It Takes a Thief (Tommy Boy, 1994) by Coolio

Coolio's debut album is a very interesting one.  West Coast hip hop was very gangsta at the time, and Coolio's subject matter covered some of the same topics.  Yet, he spoke about these things with a sense of humor, vulnerability, and humility that a lot of hardcore rap didn't.  "County Line" discussed standing in the welfare line and "I Remember" is about getting shot by a gang member for unknowingly wearing the wrong colors.  Gangsta's Paradise is a great album too, has a great deal of sentimental value to me and was very successful.  Perhaps though, the only downside to its achievements is that it overshadowed Coolio's great piece of work from a year earlier.

Gangsta's Paradise (Tommy Boy, 1995) by Coolio

This is the album that got me interested in hip-hop.  "Gangsta's Paradise" is of course a big song, but it has a lot of sentimental value as well.  I'll never forget roller-skating parties in third-grade and the way everyone would react when that song came on.  But there are other strong points on this album as well, "Geto Highlites" is phenomenal with the Eazy-E and Magic Johnson references.  "Kinda High, Kinda Drunk" is a great party song, and "Bright As the Sun" is a solid song about the ghetto birds.  Even though he didn't say it as blatantly as N.W.A, don't get it twisted Coolio represented Compton too.  But he was able to have  fun as well, instead of just providing a soundtrack to chaos.