Complex (USA) - The Best Rap Song, Every Year Since 1979 (2015)

[StevieFan13]

http://www.complex.com/music/best-rap-songs-since-1979/
Also ineligible for now.
1979: Sugarhill Gang “Rapper's Delight”
Honorable Mentions: Kurtis Blow “Christmas Rappin'”

1980: Kurtis Blow “The Breaks”
Honorable Mentions: Treacherous Three f/ Spoonie Gee “New Rap Language”

1981: Afrika Bambaataa and the Jazzy Five “Jazzy Sensation (Bronx Version)”
Honorable Mentions: Treacherous Three “Feel the Heartbeat,” Funky Four Plus One “That's the Joint,” T-Ski Valley “Catch the Beat”

1982: Grandmaster Flash “The Message”
Honorable Mentions: Afrika Bambaataa “Planet Rock,” Cold Crush Brothers “Weekend,” Busy Bee Starski “Making Cash Money”

1983: Run-DMC “Sucker MCs”
Honorable Mentions: Grandmaster Melle Mel “White Lines,” Run-DMC “It's Like That”

1984: T La Rock “It's Yours”
Honorable Mentions: Cold Crush Brothers “Fresh, Wild, Fly, and Bold,” Whodini “Five Minutes of Funk,” LL Cool J “I Need a Beat”

1985: Slick Rick “La Di Da Di”
Honorable Mentions: LL Cool J “Rock the Bells,” Run-DMC “King of Rock,” Schoolly D “P.S.K. 'What Does It Mean?'”

1986: BDP “South Bronx”
Honorable Mentions: Beastie Boys “Paul Revere,” Run-DMC “Peter Piper,” Biz Markie “Make the Music With Your Mouth Biz”

1987: Public Enemy “Rebel Without a Pause”
Honorable Mentions: Eric. B & Rakim “Paid in Full (Coldcut Remix),” Audio Two “Top Billin',” EPMD “It's My Thing”

1988: Big Daddy Kane “Ain't No Half Stepping”
Honorable Mentions: Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock “It Takes Two,” EPMD “You Gots to Chill,” Eazy-E “Boyz-n-the-Hood (Remix)”

1989: Public Enemy “Fight the Power”
Honorable Mentions: N.W.A “Fuck the Police,” De La Soul “Me Myself & I,” EPMD “So Wat Cha Sayin”

1990: LL Cool J “Mama Said Knock You Out”
Honorable Mentions: Public Enemy “Welcome to the Terrordome,” A Tribe Called Quest “Bonita Applebum,” Digital Underground “Humpty Dance”

1991: Black Sheep “The Choice Is Yours”
Honorable Mentions: Cypress Hill “How I Could Just Kill a Man,” Geto Boys “Mind Playing Tricks on Me,” Naughty by Nature “Uptown Anthem”

1992: Dr. Dre f/ Snoop Dogg “Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang”
Honorable Mentions: A Tribe Called Quest “Scenario,” Ice Cube “It Was a Good Day,” Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth “T.R.O.Y.”

1993: Snoop Dogg “Gin and Juice”
Honorable Mentions: Wu-Tang Clan “C.R.E.A.M.,” 2Pac “I Get Around,” The Pharcyde “Passing Me By”

1994: The Notorious B.I.G. “Juicy”
Honorable Mentions: Nas “It Ain't Hard to Tell,” Warren G “Regulate,” Common “Used to Love H.E.R.”

