The College Dropout

some really nice songs, wouldn't mind listening to more

Lekker viben 4/5

Good Tom - I enjoyed this alot and made me apricate kanye more. made me self reflect on my degree

We don't care, All falls down, Jesus walks, and through the wire are probably my favorites off this album. This isn't my favorite Kanye album, but it's a good one for sure. I really love it when Kayne gets into his uplifting bag. He kills it when he is in the right headspace. This Album gets recommended for sure.

Great album. Have listened to it before. Bring skits back in rap albums please. Highlights: Slow Jamz, Through the Wire, Never let me down

Kinda positively suprised. Not my type of music otherwise

nice

DEECE

I’ve always been put off by Kanye’s persona, but I quite enjoyed this.

Kind of a Kanye fan now

Crazy that this was his debut! Will probably take more listens for it to fully sink in but this has gotta be one of the more impressive debut albums within the past few decades!

One of my favourite albums. it was so new and interesting when it first came out, loved how he chopped up the samples, had never really heard anything like it before. Jesus walks will forever be a tune.

Iconic Kanye album, some good features and bridge of new rap and old

Like the sample based songs (chipmunk style). Didn’t like synth based songs.

Послушал первые 5 треков, ничё такие

It a nice hearing rap album with smart texts and enjoying music.

Very surprised! Did not expect to like

old banger but not very hype just chill yep

Great album, but needs some editing.

A stone cold classic debut. The pitched up soul sample Kanye production is on full display. He's got something interesting or funny or hypocritical or clever to say on every single track. The skits are a bit corny, but it's 2004 and skits were still a thing at that point in hip hop. Seems like Kanye was insecure/aggrevated by higher education, eh? You can almost draw a line between some of the "think for yourself" messaging here and full on MAGA and "slavery is a choice" Kanye 15 years later. Kanye's contradictions are what elevates him above other rap legends for me. It really comes home on the tracks with Jay-Z. Where Jay-Z uses his verses to basically say "I'm the best", Kanye rolls through racial profiling, fate, and godliness in the same space. Plus he's more musical in his delivery, and I'm a sucker for melody. A

Bit long, but plenty of bangers

Good tunes. Annoying voice/face combo

Point deducted for being kanye

I prefer the later day stuff after he went crazy, but this is still really good.

Pre-MAGA Kanye was brilliant. With a little less misogyny and religion, this would be a 5.

Tres bon album avec beaucoup de musicalite 4.5

I liked his voice and sing-song style

Dang. What a record. So many great tracks. Back half drops off a bit.

Favorite Kanye West album. 7-8/10 1. Never Let Me Down 2. Slow Jamz 3. Through the Wire

Pretty darn cool if I'm honest

But fuck Kanye

Veel tussenverhalen. Wel leuke nummers, og Kanye

Skits were weird. Weird anti-intellectualism. A few bops

the features on this album and through the wire 😙😙

alleen maar bangers, dik album

Mostly fun early 2000s vibes, innovative styles (sampling, skits), clever lyrics, and some important messages throughout album. But also some offensive and derogatory language.

false

Classic Ye

Kanye made arguably the best two rap albums consecutively before falling from grace.

Rather unexpectedly, I quite enjoyed this one.

Fantastic. Timeless rap sprocket with some very 2000s rap.

Didn't realize Kanye was so spiritual for so long. Dunno if I'll listen again, but definitely an interesting one.

I think I get it now...

8,5

It can be easy to forget that there was a time before Kanye was (publicly) the guy that President Obama called an asshole. Sure, there are shades of what was to come, and he spends a lot of time bragging about his flow while getting best by the features on the same track, but what was so refreshing about this album is that rap had been pretty well settled into the gangster braggadocio groove for quite some time, and then here's this guy rapping about not wanting to work at The Gap anymore and copping to a bit of Impostor Syndrome. All of that, and it sounded incredible, because of course it did. Best track: Spaceship

Honestly, quite enjoyed this. I liked hearing some songs I hadn't heard in a while, and the style was pleasant to listen to. Lyrical content comes with the rap genre territory.

Damn, this was way more enjoyable than I expected this to be. It sounded like Kanye was having so much fun and every track was catchy. Very different from his current output.

The skits 💀 All of these songs are good! Not all to my taste but solid vocals and production Obviously I already know Jesus Walks but fuck this song is incredible! (what went wrong Kanye 😭 where did this Kanye go?!) Okay so some of the weird in song jokes/skits are kind of funny ... could have done without the TWELVE MINUTE LONG Song at the end Faves - All Falls Down, Spaceship, Jesus Walks, The New Workout Plan, Through The Wire Overall - a great album! I really enjoyed this

Decent album, I enjoyed

You have to seperate this very problematic artist from his art, but where do you draw the line? At best he is mentally ill at worst a misogynistic self proclaimed Nazi. So fuck Kanye as a person, this album is good however….

My hatred of the man really tempers my ability to enjoy his music.

The song „We don‘ t care is a political & social one with intersting aspects. Graduation day… black people can have success, but they must fight for it much more than white people. I think the lyrics are quite critical in reference to the social life in the USA, specially what concerns professional aera Unfortunately, the lyrics are not very structured, no really whole phrases. Maybe this also due to the fact that this is Rap music I think this is worth of a 3.5*

Listens: 2.5 Standout Tracks: Spaceship, Never Let Me Down This album pre-dates Kanye's craziness and ego-tripping by a pretty wide margin, so I am not really going to get into that again like I did on Yeezus and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. So with that out of the way, I don't really care much for this style of hip-hop. Some of the beats and styles of good enough. There are some good parts where the flow of the lyrics gets going pretty well, but it's usually the featured guests that take the spotlight; Jay-Z, Common, Ludacris, Mos Def, etc. There's also a bit too many skits. Intros and Outros on a lot of songs. That could be toned down a bit and shorten the album by ~15 minutes. Some of the skits are amusing. I would be lying if I said otherwise. I do like a good skit here and there to punctuate the music. It's basically a time-honored tradition in hip-hop. Eh. 3

I really wanted to like it... But meh. Maybe I need to relisten

Having previously only heard his 2010 album which I absolutely hated, I feared the worst. However this was a pleasant surprise, I almost enjoyed it in places. Clearly before the fame and money started pushing him into total insanity. Still not really my thing but this is clearly one of the better rap albums on here.

Classic Ye. Rating: 6/10

I still think Kanye West is an absolute fucking arsehole and this could be the best album ever made but, after this 1001 album listen, I am never listening to it again as I'm not willing to give him my 0.00000002p streaming revenue for repeated listens. Anyway.... This is, by far the best of the three Kanye albums this project has made me listen to. As is standard for me, I remain incensed by artists who make albums over an hour long and fill it full of fucking skits/random talky bits, but otherwise this is mostly fine. I have never had an issue with his production, but I don't even don't hate his singing on this. However, Last Call... fucking hell, Kanye. I don't care! Just shut the hell up! It was so annoying I debated taking a star off. 3/5

Kanye West is a piece of shit. The album is still fantastic.

ughhh i have been dreading this album coming up, because how do I square one of the best hip-hop albums of the early 2000s with what a colossal dickhole kanye turned out to be. spilt the difference I guess? 3/5.

def has some bangers, but not the best rap album I've heard. 2.5/5

Decent but no album needs to be over an hour.

I really enjoyed this album. Ye is clearly amazingly talented in his lyricism and the critic of systems was poignant. I was surprised with the amount of Christian themes.

What a fresh voice in the early 2000s rap scene! I appreciate his humor and vulnerability on this album, I'm sure we'll have a long career of impactful hits and advocacy from this guy. In all seriousness, this was a good variation, nice samples, I always like intros and skits and things like that on albums but I am starting to become someone that likes a tight sub 40 min album and an hour 12 minutes here felt longggg.

