton-born Kendrick Lamar took this challenge by the reigns. Amazing everyone with his mixtape; ‘Section 80′, Lamar proved he could make head nod records with deep messages and incredible wordplay, but with his debut album he pushed the envelope even further. An album detailing the pitfalls and paranoia of a young black man from the hood trying to stay on the straight and narrow ‘GKMC’ draws the listener into K. Dot’s life. Hailed as a masterpiece that plays like a modern day John Singleton or Spike Lee film, the album has given a rise to young lyrical and socially conscious rappers that can co-exist with their mumble rap contemporaries. Nothing sounded like it before and nothing has truly sounded like it since.

7. Wu Tang Clan – Enter The 36 Chambers

On paper it sounded like the craziest take on hip hop culture at the time. Eight members who used impenetrable slang to detail living in the projects and hustling drugs while incorporating the stylings of ninjas, chess masters and Nation of Islam members that dressed in Gucci, Clarkes Wallabies and all high on angel dust The Wu Tang created a dynasty that has yet to be matched.

Its dark and moody beats matched with lyrical mastery that always seemed off kilter. An uncompromising album that never pandered to get in the clubs or the charts yet ruled them on release, ‘Enter The 36 Chambers’ is one of the most important albums in hip hop history. There’s a reason that most of you know at least one person with a Wu Tang tattoo.

8. MF Doom – MM..Food

The second album under his moniker MF Doom, ‘MM..Food’ gave rise to a plethora of backpack rappers using bizarre and intricate rhymes over abstract samples. There had been a few MCs like him skirting around the underground rap scene but no one has done it better or with more genius than MF Doom.

His rhymes are packed with double entendres in flows that bend the mind and have people re-listening over and over again. The album serves only to show off lyrical prowess without signs of any theme or subject too deep or linked within the album. Coherency of his raps takes a back seat to deliver tongue in cheek one liners and lyrical backflips. An army of stoner kids with a gob full of rhymes about everything and nothing have seeped into hip hop culture because of the record’s legacy.

9. Puff Daddy – No Way Out

No rap and R&B label has had a run like Bad Boy Records. Its roster boasts some of the greatest to touch a mic with more platinum plaques than you can imagine. In the mid 90s Bad Boy ran the radio.

The flow of number one albums and singles seemed like it would never end, until on March 9, 1997, Their biggest artist, The Notorious B.I.G. was gunned down in L.A. after a Vibe Magazine party. From what would have been the death knell for any label, Puff Daddy took his label even higher to celebrate Biggie with ‘I’ll Be Missing You’. The track featured 112 and Faith Evans to eulogise one of the greatest rappers to ever live. Before his passing, Biggie encouraged Puff to become an artist and record raps while still maintaining his position as a CEO and producer.

With help from the pens of The LOX and newly signed Mase, Puff released his debut album ‘No Way Out’ and ushered in what was called ‘The Shiny Suit Era’ due to the clothing worn in their extravagant videos. The hits kept rolling over what some called obvious sample use, yet had the clubs and the corners rocking. It became a celebration of glamour and the rising out of the hood. Every record for a long time after this had everyone wearing the loud colours and trying to recreate the Bad Boy sound.

10. 50 Cent – Get Rich Or Die Tryin’

After the shiny suit era, even the so called gangster rappers were making love songs and R&B fused chart-toppers until one goliath of a man stepped onto the scene with nine bullet hole wounds and no fucks to give.

When 50 released his magnum opus, every rapper threw their shiny suits in the bin and put back on their Champion hoodies and Timbs. Stacked full of classic records and his first single exploding over mainstream radio worldwide, 50 cent ruled hip hop in 2003. His extremely violent and vivd story telling of a Queens hustler captured the imagination of listeners and gave rise to everyone and their ma in rap being a certified killer. Under the wing of Eminem and Dr. Dre at Aftermath Records, 50 subsequently flooded the market with album after album from all of his crew and destroyed Ja Rule and everyone in Murder Inc’s career forever in the process. His aggression and business acumen made him a ton of cash and solidified him as one of the greats.

Click here to read about five artists that shook up hip hop in the internet age.