The College Dropout

Mi sesgo es que disfruto generalmente a Kanye, aunque justo este disco es de los que no he escuchado. Muy bueno, me dio la sensación de que acá un Kanye más "tranquilo" o mesurado (?) hasta cierto punto, sin gritar, sin lo estridente de discos posteriores. No es que sea mejor que lo otro, solamente sí veo que, aunque sea un mismo o los mismos géneros, hay una voluntad de experimentación, ese pastiche de beats, sonidos de otros géneros o características, medio del gospel a veces, por decir alguno. Sin skips, creo que "Jesus Walks" sí es muy superior, me gustó mucho esa parte central, con JAY-Z et al., "The New Workout Plan", "Family Business" también bastante bien y pues la última pista, aunque sea de 12 minutos, no se siente tan eterna y me parece buen cierre. 9.5/10

Fantastisk Album!

Ah what a classic mega nice das Mal wieder gehört zu haben vor allem ganz an einem Stück

Easy 5/5 iconic Kanye. RIP Bernie Mac

Album holds up rather well.

One of Kanye’s best!

very cool kanye

YOU ALREADY KNOW!

Ham Turkey looks like she would enjoy meatballs, but she doesn't. Sometimes the world doesn't make sense. She could be wearing a chef's hat eating meatballs right now. Sometimes the world isn't fair.

Classic

she take my money will i’m need yeah she’s a pricy friend in deed o she d a gold digger way over time that digs in me oooh when it all falls down ooh

Riktigt bra kanye

Pretty nice, beats are pretty basic though.

I'm still coming to terms with the fact that I really, really like Kanye's music. After MBDTF, this is basically a confirmation. I slightly prefer the former, though. Favourite track: Jesus Walks

PHD: pretty huge dih

I like Kanye he’s cool

All falls down, slow jamz, never let me down all good, everything else is still pretty good

Right from the get go, this album had me hooked. The different collaborations, beats, and lyrics worked to tell an incredible story of success through adversity. The messaging was largely any how you can be successful without a degree, and that a degree isn’t gonna garner what you think it will. I get why Kanye thought of himself as a musical genius. This album exemplifies his talent, rhyme schemes, story telling, and beat master. Despite its length, it doesn’t feel like a chore to get through and each song flows into the next seamlessly. It’s absolutely worth the time.

Great album, not my favorite of his.

i'm not qualified to comment as I don't follow Kanye much but this was an outstanding listen and is justified to be on this list.

heard it before what a beautiful record love the soulfulness of the samples and relatability of kanyes lyrics

Funny skits, great production, and an awesome era for Kanye. Great album. Rating: 7.5/10 Favorite Song: Spaceship

Ya lo había escuchado previamente, a pesar de que tengo preferencia por otros álbumes de Ye, este lo empezó todo, no tengo tantos sentimientos o pensamientos sobre este disco.

Has as many incredible songs as I remember, but a few more skips too

I was stuck on the "this is not my genre", so I had to listen to it twice. And I gotta say it, it deserves to be on the list. Not sure about the rating, I may come back and adjust it later: but, based on the fact that I saved the majority of the songs to my playlist, I'll go with a 4/5.

If half stars were a thing on here it would be 4.5 stars. Putting two skits back to back is diabolical sequencing.

Whatever man. Fuck this guy to the degree that i was really bummed getting this record generated for me and i don’t wanna do it. I dunno, it’s probably really good. God man, gimme a break from all these dumb motherfuckers.

Expectation: -> This should be 2-4 range, most likely a 4. 1h 16-min could make this a challenging review. Not a Kanye fan. Never previously sought a Kanye album. But I'm a fan of most popular hip-hop and rap plus I've liked three Kanye songs on Spotify prior to today. After listening: -> Not sure if this album is prime Kanye but it surrre sounds like it. Impressive skill, creativity, lyricism, variety. Excellent collaborations. I have not looked, but I'm guessing that this album received accolades back in the day. Track ranking: (not including Intro, skits, etc.) Never Slow We Spaceship Falls Breathe Wire Family Two New Workout Jesus High Spirit Call Graduation Fly

fuck this guy. But his music is surprisingly good, not my normal genre but I really enjoyed it.

While he has become a complete shit show, in my opinion he made one great album. This is it. His rhymes are on point here and there are no signs of the bizarre, unintelligible rants to come.

Kanye's fifth best album. Still a classic.

hmmm...okay okay it's good. i like (most of) the skits and songs. they're relatable & innovative. artist/ art separation, idk.

very good, even not being my style of music, i really enjoy it

Early Kanye ist einfach geil. Manchmal sexistisch tho

more like 3.5 actually. I like Kanye.

кани прайм

I remember loving this album when it came out. Kanye was a breath of fresh air then. Through the Wire was a great intro for me, and then bangers like Jesus Walks, and Slow Jamz followed. It was quite a time to be alive. A lot of those songs have held up, if you can separate the art from the artist. Biggest Hit - Jesus Walks Biggest Miss (if I had to choose ) - Family Business Not So Hidden Gem - Through The Wire

i don usually listen to kanye but omg this album is definitely a must listen!!

3.88

I wanted very much to not like this. However, I must admit, it’s a pretty good listen. I wanted very much to dock this based on the despicable human being that Kanye has shown himself to be, and yet, at the time this was released, Kanye had yet to fully reveal his true inner assholeishness, so I decided that I can feel comfortable just judging this on its musical merits. Lastly, I wanted to bang on this when I saw it checked in at 76 minutes. But really, until the last half of the last track, this moves along very briskly and pleasantly, such that you have no concept that it is actually as long as it really is. Four stars for me.

“When Kanye was actually good.” Banging album.

I was surprised. This wasn’t too bad. Kanye sounds coherent in this album. Too bad his mother died suddenly. I think she was the person that was making sure that Kanye stayed grounded in reality. Of course, having an overlooked Traumatic Brain Injury did not help either.

damn, 2004 kanye was a different dude, huh. self-introspection and political consciousness! wild. anyway pretty strong album, didn't transcend me but definitely good stuff.

People tend to miss the old Kanye, but in my view the oldest Kanye music is a bit dated and lacks some crunch. Maybe he went off the rails with the crunch, but you need some crunch ya know. This album in the first few tracks reminds me a lot of Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The same school theme, and the instrumentation, piano-led like in I'll Fly Away feels very of that ilk. Its all quite nice but very safe until Jesus Walks, what a song, what a great beat. There's a too many stupid skits and filler if you ask me. There's also 4 or 5 of Kanye's absolute best tracks, so its a bit of a tough call. Kinda depends what you value in an album, quality or quantity. Intro - 0/5 We Don't Care - 4.5/5 Graduation Day - 1.5/5 All Falls Down - 5/5 I'll Fly Away - 3/5 Spaceship - 3/5 Jesus Walks - 5/5 Never Let Me Down - 3.5/5 Get Em High - 2.5/5 Workout Plan - 1/5 The New Workout Plan - 2/5 Slow Jamz - 5/5 Breathe In Breathe Out - 2.5/5 School Spirit Skit 1 - 2/5 School Spirit - 3/5 School Spirit Skit 2 - 2/5 Lil Jimmy Skit - 2/5 Two Words - 3.5/5 Through the Wire - 5/5 Family Business - 4/5 Last Call - 4/5 3.6/5

Not my favorite style of music, and the guys obviously has mental health issues and screwed up politics, but this is coherent and groundbreaking album

Ok, no está mal. pero tuve problemas al inicio ya que detesto a Kanye. Este y Graduation son muy buenos.

He is nuts. But man this is a bad ass album. I had a lot of fun listening to this. 8/10 just because of past transgressions. Top song We don't care

Still so good. Urgent and fresh, even all these years later. Kanye’s debut is one for the ages. The skits kill some momentum, but that really is just a sign of the times. Listening to “good Kanye” bums me out knowing how everything worked out, but it’s always nice to be reminded of the artist he was.

