Kanye will be one of the artists that’s remembered for generations to come. As a person, it’s becoming harder to actually root for Kanye, but his music has remained almost untouchable to anyone else in the industry. His sound has evolved over the two decades he’s spent making music, but everything he’s a part of is easily recognizable. It’s been a while since I listened to any Kanye project, which is why I wanted to do this ranking. After not listening in a long time, I was shocked about how detailed I still remember almost everything in his discography. Contrary to what some people will say, I think every project has aged gracefully, and likely will continue to. With all that said, it does feel like Kanye’s musical career could be coming to an end. Or at least, to a breaking point in terms of the quality of his music. With all that said, I thought it would be a good idea to go back through his catalogue and try to come up with my personal ranking of his projects. Any Kanye fan will tell you that a ranking of his albums is never set in stone, and that stands with this list. Any album here is subject to move a couple spots up or down depending on my mood. In this ranking, we have Kanye’s nine studio albums and two collab albums in this ranking, but before we get to the list, we’re going to look at an honorable mention.
Honorable Mention: Yandhi (2018-2019)
This album was never officially released. It was teased for months after his 2018 set of small projects made in Wyoming and even had a release date that came and went with an SNL performance. Why I’m talking about it here is that pretty much the entire album and more leaked online over the summer of 2019 and caused a big wave among fans. Without spoiling the worst album, these leaked songs for Yandhi ended up being better than what was officially released by him later that year. Of course, a big part of it is that you can create your own tracklist of leaks that fit your tastes. For example, the Lil Pump collab “I Love It” was supposed to be on Yandhi, but I didn’t like it so I don’t have it on my version. But after you put together your own version of these leaks, there’s no arguing that this would’ve easily been a great project if he just put the final touches on it. The guitar on “Last Name” combined with the trap drums make for an amazing instrumental. It still baffles me to this day that “City in the Sky” didn’t get an official release on Jesus is King, as it would’ve been one of his most beautiful songs in his entire career. “80 Degrees/Hurricane” is still a jam with just one verse, especially with the fast-paced percussion. Nicki fans got one whiff of “New Body” during that summer and are still campaigning for it to be released. I know this wasn’t on the original Yandhi tracklist, but “Brothers” is one of Kanye’s best and most heartfelt songs in a while. Once you’ve listened to all of his official songs, the Yandhi leaks are definitely something that most Kanye fans should listen to. There’s still a chance some of these come out in the future, but I’m really doubting it at this point.
11. Jesus is King (2019)
Yeah, this is by far Kanye’s worst project. Even after seeing some of them performed live with the Sunday Service Choir, most of these songs just feel like wasted potential. It starts well enough for the first few tracks. “Every Hour” only has the choir, but it’s easily uplifting. The choir is back again for an incredible build in the middle of “Selah” that feels like the most fully produced moment on the album. “Follow God” does have some weird mixing on his vocals, but there’s no denying the sample-beat and Kanye’s flow being the best on the album. After this though, the only songs I fully enjoy are “God Is” and “Use This Gospel” with Clipse and Kenny G. Everything else just has aspects of the songs that are good. The “Closed on Sunday” instrumental is unlike any Kanye instrumental I’ve heard in the best way possible, but the lyrics are so dull. “Water” is probably the worst Kanye song with there barely being anything redeemable about it. There’s no doubt that a Kanye album about religion could be amazing, as many of his older songs on the topic are incredible, but this project feels unfinished and not a good start to his religious career.
10. Watch the Throne (2011)
Kanye and Jay-Z were at the top of their relevance at this point. They were royalty, both in terms of their music and soon to be business accuments. I can only imagine the amount of hype a collaborative project of this size would’ve had at the time. Unfortunately, I think they only combined to make a decent to good project. Of course, there’s no arguing the excellent singles that this project spawned. “No Church in The Wild” with Frank Ocean is an incredible way to start off the project, especially the ominous feeling it gives off. “Otis” contains an Otis Redding sample that dominates the track, along with Kanye and Jay going back and forth with some lighthearted bars. It’s really songs like this one that the playful, party atmosphere comes across best. “Ni**as in Paris” will forever be a classic song in each of their catalogues. Even though “Gotta Have It” is pretty straight forward, it doesn’t fall too far behind either of the previous songs mentioned. When you get outside of the singles, this project quickly falls apart. I may have to amend my previous statement to say that “That's My Bitch” is one of the worst things either rapper has ever touched. Kanye and Jay both mumble through verses over a too buttery beat on “Lift Off” with Beyonce. Also, there’s this weird sound effect that plays at the end of quite a few songs that literally makes no sense. It just feels like they did it because they know people will like it no matter what. This project will always be a huge moment in hip hop, but it hasn’t aged that well. Kanye and Jay are both much better solo artists, but Drake and Future made a mixtape together in six days that’s significantly more enjoyable than this.
