Kanye West is one of the best artists of our generation, and his music became even more popular over quarantine. Here is my ranking of all ten of Kanye’s solo projects.

#10. Jesus is King

This was the project that put Kanye on the map as a Gospel artist. While this is by no means a bad album, it does not hold up to some of his other albums. This album was predictably popular among his Christian fans; he doesn’t speak to most of his audience with this one. However, Kanye tuning into his religious side is something most fans should get used to.

Ranking: 5/10

Favorite song: “Use This Gospel”

#9. Yeezus

I could be a part of the minority here, but I wasn’t as big of a fan of Yeezus as many other people were. This is by far Kanye’s most experimental album, with songs like “On Sight” sounding like they could be a Sony system error. But I really like a lot of the songs on this album, as it has some of the best production and beats of any of Kanye’s projects.

Ranking: 7/10

Favorite song: “Bound 2”

#8. The Life of Pablo

Many fans rank this project amongst the best in Kanye’s discography. This album is great, but he’s done better. My main issue with this project is that it is way longer than it needs to be; some tracks on the album I could take or leave. Other than that, TLOP has some of the best production on a Kanye album, and the great wordplay and lyricism is the main highlight for me

Ranking: 7/10

Favorite song: “Ultralight Beam”

#7. Donda

This most recent release of his certainly had some of the most hype I’ve ever seen on an album, and I’d say it lived up to most of it. Kanye really tuned into his producer side for this project, as he let a lot of the features shine. I feel that this album had the best features of any Kanye album, ranging from The Weeknd, Playboi Carti, and Fivio Foreign. This almost feels like a compilation of songs from his past albums, as he tuned into almost every side of himself. Very good.

Ranking: 7.5/10

Favorite song: “Off the Grid”

#6. Ye

This, in my opinion, is Kanye’s most underrated album. Being one of his more lowkey projects, there wasn’t much hype for its release, alongside Kids See Ghosts with Kid Cudi. But any hype this had, it very much lived up to it. This is Kanye at his worst mental state, and you feel every bit of that with Ye. One of Kanye’s most well-rounded albums indeed.

Ranking: 8/10

Favorite song: “Ghost Town”

#5. Late Registration

Late Registration is just such a solid album. The chipmunk soul/R&B sound could very well be my favorite Kanye era. The one issue I have with this album is that it didn’t do much different from its predecessor, The College Dropout. But that is by no means a bad thing; it just needed to branch out a bit. Other than that, this is a great album that has a strange ability to draw you back in as if it’s completely new.

Ranking: 8/10

Favorite song: “Roses”

#4. Graduation

This album is so close to being top tier Kanye, even #1. But the one thing that holds this project back is, what I believe to be, the only truly terrible Kanye song: “Drunk and Hot Girls.” Besides that, every song on this album is an absolute earworm. This project just radiates fun. The tracks may be simpler as opposed to some of the other Kanye projects, but they are just so catchy.

Ranking: 8.5/10

Favorite song: “Good Life”

#3. 808s and Heartbreak

Words cannot describe how much I wanted to put 808s at #1. I absolutely adore this album. 808s and Heartbreak was made shortly after the death of Kanye’s mother and a breakup. Originally, an album was to be produced as a continuation of the infamous three album run of The College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation, but the previously mentioned events lead Kanye to create an amazing project. Kanye created a new genre using awesome synths and emotional lyrics that inspired artists like Juice WRLD and J. Cole. It is simply one of the most influential albums of all time.

Ranking: 9.5/10

Favorite song: “Paranoid”

#2. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

In the early 2010’s, Kanye was caught up in a good bit of controversy after the infamous Taylor Swift incident. He took him and his crew to produce an album while he was off the map. And it was an absolute masterpiece. I’d label this as Kanye’s magnum opus. The production and lyrics just scream luxury, and how Kanye labels himself as a terrible person because of it. It also features my favorite feature verse of all time with Rick Ross’ verse on “Devil in a New Dress.” In short, this album is awesome.

Ranking: 10/10

Favorite song: “Gorgeous”

#1. The College Dropout

Very few artists can say they created a new genre, let alone a good one at that. But Kanye did it twice. Before his first album, Kanye was just a young producer. But then, he proceeded to make my all-time favorite album. This album introduced me to one of my favorite subgenres in chipmunk soul. The samples on this thing are just so incredibly good.  And not to mention, this was his debut album, and it could very well be the best debut of all time. Overall, it was close, but The College Dropout earned its #1 spot.