My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Liked it way more than. i thought i would. That bon iver song is a bop

One of the most overrated albums of my generation. My main takeaway is that every song goes on for far too long. This includes great songs on here like “Power”, “All of the Lights” and “Devil in the New Dress” but especially the album’s lame, interminable centerpiece “Runaway” and annoying as hell “Blame Game”. For better or for worse, Kanye didn’t want to edit any of his ideas here. In retrospect I kind of hate the more mopey, emo material that was clearly informed by his previous album 808s & Heartbreak (maybe not so coincidentally my least favorite album of Kanye during his heyday), and gravitate towards the abrasive, self-destructive material that points to his next album Yeezus, which I believe is Kanye’s true masterpiece of the 2010s.

nice vibes, this was very well produced

Joa

kanye pls im begging you 3,5/5 💃

PRE-LISTEN: Ooh, problematic! I have never "gotten" the whole Kanye thing. Granted, I have not really tried to "get" it, but the music of his that I have heard has not made me even slightly curious to check out any more. And everyone just accepts it as FACT that he is a "genius." I was intending for a while to try to give his alleged classics a serious listen to see if I could figure it out and then he went full Nazi and I basically forgot about it. I guess this project is as good an excuse as there will be, so let's see... LISTENING: Hey, I recognize "POWER"! Never paid attention to the lyrics before. Holy shit at all the guests on "All of the Lights." And then "Monster" too. OK, I see why this album was such a big deal. I kind of like "Runaway." OK, I think I get it. This album is really good. But what a weirdo.

I enjoyed that rap album. Rap? Hip hop? Still not quite sure what the difference is

3.5

I remember really liking this album at the time, so I’ll rate it 4/5, but I do not listen to this artist anymore.

5-

A day will come when this album is considered hip-hop's greatest masterpiece. For now it's easily a top 5 in it's genre and certainly the best of in its era and genere.

This album is damn near perfect and was played on repeat on this house damn near 15 years but f*ck Kanye

Much better than I thought it would be. I can kind of see what people mean now. I thought POWER was the stand out track for me, but generally, surprisingly good

Second Kanye album for me. Just as mediocre as the first one. No idea why this guy is considered a legend.

Almost 5 stars for the album. 0 stars for Kanye.

- I am sorry to say it...but this album is just fuckin' fantastic. So much going on in every track. So many inspired sounds. So much passion bleeding through it all. - About ten different high points. "Dark Fantasy" starts it strong. "POWER" gets you jumping. "All Of The Lights" cranks up your heart rate. You get slapped with the emotion of "Runaway." Bon Iver (of all people) hits you with a brilliantly shining steel chair known as "Lost In The World" and then you shatter on the final track ("Who Will Survive in America"). - Giving it 4 because Kanye is a huge problem. And he is admittedly so stupidly sensitive to the smallest beefs...that does take me out of it at moments.

hahahahahahahano.

Fuck Kanye

Fav: Devil In A New Dress Least Fav: Blame Game Loved this album, but things like that terrible Chris Rock bit at the end of Blame Game can really ruin the flow. However, most of the other songs are pretty much perfect, just needs cutting down a lil. Also shout out to JAY-Z’s verse in Monster, man really took the time to name as many monsters as he can remember

Fuck nazis

ugh don't like Kanye, but guess i'll give this a go. It's just really not for me.

Anthems

Never really been into Kanye. I like his rapping and flow, but I'm not a huge fan of the very sleek production. There's too much of the 2000s/early 2010s pop sound that I don't like. I did like a few tracks though, particularly around the middle There is some good melding of sounds, like with gospel on Dark Fantasy and the synth on Hell of a Life, which is like a fuzzy, stoner rock bass tone. There's some good use of sampling too, like 21st Century Schizoid Man on Power Not a bad album, I can recognise how well put together it is. Think I'm just fussy with hip hop and prefer the grittier/weirder stuff Highlights: So Appalled, Hell of a Life, Gorgeous

He has gotten much weirder since this came out but this is a great album.

q pena q sea kanye q buena producción

Don’t like the man’s politics, obviously, though I do like his music. This isn’t as strong as some of his other albums, and I can’t in good conscience return to it, but it’s a pretty solid album.

Not even going to bother with this garbage from a piece of shit human being. 0 stars, next.

I love it though

A game-changer when it came out but I feel like so much of it is overlong and self-indulgent to a degree I don't have patience for anymore (end of Runaway, Blame Game). Trying to separate the art from the artist, there are still some parts of this album I just don't want to listen to on a second listen and that keeps it from a 5 - which is good because I didn't want to give that Nazi a 5 anyway.

its a nice mix of cockiness and vulnerability

As much as I'd like to hate this, I enjoy the music of it. The lyrics are quite silly at times but I'm less bothered by that side of things, which is why hip hop is such a struggle for me in the first place.

0 stars. Get this terrible human off of this list.

I wish Kanye West wasn’t the biggest piece of trash to walk this planet

I don't care how good this album may be, I just can't listen to it.

shit.

Probably not on par for me as The College Dropout or Graduation, but there are a couple of earworm songs that I come back to

I tend to talk out out sides of my mouth when i comes to kanye. Overrated narcissistic psychopath. But also visionary, once in a generation talent. My beautiful dark twisted fantasy is an iconic piece of music. A bookend to the 2000's and unshering in a new era of Ye for the decade, again before the psychopath became manifest. Its a wonderful look into the mind of a successful rap star, rags to riches. Lovely album if you seperate art from the artist. Dark Fantasy, Power, All of the Lights, Monster, Runaway. All BANGERS.

