These days it's almost embarrassing to admit you like hip hop, one needs only to listen to this album to realize the amazing potential for hip-hop as high artistic expression in music. Breakdown of the album: Start with the beat. Something jazzy, not too complicated, throw in a synth if you must. Don't put too many layers on top. You don't need high pitched samples. Then get an intelligent MC who can rhyme about something other than their wealth, women, and criminal background. The more skillful they are at feeling and flowing to the beat, the less production you need. Appropriate social commentary and lessons in life will push it into classic territory. Sure Illmatic and Ready to Die are classics, but you don't need an album full of violence and tales from the hood to make good hip hop. All through the album the beats are deep and the bass is funky without being overbearing. There are a few tracks that are less than superb, but the album is still a classic. "Buggin' Out," "Butter," "Rap Promoter," "Rhymes and Stuff," "Jazz," and "Scenario" are all perfect. All the tracks on this album either have your head nodding, hips shaking, or mind working. The way the music matches Q-tips rhymes flawlessly always astounds me and Phife's lyrics keep the beat going. Busta Rhymes' verse on "Scenario" is a welcome addition to the laid back feel of this album (anyone else think Busta sounded like ODB back in the day?). All in all, this is a classic album. What De La Soul started, A Tribe Called Quest perfected. The Low End Theory ranked #154 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, ranked #32 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s", and was the album of the year for Spex magazine (also #10 on the 100 Albums of the Century). It also made it onto the 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century (Vibe magazine) and Essential Recordings of the 90s (Rolling Stone). I can't say enough about this album or about this group. This is a must have not for rap lovers but for music lovers.

While the packaging has few frills, the record within has some of the best and most inventive hip hop of all time. A must for any vinyl collection.

Great audio quality Old school tracks that take you back in the day Great to have vinyl back and hear it with a different sound then cd

This is one of my favorite hip hop records - and I think it captures this era of rap perfectly. This reissue is right on target, sounds great.

Low End Theory sounds like it was recorded in today's era. This record never ages.