89: Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)

I don’t even know how to qualify this one. I’m not a hip-hop expert, and I’m not even sure how to describe why or how this record has such a hold on me. If I was pairing records on this list of my personal favorites, I’d pair this with ODB’s Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, because both are institutions in my home. All I can say is I know hardly anything about rap, but these records move me, make me happy, force me to care about them in ways that very few rock’n'roll records do, and that’s saying something.

Wu-Tang Clan “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta Fuck Wit” (mp3)