Grew up on this one so tough to separate that from the nostalgia but Kanye was special before he lost his mind. Still think Jesus Walks is his best song

Not my fave Kanye but still stellar

Primero salió michael rancio, con sus controversias, y ahora me salio kanye occidente, con sus otras controversias. Musicalmente no conozco mucho de rap, pero me gusta a nivel producción y los géneros en los que se mueve. Es divertido el muchacho y los skits le dan el toque. 7/10 porque no puedo separar lo desagradable que es el hombre.

Pretty epic and enjoyable

Good album

The skits are super annoying, but the music is great. 4.0/5.0: Great

Real example of separating the art from the artist. This was a total banger of a debut album. Introspective, it reintroduced conscience hip-hop after a run of boasting about product placement. Talked about materialism, religion, race, and higher education. And it's funny. Of course, the giant elephant in the room is how you feel about Kanye, especially in 2026. I feel like I should take a strike down because he's been absolutely repugnant these last few years.

8/10

FFS Kanye, you should have kept your jaw wired shut.

Look, this album was really good.

un artista que te enamora a primera escucha su gran versatilidad, una lástima sus polémicas.

As awful as Kanye is now, I can't bring myself to rate this album low. It's an incredibly tight, funny, and interesting album with plenty of great tracks on it. I won't put it at a 5, but it does crack 4 stars for me.

What a great album. Have to take a point away because of current day Kanye though

I had quite literally never listened to Kanye West until this album, and I was actually really surprised with how much enjoyment I got from it. Is it my preferred style of music? No... but I enjoyed branching out and listening to something different. In a way, it kind of reminded me of 'The Who Sell Out' in the way that some of the album is set out, for example, the track 'Intro' and 'School Spirit Skit'. I enjoy that kind of creativity with an album, especially one of this length, as it keeps things fresh and stops you getting bored so easily. Due to the number of songs, it is hard to remember how each one was after the first listen, but there were some stand-out tracks that definitely made a mark on the first listen. Favourite lyric: 'They say, "Oh, you graduated?" No, I decided I was finished.' ('School Spirit'). Favourite Tracks (there are more than usual due to the album being so long): We Don't Care The New Workout Plan All Falls Down Never Let Me Down Get Em High Last Call

He's great here. Makes me sorry for what he becomes. Separate art from artist, I guess...

8/10 As with many artists, particularly when looking retrospectively at their work, it's important to separate the art from the artist, unless their worst side is specifically present within the art. Yes, Kanye is an immensely troubled and problematic man, but looking at this album on its own merits, it's an excellent and innovative piece of work. Where hip-hop often falls down for me is on the repetitive nature of the beats and musical content. Some rappers also fall into the trap of having very straight rhythmical flow to their delivery, so I can find some of those elements detrimental to my enjoyment of the music. Fortunately, Kanye rarely falls into that trap, with the majority of tracks offering good range, longer from chord structures and motifs, and plenty of rhythmical and tonal variety. The amount of harmonic complexity and tonal layering also elevates this record, with enough depth to the compositions to reward deep and repeated listening. Kanye's also on pretty great lyrical form, flipping smoothly between comedic, sentimental and introspective in various measures. He does touch on moments of stereotypical rap subject matter, but it's largely done with a knowing wink, rather than a more direct approach. There are some moments of supreme quality scattered across this record. So much of them, in fact, that there's a 10/10 record hiding in here; We Don't Care, All Falls Down, Spaceship and more are truly excellent pieces, but there are moments when things slip.back into the more straight, repetitive brand of hip-hop that feels more derivative and less invigorating, such as Get Em High. The skits are also pretty awful and feel out of step with the quality of the rest of the record, as does the overly long, self-indulgent and portentous closer; Last Call. Apparently, the LP of this album doesn't contain the skits, which would probably be enough to elevate this to a 9/10 for me, but with those included, it feels overly long, a tiny bit patchy and just a step away from that 5 star ranking. But it's still bloody great. Intro - This is incredibly irritating and not as funny as Kanye thinks it is. Thankfully it's just an intro. We Don't Care - The choice of samples and general flow of this is great. It has a soulful side while maintaining a bit of hip-hop grit. Most importantly, there's a strong melodic and harmonic focus to the track, including from Kanye's vocals, both sung and rapped, which is where I often fall down with rap music. There's also plenty of range and variety in there, as well as some great hooks. An excellent opener. Graduation Day - Sadly, we get an actual track with skit dropped over it. The music here is decent enough, but the over autotuned vocals are a detriment to the track. But this is hardly much of a track anyway. All Falls Down - And now we're back onto the good stuff. Again, musically, this is really rich and it reminds me of Lauryn Hill. Turns out the vocal is lifted and reperformed from a Lauryn Hill track, so that makes sense. Plenty of rhythmic range within the rapping too and there's still a lot going on across the layers of instrumentation. The bass is great, in particular, but everything weaves together beautifully. I'll Fly Away - A musical interstitial now. It's pretty, jazzy and soulful. This is the kind of thing I can get behind. Very nice. Spaceship - This is another great one. Nice use of the Marvin Gaye sample, but it's developed into a completely different vibe with the layering of everything else and the chorus is excellent. Apparently Kanye sings the lead on the chorus, and he does a great job. His vocal reminds me so much of someone else though, but I can't put my finger on who. This is a solid blend of soul and hip-hop, but with a funky psychedelic twist. Love it. Jesus Walks - A nice change of pace now. There's a good bit of drive and aggression to this. It's dark, funny and the vibe is so strong and consistent. The rhythms are excellent and well layered. It's not got the harmonic richness of other tracks, but positioned on the record like it is, that doesn't matter a jot. The insistence and intensity are the all important parts here and it's executed brilliantly. Never Let Me Down - Hook city again, but we still get a bit of darkness hanging over from the last track, which is excellent song sequencing. The depth and vibe to this is excellent and the variety of rapping styles between Kanye, Jay-Z and J. ivy adds extra flavour and style to the mix. The transition out into the more subtle piano focused section at the end is gorgeous. Get Em High - Back to something with a bit less range, but it's more rap focused and again, the song sequencing helps stuff like this to work as part of the album structure. It's probably the weakest track up to this point because it's too repetitive and long, but the rapping is still solid. Workout Plan - Again, this is a bit annoying. Less annoying than the college guy at the beginning though. The New Workout Plan - The mix of rhythmic layers is great again here and he mixes up the delivery of his vocal to pull it around nicely. It's not quite got the harmonic depth of the best tracks, and it calls back to a more traditional hip-hop sound, but there's still plenty going on. There's also a cool change up of style late on too and I'm a sucker for a tall box. Fun. Slow Jamz - Another nice change in pace now. Yes, it's a slow jam, but it's also pretty funny. There's some great range in rapping pace and style here, but it's all backed superbly by the underlying slow groove. The chorus has great hooks too and the overall vibe is quality. Nice. Breathe In Breathe Out - The lilt to the groove is great. It's another with less depth and range, but with the album sequencing, doesn't drag things too much. The rhythmic flow is solid and it's hard not to bob to the beat. Not my favourite, but still pretty good. School Spirit Skit 1 - This is a bit funnier than the earlier skits, but still not great. I feel like these are the moments that age this record the most and let it down. School Spirit - This is a touch repetitive, but the vibe is still great. The melodic inflection to his rapping adds a lot of depth that enhances the track in a way that a straighter delivery would never have managed. While it does drag a little towards the end, it's still pretty good. School Spirit Skit 2 - Meh. Lil Jimmy Skit - More Meh. Two Words - We're back to something with way more depth and range. The beat is tasty, and there's enough development to make it interesting and varied throughout. It's layered beautifully, and every touch enhances the groove and vibe. Each listen exposes another little touch of quality. Through The Wire - Another soulful groove and we get more of Kanye's rapping range despite delivering it with a wired jaw. There's some lovely bass and guitar stuff in here and it's another with impressive harmonic depth and feel for a genre that can sometimes skimp on those elements. The beats are also layered really well to add depth and nuance. Family Business - This is a really sweet and pretty track. The simplicity of the gorgeous piano and bass arrangement is lovely. The use of choral work adds a good harmonic depth as the song progresses and Kanye's slightly melodic and rhythmically varied rap delivery works superbly. Excellent. Last Call - The core of this is great, but good lord is it self indulgent and over long. To be fair, he does throw in a decent bit of musical range and variety across the track, but it's also quite a rambling and unfocused narrative in which Kanye tells us how he got signed and gives a bit of side-eye to people who couldn't see his genius. In hindsight, one would suggest that this track is kind of an indicator self-important and fame hungry personality that would derail him over the next couple of decades, but it's in stark contrast to the introspection and conscience of the rest of the record.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Kanye är verkligen upp och ner för mig. Detta är ett bra album. Inte lika bra som My beutifull dark twisted fantasy. Gillar att det är mycket sammarbeten, det gör albumet varierat. Jag gillar inte allt men helheten är ändå en 4a. Bäst är we don't care, All falls down, Jesus walks, Never let me down, Slow jamz, Through the wire

It sucks that Kanye West is the person he is now because right here is an extremely talented young rapper in the making. The beats are excellent, the production are excellent and some of Kanye's lines are funny as heck. 4/5

Back in the beginning, before he was nuts, he dropped a banger of an album.

