These albums reflect 12 months of listening to and writing about the music that the genre’s artists have to offer.

In 2005, Young Jeezy led a Southern trap paradigm shift, marking the beginning of the end of East Coast hip-hop dominance.

Despite standout work by Wu-Tang Clan and others, the rap industry warred with itself, yielding an unmistakable feeling of dread.

Thanks to stars like Run-D.M.C. and Roxanne Shanté, rap grew fitfully into a pop culture fixture. But respect for the art remained elusive.