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All Mac Miller Albums Ranked Best to Worst (2026)

Mac Miller released seven studio albums, two of them after his death, and this page ranks all seven plus Faces, the 2014 mixtape fans treat as an album, from Blue Slide Park (2011) to Balloonerism (2025). His other mixtapes (including K.I.D.S., Best Day Ever and Macadelic), the Larry Fisherman and Delusional Thomas side projects, his EPs and his live albums are not ranked.

Mac Miller7 albums + 1 mixtape10 min readUpdated October 2026Hip-Hop

Quick Take

Consensus PeakSwimmingHealing, Jon Brion and a Grammy nominationFan FavoriteFacesA free mixtape fans call his masterpieceThe DebutBlue Slide ParkAn indie number one critics dismissed

Why it ranks here

Swimming is the most complete Mac Miller album. Working with Jon Brion, Dev Hynes, J. Cole, ID Labs, Dâm-Funk and Flying Lotus, he built a soft, live-sounding record of funk bass, strings and half-sung verses, and wrote about recovery without pretending it was finished. It has no credited guests, though Thundercat, Syd, Snoop Dogg and JID all contribute. It scored 78 on Metacritic and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album.

Context

His fifth studio album, released August 3, 2018 through REMember Music and Warner Bros. It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and Miller died on September 7, 2018, just over a month later.

Highlights

  • Come Back to Earth
  • Hurt Feelings
  • Self Care
  • Small Worlds
  • Ladders

Weak Spots

  • The mid-tempo calm can blur together on a casual listen
  • Pitchfork found it most engaging in its small details rather than its big moments

Production

Mac Miller · Jon Brion · Dev Hynes · J. Cole · ID Labs · DJ Dahi

Influence

Became the defining document of Mac's mature sound and a touchstone for rappers who sing, play and produce their own records.

Replay Value

Very high — it rewards repeat listens more than any album in the catalog.

Why it ranks here

Faces is the darkest thing Mac made: twenty-four tracks of jazzy, psychedelic loops, most produced by Mac himself as Larry Fisherman, wrapped around blunt writing about drug use and mortality. Thundercat, 9th Wonder and ID Labs add color, and Earl Sweatshirt, Schoolboy Q, Vince Staples and Rick Ross drop in. Rolling Stone named it one of the best rap albums of 2014, and many fans consider it his magnum opus.

Context

Released free on May 11, 2014, between Watching Movies with the Sound Off and GO:OD AM. Its commercial release in October 2021 debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and set a first-week vinyl sales record for a rap or R&B album.

Highlights

  • Inside Outside
  • Friends
  • Diablo
  • Colors and Shapes
  • Grand Finale

Weak Spots

  • Twenty-four tracks long, with stretches that drift
  • The bleakness can be hard to sit through in one go

Production

Mac Miller (as Larry Fisherman) · Thundercat · ID Labs · 9th Wonder · Josh Berg

Read our full Faces review →

Influence

Its reputation grew for years after release, and it is now treated as an essential Mac Miller album despite never being sold at the time.

Replay Value

High — best taken in sections, with the opening and closing runs as anchors.

Why it ranks here

Mac was making Circles as a companion to Swimming when he died, and Jon Brion completed it. It is quieter and more song-based than anything before it, closer to singer-songwriter pop than rap, and Mac's plain, unguarded voice carries it. It drew the best reviews of his career, an 83 on Metacritic, and its first week was the biggest of any Mac Miller album.

Context

Released posthumously on January 17, 2020 through REMember Music and Warner Records. It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 164,000 units.

Highlights

  • Circles
  • Complicated
  • Blue World
  • Good News
  • Hand Me Downs

Weak Spots

  • Light on rapping for fans who came for bars
  • Some songs feel like sketches, as a posthumous record might

Production

Mac Miller · Jon Brion · Guy Lawrence · Shea Taylor

Influence

Set a high bar for posthumous albums by finishing the artist's own plan instead of assembling a guest-heavy tribute.

Replay Value

Very high — short, warm and easy to return to.

Why it ranks here

This is where Mac stopped being a frat-rap star. He produced much of it himself as Larry Fisherman and recruited Flying Lotus, the Alchemist, Clams Casino and Pharrell for hazy, psychedelic beats. The guest list — Earl Sweatshirt, Ab-Soul, Action Bronson, Schoolboy Q, Tyler, the Creator — placed him in a different scene entirely. Critics praised the growth; it scored 73 on Metacritic.

Context

His second studio album, released June 18, 2013 on Rostrum. It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 102,000 copies.

Highlights

  • S.D.S.
  • Watching Movies
  • I'm Not Real
  • Objects in the Mirror
  • Red Dot Music

Weak Spots

  • NME felt the production outshone his delivery
  • AllMusic noted it lacks hooks for casual listeners

Production

Mac Miller (as Larry Fisherman) · Flying Lotus · The Alchemist · Clams Casino · Pharrell Williams

Influence

Opened the path to Faces and everything after, and showed that a pop-rap success could reinvent himself on his own terms.

Replay Value

High — the production keeps revealing details.

Why it ranks here

The Divine Feminine is ten songs about love, built on live-sounding jazz and funk arrangements. Anderson .Paak on "Dang!", Ariana Grande on "My Favorite Part" and Kendrick Lamar on the closing "God Is Fair, Sexy Nasty" all fit the mood. Pitchfork called it his most intoxicating release to that point. It is lighter in substance than what came next, but it is where his singing voice first took center stage.

