List of hip hop albums, inclusive

This is a list of influential, popular and/or critically acclaimed hip hop albums culled from the various cited lists. Lists which purport to report the best albums for a given year are cited only for the top five releases on that list. Greatest hits albums are not included. After each album title are the citations; the numbers link to various amateur sites (listed below) while the text links go to more professional sites. Hip hop is a large and ill-defined musical genre, with copious regional and other variations. Since many listeners' perception of what counts as hip hop may be different, this list is intended to be inclusive, and may include albums that are most specifically called West Coast hip hop, East Coast hip hop, Southern rap, alternative hip hop, gangsta rap, go go, jazz rap, electro hop, rapcore, hip house, Miami bass, trip hop, pop hop, Dirty South, G funk, hardcore hip hop and latin freestyle.

The top ten most frequently cited albums are in bold.

• List of hip hop albums, inclusive 1979-1989
• List of hip hop albums, inclusive 1990-1994
• List of hip hop albums, inclusive 1995-1999
• List of hip hop albums, inclusive 2000-2005