My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Kind of wild how Kanye made some of the absolute best and absolute worst rap music out there. This one lands solidly in the middle. It has some amazing songs, but it also has Runaway and Blame Game. Still probably his best produced album, if nothing else. The majority of the beats on this album are insane. I'd like this album way more if it wasn't totally full of Kanye-isms (i.e. the "I sent this bitch a picture of my dick" verse in Runaway or All of the Lights in its entirety). It's good, but so incredibly overrated.

This was much better than I anticipated but it is difficult for me to divorce the artist from the art. Also, as with a lot of rap, I find the lyrics "difficult"

ok this album is good

Enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. Favourited Runaway Hell of a Life is dark and has a really cool back best and deep base! Kind of like Rap-Muse! And Lost in the World... I mean... A bit of everything

Well fuck... I really didn't want to like this, but it is undeniably good. Great production and lyrical work, I loved the range of musical influences, samples and guest artists. Monster, Runaway, Hell of a Life and Blame Game were particular highlights for me. Still only 4 stars because it's Kanye and he's a trash human

I really enjoyed the music, but I found the lyrics troubling. It definitely feels impactful on an emotional level as well.

Loved it. Fun to hear the different collaborators.

4.5

No

"Runaway" is a great song.

It’s really good despite what people (rightfully) think about Kanye, my problem is that this is on the list and NOT graduation which is the one that really deserves it 4/5

not even wasting my time on this.

Wow, what a great album! Hope this guy doesn't turn out to be a nazi!

Kanye is a hateful, stupid person, I’m not streaming anything that gives him money and I’m not doing anything to spread any amount of influence he has.

I have a hard time separating the Artist from the Art on this one, didn't blow me away.

Amazing album, huge for when me and my wife were first dating. Such a shame he completely lost his mind.

One of the best

Man, if Kanye just went on the path he was on when he said George Bush didn’t care about black people instead of flipping into a Nazi I could still listen to this record.

i miss this Kanye… this album is such a classic modern Hip Hop record. if only he didn’t fuck up his career like he did in recent history. but this album truly shows Kanye’s genius as an artist at a time when Hip Hop truly reigned supreme. so many crazy features and great verses. definitely a 5/5.

“Maximalist hip hop” is what it was called. Kanye’s magnum opus. This is one album that will forever be on my “art separated from artist” list. Not a bad song on the whole thing.

Doesn’t sound good now looking back after the person Ye has now become. Lyrics seem to be hitting out at a lot of people which scream a fragile ego

Loved a couple of songs. Kanye is a genius... Shhhhhh...don't tell anyone

I have to say, it does have some cool beats and some cool melodies. But coming in, it's quite hard to listen to without having in mind the artist... I do think it's good, but it's hard to enjoy fully

Oh boy. This is the first Kanye album I'm getting, though I think there are multiple. I never really listened to Kanye before (apart from the obvious ones like POWER that used to be on the radio all the time). It's extremely hard to dissociate the artist from the art when it comes to someone like Kanye. The problem is, the album has some quite good songs. It's got very good beats on most tracks. Some of the lyrics are actually quite good too. I cannot, in full objectivity, give this album anything below a 3, but the connection to the artist also prevents me from giving it a 5.

Classic

hate for kanye and hate for the whole tiktok wave but this album is amazing. for sure an album that leaves a deep trace in music history. never been amazed from his rapping but he’s the mind behind the whole project so no matter if he is not the only producer i have to give him props for the production which is the reason i give it 5. the best way i can describe it is it’s over the top but in the most accessible (and commercial) way possible. also hate for the usage of themes such as king crimson, black sabbath and aphex twin, never again please, respect the true artists kanye

I won't be listening to anything by a self confessed nazi who denies the Holocaust.

Yeah. I'll listen to this after the collected works of Rolf Harris, Skrewdriver, Gary Glitter. I appreciate that this guy has talent; Adolf had talent in genocide and we don't celebrate him - unless we're seriously fucking stupid. I suppose I could illegally download it, but that would also appear in some list of popular downloads, so: nope.

8/10 Favourite: Runaway Least Favourite: Blame Game

He's an unpleasant person to say the least, but I can't deny his talent. Power is a banger. (Nice King Crimson sample) I'll give it a pass but he's still a rather ghastly fellow.

Brilliant, warped and punishing to be talking about today but how is it less than 5 stars?

Must... separate... art... from... artist... Ugh, fine, it was good.

First 9 songs are the greatest stretch of 10/10s tracks Kanye has ever made only just to stumble across the finish line. Practically a near-perfect album otherwise. Plus this album has Runaway on it!

The most expensive hip hop record ever! With an title such as this, anyone would think that it also might be one of the greatest rap albums of all time, and, well, a lot of people would agree with that , or at least that's a very popular opinion within the hip-hop circles. But personally, I disagree. What I liked about the project is how massive it sounds. The production and sampling in this record is insane and makes you understand why it costed so much to produce this album. The beats are as maximalist as they can get. 'Dark fantasy' has some wonderful choirs accompanied by beautiful strings and pianos that make for an enormous entry to the album. 'Power' also has an incredible use of female voices that helps the track feel very big. 'All of the lights' has some very loud drums, horns and voices. 'Devil In a New Dress' may have some of the best sampling ever done by Kanye West. The beat mixed with background singing is just wonderful. 'Runaway' is one if not the most iconic songs by him thanks to the sad melody brought by the piano. 'Blame Game' has very interesting usage of the track 'Avril 14th' by 'Aphex Twin'. To add to the overall grandiose sound, the attitude of the voices just elevate this thing even more. I honestly think that the singers are the truly highlights of the album. Kid Kudi, Rihanna and Bon Iver did some incredible jobs with the choruses in their respective songs ('Gorgeous', 'All of the Lights' and 'Lost In the World'). What I didn't like so much about are the overall project is the length and the lyrics. In terms of lengthiness, the whole project feels too long, with the songs 'Monster' and 'So Appalled' having way too many features, each one with their own moment, and thus, making the tracks longer; and 'Runaway' and 'Blame Game' having some unnecessary ending sections. When it comes to lyrics, Kanye West can be both very serious, goofy and funny or be an atrocious lyricist. On one hand, there is the more serious and funny side of him. 'Gorgeous' is the best example for both cases, as it is criticizes the injustices in the some great examples of funny lyrics I would say are the verses "And what's a black Beatle anyway, a fuckin' roach?" and "'Cause the same people that tried to blackball me forgot about two things, my black balls". On the other hand, there is the bad lyrics spectrum. First one that comes to mind is: why does 'Runaway', the most melodramatic sounding song, start by talking how Kanye send a picture of his dick to a girl? It ruins the immersion! If he said it while laughing or with a comedic purpose, I wouldn't mind, but because he said with a sad tone, I just can't take it seriously. Another example would be 'Hell of a Life' which I would dare to say that is a bad song. The beat is super tedious, the interpolation of 'Iron Man' by Black Sabbath in the chorus is horrible and the lyrics about wanting to marry a porn star and make nuns cums are just terrible. In the end, from my point of view, I think the bad parts of the album are detrimental enough to justify my score, regardless of how much I praised the beats and some of the singing.

Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: Monster, Blame Game I want try to separate the relatively talented rap/hip-hop artist and musician Kanye West from the piece of shit human being Kanye West, but that's proving pretty hard to do. Just some of the insane shit he's done over the past decade really negatively influences my perception of the music he produces. In the same way that people detest movies that Kevin Spacey has been in, because of what he's been accused of, or... Kid Rock *shudders* who I actually detect for basically the same reason I detest Kanye - their decision to align with a certain political affiliation... Kanye's decision to do that is especially bewildering. If this were 2007's Graduation I was reviewing, I had heard this album thoroughly before Kanye started to really go off the deep end, and I would have given that album a very favorable review. I mean, it might still be the case that Graduation is on the List. But anyways, lets talk about the album. High production value. Good featured artists. Long, for 13 songs. Catchy beats and hooks. Kanye can definitely raps well. I don't have much (any) experience with Nicki Minaj, but she sort of steals the show on Monster. And that fucking skit at the end of Blame Game: "Look at you motherfucking butt-ass naked with them motherfucking Jimmy Choo's on?" "Yeezy Taught Me" in a slightly sleazy, slightly bragging, submissive voice. Jesus Christ. There's also a weird amount of Trump references, a full 6 years before he became the president. This gets a 3. It's a well produced album, but its tough to separate the art from the artist.

Kanye gets no stars

He’s a piece of a shit. It’s also really good. It’s complicated.

Seriously hate this dude. Crazy ass mf. That said, This is the first Kanye album I’ve listened to. Damn. Melodic, creative, inspiring and not as repetitive as so much modern hip hop. 4.5 stars

While I might give the album three stars taking nothing else into consideration (All of the Lights remains tremendous), I have to consider this from earlier this year: Kanye West, also known as Ye, escalated his antisemitic rhetoric by releasing a music video titled “HEIL HITLER (HOOLIGAN VERSION)” on X, featuring Nazi imagery and the lyric “So I became a Nazi, I’m the villain,” continuing a disturbing trajectory of antisemitic behavior that includes selling swastika-themed merchandise and praising Hitler. The video, which quickly amassed over a million views, follows a brief Twitch livestream in which Ye gave a Nazi salute and shouted “Heil Hitler” before being banned within minutes for violating the platform’s guidelines. The zero stars of that so far outweighs any musical value that the result my first one star review.

