Rihanna is my favorite singer by far. It’s time to take a look at her discography and rank the albums. This was actually very difficult as a lot of these albums are about as great as each other.
8) A Girl Like Me (89)-This might be her worst album of the bunch but it’s still really good. Her singing is just as great as it was on her debut. “Unfaithful” still gives me the chills all these years later for some reason. “SOS” and “We Ride” are also great. “If It’s Lovin’ You Want” and “Break it Off” have good guest spots too. Top Tracks: SOS, Kisses Don’t Lie, We Ride, Unfaithful, Break it Off.
7) Music of the Sun (91)-Rihanna’s first album is pretty solid actually. Her Caribbean roots are perhaps strongest here than on her other albums. “Pon De Replay”, her lead single may be the best song but there’s quite a few other good ones here like “Here I Go Again” and the incredible “Music of the Sun”. She shows a lot of sass on “You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No)”. Top Tracks: Pon De Replay, You Don’t Love Me (No No No), If It’s Lovin That You Want,La That la La, Music of the Sun.
6) Unapologetic (92)-This album is actually tied with the next album but I prefer that one over this one. This album features a lot of different styles. Rihanna raps on a few songs like on “Fresh Off The Runway” and “Pour it Up”. There’s some well used guest spots here like Future and Mike Ekko. “Diamonds” tho, is one of her best songs and I like the remixes to it here as well. And “What Now” is a stand out solo performance. I really like how cohesive this album is despite the varying sounds. TT: Loveeeee Song, Stay, Diamonds, What Now, Right Now, Fresh off the Runway.
5) Loud (92)-Not gonna lie, Loud is kind of a polarizing album. It’s not really better than Unapologetic, but I like its songs a little more. “S&M” is bad girl Riri almost to the max. She even sings “Feels so good being bad, Ain’t no way I’m turning back”. There’s just a lot of bangers here like “Cheers (Drink to That)” and the infectious “Man Down”. “Only Girl in the World” Is so damn good too. “Love the Way You Lie (Part II)” with Eminem is a great sequel also. Ultimately you have an album here with some very strong songs mixed in with a few average ones. TT: Man Down, S&M, Whats My Name, Cheers (Drink to That), California King Bed, Love the Way You Lie (Part II).
4) Rated R (93)-Now we’re into the top 4 albums. This is an overall much darker album than anything she’d done at that time. “Rude Boy” kinda stands out as a really fun light song tho here. I love “Hard” with Jeezy. “Russian Roulette” is provocative too. “Te Amo” and “Fire Bomb” are just so good. That’s the thing with this album. Theres not really any weak songs here. It’s not her best album but its great in its own right. Top Tracks: Wait Your Turn, Te Amo, Rude Boy, Fire Bomb, Hard, Rockstar 101, Russian Roulette.
3) Talk That Talk (95)-There’s just something great about this album. It sounds very cohesive and there’s not a lot of songs so no song really misses. I didn’t really like “We Found Love” that much when this first came out but the song has really grown on me since then. The title track with Jay-z is also great. The back to back songs of “Cockiness (Love It)” and “Birthday Cake” are also terrific. I really like “Drunk on Love” and “Roc Me Out” too. This album is just so solid. Of course the two album that are over it are classics. TT: We Found Love, Talk That Talk, Where Have You Been, Roc Me Out, Birthday Cake, Cockiness (Love It), Drunk On Love.
2) Anti (97)-This album is called her magnum opus by many. To me it’s a classic for sure, but not quite her best. Then again I originally rated this album kinda low to the point it would have been tied with Rated R, but I then upped the score twice since my original review. So, what makes Anti so great? Well her singing and execution on these songs may be the best it’s ever been. Songs like “Kiss It Better”, “Higher”, and “Love on the Brain” are beautiful. A song like “Work” with Drake are a lot of fun too. The album is just a blast to listen to. I didn’t even mention the 3 song run of “Needed Me”, “Yeah I Said It”, and “ Same Ol’ Mistakes”.Maybe we haven’t gotten a new album from her since this is cause she thinks she can’t match this one…TT: Consideration, Work, Kiss It Better, Desperado, Higher, Love on the Brain, Needed Me, Same Ol’ Mistakes, Yeah I Said It.
1) Good Girl Gone Bad (99)-Here we are, the top Rihanna album. This is the album that made her a force in music and well….it actually saved her career. This is kinda of the album that made me a fan of hers too. While it’s not the vocal performance that Anti is, this album has the hits. “Umbrella” with Jay-z is still one of her best songs. It’s just so catchy. The album doesn’t really slow down much at all after that till maybe “Say It”. Before that there’s “Don’t Stop the Music” and “Shut Up and Drive”. “Breakin Dishes” is a fire song too as is “Push Up On Me”. The last 5 songs are also really good. “Rehab” is great as is “Sell Me Candy”. All in all this is an album I don’t know if she can match again, but hey of course I’d love to hear more music from the Island gal. TT: Umbrella, Sell Me Candy, Don’t Stop The Music, Hate That I Love You, Rehab, Breakin Dishes, Shut Up and Drive.