This album is a lot of things. Its ambitious, its experimental, its self referential in its lyrics, its raw, its also very buttoned up. More than anything, its a journey. The whole album flows and rides into the next song with different movements. The first half is where it really packs a punch. It’s excellently produced, fun collaborators and kind of this "stadium rock" vibe while being hip hop. The second half is where it probably reaches its highest and lowest moments. I love the old artist mixed with the new, some of these songs are the best on the record. Though it does start to drag here, it also does this at the end. It could have ended with the Bob Iver song but then it kind of keeps going. This album rocks. Ye in his prime made pretty killer records. I would probably give this a 4.5 because of the length, but.. I’ll round up.

I've never listened to a Kanye album. At this point, I have too many opinions about the man to appreciate his music. As an old white man, I can't have too much to say about this anyway. I've never appreciated what sounds to me like misogyny. I did appreciate the King Crimson sample on "Power".

It's tough to see Kanye for what he was based on everything he's become. Kind of one of those situations where you hate the artist but can't hate the art. Anyway, this is definitely a great album, among his best--I don't listen to his albums enough to say for sure whether it's better than the three early albums. But it's solid all the way through. Beats are on point, he raps well. And his inner mania and psychosis doesn't get as annoying as it can be on other albums. But it's also the beginning of the end. It's not a clean 5/5 like some albums on this list I've rated, but it's close enough to round up.

Fantastic, but not quite there for me. Getting into major asshole territory.

Enjoyed listening to this while sitting in the sun. Obviously, Kanye has gone completely nuts of late but this is a good reminder that he was once a credible performer.

Almost unlistenable. Bunch of name-droppinp, it's rough being rich garbage. Some people say he's a genius. This album doesn't reflect that.

Fantano is right. It's not that good. And if you think it's one of the best of all time that's fine. I'll just know your in the cult. Kanye has always been a strange one to me. He's massively influential and that's where my love for him starts and ends. He is my favorite artists favorite artist and I'll always be grateful for that but I just don't like 90% of what he does. There are some brilliant moments here and there but before you know it is on some bullshit again. Like on the 2nd song why are all the vocals slathered in some shitty filter. Why do we need that? But then runaway comes on and it's a perfect song. I don't understand. And in the year of our lord 2025 I don't understand how people can still live in this cult of personality. He's not a good guy but then again I don't think any celebrity is good really anyway. But he's a mentally ill man who we point cameras at 24/7 and then laugh at the insanity. It does really suck. Kanye isn't great but Kanye is Kanye and that's kinda it.

On principle, I did not spin this. I think it’s time that we stop listening to Kanye West. His early work being good does not justify being a literal nazi later in his career.

fuck Kanye. absolute asshole. can't stand the dude. but music wise this is still good stuff. it sucks that the man that did it is a little Hitler now.

No thanks. Won't listen to this fascist.

Didn't listen. Not giving this guy any streaming profit. Even if it only adds up to a fraction of a cent.

nope

I appreciate his musical talent, but just not my thing.

Sorry to say that although it's Kanye, some of the lyrics are moronic and others misogynistic... It's a very strong album. More the production and Nicky Minaj than anything else.

Right, ok. I put off listening to this for ages. Cos you know, he's a bellend. Anyway I have now listened. The first few tracks are pretty catchy, cool stuff. The king crimson sample is nice, the cameos are nice, stuff is grooving. I quite like it. I feel it went off the boil part way through, the Sabbath tune rip is pretty naff, I couldn't generally be bothered with the skit stuff, but that could be anti-kanye bias on my part. I imagine I'd be less dismissive on other artists tracks. But on that point, so much of this genre of music is putting others down and raising your self above them onto some.moral.or.intelectual higher ground and with this guy it all now just falls a bit flat, any posturing is like, really? From the nazi guy? The nazi guy is calling people assholes, sure, that totally makes sense. Perhaps had I heard this when it came out I could have grown to like it more, but I'm hearing it within the context of Kanye in 2026, having recently been refused entry to the UK for being a nazi/anti-Semite... Therefore I'm just not gonna mark this high up. It's not rubbish, but it is tainted.

Minchia capisco perché era considerato bravissimo.