This review was unearthed from 2010-11 when the album first came out. West had recently lost his mother in 2007. She died of complications after a series of cosmetic surgeries. That seems to be one of a series of traumatic events, many self-inflicted, that West experienced on his quixotic quest for fame and wealth. It's not a great album and he is definitely not a great person. His antihero journey is symbolic of the dark, twisted American Dream that has become all of our existence. So four stars for the failure we are all trying to live through at the moment. Kanye, you achieved your dream of creating your nightmare. What a blueprint.

Modern classic. Fav: gorgeous, monster.

What more could one say about this album? It’s a masterpiece from start to finish. West puts on full display everything people love and hate about him - it’s as close as you can get to stepping inside his megalomaniacal mind. If hubris could sum itself up, it would choose this album. The only song that doesn’t land for me is Blame Game, and Hell of a Life only barely passes. Gorgeous is my favourite off this track. But everything else is phenomenal. The production is bombastic and replete, every beat is a killer and almost everyone (excluding Hov) brings their A-game here. This is one of the greatest rap albums ever made and easily one of my top five favourites in the genre. I didn’t expect to hit it so early in the 1001 list, but oh well, now the question is whether anything else can knock it off from the #1 spot.

💩

yes, kanye is a narcissistic alt right asshole. but yes, this album is one of the greatest of all time. Runaway is still a classic despite some other song let the quality down for a bit. 4/5

"Sasquatch, Godzilla, King Kong, Loch Ness, goblin, ghoul, a zombie with no conscience" - Jay-Z, Monsters

Meh

Obviously been here before but part of the 1001 online project now. Fun to go back, it's been a while. Still production level at such an insanely high level. Looks like you can't go 4,5 but that's probably where I'd be.

Absolutely perfect. Sad he went down the path he did but prime Kanye was historic.

7/10 je ne chercherais pas à le réécouter mais c’est plutôt bon Des chansons plutôt solides + Trop de parlage de dick pis de pussy on a compris un moment donné-

One of my favorite hip hop albums ever. Honestly kind of reminds me of Hamilton. Google says Hamilton was largely based on Kanye’s life… not sure if that’s true or not though

Heard before

a classic album. an intricately layered symphony of mania and ego, and an incredible triumph of hedonism

Some of the songs on this album are really good but I have a really hard time enjoying them knowing what kind of person Kanye is. I just don't like him as a person and it causes me to not like his music even though I'm sure it's not bad.

Kanye's a great rapper, it's well produced, and it touches on some deeply personal issues that I can see being relatable. Totally get why the album and Kanye are so influential. I can't 100% connect to it because I'm clearly not the target demo. These songs are clearly geared towards guys with the way that sex/women/pussy is talked about. Wish that Kanye didn't lose his mind.

Each song represents a different stage in my life.

Maybe Kanye's greatest accomplishment, raw, unapologetic, bold, emotional, packs creativity. The lyrics are personal, honest that tells the story of fame, love and self destruction.

Musically amazing. Confessional and innovative. I'd pick and choose what of the album I'd listen to, but there is just so much enjoy.

this would otherwise be a highly rated one but in this case i just can't separate the art from the artist.

Wow I don't think I've ever closely listened to this the whole way through, but its really great, a very dense album, even though its so long, there's so many great features and lots of great instrumental parts. I always forget how great of a rapper he was (probably because he's fallen off sooo hard), but there are some amazing clever bars and funny ones as well, which I guess he was more known for, there's also some more deep stuff, and interesting that he was still quite left wing at this point. The production, which I think Kanye and loads of other people did is amazing, feels very grand, with the strings and piano parts, but there's some amazing synth stuff on here, which I guess is reminiscent of graduation. The guitar solos and parts which I think Mike Dean did are also amazing, and I feel like they are underused in rap stuff. The features are incredible, I feel like while I can't name many Nicki Minaj verses, this one has always been my favourite. The Raekwon verse is incredible, but I can't really say the same thing for the RZA one. The John Legend one is quite interesting he's a great singer, and the Aphex Twin sample on there is great. Rick Ross is amazing and the Jay-Z ones are also great, I think he maybe felt like he had to prove that he was still good with all these younger artists. I've actually never been crazy about runaway, it definitely overstays its welcome with this goofy autotune riffing thing (although the Pusha T verse is great). Hell of a life was always my favourite song, even though it is a bit vulgar I always thing this song with the bass and synth arpeggios sounds a lot like Tyler the Creator, although the bass does sound like a fart. Although I guess a downside could be that some of the mixes are quite shocking and some stuff is mega clipping. Favourite songs: Dark fantasy, gorgeous, POWER, all of the lights (both), Monster, so appalled, devil in a new dress, hell of a life, blame game, lost in the world. Overall around 9/10

it is obviously a very influential album and even without looking at kanye as the reason that its hard for me to fairly assess the album, it still has its flaws (ex: Monster, the last part of runaway, etc.) 7/10

Meh... Overrated

There are a couple artists that, for one reason or another, I flat out refuse to listen to. Kanye West is one. I will not be listening to this record and don't feel bad about giving it a 1/5 without listening. Fuck Kanye West.

Gosto muito de Hip Hop mas KW não é um artista que me interessa. O álbum é OK musicalmente. TRI x HBB Kai.

Well, that was surprising. I had never listen to a whole Kanye album before and now I get all the praise. It is quite innovative the production (although some songs feel very 2014), but, overall it was an ok experience. I hated the tracks with Jay-Z, he and his gangsta rap...kinda ruined rap for me. It is a 2.5 album for me but rounding it for a 3. I just hate rap, the lyrics and vibes are a no for me)

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, MBDTF, the album which internet music critic Anthony Fantano/Theneedledrop infamously gave a 6 out of 10 to. Now I'm not saying I agree with him, this album has serveral good qualities and perhaps deserve a higher score. However, this is not the all time great album fans are hyping it up to be either. Kanye has at least three better albums. (I'm thinking The College Dropout, Graduation, Kids See Ghost). This album has the production Kanye is hailed for, foward thinking samples(such as the King Crimson sample on POWER), Nicki Minaj's best verse of her career, the emotional vulnerable track Runaway. The excellence needs no more explanation. In Kanye's own words, this was his backhanded apology for the controversy he stirred at the time. The lyrics are filled with classic braggadocious Kanye (e.g. the "blackball" line). They were hilarious when it was first released, but nowadays, seeing Kanye's downward spiral into neo Nazi politics, the egoistic lyrics are not fun to listen to anymore. Rather, they just make me question how serious those lyrics were, how much of them were Kanye saying things for shock value and how much were him just being a terrible person. It takes away a lot of the enjoyment. All things above considered, I'm giving this one a six out of ten.

Now that reasonable people can agree that Kanye is a certifiable dirtbag, it's always been sort of funny to me that it took so many so long to realize this. This is literally his album about that entire topic, with the main difference being that this is about how he treats women rather than a certain ethnic group. The problem of the extent to which we as listeners should entertain the art from "problematic" personalities is one with a long history, but the case of this album is a bit different because Kanye addresses at least part of the issue head-on. The lyrical thread weaving through at least some of this album is the concept of Kanye's "fantasy" of abundant, submissive women waiting to be submitted to various acts of defilement. The opening track suggests that this is truly a fantasy, but given how things have turned out in the intervening years, I can sadly only conclude that it literally is all Kanye's aspirations amount to, and I need to take it more or less at face value. The best songs on the album, read generously, suggest that Kanye has gone through some examination of his personality with some amount of self-loathing, wondering what it is that makes him and his dreams so profoundly messed up. Runaway is the centerpiece of this, painting a sympathetic picture of someone who realizes that their personality is radioactive, and is probably my favorite song that Kanye has released throughout his career. POWER is another effective glimpse into the manic mind underlying his personality, with the "21st Century Schizoid Man" sample changing the way I hear that song. Meanwhile, Gorgeous serves as a searing indictment of racism in America, and Who Will Survive In America served as my introduction to Gil Scott-Heron, which I am grateful for. With lines like, "And what's a black Beatle anyway, a fucking roach? / I guess that's why they got me sitting in fucking coach", what more could you want? Turns out, maybe we need some signs that Kanye actually means what he says in these songs. While we get the sense that Kanye knows that he is a monster in need of reform, we also see that he revels in the twisted character he has devolved into. Hell Of A Life's pathetic glorification of a one night stand with a porn star serves to undermine any credibility built up in the preceding songs. It's a bit tough to imagine that Kanye is doing too much serious introspection when the lyrics are packed with lines about a beef with South Park, bruised esophaguses, and nuns climaxing. And it feels difficult to square Gorgeous with Kanye's actions in recent years without seeing his interpretation of discrimination as self-interested complaining rather than righteous indignation. With that in mind, did he include the Gil Scott-Heron poem because of the message or just because he liked the idea of America as a prostitute? I feel fine giving the benefit of the doubt to most artists, but with Kanye I'm not so sure. All in all that's what is so frustrating about this album to me. Its concept has loads of potential and we see this in glimpses throughout the track list. The production is excellent, and Kanye gathered a superstar lineup to feature on the album. But in the end he doesn't have the self-awareness to properly commit to the act, and that's what keeps the album as a whole from greatness.

i refuse to listen to this.

