Stress: Extinction Agenda

Before Pharoahe Monch started playing party games, he was working with partner Prince Poetry to put together three of the best albums in hip-hop history. Stress: The Extinction Agenda is the best of this musical triple crown. Every song has an ace beat that mixes loose, jazzy samples and tightly coiled snares. And every song features two of hip-hop's all-time greatest MCs doing their best work, using their voices like instruments to create performances that are intellectually stimulating and rhythmically bangin'. Pharoahe's verse on "Bring It On" is raw enough to force even the hardest MCs to consider careers as accountants. One warning: Q-Tip's alleged guest appearance on "Let's Organize" consists of him repeating the words "Bounce, let's organize" over and over again with minor variations as the song fades. And it's still a great song. --Joe Schloss