Kanye West's DIscography - Ranked

Love him.  Hate him.  Worship him.  Puzzled by him.  You know who the hell Kanye West is. Today we're ranking his discography.  You're going to disagree with a lot of it, fair warning.  Spoiler alert, I may have been a fan of "The Old Kanye" in my teens, but I'm not nearly as much of a fan in hindsight.  Also keep in mind, I love all of these albums no matter what.  Without further ado, let's chat about Kanye's discography, remember this is all personal preference! 

7. Late Registration - In a lot of ways I have mostly the same thoughts on this album as Kanye's debut "The College Dropout".  We're dealing with gargantuan singles like "Gold Digger" and "Touch The Sky", fantastic features, and an overall polished sound that for the early 2000's was just what I wanted to hear.  But I listen to it these days occasionally and all I can think of is how held back Kanye sounds in parts.  I feel like so much of this album, he doesn't really know just how far he can take his sound.  Not to mention, it's a little long-winded at times.  However, there's nothing truly wrong with this album and it absolutely deserves the acclaim it's gotten.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkwQbuAGLj4

6. The College Dropout - The album that started it all.  It's an album that when I was in my teens I was absolutely chomping at the bit to hear.  Hell, I still remember the first time I sat down and heard "Through the Wire".  It's a solid album with some very crisp production, and has some great features.  And for the time, yea that's what I wanted to hear from him.  But in hindsight I am just so much more of a fan of his later, more adventurous work.  But hey, that's just me, there's certainly nothing wrong with this album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpF_df5xpOI

5. Yeezus - If you haven't figured it out, Kanye loves reinventing himself.  Here, he ditched the glamorous production and solid features for an abrasive Industrial Hip-Hop album.  Now, you can argue until the cows come home on whether or not this album is more than anything a shallow attempt to sound edgy.  Which if you feel that way, trust me I get it.  But you can't deny that when this album is on, it's ON.  Whether it be the intensity of "On Sight", the hazy goodness of "Hold My Liquor", or "Blood On The Leaves" which is literally one of the best Kanye songs of ANY of his phases.  It's an intense listen that's a go-to on any work out playlist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn0Pu2Qun-E

4. 808's & Heartbreak - 2008's "808s & Heartbreak" is one of the most radical departures in recent memory.  Tormented by his mother's death and other events, Kanye released a truly heartbreaking Synth Pop album.  There is almost no Rap or Hip-Hop influences to be found here (outside of the features), and in return we get minimal beats and Kanye mostly singing.  It's a sucker punch of an album, and something no one could have expected.  But it's also incredibly emotional and depressive, and reminds us for about an hour that Kanye is just as human as all of us deep down.  The guest spots were minimal, but powerful.  With topics such as depression, death, loneliness and fame, this was a surprisingly visceral album, one that's criminally underrated.  It's an album that you can chat about for hours, and it's impact is still being felt today.  Love it or hate it, this album marked the death of "The Old Kanye".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co0tTeuUVhU

3. The Life of Pablo - Oh boy, I'm sure I lost a good chunk of readers with this one.  But I stand by my word, "The Life Of Pablo" is the album that I've listened to the most the last year or so.  It's certainly not the life altering experience that Kanye meant it to be.  But I can't help myself from continuously coming back to it, puzzling over "Freestyle 4", discussing the imagery on "Wolves", talking about how incredibly stunning "Ultralight Beam" is, and more.  The months leading up to this album's release were bizarre.  Kanye's fashion shows are still one of the oddest things I've ever laid eyes on, and call me nuts but I still think "Swish" would have been the perfect album title for this.  All of the confusion that lead up to this album, even up to the final hours where Kanye was STILL changing the track list, changing the artwork, changing the features really made me fear for the product Kanye fans were about to receive.  "The Life Of Pablo" though, as bizarre as it is, at the end of the day is quite the spectacle.  You're going to hear everything on here from club bangers, to gorgeous semi-ballads, all with Kanye's trademark ego and creative genius butting heads.  Half of the time, this album is completely cracked out, I still burst out laughing every time the "Ghetto Oprah" skit pops up.   Other time's, it's oddly beautiful and sincere.  One things for sure, this is an album that's going to keep you coming back.  I feel like every time I got even the slightest bit tired of this album, something about it ended drawing me back and I would end falling in love all over again. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsA84bXrBZw

2. Graduation - With Kanye's 2007 "Graduation", he created his first real masterpiece.  Colorful blends of aggressive tracks like "Can't Tell Me Nothing" and more anthemic tracks like "Good Morning" and "Champion".  The production on this album was incredible, and for the first time I actually felt like I was in the presence of an absolute genius.  But it was around this time that Kanye went through some major changes.  No more was the Polo wearing sweetheart we'd met years ago.  Kanye was a damn artist now, one whose ego and truly incredible songs were growing by the second.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CHs4x2uqcQ

1. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy -  If "808's" wasn't your cup of tea, 2010 had something special for you.  Oh what's that you ask?  Well it's only the most pristine, adventurous, over-the-top and remarkable Rap album of the decade.  Some call it 2010's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy".  The title says it all, it's Kanye at his most egotistical and completely bonkers, but it's also incredibly well written and fearless.  On top of that, this is one of the most well produced album's you're ever going to hear, of any genre, quote me on it.  Between massive hits like "POWER" and "All Of The Lights", and hidden gems like "Gorgeous" and "So Appalled" this album has something for everyone.  Also, the guest spots here are gigantic.  Raekwon absolutely steals the show on "Gorgeous", Nicki Minaj sounds out of control on "Monster", Rick Ross drops his greatest performance probably ever on "Devil In A New Dress", and Bon Iver gives this album the human touch it needed on "Lost In The World".  Needless to say, this is my favorite Kanye album, and an album that in every way changed how I listen to Rap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LHdiKzAs6k