After The Low End Theory dropped as hip-hop’s most resounding dismissal of the “sophomore slump” concept ever, A Tribe Called Quest actually topped it. Here they made listeners advance from “wow, Phife can spit” to “holy shit, Phife is a punchline god” while making it exponentially harder to figure out if there was a better double-threat producer/MC than Q-Tip. Hard as hell, but also joyous as anything.

– Nate Patrin