Kan je nog zeggen dat je de muziek van Kanye West goed vindt? De muziek is echt goed geproduceerd en klinkt chill. Maarja hij is natuurlijk compleet waanzinnig geraakt…

Iets interessanter dan MBDTF. Het is wat persoonlijker en heeft meer samenhang. De skits en interludes kunnen irritant zijn, maar passen wel goed bij het album. Over het productionele niveau hoef je niet echt te discussiëren, we weten dat het goed is. Toch heeft Kanye mij nooit echt kunnen pakken. Ik weet niet wat het is. Heb het echt wel vaak geprobeerd, maar zal het nooit vrijwillig opzetten. Waarom wel Kendrick, Nas, André 3000 en MF DOOM etc. en geen Kanye? Het heeft toch met de productie te maken. Alles gaat om een bepaald effect met een grote sample of hook oid. Alles wordt dichtgesmeerd in de compositie en daardoor kan het voor mij niet echt spannend of schurend worden, mist het een bepaalde frictie. Het is niet per se dat Kendrick en MF DOOM minder geproduceerd zijn, maar ze gebruiken productie anders. Bij Kanye voelt het voor mij vaak te doelgericht. Hou denk ik gewoon niet van het overgeproduceerde. Verder is het ook een jongen die toen, en helemaal ook nu, niets boeiends heeft te vertellen. Pseudo-intellectuele zinnetjes die interessanter lijken dan dat ze zijn. Het gaat ook vooral om Kanye.

Kanye West, as of 2026, is an unforgivably awful human being. It is interesting to see the shift in reviews of this album, with many finding it difficult or impossible to do so. Of course, if we never listened to problematic artists again you'd be left with a playlist lacking many of the biggest names in music history. I don't disagree with people's decisions not to give a person like Kanye the time of day, but my personal approach in cases like this is to treat it as if it were any other album and judge it based off its merits, or lack thereof. I do find it intriguing/challenging, after all, to grapple with the concept that an awful human being could produce a genuinely good piece of art. That being said, I don't really find this album to be all that mind-blowing, in fact given that this is considered potentially Kanye's best album I was quite disappointed. There are good moments, good songs, but it lacks much I would want to return to.

The music behind the rapping is, mostly, quite good. The themes of the dialogue are interesting and refreshing.

Giving this album as fair a shot as possible given the artist, it was ok. There was genuinely some good things I liked in it and it may have earned a higher rating, but there was plenty of stuff that didn’t work for me. It was too long, could have done without all the skits, Kanye’s rapping was ok, but not incredible, some good lyrics, but a lot of mediocre or bad ones. Same with themes. Overall, I’ll stick with a 3/5, which at times felt quite generous.

Soul-sampled rap/hip-hop. First impression - the petulance is off-putting. It's a bit childish. I guess it's the point, but I'm not keen. Concept is about race and oppression, and the effect it has on Black youth, which is fine. Jesus Walks is quite attention-grabbing and more gritty, even with a capella backing. Ah look I am getting a hip-hop ear - I recognised Common on the track Get Em High Best track - Jesus Walks 3 stars - decently produced, it has a message, consistency, it's just not really for me

Lyrically cheeky, clever concept album. The subjects and delivery are unique and Kanye pulls out some impressive rhymes.

Bardzo ładnie pan Kanye zagrał w niedzielne popołudnie, nie spodziewałam się tak "miłej" płyty z jego strony. Natomiast nie zmienia to mojego zdania na temat jego jako osoby, i nie, nie można oddzielić artysty od jego twórczości. Płytę oceniam dobrze, ciebie nie.

Es buen album, don't get me wrong, but, solo pa guardar (para mi), 2 o 3 canciones

More tuneful than many of this genre, including many R&B elements but still never going to be my thing

I think the first thing I noticed about this album is the gulf between Kanye's rapping and production. Kanye was never known as a lyrical genius or an excellent rapper, but his style has been fairly serviceable across his discography. However, any and all innovations Kanye brought to the rap genre come from his immaculate production: he wasn't the first to do the soul sampling over marching hip-hop beats, but he damn sure was the best to ever do it, to the point that few ever tried to replicate that "chipmunk soul" sound after the 2000s came to a close. If the album was instrumental I think it would bring it up a notch or 2 for me honestly. Lyrically, what I can get out of this is a sort of threadline about dropping out of college (hence the title,) aiming for something bigger and better independent of institutions, then finally disregarding and transcending(?) the materialism of those institutions, which ultimately serve to prop up consumer society, which is a pretty unique and noble thing to be rapping about. Kanye was at a crossroads in his life at the time this debut came out, and it seems hip-hop was as well. In the transition between gangsta and bling, there was a brief moment where this soul-influenced conscious style achieved mainstream success. Though its time was ultimately brief, it did set the stage for rap's greatest sound engineer to forge a career of innovations and many, MANY controversies, and it's pretty impressive that a debut album can break as much ground as that. Key Tracks: We Don't Care, All Falls Down, Jesus Walks, Last Call

This was a day I was not going to miss. I listened to like two thirds of this album years ago but then listened to the rest of Kanye's stuff without ever getting back to it. There are some great songs here but it starts to drag in the second half. As a weighted average of 8/10 and 5/10: 7/10.

6/10 Hmm, well I didn't dislike this as much as I thought I would. Unusually for most hip-hop, this felt like it had a real musical creativity behind it. Surprising. Still too long. Last Call shows the ego and indulgence in all it's tedious glory - just why? And I don't understand how people could listen to skits repeatedly (once is often painful enough).

I've nothing worthwhile to say. Like Kanye.

Använder folket lite ai i sina ratings?😂😂 Jag anser detta album inte vara i min stil, ändå ganska banger. Tycker om flytet i låtarna☺️

I really enjoyed this. I get the hype for this album now.

woohoo! first kanye album. can't listen to this one ethically, but i did listen before he... did all that. what i can say is that i understand this one was groundbreaking and new. his skills were unmatched. but at the same time, I like his later production and beats much better. so it's not his best, in my eyes. honestly, kind of has some misses. like those skits suckkkkkkk Would I listen again: not currently Deserves to be on this list: absolutely no rating (scored as 3 for sake of leaving a review)

Disclaimer: Before I start this review, I might as well address the elephant in the room and give my take on the issue most people have with listening to Kanye: I do not condone any of his actions throughout the past few years, and in no way believe any of the things he has done are right. If you want to give this album a one on those grounds, be my guest. I do however, have a problem with making people feel bad and vilifying them for enjoying the music without supporting his views. That to me just feels like acting holier than thou and I don’t believe that is a good way to address these actions. I say enjoy the album if you want, just don’t support his views. Anyway, onto the review: Ok, never have heard a Kanye album, what did I think. Honestly, the album wasn’t half bad. Going in, I really didn’t expect to enjoy this album, but I did actually find moments I enjoyed. I thought the beats on this album were really solid, and I mainly enjoyed the variety of samples he used throughout. Mainly on All Falls Down and Through The Wire, two of my standout tracks, with samples that really added to the songs. The rapping on here is also very impressive, with songs like Jesus Walks, another standout, and a powerful track that takes on faith in the music industry. I also enjoyed Never Let Me Down, another catchy track with a feature from Jay-Z. I do, however, feel like the album kind of lags in the middle, with the stretch between Get Em High and the Lil Jimmy skit not feeling as memorable as the rest of the album, and the last track, Last Call, feeling way too long, clocking in at a whopping 12 minutes and 40 seconds. Overall, even though I didn’t think I would enjoy this album, I did find some stuff I liked on it, now I’m gonna drop in to the next album.

Impressive debut album. Good vibes, felt cohesive. Way too long though, esp the last song.

It’s honestly pretty wild listening to The College Dropout knowing the direction Kanye West would eventually take. This album sounds so conscious, progressive, and rooted in the politics of 2004. He’s criticizing the Bush era, questioning the systems around him, and speaking from the perspective of someone who feels like an outsider. Considering everything Kanye would later say and do, much of which I obviously do not support, it makes this album a particularly strange time capsule. Putting all of that aside for a moment, though, this is a very listenable album. And coming from someone who isn’t a huge hip-hop fan, that is definitely a compliment. The production has such a distinctive style, especially with the pitched-up vocal samples, unexpected percussion, soulful melodies, and beats that often sound completely different from one track to the next. It feels creative without constantly screaming about how creative it is. Kanye is also a much better rapper here than I was expecting. There’s some genuinely clever wordplay, plenty of humor, and a surprising amount of thought behind the lyrics. The first half is especially strong, with several tracks touching on class, religion, education, racism, and the pressure to follow the path society has chosen for you. My biggest issue is that the album is 76 minutes long, which is a lot of Kanye to take in at once. I only really started getting bored during the final quarter, when the tracks became less memorable and I began feeling like I had already heard most of the album’s best ideas. It never completely loses its way, but it definitely could have used some trimming. And that final track absolutely did not need to be over 12 minutes long. I understand that he wanted to tell the story of how the album came together, but there had to be a more creative way to do it than several minutes of rambling. Still, The College Dropout is a fascinating album. It’s inventive, surprisingly thoughtful, and filled with glimpses of an artist who once seemed like he was going to challenge the world rather than become one of its strangest controversies.

