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All Noname Albums Ranked Best to Worst (2026)

Noname has released two studio albums, Room 25 (2018) and Sundial (2023), and this page ranks both plus her 2016 debut mixtape Telefone, which fans treat as a full album. Her guest verses, standalone singles such as the Madlib-produced "Song 33", and the announced-then-cancelled album Factory Baby are not included.

Noname2 albums + 1 mixtape6 min readUpdated October 2026Jazz Rap

Quick Take

Consensus PeakRoom 25Cosmic jazz rap, Metacritic 93, Best New MusicThe DebutTelefoneWarm Chicago soul balancing life and deathMost DivisiveSundialHarsher tone, many collaborators, uneven

Why it ranks here

Recorded in about a month, Room 25 covers the two years after Telefone, including her move from Chicago to Los Angeles and a short, intense relationship. Phoelix produced the whole album, with Luke Titus and Brian Sanborn, in a cosmic-jazz and neo-soul style, and Noname raps with more bite than before, from the pointed opener "Self" to "Blaxploitation" and the posse cut "Ace" with Smino and Saba. Pitchfork named it Best New Music, it averaged 93 on Metacritic, and it placed seventh in the Pazz & Jop critics' poll.

Context

Self-released September 14, 2018; unlike Telefone, she has said it was made partly out of financial necessity.

Highlights

  • Self
  • Blaxploitation
  • Prayer Song
  • Window
  • Ace

Weak Spots

  • Her soft delivery can sit under the arrangements
  • Only 35 minutes, so a few ideas feel sketched rather than finished

Production

Phoelix · Luke Titus · Brian Sanborn

Read our full Room 25 review →

Influence

Pitchfork later ranked it No. 160 on its list of the best albums of the 2010s, and it cemented her as one of the leading voices in jazz rap.

Replay Value

Very high — the arrangements reward headphones.

Why it ranks here

Three years in the making, Telefone sounds like a summer afternoon, but Noname built it around the balance of life and death, the theme she asked to be painted on its cover. Cam O'bi, Phoelix, Saba and Monte Booker built a soft, gospel-tinged sound around her, and the guest list reads like a map of the Chicago scene, with Saba, Smino, Ravyn Lenae and Raury among them. Pitchfork called it a stunning debut, named "Diddy Bop" a Best New Track and later put "Yesterday" among the best songs of 2016. It ranks below Room 25 only because the newer album is sharper and more daring.

Context

Released July 31, 2016 as her first full project, after she first drew attention with a verse on Chance the Rapper's Acid Rap.

Highlights

  • Yesterday
  • Diddy Bop
  • Casket Pretty
  • Bye Bye Baby
  • Shadow Man

Weak Spots

  • The gentle mood rarely changes
  • Some guest hooks overshadow her verses

Production

Cam O'bi · Phoelix · Saba · Monte Booker

Influence

Introduced her new stage name and made her one of the most talked-about rappers out of Chicago.

Replay Value

High — a comfort record.

Why it ranks here

Five years after Room 25, Sundial trades the single-producer sound for a long list of collaborators, including Saba and Yussef Dayes, and AllMusic heard a harsher tone than her earlier work while calling her rapping stronger than ever. "Black Mirror" and "Namesake" are among her sharpest songs, and "Gospel?" brings in Billy Woods. The record is shorter and patchier than Room 25, and the controversy over Jay Electronica's verse on "Balloons", which drew accusations of antisemitism, overshadowed its release. It still averaged 87 on Metacritic.

Context

Self-released August 11, 2023, after she had stepped back from music and cancelled her planned album Factory Baby.

Highlights

  • Black Mirror
  • Namesake
  • Beauty Supply
  • Gospel?
  • Oblivion

Weak Spots

  • Less cohesive than Room 25
  • The "Balloons" guest verse distracts from her own writing

Production

Saba · Yussef Dayes · Gaetan Judd · Ben Nartey · Nascent

Influence

Showed her still writing at a high level, though the guest-verse backlash shaped much of the coverage.

Replay Value

Moderate to high.

Essay

The Complete Picture

Noname's catalog is short but unusually consistent. Room 25 is the peak, a jazz-rap album that reads like a book of poems; Telefone is the gentler, more nostalgic introduction; Sundial is the harshest and the most uneven, and its release was clouded by the backlash over a guest verse.

Start with Room 25. If it clicks, go back to Telefone for the softer origin story, then Sundial for where her writing has gone since.

Read next
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Noname Albums in Order

  1. 2016TelefoneRanked #2
  2. 2018Room 25Ranked #1
  3. 2023SundialRanked #3

Noname Albums: Common Questions

What is the best Noname album?
We rank Room 25 (2018) as the best Noname album, with a score of 9.0/10: Cosmic jazz rap with poetry in every line.
How many Noname albums are ranked here?
This ranking covers 3 Noname projects, released between 2016 and 2023.
What is the earliest Noname album in this ranking?
Telefone (2016) is the earliest release in this list. We rank it #2.
What is the most recent Noname album in this ranking?
Sundial (2023) is the most recent release in this list. We rank it #3.
Which Noname album is ranked lowest?
Sundial (2023) sits at #3 with a score of 7.8/10.