Only Built 4 Cuban Linx is arguably the best quasi-solo Wu-Tang album (Ghostface Killah literally gets equal billing). Most of contemporary hip-hop's Mafioso-inspired themes and MC street aliases are inspired by the "Wu-Gambinos" motif introduced on this 18-cut LP. As the Wu's preeminent storyteller, Raekwon (a.k.a. "The Chef") paints Technicolor Kool G Rap-style pictures of high-stakes drug trafficking on "Criminology," and then mixes his street sensibility with 5% Nation of Islam reasoning on "Knowledge God." This album is loaded with RZA's finest production moments, as he samples a barrage of kung-fu flick sound bites, plays discordant keyboards on "Incarcerated Scarfaces," and utilizes some eerie female vocals on "Rainy Dayz." Rae's timeless duet with Nas on "Verbal Intercourse" further cements the album's status as one of the best of all time. —Dalton Higgins