| Release Date [1] | Artist | Album |
|---|
| January 9 | Various | Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (soundtrack) [2] |
| Kid Rock | Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp |
| The Brotherhood | Elementalz |
| January 23 | The D.O.C. | Helter Skelter |
| Speech | Speech |
| January 30 | Eazy-E | Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton |
| February 13 | 2Pac | All Eyez on Me |
| Fugees | The Score |
| Mad Skillz | From Where??? |
| February 20 | Ganksta N-I-P | Psychotic Genius |
| Lord Finesse | Awakening |
| February 27 | Dark Sun Riders | Seeds of Evolution |
| Suga-T | Paper Chasin' |
| March 5 | The Conscious Daughters | Gamers |
| March 12 | Plains of Fascination | Join the Ranks |
| Wise Intelligent | Killin' U... For Fun |
| March 19 | Bahamadia | Kollage |
| Rappin' 4-Tay | Off Parole |
| Smoothe da Hustler | Once Upon a Time in America |
| March 26 | Busta Rhymes | The Coming |
| Cella Dwellas | Realms 'n Reality |
| DJ Yella | One Mo Nigga ta Go |
| Ill Biskits | Chronicle of Two Losers: The First Edition |
| Nonchalant | Until the Day |
| April 2 | Beastie Boys | The In Sound From Way Out! |
| Geto Boys | The Resurrection |
| April 9 | MC Eiht | Death Threatz |
| MC Ren | The Villain in Black |
| Chino XL | Here to Save You All |
| Various | The Substitute (soundtrack) [3] |
| April 16 | Master P | Ice Cream Man |
| Kwest Tha Madd Lad | This Is My First Album |
| April 19 | Insane Clown Posse | Tunnel of Love |
| April 23 | Various | Sunset Park (soundtrack) [4] |
| Mac Mall | Untouchable |
| Erick Sermon | Insomnia |
| DJ Kool | Let Me Clear My Throat |
| April 30 | Celly Cel | Killa Kali |
| May 3 | Various | The Great White Hype (soundtrack) [5] |
| May 7 | Esham | Dead Flowerz |
| Kool Keith | Dr. Octagonecologyst |
| May 10 | Various | Original Gangstas (soundtrack) [6] |
| May 14 | Luke | Uncle Luke |
| MC Breed | To Da Beat Ch'all |
| Real Live | The Turnaround: A Long Awaited Drama |
| May 15 | Messy Marv | Messy Situationz |
| May 21 | Dr. Dre | First Round Knock Out |
| Lil' ½ Dead | Steel on a Mission |
| Too $hort | Gettin' It (Album Number Ten) |
| May 28 | Shyheim | The Lost Generation |
| Pete Miser | What It Be... |
| June 1 | People Without Shoes | Thoughts of an Optimist |
| Hyenas In The Desert | Die Laughing |
| June 4 | Delinquent Habits | Delinquent Habits |
| Digital Underground | Future Rhythm |
| Various | The Nutty Professor (soundtrack) [7] |
| Lost Boyz | Legal Drug Money |
| Ice-T | Ice-T VI: Return of the Real |
| Kool G Rap | Rated XXX |
| June 11 | Heather B | Takin' Mine |
| June 18 | Heltah Skeltah | Nocturnal |
| Jewel-T | Gangsta Chronicles |
| June 25 | Jay-Z | Reasonable Doubt |
| Punk Barbarians | Sex, Props, Cream... And The Drama In Between |
| Quad City DJ's | Get On Up and Dance |
| Various Artists | America Is Dying Slowly [8] |
| Prince Paul | Psychoanalysis: What Is It? |
| July 2 | Crucial Conflict | The Final Tic |
| De La Soul | Stakes Is High |
| N.W.A | Greatest Hits |
| Nas | It Was Written |
| July 9 | New Kingdom | Paradise Don't Come Cheap |
| July 15 | Funk Mobb | It Ain't 4 Play |
| Al' Tariq | God Connections |
| Sadat X | Wild Cowboys |
| July 23 | 11/5 | A-1 Yola |
| July 30 | A Tribe Called Quest | Beats, Rhymes and Life |
| Mr. Mike | Wicked Wayz |
