The 15-song project’s influences bounce from post-punk to electronic to industrial, while the Black Milk-produced “Really Doe” (which recruited Kendrick Lamar, Earl Sweatshirt and Ab-Soul) showed how potent Danny could be while coloring in the lines. Noisy, brash and at times totally bonkers, Danny Brown’s Warp debut fit perfectly with the label’s catalog and pushed the limits of how far experimental music could go while still keeping Hip Hop at its core. Production Credits: Paul White, Black Milk, The Alchemist, Playa Haze, Evian Christ, Petite Noir Nonetheless, the succinct project was ripe for catalog building for one of the game’s current elites. Brandishing polished storytelling abilities (with the real-life account of “Neighbors” and the moving title track), the Villematic undoubtedly forgot a lot of the energy at home at Forest Hills Drive. Cole returned once again to his December 9 roots with another project his adoring fans didn’t get a chance to fully prepare themselves for, but were 100 percent ready to take on. Cole, Ron Gilmore, Elite, Boi-1da, Cardiak, Deputy, Frank Dukes, Childish Major, Vinylz, Peter Cottontale, Elijah Scarlett, Steve Lacy, Velous, Nico Segal, BLVK, Nate Fox, Nate Jones, Theo Croker

A lot of discussion and debate went into creating this Best Rap Albums of 2016 list, as several artists pushed the year-end deadline to the very last millisecond, but we’re confident in our picks and would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.

Which is why we still love to give the great ones their just due. Whether they call them albums, albums-before-albums, LPs, EPs, projects or mixtapes, the attention to detail and time spent in production and mastering is at an all-time high. Hip Hop is as competitive as it’s ever been, with rappers vying for great ratings and reviews, record sales streams and that coveted Grammy nomination.

Don’t get it twisted, the full-length album still matters.

Kendrick lamar albums 2016