'Illmatic' has been recognized by writers and music critics as a landmark album in East Coast Hip Hop. It contributed to the regional scene's artistic renaissance in New York, while marking an influential, stylistic change in hip hop at the time. Its influence on subsequent hip hop artists has been attributed to the album's production and Nas's rapping. Several writers have cited Illmatic as one of the quintessential hip hop recordings and one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number
400 on
Rolling Stone's list of the
500 greatest albums of all time.