Context

His fourth studio album, released September 16, 2016 through REMember Music and Warner Bros. It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

Highlights

  • Congratulations
  • Dang!
  • Stay
  • My Favorite Part
  • God Is Fair, Sexy Nasty

Weak Spots

  • The concept is thinner than the arrangements
  • A few songs coast on mood

Production

Aja Grant · Pomo · DJ Dahi · Frank Dukes · ID Labs

Influence

Pointed Mac toward the live-band, R&B-leaning sound he perfected on Swimming and Circles.

Replay Value

High — a short, pleasant listen front to back.

Why it ranks here

Balloonerism was recorded mostly in the Watching Movies and Faces era, largely in a week of jam sessions with Thundercat, then shelved for years. Released by his estate, it sounds bright on the surface and grows darker as it goes, with Mac singing as much as rapping about drugs, depression and childhood. Critics praised its cohesion for a posthumous release, and it scored 77 on Metacritic.

Context

Released January 17, 2025 by Warner, exactly five years after Circles. It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for Best Recording Package at the 68th Grammy Awards.

Highlights

  • DJ's Chord Organ
  • 5 Dollar Pony Rides
  • Funny Papers
  • Excelsior
  • Mrs. Deborah Downer

Weak Spots

  • Feels like a snapshot of an era rather than a finished statement
  • Some tracks are more mood than song

Production

Mac Miller (as Larry Fisherman) · Thundercat · Taylor Graves

Influence

Filled in a missing chapter between his psychedelic mixtape years and his sung late albums.

Replay Value

Moderate to high — best for fans who already know Faces.

Why it ranks here

His first album for Warner Bros. finds Mac sharper and more energetic after the haze of Faces. ID Labs, Tyler, the Creator, Sounwave and DJ Dahi give it a polished but varied sound, "Weekend" with Miguel was a real single, and "Brand Name" and "Ascension" are among his most focused verses. It scored 71 on Metacritic, but at seventeen tracks it runs long.

Context

His third studio album, released September 18, 2015 through REMember Music and Warner Bros. It debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200.

Highlights

  • Brand Name
  • 100 Grandkids
  • Weekend
  • Perfect Circle / God Speed
  • Ascension

Weak Spots

  • Overlong at seventeen tracks
  • A few songs, like "Cut the Check", feel like filler

Production

ID Labs · Tyler, the Creator · Sounwave · DJ Dahi · Frank Dukes

Influence

Marked his move to a major label and the steadier, healthier phase that led into The Divine Feminine.

Replay Value

Moderate — strong singles, uneven as a whole.

Why it ranks here

Blue Slide Park is a cheerful, guest-free record about Pittsburgh, friends and good times, produced mostly by ID Labs. It made history commercially, but it is the weakest album here: the writing is thin and the beats are pleasant rather than memorable. Metacritic's score is 58, and Pitchfork gave it a 1.0.

Context

His debut studio album, released November 8, 2011 on Rostrum. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 144,000 copies, the first independently distributed debut to top the chart since 1995.

Highlights

  • Party on Fifth Ave.
  • Frick Park Market
  • Smile Back
  • Up All Night
  • My Team

Weak Spots

  • Lyrics rarely go beyond surface-level fun
  • Production sounds samey across sixteen tracks

Production

ID Labs · Ritz Reynolds · Clams Casino · Mansions on the Moon

Influence

Proved an internet-built fan base could top the charts without a major label, even as critics dismissed it.

Replay Value

Low to moderate — mostly nostalgia for early fans.

Essay

The Complete Picture

Mac Miller's catalog bends steadily upward. Blue Slide Park was a commercial event and a critical miss; Watching Movies with the Sound Off and Faces turned him into a serious, self-producing artist; GO:OD AM and The Divine Feminine made him warmer and more musical; and Swimming and Circles completed the arc with the most honest writing of his life. Balloonerism, recorded years earlier, fills in the gap between those phases.

Start with Swimming, then Circles. If you want the darker, denser Mac, go to Faces next, and keep Watching Movies for when you want to hear the turn happen.

Read next
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Mac Miller Albums in Order

  1. 2011Blue Slide ParkRanked #8
  2. 2013Watching Movies with the Sound OffRanked #4
  3. 2014FacesRanked #2
  4. 2015GO:OD AMRanked #7
  5. 2016The Divine FeminineRanked #5
  6. 2018SwimmingRanked #1
  7. 2020CirclesRanked #3
  8. 2025BalloonerismRanked #6

Mac Miller Albums: Common Questions

What is the best Mac Miller album?
We rank Swimming (2018) as the best Mac Miller album, with a score of 9.4/10: A gentle, funk-washed record about getting better slowly.
How many Mac Miller albums are ranked here?
This ranking covers 8 Mac Miller projects, released between 2011 and 2025.
What is the earliest Mac Miller album in this ranking?
Blue Slide Park (2011) is the earliest release in this list. We rank it #8.
What is the most recent Mac Miller album in this ranking?
Balloonerism (2025) is the most recent release in this list. We rank it #6.
Which Mac Miller album is ranked lowest?
Blue Slide Park (2011) sits at #8 with a score of 5.9/10.