[Miss Modular]

De La Soul, Three Feet High and Rising (1989). It's one of my favorite albums EVER, let alone one of my favorite hip hop albums. It's loads of fun, and very sample heavy--hard to get away with today. I admit I'm not really familiar with their work from then on, as they did take a darker turn from there.

A Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory (1991) and Midnight Marauders (1993). Both of these albums have a great Jazz/Funk vibe. Phife and Q-Tip are very clever, quick witted, and self-depreciating rappers when they were working together. You could say that Arrested Development was a more pop-oriented ATCQ, but to me their work doesn't hold up as much. While there are some dated references in both those albums I mentioned, the production is very understated and the albums hold up for the most part. ATCQ recently reunited, but I hear their new single isn't as good as their old stuff, but they were going downhill before they broke up anyway.