20) Nastradamus (75)- It really shouldn’t be a surprise to see this one ranked so low. The lyricism isn’t abysmal but everything is pretty average. How does a song like “Big Girl” make it to a Nas album?? It’s just a boring album plain and simple….I don’t really have a lot to say about it.
19) Street’s Disciple (82)-I hate having this one so low. I honestly like a lot of the songs on this double disc. Unfortunately there’s quite a bit of filler here just like with Jay-z’s Blueprint 2. Disc one has hits like “Nazareth Savage”, “American Way”, “ Just a Moment” and “ You Know My Style”. Disc 2 has some heat on it too: “Suicide Bounce”, the title track, “Virgo”, “Bridging the Gap” and “Thiefs Theme”.
18) The Lost Tapes 2 (86)-This one I admit I haven’t heard that much…but its pretty decent. It gets off to a good start with songs like “Vernon Family” and “Jarreau of Rap (Skatt Attack)”. A lot of these songs are ok….but not much is that stellar imo.
17)Magic 2(90)- This was the 5th album Nas and Hit-Boy gave us…you can see the formula was getting slightly stale but only slightly. There’s some really good songs here like “Abracadabra” and “Black Magic”. The 50 Cent feature on “Office Hours” is pretty bad. The production here is pretty vibrant and contemporary. Ultimately its tied with the next album.
16) Kings Disease (90)-I feel this is a pretty solid album. It was the first of many Nas and Hit-Boy albums we got. I really like the songs “Car #85” and “Ultra Black”. Never mind the shade towards Doja Cat on the latter. The production here is good but Hit-Boy would provide Nas with hotter beats on some later albums.”Spicy” featuring Fivio Foreign and A$AP Ferg was a good outro.
15) I Am…(90)-This is Nas’s first 1999 album. It’s a lot better than Nastradaumus but I find its kinda not that impressive in his discography. There’s a few features like Puff Daddy, DMX, Scarface, and Aaliyah. I really enjoy “Hate Me Now”. “Nas is Like” is probably the best song. On many of these songs tho Nas showcases great storytelling like on “Small World” and the album closer “Undying Love”.
14) Magic(91)-Clockin in at just 29 minutes; Magic 1 is a nice smooth listen. I gotta admit I don’t enjoy this as much as King’s Disease II which came out earlier. “Speechless” is a great intro tho. It really sets the atmosphere for the album. The only feature on the album is A$AP Rocky on Wave Gods.
13) It Was Written (91)-IWW is a really interesting album. Lyrically Nas is amazing here. On “I Gave You Power” he raps from the perspective of a gun. The production however…like many Nas albums isn’t all that. “Nas is Coming” with Dr. Dre is decent. Also “If I Ruled the World” featuring Lauryn Hill is one of his best songs. “Street Dreams” is also pretty good. As good as this album is I cant put it any higher.
12) Magic 3(93)-The final album of the Nas & Hit-Boy albums; this was a hell of an album. This is easily the best of the Magic series. Some major highlights are “Fever”, “Pretty Young Girl”, and “Never Die”. The latter features Lil Wayne. This album is really good with minimal features which will be mentioned again on a album higher up on the list. Lyrically Nas is great here and the production is very cohesive too.
11) Kings Disease II (94) – The 2nd Nas and Hit-Boy album is notably better than the first. It’s a really well balanced album. The lyrics and production are great. I give It a slight edge over Magic 3. “Death Row East” is a great story where Nas talks about him and 2Pac attempting to squash the beef. “EPMD 2” features Eminem and EPMD ,and you can argue Eminem really steals the show there. Nas sounds more comforbatle on these beats than he did on Kings Disease one.
10) Nasir (95)-Now we’re in the top 10. This might shock you….but imo Nasir is one of Nas’s best albums. This album was apart of Kanye’s Wyoming Sessions where he made a lot of albums in the summer of 2018. The first song here, “Not For the Radio” is really controversial ….and not cause it features Puff Daddy lol. The 2nd song “Cop Shot the Kid” is really fire. Ultimately Kanye blessed Nas with some good production. “Bonjour” and “White Label” are great too.
