Jay-Z discography | |
---|---|
Studio albums | 13 |
Live albums | 2 |
Compilation albums | 5 |
Soundtrack albums | 1 |
Collaborative albums | 5 |
American rapper Jay-Z has released thirteen solo studio albums, four collaboration albums, one live album, five compilation albums, one soundtrack album, two extended plays, one hundred and fifteen singles (including forty-five as a featured artist), nine promotional singles and eighty-two music videos. As of December 2014, Jay-Z sold 55 million studio albums worldwide.[1]
Jay-Z began his music career in the 1980s, building a reputation as a fledgling rapper in his hometown of Brooklyn and collaborating with his mentor and fellow rapper Jaz-O.[2] Jay-Z later founded Roc-A-Fella Records with close friends Damon Dash and Kareem 'Biggs' Burke and released his debut studio album Reasonable Doubt in June 1996.[2] The album peaked at number twenty-three on the United States Billboard 200 record chart and has since been recognized as a seminal work of the hip hop genre.[3][4] Its singles included 'Dead Presidents', 'Ain't No Nigga' and 'Can't Knock the Hustle', all of which reached the top ten on the BillboardHot Rap Songs chart.[5]In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (1997), which saw Jay-Z collaborating with producers such as Sean 'Puff Daddy' Combs and Teddy Riley,[6] peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and earned a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[3][7]Vol. 2.. Hard Knock Life was released in September 1998 and became his first number-one album in the United States.[8] The album featured the international hits 'Can I Get A..' and 'Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)', which both reached top twenty of the Billboard Hot 100.[8]Vol. 2 was certified five times platinum by the RIAA and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 1999.[9] Two more chart-topping albums – Vol. 3.. Life and Times of S. Carter and The Dynasty: Roc La Familia – followed in December 1999 and October 2000 respectively. The albums included hit singles such as 'Big Pimpin' and 'I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)' and featured several guest appearances from artists signed to Roc-A-Fella Records.[2]
Jay-Z's sixth studio album The Blueprint, released in September 2001, became controversial for including lyrics attacking other New York City rappers.[2] Nonetheless, The Blueprint topped the Billboard 200 and produced Jay-Z's first Billboard Hot 100 top ten single, 'Izzo (H.O.V.A.)'.[3][8] The Blueprint is critically reviewed as his best album. The Best of Both Worlds, a collaboration with American R&B singer R. Kelly, and The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse were both released the following year. The latter album peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and featured the top ten singles '03 Bonnie & Clyde' and 'Excuse Me Miss'.[3][8]The Black Album, released in November 2003, was intended by Jay-Z to be his final studio album and features his impending retirement as a recurring theme.[2][10] The album performed well commercially and was later certified three times platinum by the RIAA.[7]
Following a period of dormancy, Jay-Z became president of Def Jam Recordings in December 2004 and resumed his rap career two years later with the release of Kingdom Come, which peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified two times platinum from the RIAA.[3][7][11] The concept album American Gangster followed in 2007 and continued his streak of number-one albums in the United States.[3] With the release of The Blueprint 3 in September 2009, Jay-Z surpassed Elvis Presley as the solo artist with the most number-one albums on the Billboard 200.[12] The album included the international hits 'Run This Town', 'Empire State of Mind' and 'Young Forever'.[8]Watch the Throne, a collaborative album with American rapper Kanye West, followed in August 2011 and became Jay-Z's eleventh number-one album in the United States.[8] His album Magna Carta Holy Grail was released in July 2013 to great commercial success, topping the Billboard 200 and having the second-biggest sales week for 2013 at the time of its release.[13]
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [3] | US R&B [14] | CAN [15] | FRA [16] | GER [17] | NLD [18] | NOR [19] | SWE [20] | SWI [21] | UK [22] | ||||
Reasonable Doubt |
| 23 | 3 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 140 |
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In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 |
| 3 | 2 | 36 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 78 |
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Vol. 2.. Hard Knock Life |
| 1 | 1 | 13 | -- | 76 | -- | -- | 34 | 49 | 109 |
|
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Vol. 3.. Life and Times of S. Carter |
| 1 | 1 | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 75 | 155 |
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The Dynasty: Roc La Familia |
| 1 | 1 | 5 | -- | 98 | -- | -- | -- | 89 | 86 |
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The Blueprint |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | 73 | 55 | 51 | 36 | 30 | 59 | 30 |
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The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse |
| 1 | 1 | 8 | 79 | 61 | 66 | -- | -- | 52 | 23 |
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The Black Album |
| 1 | 1 | 12 | 66 | 47 | 66 | 18 | 41 | 29 | 34 |
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Kingdom Come |
| 1 | 1 | 6 | 79 | 76 | 71 | -- | 45 | 17 | 35 |
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American Gangster |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | 58 | 99 | 64 | 29 | -- | 17 | 30 |
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The Blueprint 3 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 22 | 12 | 15 | 44 | 12 | 4 | ||
Magna Carta.. Holy Grail |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
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4:44[40] |
| 1 | 1 | 1 [41] | 43 [42] | 15 | 11 | 11 [43] | 16 | 5 | 3 |
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Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [3] | US R&B [14] | CAN [15] | FRA [16] | GER [17] | NLD [18] | NOR [19] | SWE [20] | SWI [21] | UK [22] | ||||
The Best of Both Worlds (with R. Kelly) |
| 2 | 1 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 12 | -- | 42 | 18 | 37 |
| |
Unfinished Business (with R. Kelly) |
| 1 | 1 | -- | 68 | 77 | 60 | -- | -- | 65 | 61 |
| |
Collision Course (with Linkin Park) |
| 1 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 15 |
| |
Watch the Throne (with Kanye West) |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 1 | 3 |
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Everything Is Love (with Beyoncé as The Carters) |
| 2 [54] | 1 | 4 [55] | 44 | 23 | 4 | 11 [56] | 14 [57] | 5 | 5 |
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Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [3] | US R&B [14] | UK [22] | |||||||||||
Jay-Z: Unplugged |
| 31 | 8 | 153 |
| ||||||||
Live in Brooklyn |
| 35 | 6 | -- | |||||||||
'—' denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [3] | US R&B [14] | AUS [60] | GER [17] | NOR [19] | SWI [21] | UK [22] | |||||
Chapter One: Greatest Hits |
| -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 65 |
| ||
Blueprint 2.1 |
| 17 | 6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||
Bring It On: The Best of Jay-Z |
| -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | --[B] | |||
Greatest Hits |
| -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 84 | |||
Jay-Z: The Hits Collection, Volume One |
| 43 | 11 | 83 | 89 | 16 | 98 | 20 |
| ||
'—' denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
US [3] | US R&B [14] | ||
Streets Is Watching |
| 27 | 3 |
Ranking Jay Z albums can be like doing any other Jay-related list: it's impossible to get it right. The God MC himself ranked his albums last year via Life + Times and caused an uproar from just about everyone, including die hard fans, casual listeners and committed Internet trolls, who bombarded the comment section with commentary like, 'Nah! Vol. 2 wasn't all that good' and 'Are you shitting me?!' There's a reason people are so passionate in their critiques of anything Jay Z related, and it's simple: Jay Z is as good as it gets. His catalogue, which includes several classic albums and even more classic songs, is the stuff of legend. Hov's worse albums are better than most rappers' best albums, which force critics to grade his albums on a completely different scale. This is all what makes it impossible to get a Jay Z album ranking perfect. But with all of that being said, here, we attempt to rank Jay Z ’s solo albums, as we did for both Nas and Eminem. These rankings are not only based on quality, but also impact and importance. Enjoy, and sound off in the comments.
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Hova Song (intro) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
So Ghetto | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up) (feat. Beanie Sigel & Amil) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Dope Man | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Things That U Do (feat. Mariah Carey) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
It's Hot (Some Like It Hot) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Snoopy Track (feat. Juvenile) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
S. Carter (feat. Amil) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Pop 4 Roc (feat. Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek & Amil) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Watch Me (feat. Dr. Dre) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Big Pimpin' (feat. UGK) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
There's Been a Murder | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Come and Get Me | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
NYMP | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Hova Song (outro) / Jigga My Nigga / Girl's Best Friend | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
For the second part of his interview with Rap Radar’s Elliott Wilson and Brian “B. Dot” Miller, Jay-Z ranked his top six solo albums and, honestly, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
6. 4:44
5. American Gangster
4. The Black Album
3. Reasonable Doubt
2. The Blueprint
Usb 2.0 ethernet adapter driver windows 10. Are you ready for number one? Are you sure?
