There is so much to love about 2000s music. Not only did some of the late ‘90s breakout stars fully blossom, but we also got a handful of really, really good albums — many of which would even be considered the greatest of all time.
On the Hip Hop side, there was 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’, JAY-Z's The Blueprint, and Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP, to mention a few. Meanwhile, R&B gave us iconic projects like Aaliyah’s self-titled album, D’Angelo’s Voodoo, and Beyoncé’s Dangerously in Love. Each project brought something different to its respective genre, and we might even argue that you can still hear their influences in music that came out many years later.
Below, REVOLT revisited 11 of the most era-defining rap and R&B albums of the 2000s in no particular order. Take a look, then let us know which one is your favorite.
1. D’Angelo’s ‘Voodoo’
Fans waited five long years for D’Angelo’s follow-up to Brown Sugar, and with 2000’s Voodoo, he more than delivered. We can say with full confidence that it deserved its Grammy Award for Best R&B Album the following year. The blues-inspired “Devil’s Pie,” which originally appeared on the Belly soundtrack, married R&B and Hip Hop in a way that helped define the neo-soul era. “Send It On,” meanwhile, was dedicated to his and Angie Stone’s son, Michael Archer II. Of course, the LP’s crown jewel was “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” which inevitably became baby-making scripture for the early 2000s. D’Angelo was a real star, to say the least.
2. Eminem’s ‘Marshall Mathers LP’
The Marshall Mathers LP is responsible for introducing “stan” into the cultural zeitgeist and turning one of rap’s greatest MCs into a full-blown phenomenon. It houses several quintessential Eminem songs, including “The Real Slim Shady” and “The Way I Am,” with Dr. Dre obviously lending a hand on much of the production. While songs like “Kim” and “Drug Ballad” reaffirm that the Detroit lyricist was not exactly in the best place mentally, the project as a whole gave listeners a deeper view into his flawed psyche. The Marshall Mathers LP is one of the defining albums of the 21st century, people!
3. Outkast’s ‘Stankonia’
Outkast’s Stankonia earned a spot on REVOLT’s list of the most iconic album covers in Hip Hop, and you better believe the music was just as unforgettable. Beyond classics like “Ms. Jackson,” “B.O.B.,” and “So Fresh, So Clean,” André 3000 and Big Boi helped break down doors for Southern rap, introduced the world to Killer Mike, and set a high bar for the rap duos that came after them.
4. JAY-Z’s ‘The Blueprint’
JAY-Z’s The Blueprint lives up to its name in every sense. Home to tracks like “Renegade” and “The Ruler’s Back,” the album saw Jigga recruit some of the best producers of all time — Just Blaze, Kanye West, and Timbaland, to mention a few — for what was technically his second album of the new millennium. Maybe it’s JAY taking aim at Nas and Mobb Deep on “Takeover,” or maybe it’s the added emotional weight of songs like “Song Cry” and “Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)” given the album’s 9/11 release date, but there’s so much to unpack and appreciate here.
5. Aaliyah’s ‘Aaliyah’
You can only imagine how devastating it was for Aaliyah to give the world what many consider her magnum opus and pass away all in the same year. The “Are You That Somebody?” singer’s third and final album before her tragic death was filled to the brim with hits, including “Rock the Boat,” the Timbaland-backed “Try Again,” and “I Care 4 U,” to mention a few. The 16-song effort was yet another reminder that Aaliyah was, in fact, “More Than a Woman.” She was an icon whose music would go on to inspire artists like Kehlani, Jhené Aiko, Rihanna, and plenty more R&B stars.
6. 50 Cent’s ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’’
“They say I walk around like I got an S on my chest / Nah, that's a semi-auto and a vest on my chest,” 50 Cent raps in the very first verse of his debut LP, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. If that’s not one hell of an opener, then what is? Over the original 18 tracks, Fif gave us “Many Men (Wish Death),” “In da Club,” which still refuses to leave the party, and “21 Questions,” because apparently gangsta love songs were also well within his range. Then there are the features, with G-Unit protégés Tony Yayo, Young Buck, and Lloyd Banks, as well as Eminem, Uncle Snoop, and Destiny’s Child, all helping round out the album. We have zero complaints about the project that skyrocketed 50 Cent straight into superstardom.
7. Usher’s ‘Confessions’
Few R&B albums from the 2000s reached diamond status, let alone one as era-defining as Usher’s Confessions. Released after his then-recent breakup with TLC’s Chilli — though she’s maintained the LP wasn’t written about her — the 19-song project proved Usher had everything working in his favor: the charm, the writing, and the production to support those smooth vocals. Songs like “Yeah!” featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris, “Burn,” and more sounded just as good in 2004 as they did two decades later during the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show. Not many artists have an album that stays culturally relevant for that long, which says just about everything about how big Confessions was from the start.
8. Kanye West’s ‘The College Dropout’
When you think of Kanye West’s heydays, The College Dropout or one of the many other albums he released during the 2000s — Graduation and 808s & Heartbreak included — probably comes to mind. We’d argue that his debut album triumphs over everything from that era, mostly because it went against the gangster archetype that dominated so much of rap at the time. Ye’s production and lyricism were also operating on another level, as evidenced by “Through The Wire,” “Last Call,” “Slow Jamz” — need we keep going? There’s not much left to say about the 2004 LP that hasn’t already been said, but if nothing else, it proved the Chicago multihyphenate’s genius from the jump.
9. Beyoncé’s ‘Dangerously in Love’
Beyoncé’s solo debut, Dangerously in Love, proved she was every bit the superstar people already believed her to be. Led by “Crazy in Love,” which earned her and JAY-Z two of the album’s five Grammy wins, she followed with two more massive records: “Baby Boy” featuring Sean Paul and “Me, Myself and I.” That’s not even getting into all the gems scattered across the tracklist, like “Naughty Girl,” her Luther Vandross duet “The Closer I Get to You,” and yes, “Dangerously in Love 2.” Simply put, Dangerously in Love was Beyoncé firing on all cylinders right out of the gate. Not that we’ve ever really had a reason to doubt her.
10. Lil Wayne’s ‘Tha Carter III’
Weezy F. Baby, and the “F” stands for freakishly gifted lyricist. Tha Carter III is truly one of the greatest Lil Wayne albums to exist, so much so that it sold 1 million units in its opening week (the first to do so since 50 Cent’s aforementioned Get Rich or Die Tryin’). While sales alone don’t fully capture the magnitude of Tunechi’s impact on the game, the near-ubiquitous singles do: “Lollipop,” “A Milli,” the Bobby V-assisted “Mrs. Officer,” and “Mr. Carter” with the other greatest Carter of all time, JAY-Z. The 2000s were peak Wayne, and no, we will not be arguing.
11. Nelly’s ‘Country Grammar’
Put some respect on Nelly’s name! Another 2000 release, Country Grammar gave us bops like “Ride wit Me,” “E.I.,” and “Hot S**t,” along with collaborations featuring Lil Wayne and St. Lunatics, plus a few hilarious skits from Cedric the Entertainer. At the time, nobody was putting on for St. Louis quite like Nelly.