Aquemini (LaFace, 1998) by Outkast

This is a perfect album.  Everything about this album is flawless.  The production, the lyrics, the sequencing, the features.  All of Outkast's stuff is great, but this one was a game changer.  On their debut, they were teenagers.  On ATLiens, their differences started to show.  But on Aquemini, the perfect balance was found.  Big Boi became a phenomenal emcee and Andre 3000 proved that there wasn't anything he couldn't do.  "Rosa Parks", especially with that breakdown in the middle of the song, is one of rap's greatest singles. Raekwon is awesome on "Skew It on the Bar-B" and that is one of my al-time favorite Organized Noize beats.  Multiple epics like "Liberation" and "SpottieOttieDopaliscious" (clocking in at over eight minutes and seven minutes respectively) sit comfortably on an album that received critical and commercial acclaim.  It's a damn near impossible feat, but Outkast did it.  Therefore proving, once again, that these guys were ahead of their time.  This isn't just a classic rap album, it's a classic music album- regardless of genre.

The Infamous (Loud, 1995) by Mobb Deep

This is my favorite Mobb Deep album.  No disrespect to Murda Muzik ("The Realest" and the "Quiet Storm" records are great), but The Infamous is incredible.  "Shook Ones Pt. II" is one of the best hip-hop records ever.  The track with Nas and Raekwon is dope ("Eye For an Eye [Your Beef is Mine])" and Q-Tip's contributions only add to Havoc's already stellar board work.  This album is on par with Illmatic, Ready to Die, and Reasonable Doubt; not only are all four albums classic from a musical standpoint, but, culturally, they made sure east coast hip-hop still mattered at a time when Left Coast rap was dominating the entire hip hop scene.

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (Loud, 1995) by Raekwon

"Yo, first of all son, peep the arson/Many brothers I be sparkin' and bustin mad light inside the dark/Call me dough snatcher, just the brother for the rapture/I handglide, holdin' on strong, hard to capture/Extravagant, RZA bake the track and it's militant/Then I react, like a convict, and start killin' shit/It's manifested, the Gods work like appliances/Dealin' in my cypher I revolve around sciences/The 9th chamber, leave you trapped inside my hallway/You try to flee but you got smoked up by the doorway (blaow! blaow! blaow!)/No question, I send your ass back, right to the essence/Your whole frame is smothered in dirt, now how you restin'/While I'll be trapped by sounds, locked behind loops/Throwin' niggaz off airplanes cause +Cash Rules/Everything Around Me+ black, as you can see/Swallow this murder one verse like God Degree/Then analyze my soundtrack for satisfaction/You adapt like a flashback chain reaction" 

- Ghostface Killah, "Criminology"