This is great, though not quite up there with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy for me. Just a bit too long and the skits are irritating for the most part. Can totally see how he got inspiration from Lauryn Hill which is never a bad thing. This is my kind of rap so fair play to him for moving away from all the gangster nonsense And yes I am separating the art from the artist otherwise why bother as half the artists on here would be binned off

I got this back to back with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Naturally, I broke them up by working through the rest of my backlog, first (saving Sepultura for a palate-cleanser). An hour and fifteen, Yeezy? That's a daring debut. Man, the anger was there from the beginning. As usual, I am annoyed at how good this is. At the same time, it's in line with the quality of the greats that he calls out (A Tribe Called Quest, for example). That's high praise -- those are genre-defining artists. Kanye is more of what I imagine to be a torch bearer. He's carrying on the quality from a previous generation and let me tell you: this is leaps and bounds better than Drake or all that Soundcloud/benzo rap bullshit. At the same time, Kanye is just a tall man standing on the shoulders of giants. Maybe I'd call him a genius if he weren't so busy doing that himself (and other, much worse things) but I won't. He's great. But not *the* great. 4/5

spoczko, typowy rap ale tez nie tak ze juz to slyszalam , moze dlatego ze z lat 2000 (bardzo to slychac) kilka piosenek mi sie spodobalo reszta w miarę okej ale to juz raczej dla osob ktore słuchają takiego rapu I PREFER KANYE

“Separate the art from the artist” is doing some really heavy lifting here but his talent during this era is undeniable.

made sure to listen in a way that wouldn’t give him any money because kanye is an evil evil man… but dang he made some GREAT music

Yes it’s very good, but I no longer have any desire to revisit any of his albums

00’s Hip Hop ⭐️Slow Jamz

what I'm gaining from this, is that he's probably referring to his life as a teenager with this entire album. oh and his early adult years?

I mean, its Kanye. Quite simply the most impactful artist in the 2000's/2010's, and his debut with "College Dropout" was the start of a self-propelled cultural shift. His producing, in combination with absolutely insane features flow flawlessly from track to track, holding your attention the whole time. Is he rapping about the abject failure of the higher education system, churning out people with degrees but no skills, and how it has failed black culture? Just rapping about "fuck school"? Or was he trying to just rap about what he knew and push his confidence in the scene to a new level? What is indisputable is his insane name recognition and top hits coming out of this record, and its insanely unfortunate that he took the path he did. 4/5 stars.

Good one. Through the Wire is my favourite. The album is a bit silly and over-the top in portraying a caricature of a people with a degree but I feel like that's the point. Good beats and I like Kanye before he went completely bonkers.

My new favorite rap album!

Kanye fan yes, Ye fan no obviously. The last 2 minutes of The New Workout Plan has been my ear worm on repeat this listen, has the strong beat and auto tune good stuff that’s makes 808s and Heartbreak my favourite album of his that won’t get a feature on this list.

Unfortunately, he really is great at his craft.

I entered this a cynic but it did really win me over. As a fan primarily of 808s & Heartbreaks through to (mostly) The Life of Pablo, I came into this knowing only a few songs (none of which were really my favourites) and also thinking that stylistically this would be a long way from the pop maximalism I love from MBDTF. I also haven’t intentionally listened to any Kanye in quite a while (although obviously still exposed to it everywhere) and so was actually very pleasantly surprised by a lot of what I heard. The curation skills were in full effect and there wasn’t a lot that I would describe as obnoxious. School Spirit and Never Let Me Down were the big standouts to me, and I got so excited when those first moments of Autotune flickered in towards the end of The New Workout Plan (I think it was that song?). Quite a few songs that I didn’t enjoy much at the start also won me over by the end, and surprisingly I wasn’t turned off by all the skits (even 2 in a row!) or the 12 minute closing song, although the whole thing was too long. Anyway I really don’t need or want more Kanye West entering ny collection in 2026 but here we are

He was really good once. Shame.

I miss old Kanye!!

I'm not a fan of Kanye West, but I'd consider a few of the singles from this album to be guilty pleasures. I've never listened to this album start-to-finish, so we'll see how this goes. Yeah, definitely file this under "guilty pleasures." I'm hoping that whatever the fractions of a cent will be paid to Kanye as a result of my streams will be put to use getting Kanye some help with his mental health.

Kanye really was a master when it came to beats and production. Really clean on both fronts on College Dropout, mix in some really clever songwriting and some well placed features and we have ourselves a pretty great hip hop record. Jesus Walks opens with one of his greatest lines in , “We at war with terrorism, racism, but most of all we at war with ourselves” some of the preachy lines that follow got my rolling my eyes pretty heavy but the beat is so good that I can’t help but bounce to it regardless. It really does speak volumes to how talented Kanye was. Even the comedic track, Workout Plan is actually pretty great, humour tracks are tough to pull off well but I think Lanye nailed it. Best feature track probably goes to Syleena for All Falls Down but I did also really enjoy Mos Def towards the end on Two Worlds. I’ve said it many times, skits can wear on me and that did hold true with College Dropout. I get that they help tell the story a bit but I still don’t care for them. Still a very good album, 4 stars

One of those whose art is hard to separate from his behavior over the last decade or whatever, but man this album is full of astute observations, sick rhymes, earworm beats, deft hooks. And he would keep this going for a number of albums. It’s not my five but it’s more than a four. Would expect he will show up at least a few more times here.

yes i know it's rather ironic that i'm giving this a 4 because i hate kanye as a person, but it's just so good

I kind of ignored this at the time because he seemed like a bit of a dick - and it seems like I was on the right side of history on that one. However, despite all the principled 'I will never listen to him...' stances on here, I thought I'd give it a spin - and you know what? It's actually really good. He's still a dick, though...

Kanye really hates school!

I had never listened to a Kanye West album before. I really only knew him as the buffoon who married a Kardashian. This album is good. I am not a rap fan, so downgraded to 4.

This was a lot more fun than I expected.

It's not the best Kanye album imo, but definitely the most charming. Between the school concept, the sense of humour, the positive message it's just a very likeable album. The production is so soulful, vintage Kanye with amazing soul samples. The sounds are lively and epic, it fits his maximalistic vision but it's not obnoxious as on some of his later albums (I'm looking at you MBDTF). All Falls Down, Jesus Walks, Never Let Me Down, Two Words, Through The Wire are among the best 2000s rap songs. What makes this special as well as this is pretty much Kanye's best rapping performance. Pretty much, because he did get even better on Late Registration a year later, but the passion he shows here is incredible and insanely contagious. The way he raps, you just feel every word he says even if he is not the most flashy technical rapper. It makes the songs super engaging and replayable. The more melodic songs like Spaceship or Slow Jamz also work despite having a bit of a different vibe. The whole album is very cohesive, the songs are bangers while the skits bring personality and are funny. It's amazingly produced too. Unfortunately there are some songs that have aged poorly. Get Em High, The New Workout Plan and Breathe In Breathe Out are a bit too obnoxious and the humour on those songs doesn't land that well. The rest of the album is really great which puts it easily among his best albums.

great album, what a shift to what he is now

unfortunately this is really quite good

If Kanye had died in 2011, he would be considered one of the greatest artists who ever lived. It's truly incredible how somebody this introspective has become what he has. In hindsight, though, there were some clues there.

