Paid In Full
by Eric B. & Rakim

Paid In Full by Eric B. & Rakim
Year: 1987
Release date: 1987-07-07
Overall rank: 943rd   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 399 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1987 (18th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (142nd)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (943rd)

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Availability

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Paid in Full by Eric B & Rakim (Record, 2018)
Condition: Used


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Eric B. & Rakim Paid in Full CD Rap Hip-Hop UMe 1980s B0004323-02
Condition: Very Good


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Eric B & Rakim - Paid In Full [New Vinyl LP]
Condition: New


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Eric B. & Rakim bestography

Paid In Full is ranked as the best album by Eric B. & Rakim.

Eric B. & Rakim album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (943rd)
Paid In Full
Lower ranked (2,828th) »
Follow The Leader

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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Paid In Full track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 83 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Track pick (880 - 109 votes)
Average Rating: 88 (109 votes)Comments: View 0
4.
Track pick (860 - 88 votes)
Average Rating: 86 (88 votes)Comments: View 0
6.
Track pick (880 - 105 votes)
Average Rating: 88 (105 votes)Comments: View 0

Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Paid In Full rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 943rd | 1980s rank: 142nd | 1987 rank: 18th
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 zags7000Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s66/1007
2026SiromynianTop 26 Music Albums of 198713/263
2026 ExTeaSeaTop 73 Music Albums of 198749/732
2026 JMGL95Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s70/1006
2026HyggevinylTop 52 Music Albums of 198712/524
2026leniadTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s80/1004
2026 AAL2014Top 51 Music Albums of 198711/514
2026 EyeKanFlyTop 44 Music Albums of 198713/444
2026jdizzle123456Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s24/10015
2026saltysurpriseTop 70 Music Albums of 198735/703
2026culwinTop 55 Music Albums of 198744/551
2026Exist-en-cielTop 61 Music Albums of 198722/613
2026adbrack1988Top 17 Music Albums of 19879/173
2026jdizzle123456Greatest Hip Hop Albums of All Time27/50 -
2026 LebowskiRamsTop 47 Music Albums of the 1980s31/477
2026 Graeme2Top 100 Greatest Music Albums48/10053
2026 zags7000Overall 401-50055/100 -
2026 arthurbittencourtTop 99 Music Albums of the 1980s71/996
2026shanelovesyou1111Top 73 Music Albums of 198719/734
2026CjHubb117Top 100 Greatest Music Albums61/10040
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 373
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 1,845
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Paid In Full collection

Paid In Full ratings

Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 399 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album.  | Show all 399 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
75/100
 
05/11/2026 16:21 Jakor  Ratings distribution  5,37470/100
 
85/100
 
04/16/2026 08:23 Liks_on_music  Ratings distribution  60081/100
 
100/100
 
03/23/2026 14:02 Jofunkystrass  Ratings distribution  695/100
 
95/100
 
03/21/2026 20:43 Graeme2  Ratings distribution  4,90180/100
 
75/100
 
02/01/2026 20:14 sweetness  Ratings distribution  1,12779/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.7/100, a mean average of 75.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 19.5.

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Paid In Full comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 23 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
95/100
From 08/30/2024 15:52 | #305045
No idea why this didn't click the first time around. This thing owns from top to bottom. Tight beats from Eric B. Bulletproof verses from Rakim. Just a match made in heaven.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 05/03/2024 19:49 | #303334
Smooth delivery, good beats, and ingenious rhymes. 9.5/10!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 07/07/2023 13:29 | #297979
Album Rating: 83.50
(835/10)

07.07.1987

Eric B. & Rakim (USA): Paid In Full

1.I Ain't No Joke. 91
2.Eric B. Is On The Cut. 70
3.My Melody. 84
4.I Know You Got Soul. 86
5.Move The Crowd. 85
6.Paid In Full. 100
7.As The Rhyme Goes On. 79
8.Chinese Arithmetic. 72
9.Eric B. Is President. 78
10.Extended Beat. 90
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 01/27/2023 18:20 | #293316
This album is very influential hip hop record and one of the best in 1980s. Rakim rapping skills were ahead of his time and production is decent. A lot of iconic tracks on here, but overall it still suffers a bit of being so early in the genre that not much variety is here.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 06/21/2022 15:14 | #286572
Album Rating: 82.30
(823/10)

1.I Ain't No Joke. 91
2.Eric B. Is On The Cut. 70
3.My Melody. 84
4.I Know You Got Soul. 86
5.Move The Crowd. 85
6.Paid In Full. 88
7.As The Rhyme Goes On. 79
8.Chinese Arithmetic. 72
9.Eric B. Is President. 78
10.Extended Beat. 90
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 10/15/2021 18:53 | #275061
You gotta admit this is supremely influential. The face of rap would be completely different without Rakim and the production from Eric B. is impressive for the time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/26/2021 22:44 | #271955
Clássico!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 01/27/2021 06:56 | #265172
Stand out tracks are their Top 20 hits, "I know you got soul"(13) & "Paid in Full"(15).
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 11/28/2020 16:04 | #261560
The album is remarkable for his scratching and the perfect rap parts by rakim. My favorite song is Eric B is President especially for his The Mohawks "Champ" Sample.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 11/07/2020 05:35 | #260305
Completely listenable throughout with some genuinely iconic stuff that just permeates so much of what came after it.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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