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What does \u201cmixtape\u201d mean anymore? In assembling this list, we asked the question again and again, partly because rap continues to redefine the term. In 2000, mixtapes were generally still piles of exclusive freestyles sequenced by enterprising DJs like DJ Clue\u2013they were promotional tools, pure and simple. In the middle of the last decade, after CD burners became cheap and ubiquitous, rappers like Lil Wayne began using them to build international audiences. And this year, Chance the Rapper released 14 sleek tracks with Kanye West and Lil Wayne cameos that he called a \u201cmixtape,\u201d and it debuted with the backing of Apple.<\/p>\n
So there was only one hard-and-fast rule to make our cut: a \u201cmixtape\u201d was a free release, offered directly to rap fans. Other than that, everything else\u2013whether it consisted of beats taken from other rappers\u2019 albums or contained all original music, whether it was offered as promotion for a retail album or a standalone release\u2013was up for grabs. The context of a release, both within an artist\u2019s own career and within rap at large, mattered to us, as did replayability: The best mixtapes of the millennium double as some of the era\u2019s best long-playing rap albums, because the distinction between the two has all but been erased. We hope you enjoy reading and debating as much as we did.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n