9) The Lost Tapes (95)-Unlike Lost Tapes 2…this collection of throw-aways anything but average songs. Nas is in great form here lyrically. I pretty much like every song. “Doo Rags” is so inspirational. “My Way” and “You Gotta Love It” are awesome too. “Poppa was a Player” and “Fetus” are also dope song concepts. This album is tied score wise with the next 3 albums but I couldn’t put this over those ones.
8) God’s Son (95)-I had a really hard time with this placement….but God’s Son is really damn good. Nas spits really well on these tracks. It’s a really personal album for him as he raps about his mother on “Dance”. Theres some guest spots here and they are really well used…like Alicia Keys on “Warrior’s Song”. “The Cross”, “Made You Look”, and “Last Real Nigga Alive” are amazing songs. The song “Zone Out’ Isn’t good tho…and I often skip it. This album could have been higher easily but hey 8th is pretty damn good.
7) Untitled (95)-Theres just something really special about Untitled or Nas as its often called. It may be a stretch…but lyrically this might be a top 2 or 3 performance by Nas. He just paints pictures so well here like on songsd like “America” or the inspiring “Black President”. “Hero” with Keri Hilson is really glossy sounding but it works here. “Make the World Go Round” with The Game and Chris Brown also works. Then you have great songs like “Fried Chicken” and “Project Roach”. This album would be higher but i’ll admit the production is just good and not great.
6) Hip Hop Is Dead(95)-Another controversial album by Nas. It was tied with 7-10 but this one is fire. The album has a lot of good songs on it like the title track. There’s also just the right amount of guest features on it too. The album starts strong with “Money Over Bullshit”. I really like the comedic approach of the song “Who Killed It”. I love “Blunt Ashes” a lot too. Somehow this album gets overlooked and I don’t know why. Oh yeah “Black Republican” with Jay-z was dope too.
5) Kings Disease III (96)-If you check my blog you’ll see this album was rated 94….but over time it’s grown on me. It’s just loaded front to back….and theres not really any features either..technically. Nas pulls off a tremendous feat here on the best of the Hit-Boy produced albums. “Thun” is amazing. I never get tired of that song. Nas embodies beef on “Beef”. “Im On Fire” is dope too. Ultimately the production on this album is just insane.
4). Life is Good (97)-Coming in at 4 is 2012’s LiG. This was the album that made everyone realize Nas still had it. The first 3 songs “No Introduction”, “Loco-Motive”, “A Queen’s Story” are so damn epic. There’s a good guest list here too like Rick Ross, Mary J. Blige, Miguel, Swizz Beats, Victoria Monet, and Amy Whinehouse. “Cherry Wine” with Amy Whinehouse is one of Nas’s best songs too. I love “The Don” too. Ultimately there’s just too many highlights on this album. Sure some songs like “World’s an Addiction” aren’t all that but that’s not many songs here.
3) Distant Relatives (98)-We’re in the top 3 now. The collaboration album with Damian Marely ive always loved. This was one of the better albums of 2010.The two have incredible chemistry and it really shows on songs like “Tribal War” and “Nah Mean”. There’s not a. huge guest list but the ones that are here are well used. The album has such a great theme of all people being related. “Patience” is another highlight. I really love “Strong Will Continue” also.
2) Stillmatic (99)-This is my favorite Nas album, and honestly; it’s the one that made me a fan of his. Im going to be honest…depending on a few things….this could be his best album…but I think #1 edges it out in the production category. “Ether” is a vicious diss track against Jay- Z. “Got Urself A…” is amazing. He tells a story in reverse easily on “Rewind”. “One Mic” is an incredible lyrical performance too. Ultimately I feel Nas wanted to prove he still had it with this album and he certainly did.
1) Illmatic (100)-Ah predictable I know…but this is one of the best rap albums of all time. No, I don’t think it’s the best…but it’s in the conversation. “N.Y. State of Mind” is the perfect opener. “Halftime” is so good too. Nas spits incredibly on this album too. Talk about coming out of the gate swinging. The production is really fresh and varied too. I really like “Life’s a Bitch” too which features AZ. Sure he raps more amazingly on Stillmatic but I think Illmatic in 2024 is still the quintessential Nas album.