you guys already covered it nicely, but here's my top picks, in no specific order:

MF Doom
Black Thought
Mos Def + Talib Kweli (good as separate entities, but amazing together)
Nas

and coming in just behind these cats... M-e-t-h-o-d Man.

Also like Lyrics Born for honorable mention.

While Tribe and De La are two of my all time favorites in terms of the music they put out, I think if the topic is straight mc skills, they're not really on the level with these other cats. Same goes for Kool Keith. A talented & creative artist does not a dope mc make... and vice versa imho. Of course there are cats who kill it in both categories, but that's not always the case.

Cosign on plexx's comment about Nas not being so hot live.

Lord Finesse

yeah, i feel the same way ^ about tribe and de la soul. and i like the overall effect of the roots, you know, but i don't think he's up there w/ the greatest mcs.

I loves me some tribe but that's more of a sum of the parts being greater than the whole. I wouldn't say de la as a whole is the world's best but posdnuos has this crazy complicated flow. Full of implied obscurity and dense allusion. It sounds simple until you start to break it down and you realize even though you didn't clearly understand the bulk of it you still got the message. That's skill. Just my 2 cents.

thank you! I was honestly getting mad when I read dude say that about de la, tribe yeah-I get it, but de la! sooo dope, and really focused on lyrics as well...I hear new things in Stakes is High everytime I hear it..prob. my favorite group and one of my fav. emcees

You know an MC is dope when one of their rhymes sticks in your head & you don't consciously (at first) remember who it is.

I always think of that line" Fuck bein' hard Posdunous is complicated"

So many MCs have so many lines that are etched in the head it's hard to say who the best is!

The best is who I'm bumping right now! MC Ren ??? Suzanne Vega? i Wayne?

Check this though, tell me it ain't one of the best writtens:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y08s4BlRv1Y

...the Fuck!

His flow is A-mazing!

I've heard some of his tracks but he hasnt riveted my attention, till now

How ignorant I am ;p

Canibus is one of them MCs who never shined within the 'album' format, but his live radio 'freestyles' were/are some of the illest ever- especially his stuff before his first album dropped (back in 1998).
I still have this 'best of' mixtape of his (1997)- the Tony Touch, Funk Flex, DJ Clue, DoWop shit. I gotta transfer that to digital before it wears out I listened to it so much.

"life can get in your ass, you gotta work it out" -Pos aka Plug1

or something like that, and I can't remember if him or big Dave was Plug 1 haha

i gotta put blueprint on since hes from ohio

on the track "anythings possible " the opener...

desk job or streetlife/ my fams gotta eat right?

those few words say a WHOLE lot

but dont 4get about buckshot and killa sin from killarmy!

Didn't read the thread, I'll list a couple

AZ
Nas
MF Doom
Biggie
Rakim
Big L


I dunno man there's too many

some dudes i dont think that are listed here....


Vakill
Qwel
People Under The Stairs
Dizzy Dustin and Andy Cooper from Ugly Duckling


thats all thats on my mind right now, but theres tons

I feel you. The late 90's had some of the illest freestyles I've ever heard, and Canibus, among others, was one of the best.

Good list, but we cant forget:

Qwel
&
Sage Francis

No one likes Vast Aire ?