Yikes, this one is going to be hard to listen to with an unbiased perspective in light of all the crap our favorite unhinged, bipolar nazi has pulled the last few years. I was dreading this album making an appearance, and here it is. At least it's come early in this project, so lets get it over with. I listened. I cringed a lot. I didn't want to give him any listens but I did it anyway for the sake of musical enlightenment. Yeah, I'm still biased. Now for my scathing review: I think Kanye is a clown with a persecution complex fueled by mental illness and an inflated sense of self-importance. That aside, I don't like his flow and I don't think his rhymes are all that great. None of it is clever. The man just throws in an object or person to get the rhyme so much, it bothers the hell out of me. The man is not a singer. The best parts of most of his songs are arguably the featured artists. Musically this album is actually pretty ok, at least Kanye incorporates a lot of instruments and styles in his tracks and the beats are good. I just wish I didn't have to hear his whiny voice over top of it all. Lyrics I thought were subpar, going on and on about Kanye's lifestyle and how great he is. Here's an example of his exemplary (read with heavy sarcasm) storytelling: "Ah, put the pussy in a sarcophagus, Now she claiming that I bruised her esophagus." Here's another: "My presence is a present, kiss my ass." Ugh. Both from the same song, "Monster." Its all just so played out and exhausting after the first 10 minutes. "Hell Of A Life" might be the most annoying song on the album, with stupid lyrics autotuned to imitate Sabbath's "Iron Man" over top a cowboy clip-clop track with digital harpsichord. Just awful. Standouts if I had to pick them are "Power" - I think this is honestly the only Kanye song I've heard previously - "All Of The Lights" - for the drum machine and Rihanna, honestly - "Runaway" - the second half was instrumental and was a nice break. I'll admit I very badly wanted to give this album 1 star from the go ahead. I wanted to not even listen, give it 1 star, and wait for my next album. But I gave it a shot. I even toyed with rating it 2 stars for having some catchy beats at times, but man, I would never listen to any of this again and I can only listen to Kanye beat himself up for so long. Poor guy with such a great life and money and power doesn't need any charity stars from a guy like me. So might as well pile on the Kanye pity party and go ahead and give it that 1 star. If this is Kanye's best, lord help me if I ever have to listen to his worst. People love it, I just don't get the hype. Punch Nazis, kids, and stop making stupid people famous.

This is, I feel, the moment that Kanye's true colors showed in his music - if they didn't even show sooner. The beats are produced well, of course, but you only need to listen to a few songs before you realize that the mastermind behind it is a sex pest obsessed with garnering attention. I wish I could give it lower than a 2, but that's the awful truth of it: the music -is- good.

While excellently produced and arranged, the subject matter is really a celebration of neoliberalism. "I will get money and fame at all costs" is the running moral code. This is not a cry against the system so much as a plea for our fucked up system to please favor him instead of anyone else. Kanye was never one of the good ones. You can detect a lot of the weirdness we now condemn him for already in this record. When Kendrick raps they not like us, he's not just talking about Drake, it's this. These rich kids who want to get even more rich. Kanye was never on the streets. Why does he rap so much about people hating him? Because it's transparent this man has no real authenticity, his motivations are not connection or speaking truth to power but getting ahead and pulling up the ladder. And doing bitches, lots of bitches.

Boo Nazi

Mom- 4 Mike- NA Lori- 8 Michael- 8 Miles- 7 Cole- 8 Avg- 6

Als je niet naar de tekst luistert is het best een leuk album.

As a review from 2021 put it; Classic. Sadly, he’s crazy now If only they knew how bad it would get. The same man who created one of my favourite albums of all time is now a swastika touting twat, to the point I rarely return to his older work. That is a real shame, because I love MBDTF and TLOP. Thank you, 1001, for return me to this album. 5/5

Yeah I’ve listened to this before and this is the first one I refuse to listen to again for this project. Fuck Kanye the Nazi. I didn’t even really care for it when it came out. Never loved the whole auto tune everything era of rap.

Despite my dislike of the man, this is an impressive album.

The first half was honestly so good. Power is such a banger. But the back half of the album had so much misogyny that no beat could pull me back and make me enjoy the album.

No va

Wanted to knock this down to 3 for a few reasons but it’s undeniably excellent, so here we are

You're telling me I can't enjoy All of the Lights or Runaway because this man stopped taking his pills 6 years later? Let me finish -- It is difficult to separate the art from the artist. But if Kanye had died before he stopped treating his mental issues, we would listen to this guilt-free. Tons of "acclaimed" men were was a huge piece of wife-beating shit (or worse) their whole lives. At least Kanye was within the bounds of acceptable when he made good music. Let me enjoy "george bush doesn't care about black people" Kanye. Let me enjoy "balding donald trump taking money from y'all" Kanye. (However, any music he made after he turned is fully unethical.)

😬😬😬😬

what happened kanye...

9/10 i miss the old kanye

Hard to rate, as I really despise Kanye West but I truly think he is musically talented and I admit I really like some of these songs, perhaps because I grew up with them. However, I realized how much his character showed in the lyrics and I found myself frowning multiple times.

some nice bits

“Too many Urkels on your team that’s why your wins low.” Verses like that are why I enjoy Kanye’s music while not defending him as a person. I don’t think that this is amongst his best albums but it’s still pretty decent. Nicki Minaj's verse on "Monster" is ridiculously good and there are a number of other fun moments, but as a whole this isn’t as strong as several of his other albums.

One of the last albums before the descent into lunacy.

Not for me.