Geras, bet aš jo nemegstu lol

Graduation and MBDTF better but still goated

I loved it. Kanye managed to make this album so easy to listen to.

Really like this - I can hear what’s leading to later Kanye. The second half of the album seems to drop off but 'Last Call' is a great ending to the album.

man I hate Kanye but damn his music is good

Hip-Hop não é minha praia, mas achei criativo e divertido. Quatro estrelas por achar muito bom, mas ainda assim não sentir conexão. Músicas favoritas: - We Don't Care - All Falls Down - Jesus Walks - Slow Jamz (melhor do álbum)

if only it wasn’t made by a literal nazi 😔

It's nice to go back and listen to a really good early Kanye album from before he started having...issues.

Obviously opinions of this album have been colored by the artist's actions. Separating art from artist this album is good. It far surpasses the other rap albums that I've listened to on this list thus far Dre, Snoop Dogg, Notorious BIG. It is interesting, and entertaining, and each track feels distinct.

Kanye obviously not a nice person but there’s some great tunes on here

I so, so desperately wish this dude wasn't such a damn freak. I get the hype man, I really do. What a debut. He has basically perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the millennial without being pretentious or annoying. In fact, he's very cool about it. Not to mention, the music hits and his flow is outstanding. But now he's a nazi. What the actual fuck? I'm still rating this album as I would regardless, but it's a shame I can never call myself a Kanye fan.

VERY GOD, the best album from Kanye by far

I had never listened to Kanye in my life. I started the album ready to give it a 1/5, but what a surprise from this asshole

He did some fine work here. Nice blend of lyrics, beat and harmonies. I was pleasantly surprised

Good album. Can hear his message in the lyrics. Great production. Clearly talented, but also clear he suffers from mental illness today.

Mycket själ och hjärta i den här skivan. Gillar hur den knyter an till soul, gospel och r’n’b. Liten dipp i mitten av skivan. Men det vägs upp av stark inledning och stark avslutning. Bästa spår: Jesus walks, Never let me down, Spaceship, School spirit, Two worlds, Family business,

Musically great but …..

First hip hop album we’ve had in a while that isn’t exhaustingly repetitive. There is some really good stuff in here. This Mr. West has a bright future!

What a debut album. Wonder where he ended up later

It's too bad he's such a crazy asshole, because Kanye could create excellent music (although his free-styling is dogshit, see Breathe In, Breathe Out). The backing tracks are incredible, and his lyrics are accessible to a wide audience. You can draw a straight line from this debut to Kid Cudi, Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper, Childish Gambino, Tyler the Creator, etc. But then he lost his got damn mind, so minus 1 star

3.9/5 great debut not his best

Peak

First time I actually get this record and really good. Fuck Kanye anyway.

Surprisingly enjoyed, tried to listen to him before but this is top stuff. Not my favourite genre but clearly great

Undoubtable an iconic and essential album with some of the best tracks and flow of any hip hop. HOWEVER, I’m pretty surprised by how put off I am this time around by the degree of Kanye commentary

Classic Kanye album. Only reason it’s not a 5 is because of Graduation’s and MBDTF’s existence.

Agonizingly wonderful

Too bad he's insane.

First off, let's talk about the album and separate the art from the artist. Because... hoo boy, Kanye is a trainwreck to end all trainwrecks. This is, honestly, a really good album. The beats are tight, the rhymes are inventive, the skits are funny. I wish he hadn't tried to separate the skits from the songs, because it really inflates the track count when an intro skit shouldn't really be separated from the music it's supposed to introduce. The skits don't completely stand alone on their own, they need the song to support the scaffolding. And then, we get to "Last Call". Why? WHY? WHYYYYYY? It's too long, it's self-aggrandizing, it makes no sense, nobody cares, Kanye. We didn't need this track AT ALL. My Rating: 4/5. Let's be honest, we all liked this music BEFORE Kanye lost his mind.

Great hip hop album that starts very strong and lags with skits towards the end (and a really long coda track). If this were trimmed a bit, it would be a five. Also Kayne is a bad person and fuck Trump. Still good music. Top tracks: "We Don't Care," "All Falls Down," "Jesus Walks," "Get Em High," "Spaceship"

an incredible debut, and a fantastic case study in "love the art, hate the artist". But this was all before he went off his Zoloft and turned into a Nazi so it's ok. Jesus Walks rips, the skits are funny, the guest bars are tight, and the writing is unimpeachable. Getting a 4 because I know what's coming up next from him (complementary and derogatory).

—We Don’t Care…great beat —Graduation Day…is that JB Smoove? Hot damn I hate auto tune but he makes it great —All Falls Down…Syleena Johnson hook is great —I’ll Fly Away…an interesting diversion. Decent not great harmonies, maybe intentional —Spaceship…great production but not much to it. Scratching that, it’s growing on me. Kanye is probably the weakest link in this —Jesus Walks…oh, is racism a problem, Ye? kindly fuck yourself. This shit slaps tho —Never Let Me Down…entertaining but a little generic —Get Em High…love that sample. Love Talib Kweli. Nice, fat low end —Workout Plan…skit —The New Workout Plan…solid but not special. The last two minutes is better —Slow Jamz…Twista spitting hot fire. Entire song is fire —Breathe in Breathe Out…meh —School Spirit…skit 1 is too real. Song is good but too repetitive. Something tells me Ye hates the American higher education system —Two Words…great build into an epic —Through the Wire…fun —Family Business…nice piano. nice but no banger —Last Call…12 minutes long? This better be good. First four are good. Second 4 is the same, time to wrap it up. Yeah, delete the last 8 minutes of this track. Also, the last 12 years of your career, Ye. That would be great

Classic hop hop album. I don't like Kanye as a person and I haven't listened to his stuff in a while but the while ago I did listen to this album it's not as good as people say it is, Late Registration, Graduation, Yeezus are just much more interesting though this album has countless bangers. Y'all gotta stop rating albums you didn't listen to lol

I get it, but this album is undeniably good.

Ah, yes, before Kanye lost his mind... there's no denying how talented this guy is, though.

One of my favorite Kanye albums. It's just so much fun. 4.25/5.

Goeie hiphop van de jonge Kanye, I dig!

Classic Kanye. He used to make such bright music. Soulful yet fun. It feels dated but in a good way.

Before Kanye lost his marbles, or at least let everyone know that be lost his marbles

fav songs: we don't care i'll fly away jesus walks family business soulful, quirky, polished 70/100

I don’t care for Kanye at all, but this was pretty great, I can’t even lie.

God such a good album, too bad about kanye

Two words is standout and something I wouldn’t have heard if not for this list

Love this. A great album

God, I wanted to hate this. *must...separate...art...from...Nazi...* Fuck you, Ye. Fuck you especially for making me like this album.

A more sane and composed Kanye, however I much prefer his more creative projects (Yeezus, etc.). Still tracks like “Through the Wire” and “Family Business” are still in rotation heavy.

Pre-crazy Kanye slaps

Terrible human, pretty good music.

Huge shame how utterly vile Kanye has become, but it’s a good album. Way too damn long though.

++*: The New Workout Plan, School Spirit, Family Business ++: We Don't Care, Graduation Day, All Falls Down, I'll Fly Away, Spaceship, Get Em High, Workout Plan (Skit), Slow Jamz, Breathe In Breathe Out, School Spirit (Skit 1), Lil Jimmy (Skit), Two Words, Through the Wire +: Intro (Skit), Jesus Walks, Never Let Me Down, School Spirit (Skit 2), Last Call 9,5/10

Kanye sucks as a human being but this is still good hip hop album

Not the most popular view but this is Kanye west best collection of songs. All laced with fun and great production. Witty lyrics delivered loosely. All falls down, spaceship, slow jamz are songs that were only bettered sporadically. The skits take this away from being 5 stars.

He's so damned weird! But he does have creativity...I hate scoring this.

