Ranking Eminem’s Discography
And a stupid amount of words to go with it
Eminem’s seven studio albums (we’re leaving Infinite out of this which I consider a mixtape) chronicle the life and thoughts of hip hop’s most enigmatic incomparable personality. Every article written about Eminem mentions his lyrical prowess, his fearlessness for controversy, and how he has combined the two into a legendary career.
I have music I enjoy from every album, and making this list has put a few perspectives into play with how I consider Eminem’s music within a scale.
There’s two top tier Eminem albums which I would assume most fans could agree on. The Eminem Show and The Marshall Mathers LP. Some (many?) detractors would replace The Eminem Show with The Slim Shady LP, but typically the top 3 in any order involves Eminem’s first three albums.
I don’t put The Slim Shady LP on the same level as MMLP and The Eminem Show. The Slim Shady LP is an iconic album for its time, but looking back on just pure enjoyment from song to song, I prefer how The Eminem Show has aged versus The Slim Shady LP.
My first tier is the transcendent tier.
My second tier involves The Slim Shady LP first, followed by Eminem’s two most recent releases, The Marshall Mathers LP 2 and Recovery. This is the very very very good tier. Each of these albums have their misfires, but for the most part, there’s a lot of great listens on these albums.
The third and final tier are Eminem’s experiments that yielded hidden gems, but also some of his worst collective work. Now when I created my Top 5: Worst Eminem songs, two of them were from Recovery, but as a whole the Recovery album was better than Encore and Relapse.
The third tier is the, “you take the great with the bad”, tier. There’s still some great music in Encore and Relapse, it just comes up less often. Despite both albums being the most reviled by fans, it’s important to note that both albums were nominated for Grammy’s. Relapse WON best album in 2010.
Before I jump into my rankings, if Relapse won best rap album, how did the other albums fare?
The Slim Shady LP won best rap album.
MMLP and The Eminem Show won best rap album and were nominated for album of the year.
Encore was nominated for best rap album, but lost to Kanye’s Late Registration.
Relapse won best rap album in a very interesting Grammy’s for hip hop awards.
Recovery won best rap album and was nominated for album of the year.
And finally, MMLP2 won best rap album.
In other words, unless Kanye West is going to compete, Eminem releasing an album will more than likely win the best rap album of the year according to the elitists.
Alright enough of the nonsensical Grammy’s (don’t give a damn about a Grammy. Let’s rank albums.
- The Eminem Show
Top 3: Business, Sing for the Moment, Without Me
The Eminem Show is one of my all-time favorite records. The Eminem Show is a musical composition that could’ve just as easily been made into a film following the peaks and valleys of the stories and emotions so thoroughly portrayed throughout.
Eminem did a lot on the production end in this album, though he got huge assists from Jeff Bass to smooth out the best music on the album. The biggest assist came from Dr. Dre, who produced my favorite track, Business. While every album should portray the artist creating it, The Eminem Show truly felt like Eminem’s sole work. The Eminem Show is less of a passion project, and moreover a profound statement.
The Eminem Show was the pinnacle of Em’s career. A superstar fighter in his prime. But after three straight years of a marred personal life and public persona, detailed within this very album, a fall from grace was imminent.
The only songs I don’t like are Drips and Say What You Say, which was underwhelming in comparison to all the other Dre/Eminem collabs. I also am probably one of the very few that doesn’t care for Cleaning Out My Closet, despite how iconic it is for Eminem to not have any snare in his headphones.
Picking a top 3 for this album is nigh impossible because every song connects with a different emotion. The Eminem Show is an album of preference, and critics say it’s redundant, or its too political. I say for an Eminem fan, this album has it all.
From songs that are pure fun like Without Me and Business, to the political hot takes of White America and Square Dance, and the personal stories told in Say Goodbye to Hollywood, Soldier, and Hailie’s Song.
And yes I know Till I Collapse was on this album, but Never Enough was a better Nate Dogg collab. Dare I say Shake That was the best!?
Bottom 3: Drips, Say What You Say, My Dad’s Gone Crazy
2. The Marshall Mathers LP
Top 3: Stan, Criminal, Kill You
Why is The Marshall Mathers LP 2nd? It’s a matter of taste and preference, as music always is and will be. As far as my reasoning goes..
The Marshall Mathers LP sticks to one distinct tone, and from the moment you click play, it’s evident the follow-up to The Slim Shady LP is amping up for another go of Eminem’s vicious lyricism. I appreciate The Eminem Show’s variety, but understand that the legacy of MMLP will be the primary talking point in rap history.
The first five songs of the album are Eminem at his peak of powers. The controversy, the self-awareness, the cleverness. The rest of the album is good, but it’s a wild ride. This album is over an hour long, and one hour of Eminem is a helluva journey.