If Igor opened me up to music, then this is the album that really sucked me in. Very few albums mean as much to me as this one

Honestly, a great album despite the person behind it.

Some people can separate the artist from the art. This is a great album but I just don't know how to enjoy it without thinking of the artist's misogyny and antisemitism. I guess this is proof that even millionaire creative geniuses can end up radicalised by the algorithm.

Pretty excited for this artist and album. Well familiar with but never given a dedicated listen through. The hits and features alone make this album great - cannot deny.

kanye was forgiven back then

Inte samma wow-känsla som när den kom, men flera bra låtar fortfarande!

Ja nu är vi här. Säga vad man vill, men den här produktionen är helt otrolig och jag ställer mig frågan: Kommer det någonsin göras ett bättre hiphop-album? Kanske. Antagligen inte.

Tyvärr väldigt bra.

10-talets starkaste album, utan tvekan. Hiphopens elit strålar samman med en Kanye som än inte är 100% bananas. Tillammans skapar dom ett komplett mästerverk och ritar om kartan för vad ett album kan vara.

Really good album, really shit person

Awful. I semi-decent song. The rest was just garbage. 0.1/5

I hate to give this a high rating because Kanye is a Nazi bitch but this album is catchy.

I was waiting for some bangers from the 2010s. This is definitely a great one by Ye. Not as good as Jesus Walks but still, it won Hip Hop/Rap album of the year for a reason. Love it!

This was ok, but I never was a huge fan of him. Nowadays, I am the exact opposite of a fan of this guy. But this album was ok.

Load of tosh

As you know, the policy around here is no streaming revenue for Nazi scum, so I’m listening to: Born This Way (2011) by Lady Gaga This is such a fun album. 12 of the 14 songs are certified bangers; if this doesn’t make you want to dance, I’m gonna question if you like music. It’s a celebration of love, the LGBT community, feminism, sex, and just being young and free. A bonus is that ‘Judas’ pissed off the religious community, which is always fun. Every time I listen to this album it puts me in a great mood, and today was no different; an excellent way to start a Friday. It won’t count in the official rankings since I will be giving the Kanye album a 1, but this will unofficially join the ranks of my elite albums as my ninth 5/5.

Against my better judgement I enjoyed this, although not as much as the other one I heard recently

Classic Kanye before he went batshit crazy and lost his creativity. The crazy is starting to show up though, a lot of the lyrics are about feeling slighted and the ensuing egomania. Solid album though. Notable tracks include Dark Fantasy, Power, All of the Lights, So Appalled.

I know and like this record but not as much as Yeezus.

Had listened to it when I was younger, but man I could not appreciate everything that was going on in this album. The musical journey this album goes on is so vast. Implementing ochestral elements, awesome guitar riffs, horns and pianos. This is a producing masterclass. I think the only thing that holds this album back are relatively weak vocals/lyrics from Kanye. I’ve personally never found Kanye’s flow and writing super complex and compelling. He can write songs with emotional weight, but I always found them to be surface level. All that said still a really good album and probably Kanye’s greatest production front to back.

Album No. 0038 on my list. I briefly considered not listening to this album at all because Kanye is such a moron. I did it anyway because I was not familiar with his work and wanted so see how good of a musician he is. I found that “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” was actually a decent album. I’m not particularly much into hip hop, but I definitely see why this album is on the 1001 list. Not all songs appealed to me, but I liked the overall vibe of this album, and some songs were pretty nice (“Dark Fantasy”, “All of the Lights”, “Hell Of A Life”). Will not become an all-time favorite, but will certainly listen to some songs again. 3/5 stars.

It’s really sad that Kanye West died in that tragic plane crash shortly after releasing Yeezus. He was such a promising talent; one can only wonder what else he would have done. Sure he had a few controversies, we’ll never forget the VMAs incident, but I’m certain he would have matured and mellowed out in his old age. Alas, we’ll never know. MBDTF is a masterpiece of lyricism, beats, production and collaboration. Everyone is firing on every cylinder here. This is a once in a lifetime confluence of massive talents all at the top of their game producing something that manages to break the escape velocity of Kanye’s planetary ego. Also, DEAR GOD, Nicki Minaj exploded out of this album like a xenomorph chestburster and I mean that in the best way possible.

I already know this album but because I don't love all the tracks it's not a 5. I've re-visited the album over the years and it still holds up but I find myself liking it a little bit less over the years. 4.2/5

Klassiker!

Kanye is a nut bar but beside 1 or 2 tracks this is a banger. His last consistently good album.

I didn’t want to like this album because of the new Kanye, but unfortunately the old Kanye made a good album.

Fuck nazi kanye but this has always been an amazing album

This was my first time listening to the entire album. It’s not my favorite Kanye record, but I love the creative sampling and enjoy the incredible wordplay, even if he makes himself sound like an asshole (which may be the point). I also enjoyed the metal influences. This was a long album, but engaging.

When listening to this album, I googled "Kanye West Magnum Opus" and the first result was reassuring. Beautiful and twisted...what a great way to describe this album and this artist. More adjectives can be added to describe this man after it's release in 2010...but to keep the focus on the album... The production, the features, the hype behind it and the hype that came from it...it's legendary and no more needs to be said.

"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." - Maya Angelou Shame the music is so good.

Absolute classic, but heavy nostalgia factor influencing again. An almost perfect album, barely let down by some more camp songs and their features (Rick Ross???). Strong contender for best Kanye, against Graduation. Four and a half stars would be the fairest rating, but here we are.

Kanye inainte sa o ia rara de tot.

A classic. Great songs from front to back. Obviously don't like the man, but I can't not like this album.

It's not one of my favorite Kanye's but it's still very good and predates his descent

I'll begin this with I don't like Kanye West at all as a person. That being said, I did my best to listen to this with an open mind. All of the Lights - 8.5/10 Monster was an 8/10 solely bc of Nicki. I hate how he constantly refers to himself as a prophet Runaway is a fantastic song no matter what 9.5/10 blame game was pretty good until the last two minutes. what the fuck 7.12/10 3/5

Actually enjoyed the arrangements if not all the rapping

Enjoy this album a lot more now than when it came out. Not my personal favorite Kanye output (I’ll always prefer the early stuff) but this album is just all over popular and commercial media. For me it’s an average album with some really bright spots.

Fuck Kanye, Fuck Nazis, and Fuck anyone who supports any of this fascist shit that's going on right now.

Another example of needing to separate the art from the artist. It’s a great, provoking album, and a reminder that sometimes the best art comes from complicated and troubled people.

God, I hate Kanye as a person, but this album is alright. It takes a lot of effort to separate the art from the artist, especially with this PoS. However, after listening to this album, I can see its appeal and understand why it is so popular. Overall rating 7/10

This is a 3.5 by me, but I feel the need to round down just to balance out all the insane praise West's work gets. Yes, the production is very slick, and he knows how to put a pop song together. However, after that, the lyrics are atrocious and often laughable, and many of the hooks are embarrassing. So, in the hands of a better lyricist or with a different vocalist, I think the often great music, beats, and tracks could be something much much better than what ended up here.

Not as good as the college dropout, it's a good record but not as enjoyable. Plus Kanye is still a wanker

No words needed for this album. An musical masterpiece, easily 10/10 album, where every single goddamn song is fucking perfect

I don't like Kanye

Still a masterpiece. Wish this guy was still around :(

Regrettably, a full throated 5/5. Probably a 6 if we’re honest.

When Kanye was still ok

Garbage

Already listened loads Brilliant album, but he’s a Nazi

One of my fav albums growing up and today … No more drugs for me , pussy and religion is all I need

Kanye’s last really relevant work. Some serious hits on the front end, but not strong all the way through. What went wrong?

Every time I give Kanye 5 stars I have to be like “I know Kanye is bad but still” but anyway this is peak

One of the frustrating things about Kanye’s path to Nazism, though not the worst, is that he was so talented. Breathtaking, grandiose songs which often still feel intimate and confessional. What’s waste

Ever so controversial, Kanye West decided in 2010 to just say fuck it and go all out on one of the most over the top and maximalist statements in all of hip-hop. With My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy rap music entered its prog rock era, but it is no wonder there aren't many more examples of albums that sound like this. An album of such grand scale and ambition isn't something easy to replicate, so for the most part, other rappers didn't even try. I remember very clearly the hype cycle around this album. West had already defied everyone's expectations with his 2008 record 808s & Heartbreaks and now he was make another left turn by... releasing a whole short film? Yes, there was a short film titled "Runaway" which is filled with all sort of striking imagery, terrible acting and script, but also showcasing a handfull of tracks from the album, notably the 9 minute centerpiece the film is named after. There's so much going on here: the King Crimson sample on "POWER", a Chris Rock skit, an Aphex Twin sample (both on "Blame Game"), a Black Sabbath musical reference on "Hell of a Life", Bon Iver doing his whole "lost in the woods" thing for the third(!) time on "Lost in the World", Nicki Minaj's career-best and star-turning verse on "Monster", a small army of guests on "All of the Lights", you name it and it's probably here. For a moment there, I almost got into hip-hop and R&B and this album was one of the big reasons why. That didn't quite last, though, but I still really like those few releases that got me there. Key tracks: Dark Fantasy POWER All of the Lights Monster Runaway Lost in the World

Kan ikke si jeg skjønner hvor all hypen bak dette albumet kommer fra. Er helt ok, tidvis ganske bra, men lite som virkelig imponerer. Det er et par øyeblikk som virkelig tester tolmodigheten - slutten på Runaway bare gikk og gikk med det samme trøtte partiet, og slutten på Blame Game var... dust. Slår et slag for POWER som var den eneste låten jeg hadde hørt fra før. Hadde alle låtene vært mer som den så hadde jeg skjønt det. Lå og vippa mellom 2 og 3. Siden fyren er nazi runder jeg ned. 🫠

A lot of these songs are on my workout mix, ha. Old Kanye was really good!

