144) Straight Outta Compton

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This was the start of gangsta rap, as well as the launching pad for the careers of Ice Cube, Eazy-E and Dr. Dre. Public Enemy were the revolutionaries, but N.W.A were the group that got a menacing letter from the FBI. "Fuck Tha Police" tells a story of institutionalized racism and bottomless anger atop producer Dre's equally bottomless beat. "There ain't never gonna be peace," said Ice Cube in 1989. N.W.A refused to offer anything like a positive message. "Do I look like a motherfucking role model?" asks Ice Cube on "Gangsta Gangsta." "To a kid looking up to me, life ain't nothing but bitches and money."

Total album sales: 2 million

Peak chart position: 37

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