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The Best Albums Produced by Kanye West

11 albums · Updated

Before he was a rapper, Kanye West was the producer behind Roc-A-Fella's sped-up soul sound. His beats run from Jay-Z's The Blueprint to his own orchestral and industrial albums and, in 2018, the short Wyoming records such as Pusha T's Daytona.

This list covers albums where Kanye produced the whole record or its defining tracks. The note says how much of each one is his. Ranked by scorecard.

How this list works: Albums where Kanye West produced the whole record or its key tracks, reviewed on the site, ranked by current score. Scores come from each review's six-part scorecard; see the methodology.

  1. 1
    My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West album cover

    Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)

    Score: 9.7 · Read the review · Kanye West albums ranked

    Produced by Kanye with a large team including No I.D., Mike Dean and RZA.

  2. 2
    The Blueprint by Jay-Z album cover

    Jay-Z – The Blueprint (2001)

    Score: 9.3 · Read the review · Jay-Z albums ranked

    Kanye produced four tracks, including "Takeover", "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and "Heart of the City"; Just Blaze, Bink! and others did the rest.

  3. 3
    Yeezus by Kanye West album cover

    Kanye West – Yeezus (2013)

    Score: 9.3 · Read the review · Kanye West albums ranked

    Kanye led a team including Daft Punk, Hudson Mohawke and Arca, with Rick Rubin stripping it back at the end.

  4. 4
    DAYTONA by Pusha T album cover

    Pusha T – DAYTONA (2018)

    Score: 9.3 · Read the review · Pusha T albums ranked

    All seven tracks produced by Kanye during his 2018 Wyoming sessions.

  5. 5
    Be by Common album cover

    Common – Be (2005)

    Score: 9.2 · Read the review · Common albums ranked

    Kanye produced nine of eleven tracks; J Dilla did the other two.

  6. 6
    It’s Almost Dry by Pusha T album cover

    Pusha T – It’s Almost Dry (2022)

    Score: 9.2 · Read the review · Pusha T albums ranked

    Split roughly in half between Kanye and Pharrell Williams.

  7. 7
    The Black Album by Jay-Z album cover

    Jay-Z – The Black Album (2003)

    Score: 9.0 · Read the review · Jay-Z albums ranked

    Kanye produced "Encore" and "Lucifer" on an album with a different producer for almost every song.

  8. 8
    The College Dropout by Kanye West album cover

    Kanye West – The College Dropout (2004)

    Score: 9.0 · Read the review · Kanye West albums ranked

    His debut as a rapper, almost entirely self-produced.

  9. 9
    Late Registration by Kanye West album cover

    Kanye West – Late Registration (2005)

    Score: 9.0 · Read the review · Kanye West albums ranked

    Co-produced with Jon Brion, who added orchestral arrangements.

  10. 10
    Quality by Talib Kweli album cover

    Talib Kweli – Quality (2002)

    Score: 8.7 · Read the review · Talib Kweli albums ranked

    Kanye produced the single "Get By", built on a Nina Simone sample.

  11. 11
    Graduation by Kanye West album cover

    Kanye West – Graduation (2007)

    Score: 8.0 · Read the review · Kanye West albums ranked

    Kanye's turn toward synths and stadium-sized drums.

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