Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full (Top 500 Countdown Update)

This is a solid hip hop album, with good beats and rhymes. It has a smooth groove throughout, and is fun to listen to. The instrumentals drag a bit for me, but all in all it's a great listen. The nice thing about it is the sound doesn't sound dated but still sounds fresh. "I Ain't No Joke" is a fantastic tune and sets a high bar for the rest of the album which it lives up to. Listening to something like this is a reminder of just how good hip hop can be.