Alright - everything about Kanye as a person aside, this is objectively a great album. The samples, the beats, not to mention the great supporting cast he has with him make this an incredibly fun album. Highlights: "Power", "All of the Lights", "Runaway"

Goat, already heard it

This was the first album I ever listened to, I think it is near flawless... shame about its creator

His best, and its aight. Probably the best moment in Nicki Minaj’s career

Fantastic album. One of Kanye’s moments.

Jajajaja. No. No está el mundo para dejarse ver en compañía de nazis. Este tío es un imbécil además de carecer de todo talento musical real.

This can't not be a 5. It's too good.

Kanye's magnum opus - it was all so good before he became a mental nazi. He was still in his imperial phase at this point and hadn't lost it yet (though in hindsight maybe some cracks were beginning to show). The production is next level, the rhymes are by turns funny, paranoid and pissed off and the colloborators and featured artists all bring their A-game. Just an immense statement from the biggest artist of the time. Is it my favourite Kanye album? Maybe. Best Tracks: POWER; Monster; Runaway

It is unfortunately really good lol

Це об'єктивно хороший альбом. Дуже класні фіти: чи не кращі куплети в кар'єрі від Рік Росса та Мінаж, класний вихід в Рейквана, топові приспів від різних запрошених вокалстів. Так само по продакшену вдалось зібрати класну команду, яка суттєво розширила палітру з чого Каньє семплував. Проте у альбому є свої проблеми. Не може претендувати на статус одного з кращого в історії альбом, який має пісні типу So Appalled чи Hell of a Life. Та й тексти іноді провисають. Загалом класний був період у Йе з MBDTF-WTT-Yeezus, шкода що він остаточно поїхав і перетворився в якогось еталонного довобойба.

Всім зрозуміло що Каньє абсолютний довбойоб, але.. Цей альбом з моменту його виходу був для мене прям 10 з 10. Ідеальний семплінг (кінг крімзон, афекс твін, блек саббат ітд), бенгер на бенгері, кайфовий звук. Навіть маю My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy на потрійному вінілі. Тому, попри особистість автора, я ставлю 5.

ні цього додіка я не слухатиму

It's a shame Kanye lost himself. The guy who could turn around from the disappointment of 808s and Heartbreak and put out a record like this. Nothing will ever top his first three, but this one is full of bangers.

Good rhymes in the first several tracks but feel like Graduation is a better album.

Hate him all you want now but this (and all albums before this) are masterpieces. His ability to craft these songs is incredible. Not the best lyricist at times but it doesn't matter, the production on each song is so good.

2 out of 5. Not a fan and still not after this album. I get why people love it and on its own it does stand out.

yo how do you have runaway and monster on the same album😭

Kayne is bad now but old Kanye was something

Всегда хотел послушать канье, рад что тут подкинули его аольбом. Звучит стильно и даже современно, послушаю снова внимательнее обязательно

A 6/10???? Really???

Man, this is a tough one. I had to unblock his music for this. A very strong performance from a very unwell and bad person. Do you separate art from artist? It’s like rating a Chris Benoit match. No, I can’t. What would be a 4 star album (the Chris Rock skit is too long) gets a 2. Power is my favorite song

Runaway and All of the Lights are truly extraordinary songs. 70 minute run time is a tad too much.

This isn't my first time listening to this, and when i listened to it now, the listening experience got better as a whole. In my opinion, it's one of the most, if not, the most beautifully produced album I have ever listened to. Sometimes it has so much crisp. The concept itself is good imo, ye talks about celebrity culture like fame and greed, and how it can destroy ourselves. The features are FIRE, we got kid cudi, jay z, hell even BON IVER, before I even listened to bon iver's music, i only knew him because of this god damn album. Before Kanye went on a downward spiral (musically and politically) i glaze this album, heck, even all of the albums of him can't you guys see I love this album? 🥺🥺🥺 lost in the world is top 10 kanye btw final rating: 8.7/10 favs: power, all of the lights, lost in the world, devil in a new dress, runaway, monster, so appalled least fav: who will survive in America, blame game

I don’t get it and I never will. That’s okay. You can’t get everything, where would you put it. The production is good

2010 was a pivotal year for Millenials. We were in our early 20s, moving out, getting money, discovering how far a tank of gas could get us. Original recipe 4lokos were 3/$6. Beer pong was a national sport. Music and culture festivals we starting to blow up. The geopolitical context? Nobody knows, we weren't paying attention. But MBDTF was the soundtrack. It was on the radio. It was in the club. It was on the homie's ipod in the garage. You'd hype up for Dark Fantasy and Who Will Survive. You'd peak through Power, All of the Lights and Monster. You'd crash out on the couch during those long ones, drifting through the strings and piano parts while the mayhem continues in the other room. You'd wake up half way into Lost in the World, spinning, questioning your life choices, lost in some citaay, lost in the wooorld, and either run to throw up or go down for the night. These were our songs.

Putting all the obvious problems about the person he turned out to be to the side; Kanye is a songwriting and production prodigy. "Gorgeous" is full of lines that made me instinctively go "mm" and shake my head: "inter-century anthems based off inner-city tantrums" WOW. HOWEVER - the line about the South Park writer made me fucking belly laugh knowing the context of the fish stick reference LMAOOOOO. There are a lot of lines in this song that make me giggle, but were immediately followed by a punch to the gut and I hope that is what the intention is supposed to be like "and what is a black Beatle anyway, a fuckin' roach?" followed by "I guess that's why they got me sitting in fuckin' coach". "POWER" is such a cool song sonically. The production is thick and, well, sounds like power. "All Of The Lights" - HORNS, RIHANNA, DRUMS - my three favorite things. "Monster" is so infamous, I don't think I have anything helpful to add. I love this track. I feel like I can run like 15 miles when I hear it. "Have you ever had sex with a Pharoah?" lmaooo. Nicki's verse is so good and so iconic she literally wiped the floor and it's not even close. Bon Iver follows like "wait, I am here too!" "Runaway" hit me with a wave of nostalgia I wasn't prepared to experience. Just hearing that song brought me back to 2010 - but it also just made me really sad to listen to in 2025 probably for a lot of reasons. I can't help but feel sad when I hear this song.

Kanye was innovative once before he lost his literal fucking mind. Taking the music outside of the artist, the Kanye loved puns in this album. His beats are crazy and the knowledge he has to just be able to sample the wide array he does was brilliant. RIP

Welcome everyone. As many of you know, I was one of Kanye’s biggest fans and a close follower of his career when he was with us. Looking around this room I think a lot of us have some feelings about Kanye that are complex. But within the complexity is a great deal of adoration and admiration for an artist that created some truly transcendent music. I’d just like to take a few minutes to share some of these feelings. I was in college when I first got close with Kanye. He was my first favorite hip hop artist. I had My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy on my iPod. It was my sound track to drives to Santa Barbara, hype music when playing pick up basketball, and one of the few things that helped me feel good during a down year in my life. Kanye reminded me that the ultimate super power one could have was an ultimate belief in oneself and I think that’s encapsulated in this album. Preceding MBDTF Kanye had the trilogy of College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation that were an absolute paradigm shift in the rap landscape. In an era of dime store gangster rap, baggy clothes, and crunk beats Kanye was a breath of fresh air. His follow up, 808’s and Heartbreak saw Ye leave behind all of his innovations and reinvent his sound. He found liberation in the limitation of an 808 drum machine and his vocoder, auto tuned vocals to color an album of ballads. When one is constantly reinventing the wheel, where do they go next? At the VMA’s a drunken Kanye found himself on stage interrupting Taylor Swift in an attempt to champion his peer. He went to Hawaii and back into the laboratory. In his exile he made an album from his view on top of the rap game. Kanye brought new life into hip hop that I didn’t think was possible. He made anmaximal sound and created rap that could fill the entirety of an arena. Kanye brought string quartets, ballerina, and Aphex Twin into his world. He told us what it was like to have Power and let us feel that power in our beings though his instrumentals. We felt All of the Lights shine down on upon us. Kanye showed us his genius. He took a small motif of a melody and created a wall of sound to smack all of us So Apalled brought us into the middle of a cypher with some of the greatest in the game. Monster launched a career that opened up the genre to the other half of the population. Devil in a New Dress brought back soul sample ye. He brought an important piece of black prose and invited all of us into participate. He created an anthem for the douchebags, the ass holes, the scumbags. Every one of them that we know. He challenged us all to Runaway. Look at you. He took a break from vocals and created a soundscape to get lost in. Time and again in this album he took simple concepts and created an entire world for us. Kanye did something in this album that we can’t entirely understand now. Kanye made bold decisions and every single decision he made was the right decision. This album flawed. Its perspective is damaged. But it’s also ambitious. It’s bold. It’s transformative in a way that cannot be understood in a way retrospect. Music is art but it doesn’t always feel artistic. Kanye made hip hop feel like an artistic venture. He made a sound that could be featured in the Philharmonic. He made an aesthetic that could be feature in the Louvre. He broke through a glass ceiling that people never saw until they watched the shards fall. Kanye spoke a truth that could be blinding. He conveyed in ways that helped us all to see. That light ended up being his undoing. Prometheus perished on his rock and we watched the Vultures feast. Harvey Dent once said, “you either die a hero or you live long enough to become the villain.” He was the ultimate underdog, the unlikely ultimate, the industrious innovator, the populous paragon. We watched him fall, but I’m always going to remember how he helped me fly.

