Kanye West Albums: Ranked

This past Sunday marked the 10 year anniversary of the legendary Kanye West album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Kanye West is a hard figure to talk and write about. No matter where you land on the political and religious spectrum, he manages to alienate or inspire people of all beliefs though I do recognize it is mostly the former. The worst part about it for me is Kanye West truly is a musical genius. Even the worst Kanye West album garners praise and a cult of followers around it that will argue tooth and nail for it being a spectacular album. This happens because even the worst Kanye album is better than 95% of any other artist’s best album. What this also does is make any attempt to rank his albums in a relatively objective way a polarizing and near impossible task. 

That being said, this is exactly what I am about to do. The goal today is to come to some sort of objective ranking of every one of Kanye’s solo projects. This excludes Watch the Throne and KIDS SEE GHOSTS. Trying to fit those albums into this ranking opens up a whole series of issues for me in how to weigh the creative input of the other half of Kanye’s creative partnerships. As for the projects we are ranking, they will be the nine solo projects released by Kanye starting with The College Dropout and ending with Jesus is King. 

It is genuinely impossible to be completely objective about this. Personal taste will always play a part when it comes to how to grade or rank music. Some people will be offended by the placement of at least two albums on this list and for that I will not apologize. None of these albums are bad and I would never claim they are. My taste will affect specifically where some of these albums land, but I will be fair in all of my evaluations. For instance, Kanye West is the creator of my second favorite music album of all time; that album is not the number one album on this list. I hope this list inspires some good discussion into what we all love about Kanye, the music. Without further ado, here is my ranking of every Kanye West solo project. 

Number 9 : Jesus is King 

Jesus is King is the first installment in what Kanye West is claiming will be the future direction of his music. This album is a gospel-hop album released in 2019. Critical reception for this album ranges from two out of five stars, to four out of five stars. This easily places the album as one of his more controversial releases critically. As for the fans, this album currently lies as a fifty-three out of one hundred. I did not like this album. I do understand its appeal as it has a very similar production style to albums such as The Life of Pablo and Ye, but Jesus is King feels like far less of an event. The melodies don’t feel as sensual and soothing, the bass doesn’t feel as punchy and hard hitting, and the samples feel more muted and less experimented with. Something Kanye has always been amazing at is taking a sample, keeping it recognizable, yet  recreating it to fit exactly what he wanted he wanted to do with the song he used it in.

The worst thing this album does is feel uninspired. I understand the inspiration isn’t the same as it was previously. This album is as much for God as it is for the fans, but while artists like Andy Mineo and Lecrae have vast experience combining these ideals, Kanye just does not. This album lacks the character every single other one of his albums has. In all honesty, though this album is by no means a poorly made affair, the thing it suffers from inspades is forgetablity. I just do not think about this album when I am on a Kanye kick. 

The album does have a couple of highlights though. The Pi’erre Bourne produced “On God” and the second track “Selah” are easily the most amped productions on this album. Unfortunately, everything else seemingly fades into the background.

Number 8: Yeesus

As far as album quality is concerned, we are making a pretty massive leap between the last entry and this one. Yeezus released to critical acclaim with critic scores ranging from eight out of ten to five of five stars. Kanye was three years off the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and the world was waiting with baited breath to see what Kanye would concoct next. The answer was completely unexpected. His previous work was characterized by this glowing, gigantic production that felt epic at every turn. You listened to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and you felt like you were leaving our planet and were headed for whatever planet the Graduation bear lives on. Fast forward to Yeezus and things were not the same. This ten track, forty minute voyage was being guided by Kanye West’s ego riding a wave of heavy, distorted guitars and bombastic bass. The album features a veritable who’s who of prolific producers. Rick Rubin executive produced the album; No I.D, Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk, and Hudson Mohawke among others spent considerable amounts of time helping to make beats and fine tune the sound of the album. 

I do not have this album down at number eight because I don’t like it or I think it is overrated. I have this album down at eight because everything else above it is just better. What Yeezus does is similar to what Kanye did on 808s and heartbreak. Kanye tried to reinvent the wheel and to an extent was very successful at it. The album is not what I would call a masterpiece but the reverberations this project sent through the hip-hop world are massive. The impact of this album can be heard in the sounds of artists like Noa James, Death Grips, and Danny Brown. 

This album’s highlights are actually most of the album, it being only ten tracks. The top ones for me are “Blood On The Leaves,” “New Slaves,” “Black Skinhead,” and “I’m In It.” As for lowlights, I am unapologetically not a fan of “Bound 2.” I get it, I get the appeal, and I am aware of why people love it. I just don’t. Also the song “I Am A God” is just a bit funny now that he has this new Christian direction with his music. 