I’ve listened to the song Kim a few times in the last year, and the only reaction I have is that, there’s NO WAY this song could be released by any artist not named Eminem in 2017. Even if Eminem went to those lengths again, there’d be a massive backlash. When people talk about comedy or art going too far, I remind people of the song Kim, and that art can live in a realm separate of reality.
Stan is arguably the greatest written song of all-time. People that are fans of other music are called Stan’s. The internet would refer to me as a Stan right now. I don’t care. (Lupe’s my favorite rapper anyway, so what am I, a “conscious Stan”?)
The Way I Am should be top 3, but Criminal and Kill You are also on this album, so what can I do?
Bottom 3: The Kids, Remember Me, Amityville
3. The Slim Shady LP
Top 3: Role Model, As the World Turns, Guilty Conscience
It’s not inconceivable to rank The Slim Shady LP at first, second, or third. SSLP is consistent from top to bottom with only three legitimate duds.
Let’s get the flops out of the way, I just don’t know how anyone listens to Just Don’t Give a Fuck? I call it the “nails on the chalkboard” song for the production, which I think is irrevocably terrible. I usually get to the Schottenheimer line before I give up. Cum on Everybody is below average for Eminem standards.
My Fault is also pretty awful, and it follows up Role Model, which doesn’t do it any favors.
Whereas the The Eminem Show was far more realistic and grounded in a sense, SSLP is surrealistic in the storytelling realm. There are personal reflective pieces like Rock Bottom and If I Had, which are good, but Guilty Conscience and As the World Turns are on another level.
The sleeper hit is Bad Meets Evil, which would later spawn a full album sequel. Royce Da 5'9" is the only other credited feature not named Dr. Dre on the album. I believe the term, underrated is thrown around haplessly. For Royce, it’s not that he’s underrated, he’s just not rated and given the proper attention. He’s been a great lyricist for the entire length of his career.
I’ve always been fascinated by the narrative of Dr. Dre propping Eminem to his mainstream success. Dre is credited with producing three songs on the album. Not so ironically they include the best work: the smash hit My Name Is, Guilty Conscience, and Role Model.
Dre makes guaranteed gems, but there can’t be any sleight to the Bass Brothers as far as production for Eminem goes. The distinct sound of Eminem’s early works will be a great case study for decades to come.
Bottom 3: Just Don’t Give a Fuck, My Fault, Cum on Everybody
4. The Marshall Mathers LP 2
Top 3: Legacy, Rap God, Bezerk
As far as quality is concerned, MMLP2 and Recovery are even. I give the edge to MMLP2 for the nostalgia factor being executed in a way that was not only nostalgic, but remained innovative. Some of that credit can be given to the production efforts or Rick Rubin, who was an executive producer on the album.
This is a sequel that is true to Eminem’s roots, but shows the growth of his character and persona through nearly two decades of close inspection. It’s a time capsule, and an admirable effort, but doesn’t come close to Em’s best work. Gathering the same fervor he had in the beginning of his career is not a fair expectation, but there’s always a potent excitement when Eminem is putting out a new music.
The top 3 songs of this album provide a good representation of what Eminem’s career is all about. Each of the three tracks have ridiculously clever wordplay in their own right, and showcase Em’s talent as a lyricist and his ability to work in different styles.
Legacy tells Shady’s story. Rap God is a skillful reminder. Bezerk is an anthem.
Bad Guy was good, but long, and couldn’t live up to the expectations of being a Stan sequel, despite a magnificently crafted ending.
Love Game is secretly a pinnacle moment in hip hop pairing together Kendrick Lamar and Eminem in a very good song. Rubin’s unique influence on the production is shown here.
There’s a collection of songs that can be described as solid or good: Rhyme or Reason, So Much Better, Brainless, Survival, So Far, and two of the bonus tracks Groundhog Day and Baby.
There were the obvious clunkers. I did not care for Stronger Than I Was. The Monster should’ve been put out to the shed, but was likely needed for radio purposes. Asshole was a strangely produced mess.
The big difference between MMLP 2 and its predecessor is that the sequel breaks sequence when songs like The Monster or Survival or Headlights play because the songs are so far out of left field with reminiscent tunes like Brainless and So Much Better.
But alas, for or the consistency in quality music, MMLP2 gets the nod at 4.
Bottom 3: The Monster, Asshole, Stronger Than I Was
5. Recovery
Top 3: Space Bound, Almost Famous, Won’t Back Down
I’ve listened to Recovery almost as much as the top three albums, but that’s mostly because it was the first album of new music he put out when I was a teenager. I missed Relapse and had to double back around for Encore, but Recovery has its share of re-playable music.
I believe the unfortunate legacy of Recovery is that it’s going to be the album that Not Afraid and Love the Way You Lie are on. I am on record, to all my friends that will listen, that those two pop-rap behemoths are nearly the worst tracks on the album. Untitled is a disaster but I’ll still take it over Love the Way You Lie. Not Afraid is a good song, but fell victim to the radio over-saturation.
