#74 Kanye West, 'The College Dropout' (2004)

The debut release by Yeezy makes a significant jump. In the years preceding this record, West was an acclaimed producer for artists such as Jay-Z and Talib Kweli but he was never taken seriously as an artist in his own right by the powers that be. True to form, he spent 4 years recording and perfecting what would eventually become ‘The College Dropout.’ Before redefining his production later on, West pioneered Chipmunk Soul, a technique in which he would sample old Soul and RnB records and speed them up. It became a bit of a thing in Hip Hop before West abandoned it for that very reason.