Kanye loves to love Kanye. Some people love to hate Kanye. But I think a majority of us can agree that no matter what, we love listening to Kanye. While the general public may be split on how to feel about Kanye’s admittedly aggressive, oddball and cocky personality, I still consider him my favorite music artist of all time. There are few artists that have been able to create such an explosion of hype upon their initial release, be able to sustain that critical acclaim through every album of their discography, and be able to change their sound so distinctly in such an influential manner as Mr. West. Kanye was one of the first rap artists to realize all that could be achieved through hip-hop music once you moved past the general conventions of the genre. Without Kanye, rap/hip-hop music wouldn’t be the same as it is today. Love him or hate him, you can’t argue that he isn’t one of the most influential music artists of the 2000s. Here’s how I would rank Kanye’s albums, from worst to best (side note: I think every album from Kanye is amazing, even if it may rank lower compared to the rest of his albums).
8. "808s and Heartbreak"
While I recognize that this album is one of the more influential in Kanye’s discography -- some argue we wouldn’t have artists like Drake without it -- I do think it still ranks the lowest in comparison to his other albums. Being in an incredibly dark and depressing state after the death of his mother, this album has the least clear vision of all his records and uses auto-tune almost as a defense barrier to help Kanye accentuate his emotions. Only Kanye could make auto-tune sound this good, though.
7. "Watch the Throne"
An album that is incredibly fun to listen to and has some absolute hits on it, "Watch the Throne" is the most surface-level album that Kanye has created. Jay-Z and 'Ye are a dynamic duo that rival MJ and Scottie Pippen, but this album doesn’t have the emotional depth or relevance that some of his later works do. Fun to listen to, but doesn’t delve into any emotional introspections.
6. "Graduation"
Very similar to “Watch The Throne” in the sense that it is also a very surface-level album. None of the songs here are incredibly deep with hidden meaning or give us an extensive glimpse into this intriguing character, but it still has some of the most mature lyrics and best beats that hip-hop has ever heard. The fact that this album has such amazing songs like “Good Life,” “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” “Flashing Lights,” and “The Glory” but is still so low down on the list just goes to show how talented this musician really is.
5. "Late Registration"
An album that seemingly gets easily lost among the others, it is crucial to remember just how important this album was for Kanye’s career. While it may not boast some of the successful hits that have come from "Graduation,” and may not be as innovative as “College Dropout,” it still shows a progression in maturity from his debut. Having an important sophomore album is key for an artist and Kanye delivered brilliantly with “Late Registration.” Plus, most people would say that “Gold Digger” is Kanye’s most famous song to date.
4. "Yeezus"
An album that was quickly thrown away by most people because of its strange sound, this group of songs shows Kanye at his most bold and experimental. On this album, Kanye wasn’t making music for other people, he was making it for himself -- and boy did it pay off. He is uncompromising in his progression of sonic sounds, creating music that energizes the listener with an angry rage at the blandness of commercial hip-hop. It may not be very conventional, but it is the most self-assured and confident that Kanye has ever sounded on an album and is one of the best experimental albums of all time.
3. "Life of Pablo"
It’s strange that the album Kanye spent so much time working on is the album that feels the least complete. Kanye has a sense of what he wants to say with this album, but it feels like he never fully completes his message. It isn’t quite the masterpiece that “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” is, but it certainly is a masterpiece in its own sense. Each song pays tribute to the best sounds that Kanye has ever created or envisioned. “Life of Pablo” is Kanye’s open love letter to himself and the best music he has ever created, incorporating elements of all his previous albums into one. It may feel more like a mixtape than an album, but that doesn’t make it any less amazing to listen to.
2. "College Dropout"
The album that started it all and caused such a rupture in the music industry that seems only fitting for the figure that Kanye has become over the years. This is Kanye at his most pure and creative; this is the funny Kanye that many people miss. There is nothing experimental about this album. It is just pure, unadulterated, good music. Some people say that the album hasn’t aged as well as they may have liked, but it think it’s aging like fine wine and is still one of the best albums of the decade and a definite landmark in music history.
1. "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"
It’s dark; it’s complex; it’s emotional; it’s twisted, but it’s the true embodiment of beautiful music. “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” is Kanye’s most completed album in terms of vision and came at one of the most important times in his life after the fallout from the Taylor Swift VMA incident. Kanye went on hiatus in Hawaii in order to complete this masterpiece. And after vigorous work, he produced the best rap album of all time. He lays himself bare on the album, giving us insights into his unique mind, and performs such a rigorous self-introspection that it puts commercial rap artists like Tyga and 2 Chainz to shame. It’s so great he even convinced Elton John to make an appearance on it. Some people may consider it a cop out to say this is his best album, but it’s too far ahead of anything else he has ever created to put it anywhere lower on this list.
Some of you may disagree with the list I have made, but that’s just another beautiful thing about Kanye -- there are very few people who collectively agree on how to rank his albums. Each album speaks differently to every listener; some may think that "808s and Heartbreak" is his worst but I know some that put it as their best because of its influential nature on many modern hip-hop artists. I know my friend Bobby would punch me for not putting “Graduation” at No. 1. But that’s just how Kanye is. He’s controversial, unique, unabashed and yet purely brilliant. Kanye will always be Kanye and I couldn’t be happier.