Number 7: Ye

The “Summer of Kanye” was a better time wasn’t it? Ye was the second album we got during that beautiful month-plus of releases. This is the second most divisive of Kanye’s albums, critically speaking. With scores ranging from two of five stars to four of five stars, most critics seemed to fall somewhere in the middle. The criticisms of this album stem mostly from it feeling rushed. The production didn’t have the cohesion and punch of Daytona, which released one week prior, and it didn’t have the grandeur or polish that KIDS SEE GHOSTS did which released one week after. 

To me this matters little. I understand that the album sounds a bit like scraps from The Life of Pablo, but to me the appeal of this project comes from the personal nature the songs take. Every track on this album feels like a peek into the mind and mental health struggles of the man we all love to hate. At only seven tracks and a twenty-three minute run time, this album is over before any of us wanted it to be. These are the reasons I have it ranked above Yeezus. It truly was a close call for me, and if you want to flip these and pretend that I wrote the article with entries seven and eight flipped, go right on ahead. I would have no problem with that. 

It’s honestly too hard to pick highlights and lowlights from this album. The whole thing feels like it belongs together. My personal favorites, if you make me choose, are “Yikes” and “Ghost Town,” but I love this whole album from start to finish. 

Number 6: 808s and Heartbreak

We have finally arrived at the most influential of Kanye’s various highly influential projects. Kanye West continues to polarize critics, as this album’s reviews ranged from two and a half stars all the way to five stars. The consensus tended towards the high side of those scores, and frankly it deserves it. What Kanye did with this album was change the way hip-hop sounded forever. He named this album partially off of the Roland TR-808 drum machine that features as the most prominent drum sound throughout. The use of the 808 and auto tune make this entire album feel like it was made in one giant sit down. The album never feels too far from where it started or where it’s going to end and that is very much a compliment in this case. 

We all know why this album is so influential. Half of all of our favorite songs made over the past twelve years have some use of that TR-808 drum machine. With one album, Kanye West managed to completely change what hip-hop sounded like as a whole. There is a very compelling argument to be made that this is one of the five most influential hip-hop albums of all time. That’s why this album sits at six as opposed to eight.

The highlights of this album, songs like “Heartless,” “Amazing” and “Street Lights” are these brilliantly composed pieces of music that inspire different emotions and feelings throughout. Unfortunately “Bad News” is utterly forgettable and not that enjoyable of a song, and the one problem this album suffers from that no other Kanye album does is that a lot of these songs sound too familiar. There is a point where cohesion starts to come at the cost of variety; and that’s what happens here.

Number 5: The Life of Pablo

Let’s get this out of the way first, the album I am talking about is the version we all know today. The version that was first released really doesn’t count. It should, but it doesn’t for the purposes of this list. This kind of skewed reviews for this album because not every publication updated their reviews with the new version.

Kanye West has always utilized gospel samples and influences in his music, but The Life of Pablo takes those influences to the max. Whether it is the immaculately produced and gloriously sounding “Ultralight Beam” or the rambunctious “Waves,” the “gospel according to Kanye” was in full effect on this album. The project is a bit messy and disjointed at times but that seems to add to the way the album flows. From track to track you are never entirely sure what you are going to get, but you know it is going to sound regal and holy. 

The album is about ten to fifteen minutes too long and a bit too disjointed. What saves this album and elevates it this high is that the highlights are some of Kanye’s best songs of all time. I mentioned two up above. On top of those we also got “No More Parties in LA,” “30 Hours,” “Feedback” and “Wolves.” Let us not forget that Kanye also graced us with the track “I Love Kanye.” It is perfect. It is the most perfect forty-four seconds of Kanye West ever. 

Number 4: The College Dropout

We have finally made it. The top four has always been locked in, the order was just what mattered. I bet you didn’t think this was going to be in the four spot. From here on out I am not  going to be mentioning critical reception as these last four albums all received universal acclaim. This one however, is the first. This is the birthplace of the artist we would all fall in love with. Kanye had been involved in music as a producer since the late 90’s. One car accident and a little song about rapping and living with a wired jaw later, and the world was on fire. 

The College Dropout it certainly dated. It feels a little old, it can be a little slow, and some of the songs did not age beautifully, but this album is still phenomenal. At twenty-one tracks and seventy-six minutes, the album can drag in places, however the birth of the Kanye “chipmunk soul” style of production with his unique use of gospel and R&B samples carries this album into the stratosphere of hip-hop lore. The College Dropout was released in 2004 when the bling era was really kicking off in hip-hop, and Kanye West did not care one bit about it. He wanted to talk to you about Jesus in hip-hop, predatory consumerism, and club music not caring enough about the women there. Kanye broke out the whole bag of tricks on this album, and hip hop fans everywhere were hooked for years and years to come. 