Never really listened to Kanye much and don’t really plan to now bearing in mind his general attitude and maybe mental health state. However this album shows that at one point he was a real talent before it all got to him. He was sadly one of the worst Glastonbury headliners that I can remember (whereas Kendrick Lamar was one of the best)

A damn shame. I give it about ten years before I'm ready to give this the true consideration it probably deserves. But what an incredibly fun, interesting time.

Classic album with bangers, actually never listened to to whole album until now. It's been maddening to see how low Kanye has fallen.

Separating art from artist here, this is a fantastic album, I really like the way the skits break up the album. My stand out songs were Spaceship and Jesus Walks

Kanye has always had a great sound, definitely one of if not my favorite rapper. This album specifically makes me think especially being in college because he offers a pretty harsh critique of the system. Definitely a fun listen

Separate art from artist and this album is great.

B+ We Don't Care 3 Graduation Day 4 All Falls Down 3 Spaceship 3 Jesus Walks 5 Never Let Me Down 3 Get Em High 3 The New Workout Plan 4 Slow Jamz 4 Breathe In Breathe Out 3 School Spirit 4 Two Words 5 Through The Wire 4 Family Business 3 Last Call 4 I used to love this album, but knowing how antisemitic Kanye is, it just sounds so much flatter and repetitive. It’s a good album, but it ain’t allat.

Classic- reminds me of high school. Not my favorite in the trilogy but an amazing debut and a great intro to an era-defining producer. So sad that his legacy is forever tarnished and I have to feel bad abt streaming this album and giving KW my $.03!

Even if you´re not a fan of Kanye or hip-hop in general, this is one of these albums that are so great that you can be indifferent to it

Not really listened to Kanye West before. In recent years, his behaviour and statements have made him problematic so I thought the ship had sailed for me. I listened to Graduation on the recommendation of a friend a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it, so wasn't disappointed when this came up. I'm not the biggest rap fan, but there are some artists and tracks I like. I'm willing to be open minded though. I've pretty much enjoyed what I've listened to by Kanye so far, I appreciated the influence of Lauren Hill who is up there for me as one of the best. Feel that this album just goes on a bit long though, so it's 4 stars for me.

La producción y algunos de los mejores performances de Kanye (siendo que no es taaaan buen rapero). Merece volverse a oír

He’s a genius.

Hard to separate the art from teh artist sometimes. but man this is a masterpiece

No querría ponerle esa puntuacion porque es una persona muy problematica pero kanye es un artistazo y el album me ha parecido buenismo

I would give all five. But its a goddamn Kanye west, so four

It would be weird to think about Kanye becoming a neo-Nazi antisemite with a lot of personal issues, drug addiction, porn addiction and all the controversies that he acquired through the years, at the moment this album came out. But if you really listened to the things he has said through the years, even in this album you can see that Kanye's career came to be thanks to his personality, his pigheadedness that made him work even in some dire situations (Through the Wire). And this characteristic, that made him so well estimated as a hard-working artist with no compromises in his work, became a show of arrogance and dubious working ethics. But more than that, we can see how here, he already exposed some of the thinking and way of seeing the world that influenced his work and decisions in the years to come: His disdain (somewhat justified) of the academic system, dropping from college and how he feels it's not only something people fear due to it being the standard route of life, but that school indoctrinates people in a studying wheel without experiencing or doing real things. And how this became an anti-academic nightmare, believing conspiracies and harmful ideologies. His strong believing and faith, represented through the famous "Jesus Walks", and how he feels this strong assessment of "people can't sing of Jesus in the radio" that nowadays feels like typical crying from Christian nationalists, but then could be felt as a differential factor compared to other artists. And how it became nothing more than soil for his, and other people, weird nationalist Christo-fascist beliefs, that even when he tried to distance from them, a lot of people still have and celebrate, thanks to him bringing to the mainstream. His general contempt and opinions that more than the typical bravado and presumption a rapper must have, today is more known as the real personality and thinking of Kanye. What I think these things reveal, is that the life of Kanye has been the result if all of these characteristics took the worst outcome possible. We could talk about at which point it went like this, or what could've been done to prevent it, but at the end of the day, the way Kanye West is today, should not be strange considering this: that he was the same from the beginning, and despite his music changing in technical and artistic aspects, the content and message was at his core, the same. All the good and bad, and dirty aspects of his work are here in some or other way. In that sense, I feel this album it's quite good, albeit a bit weird to listen nowadays with all the recent events. As a debut album, it's impressive. In musical and technical aspects, I prefer more recent works. I don't love it, but it's quite sad that it's so well regarded, more than anything, due to how an asshole and an egomaniacal drugged, washed-out artist he has become.

This was my first ever time listening to Kanye West and I was astonished by how good it was. There's musical complexity here I really hadn't expected from a rap artist. Great production sound, actual tunes (although some probably sampled from elsewhere) and lyrics that were sometimes thoughtful. One or two tracks were less good but overall I have to say this was really impressive.

"You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!"

Do younger generations look at old Kanye records the way I look at Elvis?

I miss this guy

Virkelig godt i sin genre. Meget catchy melodier. Men man kan jo ikke blive Kanye-fan nu ...

Haven't listened to Kanye in a while. This honestly just reminds me why he 𝘸𝘢𝘴 so popular. There's no one who quite compares to his style of music. You really do see his immense lyrical genius in the song "Slow Jamz" lyrics: "She got a light-skinned friend look like Michael Jackson" "She got a dark-skinned friend look like Michael Jackson"

Miss the old Kanye. Pretty legendary debut album. Only have a surface level knowledge of Kanye but the lyricism here is some of his best imo. Beats are inventive and well-engineered. That said, nothing had me hitting the download button, but really good album. Will probably give it another listen soon

Back when Kanye made sense. Also didn’t realize how many samples of this album were used in other songs, ie workout plan for one of J Cole’s songs. The skits were also hilarious, get your degree!

Amazing album

Groove, hard lines, an impressive debut album

The great debut by the polarizing Chicago artist. It sounds so good but as a kid of the 2000s I get more enjoyment out of 'Graduation'. It is still a classic and a crucial record. 9/10 [KEEP]

Decent, a few bangers.

Good

This was back when I still loved Kayne more than Kanye loved Kanye. I wish he wasn't such a piece of shit. Still a great album.

It's wild how far Kanye West has fallen since his debut—"The College Dropout" is fresh, fun, groovy, memorable, and humorous. While he's a serviceable rapper, he really shines as a producer. People who don't listen to wrap may not understand that the "genius of Kanye" lies not in his lyrics, but in his beats. His descent into MAGA and antisemitism 20 years after his iconic "George Bush doesn't care about black people" moment has left a devastating mark on his legacy. Regardless of where he's ended up, he was a great artist and "The College Dropout" is a great first record.

#280/1001. This lists most interesting findings have been in the realm of hiphop / rap. There are also some crazy ass people, but those do exist in rock and pop and disco throughout the years as well, and sometimes we blame them sometimes we don't. Nevertheless, an amazing and funny debut, although better stuff was yet to come. I don't know if it is the drugs / alcohol or the fame or the money or combination of these which seem to ruin people in this business, and often I don't care. But for shits sake, Kanye wtf?

808s should be on the list instead

Oh what I wouldn't give to go back 10 years before Ye went into full backslide... This being his solo debut, it comes from a simpler time when he was known more for being an up and coming producer than his theatrics and anti-semitic diatribes. We Don't Care is an all time track that is simultaneously bright in delivery and bleak in lyrics. Love the use of what sounds like a school chorus to deliver the refrain (wasn't supposed to make it past 25, jokes on you we're still alive) as he speaks about some of the realities of his community's experience (claiming other kids on income taxes, selling drugs, scratching lottery tickets, dope money forming a kids "scholarship"). All Falls Down is another great one slotted towards the front of the album. West shines here speaking to materialistic trappings of the Black community, while maintaining a self-awareness of his own continuation thereof. Also it slaps. Spaceship is a kind of rough around the edges soulful slide speaking to escapist desires. Absolutely love Jesus Walks -- production is fantastic and the song itself jams. Get Em High is another standout here (*though Common's verse should have been cut. the "remote control" line is awful and there's not anything in there to make it worthwhile.). The New Workout Plan is dumb as hell, but also a lot of fun. Always appreciate a Ludacris feature and Breathe In Breath Out is no exception -- solid track with West once again coming through with self-awareness and some of his better beat riding. Album closes strong with Two Words -> Last Call. Two Words being my favorite from the run. And Family Business being a rare pulling back of the covers from West. Well now I'm off to Graduation and beyond. Always enjoy this album. I'd say it hits around a high 4 / soft 5 territory.

