16) Vultures 2 (72)- It should be no surprise this album is the worst of the bunch. It just comes off as lazy and uninspired most of the time. The production is decent tho. “Bomb” features Yuno Miles and his daughters: North and Chicago West…..and it's really corny. “Husband” is just god awful. I don’t know what he was going for with that one! “Fried” is pretty dope tho….and you can see the potential of “530”.
15) Donda 2 (75)- I haven’t had a lot of time to sit with this one. It’s not that bad tho…in fact it’s kind of average. I really like “City of God” which features Alicia Keys and Five Foreign. Sure lyrically its not great but the production again isn’t bad. Ultimately I feel like this has little to do with the first Donda album….
14) 808s and Heartbreak (83)- You may be shocked to see this still near the bottom of his discography. While I bumped the score up a little from last time, I still feel 808’s isn’t all that. I love “Heartless” as it’s probably the best song. “Love Lockdown” grew on me quickly when I first go the album in 2008. “Paranoid” is really vibrant. “See You in My Nightmares” has a good beat but Lil Wayne singing is just bad. “Coldest Winter” is the song dedicated to his mom and it’s chilling. I still don’t like “Pinocchio Story”….he should have left that one off the album.
13) Vultures (85)- There’s honestly a bit of quality to this first collaboration between Kanye and Ty Dolla $ign. I like most of these songs…. “Do It” is fire, as is the much played “Carnival”. “Paid” is good too. I really like “Talking” too which features his daughter North West. There’s no way around it : “Hoodrat” is awful. It just sounds like a train wreck. “Back to Me” featuring a super charged verse from Freddie Gibbs is a fun track. Ultimately tho you could say this was the beginning of West’s artistic decline….
12) Jesus is King (91)-Even though Kanye’s christian rap phase didn’t last long…it was pretty good. JiK is pretty damn good. It is very short…a little unfocused but I like it. “Selah” and “Follow God” are really dope. I even like the much disliked “Closed On Sunday”. “Water” is great too. The last song with the Clipse, “Use This Gospel” was also great. “Hands On”, was kind of boring. The last track “Jesus is Lord” could of been left off this album.
11) Ye (93)-This is kind of weird album in his discography. It’s super short at just 7 tracks. I don’t dislike any of these songs but I feel like some of them like “All Mine” and “Wouldn’t Leave” are kind of just average. “Yikes” tho is fire. I love the chaotic energy of it. “Ghost Town” featuring Kid Cudi and 070 Shake is amazing. Ultimately I'm not as high on this album as I was but I still recognize it’s still good.
10) Watch the Throne (93)-OMG do I love this album. I originally had it tied with Jesus is King, but it’s aged way too well. The song run of “Ni**as in Paris” to “New Day” is just terrific. Jay-Z and Kanye have great chemistry…but we knew that before this came out. The worst song is “Made in America” which has grown on me but its pretty average at best. “H*A*M” is a terrific and hardcore kind of song. I enjoyed the dubstep styled “Who Got Stop Me” too. I recommend the deluxe version as those bonus tracks are fire too.
9) Cruel Summer (94)-I’ve always been a fan of this 2012 compilation album. However today it just makes me sad because of the label now being defunct. Sure everyone is here….and for the most part they deliver. The 3 song run of “Clique”, “Mercy”, and “New God Flow” is tremendous. I like the intro too as Kanye is just bragging like crazy lol. “Bliss” with John Legend and Teyana Taylor is good but it does feel a little out of place. I like the Kid Cudi track “Creepers” too. Ultimately this is a great album with few flaws.
8) Donda (95)- Mr. West made an album dedicated to his late mother, Donda West. This album is too long (I am only talking about the standard edition). But most of these songs are really good. The production is great. As of today Donda is Kanye’s last great album. There’s some real gems like “Heaven and Hell”, “Praise God”, and “Jail”. I really enjoyed “Jesus Lord” too. The biggest miss on the album is the Pop Smoke cut “Tell the Vision” …it’s just awful and serves no purpose here. (RIP Pop Smoke). “Off the Grid” might be the best song but there’s a lot of quality here. And it’s a edited album too (No Profanity)
7) Life of Pablo (95)- I really enjoy this album. Sure it’s a mess. Kanye wasn’t even sure what to call it for a while. But actually it’s brilliant. It gets off to a great start with “Ultra Light Beam” all the way to “Famous”. Kanye’s bars are noticeably not as good on certain songs. On other songs tho like “No More Parties in LA” he spite fire. The guests spots like Rihanna, Kid Cudi, and Kendrick Lamar are well used. Can you believe it would be a while till I heard “Saint Pablo”? Yeah definitely the best song up here.