I've never been the greatest fan of the hip-hop gangster persona. The album covers very important critical commentary on racism, materialistic worldviews, and education. I also love the inclusion of gospel choirs.

Honestly, if this was anyone else I think I would’ve really enjoyed it.

I can see why people enjoy him, but those people have horrible taste.

Keeping art separate from artist is a tricky thing to navigate... I realized half way through (sorry I didn't think of it earlier) that it was probably better to find the album by other means than streaming... But shit, actually liked some of the songs and think it's generally well put together

some cool beats, but i kinda don't get the hype with some of his early stuff

Angry I like this, he is a POS human but makes good albums, -1 for for himself

The shaggy dog story at the end pulled this one down a bit

Albums longer than 1h15 mins are usually too long. This is no exeption. There are a few good songs, but I get tired of the interludes and the medium good songs. Favourites: Jesus Walks and Slow Jamz

Esta bueno pero no compro con los enemigos de mi amiga personal taylor swift

not terrible

Not bad, but also Kanye.

I’m really torn by this n on its own, it’s a 4 or maybe a 5. I legit think Kanye is/was a creative genius. But also just an awful, awful person. It’s a shame he couldn’t be neutral to good, so I could enjoy his music without guilt. Anyway, I’ll give it a 3.

I didn't think this was that interesting and I like a lot of rap. I just felt like the lyrics weren't that intriguing and while his style is good, the beats were not great. There just wasn't much for me to latch onto here. That said, listening to this gave me a new perspective on how much growth Kanye had as an artist. I had My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy earlier in this countdown and it was amazing. Great to see how far he came from this album, which is inferior to MBDTF. Still, not awful. 3 stars

Better than expected.

deep sigh what an album, still good how did he go from there to now 💥spaceship 💥jesus walks 💥never let me down 💥get em high 💥two words

I can see why people think Kenye is a genius but I can see why he's off putting. This is a debut & "most humble." He gets props from me because he's from Chicago. This is a very long album. I want those 12 minutes back from having to listen to Last Call. I don't care. I don't care about their fancy pants shoes or hats. Shut up! Don't care. 3

Several really good songs, and some clever wordplay. Super inconsistent, however.

Not 100% my cup of tea but jesus walks is great

Polubiłam ale nie potrafię docenić tak jak inni

God, the skits are so annoying. The music’s good though

Jesus Walks Never Let me Down Slow Jamz

All Falls Down Spaceship Breathe In Breathe Out Two Words

Music is good; but not a rap fan

People have hyped up this album for so long but I'm kinda underwhelmed. Really could't decide between a 3 or a 4 but I had to stop listening halfway through that last rambling song. So many of these tracks overstay their welcome.

I'm still not terribly familiar with Kanye's catalog but I was impressed by the previous Kanye album in this project (My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy) and I know I've heard "Jesus Walks" before. Like that other album, this one has a very impressive guest list. And just like with the other one, listening to this, I get it now. I see why everyone was blown away by him at the time.

Cut the rap and talking and you've got a good album! Most of the instrumentation, samples and singing is good

Musically 4 star, lyrically 2 star, so gets a 3.

nie noj ulubiony cos tam git cos tam nie

Kieltämättä hyvää räppiä.

I can respect the man’s craft and there’s some good stuff on here, but it’s very convoluted. The ego has always been his biggest enemy.

Yeezus! Interesting, hadn't heard this album before it's enjoyable and unique enough though I don't love Kanye music 3/5 + (why no Jew talk?)

- Umm, it’s good, that’s for sure. Not my thing though

Separating art from the artist here... I don't really listen to or like rap/hip hop. However I can appreciate that this is very good. He is a good rapper. Each song is unique but still flows well together and the writing and rapping is also great (i think.. im not exactly an authority) i stopped paying as much attention in the latter half... 12 minute long final song is diabolical. however it was (unfortunately) objectively good. just not my style i would never listen again even if it was by someone unproblematic

Rappers and intro sketches go together like peanut butter and terrible sketches. This is a long album, a bold choice for a debut album. I am not loving Kanye's or the children's singing on We Don't Care. All Falls Down is a great song, one of my favorite hip hop songs of all time. We should have seen him eventually losing it. Jesus Walks is another good one. He's undoubtedly talented. I like Jay-Z, but I like Kanye's verse on Never Let Me Down better. Get Em High is a jam. Kanye, Talib Kweli and Common is a crazy group of MCs on one track. It would have been cool if the three of them had done an album collaboration like Talib did with Mos Def. SKETHCHES!!!!! Why?!? A lot of featured MCs...I don't think they were calling them collabs yet when this came out. Apparently he's not a fan of college. Mos Def too...he has Blackstar on different tracks. Through The Wire is a cool concept and it's crazy that we was able to rap that well while his jaw was wired shut, the Chipmunk singing through the track is annoying as hell though. A 12:40 "song" to end the album? The internet existed when he did this...nobody needs a 12 minute interview over music to end an album. This album just lost a star...this is so stupid.

Я вдруг понял что совсем забыл оценить College Dropout поскольку разбирать такие альбомы ОЧЕНЬ СЛОЖНО. Я не скажу что он мне понравился, ровно как и не скажу обратного. Спасибо Мистер Кайне, что создали великолепный жанр "Душа Бурундука" конечно, но, как мне кажется, какой нибудь My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy или Yeezus будет изучать интереснее. Для фанатов же, наверняка пластинка крайне интересная, ведь это не только (очевидно) качественный релиз со своими хорошими моментами, но и, так сказать, "стартовая точка" для Кайне как для фигуры-кумира за которой следят миллионы, со всеми своими противоречиями, спорными моментами, со всеми этими изобретательными семплами, темами с Богом которые прослеживаются уже здесь и прочими, прочими приколами. И тут как бы, наступает момент шо ты думаешь "ну не буду же я как дэбил писать очередной отзыв в стиле: ыы ну чота вроди прикольна" НО В ТО ЖЕ ВРЕМЯ, мне-ж натурально надо месяцы потратить на изучение его дискографии и в частности порядочно так времени на изучение этого альбома, шоб составить более менее комплексный и интересный обзор. А оно мне надо? Оно мне не надо))00)0) Так что, чё сказать? Альбом нормик, со своими хайлайтами, монструозно большой, но как мне кажется, у Кайне есть релизы намного интереснее. Переслушивать не буду. не моё.

Solid storytelling but mediocre sound

intro– he sounds like goofy we dont care– how many times can one man say 'man'??? how can a profesh singer be so pitchy?!?! graduation day– girl i js gwaduwado. pure background music. PURE lift music all falls down– dont pmo whys it actually alright 🤬 ?!?! nvm theres a woman in it thats why 🥳 ill fly away– no idea spaceship– lowk bangin 😓 what is that beat i HEARRR jesus walks– lowk bangin too damn. its the beat again i swear its not kanye

Um clássico de um artista que não gosto tanto. Legalzinho, mas nenhum supera Graduation.

I liked it. Kayne's still not super-confident in finding the kind of refined, Kanye's-special-sauce sound that he would uncover later in his career but it has legs. The College Dropout, while being great in its own right and an excellent stepping stone towards true music greatness, fails to reach the kind of wild highs we would arrive at in, say, MBDTF. Part of it is definitely that he's leaning a lot harder into his own traditional rapping ability here, which has always been good but has never quite matched the heavenly level of his ear for clever production. Also the skits kinda suck. Fav tracks: We Don't Care, Spaceship, School Spirit

Not the worst rap album. Thats the highest praise I can think of.

2026.06.09

At the end of the day, he's just a gay fish who used to be married to a hobbit and didn't take his meds while hanging out with MAGA Nazis... go swim little guy! This was the only album by him I actually listened to (thanks to Limewire) and he was pretty revolutionary before he lost his marbles.

