The Notorious B.I.G. Greatest Hits (Compilation)

Still counted as one of the game’s finest a decade after his death, Christopher Wallace gets enough love that his Greatest Hits collection was able to debut at Number One on the album chart. Biggie’s intensity was furthered by a deceptively mellow delivery, while even his lusher-sounding material stood in the shadow cast by his anger and what he recognized as a morally flawed past. Those sides are once again fleshed out here, with tracks from Ready to Die and Life After Death joined by J.U.N.I.O.R. Mafia’s “Get Money” and various posthumously engineered duets. (The popular “One More Chance” remix and the, er, notorious B-side “Who Shot Ya” are here as well.) The sense that a second generation of fans is discovering the rapper makes this an important reminder of a foreshortened legacy — one that will continue to thrive.