Hmm tough question. Hate to sound cliché but Big and Pac, their music is like the soundtrack to my childhood. Honorable mentions are Nas and A Tribe Called Quest, also part of my childhood soundtrack.
Favorite album/single is extra hard...Fave album for Pac and Big is too hard, so I'll go with single: for Big, "Sky's the Limit", such a feel good song to me and for Pac, "I get around" because it was my first Pac song and first rap song I memorized lol, I don't know why lol.
Fave album for Nas is "Illmatic" and for Tribe "Midnight Marauders", I can listen to those albums all the way through without skipping a song.