Listen: Spotify
9. Yeezus (2013)
Yes, I know this is a hot take. Yeezus tends to be a very love/hate album, and I fall in the middle of those two. There are some flat out incredible songs on this album. “Black Skinhead” is the single on the project and has gotten to the point where I can’t go to a sporting event without hearing the opening drum break. “New Slaves” contains his most outright political lines on the album, and it ends up being the best lyrical track on the entire project. Of course, the outro transition with Frank Ocean is spellbinding. “Blood on the Leaves” has a similar transition, but this time to the hard beat drop instead of to the beautiful choir. This track is also a textbook example on how to use Autotune effectively. There’s no way a track with Kanye, Bon Iver, Arca, and Chief Keef should work, but “Hold My Liquor” is a beautiful, electronic wonderland. Even with these incredible songs, there are some that just leave no lasting impression. Kid Cudi's outro is the only reason I know what “Guilt Trip” sounds like after listening to it. The production on “I’m In It” would’ve made it the best banger on the album, but Kanye’s crazy sexual lyrics are funny for the wrong reason. I don’t even have any adjectives to describe “Send It Up”, it’s just there. Yeezus is Kanye at his most bare bones, for better or for worse.
8. Ye (2018)
This was a close one with Yeezus, but I just associate more heavily with this project. I remember this project coming out on June 1st, the day before my graduation. In true Kanye fashion, the project didn’t come out at midnight like everyone else. Instead, it came out early in the morning, somewhere around 7-7:30 to be exact. I knew I had to be at the high school for graduation practice by 8, so I was constantly checking Spotify every couple minutes to hopefully get one listen before I had to leave. Luckily, it came out with enough time for one full listen before I left, and it stayed in constant rotation the rest of the day. If Yeezus was Kanye at his most bare bones, Ye is him at his most honest. Because he made it in a short runtime, this project is almost a time capsule in Kanye’s life. Some of it hasn’t aged the best, *cough* “Wouldn’t Leave” *cough*, but every song is enjoyable. The straightforward banger of “Yikes” was playing out of cars the rest of the summer. “Ghost Town” was the anthem for the rest of the year. The hopeful energy on “No Mistakes” continues to be extremely infectious. It does feel a bit incomplete with only the seven songs, but everything on this project has Kanye’s pure heart in it.
7. 808s & Heartbreak (2008)
Don’t get it twisted, even though this album is on the bottom half of the list, this might be his most influential project ever. Obviously, Kanye’s heavy use of autotune was one of the first examples of it, but it was also the lyrical content and story behind it that was influential. Going from a pure rapper on his first three albums, to having almost no rapping on this project left people shocked. Not only that, but the lyrical content was extremely saddening. Rappers didn’t talk about their problems like this, especially in the mainstream. Every song on here revolves around his broken engagement with his fiance and his mother passing away the year before. The combination of 808s & Heartbreak and Kid Cudi debuting single handedly changed the course of music. Music would not sound the same if it wasn’t for these two. Now, you can easily argue that it hasn’t been for the better, as a lot of people that were inspired by this are a part of a sound many people immediately dismiss, but anything that moves music into a new era is for the better in my opinion. Some personal highlights include the instant hit “Heartless”, the melancholic, but beautiful “Street Lights”, the metallic opener “Say You Will”, the first Kid Cudi assisted song “Welcome To Heartbreak”, and the tribal “Love Lockdown”.
6. Graduation (2007)
In the middle we have Kanye’s biggest album, Graduation. There’s no denying that there’s a couple songs in the middle that drop off in quality, but most of this album is perfect pop rap. “Good Morning” would be the best album opener for almost any other rapper, with its smooth confidence that eases the listener into the project. The hits keep coming in the first half with “Stronger”, “Good Life”, and “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” coming within the next five tracks. And even the other two songs that aren’t hits, “Champion” and “I Wonder”, are both feel-good anthems for either a concert or any victory. After the first six tracks, the next two tracks are easily the two worst on the album. Neither are terrible, but this album would benefit without these two tracks. But then comes one of the best three song stretches in any Kanye project. “Flashing Lights”, talk about a track with perfect production; the way the strings and drums lay the background for the synth melody is something special. “Everything I Am” is an instrumentally simple track, but the touching and important lyrics make it a 10/10. “The Glory” is forever one of Kanye’s most underrated songs. There’s just something about the way the sample comes in throughout the beat and the string additions that makes it special. You can argue that it hasn’t aged that well since he was reaching for the popular sound at the time, but I think there’s too many incredibly produced moments throughout this project that keeps it from aging poorly.