Good. Liked it more than I expected to, but nothing jumped out at me. And some of the songs are entirely too long.

Not really genre defining as much as artform defining.

i suspect his mental illness started. before we originally thought.

I’m not going to proselytise to any of you about why you should care about this album, nor defend it as a landmark release in Hip Hop. My introduction to this like many was hearing POWER on the Saints Row 3 trailer, followed by All of the Lights being an Ohrwurm of year 6. The real beauty of this album is how many styles Kanye successfully threw into it… for the first half. Man, everything after Runaway makes it hard to keep the sentiment of “this shit rocks” as you listen. This is why l’m giving it a 7.5. The features on here were a statement from Kanye that he could get any other artist he wanted so long as it enriched the track, and just about all of them did (though I’ve never cared too much for Jay’s verse on Monster contrary to popular opinion). I don’t come back to this album beyond tracks listed prior and below, but I guess if you love it, power to you. I just think this was a mid-career victory lap embellished with some very, very good productions. Favourite: Gorgeous, DIAND Least Favourite: Hell of a Life 7.5

What a talented young man, I wonder what he's up to these days? Quick reminder if you rate this poorly because Ye is a scumbag but have a 5 star rating for Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Rolling Stones, or Aerosmith (all pedos) then that's a massive self report This album really showcases Kanye's ability to use the human voice as an instrument. It's a shame we'll never get to see this version of Kanye West again. I don't think there was really any producer or artist like him. Probably in the top 3 best hip-hop albums of all time, certainly the best prog rap album ever made. There's not much I can say that hasn't been said already, and I'm not generally the biggest fan of Kanye West's music anyways but fuck me can I get behind this and The College Dropout. This was definitely his peak before a long slog of average-to-amazing hits and his mental health issues starting to really show up in his music (and not in a good way). anyways goat album.

The title should be: My fucked up incel chud piece of shit life Kanye is just as corny as Eminem in like 80% of his shit. Actual oiled up freak lyrics throughout. Saved by the production. Get back on your meds man.

I loved this album in uni, its the perfect tempo to listen and study too without distracting from the content. But with age it certainly has become a lot more corny. Maybe its cause of all the Tory's who froth this, maybe its cause the first cracks of Kanyes deep insecurities begin to show on this album and make it a little cringe in retrospect. Maybe its cause every track that came on after this was better. Idk Still a good endlessly re-listenable album. 7/10

Kitchen sink production that is charming at first. Big, recognisable hits that are well-cemented into culture albeit through stupid online memes and the opening of Saints Row 3 are the reason that I know these songs. Outside of those songs, only So Appalled really appealed to me. As for the rest of the album? It's too long, too bloated, over-produced and grating at times. I can't deny the talent of Kanye's production but I really didn't care for this, it gets outright bad towards the end especially on Runaway and Blame Game, the former for the godawful vocoder outro and the latter for the skit at the end both of which compelled me to skip to the next song. No repeat listen on this one, I did not enjoy it. Highlights: Power, So Appalled

Kinda hated that I liked this

When I saw the name Kanye West, my first thought was ”oh noooo!” Listening to it, I like some of the melodic parts. Long sections of the album are complete nonsense though. Like many albums on this list, it’s too long and would’ve benefited from being 20-25 minutes shorter. It’s somewhere in the region of 2-3 stars. After much consideration, I’ll be generous and give it three. 3/5

Great Songs: Dark Fantasy, Power, Monster, Runaway, Hell of a Life, Lost In the World Good Songs: Gorgeous, All of the Lights, So Appalled, Devil In a New Dress, Blame Game, Who Will Survive in America Mid Songs: All of the Lights (Interlude) Bad Songs:

Dang… still such a good album. Too bad we got to se how dark and twisted Ye really was.

Forgot how much he was leaning into being an insufferable gink at this point in time...and he just kept going, huh? But damn the album is strong end to end.

boring blowhard stuff

Bangers

Not interested in what Kanye has to say as a person or an artist.

Being obviously a music genius,Kanye West lost his sanity somewhere on the road.This album is incredibly creative and every song different,huge thing for a rap album and from a guy that nowadays thinks his girlfriend is a naked installation for the world to excibit.So let's break it down song by song. In Dark Fantasy has a genius sample "can we get much higher?" line from the song "In High Places" by Mike Oldfield, In Gorgeous he sampled Enoch Light and the Glittering Guitars's "You Showed Me". It has this amazing guitar carpet and a hypnotic feeling, In Power he samples King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man," Continent Number 6's "Afromerica," and Cold Grits' "It's Your Thing," with the King Crimson sample being the most prominent in this iconic production,and by adding some mic techniques effects in his voicings gives this what else a dynamic,a POWER, All of The Lights violin and piano intro is out of this world,in the explicit main song he samples "Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy and "Do What You Gotta Do" by Nina Simone,it also has some Jungle drumming and Rihanna's blissful vocals,fantastic,one of my favourites, Monster has amazing drum sampling and some tight rhyming and also contains samples of "On the Bus" from the movie Napoleon Dynamite and "The Hoe's in Church" by LaWanda Page,Nicki Minaj is also a ''monster'' rhymer on this one!Also a favourite,my head was up and down in the entire song!Distorted vocals towards the end along with the melody is also a treat, So Appaled contains samples of "You Are - I Am" by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins, "Can't Knock the Hustle" by Jay-Z ,A dramatic orchestral distillment,absolutely hypnotic and fantastic,f**king ridiculous line might have taken it too far though, In Devil In A New Dress has a blissful 60' soul carpet with Smokey Robinson's "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?"sample, Runaway starts with a one note (and then some) piano and progresses geniously with these piano notes and with a drumming pattern sampled from the song "Expo 83" by The Backyard Heavies,very interesting and wonderful, Hell of A Life starts powerfully with an agressive distorted electronic bass and has beautiful synth arps adding to the dramatic character of the song,here he sampled Black Sabbath's "Iron Man"respectfully, In the Blame Game we got a dreamy,sad and nostalgic feeling,very soothing,here he samples Aphex Twin's "Avril 14th",the sample is a "plaintive keyboard instrumental" from the 2001 Aphex Twin album Drukqs,a pleasant surprise for me as it was for all his entire album sampling from songs/tracks that i already know and love!Unnessesary p*ssy talking in the end though, Lost In The World has a strong ''Woods'' sample by Bon Iver,very well blended though here,energetic and a nice addition,some creative tribal rhythms with bpm changing at the end and preaching adds to the song, Who will survive in America was my least favourite,too commercial for me,it has a sample from Gil Scott-Heron's "Comment #1 which is a bridge,it flows directly from the preceding song, "Lost in the World," which also samples this. A very all-rounded album with amazing production and cameos,never a dull moment in this one,i so enjoyed the sampling which portrays Kanye's influences from all genres.

Favorite Track: Runaway

Album incrivel!! Todos os prêmios que o Kenye West ganhou em cima deste album foi merecido. Eu ouvi 2x, mas confesso já ter ouvido algumas faixas antes, porem nunca completo. E fiquei chocado com a qualidade musica e criatividade desse album, realmente incrivel. Dito isso 4 estrela! 4,5 por respeito, mas eu acho que um 5 é demais.

Good job, Kanye. I will never forget your black balls

Just not my thing. Never has been, never will be

Noen kule låter, men ikke helt for meg

I 2010 var jeg altfor tøff for å høre på noe annet en metall så det her blir første gjennomlytt av denne for min del. Litt vanskelig å skille kildematerialet fra personen mtp. hvor psycho Kanye er blitt nå, men skal gjøre mitt beste. Det sagt så tenker jeg det er ganske ok album, selv om det ikke er helt min greie alt sammen. Føler egentlig at rapdelene til Kanye er det minst interessante. Mye av komposisjonene liker jeg godt, er en del interessante partier rundt omkring. Som mange andre ting i denne øvelsen så må jeg egentlig høre igjennom det mer enn en gang for å få gjort meg opp en skikkelig mening om alt, men det tror jeg nok ikke skjer med dette. Ligger meg på 3/5.

