250 Greatest Rappers of All-Time

To make this list, I created a detailed emcee rating system, and gave every emcee a score, so these are the top 250 scores in order. I thought this would fail horribly, but it actually worked out very well. Click here for the breakdown.

• Average album rating (10 points): Average rating of all albums (that I've heard) on the 5 Mech scale (doubled). Solo albums are weighed more heavily than group albums. Groups albums with only one emcee, or on which one emcee is the main focus are counted as solo albums.
• Discography length: 0 points for 2 or fewer albums. 1 point for 5 or few albums. 2 points for 8 or fewer albums. 3 points for 14 or fewer albums. 3.5 points for more than 14 albums. 4 points for being Moka Only.
• Consistency (-1 to 1.5 points): Percentage of albums rated 4 Mechs or higher.
• No solo album: -1 point for not having any solo albums. 0 points for having at least one solo album.
• Classics: .5 points for each 5 Mech solo album. .35 points for each 5 Mech group album.
• Material outside of albums (0 to 1 point): Guest appearances, mixtapes, compilations, B-sides, non-album singles, etc. 0 points for little to no outside material or outside material that doesn't help the emcee's discography. .5 points for some outside that strengthens the emcees discography. 1 point for outside material that's better than the emcee's albums.
• Longevity (0 to 1 point): Combination of how long they were active and how long they were in their prime. Increments of .25.
• Influence (1 to 3.5 points): How influential they were to hip hop in general and how influential they were to my personal listening habits.
• Success: (0 to 1 point): Self-explanatory. Increments of .25.
• My personal opinion (15 points): Primarily based on skill relative to their peers, but also based on how much I like them. I also added or removed half a point here for some emcees because of flaws in the system that either placed them too high or too low, but the system actually worked incredibly well, so I only had to do that a handful of times.
• Before anyone asks, I'll let you know any emcee's overall score if you want to know, but I'm not giving breakdowns of every category.

I rated 427 emcees, which I gathered from my own album lists, Frumdamentalz's list, various other best rapper lists on the internet, and just off the top of my head.
The highest score was Chuck D's 32.746. Rakim's score would have been higher if The Seventh Seal was 4 Mechs or better, or if he didn't release it at all. I think it's correct that Chuck D should be higher than Rakim now because Rakim hasn't released a great album in 13 years, and Public Enemy released a great album 3 years ago, and has 4 great albums since Rakim's last great album. There's also not the mystique that existed a year ago that Rakim would still release a great album today even though he hadn't released an album in over a decade. Rakim, Gza, or Aceyalone would take over the top spot if they release a 5 Mech classic. Posdnuos would take over the top spot if he releases a 4 Mech or better solo album. To make the list an emcee had to score a 23.735 or better (MF Grimm's score).
EDIT: I've added every emcee's score converted to a more readable 100-point scale. Also, this is a G.O.A.T. list, not just a best rappers list, so there are some less talented emcees ranked higher than more talented emcees as a result of their accomplishments.