Pretty cool to hear young Kanye. He is a lot less angry in this album than in others. Went on a shallow dive of Kanye during this album and his comeup. Definitely has a really cool story and it sucks that he's an asshole Nazi now. Really influential in hip hop so this album definitely has a place on this list.

Dang another great album by Kanye that I never have listened to fully. This has some of his best songs All Falls Down, Slow Jamz, and Jesus Walks which is an intense ass song. Wish he just wasn't such an absolute clown

Obligatory FUCK KANYE! Hilarious this is written all over Roo. I was actually thinking about him during the Super Bowl. When he played at Roo he went on a 10 minute rant and autotuned a song "They said I'd never play at the Super Bowlllll, not until I'm super olddddd." Separating the art from the artist though, this album is great, especially as a debut. I'm not the biggest fan of all the skits, but We Don't Care, All Falls Down, Jesus Walks, Slow Jamz, Get Em High, and the famous Through The Wire are all absolute jams. Jesus Walks was EVERYWHERE back in middle school. Gotta love the production on it. This is a solid 4 from Kanye the artist. Insane debut. 0 for Kanye the person.

Rating was based on when I listened to it years ago before he went full MAGA

Brilliant debut album and one of Kanyes best. Used to love this when I was like 16

A rap album accessible enough that someone who doesn’t really click with rap can still click with this. I consider it made by a different person to the Kanye that exists today

(85/100)

je silene slyset kanyeho sirit antirasisticka poselstvi s jeho soucasnymi antisemitskymi kontroverzemi

An exercise in if we can separate the art from the artist. This is one of the best hip hop/rap albums I’ve heard, especially since starting this project. But it is hard to separate that from Kanye’s recent actions. I think at the end of the day it’s an objectively good album by an exceptionally troubled man.

This is my favourite Kanye album now. 4.5

I really hate that we’ve had to cancel Kanye. This is a great album.

Dope

Loved this album when it came. A defining album in this genre.

Fun and groovy Kanye. Banger after banger.

Sieg heil!

Remember liking it, not heard it in a while. His lyrics are still good on here Not skipping nothing. Even interludes.

Great album. Has a great run of songs near the beginning We don’t care, all falls down, spaceship, Jesus walks and never let me down (minus the skits)

Took a bit but grew quite into it during second half

Before Kanye went nuts, he made some green music. In fact, he continued to make great music even after he went nuts. Separating the man from the music, this is a good album except for the blathering on. Kayne isn’t nearly as smart as he thinks he is and the interstitials on College Dropout are just plain annoying.

Freitag, 13.02.2026 - Sonntag, 15.02.2026 ~ Wilde Mischung ~ Im Superfit Europacenter, in der S1 auf dem Weg zur Arbeit, krank im Bett, mit Niklas in der Küche am Sonntagabend.

I have never listened to a Kanye album before. Maybe I was sleeping on Ye. It really is written, performed, and produced very well. It dips down in a few moments, but largely is very well composed. He has the range and the musical intelligence to put this together. In his own vocal performance as well as the backing of songs on the album themselves. So dynamic and diverse, definitely keeps me engaged. I don't often like rap very much, but I can recognize talent, and it's on display here. Now there are a couple duds in here, and I'm not talking about the between tracks with the narrator or other talking/skits. Get Em High and The New Workout Plan it is probably the low point on the record, right in the middle. There aren't a lot of moments like that though, most of the music feels more intelligent and purposeful than those tracks. But on an album that's already too long at 76 minutes, with 21 songs, you'd think maybe they could just toss those to the curb. It's pretty good otherwise. 4.2/5

Best Song: We Don't Care This is before Kanye went nuts. This is good. It is moving hip hop in a different direction than the 90's and inspired a whole lot of new hip hop music in the 2000's. It is impossible to listen to this and not hear its influence in other artists. Good stuff. 4/5.

Early Ye sounds cool

Love it and listened to it before overall 8.5/10

Really good actually. It's hard not to listen and draw parallels to how he ended up being in the years following. Probably the most cohesive and honest album I've heard so far. Fav song: all of them were strong but I was drawn to Spaceship - can't help but think yes you were able to fly but once you reached the top you didn't like what you saw i guess :/ Overall: 8.5/10

It's worth noting I *used* to be a big Kanye stan. If I can separate the art from the artist, this is such a banger album. This is a top 3 Kanye album for me.

Great album before he went off the deep end.

I haven't listened to this since around the time it came out. There's some great songs on it and some interesting experiments with the music and lyrics going on, even if I didn't enjoy all of it.

Yea, Yeezy is an enormous piece of shit. So are many others on this list That said, this album was a turning point in the evolution of hip hop. The mainstreaming of lots of the would and r and b elements as well as the lyrical move away from popping caps in asses shifted the needle. Lots of great tracks.

Okay, I get what the fuss was about. Holds up, too. FWIW, this is the first time I've ever listened to a Kanye album. May be the last, too.

Kanye West is polarizing, and I have always been on the side of not liking him or his behavior. I typically stay away from his music entirely. However, I'm going to keep those opinions of his character separate from my opinions on this album. The beats on this are just amazing. Incredibly catchy and kept me hooked throughout. I was worried about the length of this album (my exact thought was "of course Kanye's album is this long"), but it didn't even wind up playing a factor in my listen. The flow is great, lyrically really strong, and I hate to say it but Kanye is pretty darn talented.

Why must he be such an asshole though….

own this on vinyl bro

I remember listening to this when it came out. It was the first rap album that I liked. There were songs I could relate to and some really good beats. I could do without the 10 minute final track when he just rambles about how he got his record deal or whatever.

Okay... but why was this so good though? I had never really listened to Kanye before and even though people said he was great all I knew about him was how batshit crazy he's gotten, but yeah -- this album was amazing. Ever song was beautifully crafted with a blend of styles throughout the album that were playful while staying thematic.

Imagine… this is your debut. No skip album.

I hate that I enjoyed this. Probably the best debut album of any artist, it's unfortunate that the artist is a prick.

8/10. Have a new appreciation for the album Definitely bi-section when Get Down hits. Love the skits. Forgot how pivotal this album was in terms of message and themes. Can hear the gospel and soul influence alot more now.

No other debut album is this confident about being a classic. Kanye knew he was going be a legend (for better or for worse) from the very start. This level of cockiness sounds like it would be obnoxious, but somehow it helps sell this album for me. I can imagine this sounding really fresh to people back in 2004. I personally prefer the other two albums in the College trilogy, but overall this album is much more important to Kanye's discography and the greater hip hop culture. Favorite track: Through The Wire

Kanye West before he went crazy. I'm not into hip-hop, but this album really clicked.

A classic debut. It’s sad what Kanye has become. This is just so good. Filled with hits and deep cuts. Great beats, choruses, decent humble rapping by Kanye and great guest appearances. It’s a quintessential 00’s album, hip hop was embracing pop and Kanye really was one of the figures to define the genre in the new millennium. Too many skits obviously and Workout plan and School spirit get less fun with every listen.

Ja jammer dat Kanye west zo insane is, maar hij is wel heel goed! Gewoon sterk album wel. Ik hou altijd van theatrale hiphop albums en dat is dit zeker!

The first time I heard this album was in Shane Leman’s car driving to golf. I hadn’t really been paying attention to the music and then the “get em High” beat dropped and I stopped listening to whatever Shane was saying. I had really gotten into rap music in high school and had ripped though all the classics in the 80s and 90s and was thoroughly disillusioned with pretty much everything that had come out since 1999 and given up that I would every really like any new rap again (young and stupid) and this album came along and changed everything. At that time Kanye represented everything I loved about the genre - the soul samples, actual rapping, funny/arrogant/political music all combined. There is a real way that Kanye saved rap. Despite what he’s become I do believe he’s a real genius. I hadn’t listened to this one in a bit, feeing it hadn’t held up (his chipmunk speed samples feel VERY dated) but I found myself bopping along more than I expected. It’s probably a lot of nostalgia, but still.