Kanye er en stor produsent, ikke albumet jeg har hørt mest men det er absolutt mye bra og gøy. Nå man trenger løsning for å se lyrics mens man lytter POWER har jeg hørt litt mange ganger, det er boost. Bra buildup og beats generelt Må kjenne etter om jeg synes tekstene er like gode her som i senere Life of Pablo Lander på 3-4. Runder opp

Last good ye

eh

Probablemente el album de Kanye más influyente, con tracks tan icónicos como su nombre, demostrando una vez mas como es de los mejores productores aot con sonidos que hasta ese momento no se habían escuchado. Por más que no es de los mejores de Kanye, tiene fillers un poco molestos y las letras de este hombre nunca me gustaron, me gusta escucharlo cantar para variar un poco del hip hop, y les diria que este y Donda son los únicos momentos donde lo vemos un poquito mas emotional. Llevo años escuchando este album y se disfruta mucho, que pena el downfall que hace que me sea intolerable apoyar a Kanye a día de hoy. Mis favoritas desde siempre: Hell of a Life, Monster, Runaway

I miss the old Kanye. La obra maestra del hip hop de nuestro siglo. Como mujer europea con gusto de incel norteamericano, esto es bastante peak. Ya se ha dicho todo de este album así que solo voy a decir que Lost in the world es la mejor canción. "No one man should have all that power" No porque luego mira lo que pasa, que te vuelves cucú, ye. Favs: Lost in the world, Devil in a new dress

Nooo Kanye donde te sentaste. Magnum opus del artista y top discos más influyentes del siglo. Todo lo que pueda llegar a decir de MBDTF ya se ha dicho, así que solo me queda decir: que te den Fantano Admito que ha envejecido peor de lo que pensaba (igual que Kanye himself 😔) pero sigue siendo histórico. Favs: Gorgeous, POWER, All of the Lights, Devil in a New Dress

Empieza súper súper fuerte, pero flaquea muchísimo en su último cuarto. Todo lo demás es increíble: banger after banger after banger con instrumentales increíbles y versos legendarios (destacando el de Nicki Minaj en Monster wtf se comió a TODOS en esa canción). Disco muy influyente y definitivamente un esencial, no solamente dentro del rap sino de la música en general. A la playlist: Dark Fantasy, Gorgeous, Power, All of the Lights, Monster, So Appalled, Runaway, Hell of a Life Hot take: el disco se tenía que haber terminado en Runaway (metiendo Hell of a Life después de So Appalled, por ejemplo), Lost in the World y Who Will Survive in America como canciones finales no le hacen justicia al disco.

This album is a five, but Kanye has tanked any chance at redemption

It’s a shame to have to do the “art vs. artist” mental gymnastics when thinking about an album like this. It’s an awesome record from front to back with great production and features. Probably my favorite of his and certainly one of his best.

68/1089 trying to listen as objectively as possible despite Ye’s actions and reputation… All Of The Lights and it’s interlude are great, Power of course too. Lost In The World is pretty inspired work, especially the Bon Iver feature The album is undeniably strong, the production and musical choices are very good and the album feels varied, intense and purposeful in it’s craft. hearing early Nicki and Rihanna in there is fun. it just feels tainted by the fact that Ye is no longer this person… faves: Lost in the world, All of the lights + interlude, POWER 4 stars or /100

копченый мочит

Ugly transparent and far too real. Just taking great production talented singers and musicians and letting your sweary rap loose isn't a great album. It's just very boring. Worst rap album ive had to listen to so far though clearly very expensively produced. Nothing raw, little to amuse, and full of egotistical rambling.

From what I know about Kanye West, I don't think much of him, but he sure knows how to produce a top-flight album. I really enjoyed most of the tracks, and some of his lyrics just had me laughing out loud. I'm ready to give this five stars, and add it to my Tidal library for my future entertainment.

I think that Anthony Fantano was onto something.

Hugsar godt å vere i Inida då denne kom

This is my first time listening to this outside of hearing some of the singles on the radio. It is awesome. Blew my expectations out of the water. Good music, good production, good rapping, cool concept that feels cohesive throughout the album.

Power and Runaway are bangers, the album as a whole is way too long. Not going to actively revisit this one though because reasons

I have such a complicated relationship with this album. Like, I actually think it's really well done, the lyrics are kinda cringe from time to time. But it's really good. But it's Kanye.

Getting this one right after Off The Wall is a real funny joke. 1 for Nazis.

This is my first time listening to a Kanye album. I feel a bit mixed, the production if amazing but his flow has always bothered me. I'd say it was far better than I thought it would be but not for me. Ignoring the complete mental breakdown from him lately, I definitely can understand why this album is held in high regard. I think the saving grace for this album is there is much less Kanye on it than I expected.

0 of 5 No stars. I won't listen to an anti-semite.

I was wondering which of Kanye’s three entries on the list I’d get first, and I couldn’t have asked for better than this. Maximalist Kanye at his finest, this album has everything he has at his disposal thrown at it: unbelievable features, some of Kanye’s best production work ever, great poignant use of auto tune and vocoder, championing young talent, and actually great written verses by Kanye himself (fuck, remember those?). He felt like he still had something to say on this album, and it’s a strange experiencing listening to it now knowing how he destroyed his marriage and pushed away every single person that helped him make his magnum opus. Runaway would deem this record a masterpiece on its own, but the intro through to All Of The Lights is a 10/10 experience. Monster used to be one of my favourite tracks but it’s waned on a repeat listen. The outro skit of Blame Game goes on a bit, and Devil In A New Dress is kind of boring. The outro of Lost In The World going into Gil Scott Heron’s Comment #1 for Who Will Survive In America draws this album to a perfect close. I haven’t listened to Kanye in the longest time for obvious reasons. It’s hard to listen to this now with what he became. It’s a shame the man didn’t seek the help he so clearly needed and became an attention obsessed piece of shit, but it’s hard to deny the impact his pre-Pablo career had on me.

nope

Hate to admit it, but it still slaps. Just cringey to listen to now.

My note could easily spiral out of control into a 5,000 word essay, which speaks to the magnificence of the work of art at hand. I suppose the central questions when listening to this in 2025 are: is Kanye an artist wrestling with his inner demons and baring his soul for the world to see? Or is Kanye an artist with inner demons wrestling with the world for acceptance as he is? And how much do you really care if he’s trying to use his music to grow or to be seen? For me, all the evidence points to boastful self-mythologizing. I have no doubt that Kanye was tortured internally. I have severe doubts as to how self-aware he was about anything, other than feeling like he was coming apart at the seams and needed to blame someone else for it. This contributes to the incredible care he puts into every tiny detail of the music, and all the songs he left on the cutting room floor (I’m still salty “Christian Dior Denim Flow” didn’t make its way onto the final record); however, that makes it impossible to ignore the blockheaded obduracy of what he actually says throughout the record. “Runaway” is famously the least contrite self-reckoning in wax, but the emotional keystone of the album is “Blame Game,” which I cannot for the life of me hear as anything more than a maniacal sex addict pissed that he can’t both fuck other women and also be able to call up his girl at 2am whenever he’s ready for her: “Fuck arguing or harvesting the feelings // Yo, I'd rather be by my fucking self.” That the song ends with a fairly disturbing Chris Rock appearance doesn’t help. It’s a skit which might be funny on a Chris Rock record, but which is jarring when coming from Kanye — Kanye, who is so famously touchy and unfunny that on “Gorgeous” he needs to respond to the South Park episode, thereby fulfilling their entire point that he takes himself too seriously. This isn’t a “Big Brother” or a “Street Lights,” where West seems to have some contrition or melancholy; he’s committed himself to the hedonism, to locking away the demons and hoping their rattling around inside will keep him productive. And the demonic rattles do work, for some of the album. The prog rock influence continues to age well; no one else could have pulled off the King Crimson sample on “POWER” and the guitar-driven “Gorgeous” still stands out as one of my favorites (it doesn’t hurt that when it drags on 30 seconds too long, as do most songs on the album, he gets Raekwon to save it). “All of the Lights” is some of Kanye’s best storytelling, esp for a man so famously incapable of subject matter other than himself. “Monster” and “So Appalled” are inimitable posse cuts that somehow fit the flow and tone of the album, where most artists’ vision would be overwhelmed by having that many guest spots in a row. And I’ve always loved the euphoria of “Lost in the Woods.” But it’s hard to escape the fact that what Kanye seems to have done for the rest of his career is lock away any capacity for self-reckoning, and that this is the record which demonstrates it. The GSH coda is especially off-putting. Is “America” Kanye’s problem? How, after all of this soul-baring, does Kanye not realize he’s his own problem? The answer to that is why I can’t separate art from artist, and why it matters to me that he’s lost interest in human growth and just wants to be seen. The thing that drives him to be both a buffoon and a monster now is the same thing that drove him in making this record. The inescapable feeling I have of listening now, 15 years later, is of stumbling into the room of an egotistical Gregor Samsa. The closer we get to Kanye, the harder his carapace feels. I can’t help but be revulsed on nearly every track, from “swallowship” to “still get laid in the afterlife.” That he’s a sociopath was obvious at the time — I think it’s one of the reasons his more introspective label mates don’t get verses — but as the very same thing that drove him to sonic heights continues to drive him into insane depths, I can only find his hubris brittle and beetle-like. Of course, maybe I’m just being unfair because of how fucking brutally Kanye got market-corrected by Kendrick. Highs: Gorgeous, Power, Lost in the Woods Lows: Blame Game, Hell of a Life, Devil in a New Dress, Runaway

Top tier shit

I've never listened to a whole Kanye Album start to finish. Fuck me. This one's so fucking good.

You can’t deny the influence of this album, and I did enjoy a lot of it. But it’s really ugly and crude too. That’s Kanye, I guess.