5. Kids See Ghosts (2018)
This is the second of Kanye’s collaboration projects, this time with Kid Cudi. At only 7 tracks, this project’s length is the main detriment. There aren’t any tracks on here that are less than great, but the project is almost over before it begins. Either way, it pairs nicely with the previously mentioned Ye, but this project clearly had a lot more thought put into it. Everything from the album cover to the detailed production feels like it was meticulously placed. The subject matter revolves around the mental health of Cudi and Kanye, but in a largely victorious manner. In late 2016, both of them had their worst bouts with mental illnesses to date. Cudi ended up checking himself into rehab for depression and suicidal urges, while Kanye had to cancel his tour and ended up in a hospital due to mental anguish and dehydration. This project feels like them working through their issues in real time, ending in gaining control of them. The first half of the project has this psychedelic rock-influenced sound to their traditional brand of maximalist hip hop. Cudi’s influence shines through on the final three tracks, whether it be the meditative “Reborn” or the Kurt Cobain sample on “Cudi Montage”. This might be the last time that Kanye’s genius fully shines through on a project, and it stands above most artists best.
4. The Life of Pablo (2016)
There was a time when I thought this was easily a top three Kanye album, but it’s grown off me a bit recently. Still, this project is Kanye’s genius as its least controlled. There’s a clear theme, but it’s so loose that you can almost make up your own narrative of why everything is happening. To put it simply, this album is Kanye deciding whether or not to go down the path of family and religion, or instead, indulge in the models and drugs that come with fame. This is best seen in the beginning of the album with the first two tracks, “Ultralight Beam” and “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1”. “Ultralight Beam” is a quintessential gospel song with a gigantic choir, except this one has an essential verse from Chance the Rapper. “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” continues with sonics with a gospel sample to start it off, but Kanye’s lyrics are about intercourse with a model. That contradiction is what plagues Kanye throughout this album. This is also the album where Kanye changed it after it came out. The version that came out on the release date is not what’s on streaming services. The album was updated two months later with a new tracklist and mix, and then two months after that with a new track. The feature list on this project is also incredible and one of the first examples of having no features listed on the tracklist. Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, The Weeknd, Rihanna, Andre 3000, Post Malone, Sampha, Kid Cudi, Ty Dolla $ign, Young Thug, Sia, Kirk Franklin, and more provide vocals; while Rick Rubin, Metro Boomin, Pharrell, Mike Dean, Swizz Beatz, Madlib, Charlie Heat, and more are on the production. Everything about this project is maximalist, chaotic, musical genius.
3. Late Registration (2005)
Most people put this project over his debut album, The College Dropout, and even though I disagree, that doesn’t take away from this project. Objectively, almost everything is improved on here. The production now has these lush string sections on quite a few tracks. The hits on here are even better than the debut. “Touch The Sky” with Lupe Fiasco remains one of Kanye’s best songs overall, while “Gold Digger” with Jamie Foxx is still loved by the masses. Some of Kanye’s best emotional tracks are on this project. “Hey Mama” is both a beautiful, and now heartbreaking ode to his mother. “Roses” shows Kanye meditating on family while his grandmother was in the hospital over these emotive string sections and a Bill Withers sample. “Gone” ends the normal album with one of Kanye’s greatest verses over another Jon Brion laced string sample. At the end of the day, some of Kanye’s best pure hip hop tracks are on here as well. “We Major” brings me back to playing NBA 2K13, but it’s still a phenomenal track that deserves the seven minute runtime. “Drive Slow” flips another sample beautifully and has become one of the most freestyled on beats in recent memory. This project isn’t flawless though, the couple tracks after “Roses” bog down the runtime with a bit of filler, but they’re still solid tracks. Late Registration should always be considered one of Kanye’s classic albums.
