Some people argue the modern trap sound really broke into the mainstream with Waka Flocka Flame’s influential Flockaveli album in 2010, and everything released before 2010 influenced that sound but is not necessarily trap as we would define it now. So even if some of the pre-2010 albums on this list are not really categorizable as trap albums, we included them anyway – either because they are Southern classics that influenced the direction trap would go, or simply because we feel these are the best albums of artists who often get categorized as trap-artists (even if their best albums arguably are not strictly trap-music). What do YOU think of this selection? Is this list missing essential trap albums? Some albums that shouldn’t be on this list? Drop your opinions in the comments! So, let’s get into it – this is our list with what we consider to be 25 of the best trap albums ever released – not ranked, but presented in order of the years they were released. Tha Carter III is Lil Wayne’s sixth studio album, it follows Tha Carter II as well as a long string of mixtape releases and guest appearances on other Hip Hop and R&B artists’ records, helping to maximize Lil Wayne’s exposure in the mainstream, which was further aided by features appearances on this album from high-profile artists such as Jay-Z, T-Pain, Busta Rhymes, and Kanye West, among others. Lil Wayne is an icon, one of the most influential rappers of the last two decades. Even if he is not exactly a trap-rapper himself, it’s not a stretch to say he helped father the mumble trap genre, spawning an army of face-tatted Lil Clones who have been flooding the mainstream with an endless stream of generic braindead music. For this reason, and because he released a lot of terrible music himself (in the 2010s, mostly), we have often dismissed Lil Wayne.

Especially among his early Cash Money work (either solo or as part of the Hot Boys) and his 2000s mixtapes plenty of solid music can be found, not to mention Tha Carter II, which is his absolute best album. Tha Carter III is one of the major albums of the aughts, one we didn’t much care for when it dropped but which has undeniably grown on us. The album is frontloaded, with a much weaker back half – but classic Lil Wayne bangers such as “A Milli”, “Dr. Carter”, and “Let The Beat Build” make up for the weaknesses. Tha Carter II is Lil Wayne’s best and most consistent album, but Tha Carter III is not far behind. Of course, this is not really a trap album, but we daresay it helped form the genre (no Young Thug without Lil Wayne) and therefore merits inclusion on this list. Young Thug is one of the most influential figures of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of trap music.

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