That's nonsensical.

Don't like the person or the genre much, but this is maybe the best Rap album I have heard so far. 3 stars or C.

Will Kanye ever top this? Probably not

Wow this was really well done.

I've barely heard any of Kanye's music before. No, I'm not living under a rock. I love a lot of rap and R&B, but it's 80s/90s music (Janet Jackson, Jodeci, LL Cool J, New Edition, etc.). More recent stuff is just not my thing. This album proves I have been missing out. In short, this record is great. Some rappers come out and drop heavy beats with strong lyrics, but limited musicality behind it. What's here is so much more flushed out than what other artists can bring. There are tons of excellent songs on this. My favorites: Power - A crescendo about the personal issues and different views in Kanye's head. Awesome. All of the Lights - Yeah, it's a contradiction, but the underlying message is great and the chorus around lights here is amazing. This song is an incredible composition. The bonus is Rhianna on here, who brings her great voice to a tremendous track. Runaway - At first, with the single piano note, I was thinking this is stupid and how is this going to be 9+ minutes long. Then the track built and I actually think it's amazing how this song is constructed around that single piano note every few beats. A really, really cool track. Lost In The World - There's a celebratory feel to this tune. A bit repetitive, but I liked this. There's plenty of other tracks on this that were cool, these are just the ones that stood out to me. Is he crazy? Maybe. But he made a really complex record that was a complete and great one. 5 stars.

Classic, banger, absoluut top. Kanye zelf is natuurlijk een beetje een gek figuur, maar de nummers hier op zijn natuurlijk gigantische hits. Power en Runaway zijn bangers maar de rest doet ook zeker niet onder.

Really good. Went in blind, but recognized a couple songs. Surprised how much I liked this, not at all what I expected.

I do like this album just not Kanye.

I've listened to most of this. Probably all of it. I will not listen to this to give this man any more streams. Kanye is a weird and terrible human.

Lots of rappin'

Have to separate the art from the artist for this one. The definition of a big album. Very ambitious and tons of features. The sampling is amazing too. My only issue is some songs overstay a bit.

This one grew on me a lot actually

Yeah, Kanye's basically canceled, but I enjoyed listening to this album...not gonna lie. Highlight for me was 'Monster' - shout out to Bon Iver!

fantastic beats. fantastic guest vocals. generally not a fan of his flow and his constant self-aggrandizement is exhausting. only made harder to listen to by his non-stop idiocy in real life. i do actually really like "Power", and not exclusively because of the King Crimson samples. 2 stars.

Liked it. Sad to listen to it now because Kanye is barely a person now.

Splitting the person and their art is always hard. I loved this album when it was released but I guess now I listen to it less. It’s still a great album though.

*miss the old kanye line*

Great album but just not his best album

Could I possibly ever rate this anything other than 5*? Absolutely not

Kanye is mid and so is this album.

Not a Ye fan per se, but I found this album very listenable. I’ll have to get over my dislike of him and open up to more of his music.

I think I understand it, but it's not my cup of tea. I understand that it is a very influencial/already classic record from Kanye, a lot of bangers and recognizable bits. It did not impact me as much as it did others, especially at the time, but that is due to my taste. People rave about the production of this album, but I just don't get it. I feel other albums, in hip hop as well, have done such a better job at it, and I feel this gets that praise because it is Kanye, and an easy compliment to the guy, "he is a great producer". Yeah, he is, but I just don't feel it here. An easy listen, and a harder one if you delve into the lyrics and features, but it did not blow me away like it did to a lot of people.

Every song is so powerful, so composed. The features are all deliberate, and the album's flow from song to song thoughtfully presented (although "Christian Dior Denim Flow" should have replaced "Blame Game" 100%). A reasonable contender for greatest hip hop album of all time. "Runaway" is my all-time favorite, but this re-listen solidified that "Monster" is one of his greatest songs across his career

It’s a great album and there’s some classics on there. I’m a Kanye fan even now when everyone seems to hate him, he’s been one of the best producers of all time and continues to do so! This album starts so strong, songs like Power and all of the lights are iconic! Monster is a great collaboration with some great verses. Runaway is amazing with its simple piano melody creating an emotional and full beat with the lyrics to match. Blame game is another amazing sample (although I heard its use was a bit controversial!) but to take that Avril 14th and turn it into blame game is special. Only reason it’s not 5 stars is that I feel the last 2 tracks are a bit filler for me personally, but still a great album

one of my least favorite humans/musicians don't like or appreciate his music, and nothing makes you less of a genius than declaring that you're a genius. Such a clown. It'd be lovely if he retired. Lost in the World only decent song on here.

I hated this. I don’t care how creative Kanye is I despise the vulgarity, the misogynism, and the immature boastful arrogance. Just foul.

I've never listened to one of his albums and was surprised by the range. While I'm not a fan of the person, the album was great.

IDK. Songs are chock full of sonic ideas and collaborators galore and a result they go on and on and on...and on. Is this prog rap? Wild maximalist arrangements. Overly long songs (not side long orchestral dirges but several approaching 7 minutes) full of twists and turns. Definitely indulgent. Call convoluted album title. And of course this includes a prominent sample from ground zero for actual prog rock...My Dark Twisted Tales from the Topographic Ocean.

I like Kanye's flow and he's obviously a Pro Tools wizard. However, he may have gone too far in a few places on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I dig "Monster" and "Hell of a Life."

well, i expected to like this album more than i did: on paper, a maximalist art pop / hip hop album (viewed with millennial nostalgia colored glasses) should be a slam dunk, but this wound up being a really mixed listening experience for me. i tend to like bombastic / rock opera stuff, but the big, sweeping movements on this album were disorienting because sometimes, i loved them, and sometimes, i was left sitting and twiddling my thumbs. i think they hit more than they miss, but i had multiple instances where i would favorite a song in the first minute or so, and then contemplate un-favoriting it at minute three or five. some high highs, some meh lows. a lot of the parts that i did like were the features, because of kanye's rapping... well, i like parts of it. for me, the hard-hitting features point to the genius production that, at times, i would say is immaculate. the production is the highlight of this listen for me, and i can absolutely hear the influences - from what it takes previously to what it gives going forward - that this album brings. highlights - POWER, monster, so appalled, lost in the world

Considering the Generator gave me The College Dropout less than a week ago and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (an album by Raekwon that was produced by RZA) just yesterday, getting Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy today has me beginning to wonder if it truly is randomized. I'm catching on, Generator – you better watch your back! In all seriousness... MBDTF is one of the few albums on this list that I actually have heard, but it's been quite some time (probably around six years since I last spun it). Since then, he's released five new albums (haven't bothered to check out the most recent three, as I've heard nothing but bad things about them) and I've been properly educated on all his pre-2010 albums. That said, I feel pretty much exactly the same way about this LP as I did back in 2019 – these are some of Kanye's most iconic tracks, bundled together in a pretty odd way, with some baffling mixing decisions. If you don't think about it too hard, it FEELS like near-perfect album... However, for someone like me, who actually cares about an album telling a story through its direction and sequencing, it does fall flat. Don't get me wrong, MBDTF is a pretty strong album – it just plays more like a greatest hits reel than a bona fide concept album (which it's clearly trying to be). My biggest takeaway from revisiting the LP after finally hearing Kanye's first four albums is that there's a little bit of each project here – you'll find the chopped-up soul of The College Dropout, the infectious beats of Graduation, the emotional auto-tune of 808s & Heartbreak and even a little bit of Late Registration's conscious lyrics here. If someone were looking to get into Kanye West (no idea why they would in 2025) and knew basically nothing about his music, MBDTF would be a great place to start because there are so many potential avenues to explore depending on which style they're feeling. Kanye may not be a very good person, but My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a pretty notable and enjoyable piece of his storied career! Highlights: Dark Fantasy, POWER, All of the Lights, Devil in a New Dress, Runaway, Hell of a Life, Lost in the World

wowzers

Fuck Kanye Favorite Track: Runaway

Principle

Hate how much I was liking this! Not letting myself go above a 3 for any Kanye album because I'm not giving good scores to any self-proclaimed admirer of Hitler, but I totally see why people loved this one so much.

Runaway is awesome

I want to preface this by saying I completely understand why this is here - really did influence a lot of the sounds of the decade. But I do think it’s overproduced and overrated. Was neutral about this album in high school - dont really like it now. Absolutely hate his voice, flow is mediocre at best, and while some of the lyrics were fine, there was always at least one or two downright stupid lines that ruined the whole song. No amount of great guest features and interesting samples will make me like this, sorry. :( Favs: None

Separate the art from the artist

This one’s for lamp

Shame about what happened after, but an undisputed classic. 5.

Hell of a life is one that i havent' heard and really like. the classics are classic for a reason runaway is genius monster is monster all of the lights is hype.

I just don't want to

I don’t listen to Rap/Hip hop, I’m out of my depth. Some of the music was cool but was very repetitive and the rapping gets overwhelming quick

070925 18:43 3

Zero.

