The 100 Best Albums of The Complex Decade

As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, it seemed only right to take a little stroll down memory lane and count down The 100 Best Albums of The Complex Era.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Ten years is a mighty long time in music. Countless careers have popped, flopped, and risen again since Complex first launched. But music—all types of music—has always been essential to who we are and what we do here at the Plex. So as we celebrate our 10th anniversary, it seemed only right to take a little stroll down memory lane and count down The 100 Best Albums of The Complex Era.

It was a tough task that required endless meetings, and some serious (at times even heated) team dialogue. For one thing, the album format has gone through some major changes over the past decade; we ended up including a few mixtapes on this list because they deserved to be on there. 

When all was said and done we ended up with a monster list that runs the gamut from hip-hop heroes to indie faves, some unstoppable pop stars, electronic eclectics, and everything in between. So click through as we review these certified Complex Classics.

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100. Kendrick Lamar, Section.80 (2011)

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99. The Kills, Midnight Boom (2008)

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98. Eminem, Recovery (2010)

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97. Miike Snow, Miike Snow (2009)

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96. Joe Budden, Mood Muzik 2: Can It Get Any Worse? (2006)

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95. Damian Marley, Welcome To Jamrock (2005)

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94. Freeway, Philadelphia Freeway (2003)

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93. Kanye West, Late Registration (2005)

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92. Passion Pit, Manners (2009)

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91. Ghostface, The Pretty Toney Album (2004)

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90. The Streets, A Grand Don't Come For Free (2004)

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89. OutKast, Speakerboxxxx/The Love Below (2003)

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88. Lil Wayne, Dedication 2 (2006)

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87. A$AP Rocky, Live.Love.A$AP (2011)

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86. Jay-Z, American Gangster (2007)

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85. Mavado, Gangsta for Life: The Symphony of David Brooks (2007)

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84. Drake, Thank Me Later (2010)

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83. Modest Mouse, Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004)

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82. Mars Volta, De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003)

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81. Diddy, Press Play (2006)

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80. M83, Saturdays = Youth (2008)

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79. Raekwon, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II (2009)

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78. Franz Ferdinand, Franz Ferdinand (2002)

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77. Sean Price, Jesus Price Supastar (2007)

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76. Crystal Castles, Crystal Castles (2008)

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75. Danny Brown, XXX (2011)

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74. Beach House, Teen Dream (2010)

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73. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III (2008)

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72. The Roots, How I Got Over (2010)

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71. Madvillain, Madvillainy (2004)

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70. Bubba Sparxxx, Deliverance (2003)

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69. Cut Copy, In Ghost Colours (2008)

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68. Devin the Dude Just Tryin' Ta Live (2002)

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67. Gnarls Barkley, St. Elsewhere (2006)

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66. Cam'ron, Come Home With Me (2002)

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65. Frank Ocean, nostolgia/ULTRA (2011)

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64. Justice, (2007)

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63. Adele, 21 (2010)

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62. Lupe Fiasco, Food & Liquor (2006)

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61. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fever to Tell (2003)

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60. Clipse, Lord Willin' (2002)

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59. John Legend, Get Lifted (2004)

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58. Nas, God's Son (2002)

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57. Three 6 Mafia, Most Known Unknown (2005)

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56. TV On the Radio, Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)

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55. Animal Collective, Strawberry Jam (2007)

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54. Lykke Li, Youth Novels (2008)

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53. The Killers, Hot Fuss (2004)

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52. MIA, Arular (2005)

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51. 50 Cent, 50 Cent Is the Future (2002)

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50. Mariah Carey, Emancipation of Mimi (2005)

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49. Sean Paul, Dutty Rock (2002)

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48. Young Jeezy, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 (2005)

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47. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)

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46. Rick Ross, Teflon Don (2010)

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45. The Postal Service, Give Up (2003)

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44. Kid Cudi, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day (2009)

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43. Gorillaz, Demon Days (2005)

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42. R. Kelly, Chocolate Factory (2003)

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41. Wiz Khalifa, Kush & Orange Juice (2010)

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40. Drake, So Far Gone (2009)

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39. Arcade Fire, Funeral (2004)

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38. Kanye West, 808s & Heartbreak (2008)

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37. T.I., Trap Muzik (2003)

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36. The Black Keys, Thick Freakness (2008)

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35. Cam'ron, Purple Haze (2004)

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34. The-Dream, Love Vs. Money (2009)

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33. Common, Be (2005)

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32. Sizzla, Da Real Thing (2002)

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31. Scarface, The Fix (2002)

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30. Nelly Furtado, Loose (2006)

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29. Lil Wayne, Da Drought 3 (2007)

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28. Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago (2008)

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27. The Game, The Documentary (2005)

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26. M.I.A., Kala (2007)

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25. T.I., King (2006)

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24. Santogold, Santogold (2008)

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23. Kid Cudi, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (2010)

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22. Bloc Party, Silent Alarm (2005)

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21. Kanye West, The College Dropout (2004)

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20. Hot Chip, The Warning (2006)

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19. Birdman & Lil Wayne, Like Father, Like Son (2006)

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18. The Weeknd, House of Balloons (2011)

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17. The Diplomats, Diplomatic Immunity (2003)

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16. Usher, Confessions (2004)

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15. Young Jeezy, The Recession (2008)

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14. Drake, Take Care (2011)

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13. Jay-Z & Kanye West, Watch The Throne (2011)

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12. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black (2006)

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11. MGMT, Oracular Spectacular (2007)

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10. Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury (2006)

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9. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter II (2005)

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8. LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver (2007)

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7. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)

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6. Jay-Z, The Black Album (2003)

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5. Eminem, The Eminem Show (2002)

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4. Justin Timberlake, FutureSex / LoveSounds (2006)

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3. The White Stripes, Elephant (2003)

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2. 50 Cent, Get Rich Or Die Tryin' (2003)

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1. Kanye West, Graduation (2007)

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