We recently named OutKast’s Stankonia one of 25 early 2000s rap albums that every current rap fan needs to know, and said:

OutKast did it all. The production — which combined sampling with live instrumentation and pulled from psychedelia, soul, funk, and more — was as musically ambitious as the classic ’60s and ’70s records that OutKast and other rappers were using as source material, yet OutKast and frequent collaborators Organized Noize still made it sound like ahead-of-its-time rap music. And the rapping itself was just as out of this world as the music. Andre 3000 was still three years away from “Hey Ya!,” but he already started flexing his singing muscles on this album, and he was still a razor-sharp rapper too. As always, Andre’s out-in-space style is grounded by Big Boi’s more down-to-earth style and bulletproof punchlines, and standout verses by Killer Mike and Gangsta Boo add grit to OutKast’s increasingly melodic sound too. These days, it’s easy to take for granted how fantastic OutKast were in their prime, and forget how they had to release masterpiece after masterpiece just to get accepted by the East and West Coast scenes that thought the South was a joke. But whenever you take the time to really dive back into Stankonia, OutKast sound even better than you remember. The hits (“Ms. Jackson,” “B.O.B.,” “So Fresh, So Clean”) have aged like fine wine and the deeper cuts rival them at just about any moment. It’s truly timeless.

We’re now excited to have just added Stankonia on double vinyl to the hip hop section of our online record store. It’s a classic that no record collection should be without, so order yours now.