1. Chuck D (100)
2. Rakim (99)
3. Gza (98)
4. Aceyalone (98)
5. Posdnuos (97)
6. Kool G Rap (97)
7. Black Thought (95)
8. J-Live (93)
9. 2Pac (93)
10. Common (92)
11. The Notorious B.I.G. (92)
12. Gift of Gab (90)
13. Talib Kweli (90)
14. Ghostface Killah (90)
15. Qwel (90)
16. Pharoahe Monch (90)
17. KRS One (90)
18. Mr. Lif (90)
19. Trugoy (89)
20. Kool Keith (89)
21. Nas (89)
22. Sean Price (88)
23. Raekwon (88)
24. Slick Rick (88)
25. Wordsworth (88)
26. Big Boi (87)
27. Andre3000 (87)
28. Q-Tip (87)
29. Aesop Rock (87)
30. MF Doom (86)
31. Percee P (86)
32. One Be Lo (86)
33. Sage Francis (86)
34. Redman (86)
35. Paris (85)
36. Ras Kass (85)
37. Busdriver (85)
38. Akrobatik (85)
39. Buck 65 (85)
40. Jay-Z (85)
41. C-Rayz Walz (85)
42. Ice Cube (85)
43. Guru (84)
44. MC Ren (84)
45. Big Daddy Kane (84)
46. Inspectah Deck (84)
47. Illogic (84)
48. Cee-Lo (84)
49. Cymarshall Law (84)
50. Brother Ali (84)
51. Beans (84)
52. Method Man (84)
53. Phife Dawg (84)
54. Buckshot (83)
55. Vast Aire (83)
56. Masta Ace (83)
57. Yeshua DaPoED (83)
58. Hell Razah (83)
59. Boots Riley (83)
60. Slug (83)
61. Freddie Foxxx (82)
62. Eminem (82)
63. Edo G (82)
64. Snoop Dogg (82)
65. Opio (82)
66. Lyrics Born (82)
67. Prolyphic (82)
68. Biz Markie (82)
69. Del the Funkee Homosapien (82)
70. High Priest (82)
71. El-P (82)
72. WC (82)
73. L.L. Cool J (81)
74. Rza (81)
75. John Robinson (81)
76. Erick Sermon (81)
77. A.G. (81)
78. Eyedea (81)
79. Capital D (81)
80. Jean Grae (81)
81. Mos Def (80)
82. Kurupt (80)
83. Grand Puba (80)
84. Lateef the Truthspeaker (80)
85. Myka 9 (80)
86. PMD (80)
87. Murs (80)
88. Vakill (80)
89. Breezly Brewin (80)
90. Big Pun (80)
91. Xzibit (79)
92. Napoleon Maddox (79)
93. Killah Priest (79)
94. M. Sayyid (79)
95. Bigg Jus (79)
96. Scarface (79)
97. Immortal Technique (79)
98. Homeboy Sandman (79)
99. O.C. (79)
100. Run (79)
101. D.M.C. (79)
102. Doseone (79)
103. Copywrite (79)
104. Tame One (79)
105. Edan (79)
106. M-1 (79)
107. Ol Dirty Bastard (79)
108. Sadat X (79)
109. Sixtoo (78)
110. Rakaa (78)
111. Jeru the Damaja (78)
112. Abstract Rude (78)
113. Prince Po (78)
114. Supernatural (78)
115. Pumpkinhead (78)
116. CL Smooth (78)
117. Juvenile (78)
118. Insight (78)
119. Godfather Don (78)
120. I Self Devine (78)
121. MC Lyte (78)
122. NYOil (78)
123. Tragedy Khadafi (78)
124. Kirby Dominant (78)
125. Freeway (78)
126. Beanie Sigel (78)
127. Bun B (78)
128. Tajai (78)
129. Evidence (78)
130. E-40 (78)
131. Dres (78)
132. Ill Bill (78)
133. Vordul (77)
134. Geechi Suede (77)
135. Sonny Cheeba (77)
136. B-Real (77)
137. Treach (77)
138. Awol One (77)
139. Moka Only (77)
140. Cage (77)
141. Planet Asia (77)
142. Saul Williams (77)
143. R.A. the Rugged Man (77)
144. Last Emperor (77)
145. Sticky Fingaz (77)
146. Kool Moe Dee (77)
147. Game (77)
148. Killa Sin (77)
149. Frukwan (77)
150. MC Dalek (77)
151. Donwill (77)
152. Rodan (77)
153. Khujo (77)
154. Tommy Gunn (77)
155. Mike Ladd (76)
156. JFK (76)
157. Louis Logic (76)
158. Billy Woods (76)
159. Esau (76)
160. Von Pea (76)
161. MC Serch (76)
162. Busta Rhymes (76)
163. Zumbi (76)
164. Pep Love (76)
165. Onry Ozzborn (76)
166. Prodigy (76)
167. Oktober (76)
168. AZ (76)
169. Vinnie Paz (76)
170. Lewis Parker (76)
171. Reef the Lost Cauze (76)
172. Canibus (76)
173. Chubb Rock (76)
174. Deacon the Villain (76)
175. Pase Rock (76)
176. Jakki (76)
177. Heavy D (75)
178. Fat Joe (75)
179. Kanye West (75)
180. Noreaga (75)
181. Sole (75)
182. Will Smith (75)
183. Queen Latifah (75)
184. Elzhi (75)
185. Speech (75)
186. Sleep (75)
187. El Da Sensei (75)
188. Chino XL (75)
189. The D.O.C. (75)
190. Michael Franti (75)
191. Big L (75)
192. Tash (75)
193. Wise Intelligent (75)
194. Labtekwon (75)
195. 2Mex (74)
196. Skit Slam (74)
197. The Grouch (74)
198. Lord Finesse (74)
199. Nocando (74)
200. Masta Killa (74)
201. Senim Silla (74)
202. Natti (74)
203. Charizma (74)
204. A-Plus (74)
205. Jneiro Jarel (74)
206. Raashan Ahmad (74)
207. Ladybug Mecca (74)
208. Tonedeff (74)
209. Afu-Ra (74)
210. Lauren Hill (74)
211. Iomos Marad (74)
212. Dagha (74)
213. Special Ed (74)
214. Schoolly D (74)
215. Styles P (74)
216. Eazy-E (74)
217. DMX (74)
218. General Steele (74)
219. Rob Sonic (73)
220. Phonte (73)
221. Young Bleed (73)
222. L*Roneous da Versifier (73)
223. Invincible (73)
224. 50 Cent (73)
225. Billy Danze (73)
226. Lil Fame (73)
227. Young M.C. (73)
228. Cryptic One (73)
229. Mr. Complex (73)
230. Just-Ice (73)
231. Breez Evahflowin (73)
232. Esoteric (73)
233. Willie Evans Jr. (73)
234. Louieville Sluggah (73)
235. Psycho Les (73)
236. Juju (73)
237. Tech N9ne (73)
238. Kurtis Blow (73)
239. Passage (73)
240. Siah (73)
241. Aloe Blacc (73)
242. Main Flow (73)
243. Missy Elliot (73)
244. Richie Rich (73)
245. Warren G (73)
246. MC Eiht (73)
247. Lupe Fiasco (73)
248. MC Tee (73)
249. Esham (73)
250. MF Grimm (73)

