Best Albums of 1994
Ranked by our critic's grades, best first.
IllmaticTen tracks, no filler, and the blueprint for what a rap album can be. Nothing on it has aged a day.Read the review
My LifeOne of the great depression records, sung by someone who was not sure she would survive making it.
Ready to DieThe best debut in East Coast rap, and the album that gave New York its sound back.
SouthernplayalisticadillacmuzikTwo teenagers and a live band arguing that the South had its own thing, and winning the argument immediately.
The Division BellA much better band record than the one before it, with Wright restored and one genuinely great closing track.
Blunted on RealityA group with three enormous talents pushed into a hard New York sound that fits none of them.