4.4 Love the album, deducting 0.5 for being a scumbag. (I actually don't think Kanye is that bad of a dude, just off his rocker, and his highs are super high and the lows are denying the Holocaust. Jeen-yuhs is a worthwhile doc to watch, especially through the making of College Dropout. Yeezus is my favorite Kanye album

Odio tener que admitir que kanye hace buena música!!!

The reason people still care about Kanye 20 years and many meltdowns later

This is my first time ever giving this project a listen, and on the first listen I can tell why people really love this album in tandem with Graduation. This album has some really powerful and meaningful tracks that can really highlight the struggle and faith that Kanye has through his life at this time, it's the detailing that really keeps in you invested within all his tracks and not to mention the production in the album is just amazing overall, however the replay ability factor for me isn't there that much besides a few tracks.

Review - Never really listened to his albums, but must admit this is actually very good. I can imagine how different this must have seemed when it dropped in an era of Eminem and 50 Cent. Rating - 7/10 Need to hear? YES

Classic hip-hop album. Love the story telling but Kanye also has great flow. All of the songs flowed incredibly well and I absolutely loved the production. Just a nice album to listen to and digest. 8/10, Favorite Song: Spaceship

Kanye West’s downward spiral has truly been a generational crashout if there ever was one. It’s difficult to fathom how he went from being the creative, talented and fairly conscious artist that he was on this debut album of his to the utter and complete lunatic mess he is today, spewing out godawful trash like songs where he’s openly embracing Nazism among other awful stuff. The last I heard of him he’s apologised for his antisemitism, but god knows how long that’ll last. Besides, a mere apology doesn’t undo the harm he has done. Also there’s plenty more awful things he’s done that he ought to make amends for like misogyny and sexual harassment, just to name a few. I could go on for a while. Putting aside Kanye’s shitty behaviour for the last decade and a half or so, this album is great. The production’s very good, the songs are well composed and the lyrics for the most part are alright too (though there are a number of lines that aren’t good). At this point in his career Kanye hadn’t become the egomaniac he would eventually become, and many of the songs on this album are self-reflective and honest in a way that comes off candid and interesting even to this day. It’s also quite bittersweet, knowing how things would turn out. That’s about all I feel comfortable saying about this right now. I guess to summarise I liked this album but very much despise what the artist behind it has become. 4/5 but fuck Kanye.

Hell of a debut. Miss this scrappy, up-and-coming version of Kanye so much. This is almost hard to listen to, knowing where Kanye has ended up. That said: this is undoubtedly a great album but I forget how hit and miss it is.

Innovative, different, creative. There are several great songs, but some lyrics are just idiotic. I rate him high because he is a great producer. 3,8.

there are better and worse kanye albums

fun and funky just discovered kanye songs through this

This guy. Not my thing but it is a great album

As someone who isn't a huge fan of hip-hop, this album is incredible. It's a real shame where Kanye's gone, as I feel guilty sending someone who is now a literal Neo-Nazi any positive sentiment, but I'm reviewing the album on its own merits separate from the artist.

This was pretty good, really awesome instrumentation but the vocals/lyrical direction was kinda all over the place with a few high highs in a pile of generally alright pieces. Kanye just doesn't seem to be a fantastic rapper to me, on top of all the other controversy he's mixed up in, so while I'm glad I listened I'm not necessarily going to be coming back

too bad Kanye is a Nazi now. It's a great album. Insightful, funny and fun to listen to. I see the album theme throughout the songs. He made rap more interesting by taking risks that may have seemed corny and silly to others. He confidently stood out. Through the Wire shows Kanye's perseverance in making his dreams come true.. "spit my soul through the wire" Last Call is a cool way to wrap up the album and share his story. unconventional but it makes ppl relate more to the artist.

Unfortunately, it is a great album despite the guy who made it

Spectacular debut album with a wide variety of guest artists and samples. Kanye's talent as record producer shines.

Almost five!

Good album. Like late period JK Rowling, coulda used an editor or something to cut the fat, but the tracks that hit hit hard. Young boy was hungry, and full of fucking talent.

Listening to 2004 Kanye just feels sad now. Where did this guy go? Controversy aside, my hot take is Kanye was always a terrible rapper and a great producer. It's really obvious when Jay Z and Ludacris are rapping next to him. This album is way too long and has too many skits

4/5

Yeah this is a good album. I’m going to ignore my issues with the artist

Letteste Kanye West album at høre i 2026. Det er godt! Beatsene er gode! Han lyder ikke som en fascist på noget tidspunkt!

Hadn’t listened to alot of Kanye. This was fun music to listen to though.

It’s been a while since I listened to this one all the way through. I could write a dissertation on this album I feel, but I want to get my next album so I’ll keep it short. Is Kanye West, and rap generally, the foremost propagandist for the prosperity gospel? Is the whole thing a psy-op keeping young people from class consciousness? Those are the questions my thesis would answer. Anyway, to the music. There are so many hits, and it’s really funny to me that the ones he does with his conscious-rap “heroes” are by far the most forgettable of the bunch. I have listened to this album plenty of times and I could not tell you one line from “Get Em High” or “Two Words,” or even what they sound like. The rest of the album just outshines them so much. Kanye would make this sprawling track number work much better on Late Registration, then wisely dial that back for his absolute best albums, MBDTF and Yeezus, before bringing it for his last great album, The Life of Pablo. Also, it’s just really sad listening to this now as someone who still loves this music. In the words of MC Ride: Fuck a Nazi. Songs added to the playlist: We Don’t Care All Falls Down Jesus Walks The New Workout Plan Slow Jamz School Spirit Family Business Last Call

Lo que me hypea este album, podria ser perfecto si no tuviera algunos skips. Increibles temazos, top 5 kanye Mis favs: The New Workout Plan, Through The Wire, Last Call, Slow Jamz

Kanye's older catalogue still slaps. Favourite Track(s): Spaceship, Breathe In Breathe Out, All Falls Down, Slow Jamz Least Favourite Track(s): School Spirit

Oh man I'm conflicted about this one. First, Kayne is a giant piece of shit. He's also certifiably insane. But, this album was amazing. Kanye came in the scene and absolutely transformed what rap is and could be. He's also from Chicago, so I have a spot for that as I'm from there and came of age downtown and in that time when the racial issues in the city were really being pulled out and examined. His music from this era reflects that. So, if I divorce who he is now from what this album is I have to give it a great rating, but you can't so...conundrum.

My favorite Kanye album. Have heard countless times.

big fan of this album not a fan of kanye

First time listening to a whole kanye album, wont be the last... Holy shit! Cant even put it into words Love how much this feels like an album and not just a group of songs. Great features. Favorite songs: family business, two words, spaceship, school spirit 8/10

i thought this was going to be worse but i did enjoy this album very much actually

I miss the old Kanye….

Could get into this i think. Was a bit long to take everything in at once but will revisit gor sure

Largely a solid 4, chipmunk vocals and skits aside which made me consider a 3. Not his best work, but way superior to his recent output too.

3.75/5

Love me some Kanye, this wasn’t my favourite album of his but still enjoyed it. Felt like it lost something through the middle tracks, and all the casual misogyny is… a lot (I.e workout plan).

Great Songs: We Don’t Care, All Falls Down, Never Let Me Down, Slow Jazz, Family Business Good Songs: Graduation Day, I’ll Fly Away, Spaceship, Jesus Walks, Get ‘Em High, Breathe In Breathe Out, School Spirit Skit 1, School Spirit, School Spirit Skit 2, Lil Jimmy Skit, Through the Wire, Last Call Mid Songs: Intro, Workout Plan, The New Workout Plan, Two Worlds Bad Songs:

7/10 на жаль реально класна хуйня jesus walks is sooo good нікому окрім тейлор свіфт не можна мати більше 20 пісень в альбомі Я ВВАЖАЮ

Iconic and influential album. The hits are timeless, but some of the mid end of the album doesn’t hold up as well for me. What a great album surely the artist won’t be revealed as a massive bigot years later!