2. The College Dropout (2004)
I really didn’t want to put this project at number two, but I don’t have a choice. The College Dropout is Kanye’s debut album and there’s something special about this project. The saying goes that you have your entire life to make your debut album, and you can feel that here. Everything on here took years to painstakingly perfect. He even says on the outro that he would purposely save his best beats for himself instead of letting other people use them. There aren’t many artists that are this honest and authentic with their debut project, but Kanye was able to peel back the layers. “All Falls Down” with Syleena Johnson shows Kanye breaking down his self esteem and how materialism helps him compensate. “Family Business” breaks down Kanye’s love for his family in a way that makes it the only Thanksgiving song I can think of. “Last Call” has a couple fantastic verses from Kanye, and then Kanye talks for the last 9-10 minutes about how he got to this position in his life. It may sound boring, but the story is just as engaging as the actual verses. The hits are obviously here as well. “Slow Jamz” is Kanye’s first number one single and has the still iconic Michael Jackson line. “Through the Wire” can stand outside the story, but the history of the track makes it legendary. I think what people miss about this album is that Kanye’s religious nature was already here in the early 2000s. Of course, “Jesus Walks” is the hit that won him gospel awards, and it should’ve. The combination of samples and using vocalists as instruments with Kanye’s heartfelt lyrics about God makes this a timeless, special track. But, “Never Let Me Down” is another incredible track that’s almost as good as “Jesus Walks”. J. Ivy brings the religion with his sermon-like verse that will have anyone fully believing in God. Of course, Kanye absolutely murders his verse, and Pharrell’s reaction in the iconic video is the only way people should react to hearing it. This project feels like someone coming from nothing and making the absolute best thing they could with the resources they had. But, I suppose better resources allow for better albums.
1. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
I mean, what else could it be. This is the definitive Kanye masterpiece. Everything that makes him a special artist is here. His lyrics straddle the line between relatable and exuberant, the production is maximalist and brings lots of genres together, and the feature list once again is insane. Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Bon Iver, John Legend, Rick Ross, Pusha T, and more are throughout this project. Even on “All Of The Lights” alone, the feature list is more impressive than almost every album. He made his own choir for the track consisting of Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Charlie Wilson, Fergie, Drake, Kid Cudi, John Legend, and more. Heck, even Elton John is the person playing the piano on the interlude and the track itself. It doesn’t even seem real that this many high profile people can be on one track that’s not for charity. Of course, the history behind this album is a movie in itself. After the awards show scandal with Taylor Swift, Kanye exiled himself to Hawaii and locked himself in a studio for the better part of a year. While there, he had assembled an Avengers-like crew of hip hop artists and producers throughout every room in the building. Everyday for 15-18 hours, Kanye and members of the crew would be in the studio working on perfecting every minute detail in this album. He wouldn’t ever actually leave to go sleep either, he would instead take 90-minute power naps at night so there wouldn’t be any time wasted. Everyone’s opinion in the studio would be accepted, no matter who you were. Urban legend goes that Aziz Ansari saw Kanye play the album for someone who was delivering his suitcases and even took his opinion into account. Even Q-Tip said that Kanye would ask any random person about their opinion on the music.
I suppose I should talk about the actual music too. “Dark Fantasy” opens the album with a gorgeous chorus that bookends the track and Kanye’s slick wordplay makes an appearance here. “Gorgeous” contains some of Kanye’s best lyrics in his entire career. The hits “Power” and “All of the Lights” still sound great in the context of the album. Next are the pure hip hop tracks. “Monster” and “So Appalled” are both huge posse cuts that combine to a 13-minute runtime. Nicki Minaj’s “Monster” verse is a contender for the best feature of the 2010s, while “So Appalled” has incredible verses from four rappers from different eras. The maximalist centerpieces of the album, “Devil In a New Dress” and “Runaway”, come next and can be argued as Kanye’s two greatest songs. Musically, these two tracks are complete with guitar solos, choirs, pianos, and the incredible autotuned outro of “Runaway”. “Lost in the World” also has the same extravagant feel to it. The outro with Bon Iver, the choir, and the tribal drums happening all at once is something that shouldn’t work, but it does. There’s a reason why this project is heralded as one of the greatest bodies of work in a long time. It was named the best album of the 2010s by Billboard, Complex, Slant Magazine, and more. Rolling Stone named it the 17th best album of all time in their updated list last year, which put it as the best album since the 1990s. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy will always be held up as Kanye’s masterpiece and will be appreciated for generations to come.
Comments