I think where Kanye goes wrong here is relying too much on production and letting the song composition slip as a result. The production is excellent, I'll give it that. The left-right balancing is ear-scratching in the best way, and all instruments and sounds get equal attention. Even some of my all-time favourite records can't get this right. However, loops are heavily relied on, taking songs with fairly good riff ideas (e.g. Gorgeous) and making them a tedious, monotonous slog. The "one-two snail" of Monster and So Appalled experiences the same issue, though in this case it's simply because it does nothing to stand out from other '00s hip-hop. Just bland, average rap with zero attempt at melody or interesting instrumentation. The song Power is fairly good, featuring some intense backing vocals and a raw yet thick instrumental arrangement. The blatant sample from King Crimson's 21st Century Schizoid Man comes off as a bit jarring, acting as an interruption rather than a smooth segue. And Ye didn't even bother to copy the best part of that song – the roaring guitar riff – but instead cut it off at the first note. Shame. Songs like Runaway, on the other hand, are freaking amazing and (in my opinion) deserve all the attention they've received. I'm shouting out Runaway specifically because of its several song sections that flow near-seamlessly between one another. But more than that – the final section, lasting roughly a third of the track's length, is a gruelling combo of electric guitar, piano, and aggressive double bass. The song alone pushes this record to at least 3 stars. All Of The Lights is also worth a mention for its female co-lead vocals (which are great) and stadium-esque synth hook behind everything else. It's a rhythmically complex track and very engaging. And, of course, the interlude is the first of its kind that I've ever actually enjoyed. The tasty synth bassline in Hell Of A Life is the song's highlight, while the off-brand sampling of the melody from Black Sabbath's Iron Man is far from being the positive Ye might've hoped for. References to other songs or artists need to be done subtly. Lost In The World is an average song with no notable hooks, but the feeble attempt to appease the listener with a Manu Dibango (or Michael Jackson) line makes it considerably worse. Close to being a 4. The lyrics bring it down. 3/5 Key tracks: Dark Fantasy, All Of The Lights, Runaway

Good album with some great songs but I’m not in love with it. Hard to separate the music from how off the deep end crazy this man is.

**An ok album, if you enjoy RAP and foul language

Top 3 best rap albums

I don't support nazis.

No voy a darle reproducciones a semejante zángano. Mi primer 1 pero por razones obvias.

Extremely overrated not bad though. 7.9/10

I was going to listen to Kanye for this, but after the pro-Hitler song (and really even before that), I just can’t.

I did not listen to any of Kanye West's music when it was originally released, so I missed the hype around it. Now, seeing what he has done since then and how he is clearly mentally ill, I just cannot separate the man from his music. Trying to listen to and enjoy this album was like trying to watch a massive car accident. Just an amazing mess.

Well, I liked it more than I thought, not great, but a solid 4 stars... Sadly, he's crazy now, so -1 ...

Not a fan of rap in this style. Very overrated IMHO

un bel 4.. ci sono chicche interessanti

Hoo boy. Where on the line does genius and disturbing insanity meet? About at Kanye. When I was lecturing in popular music I used to joke ‘put Kanye in front of a mix desk and there’s no one better. Give him a microphone and a speaking forum and there’s no one worse. ‘ The man could construct a song. What the song was about was a whole other thing. This isn’t the album though. Hipsters. Listen to the public.

Kanye, Kanye, Kanye.... what do you do with a problem like Kanye? he is one of the great artists of the 21st Century, without a doubt. And part of the reason for that is his utter commitment to speaking his truth, laying out the full and unvarnished reality of himself as a complex and flawed human being. It's admirable, until it isn't. because part of Kanye's truth is his increasing delusional megalomania, which he happily reveals to everyone through his art. I think Kanye thinks that the world wants to cancel him; I think a lot of the world just doesn't want to hear what he has to say. He is loudly and repeatedly exercising his freedom of speech, but that freedom to say whatever he wants has consequences; broken commercial deals, reduced sales, increasing irrelevancy. Some of Kanye's outbursts seem to come from unmanaged mental illness, and he has my sympathy there, but there also seems to be a megalomania that I suspect arises from too much money and success too early, leading to a lack of perspective and not enough people around him willing to tell him when he is having a bad idea. This album feels like a tipping point; the last moment where Kanye had some self-awareness. But the personality he presents is pretty unlikable. High level of artist integrity, but very little personal or moral integrity. It gives me the icks.

While I am not a huge fan of hip hop, this album had some pretty nice moments. Low 4/5.

This shit… is so ass‼️‼️🔥 Nazi and bad at music? Why does anyone like this guy

10/10

I don’t like that I like this so much?

Definitely using a private session for this....individual. A challenge to separate the art from the artist. Uncomfortable use of the N word and a lot of misogyny , music isn't off putting, but everything else is. I can't.

As much as I try to dislike Kanye’s music…I just can’t. I like “The College Dropout” a lot more than this, though.

I desperately want to give this a 5...but there are one or two throw away tracks and Kanye is also just one that I can say is a primo individual.

I have not been able to connect with the album. No one single song kept my attention for long. The fact I'm not into this kind of music didn't help. 3/10

This is a great fuckin album. Kanye sucks but this album goes so hard

I'm trying hard to separate the art from the artist on this one. Hard to do at the moment, but here we are. This was pretty good, but I didn't love it.

an incredible album.* *well, first, you have to understand it as a work of fiction. the Kanye on MBDTF is a Kanye who looked at himself and saw someone who needs to change. really though, we know for a fact Kanye looked at himself and saw someone who was Fine, Actually, and who eventually managed to suppress any actual sense of awareness but with all the ugliness of still seizing the headlines and doubling down on his worst tendencies, both creatively and personality wise. the introspection was an act, something for the cameras that breaks like a character. the bowie comparison always seems spooky to me, partially cause of the K. West sign, but because it's so easy to put the image of a "different character" on every era of West. one of my favorite pieces of Kanye-related art shows him in his various "eras" represented by the bear, modified with a discoball mask for Donda or playing a piano and Jheri curled for 808s. for MBDTF, he's sitting on a throne, bored and languishing. as we know now, looking inward, the self-awareness and post-VMAs "change" was as much of an era as, like, doing autotune R'n'B. so yeah, it's a great album. it's a bit slow near the end, but the concept's strong and the tracks are radio slam dunks that i still get chunks of stuck in my head ever since i learned of "POWER" or "All of the Lights". but it's as much of a performance as Ziggy Stardust. after all these years, i feel like we're finally beginning to meet the real Kanye, one too far gone to care about performing past provocateur antics and stupidity, and guys? it's been miserable. fuckin' ridiculous, even.