Lotta good stuff here. Also, a lotta marginal stuff. For all the overflowing and overweening creativity, one finds one's patience tested by some of the lamer joke, by the sheer volume of ideas, hooks, samples, etc., and the faux intensity (not to mention the misogyny). Ye does suck all the air out of the room, doesn't he, and by design, too. Best standalone tracks are "Devil in a New Dress" and "Runaway." Rounding up because of boldness of including King Crimson samples and Michael Jackson references. Great to hear Gil-Scott Heron, but Ye is no G-SH, let's be clear. Kids this record – and Ye himself – don't matter nearly as much as he – or you – might think and no one should take oneself this seriously. One wonders if he woulda been better records had he not indulged himself – would the music be improved if he improved himself as a, you know, human being? And will this age well? One thinks not.

He was awesome before the psychosis induced nazism

Tenho tanta pena que o Kanye seja um psycho nos dias de hoje! Não sou nem ninguém cá fui fã de Hip Hop, mas este álbum é um “clássico” para os millenials. Runway é a minha favorita (basic, mas não quero saber).

Love runaway, musically really good but some of the lyrics got lazy. "I'm gonna put your pussy in a sarcophagus". Prefer college dropout

Didn’t listen cuz I don’t want any of my money going to Kanye, but this album is an absolute banger

Moro moro :D Kanye West on kyl yks suosikeista ja tällä albumilla oli kyl paljon hyviä kappaleita joita oon ennenki kuunnellu. Kanye on lyrical genius jonka neroutta ei monet ymmärrä. Mahtava levy mut ei täydellinen omaan korvaan.

Alkuun oli ihan jeppis, mut puolessa välissä jotain tapahtu ja loppu albumi oli semi tylsää kuunneltavaa. Alulle ois voinu antaa jopa 4/5 mutta loppu oli 2/5 elikkäs arvioisin kokonaisuuden 3/5.

Kaikin puolin toimiva platta siltä ajalta kun Kanye oli vielä edes jotenkin järjissään. Paljon hyviä featteja mukana ja löytyy levyltä muutama "megahitti". Tykkään tällä levyllä monen biisin rakenteesta miten biisi kasvaa alusta eteenpäin. Hyviä introja yms. Mutta ei kuitenkaan kipua omalla asteikolla ihan neljään tähteen. Vahva 3

I miss the old Kanye

I was a big fan of Kanye's first couple of records but this is when he started getting weird. Too many bars about balls. It makes me sad. Great features from Kid Cudi and Rihanna. Jay Z always sucks.

Tämä oli ihan jees albumi, tasapainottelee kolmen ja neljän tähden välillä. Muutama kova bängeri löytyy levyltä, mutta löytyy kyllä tylsempiäkin biisejä. Lopputulemana pienen pohdinnan jälkeen kolme tähteä tuntuu sopivalta arvosanalta.

Tää onkin helppo lätty arvostella, kun tullut kuunneltua jo ennestään suhteellisen paljon. Ja jumalauta että on laatu Kanyeta + legenda nimiä tuottajina, minkä kuulee kyllä soundista. Ei oo yhtään biisiä, minkä aikana tulisi mieleenkään skipata. Omat top pickit levyltä ehdottomasti Monster ja Gorgeous. Ja pakko nostaa Monsterista Minajin verse aina esille. Ihan helvetin kova vaikka en muuten kyseistä artistia kuuntele. Levy täynnä rentoilua, nostalgista tunnelmaa, poppia ja asennetta.

kinda of a brilliant album

Good poetry. Reprehensible human.

Tää oli melkein raskaampi kokemus ku Napalm Death. Alkuun oli pari kivaa taustabiittiä, mutta kaiken pilas Kanyen ja kavereiden lässytys. En tiedä onko tää jotenkin vallankumouksellista kamaa aikanaan, mutta näin maallikon korvin tuntuu että tätä samaa geneeristä menoa on tehty jo vähintään kolmatta vuosikymmentä. Nykyinen ulkomusiikillinen Kanye huomattavasti viihdyttävämpi. Hämmentävintä on kuitenkin se, että miten ihmeessä kaveri on miljoonansa (miljardinsa?) tehnyt. 1 xtra tähti hyvästä yrityksestä.

Good up there with other great rap albums probably outstanding for its time. Good mix between rap and melody.

I like some songs, not really my type

Was this pre-madness? It's pretty cool

good album, awful person.

Melkosen junnaavaa

Oikein hyvän kuuloisia biisejä, mut tapa jolla Kanye on kohdellut Taylor Swiftiä ei ansaitse minkäänlaista tunnustusta.

Mid 3/low 3? Chris Rock was the best part of this album. A lot of these songs just feel too long and south park really got Kanye

terrible album from a terrible person

5 stars I have a history with this album. It transitioned me from close-minded about contemporary (at the time) hip hop to a fan. This album is huge, with production, guest verses, Kanye’s own flow, and no skippable tracks. This was the culmination of a near perfect first 5 albums (plus Watch the Throne a year later). This album is as close to perfect as Kanye ever got, and the things that fall short of perfect (the excesses of “Runaway” and “Blame Game”) are forgivable in the scheme of things. Obligatory comments about Kanye being a troubled and troubling person who has only gotten worse with time.

I like classic hip-hop, I don't like this. I can't says its bad but it feels like one of those modern remakes of a classic car where it does the things its meant to do much better but without any of the charm.

Tää taitaa olla ajalta, kun kaniksen trollausvaihe oli viel maltillisemmalla tasolla. Hyviä biisejä, vaikkei tässä kyl mitään syväluotausta johonkin läbändeeruspuoleen ehtinyt tekemään ja en tiiä jaksaako kiinnostaakaan. Ehkä liian pitkä kokonaisuus, että jaksais kertaistumalta kuunnella.

Yritetty lähestyä avoimin mielin, mutta ei vaan iske omaan korvaan. Laadukkaasti tuotettu kuitenkin, ja yritetty "kaikkee jännää" joten ei kehtaa antaa ihan 1 tähteä

Kayen hippiduhop ei oikein iske. Tylsää. Toisaalta tavallaan ehkä ymmärrän miksi levy on listalla. Samalla kova huoli Biancasta.

Jotain ok sampleja käytetty ja ei ehkä hirveintä genressä, mut ei tää kyl yhtään sytytä. 1/5

Vihdoin sain tietää mistä yksi hyvä spinningtunnin biisi on, siitä lisäpiste. Pari hyvää biisiä, jos tietoisesti unohtaa itse Kanyen sekoilut vuosien varrella. Vähän outo levy.

Täytyy varmaan yrittää erottaa taiteilija taiteestaan, ja olla välittämättä Kanyen mielipiteistä. Levyllä on huikean nerokkaita melodiakoukkuja ja tarttuvaa musiikkia muutenkin. Vastapainona kyllä sitten myös vähän tylsempiä biisejä. Ehkä vartin lyhyempänä olisi ollut neljän tähden levy, nyt vahva 3/5

Vahinkoarvio :)

He was a lot better when he was openly dissing the Orange Monster.

Fish Sticks 🐠🐟

(95/100)

Kanye's last great album before his descent into insanity. Some outstanding tracks. Very raw in places.

Kanye moment. It has POWER so that's why it's here. It's fine, but nothing particularly standout otherwise. I just don't like rap I guess.

Separating art from artist, this is one of the greatest albums of all time, and certainly one of the best of the 10s, if not the best. Incredible production, lyrics that serve as a strong summation of the artist, massive choruses, great guest spots, multiple iconic songs that would define soundtracks for the next decade. There's a reason Kanye's ego spiralled so out of control, because for a brief moment, he was one of the greatest in the world.

Too bad some people will instantly disregard cause the artist or the genre. Long before he was whack job he was a seriously talented artist. First half of this album is a 5 then is trails off near the end. Will revisit for shre

Hip hop is not music. And from Kanye West to boot. I have no desire to listen to shit from a black Nazi. Adidas was right to finally part ways with him. I won't even enter into a liaison with him. That may be prejudiced. But sometimes I don't feel like sniffing at every pile, only to realize that it's shit after all. There's only one mandatory star in the drawer where Kanye West is. 1/5

8/10 - terrible human but great album

Used to think this was #1 but there’s a bunch of bad songs here

- é estranho voltar a ouvir esse álbum depois de tanto tempo - eu gostava muito, mas hoje vejo que ele terceirizou o trabalho de muita gente - ele ser insuportável prejudica minha vontade de ouvir o que ele tem pra dizer

Except for Runaway, wasn't feeling it. 2.5/5

Interesting. Vulgar but not gratuitous.

If we could rate his music only we would give it a 5. But he is about the worst person alive, which is really saying something. I often wonder would his music be so good if he weren't so crazy?

I'm not a Kanye fan and I can't even understand the slang just because of how I grew up. He has good songs, but this album only has one song I can be okay with just because I heard it before in the past in the car.

A really interesting, genre-blending hip hop album that predates the dull mumble rap of the late 2010s and Kanye becoming a more controversial figure. POWER and it's use of King Crimson stands out to me but there's a lot of good here.

Amazing album.

At best, there were some zinger lines. Some auto-tuned basic lyrics, unoriginal melodies, and nothing that I see deserves to be on this list. The "best" song was only my favorite because it had more talented artists included.

Fuck this shit.

Got caught with 30 rocks, the cop look like Alec Baldwin They rewrite history, I don't believe in yesterday And what's a Black Beatle anyway, a fuckin' roach? I don't really give a fuck about it at all 'Cause the same people that tried to blackball me Forgot about two things, my Black balls

muy bueno el negro