Year-end lists are a necessary evil. On the one hand, they help catalog twelve chaotic months of listening into an orderly group of bests. They’'re also somewhat arbitrary, often trumpeting fall favorites over early contenders that wore out their welcome. And though the title “best of” confers authority, classics are made over time. The past few years in particular are littered with former “instant classics” that now seem just merely great: Eminem'’s The Eminem Show, Cam’ron’'s Purple Haze -- …the list goes on and on.

But that'’s just my opinion.

Anyway, since Plug One just launched two months ago, this unranked list of noteworthy albums is humbler than most. It doesn’t include any of the year’'s leading mixtapes (Lil Wayne and DJ Drama’'s Dedication II, Asheru’'s Hip-Hop Dock-Trine: The Boondocks Mixtape) nor some of the better mainstream albums (Busta Rhymes’' The Big Bang, Rhymefest’'s Blue Collar, Field Mob'’s Light Poles and Pine Trees) because I didn’'t get a chance to fully assess them. Space considerations kept out several notable independent records, including Aceyalone’'s Magnificent City, the Procussions’' 5 Sparrows for 2 Cents, and Lightheaded’'s Wrong Way. If 2007 proves as good for hip-hop music as 2006 has been, this list will certainly expand next year.

Having said that, I hope this list makes a statement to those who think that non-mainstream hip-hop, or indie hip-hop, or whatever you want to call it is a moribund genre full of cranks and wannabes. All of the 40 discs on this list are good; some are even great; and a few may someday earn classic status. Most of the selections are left of the dial.