20 Emcees Whom I Feel Bad About Having to Leave Off
Some of them are victims of bad timing. Some of them haven't capitalized on their talent. Some of them will undoubtedly be there after another album or two.

• Bahamadia
• Blu
• Celph Titled
• Craig G
• D-Stroy
• Finale
• Grandmaster Caz
• Guilty Simpson
• iCON the Mic King
• J-Treds
• Mad Skillz
• Mazzi
• MC Juice
• Melle Mel
• Mr. J.Medeiros
• Mystic
• Paten Locke
• T La Rock
• Tim Dog
• Willie D

25 Best Discographies
These are the best scores based only on the sum of the discography related categories. Obviously Pos and Trugoy are tied for sixth but I don't feel like looking up the fix for that.

1. Aceyalone
2. J-Live
3. Black Thought
4. Chuck D
5. Gza
6. Posdnuos
7. Trugoy
8. Kool G Rap
9. Insight
10. MF Doom
11. Beans
12. Gift of Gab
13. 2Pac
14. MC Dalek
15. Buck 65
16. Mr. Lif
17. Talib Kweli
18. Billy Woods
19. Sean Price
20. Sage Francis
21. Slug
22. Common
23. Qwel
24. Raekwon
25. Busdriver

Top 10 Emcees by Region

East
1. Chuck D
2. Rakim
3. Gza
4. Posdnuos
5. Kool G Rap
6. Black Thought
7. J-Live
8. The Notorious B.I.G.
9. Talib Kweli
10. GhostfaceKillah

West
1. Aceyalone
2. 2Pac
3. Gift of Gab
4. Paris
5. Ras Kass
6. Busdriver
7. Ice Cube
8. MC Ren
9. Lyrics Born
10. Boots Riley

Midwest
1. Common
2. Qwel
3. One Be Lo
4. Illogic
5. Brother Ali
6. Slug
7. Eminem
8. Eyedea
9. Vakill
10. Napoleon Maddox

South
1. Big Boi
2. Andre3000
3. Cee-Lo
4. Scarface
5. M-1
6. Juvenile
7. Bun B
8. Khujo
9. Esau
10. Deacon the Villain