If you were putting someone onto Jay-Z for the first time, would you start them here or with a studio album?

Depends on the person. I feel like it would be hard to hate on this, though.

I would start them with either Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint, or The Black Album. I'd probably start them with all three of these before having them listen to unplugged. Unplugged is misleading if you're trying to explain JayZ as an artist to someone