Some ok

This honestly isn't my thing. There's hundreds of other rap albums I'd rather put on than this.

I saw him live once. Waited so long for him to come out the drink I had pregamed with wore off. Show wasn't bad though. I used to enjoy his stuff, good lyrics, flow and beat. Then he started talking all Hitler was a good guy and went on Alex Jones with a white supremacist. I hope he gets the help he needs, but I'm not giving him anymore of my money. This would be a 4-5 star album. I can't give it that though.

Argh. This album actually isn’t bad for hiphop, and has almost none of the aversive sound effects that usually put me off, but I can’t quite get past the pornographic cover art and all the artist’s hate speech to let it have a 3.

#568. I liked this quite a bit more than I expected to. Dude was already fucking weird as shit at this point, hence the fishsticks joke [which i found hilarious that he mentioned that here] but it seems he was still capable of making some pretty decent music. 3/5: decent

This is a strange time to be listening to--and praising--a Kanye West album, but I have to give him credit here. I'll also preface this review by saying that I am decidedly NOT a Kanye West fan, and never really have been, other than enjoying an occasional single. My opinion of him, at least as a person, has only lowered over the last few years. At a time when he was perhaps just starting to show the side of him that would eventually lead to the downward descent he finds himself in now, he released this album. And what an album it is. Every song is well-crafted, full, and meaningful. There are interesting blends of style/effect in songs and throughout the album, and some callbacks to some of his prior efforts. It felt like a culmination of all the music that came in the decade or so before while still being forward-looking. Even where the amount of things going on made me think it should feel bloated or overproduced, it still worked really well. There are songs that are brimming with artists and their contributions, dozens of instruments and effects, and multiple messages, but they are somehow better as a result. He does a great job of placing emphasis in the right spots to make the songs hit as they should, without wasting anything or leaving the lighter parts feeling empty. And let's not skip over the lyrical content- it gets deep and meaningful, even where it covers some heavily-trod ground in music (and this genre, especially). Even the more "generic" songs (like "All of the Lights") get into some pretty heavy topics. You can tell that it isn't just pandering or a product for the masses, but a personal perspective or experience that is being told. I found the weakest part to be "Blame Game", perhaps at least partly because I generally don't enjoy John Legend; combining him and Kanye is a tough one for me. Either way, the song didn't do much for me. The Chris Rock outro went on way too long and felt like a weird amount of self-praise jammed in unnecessarily. Other than that song, I would say that I don't find Kanye's "singing" voice to be very good, and really noticed that at the times he used it instead of his usual style. In sum, this album had powerful content, well-composed instrumentation/music, and was strong both in its separate parts and as a whole piece. I can see myself coming back to it and enjoying it again. There were some parts or aspects that didn't appeal to me, but even so I would call it a great album. Overall: 4.5/5

I have listened to this album enough before this project that I already know that this will be my first 5/5 star rating. The whole album being a reflection on fame and the way it makes people think and act is amazing. The maximalist production that draws from many influences to create a maximalist vibe, as well as the guest features that draw from many aspects of the 2010's biggest artists make this Kanyes peak. Some might argue that this is the start of Kanyes downward spiral, mental illnesses and just generally being a terrible human, but I am still sure that end to end this is the greatest album released so far in the 21st century - not a single track on this album misses. Now to listen to it again as part of the 1001 albums project.

This is #day259 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… fuck Kanye West. Honestly, I think he should be dropped from the list for a whole bunch of reasons. At this point, three of his albums are included, and zero are from, say, Slowdive or Deftones, or other bands and artists who are more important and influential. I listened to The College Dropout in full back on #day10 because I told myself then that no matter the music, I'd check out every single album, as that's what the challenge is about. I must admit, since then, there have been a couple of exceptions when I couldn't get through the whole record. I tried listening to one song today, too, and nope. I don't want to hear this before I die, and I wish the same for you. This is a 1 out of 5. Looking forward to #day 260.

great album, sucks he's a nazi runaway clears

I feel guilty for liking this, Kanye West has been a pretty terrible person, but there are some excellent tracks here.

I'm really into Kanye's way of sounding, despite the public's attitude towards him

Having Chopper flash across my brain definitely is proof I have something wrong with me. Anyways, what a great album, highlights are Gorgeous, Lost in the World, and of course who could forget NICKI on Monster. Sucks that in retrospect Kayne has officially lost his mind.

Another album that I tried several times but just couldn’t get into despite all the “special guests” Of course we all now know Kanye is a total bellend which doesn’t help!

Took a listen but not able to call myself a fan!

Peak Kanye: 4.5

you already know

this and rumors are the two best albums of all time

Not a good person at all but he made some music

For hip hop this has a lot going on in the mid range. Great. Makes it more musical. Kanye is crazy, but he knows how to make music. Favorite song: power

didn't listen all the way through. not bad

I put off listening to this because I thought it was going to be incredibly dense, and I was right. Lyrics, instrumentation, production, spoken word, interludes, samples, remixes, there's a hell of a lot to digest and I don't think I have. This needs a really active listen to get your head around it. It's certainly a masterpiece, although it is also misogynistic at times and has some fairly unpleasant thoughts expressed in it. (A lot of others are reviewing Kanye more than this album, but here I mean only the content of the songs.) It also has a lot of sounds and tunes in it that I find very fresh and exciting. So I think this is very good, but low on the enjoyment scale for that. Needs a re-listen or two or three.