Good, but not my style though all songs are built on greatly

4/5

Ugodno iznenadena s obzirom da se radi o rapu, čiji nisam fan inače. Bila je dobra, zanimljivih pisama ima, tekstovi su vjerojatno odlični, ali nisam baš obraćala pozornost. Vjerojatno neću slušat ponovo jer nije moj đir toliko, al možda ipak upalim tipa u teretani. Najbolje pisme: Air falls down i Two Words.

Classic, too bad Kayne is such a moron

hit after hit after hit. What a fantastic album, I'm more partial to Graduation but this one goes hard too. My biggest gripe are the skits, just wayyy too long and annoying. Slow Jamz and Family Business are my favorites here but you would be hard pressed to find something bad.

I don't know if it's an overt familiary that leaves me less than stunned (a reaction that I also inexplicably had to The Dark Side of the Moon and Good Kid, Maad City), it didn't quite seem like one of my favorite albums of all time. (Though the best songs - Two Words, Family Bussknes, just to name a few - remain as strong as ever.)

Wel een bangertje hoor

I like the art but not the artist

good and fun, -1 for Kanye

Takes me back. Loved this album when it came out. Still holds up even though Ye is a d-bag.

As brilliant as I've known Kanye West to be, he's always been so obnoxious that I've avoided listening to his solo records. My opinion of Kanye West as a person hasn't changed after listening to The College Dropout, but I have to admit that this record is dope. Unsurprisingly, the best part of the album is the production. The music is incredible on virtually every track. The creativity and passion shown on this record are impressive enough that Kanye's massive ego is almost understandable, even if the record makes it no more palatable. On "Jesus Walks," he explicitly complains about how it's unacceptable to rap about spirituality and that his goal is to make people dance in clubs to his song about his spiritual journey. He composed the song with the complaint to achieve this goal, and he was successful. Everyone knows the story behind "Through the Wire," in which he uses his temporary disability (a broken jaw, wired shut) as texture in a song about the terrible car accident that caused it. That's the kind of unbridled energy and unstoppable motivation that can cause artists to create some of their best work, or fly too close to the sun and burn out. Add to that the fact that this record was only the beginning of an intense period of musical brilliance from Kanye West, and it's hard not to be seduced into the mythos that he believes about himself. Luckily for us, there are some serious flaws in The College Dropout as well. First, at an hour and fifteen minutes, it is far too long. Not only that, but it is obvious to me that the entire "School Spirit" and "Workout" sections could have been easily cut, making the album brilliant and tight instead of brilliant and sprawling. If it were tighter, I'd be more inclined to throw it on often in the future. As it is, though, I'll be happy to listen to any songs on this record, but I don't really want to listen to the whole thing. Four stars.

Yes I know its Kanye. Some of the lyrics were so dumb they were funny but I vibed with the music, as I usually do with hip-hop. Good listen, saved a decent amount of songs to my playlist so a solid 4.

Loved this when it came out, and still love it now. Narrative, witty lyrics, samples, guest appearances, all excellent. Just hard to separate it from the artist now

this one was very fun

Hadn't really listened to this album before. Kanyes debut album rewards those who dive in and listen for the impressive use of samples. The lyrics are cheeky and catchy and while never seeming to go too deep, there are some great one liners. Too many skits to make this an album I'd want to listen to back to front to often. Kanye's production goes hard and he often finds a way to take it to another level. Not my favourite genre and I'm late to this 20 year old record which hampers my personal rating: 7.8/10.

Ok guys, Kanye wrote an apology in the WSJ now, we can stop pretending he's not the GOAT of rap of the aughts and 2010s. A little too RnB focused on this record compared to his other records, which I'm not the biggest fan of, but it's still a fantastic album. Not giving it a 5 because it's not Graduation, and he did say all that terrible stuff, but come on. He made Graduation.

This album is really good. I like how it feels like an actual story. It was able to keep me interested throughout the whole hour and 16 minutes. I'm not the biggest fan of rap, but this is enjoyable.

What a music producer. Just too good. Sadly Kanye himself, mainly in the last years, has become not the most loveable person... But his music is good. All Falls Down (very popular for a reason) and Through the Wire are classics. Highlight: I'll Fly Away

This album is my probably my favorite Kanye album. His debut has so much creativity and interesting ideas in it, the songs really don’t miss. ‘We Don’t Care’, ‘Last Call’, and everything in between this is Kanye at his finest.

Classic

I can hear what all the buzz is about. This kid has a future

Solide album, artiste détestable.

bra album, dålig kanye

Fun to revisit after many years

What a waste. He’s so witty, but even here there’s a lot to disagree with

I appreciate that with The College Dropout, Kanye West created a space for hip-hop to rap about higher education, materialism, Jesus, etc. My favorite tracks are Spaceship, Get Em High and School Spirit. Once I removed the skits from the playlist, I liked the album a lot better.

this album sent me on a little research excursion regarding "chipmunk soul," as while wikipedia cited kanye west as popularizing the sound, it said nothing about who did it ""first"" or how, exactly, it came to be. maybe i'm not ""hip with it"" but pitched up singing seems enduring and, at times, ubiquitous. like, they're still doing edits to kordhell's music, aren't they??? that hasn't totally fallen out of style yet, right???? regardless, i was delighted to learn in my cursory research that it was a specific group of producers in the early aughts (which does include mr. kanye) who were experimenting, remixing, and taking advantage of any affordance the technology could offer. as rsonist says in the red bull music academy article on the origins of chipmunk soul "we all started using our voices as instruments. a lot of the times, i started using the voice simply because i couldn't get it out. but when i started putting it together, something dope happened... when you chop it up and piece it back together, you realize that the voice is actually an intricate part of what you do." funnily enough, i had kid a (2001) yesterday and that album's mythology goes along a similar trajectory where, as an antidote to writer's block, thom yorke took after electronic music and experimented with synthesizers to modulate his voice as an instrument. i also can't help but think about vocaloids, which, while initially released in 2004, would spin off into something so much bigger. learned here, too, that michael stipe of R.E.M. was cited as being impressed by vocaloids in a 2003 nyt article but was worried about the long-term implications with this incredibly prescient quote "i would hate to think that 250 years from now altria would use the michael stipe voice to sell organic soy to a mars landing ... it's intriguing in 2003. i'm not sure about 2303." i don't really have a thesis here aside from: i just think hip-hop is neat. the more i learn about hip-hop producers the more i understand how foundational their craft was for most any kind of music i like these days. oh, i was rating an album, wasn't i ??? uh... lukewarm four stars because, i'll hand it to kanye this is a phenomenal debut with phenomenal production but as much as i enjoyed the this album's tone it started to drag on for me. liked this more than my beautiful dark twisted fantasy for sure!! highlights - we don't care, spaceship, jesus walks, never let me down, the new workout plan, school spirit, through the wire

Better than I remember. Mostly good time. 4/ 5

Separating the art from the artist … this is really good. It’s powerful songwriting that has the magic of sounding like what it is about.

Jeez, this is just so well produced and still slaps hard. It could lean more toward a 5 in this system, but a strong 4.5.

4/5

Eva : à l'ancieeeenne bravo pour la prod et le rap... Chapeau !

Pretty iconic album. Not my favourite Kanye album, but as his breakout it has a unique spot in his discography

Hafði ekki hlustað áður en hún kom mér ánægjulega á óvart og ég fór loks að skilja hvers vegna hann hafði þann status sem hann hafði. Mjög flott margt, fjölbreytt, góð nýting á eldri stefum &c.. College skittin eru samt bara efni í eina hlustun.

Didn't want to listen to this because of Kanye's, make that Ye's, politics and behavior. But f that. This album is damn good. His talent is undeniable. Rich, profound lyrics and genres including from rap, hip hop, and soul on one album. Tremendous vocal collabs. This is a winner.