Another Kanye album I really wanted to dislike. But sadly I quite enjoyed it. Not as much as the other one I reviewed for this but pretty listenable with some great samples made into catchy songs.

Im a fan of Kanye’s music, and he’s a musical genius. This album has never really done it for me though

послушал несколько раз за выходные. Как по мне, относительно средний альбом. Хотя, как я узнал из описания, один из 3лючевых рэп-альбомов. Возможно потому что тут по минимуму гангстеров, наркотиков и прочей тематики, свойственной рэпа.

great

Through the wire

nicht so gut wie das andere, mehr classic rap und halt kanye west...

lot of really great songs on this but man theres a lot that shouldve been cut as well

it’s a very nice album and i would rate it higher if i didn’t despise kanye as a person

And here, in fact, is the album that first made gangsta rap wither! Got it back to back with Get Rich Or Die Tryin'. It was Kanye West who pushed stories about the plight of black villains out of fashion, giving way to calm and even instructive stories about family, religion, choosing one's path, and conscious consumption. This was superimposed on sped-up samples of old soul. The problem is that the album is overloaded with fillers. Instead of three skits mocking achiever syndrome, they could have used just one. The last song is a twelve-minute mash-up of the artist's career history and thank-you notes to friends; it feels like a cartoon added onto the rest of a VHS tape. Yes, the dude has been going downhill lately, but that's no reason to dismiss his older works. We're not — pun intended — westoids, are we? "- Kanye West?! You're my hero! - Do you like my music? - You're a musician?.."

Easy listen - not Kanye’s best

My first real listen enjoyed most of the album…have to try more

Great highlights like Thought the wire, all falls down, we don't care and slow jams. But too much filler and too many annoying skits about degrees. Could have been a 4 or 5 just by cutting the run time in half

Meer fan van het latere werk van Kanye, maar het valt niet te ontkennen dat dit een erg sterk album is. Net geen afgeronde 4 sterren.

Kanye is uiteraard een groot trendsetter geweest voor hiphop en pop in de zeroes. Dat maakt dat ik ook enigzins verbaasd ben hoe slecht grote delen van deze plaat agen. De context van Kanye zal er ook wel mee te maken hebben, maar los daarvan zijn veel van de beats en flows op deze plaat zo duidelijk 20+ jaar oud. Highlight van de eerste Kanye platen, inclusief deze, is wat mij betreft hoe hij de featured artiesten verwerkt in de nummers. Dit zal uiteindelijk natuurlijk culmineren in de briljante platen met Jay-Z en Cudi, maar die kwamen niet uit de lucht vallen als je deze samenwerkingen hoort. Om mee af te sluiten: Fuck Kanye. Sla je lokale nazi.

the more melodic/layered tracks, some of which are definitely highlights, work better than the more traditional hip-hop ones, probably because neither kanye’s lyrics nor his flow are particularly interesting. it’s a bit too long and uneven for its own good, but I do get what the fuss is about.

i will stress: i do not like or care for kanye west as a person. but i can separate art from artist, to a degree. i found this one to be perfectly fine, though its length really threw me off. by the mid point toward the end, i just got really tired of the song length. i'd say all the really good ones are on the front half of the album, and then unfortunately the middle chunk of the album didn't capture as much of my attention. the skits i found just okay, if a little grating since they were all back to back. i'd prefer if they were spread out over the album. basically i didn't start paying attention again until we got to through the wire. however, for a debut, it's definitely a stellar start-- kanye's lyrics have always been highly praised by critics, and he really flexes that prowess. they're dense with great flow, and the wordplay / rhyming scheme in some verses is pretty fascinating i probably would have liked this way more if it weren't for the length, which is largely inflated by the very last song on the record (a whopping 12:41 runtime....). highlights: all falls down, jesus walks, through the wire, family business.

not a fan

I don’t like him, I rarely enjoy rap and there’s too much justification provided for the parental advisory sticker. That said, there is something to this music that has pushed and reshaped the genre. For that there should be some acknowledgement despite West being a terrible human being.

eu odeio tudo o que esse mano representa, e me afetou o suficiente pra eu odiar a arte dele, principalmente pq essa bosta que ele representa ele enfiou na arte tbm já tinha ouvido esse álbum em 2022 ou 2023, antes da merda bater no ventilador em níveis maiores (ou antes de eu saber das polêmicas dele) é bem produzido obviamente, ele tbm influenciou todos que vieram depois - mas isso é óbvio e ele não merece vanglória nenhuma a essa altura não muda nada na minha vida e não mudou nada quando eu ouvi, só pensei que era legal 3.5/5 / 7/10 arredondo para 6 pela bosta que ele é

It’s kind of wild to revisit this, everything about Kanye is already kind of there, we just didn’t notice it. Terrible misogynistic rhymes and homophobic jokes and lame sex puns, a refusal to take responsibility, etc. but mostly it’s realllllly HS. The music is insanely good though, but the lyrics aren’t and it goes on forever.

Beginning was really good, but then the album proceed to become kinda meehhh, 3.5+

He is a very talented rapper and producer and that is demonstrated on this album, where his ego doesn't lord it as much as some of his others. Just not my thing.

2000's rap, making me think abt high school musical. Chill. Will probably not listen to the whole album in one shot again, but some songs are cool

It's good I fear. It's good like Sandman, and Father Ted, and Rosemary's Baby, and all those other pieces of influencial art that suddenly leave a bad taste in your mouth because of who made it. Oh well. Atleast you can say that this was the peak.

Everything on this album is great except that last song. It is also a testament who how far that Kanye has fallen. I guess that is what happens when you fly to high you will be burned.

listened before already and have loved, like absolute classic. if you are having a good day either put this on or if you wake up one morning and feel it being a good day, put it on

Surprise like from me. Never listened to Kanye, but I will go back to this one from time to time.

In 2004, I was separated from my first wife. I was teaching yoga full-time, and taking care of my son half the week. I was pretty much alone in Albuquerque; I knew folks from yoga, but felt like I needed to keep my yoga life separated from my social life. I'm forever grateful for Kristine M, my elder by a decade but a fellow movement person with whom I shared a lot of creative touchpoints back on the east coast. I was listening to the Black Keys, delta blues, Wu Tang Clan,my lifetime hits, etc etc... but not Kanye. I learned about him much, much later, when he was making Yeezy's famous, and before he was cancelled etc. This does have some agile wordplay, some challenges to the boundaries of hiphop at the time, and some good grooves. Relative to Wu Tang, Kanye is an also-ran.

Högt och lågt på denna

Några låtar står ut, men senare album nådde helt klart andra höjder.

Några grymma låtar men resten fångar mig inte tyvärr.

Han har talang ändå.

Listened previously. Expectations: High - Verdict: Very Good - People criticise Kanye's rapping but I really don't mind. Of course the production is the real highlight though. There are absolute bangers here. I think the second half loses a little steam but still an incredible album.

digno, me gusto. aprobado. la verdad muy cambiante, no lo termine todavia, pero essta muy bueno la verdad

me senti um pouco afetado por escutar esse álbum enquanto ia pra faculdade

Iconic. Some great tracks, that had a huge cultural impact. However the seeds of the mans downfall are lain across the whole album. Anti science shit leaking through the tracks... I think education is important.

The beats are cool but there’s something about this dude that just doesn’t vibe with me and I don’t think it’s just because of his public persona. There’s just a cold, crassness to him that I think would feel sociopathic even if I didn’t know he was actually that. His sexual lyrics especially lend credence to that for me. Most rappers are misogynistic but there’s something particularly cringey about Kanye’s brand of it. Perhaps if he cared more about his college classes and less about partying and getting lad he’d know it wasn’t 300 Romans, but rather Spartans who fought the Persians. (Not that he doesn’t have a point about the College grift).

My grad school roommate in Philly introduced me to this album. It was definitely an experience, but (like most people, I presume) I have mixed feelings about Ye… he’s a talent for sure, but “complicated” is an understatement.

The album is a reminder why Kanye was popular. The album has a sense of humor. The talking between songs messed up the flow for me. I did like the “I’ll Fly Away” interlude. “Jesus Walks” is my favorite on the album. I also enjoy “the New Workout Plan” and “School Spirit.” “Last Call” is far too long for me.

