We’ve all got a favorite Kanye West album, right? But more importantly, we all have our opinions as to which project is the best. With so many opinions it’s hard to see who’s got it right. So, at SnobHop we decided to put our heads together and come up with what we believe is the most accurate ranking of Yeezy’s stellar discography. Give it a read, and Let us know what your list looks like below!
7. Yeezus
Jesus, number 7 is Yeezus (Was that too corny?). Either way, I think we can all agree that if one album has to be the worst Kanye West Album it’s Yeezus. Believe it or not, I actually like Yeezus… Haven’t played it in a while but that’ll change with this article.
Yeezus was highly experimental. Kanye West went through a phase of minimalism where the beats consisted of a few drums and and maybe a few synth sounds. That in mind this was easily his most vocal album and a few years ahead of its time. The political climate in America hadn’t quite reached the boiling point necessary for this album to receive the recognition it’s worthy of getting. However, isn’t that the true mark of genius? Can’t say for sure, but with Yeezy it’s a safe bet.
Best song: Bound 2
Worst Song: Send it Up
Underrated gem: Guilt Trip
Favorite Bars: “Soon as they like you make ’em unlike you/ Cause kissin’ people ass is so unlike you/ The only rapper compared to Michael/ So here’s a few hatin’-ass niggas to fight you/ And here’s a few snake-ass niggas to bite you/ And I don’t even wanna hear ‘bout what niggas might do/ Old niggas mentally still in high school/ Since the tight jeans they ain’t never liked you/ Pink-ass polos with a fuckin’ backpack/ But everybody know you brought real rap back/Nobody had swag, man, we the Rat Pack” — I AM A GOD
6. The Life of Pablo
With TLOP Kanye West teetered on the edge of sanity. Mid-show rants and Paparazzi fights, combined with rumors of a fracturing relationship with his Big Brother JAY-Z & the new responsibilities of being a father/husband fans were truly wondering had they lost the Kanye of old.
On the contrary, TLOP showed that Yeezy never left, he just elevated — over the Jumpman, at that.
Best song: Father I Stretch My Hands
Worst song: Freestyle 4
Underrated Gem: Wolves
Favorite Bars: “I know some fans thought I wouldn’t rap like this again But the writer’s block is over, emcees cancel your plans A 38-year-old 8-year-old with rich nigga problems /Tell my wife that I hate the Rolls so I don’t never drive it/ It took 6 months to get the Maybach all matted out /And my assistant crashed it soon as they backed it out/ God damn, got a bald fade I might slam/ Pink fur, got Nori dressin’ like Cam” — No More Parties in LA
5. The College Dropout
Man… This was a great album. This was a great DEBUT ALBUM. And Mr. West delivered on all fronts with the College Drop Out.
The samples were incredible and the album was revolutionary in a time that was dominated by crews like G-Unit. Departing from gangsta rap to a polo wearing backpacker with a JAY-Z cosign is a huge step for any hip-hop fan, but if you’re gonna make that step for the first time College Dropout is the album that you wanna listen to.
Ye’s closeness to the average joe’s struggle on songs like spaceships, and Never Let Me Down easily make the Dropout his most relatable project. And with singles like Through the Wire, and Slow Jamz one can understand why fans miss ‘the old Kanye’
Best Song: Get Em High
Worst song: School Spirit
Underrated Gem: Never Let Me Down
Favorite Bars: “And I won’t, give you that money that you asking for/ Why you think me and Dame cool? We assholes/ That’s why we hear your music in fast forward/ ‘Cuz we don’t wanna hear that weak shit no mo” — Get Em High
4. Graduation
First things first. Mos Def is ill. Drunk & Hot Girls is not. That’s the only song that stopped this album from being flawless. That being said, Graduation is an excellent work from Mr. West. And truthfully, if we could put three albums at #1 this would be one of them. It’s a bonafide classic backed by incredible album cuts like Champion, Flashing Lights, & Barry Bonds Big Brother etc.