Wait, are you sure? Ok.
1. Vol. 2…Hard Knock Life
Predictable, right? At the very least, Jay-Z also shows that he’s just like us, considering Magna Carda Holy Grail is not in his top six list. Jay-Z also refers to Vol. 2 as his Thriller and The Blueprint as his Off The Wall.
WATCH: Jay-Z Discusses ‘4:44,’ Kanye West, Solange And More In ‘Rap Radar’ Interview
During the interview, Jay-Z also talks about Blue Ivy Carter’s guest verse on 4:44 bonus track “Blue’s Freestyle/We Family.”
“She went and she got the headphones and she climbed on her little stool and then she started rapping,” Jay-Z said. “And the pocket she was catching I was like s**t. I’m talking amazing pockets…she understands the concept of a hook. She’s five.”
After that, the conversation turned to rap beef and how Jay-Z has had his fair share throughout his career, including one with Prodigy, who passed away earlier this year.
“I have super respect for Prodigy. In order for me to really spar with you I got to respect you,” Jay-Z said. “I sampled him for my first album so you know I was aware of him and had a respect for him.”
“We spoke before he passed,” Jay-Z continued. “I saw him in the club maybe five years ago or something like that and he came over and we just kicked it…it’s just sad, blessings to his family.”
Toward the end of the interview Jay-Z, while discussing mental health and the recent passing of Chester Bennington, talks about a moment he had with Amy Winehouse where, after seeing her perform at Joe’s Pub in New York City, he then met her at the Spotted Pig where she was stuttering.
“I looked at her, and I was like, ‘stay with us,'” he said. “The first time we hung out, I said ‘stay with us.'”
In the first part of the interview with Wilson and Miller, Jay-Z discussed his issues with Kanye West (who’s referenced in the song “Kill Jay Z”), saying:
“What really hurt me was, you can’t bring my wife and my kids into it…Like, Kanye is my little brother. He’s talked about me a hundred times. He even made a song called ‘Big Brother.’ We’ve gotten past bigger issues. But you brought my family into it, now it’s a problem…You know it’s a problem because me and him would have been talked about it, been resolved our issues. And he knows crossed the line. He knows. And I know he knows. ‘Cause we’ve never let this much space go between one of our disagreements and we’ve had many. That’s part of who we are.”
Check out part two below.
Jay Z is widely known as one of the greatest rappers of all time, and with good reason. The man with many nicknames also has just as many hit songs. All of these songs were on Jay Z's best albums, which this list tries to figure out what can truly be named his best albums. People think very highly of his debut, Reasonable Doubt, which is widely considered one of the best rap albums. His other work isn't too shabby either. While people generally think that it drops off after a certain point, it's up to you to determine if that's true or not.
This is our list of the best Jay Z albums, including pictures of the album covers when available. This Jay Z discography is ranked from best to worst, so the top Jay Z albums can be found at the top of the list. To make it easy for you, we haven't included Jay Z singles, EPs, or compilations, so everything you see here should only be studio albums. If you think the greatest Jay Z album isn't high enough on the list, then be sure to vote for it so it receives the credit it deserves. Make sure you don't just vote for critically acclaimed albums; if you have a favorite Jay Z album, then vote it up, even if it's not necessarily the most popular.
1'Can't Knock the Hustle'
'Dead Presidents II'
'Feelin' It'
3'Can I Get A..'
'Money, Cash, Hoes'
'Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)'
5'Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)..'
'I Know'
'Blue Magic'
7In My Lifetime, Vol. 11997'The City Is Mine'
'(Always Be My) Sunshine'
'Who You Wit II'
8The Blueprint 32009'Empire State of Mind'
'Run This Town'
'Young Forever'
9Vol. 3.. Life and Times of S. Carter1999'Big Pimpin'
'Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)'
'Things That U Do'
10The Dynasty: Roc La Familia2000'I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)'
'Guilty Until Proven Innocent'
'Change the Game'
11