There is no single definitive ranking of 2019’s hip-hop albums. This guide brings together critic aggregation and year-end editorial selections to recommend 20 records across UK rap and grime, experimental hip-hop, Southern rap, boom-bap and more. The picks are a curated listening guide, not an objective scorecard; different publications and listeners will arrive at different lists.
20 hip-hop albums from 2019 to hear
The ordering below is for navigation, not a claim that one album is objectively better than the next. Album of the Year’s weighted critic listing offers a useful starting point, while year-end editorial lists add perspective beyond any one aggregator. Its scores and review totals describe that site’s system, not a universal measure of quality.
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Little Simz — GREY Area
A strong entry point for incisive, self-assured UK rap. Album of the Year’s 2019 hip-hop listing gives it a score of 88 based on 21 reviews, the highest listing score among the records covered here.
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Dave — PSYCHODRAMA
A UK rap release with a narrative focus, recommended for listeners drawn to personal storytelling. Album of the Year lists an 88 score from 15 reviews.
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Kano — Hoodies All Summer
A grime-rooted choice that brings a different UK scene into the year’s conversation. Album of the Year lists an 86 score from 17 reviews.
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JPEGMAFIA — All My Heroes Are Cornballs
For listeners looking for a more experimental, unpredictable approach to rap and production. Album of the Year lists an 85 score from 17 reviews.
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Rapsody — Eve
A concept-driven recommendation centered on Black women. Hip Hop Golden Age placed it second in its 2019 year-end list; Album of the Year lists an 86 score from 11 reviews.
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Freddie Gibbs and Madlib — Bandana
A collaboration that pairs Freddie Gibbs’s rapping with Madlib’s production, and a leading pick for listeners who value producer-rapper chemistry. Hip Hop Golden Age named it its album of the year. Album of the Year lists an 84 score from 30 reviews.
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Lizzo — Cuz I Love You
A rap-adjacent, genre-crossing option in a broad hip-hop guide. Album of the Year lists an 83 score from 32 reviews.
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Sampa the Great — The Return
A distinctive addition to a year that reached beyond the most familiar U.S. rap scenes. Album of the Year lists an 82 score from 13 reviews.
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Little Brother — May The Lord Watch
A reunion-era selection suited to listeners looking for a more classic rap sensibility. Album of the Year lists an 85 score from six reviews.
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Denzel Curry — ZUU
A Southern hip-hop pick that adds a different regional energy to the list. Album of the Year lists an 82 score from 12 reviews.
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slowthai — Nothing Great About Britain
A UK rap release that broadens the list’s range beyond U.S. hip-hop. Album of the Year includes it among the next ten records in its 2019 hip-hop listing.
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MIKE — tears of joy
An option for listeners exploring a more introspective, underground rap lane. Album of the Year includes it among the next ten in its listing.
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Kojey Radical — Cashmere Tears
Another UK rap recommendation, included to represent the breadth of the year’s scene. Album of the Year includes it among the next ten in its listing.
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Danny Brown — uknowhatimsayin¿
A distinctively off-center rap choice for listeners interested in an individual voice and approach. Album of the Year includes it among the next ten in its listing.
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Griselda — WWCD
A group release to explore if you want a collective rather than a solo-artist perspective. Album of the Year includes it among the next ten in its listing.
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Maxo Kream — Brandon Banks
A Southern rap selection that helps balance the list’s UK and experimental entries. Album of the Year includes it among the next ten in its listing.
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Blu & Exile — True & Livin’
A pick for listeners seeking a more traditional, lyric-forward hip-hop approach. Album of the Year includes it among the next ten in its listing.
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Moor Mother — Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes
An adventurous entry for listeners drawn to experimental and boundary-pushing work. Album of the Year includes it among the next ten in its listing.
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Stormzy — Heavy Is the Head
A further UK rap selection, offering another route into the variety of British releases represented in 2019. Album of the Year includes it among the next ten in its listing.
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Skyzoo & Pete Rock — Retropolitan
A boom-bap-leaning choice that rounds out the list with a producer-and-MC collaboration. Album of the Year includes it among the next ten in its listing.
Why these 20 albums made the guide
The list combines Album of the Year’s weighted critic-score listing with year-end selections that use different editorial approaches. Hip Hop Golden Age put Bandana first and Eve second. Bandcamp Daily presented ten “sure shots” alphabetically rather than as a ranking, including Choosey & Exile’s Black Beans and clipping.’s There Existed an Addiction to Blood. Salon’s five-album list included 2 Chainz’s Rap or Go to the League. Stereogum explicitly framed its own list as subjective. The differences are useful: they show why a broad listening guide should not simply copy one score table.
For a first listen, start with GREY Area, Eve and Bandana: all have clear support in the sources, though the sources disagree on their relative standing. Then choose by preference: UK rap and grime, more experimental production, Southern hip-hop, boom-bap, or concept-led writing. The wider field includes more than one national scene and more than one idea of what a strong rap album can sound like.
How to read the critic scores
Album of the Year’s figures are listing scores calculated from critic reviews represented on that site, alongside each album’s review count. They help identify records with substantial critical recognition within that aggregation, but a score is not a measurement of objective artistic merit. Review totals also vary, so a score supported by 30 reviews and one supported by six do not represent identical bodies of coverage.
The editorial lists provide a different kind of evidence: Hip Hop Golden Age ranks its choices, Bandcamp Daily’s ten selections are alphabetical, and Stereogum describes its list as one subjective perspective. Treat these sources as complementary recommendations rather than interchangeable rankings.
Sources and scope
- Album of the Year: The Best Hip Hop Albums of 2019 — critic listing, scores, review counts and candidate pool.
- Hip Hop Golden Age: The Best Hip Hop Albums Of 2019 — year-end editorial ranking.
- Bandcamp Daily: The Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2019 — ten selections presented alphabetically.
- Stereogum: The 10 Best Rap Albums Of 2019 — explicitly subjective year-end list.
- Salon: Top 5 rap and hip hop albums of 2019 — a separate editorial selection.
This is a broad U.S.-English-language guide, not an exhaustive account of every country, language, or independent release from 2019. The selections reflect the cited lists and aggregation, not a universal consensus.
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