Jay Z Ranks All 12 of His Solo Albums

Jay Z is on a blogging frenzy over at his Life + Times site. First, the rapper, who turns 44 today, revealed he would be embarking on a new vegan lifestyle. Now, Hov is contributing to a debate that's been going on for over a decade: What's the best Jay Z album?

The 'Reasonable Doubt' creator posted a photo on the blog of all 12 of his solo albums, stacked on top of each other to showcase a ranking from best to worst. The list doesn't include his two albums with R. Kelly ('The Best of Both Worlds' and 'Unfinished Business,' which were both met with middling reviews) or the 'Watch the Throne' mega-collaboration with Kanye West.

The MC's top four is pretty much what fans and critics have come to a consensus with over the years. He simply refers to these LPs as "classic" material. The list gets interesting afterward and Jay Z succinctly describes why he ordered them as such in the post.

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)

Commenters on the site had their disagreements with Jay Z's list, just like every other one that has been written to date. One wrote, "No way is Vol 2 a classic. Love ya Jay but no bro. Album is dated as f---. As not stood the test of time."

But like it or not, Hov has spoken.