Claramente no es un mal disco pero no se si es porque personalmente detesto a Kanye pero no veo la genialidad de la que todo el mundo habla y de paso lo aburrida que me sentí a veces por la excesiva repetición de ciertas canciones. Rescaté par de canciones no mucho más. Pero no está mal

I love his music, but he has better albums

I miss the old kanye

Kanye West may be the most overrated figure in music. He is neither a genius nor a visionary. His production is often clunky and cheesy. The record is alright, but that's about it.

Very good

Por gusto personal 2,5 estrellas. Entendiendo su importancia y su influencia, 3,5 estrellas

Nice hooks, and nicely produced album with lot's of featuring artists. Because I'm not familiar with the genre and artists sometimes it was hard to keep track of this.

It was a better album than I was willing to give credit for based on Kanye as a person

Before Kanye became (or at least went public as) an anti-Semitic right-wing nutjob, he was a pretty good rapper. Not something I'd really seek out to listen to, but I don't mind it. "Spaceship" and "Slow Jamz" were the highlights for me.

The best of the Kanye albums on this list and the only one I could really see myself returning to. Crazy that a late 20s Kanye is less of a megalomaniac than Kanye in his 40s.

I don't think I can review this in good conscience, at least not without the knowledge of what Kanye West has become hanging over the proceedings. it would bias my judgement. voting a 3 here, but if I could give no score I would.

это странный реп и пение мимо нот… люди любят продакшн ай гес

Kanye visste utan tvekan hur man samplar soul för att få till ett snyggt sound. Det märks inte minst på denna debut som soloartist. Jesus walks, slow jamz och inte minst School spirit är riktigt bra. Dessutom många gästande artister som i stort sett genomgående bidrar positivt. Samtidigt lider han av hip hopens bristande omdöme. Bara för att det ryms 70 - 80 minuter på en CD måste inte dessa till varje pris fyllas. Allra minst usla små sketcher (eller för den delen work out-tips). Komiker är ytterligare en bana som Kanye inte ska slå sig in på. Han måste väl ha fyllt sitt mått av felval i livet med råge redan. Nedskakat hade det kunnat bli en 4a.

The College Dropout har inte åldrats söärskilt väl Det är inte alls så bra som jag tyckte det var när det kom. Jag har främst tre invändningar mot The College Dropout. Skitsnacksspåren mellan låtarna är riktigt jobbiga och gör skivan onödigt lång. Kanye borde låta bli att sjunga. Allt för ofta låter det som Black Eyed Peas (inte minst i The new workoutplan). Det här drar ner betyget ordentligt. Spaceship är riktigt bra, i afrofuturistisk tradition om rymden som frigörelsemetafor. Men bäst blir det när Common och Talib Kwali eller Ludacris tar över micken. Här är beatsen också tyngre och skitigare. Överlag är det gästerna som gör skivan lyssningsbar. Att ägna en hel skiva åt utbildningsförakt får mest Kanye att låter som en bortskämd snorunge som tycker det är orättvist att inte hela världen dyrkar honom som det stora geniet. Svag trea.

LIKEIT

I don't agree with Kayne but this album was quite good and I see why it was popular.

Pretty good. Family business is my favorite. Never listened to Kanye before and i’m fairly impressed. When the artist puts so much of themself into their art you really can’t separate it from the artist nor should you. It’s sad how he ended up. It tints all of his work knowing that the success he raps about will sour and he’d become a real life villain. Dude has serious fucking problems but I can’t deny he was talented.

As pretty much every other reviewer pointed out, Kanye West is an awful person. However, I'm determined to listen to every album on this list and rate without bias. To be transparent, he did not receive any streaming revenue from my listen because I use new pipe to listen to all of my music (I hate ads just like everyone else). And honestly, I'm sure he's not the only artist on this list who is controversial or hated. My first exposure to rap/hip hop on this list was OutKast, and I liked the musical diversity and uniqueness in that music. This album also has some good and unique instrumentation and beats/sounds (there's violins) and the rapping is not about the typical subjects, but serious issues that aren't cookie cutter. The guest appearances shine, especially the female vocalists ("All Falls Down" as one) and the use of harmonies. I'm not into the skits that seem to be common in these types of albums. Speaking musically, I thought it was good, definitely for a debut album. Mental illness is unfortunate and always seems to take down creative individuals.

finna dropout

A challenge to get through. As I was settling into a song, I'd get taken right out with the most ignorant of lyrics. There's clearly some creativity here, but this didn't live up to the hype for me.

Being a middle aged white guy, I don't listen to rap anymore. If I do, it's what I listened to in high school. This came out when rap was phasing out of my life. I never bought it, but Jesus Walks was a banger...still is. And while I liked listening to this, it's got two things that I grew to hate about rap music: 1. Skits 2. Features Maybe a skit here or there is funny but...ugh, just play the songs. And as far as the features go, I didn't play this to hear... J. Ivy? He was terrible. GLC and Consequence? Jay-Z was fine but the rest of the features on here were just mediocre. And I get it, that's what rap is these days and has been for a long, long time....part of the time it doesn't even seem like it's about the artistry and what a rapper has to say but instead it's about how many features they can cram onto an album. I want to hear a Kanye song to hear Kanye's voice and his lyrics, not anyone else. So those two things and it's too long. Can definitely trim some songs off this thing and make it tighter. Giving it a 3 cause I enjoyed a lot of it but I know I won't ever play it again.

To be this genre, it isn't bad. But it's not my genre.

Thought this would be a tough 75mins to get through but was half decent

- i'm going to try really hard to give it a fair shot. but jfc this guy - favorites: spaceship, jesus walks - rating: 2.5/5

interestingly powerful

Se me hizo raro los interludios y despues las canciones tan largas. All Fall Downs sigue siendo el mejor tema que tiene, lo escuche anoche jugando y ahora estudiando y no siento que otro tema destaque. eso si Last Call es plenamente aura como cuenta la historia.

Paeans to the chip on his shoulder. Disappointingly compelling at points 3.4

meh. no está mal, pero no hay ningún tema q me haya volado la cabeza. No me gustó, ni me disgustó, tampoco lo volvería a escuchar. le pondría un 5/10 pero no puedo

Good. Certainly one of the better rap albums I’ve heard on the list. Worth a second listen.

Number: 82 Date: 03/25/2026 Artist: Kanye West Album: The College Dropout Year: 2005 Genre: Conscious Pop Rap Rating: 3 Notes: Before: ======= OK, I've already had one Kanye album which is plenty. Per policy: "“An artist shall be represented on The List by no more than one album, except where multiple albums by that artist demonstrate materially distinct artistic character and historical significance. Where two or more albums by the same artist are determined to be substantially similar in style, scope, or cultural function, only one such album may be included, with preference given to the earliest released work.” During: ======= 3 Intro 4 We Don't Care 2 Graduation Day 2 All Falls Down 3 I'll Fly Away 3 Spaceship 3 Jesus Walks 2 Never Let Me Down 1 Get Em High 3 Workout Plan 2 The New Workout Plan 3 Slow Jamz 3 Breathe In Breathe Out 3 School Spirit Skit 1 4 School Spirit 3 School Spirit Skit 2 3 Lil Jimmy Skit 3 Two Words 3 Through The Wire 3 Family Business 1 Last Call ----------------------------------------------------- 2.4 WEIGHTED AVERAGE After : ======= 2 my personal rating 3 suitability for this list 4 impact ----------------------------------------------- 3 composite rating

Some good bopping tracks on this, which makes it quite fun but the braggadocio gets a bit lame after a while. Fun in places though.

Okay, hip hop isn’t really my thing but i could listen to some of these from time to time. Fav might be “Two words”

This is the first time I’ve intentionally listened to Kanye. And yep not my thing. Sounds like any other main stream rap album except nothing really grabbed me.

The College Dropout is clearly a high-quality and influential album, and I even recognized “All Falls Down”. Still, hip-hop doesn’t really connect with me, and I tend to let the slower, groove-based tracks pass in the background.

An enjoyable listen that drags on the final track with Kanye telling a story over the beat on the end track. The skits are funny, but would be irritating on repeat listening.

This is my second Kanye West album. As usual, Kanye West is a very controversial figure. This album isn't as good as the previous one I got, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. This was an okay album to listen to, but nothing amazing.

