Nicki Minaj's third studio album The Pinkprint officially drops on Monday, and as of this writing there's a good chance you may already have it on your computer or audio listening device. If so, carry on; let's regroup after the weekend and chat about our feelings. If not, now's as good a time as any to get hyped and remind yourself why a new Nicki album is something to be excited about.

Nicki's pop leanings are still controversial among those who fell in love with her in her mixtape days. I tend to believe that she should pursue whatever sound she wants to pursue, but I get the frustration with the fact that the massive popularity of 2012's "Starships" would inevitably overshadow her more out-there stuff; that it would become the first Nicki song you think of instead of, say, "I Get Crazy." The early word on The Pinkprint is that it's neither Pop Nicki nor Mixtape Nicki. But regardless of where that verdict lands, let's just take a moment to appreciate all Nickis, especially the underrated and/or too quickly forgotten Nickis (When's the last time you listened to that "Bottoms Up" verse? Probably not recently enough.) This is a "Starships"-free playlist, but it's also a "Monster"-free one (which you should hopefully already know is one of the best verses of all time.)