Unfortunately incredible minus one star Kanye tax

Não gosto de rap/hip hop. Em todo o caso, no álbum há uma ou duas canções aceitáveis de se ouvir.

Relistened to this. Still holds up like it did when it was released.

One of the greatest albums of all time. This was Kanye at his peak, it’s like he put all his eras together and created a super Kanye then gave us this masterpiece of an album. The composition, the production, rappers had some of their greatest verses on this album (I.e. Nicki Minaj & Rick Ross). Put aside his new deranged bigoted state, Kanye has always been one of the geniuses when it comes to this music shit. Flawless album that aged like the finest of wines!

nuh uh

No thanks.

Boy it’s hard to listen to him

Not listening to a Nazi

Ja Classic halt. Anfang ist fast perfekt, dann nach den ersten beiden drittel wirds bisschen schwächer und Jay Z Part auf Monster ist Arsch. Früher Dark Fantasy, jetzt Devil in a new Dress Lieblinglied.

It takes a truly unique talent to take the riff/melody of Black Sabbath’s Iron Man and turn it into a song as shit as Hell Of A Life. In 2010 streaming hadn’t become dominant yet, so there’s a lot of filler to make that CD seem value for money. There are good bits, but they are like needles in a haystack of auto-tuned self-pity and keyboard trumpet noises

‘I miss the old Kanye’ has become such a cliche he even wrote a song about it. But boy he had some great albums. Back in 2010 he was just a bog standard ego maniac and narcissistic who’d only just started on his journey to full breakdown. Prior to that, when he first appeared in the mid-noughties, he actually seemed to be more level-headed and self-aware than most pop stars. He’s a good study in fame and its impacts. Old Kanye was probably my favourite artist from about age 15-17 and MBDTF was the culmination of that, his last great album. Not sure he’s even done anything that I’d call good since. Simpsons: Yes

"I've never even seen this part of Pussy Town before"

I wasn’t too sure, you get a 3 for ending on Gil Scott-Heron. I like Kanye when he’s not trying to be clever. I don’t like thinking about his two black balls. I also don’t like Nazis.

Kanye is really fucked now, but back in the day he was only kind of fucked. And he (and a seemingly a semi-communal group of many talented people) made this album, which is very good and was a very big deal. It’s super well made - the instrumentals are diverse, maximalist, clever, and hooky collages - drawing from wide sources leading to an original and memorable sound, while also fitting in the songs perfectly. Solid rapping from Kanye and his many guests, with themes of celebrity: the excess & decadence, maybe a bit of introspection and questioning yourself behind that hedonistic narcissist front. It surprisingly tight around the theme and feels like it could be considered a concept album. I’m certainly no Ye defender or fan boy, but this album is good. For as good as it is, it is also tough to listen to a guy who praises Hitler and wears a trash bag.

So appalled is where that live long enough you see yourself become the villain quote come from, love it, shout out to the interlude!! Love the strings. Monster was really good Nicki was amazingg on it loved that bit. The famous runaway is on this album!!! I actually do love it tho, the iconic piano motif and the never was much of a romantic, I could never take the intimacy, iconic honestly. And it’s not thaaat far off what I’d normally listen to (poppy / indie music) I’ve dabbled in rap and stuff, I think this is a bit different but in a good way, I like this album and would def listen to it again and maybe listen to some of his other albums! Blame game is really good but wtf was that last half lmaoo, overall good album, enjoyed it, but the swearing was off the charts lol

Background beat in all of these are great but the lyrics less so, also fuck kanye.

Nope

I wish he wasn’t an absolutely terrible person, because his lyricism is insane. I haven’t listened to a lot of Kanye outside of the occasional song or ear worm i hear on social media, so sitting to listen to this album really unfortunately opened my eyes as to why he still has so many followers despite his.. problems. His mind, at at least some point in time, was genius. The lyrics alone are crazy, but he pairs them with a sample that is pleasing to the ear, and a flow that’s great. Dare I say he was a little ahead of his time. I can see why he’s an artist that you often hear “separate art from artist”, because some of these songs are just crazy good. All that being said, it still has its issues. Some of the songs ran a little long, and I think that’s due in part to there being too many features on a song. This problem also made some of the song repetitive. All together it’s a pretty good album, but I don’t think i’d actually listen to any of these songs individually, because again, they tend to run a little long for casual listening.

worse than i expected to be honest although very enjoyable

Had some good songs but so much of this is him talking about how great he is. Stand-out: Lost in the World

It was alright

I’m miss the old Kanye ass album

Hard to listen to in light of recent events.

Good album overall, some great hits in it

Don't really need to say a lot because this is just the best rap record of all time. Also pest production ever. Very easy 10/10.

Didn’t listen

Not a fan of RNB and hip-hop still.

The man is an idiot with a good taste in samples

fuck kanye

Not nearly as amazing or life changing as I've been led to believe. I hate you so much, Kanye West, and I always will!