1995: Mobb Deep “Shook Ones Part II”
Honorable Mentions: Method Man f/ Mary J. Blige “I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By,” the Notorious B.I.G. “Who Shot Ya,” Luniz “I Got 5 on It”

1996: 2Pac “California Love”
Honorable Mentions: OutKast “Elevators,” the Fugees “Ready or Not,” Bone Thugs-n-Harmony “Tha Crossroads”

1997: Puff Daddy “It's All About the Benjamins (Remix)”
Honorable Mentions: Busta Rhymes “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See,” the Notorious B.I.G. “Hypnotize,” Ma$e “Feel So Good”

1998: DMX “Ruff Ryders Anthem”
Honorable Mentions: Jay Z “Hard Knock Life,” Lauryn Hill “Doo Wop (That Thing),” Juvenile “Back That Azz Up”

1999: Dr. Dre “Still D.R.E.”
Honorable Mentions: Jay Z “Big Pimpin,” Mobb Deep “Quiet Storm,” the Roots “You Got Me”

2000: Jay Z “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)”
Honorable Mentions: Eminem “Stan,” OutKast “Ms. Jackson,” MOP “Ante Up”

2001: Jadakiss “We Gonna Make It”
Honorable Mentions: Jay Z “U Don't Know,” Missy Elliott “Get Ur Freak On,” G-Dep f/ Diddy and Black Rob “Let's Get It”

2002: Eminem “Lose Yourself”
Honorable Mentions: 50 Cent “Wanksta,” Clipse “Grindin,” Cam'ron “Oh Boy!”

2003: 50 Cent “In da Club”
Honorable Mentions: Lil Jon and Eastside Boyz f/ Ying Yang Twinz “Get Low,” Freeway “What We Do…,” 50 Cent “What Up Gangsta”

2004: Mike Jones f/ Slim Thug and Paul Wall “Still Tippin”
Honorable Mentions: Terror Squad f/ Fat Joe and Remy Ma “Lean Back,” Snoop Dogg f/ Pharrell “Drop It Like It's Hot,” Crime Mob “Knuck If You Buck”

2005: Three 6 Mafia “Stay Fly”
Honorable Mentions: The Game f/ 50 Cent “Hate It or Love It,” Kanye West “Gold Digger,” Young Jeezy “Soul Survivor”

2006: T.I. “What You Know”
Honorable Mentions: Rick Ross “Hustlin',” Jim Jones “Ballin',” Rich Boy “Throw Some Ds”

2007: Kanye West “Can't Tell Me Nothing”
Honorable Mentions: UGK f/ Outkast “International Player's Anthem (I Choose You),” 50 Cent “I Get Money,” DJ Khaled “We Takin Over”

2008: Lil Wayne “A Milli”
Honorable Mentions: Young Jeezy f/ Kanye West “Put On,” Kid Cudi “Day n Nite,” Shawty Lo “Dey Know”

2009: Jay Electronica “Exhibit C”
Honorable Mentions: Drake “Best I Ever Had,” Gucci Mane “Lemonade,” Drake “Forever”

2010: Rick Ross “B.M.F.”
Honorable Mentions: Waka Flocka Flame “Hard in da Paint,” Kanye West f/ Rick Ross, Jay Z, Nicki Minaj, Bon Iver “Monster,” Lil B “Wonton Soup”

2011: Jay Z and Kanye West “N****s in Paris”
Honorable Mentions: Meek Mill f/ Rick Ross “Ima Boss,” DJ Khaled f/ Drake, Rick Ross, and Lil Wayne “I'm on One,” Tyler, the Creator “Yonkers”

2012: G.O.O.D. Music “Mercy”
Honorable Mentions: Chief Keef “I Don't Like,” Rick Ross f/ Drake and French Montana “Stay Schemin',” Kendrick Lamar f/ MC Eiht “m.A.A.d. city”

2013: Kanye West “New Slaves”
Honorable Mentions: Drake “Started From the Bottom,” Trinidad Jame$ “All Gold Everything,” A$AP Ferg “Shabba”

2014: Drake “0-100”
Honorable Mentions: Rich Gang “Lifestyle,” Bobby Shmurda “Hot Nigga,” T.I. f/ Young Thug “About the Money”

Interesting selections, especially when compared to The Rap Yearbook. Weird how Eminem doesn't even get an honorable mention for '99.

[bootsy]

Decent list for Complex. They threw some not so obvious choices in there which is good.