Top 1000 Greatest Hip-hop Rap Songs Of All-time

Alphabetical by artist, not ranked. These are essential tracks.

Here are 50 foundational songs that would appear in almost any credible Top 1000. Use these as your anchors.

The legends who defined the decades.

The Argument: Without "Rapper's Delight," this list is a text file on a dead server. It is not the best technical song, but "greatest" measures magnitude of impact.

Released on a whim, recorded live in the studio, it introduced the world to the syntax of Rap. That three-note bassline by Chic (Nile Rodgers) took a Bronx block party and put it on Top 40 radio globally. Top 1000 GREATEST Hip-Hop Rap Songs of All-Time

Hank, Master Gee, and Wonder Mike improvised rhymes, referencing everything from hotel soap to Superman. It was silly. It was raw. It was the blueprint.

Every MC who picks up a mic, every producer who drops a beat, and every fan who does the "rock the boat" hand motion owes a debt to this 15-minute epic. It is the Big Bang. It is #1. Alphabetical by artist, not ranked

The Bling Era, The Neptunes domination, and the rise of the Southern bounce.