Jay-Z
Every album we have reviewed, graded S to F.
- Albums graded
- 16
- Critic’s grade
- Highest grade
- Average grade
- Graded S
- 2
- Span
- 1996 to 2017
No. 3 on Top 10: Rap Discographies, graded A as a body of work.
Every album
16 albums, 1996 to 2017, each placed by its grade, then sorted onto the board.
S tier
A tier
B tier
C tier
D tier
F tier
The records
Newest first, each with the line its review opens on.
20174:44Ten tracks, one producer, and a middle aged man finally writing about what he actually did.
2013Magna Carta Holy GrailLaunched as a phone deal and heard as one, it is better than its reputation: his most lavish solo record, and a serious look at what money buys.
2011Watch the ThroneJay-Z and Kanye WestTwo of the biggest artists alive building a monument to their own wealth, and it is far more fun than that sounds.
2009The Blueprint 3A blockbuster with one immortal single on it and very little underneath, trading on a title it does not earn.
2007American GangsterA concept record about a film about a dealer, and it woke his writing back up completely.
2006Kingdom ComeThe comeback nobody needed, made by a man with a corner office and nothing left to write about.
2004Unfinished BusinessJay-Z and R. KellyLeftovers from a bad idea, released as the tour collapsed, and the worst thing either man put his name to.
2003The Black AlbumA retirement record built as a victory lap, and it is far better than a victory lap has any right to be.
2002The Best of Both WorldsJay-Z and R. KellyA commercial idea rather than a record, and its co-star's later convictions finished off something already thin.
2002The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The CurseA double album with a very good single album inside it and no willingness at all to go and find it.
2001The BlueprintSoul samples, one rap guest and a man at the height of his confidence. The sound of the decade starts here.
2000The Dynasty: Roc La FamiliaMeant as a label compilation, reclassified as a solo album, and it introduced the producers who would remake him.
1999Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. CarterTwo enormous singles and a great deal of coasting, from a man who had discovered he could sell anything.
1998Vol. 2... Hard Knock LifeThe one that made him a superstar, built on a show tune sample and a batch of very efficient hits.
1997In My Lifetime, Vol. 1Brilliant rapping stapled to shiny suit production, and the tension is audible on every single track.
1996Reasonable DoubtThe most quietly assured rap debut ever made, and it has aged better than anything else from its year.