The last great Kanye album. Awesome sound, great production, a wonderful array of samples and references, with an all-star cast of features and collaboration. Surreal to hear Kanye name drop Trump in completely opposite fashion 10 years earlier.

separate the art from the artshole

As is the case with the world in general, this album is best when kayne keeps his mouth shut.

Sure, I was convinced back when this came out. The album was all the rage, everybody's darling. Voice of our generation. And it had enough to offer to make me look past the things that, in hindsight, had rubbed me the wrong way from the start. It's larger than life, but not in a quietly confident way and instead an obnoxious look-at-me way. There's obviously still a lot to like in the music, but to make a long story short: Shut the fuck up Kanye, you literal nazi cretin.

Ugh no more Kanye !

American dog shit!!! I'd rather be tortured than hear shit like that

i cannot deny it. Maximalist masterpiece, feels like the longest party ever where every thing goes wrong and you reflect your whole life

This is a great fucking album, this is actually one of my favorite Kanye albums, before he went crazy and became an actual nutcase monster, it sucks because I don't want to support him but it is good music and had he not gone off the deep end I feel he could have kept going with great music, sad state if affairs, I stopped listening to his albums after this one so, and I think this is prob him at his best!

Mental illness aside his music is not for me

Beats good, dislike the lyrics

Man, I hope we get Kanye back someday. This isn't my favorite of his, but definitely has some hits.

I really dislike rap

not listening

Unfortunately a really good album

I won't listen to this. He will not get any royalties from me.

Fuck this Nazi, first album I have 100% skipped. The last one of his I got he was still being tame enough that I gave it the benefit of the doubt. As of April 2025 when I received this album it is far too hard to separate the art from the artist. Fuck Kanye!

Dude. “Pussy and religion is all I need” is such a sad lyric. I did not enjoy this album, possibly because of who Kanye has revealed himself to be over time. Big ick

Some very good tracks but a few duds hold it back from a 5 star review. Also hard to give a 5 and separate the toxic personality from the talent.

Interesting

i hate that this album is really great given kanye being a total asshole, but props need to be given to him for making a really amazing album. production on this one is insane.

🤮

Enjoyed the vibe but not all the rhyme. The Gil Scott Heron sample in “Who Will Survive in America” is poignant.

Peak Kanye. His ego had already blown up and you can feel it on this record but it doesn't take away from it. I have never been a huge Ye stan but this album got a lot of play in my house when it came out.

Decent performance!

Je n’aurais jamais écouté d’album de Kanye West sans ce défi. Je le trouve méprisable. Mais je dois admettre que j’ai aimé l’album. La production est impeccable, la narration accrocheuse, les artistes invités en pleine possession de leurs moyens – au point d’éclipser Kanye parfois. Je le respecte comme parolier et MC, même si je doute de réécouter sa musique à l’avenir

My favorite Kanye album

This is Kanye emerging as the complete public egomaniac celebrity asshole we know him as today. The first three songs are incredible though. Like who samples King Crimson on their lead single? The rhythm of his low on Monster is really good. Jay-Z is weak on Monster and So Appalled. Blame Game is good. Lost In the World/Who Will Survive In America also is cool, very rich in sonic texture. Wow an absolutely incredible & digestible album, that makes me feel very uncomfortable because this artist is a PRICK.

Primero que nada dude mucho en escuchar este album porque no lo soporto a keni. Me encantaria decir que es un álbum de mierda pero no (no lei la letra de ninguna de las canciones, asi que seguro hay un monton de cosas que no pude entender del todo bien), que bronca que este tipo sea tan pelotudo e infumable. Rate: 4 estrellas por que me hizo mover, en momentos se escucharon intrumentales con mucha epicidad y se agradece sin embargo -3 estrellas porque kenye west es una persona de mierda y tampoco creo tener la necesidad de volver a escuchar este album

First of all, dude's an unhinged nazi and aside from re-listening to him for the purposes of this project, I make a point of not listening to his stuff because I don't even want to give him $0.0001 for listening to his stuff on Spotify. Don't feel good even spending fractions of cents to bankroll his platform. But for the purposes of this project, since his awful views aren't present in the lyrics/materials of his albums included on this list, I will rate them based on the art present (whereas previously I got a Serge Gainsbourg album that has lyrics talking about grooming and raping an underage girl. Regardless of the quality of the music, that gets a 1 from me). All that said, this is an all-time classic of an album. So many great hits. POWER, All of the Lights, Monster, Runaway. This was Kanye at his absolute peak. Sure there are still the cringe bars that Kanye always had, but damn if this album isn't catchy and amazingly produced. The vibe/instrumental of So Appaled is insane. Shoutout to Nicki Minaj's verse on Monster, easily the best verse in her career, absolutely blowing both Kanye and Jay Z's verses on that track out of the water. Bon Iver closing out the track is just icing on the cake. There are a few songs that aren't as solid as I remember, Hell of A Life and Lost in the World/Who Will Survive in America, although still good. Blame Game did not need that outro. But still a fantastic album.