Number 3: Graduation

This is my second favorite hip-hop album of all time, and there has never been a hip-hop album more suitable to be played in a stadium full of screaming fans than this one. Every new listen of this project makes you feel like you’re listening to it in the middle of a giant crowd. Each song flows naturally into the next. The overall production on this album can only be described as anthemic. After two albums of soul and gospel driven beats, we had graduated from the school of Kanye and it was time to celebrate. The album’s diversity of beats is as scattered as any project, but even the more melody driven songs on this album feel big and purposeful. 

The opening track, “Good Morning,” is likely my favorite opening track of all time, on any album. It’s bright and cheery and perfectly sets the tone for this entire album. Songs like “Good Life,” “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and “Stronger” are some of the greatest hip-hop anthems of all time. They never cease to be replayable. The album only has one true bad song on it and I refuse to type the name of it out because if I don’t acknowledge it, then it doesn’t exist. As for you people that think “Drunk and Hot Girls” is a bad song. I disagree. I love it. I have no real good reason to like it but I do. 

The album also closes on a couple of fantastic tracks, perfect for ending an album like this. Can you imagine the pop of a Chicago crowd when “Homecoming” begins to play? That iconic E minor triad chord progression opens up, Chris Martin asks you if you’re thinking about him, and the whole world might as well melt because all that matters is what’s about to happen for the next three minutes. “Big Brother” is a deep dive into Kanye’s relationship with his big brother Jay-Z. It feels so real and like Kanye really poured his heart out into it. Then the album ends, and it’s time to press the play button because just one listen is never enough.

Number 2: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Bit of a shocker isn’t it? This album is near perfection. It is one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever created. The history behind it is long, exciting, and brilliantly well documented. It is honestly hard to come up with unique things to say about this album. From start to finish this project is epic, orchestral and one thrill ride of a song after another. We saw the birth of Nikki Minaj, and we got what I will argue as the greatest hip-hop song of all time. “Runaway” is a perfect song. The way the piano at the beginning immediately sets the tone and makes you feel just a little on edge, to the chorus that will forever stick in your mind after just one listen. It all ends with a three minute distorted electric guitar solo that blows my mind every time I hear it. This is Kanye’s Jimi Hendrix moment. Hendrix made his guitar sing, and Kanye made his voice riff. 

I can’t say enough great things about this album. It will go down in history as one of the greatest albums of all time; and yet, I think Kanye has done better.

Number 1: Late Registration

“Wake Up Mr. West,” I “Heard ‘Em Say” that you could “Touch the Sky.” I could do this for the rest of the album but I won’t. Take everything The College Dropout did, refine it to its best ideals and executions, and that’s what Late Registration is. The same style of  “chipmunk soul” is used for some of the samples. The drum patterns unique to Kanye are still being utilized. The number of tracks and album length are nearly identical. With Late Registration though, we see Kanye come into his own as a creator. Whether it’s the latter two songs I mentioned above, “Gold Digger,” Drive Slow,” “Crack Music,” “Roses,” “We Major” or “Gone” this album is packed to the brim with iconic songs, hip-hop classics, and truly emotional storytelling tracks. 

Late Registration saw Kanye employ the talents of one Adam Levine to do the hook of a hip-hop song before it was overdone and boring. I will forever get chills when the piano comes in over the top of that drum pattern in “Heard ‘Em Say.” Kanye’s lyricism is at an all time high on this album as well. Regardless as to whether or not he wrote all of this, which he did not, it’s all brilliant and it all sounds like peak Kanye West. This is the version of Kanye that fans like myself miss when we wax poetically about lost versions. Yet, it seems like maybe it’s okay that we never saw this Kanye West again. Late Registration exists in this little self contained pocket of time where hip-hop was not doing so hot. Kanye made an album that was for the soul. He made an album that had no business being as successful and brilliant as it was for the time it was released in. For that, hip-hop fans will remain thankful. 

One final anecdote about a song on this album before I stop typing for the night. I love my mother more than any other human being on this planet. My mother is a very Christian and somewhat traditional kind of woman. She does not like hip-hop. In particular she does not like Kanye West. One day about three years ago I was driving somewhere with my mother in the car with me. I had control of the radio and my phone connected. I stated that I wanted her to listen to a song by Kanye West. She immediately balked at the idea but I insisted. I played “Hey Mama” for her. My mother came very close to crying that evening. 

Kanye West is a complicated human being with a lot of complicated thoughts and beliefs. At the end of the day, you sometimes have to be able to separate the flawed human from the genius artistic creations they put out into the world. For better or worse, Kanye West has put some absolutely stunning pieces of art into this world for us to enjoy. So as we say happy anniversary to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, let’s also take a moment to appreciate the fact that we even get to enjoy this man’s work in the first place.