| UGK | Ridin' Dirty |
| Various | Phat Beach (soundtrack) [9] |
| August 6 | Marvaless | Wiccked |
| Nine | Cloud 9 |
| August 13 | Akinyele | Put It In Your Mouth |
| Blahzay Blahzay | Blah Blah Blah |
| Cypress Hill | Unreleased and Revamped |
| Facemob | The Other Side of the Law |
| Tha Mexakinz | Tha Mexakinz |
| August 20 | Various | High School High (soundtrack) [10] |
| Insane Poetry | Blacc Plague |
| Paperboy | City to City |
| Silkk | The Shocker |
| August 27 | A+ | Latch Key Child |
| Passion | Baller's Lady |
| MC Lyte | Bad As I Wanna B |
| OutKast | ATLiens |
| Sir Mix-a-Lot | Return of the Bumpasaurus |
| September 3 | Do or Die | Picture This |
| Dru Down | Can You Feel Me |
| September 10 | Young Ed | Time To Stack |
| Foesum | Perfection |
| September 16 | DJ Shadow | Endtroducing..... |
| September 17 | Mr. 3-2 | The Wicked Buddah Baby |
| Whodini | Six |
| September 21 | Juggaknots | Clear Blue Skies |
| September 24 | Dr. Dre | Back 'n the Day |
| The Roots | Illadelph Halflife |
| Various | Set It Off (soundtrack) [11] |
| Raw Breed | Killa Instinct |
| October 1 | The Dayton Family | F.B.I. (Fuck Being Indicted) |
| Ras Kass | Soul on Ice |
| Guce | Clear and present danger [12] |
| October 10 | Ultra | Big Time |
| October 11 | Grav | Down to Earth |
| October 15 | Da Bush Babees | Gravity |
| Jeru the Damaja | Wrath of the Math |
| Poor Righteous Teachers | The New World Order |
| Xzibit | At the Speed of Life |
| October 22 | Westside Connection | Bow Down |
| PMD | Business is Business |
| M.O.P. | Firing Squad |
| House of Pain | Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again |
| Chuck D | Autobiography of Mistachuck |
| Above the Law | Time Will Reveal |
| October 27 | E-40 | Tha Hall of Game |
| October 29 | Black Moon | Diggin' In Dah Vaults |
| Da Brat | Anuthatantrum |
| II D Extreme | From I Extreme II Another |
| Ghostface Killah | Ironman |
| O.G.C. | Da Storm |
| Yo-Yo | Total Control |
| November 5 | LL Cool J | All World: Greatest Hits |
| Makaveli (formerly 2Pac) | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory |
| Mo Thugs | Family Scriptures |
| Richie Rich | Seasoned Veteran |
| Tela | Piece of Mind |
| November 12 | Eminem | Infinite |
| Various | Space Jam: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture [13] |
| Lil' Kim | Hard Core |
| Snoop Doggy Dogg | Tha Doggfather |
| November 19 | The Almighty RSO | Doomsday: Forever RSO |
| Flesh-N-Bone | T.H.U.G.S. (Trues Humbly United Gathering Souls) |
| Foxy Brown | Ill Na Na |
| Mobb Deep | Hell on Earth |
| Shaquille O'Neal | You Can't Stop the Reign |
| November 26 | Keith Murray | Enigma |
| Aftermath Entertainment | Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath |
| Various | NFL Jams [14] |
| B-Legit | The Hemp Museum |
| B.G. | Chopper City |
| December 3 | Three 6 Mafia | Chapter 1: The End |
| December 10 | Redman | Muddy Waters |
| Big Noyd | Episodes of a Hustla |
| Unknown | San Quinn | The Hustle Continues |
| Unknown | Deadringaz | New Ringa Order |
| Unknown | Freak Nasty | Controversee...That's Life...And That's the Way It Is |
| Unknown | Smoothe Da Hustler | Once Upon A Time In America |
| Unknown | Young Lay | Black 'N Dangerous |
| Unknown | Ill Biskits | Chronicles of Two Losers: First Edition |
