Despite Kanye’s controversial public comments, he recently dropped off his newest album Vultures 1 to great commercial success. The album is a collaboration with fellow artist Ty Dolla $ign, who had previously appeared on Kanye tracks such as Junya pt 2. The new record has received some mixed reviews from fans and critics alike, but where does it rank amongst Kanye’s impressive discography?
#11: JESUS IS KING: While even Kanye’s worst album is far from bad, most will agree this is his most forgettable effort. Despite a few standout tracks like “Use This Gospel” and “Follow God”, most of the tracks do very little to stand out from one another. While the production is very diverse, the lyrical content of most of the songs feels very repetitive after a while. All in all, it is easy to see from a quick glance why this is typically considered Kanye’s weakest.
#10: 808s & Heartbreaks: This album ranks as one of the most divisive amongst Kanye’s discography. While there is no arguing that this record is incredibly influential and has one of Kanye’s all-time best songs in “Heartless”, many agree that most of the tracks do very little to impress and that the album as a whole sounds very rough around the edges.
#9: Donda: Everything surrounding Kanye’s 10th album was chaotic. From the ever-changing release date and tracklist, the three ginormous listening parties, and the overstuffed feature list, there is no question that Donda is Kanye’s messiest, most bloated album. With that being said, some of Kanye’s best work lies within this tracklist, like “24” and “Off the Grid”.
#8: Ye: At just 7 tracks, Ye is by far Kanye’s shortest album, but also manages to be one of his most sonically interesting. With incredible tracks like “Ghost Town” and “Violent Crimes” (both of which are considered some of his best songs ever), the main thing holding this back from being higher on the list is its short runtime.
#7: Yeezus: Even with Kanye’s most recent album having some very experimental production, there is no doubt that Yeezus is by far his most experimental and bombastic work. This experimentation leads to some incredible highs, like “Bound 2” and “Black Skinhead”. However, many do not see the appeal of the abrasive production and the obnoxiously arrogant lyrics.
#6: VULTURES 1: Despite it officially being a collab album with Ty Dolla $ign, it is clear to anyone that listens that this is mainly a Kanye album. While Kanye does turn in a couple of his weakest rapping performances to date, the incredible production and phenomenal features carry the tracks where Kanye did not put his best verses forward, like “BACK TO ME” and “PAID”. However, Kanye also manages to put forward some of his best rapping performances in years on songs like “BURN” and “PROBLEMATIC”.
#5: Life of Pablo: This album was the one that started Kanye’s recent era of stacking his albums with lengthy tracklists and tons of features. While its tracklist is undoubtedly messy, the lows are not as low as other Kanye albums, and the highs (such as “No More Parties in LA” and “Father Stretch My Hands Pt.1”) are plenty some and are unarguably some of Kanye’s finest work to date.
#4: Graduation: Undoubtedly Kanye’s most commercially appealing album, Graduation still manages to sound ahead of its time over 15 years after its release. Songs like “Stronger” and “Flashing Lights” are still amongst his most popular, and the deeper cuts on the tracklist such as “Everything I Am” contain some of Kanye’s best rapping.
#3: The College Dropout: The album that started it all. Even though some of its rougher stretches sound very juvenile in retrospect, there is no arguing that this record features Kanye at his hungriest, and that is reflected in his energetic rapping throughout each song on the lengthy tracklist. Furthermore, his use of soul samples on the production has become incredibly influential, even 20 years after its initial release.
#2: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: It is hard to put into words how innovative this record is. From the experimental (but not abrasive) production, the focused tracklist, incredible features, and remarkable rapping performances from Kanye himself, it is incredibly hard to find a flaw in this album. It also features Kanye’s 2 most critically praised songs in “Devil in a New Dress” and “Runaway”.
#1: Late Registration: Despite being Kanye’s second release, Late Registration remains his most polished work. From its smooth, jazzy production to its equally as smooth performances from Kanye and his features artists, Late Registration remains an entirely flawless album.