There Are Only 8 Left. Which One Will You Name The Greatest Hip-Hop Album Of All-Time?
Last September, Ambrosia For Heads launched a debate among its readers seeking to answer one of Hip-Hop’s most hotly-contested questions: what is the greatest Rap Album Of All-Time? “Finding The GOAT Album” has considered more than 120 albums from the 80s, 90s and 2000s (40 in each), with options for wild card and write-in candidates. Today (March 22) closed the Sweet 16 Round of “Finding The GOAT Album.” You—the voters—have chosen what you determined to be the Elite 8 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums Of All-Time.
Tomorrow (March 23) begins the march to the Final 4, and it includes 8 albums that are indisputably among Raps’s greatest. Public Enemy’s It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders, Eric B. & Rakim’s Paid In Full, Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, The Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready To Die and Nas’ Illmatic are the last ones standing.
Ironically, although the concentration of great albums in the Sweet 16 round was at its highest thus far, the margins of victory were also among the widest of the tournament, with the closest race, OutKast’s Aquemini vs. Paid In Full, being decided by nearly 10 percentage points. Classic albums like Jay-Z’s The Blueprint and Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele fell by massive margins. With only 8 albums left, however, there promise to be some extremely compelling match ups ahead.
Here are the results from the Sweet 16 round:
Eric B. & Rakim’s Paid In Full (54.82%) vs. Outkast’s Aquemini (45.18%)
Nas’ Illmatic (81.33%) vs. Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele (18.67%)
Dr. Dre’s The Chronic (61.72%) vs. Ice Cube’s Death Certificate (38.28%)
The Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready To Die (78.06%) vs. Jay-Z’s The Blueprint (21.94%)
Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… (64.15%) vs. Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP (35.85%)
A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders (65.03%) vs. Madvillain’s Madvillainy (34.97%)
Related: This Mix Of The 16 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums Of All Time Is 21 Minutes of Heaven (Audio)