“No jay z, lil Wayne, Eminem or Drake albums in top 25 is insane”: Netizens react to Pitchfork’s ‘Top 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time’ list 

Pitchfork released its list of Top 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time on Tuesday, September 30. Surprisingly, though, the Top 25 on the list doesn't feature the likes of Eminem, Jay-Z, or Lil Wayne.

Founded in 1966 in the US, Pitchfork is one of the most trusted outlets for anything related to music. It often reviews albums, songs, and retro music and is trusted by many. The outlet also releases lists of the best work across categories.

On Tuesday, Pitchfork released its Top 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time. The Top 25 on the list are:

1. The Infamous — Mobb Deep
2. All Eyez On Me — 2Pac
3. Juvenile — 400 Degreez
4. Supreme Clientele — Ghostface Killah
5. Illmatic — Nas
6. Tha Tour Pt. 1 — Young Thug, Birdman & Rich Homie Quan
7. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill — Ms. Lauryn Hill
8. Hell Hath No Fury — Clipse
9. Aquemini — OutKast
10. Madviliany — MF DOOM
11. Life After Death — Notorious B.I.G
12. good kid m.A.A.d city — Kendrick Lamar
13. The Low End Theory — A Tribe Called Quest
14. A Nation of Millions — Public Enemy
15. Only Built 4 Cuban Links — Raekwon
16. DS2 — Future
17. Operation Doomsday — MF DOOM
18. Paid In Full — Eric B. & Rakim
19. Enter The Wu-Tang — Wu-Tang Clan
20. Buhloone Mindstate — De La Soul
21. Ready To Die — Notorious B.I.G
22. Soul Food — Goodie Mob
23. The Great Adventures of Slick Rick — Slick Rick
24. Straight Outta Compton — NWA
25. Some Rap Songs — Earl Sweatshirt

Fans online have reacted to the Top 100 list, with one X (formerly Twitter) user surprised at the likes of Eminem and Jay-Z not being in the Top 25. They tweeted:

"No jay z , lil Wayne , Eminem or Drake albums in top 25 is insane"

Trapordie

@1trapordie

No jay z , lil Wayne , Eminem or Drake albums in top 25 is insane 🤯🤯🤯

Another wrote,

Malusi

@MalusitheGoat

@HipHopAllDayy All good albums, but how did drake not make list💔

Another commented,

T…Silk

@TundeSilk

@HipHopAllDayy Can we get the writers names so I can call the cops on them? This is the worst hiphop ranking list I’ve ever seen.

Users continued to share their thoughts on the entire list, as one wrote,

My Godfather!

@mygodfather0

@HipHopAllDayy Drake has 25 career albums with each having over 2B streams 😭😂💔… none made it to the list That’s why you need to always drop quality over quantity as a rapper 🐐🐐 GKmC 🏆

Another commented,

REBELMIND™

@rebelmindx

@HipHopAllDayy No Lil Wayne? No 50 Cent on the Top 25? Dumb*ss list.

Another wrote,

RileyTaugor 🏴

@RileyTaugor

@HipHopAllDayy No X or Juice, but Sexyy Red is on it. Pitchfork never fails to amaze me

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Pitchfork explains how it made its list of Top 100 Best Rap Albums of all Time

Hip-hop and rap music have evolved massively over time, and so has the method of releasing the content. As Pitchfork explains,

"Rap’s early stars trafficked in singles, which would snake their way through radio mixshows, dubbed cassette tapes, and eventually commercial pressings; albums were padded out with instrumentals and alternate mixes, if they were issued at all."

The outlet has produced a list of the Top 100 Best Rap Albums of all Time. It explained that it considered the reinvention of rap music, its craft, and style to make its selection, stating:

"In assembling this list, we emphasized rapping as a craft—not one that has been stripped from its musical context, but rather an act of constant reinvention. Where possible, we tried to find credible vehicles for those difficult-to-canonize scenes and styles; to create space, we minimized the number of repeat entries from a single artist or group."

Pitchfork also acknowledged that there are some "gaps" but added that they are the "quirks of style and format."

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