My List of The 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs Of All Time

Due to the garabage list VH1 put together. I decided to put together my own list of the 100 greatest hip hop songs of all time.


100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time



100.T.I -What You Know
99. Trick Daddy F/Lil Jon- Let’s Go
98. DMX-Ruff Riders Anthem
97. Canibus-Lyrical Skillz
96. Common-Misunderstood
95. 50 Cent- P.I.M.P
94. Dead Prez- Hip Hop
93. Busta Rhymes- Break Ya Neck
92. Jedi Mind Tricks-Heavenly Devine
91. A Tribe Called Quest-Scenario
90. Nappy Roots-Awnaw
89. M.O.Pf/ Busta Rhymes- Ante Up Remix
88.Snoop Doggf/ Pharell - Drop It Like Its Hot
87. Eminem-Superman
86. Army Of The Pharaohs-Time To Rock
85. Jay-Z-Dirt Off Your Shoulder
84. 50 Cent- In Da Club
83. Busdriver- Imaginary Places
82. Beastie Boys-Fight For Your Right
81. Fresh Prince/DJ Jazzy Jeff- Parents Just Don’t Understand
80. Notorious B.I.G- Gimme The Loot
79. The Game/50 Cent-How We Do
78.Busta Rhymes/Nas- Don’t Get Carried Away
77.MF Doom-One Beer
76.Nas- Nas is Like
75.House of Pain-Jump Around
74.Run DMC- It’s Like That
73.M.I.A-Paper Planes
72.Wu Tang Clan-Method Man
71.Ice-T- Colors
70. Kottonmouth Kings-Tangerine Sky
69.Mobb Deep-Shook Ones Pt.2
68. Gang Starr- Moment of Truth
67.K-Otix-Questions
66.Dr.Dre-Forgot About Dre
65.Busta Rhymes- Don’t Touch Me[Throw Da Water on Em’]
64.Immortal Technique-Crossing The Boundary
63.Slick Rick-Children’s Story
62.Nas-I Gave You Power
61.Notrious B.I.G-Hypnotize
60.Beastie Boys-Intergalactic
59.Ghostface Killah-The Champ
58.Eminem-Drug Ballad
57.MF Doom-Beef Rap
56.The Roots-The Seed
55.Jurassic 5-A Day At The Races
54.M.O.P-Cold As Ice
53.A Tribe Called Quest-Check The Rime
52.Wu Tang Clan-Triumph
51.Army Of The Pharaohs-Dump The Clip
50.Ice Cube-It Was A Good Day
49.Public Enemy-Fight The Power
48.Common-I Used To Lover H.E.R
47.The Game/50 Cent-Hate It Or Love It
46.Atmosphere-Trying To Find A Balance
45.Dr.Dre-Still Dre
44.Coolio-Gangsta’s Paradise
43.Naughty By Nature-OPP
42.Outkast-B.O.B
41.Canibus-Poet Laureate
40.Notorious B.I.G-Machine Gun Funk
39.Eminem-My Name Is
38.Wu Tang Clan- Wu Tang Clan Ain’t Nothing To Fuck With
37.A Tribe Called Quest-Can I Kick It?
36.Ludacris-Rollout[My Business]
35.2pac-Dear Mama
34.Run DMC-King Of Rock
33.Digtal Underground-The Humpty Dance
32.NWA-Express Yourself
31.Jedi Mind Tricks-Put’Em In The Grave
30.De La Soul-Me Myself and I
29.Geto Boys-Mind Playing Tricks On Me
28.Nas-The World Is Yours
27.Sugarhill Gang-Rapper’s Delight
26.MF Doom-Hoe Cakes
25.Eric B and Rakim-Paid In Full
24.Outkast-Ms.Jackson
23.Public Enemy/Anthrax-Bring The Noise
22. Snoop Dogg-Gin and Juice
21. Wu Tang Clan-Protect Ya Neck
20.Busta Rhymes-Woo Ha![Got You All In Check]
19.Beastie Boys-Paul Revere
18.Jay-Z-Big Pimpin
17.LL Cool J-Mama Said Knock You Out
16.NWA-Straight Outta Compton
15.Jedi Mind Tricks-I Who Have Nothing
14.Immortal Technique-Dance With The Devil
13.Dr.Dre and Snoop Dogg-Aint Nuthin But A G Thang
12.Pete Rock and C.L Smooth-They Reminisce Over You
11.Notorious B.I.G-Big Poppa
10.Eminem-Stan
9. Nas-Life’s A Bitch
8.Jedi Mind Tricks-Animal Rap
7.Ice Cube-Check Yo Self
6.Wu Tang Clan-Cream
5.Eminem The Real Slim Shady
4.2pac-California Love
3.Notorious B.I.G-Juicy
2.Dr.Dre f/Snoop Dogg-Deep Cover
1.2pac-Changes

This has to be the most random list in FM/Fantaverse history.

For what it's worth, my favorite hip-hop song of all time is Biggie - Gimme The Loot.

