Last week, Complex put out a list where they ranked all of Kanye West's albums from worst to best, and I figured that I should throw in my personal list to further debate the work of this talented, but controversial artist. I am ranking them from worst to best. Let it be known that these are just my opinions, and I welcome debate about my choices.
9. Cruel Summer
This is by far the weakest of Kanye's albums, mainly because it lacks focus. Under his label, G.O.O.D. Music, this was meant to be a coming out party for the label. It missed the mark, and to be honest, it didn't even come close. While it did have the smash hits, "Clique" and "Mercy", the rest of the album lacked focus, ultimately sinking the album.
8. Yeezus
After the beautiful madness of "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," the world was waiting for what Kanye had next, and this is what we got. An album that does not fit with the way that Kanye makes music, "Yeezus" turned off a large amount of longtime fans. With songs like "New Slaves" and "Black Skinhead," people had high hopes for what the rest of the album would sound like. Once the album was released, however, fans were not pleased with songs like "I Am A God" and "Hold My Liquor", which marked a different, not better sound for the rapper.
7. 808's & Heartbreak
This album single-handedly was the reason for the large breakout of autotune in the late 2000's. The two singles, "Heartless" and "Love Lockdown" were masterpieces in terms of the way that Kanye used autotune. The rest of the album carries the same tone of the singles. Songs like "Amazing" and "See You In My Nightmares" offer up new sounds that Kanye is experimenting with while also featuring stellar guest verses from Young Jezzy and Lil' Wayne, respectively.
6. The Life of Pablo
The most recent of Kanye's albums, it is also the messiest of his albums. The fact that it is messy doesn't mean that it is not great. It gives Kanye to show off what he does best on songs like "Famous" and "Wolves." At the same time, he steps aside and lets newer artists step into the spotlight on songs like "Ultralight Beam", "Fade", and "No More Parties in LA". Those three songs gave Chance the Rapper, Post Malone, and Kendrick Lamar, respectively, the chance to show the world what they are capable. The album's messy release sometimes dilutes the work that Kanye did for this album.
5. Watch the Throne
With his mentor, Jay Z, Kanye made an album about what it is like to be a grown black man that is ultra-rich, something that cannot be said by too many people in this country. With songs like "Otis" and "No Church in the Wild", the duo show what they are capable of when they work together. Non-single standouts include "Gotta Have It" and "Murder To Excellence" show that they are able to make more than just radio songs. Wrapping it all up is the smash "N****s in Paris," which includes the classic Kanye line, "What she order? Fish Filet."
4. The College Dropout
Kanye's first album still, for the most part, holds up today. The only thing that doesn't are the albums skits. Other than that, Kanye's most perfect form is seen on this album. The first single "Through the Wire" was a chance that Kanye did not let go to waste. With a wired-shut jaw, he burst onto the scene and showed that the world needed to hear him. With other songs like "Jesus Walks," "Never Let Me Down," "All Falls Down," and "Slow Jamz," Kanye's first album continued to fire on all cylinders that went on and on.
3. Late Registration
On Complex's list, they ranked this album as second-to-worst of Kanye's albums, and that ranking inspired me to make my own list. It is clear on "Late Registration" that Kanye was in the game to stay. He launched the career of Lupe Fiasco on "Touch the Sky". He paid a beautiful tribute to his Mother on "Hey Mama." He made a radio smash with "Gold Digger." He addressed tensions between him and Jay Z on "Diamonds of Sierra Leone." The album represents one of Kanye's most complete works from front to back.
2. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
After his Mother passed away, Kanye started to spiral out of control. He started to act out, had a tumultuous relationship with Amber Rose, and just didn't make the same music that he used to. He needed to go away. He recorded this album in Hawaii, the most isolated someone can get while being in America. He spent time around legends like Q-Tip and Raekwon. He spent time with his contemporaries like Jay Z, Rick Ross, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, Rick Ross and John Legend. He gave new stars the chance to perform, the Nicki Minaj verse in "Monster" and the Pusha T verse in "Runaway" stick out to me. The album is exactly what the title says, beautiful, dark and twisted. Kanye made a piece of art that is seen as one of the best hip-hop albums of all time and gets more and more impressive with every listen.
1. Graduation
To me, this is the most complete work that Kanye has ever made. The album consistently delivers from beginning to end. The intro is one of the best songs on the album that established the way that the rest of the way that the album would be made. Kanye showed his prowess to make radio smashes with "Can't Tell Me Nothing" and "Stronger". He showed his ability to tell stories with songs like "Homecoming" and "Big Brother". He, in a sense, graduated from the artist that Jay Z had mentored to the full fledged superstar that we know today. While I do have some bias for this album because it was the first hip-hop album my Mom let me get, it still holds up 10 years later. So many people related to the pent up frustration that Kanye let build throughout the whole album with feelings of feeling like you are not being respected in the way that you feel that you should be. The album was released on the same day that 50 Cent released an album, and outsold 50's album, proving that he was and is a force to be reckoned with. This album was the reason that Kanye is who he is and we would be a totally different world without it.