6) Yeezus (95)-I think this is Kanye’s most polarizing album. Some love it, others hate it. I’m in the love it camp…but I gotta admit it doesn’t seem quite as great as it did in 2013. The production however is abrasive, and hard. It’s terrific. “Black Skinhead” and “New Slaves” are some of his best songs. You can’t forget “Blood on the Leaves” , which is incredible. While I like all the songs, some I like a-lot more than others. “Bound 2” has that classic Kanye feel. “I Am A God” might be the worst song tho…
5) Kids See Ghost (96)- This album is an all killer no filler type of an album. It’s quite a bit better than Ye, despite coming out soon after. I love the first song “Feel the Love’ with Pusha T. Kanye isn’t even rapping on it; he’s just like barking on it and it works lol. The title track which features Mos Def might be my favorite song…you cant forget about “Free (Ghost Town Pt. 2)”. Kanye and Cudi have a lot of chemistry and it shows here.
4) Graduation (97)-Now we’re officially in the classics zone. Graduation is my favorite rap album of all time! There’s so much to love here. The first 6 songs are just amazing. “Barry Bonds” is decent, and “Drunk and Hot Girls” isn’t as bad as people say. “Flashing Lights” is a beautiful song. “Stronger” is a great song with its Daft Punk sample. On “Homecoming” he pays ode to Chicago. On “Big Brother” he talks about how much he admires Jay-Z, but also how much there is a rivalry there. As much as I love this album, I still don't think it’s his best….
3) Late Registration (98)-I bumped up this album by a point. The first 3 songs are amazing: “Heard Em Say”, “Touch the Sky”, and “Gold Digger”. The latter being one of his most addictive songs. The skits throughout are really funny too. I feel the album loses a tad bit of steam when you get to “Bring Me Down” which features Brandy….but it’s not like that song is bad. “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” is here as well as a remix with Jay-Z. The production on this album is refined and glossy. “Hey Mama” is a beautiful song dedicated to his mother. I guess it’s kinda sad to hear now in retrospect. “Drive Slow” featuring Paul Wall is excellent as well. “Gone” is one of my favorite tracks too….peep that killer verse by Kanye at the end.
2) The College Dropout (100)-I originally had this rated a tad lower but in recent years it really has become a landmark album for Kanye. It could honestly be regarded as his best….The creativity is off the walls here. You’ve got songs like “Jesus Walks” which really stood out in 2004. “All Falls Down” might be the best song. Then you’ve got terrific songs like “Slow Jamz (Extended)”, and “The New Work Out Plan”. “Through the Wire” Is a really impressive song given the circumstances. And Yeah as with Late Registration the skits are funny as hell. Even some of the weaker cuts are really good like “Breathe In Breathe Out” which features Ludacris. He tells his story on the last song “Last Call” which I think does a great job closing out the album. The production on this album is really great too…and there really isn’t a weak song in my opinion.
1) My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (100)-Despite College Dropout being one of the greatest albums of all time….he’s got another one in that conversation! While it’s dark….and well this album is just beautiful. I’ve praised it many times. The production might just be the best of any rap album….The lyricism is great too. Peep Kanye’s verses on songs like “Gorgeous” and “Power”. “Dark Fantasy” is his best intro. “Monster” featuring Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Bon Iver, and Nicki Minaj is a slam dunk of a song. “Runaway” is so awesome ….but I don’t think its the best song. “Devil in a New Dress” is amazing. Overall its just awesome how Kanye used sounds and styles from his previous four albums and implemented them here. The result is an album that has no bad songs and is just so addictive. The beat on “All of the Lights” is so immaculate. The closing song “Lost in the World” sounds so different from any rap song out at that time. Yeah it’s the album Mr. West will be remembered for.