Liquid Swords crushes 36 Chambers imo, and some of the other solo albums (Raekwon's) piss me off to such an n'th degree... Though if I were asked this question I'd likely say them. Just for general aesthetic. They were innovative and some of their songs were downright killer. I wouldn't say they've ever had a killer album, but some of their songs are just anthems.

Seriously?

Seconded.

Unless I'm missing something?

I think what you're missing is the fact that they have one of the most varied sounds of anyone mentioned so far in this thread.

I only have Licensed to Ill and Paul's Boutique so I'm probably speaking from a complete state of darkness.

License to Ill - straightforward 80's hip hop, with the exception of Fight for Your Right to Party and No Sleep Til Brooklyn, which had some hard rock/metal influence. Produced by Rick Rubin

Paul's Boutique - A sampler's masterpiece and a total tribute to 70's music and disco produced by the Dust Brothers w/ DJ Hurricane

Check your head - Combined hip hop with alt. rock and jazz. Saw the introduction of Ad Rock, MCA, and Mike D playing their own instruments (Since they started as an NYC punk group). Also brought in Mario Caldato on Hammond B3 organ and a separated percussionist. Produced by Mario C. (I think)

Ill Communication - Pretty much straightforward 90's hip-hop with more of the group's instrumental creations to augment their sound.

Hello Nasty -Futuristic hip-hop with a definite outerspace feel. Legenary Mixmaster Mike on the decks.

To the Five Burroughs - Meh, haven't really listened to it, so I can't really say.

Well, even those two albums are pretty different from each other, but give a listen to Check Your Head or Ill Communication. There's more variety within either one of those albums than a lot of hip hop groups have in their entire career.

Don't forget about the hardcore-ish tracks.

Tough Guy and Heart attack Man? Yeah, they were pretty punk, kinda' a throwback to there pre-hip hop days

There was Time for Livin' on Check Your Head too. Which was pretty similar to those two tracks.