The Blueprint Collector's Edition

Disc 1
1	The Ruler's Back 3:49
2	Takeover 5:13
3	Izzo (H.O.V.A.) 4:00
4	Girls, Girls, Girls 4:35
5	Jigga That N***A 3:24
6	U Don't Know 3:19
7	Hola' Hovito 4:33
8	Heart of the City (Ain't No Love) 3:43
9	Never Change 3:58
10	Song Cry 5:03
11	All I Need 4:28
12	Renegade 5:37
13	Blueprint (Momma Loves Me) 12:08
Disc 2
1	A Dream 4:12
2	Hovi Baby 4:20
3	The Watcher 2 5:57
4	'03 Bonnie & Clyde 3:25
5	Excuse Me Miss 4:41
6	What They Gonna Do 4:53
7	All Around the World 3:52
8	Poppin' Tags 6:00
9	F**k All Nite 4:19
10	The Bounce 4:18
11	I Did It My Way 3:42
Disc 3
1	Diamond Is Forever 3:55
2	Guns & Roses 4:25
3	U Don't Know Remix 4:27
4	Meet the Parents 4:58
5	Some How Some Way 5:37
6	Some People Hate 4:31
7	Blueprint˛ 4:49
8	N***a Please 4:37
9	2 Many Hoes 3:34
10	As One 3:48
11	A Ballad for the Fallen Soldier 4:41
12	Show You How Bonus Track 2:58
13	B*****s & Sisters Bonus Track 2:38
14	What They Gonna Do Part II Bonus Track 3:47

Barnes & Noble

As if there were any doubt about his status, Jay-Z reaffirms his title as a hip-hop honcho with The Blueprint. Whereas 2000's The Dynasty: Roc La Familia was a family affair, for his follow-up Jay-Z offers a solo manifesto on ruling the rap game. Once again, the prolific rapper spares no expense when it comes to heavy-hitting production, using the same sample-heavy formula on this, his sixth disc in five years, as he did on his winning debut, Reasonable Doubt. The Jackson 5's nostalgic "I Want You Back" anchors the summertime radio anthem "Izzo," just as "Hard-Knock Life" lifted vocals from the musical Annie. And it appears that his continuing success might be going to J-Hova's head. On Timbaland's "Hola Hovito," he boasts: "I'm Michael, Magic, and Bird all rolled in one/If I ain't better than Big, I'm the closest one." Although he's been embraced by the Total Request Live set, Jay maintains his street cred on battle rhymes such as "Renegade," produced by and featuring rap bad boy Eminem, and "Takeover," on which Jay-Z attacks rival MCs over a stomping Doors sample. Bootleggers and rap rivals, beware: Jay-Z's on the warpath, and nobody's gonna break his stride. Ryan Crosby

All Music Guide

This box set from Def Jam landed after Jay-Z had split from the label, and as smooth marketing would have it, the same day as the rapper's debut for Live Nation was released. With his first post-Def Jam release being titled The Blueprint 3, this box -- featuring just the first two volumes on three CDs along with "a space to complete your collection" -- seems entirely necessary, but the trilogy barely hangs in hindsight as it goes from a fully realized hip-hop masterpiece to a radically different, two-CD release with more pop, and then finally to a record somewhere between the two. It also covers a pivotal time in the rapper's career, with releases in 2001, 2002, and 2009 and, with albums like The Black Album and American Gangster showing up between volumes one and two, it seems The Blueprint could be the name of choice for Jay-Z's less conceptual pieces. Plus there is the 2.1 problem -- 2003's one-disc shortening of The Bluepint 2 -- but you can't deny that the empty space for that other label's Blueprint is clever, and that the two volumes found here have more than their fair share of highlights. This is also an easy way for newcomers to catch up on the Blueprint saga, and with an attractive design, plus a poster added as a bonus, the tag of "Collector Edition" is validated. David Jeffries