Three downers down, three left to go. I can’t listen to No Love past 20 seconds. Going Through Changes and Seduction aren’t very good either.
The rest of the album is very good, but never really phenomenal.
Eminem as always delivers on every album with a signature emotionally in tune song. Space Bound is the hero here.
After Space Bound, it’s really take your pick, so I landed on Almost Famous and Won’t Back Down for very simple reasons.
In Almost Famous, Eminem fits in the word: antidisestablishmentarianism.
In Won’t Back Down, Eminem has his voice turned down as the woman he is speaking to is tuning him out. Realizing this, Eminem says:
Bitch, you listening? Tryna turn me down
Slut, I’m talking to you, turn me back up
Are you insane tryna talk over me in the car
Shut the fuck up while my shit’s playin’
The rest of the album?
It’s good.
The album featured several prominent production efforts from Just Blaze, Boi-1da, and DJ Khalil, with only one Dr. Dre appearance on So Bad. There were some fun mixes, but you can tell with the lineup of producers it disjoints the overall album into more of a mixtape. This album not only strayed away from the Shady character, but the unique Shady sound from a production standpoint.
Bottom 3: No Love, Untitled, Love the Way You Lie
6. Encore
Top 3: Never Enough, Ass Like That, Rain Man
The fanboy top 3 of this album would go something like this:
Mockingbird, Just Lose It, Like Toy Soldiers
I, of course, will forever and always be the contrarian. Not for the sake of it, but for my difference in taste. Music is all about taste, and Encore is not the type of album to put a good taste in your mouth with songs like Puke and Big Weenie.
What has gotten lost in the catalog are the hidden gems. Not the super shiny grandiose Indiana Jones-level jewels, but definitely worth enough to impress your girlfriend on the anniversary you forgot you had. Songs like: Spend Some Time, One Shot Two Shot, Evil Deeds, and Crazy in Love. None of these songs are the ones you show off to your uninitiated friend, but they’re the songs that true fans can rep.
I love Never Enough and wish it would’ve been longer, and the 50 Cent verse isn’t all that amazing. Even still, Dre produced a banger as per usual.
Ass Like That and Rain Man are my favorite of the eclectic choices on the album. They’re not easy listening tracks that anyone can get down to, but the hardcore Eminem fans can appreciate how much Shady’s personality shines on the two songs.
Bottom 3: My First Single, Big Weenie, Puke
7. Relapse
Top 3: Beautiful, Dr. West (Skit), 3 A.M.
It’s a good album, don’t get me wrong, but Eminem himself was critical of Encore and Relapse when reflecting upon his efforts in Recovery:
It’s different, them last two albums didn’t count
Encore I was on drugs, Relapse I was flushin’ them out
I’ve come to make it up to you now, no more fuckin’ around
I got somethin’ to prove to fans, ’cause I feel like I let ’em down
After a 4-year hiatus, Relapse, including the deluxe edition, stretched to a 29 track effort. Subtracting the 5 skits, that’s 24 songs.
Relapse arguably has the best opening of any Eminem album with the Dr. West skit that was so damn good that I had to put it in my top 3. Now putting a skit might seem disingenuous, but I contend how good the skit was made the 3 A.M. song that much better. The opening two tracks are my favorite part of the album.
There’s no song that will get you in your feelings more than Beautiful. To have an Eminem song so grounded by reality is numbing as a fan, it’s almost a spiritual experience. Beautiful features a return from producer Jeff Bass, and a sample of Reaching Out by Rock Therapy. You can always find a message in Eminem’s numerous ballads over his career, but none has been so direct and clear cut as Beautiful.
Relapse has the most songs I would classify as average and usually average means there isn’t too much replay value. Every Eminem album has a list of songs worth replaying over and over, Relapse is just on the bottom end with the least amount of replayable tracks.
Some of the okay tracks are Stay Wide Awake, Underground, Deja Vu, Insane, and Careful What You Wish For.
The stretch of Bagpipes from Baghdad, Hello, Same Song & Dance, We Made You, and Medicine Ball isn’t very good with We Made You being the only passable song of the group. Eminem does a lot of songs on this album with a strange nonsensical accent that would typically work in short spurts, but not for entire verses and songs. The Relapse accent is the ultimate downfall of the album.
I’ll be interested to see how pop culture assesses the song, Forever, being that Boi-1da produced a song that features Kanye, Lil Wayne, and Drake. The production overshadows most of any of the words spoken on a song where it didn’t feel like a grand occasion. I’ll likely never find Drake to be entertaining and I still find Wayne a bit too gimmicky.
Drop the Bomb on Em is the underrated gem buried as the last song of the deluxe Refill edition.
Bottom 3: Same Song & Dance, Bagpipes from Baghdad, Hello
