9. The Streets: A Grand Don't Come For Free

You wouldn't think UK homeboy Mike Skinner could top his breakout album Original Pirates Material and he hasn't. Believers won't lose faith with the new album, which in many ways shows off Skinner's artistic maturity, but it won't get your adrenaline pumping or your gut busting like his last disc. Nevertheless, I liked the move of incorprating more singing into his brilliant (both in the British and American sense of the word) hip-hop rants. Skinner's use of a clever cinematic narrative scores on a header, taking you back down to street level with pissed-off geezers, shady blokes and potent ectasy. Can't we all relate to that?