The 50 Best Albums of 2008

43

Nas UNTITLED Def Jam

Originally called Nigger, this battle-rhyme tour de force blasts institutional racism like nothing since It Takes a Nation of Millions. . . . Nas satirizes fried chicken and the n-word over minimalist beats and soul hooks, and he's as funny as he is pissed off. But if there's outrage here, it's designed to instigate change.

44

The Raconteurs CONSOLERS OF THE LONELY Third Man/Warner Bros.

Jack White and Brendan Benson finally come together as an ecstatic, fully integrated live band, writing according to their evolving strengths. Thankfully those include not only Who's Next reverberations and Badfinger vocals, but also the White Stripes' blues-train locomotion.

• View List: The 50 Best Albums of 2008