I'm not a huge hip hop fan per-say, but i there are definitely some good songs. Lately i've been listening to a lot of T.I., The Game and Ne-Yo, but I hate snoop dogg, and drop it like its hot is the worst!

P.S. when i saw this post, i thought, now thats a list we havent seen here before, thats awesome, ha ha.

No Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five?

Oh yeah, where the hell is Joe Budden? If you like Nas and Immortal Technique, you'll love his mixtape stuff.

And Common - Misunderstood should be higher.

50.Ice Cube-It Was A Good Day

Isley Brothers - Footsteps in the Dark

44.Coolio-Gangsta’s Paradise

Stevie Wonder - Pasttime Paradise

39.Eminem-My Name Is

Labi Siffre - I Got The...

(the hook starts at 2:10, but the whole song is good)

32.NWA-Express Yourself

Charles Wright - Express Yourself

13.Dr.Dre and Snoop Dogg-Aint Nuthin But A G Thang

Leon Haywood - I Want to Do Something Freaky To You

4.2pac-California Love

i could write a friggin thesis paper on the evolution of this song.. it's a Joe Cocker riff ("Woman to Woman"), a Zapp melody ("Ruff n Tuff"), Ronnie Hudson lyrics ("California Poplock").. they even got Roger from Zapp to re-record the vocoder stuff.. the remix samples Kleer's "Intimate Connection".. most of those songs can be found on YouTube, but here's Dr. Octagon sampling the Joe Cocker beat about 8 years before 2Pac did it:

The Ultramagnetic MCs - Funky (Instrumental)

numbersix_99 wrote:No Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five?

i think Ice Cube's "Check Yo' Self" filled in here

Hmm, three Beastie's songs and no Sabotage. I am intrigued....

silversurfer19 wrote:Hmm, three Beastie's songs and no Sabotage. I am intrigued....

maybe he places that in the "rock" side of the Beastie's catalogue

I don't know. I listen to very little rap mainly because I think it is mostly vile and putrid crap. But I definitely thought Sabotage was rap, and some of the best at that.

The fact that Drop It Like It's Hot is on here loses all credibility to me. That was, for a time, my "Worst Song Ever Made in the History of Music." It was then replaced for a time by Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" and now the crown belongs to Britney Spears' latest atrocity "Womanizer."

geezer9687 wrote:The fact that Drop It Like It's Hot is on here loses all credibility to me. That was, for a time, my "Worst Song Ever Made in the History of Music." It was then replaced for a time by Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" and now the crown belongs to Britney Spears' latest atrocity "Womanizer."

ha ha, awesome song.

I wouldnt say that it loses credibility, I hate that song myself. It's just opinion again, and we all know how this conversation goes.

My motto is - "to each his own", or "whatever waters your melon".

NSpan wrote:

silversurfer19 wrote:Hmm, three Beastie's songs and no Sabotage. I am intrigued....

maybe he places that in the "rock" side of the Beastie's catalogue

I did consider to be rock on the first draft of the list i had Sabotage and No Sleep Till Brooklyn on the list as well as Paul Revere,Intergalatic and Fight For Your Right which made the list.

Man, I wish I had found this thread earlier...I didn't realize you were that into rap, Tranny. I'm a rap fanatic, and when I say rap, I don't mean all of the stupid shit we have on the radio right now. I mean REAL rap. 1986-1997, 2001-2005, those are the best years for rap. You got a pretty good list here...I don't really like Tupac that much myself, but i do recognize his talent and undeniable impact on the genre. I actually just saw Notorious, and while it was exactly what I expected, I was hoping it would be a little different. Even though it took 12 years to make it, I feel like it was still somehow rushed. They could have made a more effective film had they focused more on his upbringing and descent into crime and how his passion for music helped him escape that life while his street knowledge gave him the credibility he needed to become a legend, instead of just glorifying him by using the fact that everyone accepts him as a musical genius. But, besides that, it was a good crash course for a story everyone already knows.

Also, you have not a single Kanye West or Talib kweli song on your list...One of them is the reason Rap is still around right now. And the other is just as good as anyone on your list, plus no accounting for taste, but you have way too much Nas and Busta Rhymes on there.

I kind of Forgot about Talieb Kaweli. But i really dont think Kanye is that great. He is better than most of the crap out there right now but i dont think he is very good.

Digtal Underground-The Humpty Dance

Parliament - Let's Play House

De La Soul-Me Myself and I

Parliament - Not Just Knee Deep

Nas-The World Is Yours

Ahmad Jamal - I Love Music

Sugarhill Gang-Rapper’s Delight

Chic - Good Times (okay, okay, i know this one is a bit obvious)

Eric B and Rakim-Paid In Full

too many to count on this one, but that cool bass line is Dennis Edwards - Don't Look Any Further

Outkast-Ms.Jackson

Brothers Johnson - Strawberry Letter 23

Busta Rhymes-Woo Ha!(Got You All In Check)

Galt MacDermot - Space

Jay-Z-Big Pimpin

Hossam Ramzy - Khusara Khusara (okay, i admit.. this one might've actually benefited from being sampled)

LL Cool J-Mama Said Knock You Out

Sly Stone - Trip to Your Heart

Notorious B.I.G-Big Poppa

Isley Brothers - Between the Sheets

2pac-Changes

i've already posted the Bruce Hornsby original in another thread, so here's a group that's way more O.G. than tupac: Alvin & the Chipmunks - The Way It Is

Is that all that you're going to post every time someone mentions rap? How about I post all the times that Led Zeppelin stole music from someone?

