Top 20 Hip-Hop Albums of All Time: No. 6

'Paid in Full,' by Eric B & Rakim
With "I came in the door, I said it before/I never let the mic magnetize me no more," the duo ushered in the beginning of bravado. Considered the most influential rap album of all time, 'Paid in Full' was genius. How did the pair know that their streetwise lyrics would launch a movement of ghetto storytellers and 'hood poets? Nevertheless, Rakim's smooth voice and effortless rhymes blended perfectly over jazz samples, making almost every cut seem flawless.