Jay Z ranks his best and worst albums on his 44th birthday

With a rapper as prolific as Jay Z, fans will always debate which album is his best and which is his worst. Yesterday (his 44th birthday), HOV himself joined in the debate and gave the ranking he thinks each LP deserves. He took to his Life + Times blog, ranking his 12 solo LP's in order from "classic" to "don't shoot me."

The top three choices really come as no surprise. His 1996 independent debut Reasonable Doubt claimed the No. 1 spot with 2001's critically acclaimed The Blueprint at No. 2 and his "retirement" LP from 2004, The Black Album, landed at No. 3. He labeled each of the top three albums as "classic."

The No. 4 slot was also honored with the "classic" label with his top-selling Vol. 2 ... Hard Knock Life. His American Gangster earned a 4.5 for being "cohesive."

He has admitted his most recent album wasn't his best, and placed it at No. 6. His sophomore LP, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 checked in at No. 7. About that album he added, "Sunshine kills this album....f**k, Streets, Where I'm from, You Must Love Me...). He defended The Blueprint 3 putting it at No. 8. "Sorry critics," he wrote. "It's good."

The Dynasty: Roc La Familia from 2000, which showcased former Roc-A-Fella artists Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel, Amil and Freeway, made No. 9 because of the "intro alone." Vol. 3 ... Life and Times of S. Carter followed at No. 10 because of the "Pimp C verse alone" which he described as "oh, so ghetto."

Buried at the bottom is The Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse at No. 11, for which he blames his engineer and former A&R saying, "Too many songs. F***ing Guru and Hip Hop, ha.

Finally, his least favorite album was 2006's comeback LP Kingdom Come, to which most critics would agree. He asks for some slack though, saying, "First game back, don't shoot me."

Do you agree with HOV's discography ranking? How would you rank his catalogue? Let us know in the comments section below!

Read his list here:

1. Reasonable Doubt (Classic)
2. The Blueprint (Classic)
3. The Black Album (Classic)
4. Vol. 2 (Classic)
5. American Gangster (4 1/2, cohesive)
6. Magna Carta (Fuckwit, Tom Ford, Oceans, Beach, On the Run, Grail)
7. Vol. 1 (Sunshine kills this album…fuck… Streets, Where I’m from, You Must Love Me…)
8. BP3 (Sorry critics, it’s good. Empire (Gave Frank a run for his money))
9. Dynasty (Intro alone…)
10. Vol. 3 (Pimp C verse alone… oh, So Ghetto)
11. BP2 (Too many songs. Fucking Guru and Hip Hop, ha)
12. Kingdom Come (First game back, don’t shoot me)”

Tags

Jay-Z