Every Kanye West Album Ranked Worst to First | The Odyssey Online
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Every Kanye West Album Ranked Worst to First

Never has there been such a polarizing artist in the last two decades. Kanye is the type of rapper you have to separate the art from the personality and look at the music objectively. Today. I'll be giving MY opinion of all of his solo outings, not including collaborative works, so no "Watch The Throne", "GOOD Music", or "Kids See Ghosts" will be included.

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Every Kanye West Album Ranked Worst to First
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In This Article:

8. Yeezus

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Yeezus is the Kanye album that I can't sit down and listen to all the way through. Stylistically, it was a nice change of pace, just by the wrong person at the wrong time. This album gave us the infamous "Bound 2" music video, the change to "New Kanye", and in total, the biggest blemish on Kanye's solo career.

Best Song: Black Skinhead

7. 808s & Heartbreak

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group Heartless · Kanye West 808s & Heartbreak ℗ 2008 Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC Released on: 2008-01-01 Producer: Kanye...


808s and Heartbreaks was the strangest outing of Kanye's career. This project represents a vision of love lost in a way that is so original, yet seemed so overplayed before it had the time to influence the artists to use this platform of hip hop such as Drake and The Weeknd. However, it is a very relaxed and emotionally drive contribution to the R&B scene that will still go down as a great record, just not quite my cup of tea.

Best Song: Heartless (duh)

6. Graduation

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Travelling back to 2007, Graduation was a transformative record. It was the album that solidified West as one of the top musicians, not only rappers, of his time. He released some of his most recognizable singles to hit the radio along with acclaim from critics that originally doubted his true prospect. You're lying if you say you don't know every single lyric to "Stronger".

Best Song: Flashing Lights

5. ye

Kanye West drops his New Album "YE" Buy https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/ye/1392975931 Follow https://twitter.com/kanyewest 01. Kanye West – I Thought About...

"ye" was the hardest album to rank. Mostly because it doesn't feel like an album. Its so barren from the usual Kanye trademarks and staples of GOOD Music that it feels like a therapy session. The works this album has done for those with mental health struggles is undeniable, along with its own simplicity being its biggest help. While I enjoy this album, its best quality is seen through what it will ultimately help resolve in Kanye himself.

Best Song: Yikes

4. Late Registration

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group Late · Kanye West Late Registration ℗ 2005 Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC Released on: 2005-08-30 Producer: Kanye West...

"Late Registration" was another breath of fresh air in the hip hop scene. Being someone who wasn't very in tune to music at the age of 6 when this album released, I knew multiple songs off of this project, attesting to it's radio marketability and success. Like West said on "Touch the Sky", I feel like I am on the top of the world when I listen to this album. It is the perfect mixture of braggadocios and intimate.

Best Song: Gold Digger

3. The Life of Pablo

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group Ultralight Beam · Kanye West The Life Of Pablo ℗ 2016 Getting Out Our Dreams II, LLC Released on: 2016-06-10 Pro...

I will undoubtedly get a lot of disagreements with how high this album is listed. (Once again, MY opinion.) It took a long time after the album was released for me to feel so akin to it. This is mostly because it wasn't finished until months after released. The disjointed concept of the album makes it feel so attached to a certain point in time that I don't believe it will be as transcendent as my top 2, but it is the personal and modern retake on his fame that we needed.

Best Song: Ultralight Beam

2. The College Dropout

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group All Falls Down · Kanye West · Syleena Johnson The College Dropout ℗ 2004 UMG Recordings, Inc. Released on: 2004-...

The album that started it all has never disappointed. The College Dropout was an insanely mature and refined approach to a debut. It felt like West had been in the game for years when this project released. While its commercial success never met critical reception, it represents the start of something great, and was a revolution for the sampling production Kanye has become known for.

Best Song: Jesus Walks

1. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

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This is Kanye's magnum opus. This album revived his career after a controversial end to the decade filled with Taylor Swift controversy and exile. The creative process taken to produce this work makes it even more respectable. Months in Hawaii flying out the best in the game produced what Pitchfork lists as a rare 10, what fans list as on of the greatest albums of all time, and what every hip hop fan can associate with the pinnacle of achievement. Every song is crafted to exactly what Kanye needed and wanted to produce, while giving the collaborators free space to create something totally original. Dozens of featured artists, over 20 producers, and months of work made this album, and it shows on every second of the record. This turned into massive smash hits such as "Power" and "All of the Lights", some of Kanye's best lyrics in his career, and the birth of multiple artists' critical acclaim like Nicki Minaj and Cyhi the Prince, not to mention additions like Jay Z, Rick Ross, Kid Cudi, and multiple others that dedicated their time to create what is my favorite album by Kanye West.

Best Song: So Appalled (But I wouldn't argue with anyone's favorite)

So, what do you think? Do you agree? If not, that's ok. That's exactly why music is so important. It is purely subjective and is always in the eye of the beholder.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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