Questionable man solid album

album #10 incredibly produced! some real bangers on here. i had never listened to this album before, and i can understand why it was on the list. it's a real shame that he made an album with some real lyrical gems only to turn around and become a nazi. boo you! favourite track(s): the new workout plan, family business least favourite track(s): two words number of albums left to review: 1,079 number of albums from the list that i agree with being on the list: 4 albums from the list that I would consider on my list: 1 albums from the list I won't include on my list: 9

There was far more on here that I recognised than I expected, and musically at least, there’s a lot to like. But he’s still a self-aggrandising cockwomble who vastly overestimates his own brilliance.

"Jesus Walks" is pretty cool, but, for me, there's a pretty steep drop-off, after that. I guess the words are kind of interesting as poetry/theater/story-telling, but musically a close call between 2 and 3 stars. But I'll raise it to 3 overall for "Jesus Walks" plus the words (and a few Chi-town shout-outs don't hurt, either, lol). The "Spirit" songs, btw build off a great (duh) Aretha Franklin song, "Spirit in the Dark" (which I'd rather listen to than anything on this album).

i really gotta actively listen when i get a hip hop album bc it’s way more enjoyable when i can actually understand the lyrics

Musically not that interesting - not something I would put on regularly. There is an endearing element to the lyrics in spots. Props for being a debut album but my interest ends there. 3/5

Not in my edition of the book! 2004. 3 stars. As a musical experience, there is a lot to like here, despite it being a rap album - he moves effortlessly from style to style, has sharp lyrics and production, and a sense of humour. Set against it are excessive length and filler. You can see why he got the kudos at the time. As rating for West as a person: 0 stars. No time for Nazis.

A debate for the modern age: can you separate the art from the artist? To argue for "yes," art is its own independent thing. It has a life of its own, outside of the individuals or team that created it. It represents history. It represents those who love the art and hate the art. Its story is completely independent of its artist, yet the artist is quintessential to its story. Art can be defined by its technical skill. A painting is realistic. A musical is performed well. Art can be defined by its impact to culture. To argue for "no," we live in a digital age. By listening to this album on Spotify Premium, I am giving tiny amounts of money to the artist. The artist can then use the money to continue to live their lives as they choose, without my consent or contribution. By listening to this album willingly, you could argue that I support Kanye West. That I can be associated with him, as one of his "listeners." That title comes with baggage, because Kanye is not a good person, and it is important to me that I am one. I don't know what the right answer is. It's a good album. Maybe even a great album. But to boil down its nuisances into a 1-5 star rating is impossible.

Gran disco! Me encanta, lo disfruto bastante de inicio a fin. Para mi el mejor de West y de los mejores del género un rap muy genuino y podría decir con ideas del hiphop clásico. Buen disco

You really can’t go wrong with old Kanye. Hate the man but he did make some good music in the past. Definitely prefer some songs over others but wouldn’t say any are “bad” necessarily. I think the last half of the album is stronger and more my taste. 7/10 for the art but -10000/10 for the artist.

Good in the gym.

i don't really know what's going on here, to be perfectly honest. the beats are consistently pretty good, vocals and production are mostly good, and best as i can tell the lyrics are absolutely all over the place. it careens from political commentary to regulation issue misogyny to daily life to out-of-pocket ableism to weird religious screeds? completely unpredictable.

I’ve never really connected with Kanye. I’ve listened to several of his albums, including this one, and while I can’t deny he’s an immensely talented and influential songwriter, rapper, and producer, his music doesn’t resonate with me much. That said, there are still several great songs on this album

3.5

It’s a great album, didn’t love the skits in between songs. In light of recent Kanye events I think a 3 is warranted

Fav part were the interludes (I don’t know if that’s what they’re technically called) and Get Em High

Overall Rating - 2.65/5 (5.31/10). Not a fan of the style, but I have to admit that, before he went completely insane, he was pretty good at this.

I enjoyed the first half more than the second - overall a decent debut, if this young man can work on his stamina then I have a feeling things are looking up.

Oh no, I think I liked this. It's definitely a trillion times less obnoxious than his later work, while still retaining his excellent vocal delivery. Usual rap complaints - too long, stupid skits, general uneasiness over the lyrical content - but it was a decent listen.

I always try to separate the artist from the art. Not a fan of either. Considering I'm not a fan of the genre it was not all that bad though 5/10

0/21 bekannt 6/10 Beste Songs: spaceship, the new workout plan, never let me down Ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass dieses Album lustig sein könnte und die Musik triff mehr meinem Geschmack als ich erwartet hatte.

I can see how this was influential. It wasn't bad. Some parts I didn't like, but most of it was easy listening. I won't listen again, mainly because I just don't want to listen to Kanye.

Never listened to it when it was out. I guess I get the hype around it. Shame it went to his head. 3 - deserves to be on this list

Ugh, it pained me to listen to Kanye but I forced myself to at least skim through. Hate to admit that some of this actually had a catchy beat. I could do without the random tracks of people speaking.

Firstly, the glaring hypocrisy of several of the top reviews for this album is shocking. Sure, Kanye West is an anti-Semite, but I don’t see the same level of criticism being levelled at any of the several Pink Floyd albums on this list. To the album. It’s certainly different from the majority of rap released at the same time, which I suppose increased its popularity. The use of autotune isn’t great, but so goes the times. Personally, I’m a fan of Graduation and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy over College Drop Out as the interludes, something which pervades rap/hip-hop more than any other genre, are gone by then and the tracks are grander and more accomplished. Overall, it’s one of the better hip-hop/rap albums in the list, but not one I would chose to listen to again.

Long record but memorable songs

Love a smooth rap over a soul beat. Rhyming over a classic album traces all the way back to the origins of rap and this is a great tribute to that while also pushing every aspect of it into modernity. The through line of Kanye being the smart one for dropping out of college is a bit cringe inducing. Too many skits is always cringe inducing on a hip hop album. Kanye is great at coming at a theme from a lot of original angles and making a compelling narrative out of his tracks, although his technical ability is only middle of the road. Good flow, but only ok rhyme and meter. Probably because at this point in his career most of his experience is as a producer and not a performer. Would re-buy, although I've owned and listened to this album for many years :)

The keyboard moral warriors here are hilarious.

Likes: Hooky samples; solid features; good puns and topical lyrics Dislikes: production style is a little maximalist and overwhelming for my taste; I prefer the feature rappers to Kanye stylistically in most cases Overall, a solid record for what it is, but not a sonic aesthetic that speaks to me. It’s also hard to come at it fresh when we know how off the rails this dude is gonna go.

Lost a star because of who he is as a human. Lost another star for talking shit about being a lifelong learner 😂

Enjoyed. But not so much as last KW album.

Like Kanye’s beats but not his delivery

My second Kanye album on this journey (My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy), and happy to see it cause at the very least I know it’ll be entertaining. Kanye is ever the artist and I appreciated the various themes explored throughout the album. The New Workout Plan was particularly funny to me. Also in reading and learning more about the album I have to say “chipmunk soul” is a new term for me. But again, entertaining with the skits throughout. Overall this was an album I could appreciate, but probably won’t listen to again outside of the singles.

I cam here for the anti-Semitism but there was none :(

This has to be one of the most complicated listens out there. You have to deal with his abhorrent behavior, his mental illness, the other people involved in the album who aren’t awful, the impact this had on hip hop at the time, any personal past you have with his music… it’s a lot.

Honestly, at half the length it would have been a corker.

If I couldn't separate art of from artist, I wouldn't like anything. I hate to admit it for all the obvious reasons, but this is a pretty great record. It set a few horrible trends though, like the chipmunk samples. The skits are fucking stupid, too. I pirated this whole thing so that not even a $0.01/stream would go into the man's pockets, though.

Feels surprisingly simple and dated. I guess it is pretty old now. Tried my hardest to not have it tinged by what an insane, terrible person Kanye turned out to be

Dienstag, 17.02.2026 In der Ring und U7 auf dem Weg zum Orthopäden, in der U7 auf dem Weg zur Teambesprechung beim Fußball, in der S1 auf dem Weg meinen Berlinale Akkreditierungsausweis anzuholen

Good music, too bad Kanye isn’t really my taste

My feelings about Kanye are complicated. I can’t bring myself to decry or boycott his earlier music because it’s like he was a different person. This has never been my favorite album of his, but it still has some really good songs. It is bizarre in 2026 to hear him so proudly having a conscience - “Jesus Walks” still hits, for instance.