Buscemi wrote:Is that all that you're going to post every time someone mentions rap? How about I post all the times that Led Zeppelin stole music from someone?

i'm not being negative--i think it's interesting.. i grew up listening to most of these rap and hip-hop songs.. i have a ton of nostalgia for these guys--but it blows my mind when i hear the source material.. sometimes the rappers actually add to the original and create something special (dude, i'll never replace Warren G with Michael McDonald).. if you're not interested, don't watch the videos.. personally, for me, it's a blast

ps. i think your zeppelin project is a great idea.. get on it..

I was just getting the idea that you hated all rap music and that you liked to criticize the idea of sampling (the M.I.A./Clash debate being one thing) but I can see that you do like some and therefore, I understand.

And I really wasn't going to show the Zeppelin samplings. Too many people have already done that.

The reason why I seem to support the use of samplings is that one of my favorite albums is The Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique. That album is full of sampling but they do an amazing job of it and turn it into an art form.

I love how NSpan throws out 11 examples of 11 different artists sampling rap songs, and these artists' examples of sampling are on a "greatest of" list, and the response is "Led Zeppelin stole too." Point being, if you can come up with 11 examples of the greatest rock songs that sampled others, from 11 different artists, please, go ahead and blow my mind.

At least Zeppelin can play instruments. Highly overrated band in my opinion, but at least they could play. And ya know, write music, rather than use a computer.

Buscemi wrote:I was just getting the idea that you hated all rap music and that you liked to criticize the idea of sampling (the M.I.A./Clash debate being one thing) but I can see that you do like some and therefore, I understand.

i was born in 1982, so the soundtrack of my formative years is 80s/90s hiphop (along with grunge and classic rock, of course).. it was unavoidable, whether you liked it or not (for the record, i was a big fan at the time).. i know these songs inside and out, so hearing where the samples come from has always brought a smile to my face.. everybody borrows (steals, whatever) in the music scene.. sampling would've been around a lot earlier if the technology were available.. Zeppelin is a good comparison.. hell, if they were a 21st century band, they probably would've used a few samples themselves..

for anyone interested in the history of popular music, digging up these artifacts is educational and entertaining.. sadly, though, most people are rather unenlightened when it comes to where all these hooks, riffs, beats, and breaks are coming from--and a lot of performers/producers/studios/labels aren't helping the cause, with the exception of a few artists who wear their influences on their sleeve and explicitly give credit where credit is due..

unlike the film industry, where remakes are usually clearly defined as remakes (and the originals are readily accessible), you gotta work a little harder to track down the originals in the music world..

The reason why I seem to support the use of samplings is that one of my favorite albums is The Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique. That album is full of sampling but they do an amazing job of it and turn it into an art form.

The Beastie Boys are one of the best examples of a band that samples frequently but incorporates all of it into THEIR work--rather than just lifting a hook and rapping over it.. the Beasties, at their best, are masters of modern music production


PS. i fuckin LOVE m.i.a.'s "Paper Planes"--but i feel bad for the sucker who thinks its a wholly original song.. maybe ignorance is bliss for some, but i'd rather be in the know

NSpan wrote:

PS. i fuckin LOVE m.i.a.'s "Paper Planes"--but i feel bad for the sucker who thinks its a wholly original song.. maybe ignorance is bliss for some, but i'd rather be in the know

i'm a sucker i guess, but even though I know now that it isnt original, i really dont care. I would say that, i'm a music fan, but i wouldnt say that i'm a music follower. If that makes any sense.

geezer9687 wrote:At least Zeppelin can play instruments. Highly overrated band in my opinion, but at least they could play. And ya know, write music, rather than use a computer.

good call.. "digital musician" is an oxymoron in my book.. that isn't to say there isn't some GREAT electronic music out there--but i'd venture to say that the vast majority of these higher-tier artists are also capable MUSICIANS (who, typically, incorporate instruments into their work as well)..

if you go see the Beastie Boys perform live, you can expect to see more on-stage than a microphone and a laptop

undeadmonkey wrote:

NSpan wrote:PS. i fuckin LOVE m.i.a.'s "Paper Planes"--but i feel bad for the sucker who thinks its a wholly original song.. maybe ignorance is bliss for some, but i'd rather be in the know

i'm a sucker i guess, but even though I know now that it isnt original, i really dont care. I would say that, i'm a music fan, but i wouldnt say that i'm a music follower. If that makes any sense.

i imagine the way i feel about it is the same most people around here would think of someone who enjoyed the remakes of Dawn of the Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Ring, The Departed, and The Hills Have Eyes without knowing they're all based on earlier works...

I enjoyed the Departed, and saw the Ring, before I knew they were remakes.