My Music: Kanyes Albums (The Real Ones)

The College Dropout (2004)

The breakout opus makes one feel like they are in an afrocentric college campus without a care in the world. The style is traditional but also unmistakably Kanye.

The Best Tracks: We Don’t Care, All Falls Down, Spaceship, Jesus Walks, The New Workout Plan, School Spirit, Through the Wire

Worst Track: Slow Jamz

Personal Rating: 9/10

Late Registration (2005)

Usually music artists, especially in hip hop, hit a Sophomore slump after a successful first album. This was very much not the case with Kanye Wests second effort “Late Registration”.

The Jazz influenced LP carries much of the feel of “College Dropout” and expands on it and incorporates the lessons the young Kanye had learned since his rise to stardom.

The Best Tracks: Heard ’Em Say, Touch The Sky, Gold Digger, My Way Home, Roses, Diamonds From Sierra Leone, We Major, Hey Mama, Gone

The Worst Track: Celebration

Rating: 9/10

Graduation (2007)

Kanye took a u-turn with this electronic inspired album “Graduation”, his last installment of the “Dropout” series.

Even though there was surprise around his artistic shift, it remains one of his most popular commercial records.

The Best Tracks: Good Morning, Champion, Stronger, Good Life, Cant Tell Me Nothing, Flashing Lights, Everything I Am, The Glory, Homecoming

The Worst Track: Drunk and Hot Girls

Personal Rating: 8/10

808s and Heartbreak (2008)

The title tells you almost everything you need to know about this experimental record that came totally out of left field.

This album sounds 250% better if you’re depressed, speaking from personal experience. But all in all, I’d say only half the songs are listenable but the ones that are, are some of the most amazing musical compositions I’ve ever heard.

The Best Tracks: Welcome To Heartbreak, Heartless, Amazing, Love Lockdown, Paranoid

The Worst Track: See You in My Nightmares

Personal Rating: 6/10

Personal Rating (Worst Half Excluded): 10/10

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)

This is probably the most spectacular composition of music created in the 21st century. This album is equal parts traditional, experimental and Kanye.

The features on this album are crazy too, Raekwon, RZA, Pusha T, Rick Ross, Charlie Wilson, Big Sean, Cyhi the Prynce, Swizz Beatz, Dwele, Nicki Minaj, T.I., Drake, Common, Jay-Z, John Legend, Fergie, Rihanna, The-Dream, Ryan Leslie, Elton John, M.I.A., Justin Vernon, Seal, Soulja Boy, Beyoncé, Kid Cudi, Mos Def, Santigold, Alicia Keys, and Elly Jackson. It all adds up to one of the most memorable albums of all time.

Admittedly though, some of the songs are empty calories.

The Best Tracks: Dark Fantasy, Gorgeous, Power, All of Lights, Monster, Devil in a New Dress, Runaway, Hell of a Life, Lost in the World

The Worst Track: Blame Game

Personal Rating: 10/10

Yeezus (2013)

Yeezus is abnormal.

It is very experimental with light hits and huge misses. It was a hit amongst his fans so they may not like my points, just saying, I’m not a fan.

Bound 2 makes me laugh though.

Best Tracks: Black Skinhead, New Slaves, Blood on Leaves, Bound 2

Worst Tracks: I Am a God

The Life of Pablo (2016)

This experimental opus had a bipolar feel to it, the first half being silky smooth, crazy spectacular, and wildly new. The second half feels very much the opposite, except the experimentation.

The main thing that the first half of the album and the second half have in common was that they weren’t finished when he released the album.

However, over a year behind closed doors, he re- engineered the audio and the final product was fantastic.

Best Tracks: Ultralight Beam, Father Stretch My Hands pt.1, Famous, Highlights, Wolves, 30 Hours, No More Parties LA, Fade, Real Friends

Worst Tracks: Pt. 2

Before Re- engineering: 5/10

After: 9/10