Da swiiing jsajasj. Se siente bien algo modernito despues de tanto 70s. First steps del hip hop rarito? Its not my vibe pero me gusta. Buenos sampleos, buen flavour. Elementos simples pero muy bien pensados y colocados. Well. im getting along with it. Me gusta al final, está bien. Likes: We dont care - Graduation Day - Slow Jamz - Through the Wire -

En oo ikinä ollu skittien ystävä mut tuolla oli kyllä kovaa räppiäkin välissä.

This album is strange to me because it feels like something I should love but for some reason there is a disconnect. I think it’s a very creative album but for some reason it just doesn’t click with me the way I want. I will say the production is of course excellent and has so much personality and at this stage in his career he still is very charming. But not enough for me to ever return intentionally.

I enjoyed this, but it didn’t leave a real lasting impression (other than that some of it aged like milk lmao). Perhaps my love if mbdtf really is rooted in nostalgia.

Some catchy tunes.

I cannot bring myself to listen to this album again objectively in the year 2026 considering Kanye’s gone full MAGA so my rating is based on my memories of being forced to listen to this album through the wall of my brother’s bedroom over and over again in high school back when it was still relatively new.

Better than gangsta rap. Some ok tunes and good variety of music. Goes on a bit, though. What's with hip hop and middle school quality skits on albums?

Well this is certainly one to spark the "art vrs. The artist" debate... The Art: This album actually surprised me a bit, it's much more poppy and eclectic that I expected. I think Kanye West undeniably has a talent at creating ear wormy, eccentric, pop music and incorporates so much diverse and different influences. I think that niche is also pretty hard to play well too. I fall short at tossing around the world genius for sure but there is some pretty interesting creativity. The Artist: Kanye West has demonstrated some pretty horrible public behavior. I do think he has manipulated his public image intentionally to sell music, but crossed a line that does challenge the limits of free speech, and honestly just wish he would stop and go away. The verdict: I am tempted to let my feelings on the artist impact my scoring of the album but I will fight this temptation, and rate this one off musical merit alone - acknowledging it still probably created a bias on how I feel about this album regardless.

i HATE that i liked this so much..... insane that this is a debut so LONG and so GOOD, but whatever its gorgeous inspiring, it has some lines that i hate but the instrumental and the rap on it its beautiful. I LOVED the storytelling and the voices of the girlies around the album.. that ending was too long girl im sorry loved this recommendation uish

I don’t like Kanye but a couple songs on this were aight if you separate it from him , kinda hard to tho

Very listenable for hip-hop. I can understand why it received rave reviews. It's a shame it all went to Kanye's head. He needs help not derision.

There’s a great album in here. But it’s adulterated in slop. The first 8 tracks, Through the Wire, and Family Business are super impressive. I would give these a 4/5 standing alone. But sandwiched in between and wrapping it all up is a full album’s worth of “Money, rims, and ho's again” alternating with, “education wasn’t for me so it must be a worthless scam” screed. Track after track of droll hip hop ego projection; each track revealing another layer of his insecurity. And yes, he’s more clever (and less stable) than your average narcissist, but I still feel like I’m stuck sitting next to my Brother-in-Law at Thanksgiving; just listening to a scared little man barking at how smart and important he wants me to believe him to be. These are a 1/2.

we dont care, new workout plan, სქულ სფირითები მომეწონა two words, last call. მოკლედ კარგი იყო, სქულ სფირით ამბავი ყველაზე მეტად მომეწონა, საივაიბოა რა

eh... great samples, terrible person. Last thing I wanted to hear was him yapping for 12 minutes straight.

Started off really strong but around the half way point it all started to sound very samey, and it went on for way too long, especially Last Call which at 12 minutes really needed to do something other than loop the same 4 bars for the whole track.

Some good songs, but primarily had a bad time with this one.

I’ve already listened to Kanye for this list once, but I hadn’t heard that one before. This one I’ve heard before so I can’t in good conscience give Ye any more money from streaming. This album deserves 5/5, Kanye deserves 1/5, so I’m gonna say 3/5.

Good album. A shame about the Nazism.

I like a bit of early Kanye but this is probably my least Favourite of his Education trilogy - not really into the chipmunk Soul styie while this one leans most heavily on.

6 This guys a total doofus u know

Longest album we’ve listened to on this. I’m unsure I like a skit based album as I don’t think it adds anything. I don’t think it does here either. Lots of pop culture significant songs on this album and I can understand its appeal. But it feels dated to me.

Seven tracks are skits. *Seven*. Only six minutes of the album, collectively, but those minutes are a drag. The exception is Graduation Day, which is actually pretty strong apart from the autotune falsetto, which is generally agreed to be one of the worst sonic elements to emerge from modern pop. Last Call is also a waste of time – almost 13 minutes of it – and reaffirms that prog-length tracks do not work in this genre. Also not a big fan of Kanye's rapping, since it lacks melody and hence is difficult to catch onto or want to return to for subsequent listens. To his credit, though, his voice is generally distinct from contemporaries' – which is surely a big part of his success. Judging by streaming numbers (on this album and elsewhere), it's clear that the catchier, more melodic tracks are the ones getting more traction. I wish more hip-hop/R&B artists would realise this. We Don't Care is a great introduction to the Ye-sphere. For your first full-length track on a record, you want something that's punchy and groovy with meaningful lyrics. This song checks those boxes and more. All Falls Down carries the torch further, incorporating some other excellent elements, like Johnson's soulful accompanying vocal, a dynamic bassline, and acoustic guitar. Especially the latter. Guitars are conspicuously absent from a lot of hip-hop leading up to this point, and that's a woeful truth. Never Let Me Down manages to be better than the entire Bowie record of the same name. The New Workout Plan is a bit disappointing: it has all the elements of a great track (including some really cool production on the vocals and percussion), except for catchiness. Which is the single most important element. Through The Wire and Family Business are two good tracks towards the end – particularly the former, which is maybe the poppiest Kanye gets on the record. 3/5 Key tracks: All Falls Down, Slow Jamz, Through The Wire

Paints a picture of a world that I've never seen - eye opening but ultimately depressing. Glad I listened to it at least once but not sokething to come back to.

I was wondering when I’d get hit with my first “art versus the artist” type conundrums in this project. My philosophy on the whole matter is that the art isn’t objectively changing. The only thing that changes is me, the listener. Every listen to an album may hit me in a different way from the other listens, but only because I am bringing something new to the equation. All the album can ever bring is itself, and all the bleeps and bloops always come in the exact same order as ever. So, on any given listen, thoughts or feelings about the artist may or may not be a factor, and it’s totally valid either way. So for this particular listen of The College Dropout, I would say the artist was a factor, but only a minor one. A lot of tracks slap pretty hard, and some not so much, but generally a decent album. A bit overrated imo, but I thought that long before ‘Ye’s entire existence went in the toilet.

najbolji rep album koji sam dosad preslušao. najveći mi je problem s repom generalno što puno repera smišlja neke opake tekstove i štajaznam sve ne, ali ne obraćaju pozornost na ono što je meni najbitnije - kako pjesma zvuči. na ovom albumu sve zvuči jako dobro. ipak u konačnici visoka trojka zbog nekih slabijih stvari, pogotovo preduge zadnje

Kanye defined the sound of rap music and popular music for like 20 years, first as a producer, then as a tastemaker. His production for Jay-Z and others was legendary, and The College Dropout concretized his fame when his unique voice somehow hit the zeitgeist. That he’s not a very good lyricist is almost (almost) beside the point. From here he released an unbroken string of 8 masterful albums, each better than the last, each bending the industry in his direction and inspiring numerous, less inspired, copycats. And now it’s all way less fun and way more messy, and it’s getting harder to objectively listen to it. I can still get there with the albums that most blew me away (Yeezus, Pablo. 808s & Heartbreak) but these older albums that I never totally connected with anyway are basically a relic now. I just can’t find my way to enjoying them, quality be damned.

not my fav ye tbh. he talks a lot. idk if this one is for me

Pretty good, runs a little too long, a few too many fillers for me

Shit. I mean, I was definitely biased coming in as a life-long Swiftie, and I will definitely say that that conditioned my listening experience. I absolutely despise him as a person, for many reasons, but you simply cannot deny his musical talent. I hate it when people say that, but in some cases, it is true. My favorites on first listen were Slow Jamz and Last Call (crazy last track btw, what do you mean this is 12 minutes long and he's simply talking for like half of it? Still enjoyed it though). I wouldn't say it is a life-changing album for me, but I did enjoy listening to it once. Probably will never listen to it again based on principle, but it was quite decent (could probably even say good)

I wish Kanye wasn’t the mess he is

Can't stand the guy but this album has so many bangers. 3/5

3.5 ish

All falls down us good, but the album is pretty meh. Possible 3.5 on a good day

I'm not a rap fan, so this listen was completely outside my usual "algorithm" (which, of course, is the primary reason I'm doing this 1001 Album challenge in the first place). That said, I was impressed with the production. This album SOUNDS great. Learning more about Kanye's production background, I shouldn't be surprised. The rhythm tracks are funky, and soulful. To be honest, those backing tracks are what kept me listening. As for the subject matter, "Jesus Walks" was the standout. I was shocked at the level of introspection. Great cut. On the whole, the album had a sense of humor but was a little too long.