The tone of the album remains consistent throughout the entire work and served as a nice ending to the trilogy of college-themed albums from Mr. West. This album showed a marked move away from West’s traditional style of hip-hop production with his sample selection including a wider range of musical stylings including Daft Punk. It’s also the first Kanye West album where arguably the best song, Big Brother, was not produced by West himself. That’s rare. Graduation is rare. And, it’s number 4 on our list.
Best Song: Flashing Lights
Worst song: Drunk & Hot Girls
Underrated Gem: Barry Bonds
Favorite bars: THE WHOLE SECOND VERSE OF FLASHING LIGHTS
3. 808’s & Heartbreak
Incredible. Career defining. Genre-bending. Game Changing. Amazing work of art. 808’s and Heartbreak was a stark contrast from the first 3 Kanye West album and although initial reception was lukewarm, this album eventually received the acclaim it so rightfully deserved. It’s really hard to put this one as number 4 but nevertheless, this is our choice.
808’s and Heartbreak had some of the best production and song-writing ever. The production on songs like Love Lockdown proved to be highly experimental and minimalist, yet when coupled with the distorted vocals of Mr. West lamenting about love’s had and love’s lost THAT SHIT WAS BANGIN’!
Best Song: Amazing
Worst song: N/A
Underrated Gem: Welcome to Heartbreak
Favorite Bars: “Dad cracked a joke, all the kids laughed/ But I couldn’t hear him all the way in first class/ Chased the good life my whole life long/ Look back on my life and my life gone/ Where did I go wrong?” — Welcome to Heartbreak
2. Late Registration
Purely from a fan standpoint this might be my favorite Kanye West album, and although it’s not his best work it’s pretty damn close. The success of Gold Digger alone makes Late Registration Kanye West’s career defining work as this album marked his official crossover into the pop world. Before, with the College Dropout West established himself as a hip-hop star. But on Late Registration he proved to be the budding mega-star that we see today.
Each Kanye album has a specific sound. The style of samples are different, the producers are different. It’s just different *JAY-Z Voice*
But with Late Registration, Ye is the most grounded, the most political, and consistent with a theme than we’ve seen from his other works. Late Registration is a masterpiece without perceivable flaw and it showed the a level a maturation from the first record, College Dropout, that not many artists are able to achieve. Indeed, Ye avoided the sophomore slump and instead gifted us with the Sophomore knockout.
Best Song: Diamonds
Worst song: N/A
Underrated Gem: Addiction
Favorite Bars: “I ask, if you talkin’ about classics, do my name get brought up?/ I remember I couldn’t afford a Ford Escort/ Or even a four-track recorder/ So it’s only right that I let the top drop on a drop-top Porsche/Spoil yourself, that’s important/ If your stripper name “Porsche” and you get tips from many men/ Then your fat friend, her nickname is “Minivan”/ Excuse me, that’s just the Henny, man/ I smoke, I drink, I’m supposed to stop, I can’t, because” — Diamonds From Sierra Lione
1. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
MBDTF was the perfect storm that defined the later half of Ye’s career. Of course we know he was fresh off the heals of the Taylor thing, and had the whole situation w/ Amber — but really, who gives a shit about that when The music it inspired was FUCKING GREAT!
The reason this is Kanye’s best project is because the collaboration it inspired were at some point only fantasies. Who else was gonna put JAY-Z on the same song with Cyhi, & the RZA?! That’s insane smh.
MBDTF a melting pot of styles from every corner of the rap community. I can only imagine how it would’ve sounded with those Madlib beats smh. And what if No More Parties in LA landed on here?!
Questions that we’ll never know the answer too. But nevertheless, it’s still Yeezy’s best work. Fight me.
Best Song: So Appalled
Worst song: N/A
Underrated Gem: Gorgeous
Favorite Bars: “Have you ever had sex with a pharaoh/I put the pussy in a sarcophagus/ Now she claiming that I bruise her esophagus/ Head of the class and she just wants a swallow-ship/ I’m living in the future so the present is the past/ my presence is a present kiss my ass” — Monster
