Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.73) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's." Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.128) - Ranked #133 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "Almost single-handedly, Biggie shifted the focus back to East Coast rap." Rolling Stone (11/3/94, p.96) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...With his prodigious, often booming voice overwhelming the track, he sweeps his verbal camera high and low, painting a sonic picture so vibrant that you're transported right to the scene..." Spin (9/99, p.132) - Ranked #27 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s." Q (12/94, p.153) - 3 Stars - Good - "...the natural rapping, clever use of sound effects and acted dialogue, and concept element (from a baby being born at the start to the fading heartbeat at the end) set this well apart from the average gangsta bragging..." Uncut (p.128) - 4 stars out of 5 - "A funky, hard-nosed chronicle of a death foretold." Vibe (12/99, p.162) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century Vibe (6/02, p.109) - Ranked #5 in Vibe's "Top 10 rap albums" - "...Fans knew that from this debut that Biggie was indeed a born winner..." The Source (10/94, p.79) - 4.5 Mics - Slammin' - "...READY TO DIE, the debut from Brooklyn's own Biggie Smalls (a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G.), echoes the attitude in full Ghettovision color, showing us that the true `American way' is to hustle for yours..." Village Voice (2/20/96) - Ranked #38 in Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.

Rovi