My second Kanye West album, and again, surprised. I find it nice that Kanye could make such diverse music,full of R&B and soul mixed with his rap lines, the melodies are great and catchy, and I hate to praise Kanye West. Funny how he tells the story on how he ended up on Jay-Zs record label...bet he ised a lot Kanye as well . I would give itba 4, but itbis Kanye so, it is 3/5

It gets a 6/10. Look, prior to him revealing himself as a Nazi-sympathizer and a bigot, the man made some decent music. And usually, I'm pretty good at separating the art from the artist. But I can't give this dude any more streams. He's a royal piece of human garbage. FWIW - "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" is a masterpiece. I'm sad that I can't listen to it anymore.

Album No. 0078 on my list. "The College Dropout" is already my second Kanye West Album ("My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy") being the first one. Reviewing that first one, I tried to the best of my abilities separating the art from the artist, and I'm trying the same thing again in this review. I found "The College Dropout" to be somewhat worse than MBDTF, but it was still surprisingly okay-ish. I'm not the biggest hip hop fan, but I can't deny that I had an okay time listening to the album. I definitely see why "The College Dropout" would be featured on a list like this. I didn't enjoy all tracks and found many of the short skits and interludes rather annoying, but there are certainly some good tracks on this. I've enjoyed "All Falls Down", "Slow Jamz", and "Through The Wire" in particular. 3/5 stars.

Es ist OK

Oh Kanye, you are making this really hard. And this really raises the eternal question of "the artist or the art". Can we forgive the transgressions of the artist enough to allow us to enjoy the art? I loved this record when it came out, and I still think it is one of the best hip hop albums of the past 30 years. I could sing the praises of this album, but I won't right now. I just can't stomach Kanye's persona these days. The antisemitic, pro-Nazi, pro-Trump rhetoric is just abhorrent. I can't bear it. But there have been plenty of (white) musicians who have flirted with fascism over the years (Bowie, Johnny Ramone, the Sex Pistols, Lemmy Kilmister, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bryan Ferry, the Rolling Stones, Rammstein, etc) whose pro-Nazi stances have been ignored, forgotten or forgiven over time. I wonder if he, as a black artist, will be granted the same leniency, should he ever come to his senses? In my mind, he would need to publicly and explicitly retract many of the things he has said over the past ten years. Kanye, however, seems to double-down every time he is held to account, which makes it hard. In the meantime, I am using the "Michael Jackson standard". I can still listen to MJs records from before he turned into a drug-addled, pedophile ambition monster (Jackson Five records are still awesome), but his post-Bad material is too creepy for my taste. Similarly, I can still enjoy The College Dropout, where Kanye still seems like a reasonable human being, but would struggle to even listen to his more recent releases. If Kanye had released this record and immediately disappeared, never to be heard of again, this would be five stars for me. But his words and actions are tarnishing its value to me, and so now, the best I can do is a three. And if he keeps going, that could fall even further. I have to admit some embarrassment at liking this record. Clearly the toxicity of Kanye's public persona is polluting this work for me, and I can foresee a time when you can't play his records at all because of his abhorrent ideas and statements. I acknowledge that, for many people, that line has already been crossed.

I do not like Kanye as a person, but I do like some of his music. I knew All Falls Down, Jesus Walks, Slow Jamz, and Through the Wire.

Album number 200. Not one I'd hope for today. I have made a concerted effort to separate the art from the artist in this project, but this one is really tough. Kanye's untreated mental illness (yes, I'm giving the benefit of the doubt) has led to him impulsively saying and doing horrible things for quite some time now. For others with problematic behavior, there are accusations that might or might not be the truth. But in Kanye's place, he's put it all out there front and center. With all of that being said, this is mostly an excellent album. I had young children when this came out, and I rarely bought hip hop records at the time due to not wanting this to be stuff they listened to. But this album was one I had to get based on all of the hype. He came out of the gates so full of himself, but his talent was so obvious lyrically and musically. He touched on themes that were not at all popular at the time as well. This was both a good listen and one I was ashamed to play. I have no clue what rating I'm going to give it.

This was better than I expected a Kanye album to be - I don’t know if I’d ever listen to it again given the legacy he’s left behind but on a whole I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to.

This one marginally holds up better than his others in the list so far. Mostly because he hadn’t gotten to bold yet. His flow is still kind of corny and his production hasn’t reached its apex yet. Again too bad he has destroyed his legacy.

I stopped listening to this blud for the last year and more. Haven't heard his debut I suppose and I can't rate this one that highly right now. 3 or 4 stars.

Fairly average rapper and producer markets himself as a genius and gets away with it, despite heavily relying on ghostwriters and ghost producers to do much of the work for him. It should have been enough to market himself as a charismatic performer and not have to pretend to be a visionary auteur. It's not a bad album, so I shouldn't let the Milli Vanilli of it all bother me. Actually, that's unfair on Milli; they never claimed to be making "great art." Maybe the problem is that Kanye is all show, all persona, and his persona pissed me off long before I knew he was a neo-Nazi. The genius myth simply isn't entertaining. I mostly listened to hip-hop up to 2004, but around the time this came out I just wasn't hearing anything that excited me any more. I quite liked the singles from this, but no more than I liked The Game. It's like being told Lady Gaga was a wildly inventive maverick chameleon circa The Fame; one can't just claim it without backing it up. It's not that the emperor is naked, but that he's wearing the same jeans, t-shirt and trainers as the guy next to him. Oh yeah, and once again IT'S TOO LONG. He could have cut nearly half an hour from this and it would have been a much better album.

7 / 10

Liker mye her. Litt mye skits. Siste "låta" er 12 minutter skit.. Why.

If this has been a bit shorter it would be a 4. I enjoyed it overall despite some of the songs being a little trashy.

Wish it was a tad shorter but it also is not his best

Han mestre virkelige at dosere sine virkemiddeler. Det var ikke kedeligt, der var masser jeg har hørt før. Jeg vender dog aldrig tilbage igen.

Not as good as I remembered. The use of backing vocals, and the very Kanye power transitions from verses to choruses were great. But overall, just not as good as some of his other stuff. Several songs are pretty boring, and I have a love/hate relationship with skits in music albums. This album overdoes the skits. Get Em High and Family Business were bright spots and hint at the genius we get in Graduation and 808s.

Not really my thing but All Falls Down and especially Through The Wire are decent tunes. Appreciate this was a landmark album but just not my cup of tea.

Kanye West is a horrible human being, but there is a lot of humour and some truth in this album, and it did break out hip/hop to a lot of people.

Early 2000s hip hop was it's own thing. Personally not a fan of the skit type tracks on the album and the only memorable song was Through the Wire which I distinctly remember hearing this as a kid either on radio or in a store

Luckily, I'm able to separate my mind between: Kanye (the person) - Horrible person. Kanye (the musician) - Meh. Using this this album as a touchstone - It's OK. Deliberately flashy rap, full of debut album theatrics, but overall, I found nothing that I actually enjoyed. Once it finished, there was no temptation to press "Repeat."

Isegist oli täitsa ok

Not his best work 6/10

I hate Kanye west but he makes good music

Alr, dont like kanye