Yeah, yeah, yeah, so we went with the obvious choice. (We were all ready to crown Prince's new best-of, Ultimate, when we found out its release had been delayed.) But there's something to be said for such an easy decision. The fact that we uncontrollably bob our heads whenever we find the duo in the "A"s of our iPod means they're doing something right. From Slug we get frank talk about the world's problems with drugs (people do them every day and once in a while there are serious consequences) and sex (the rapper's reaction to the rape and murder of an Atmosphere fan is caught in a mournful rumination on sex-offender laws that never once exploits the girl.) Ant's soul-soaked production draws more emotion from his partner's words, spiking the anger and amusement with found sound seemingly created just for them. Atmosphere has claimed this honor before, and who will flinch if they do it again? It's no big thing. They're just that good.