Separating artist from the art, this is my favorite hip hop album. 5/5

some ppl have wondered (esp in hindsight) why this album cycle, which essentially functioned as kanye's apology tour to the american public, seemed to Work and earn so much goodwill when he didnt actually convincingly apologize for anything and, in fact, doubled down on his abrasive bravado. i suppose the obvious answer, one im not interested in denying, is that his skills and instincts for aesthetic and musical creation were still incredibly sharp and vibrant and surprising and original, and his penance might be partially served in simply Bestowing compelling art upon the public (especially since, with all due respect to yeezus/tlop, this is his last album to feel like it has his full attention and effort). but despite the over-expensive, over-labored, no-holds-barred grandiosity of this record, kanye has close to literally nothing to actually Say...every vaguely political point feels undone by his history of incoherent contrarianism (and antiblackness!), every hedonistic indulgence feels bog-standard, and the self-deprecation...ik im partly filtering this thru the knowledge that he Did Not Improve, but even at the time this should be instantly recognizable to anyone who's ever had their abuser plead with them to stay. if i find anything still compelling in this record in my own sentiments, its certainly that sickly feeling...not well explored or resolved but the emotion is potent, and i think emotions in art are self-justifying. in general, i dont think i can say i do or will ever dislike this record, of which i have every note memorized. but its hard not to think that kanye's blank spaces were filled in subconsciously by a culture that defends, celebrates, and mythologizes monsters...he didnt need to say anything, he didnt actually need to buy back any goodwill at all, he was always going to be taken back. and aside from a couple surges of feeling, i cant say its very interesting or compelling anymore once u realize this is how the world operates every single day

When i sae this come up I won't lie there was a bit of dread. Overall, it was ok but got a bit deranged towards the end.

Ugh, no. Some good music there, but it needs to have Kanye's blabbering removed to make it listenable.

I’ve been meaning to listen to this album for a long time. I’ve repeatedly heard from my brother how critically acclaimed it is. I knew a few tracks as I listened already. I definitely enjoyed the songs I knew more. The highlight for me was Monster. I enjoyed the bass and drums on that track. I wouldn’t listen again because it’s not my genre but glad I listened!

Lot of variety from blame game to all of the lights. Bunch of celeb collaborations and they all delivered. Favorite track: all of the lights other picks: blame game, power, so appalled, runaway

I understand the hype behind Kanye, this is what rap should be about

Separate art from the artist challenge, level: hard

Fuck kayne

Few albums are accompanied with more baggage than this one. This is not the best Kanye record, though it makes its case for one right out of the gate, “Dark Fantasy” has such a sweet refrain from Alicia Keys. A few songs later, “Power” insists that Kanye is a corrupted, greedy, highly flawed narrator for this whole project. This songs little vocal chant lead was so pervasive that it dominated everything from radio stations to edm festivals. Just as much can be said about the following “All Of The Lights” with its simple horn lead. “Monster” and “So Appalled” have the most 2010 instrumentals of all time, they’re beats that could’ve belonged to Lana Del Rey as much as anyone. “Devil In A New Dress” is the old Kanye in a new album, backed by a slow, string-laden soul sample. Then comes “Runaway”, when Kanye pulls back the curtain to let a rare sense of true self guide him to making this opus. It’s the type of rambling honesty that makes you want to take your 2025 Time Machine and go back to have an intervention with THIS Kanye. “Hell of a Life” follows as a lowlight, with a clunky interpolation of the Iton Man melody. “Blame Game” goes on to sample one of my favorite songs of all time, with mixed results. The bit with John Legend singing right along with the melody is catchy, but I think everything else going on here kinda muddies the serenity of the piano melody. It also sort of weaponizes the same honesty on “Runaway” for evil instead of good. “Lost In The World” is such a peculiar collaboration that managed to happen well before rappers openly admitted they listened to alternative artists like Tame Impala or Mac Demarco. This is the best slice of production work in my eyes, even if it’s just a bit different with those more upbeat drum break samples and colorful bits of chorus vocal processing. It ends off with a vocal sample that leads to the last track which is all a bit hard to take seriously as a message Kanye really meant from the heart, all things considered now. It now comes across as shallow and tokenistic, ruining an otherwise powerful speech and important message. But I suppose morally ‘shallow’ is apart of the Kanye experience from this record onward. I always felt a sizable tonal shift after “Graduation, when his mom passed. Not attempting to humanize someone who’s gone off the inhumane end, just tracking the events that presented this albums sense of grand tragedy. Soft 4 stars.

Fuck Kanye West

haha ye.. tehdäänkös vitsiä.. tehdänkös vitsiä henkilöstä haha.. outo politinen poliittikainen lausuntoja!! ei tehdä.. Julkisuustemppuistaan ​​huolimatta monet pitävät Kanyea ystävällisenä, myötätuntoisena yksilönä. Hän puhuu usein faneilleen ja on kaikin puolin aidosti kiinnostunut siitä, mitä heillä on sanottavaa, millaista heidän elämänsä on ja mitkä ovat heidän tavoitteensa. Tämä on joku, joka on viimeiset yhdeksän vuotta ollut kansan vihollinen numero yksi. Hänen olisi helppo mennä täydelliseen eristäytymiseen ja katkerasti kateuttaa kaikkia, mutta hän ei tee sitä. run way

Pretty dope so far. Too bad this dude went completely fuckin nuts and is a literal Nazi now. Almost feel bad giving him streams but the royalties from one listen on Apple Music aren’t even doing jack for him. Plus I never listened to this when it came out. I can’t believe I’m 5 years too late.

i used to fw kanye’s music but barely ever listen to him anymore. the album itself is quite good but fuck you kayne nazi ass mf

Extremely influential hip hop record. With some crazy tracks like POWER, all of the lights and run away. One of Kanye's magnum opuses for sure.

Yes, modern Kanye is terrible. He was a genius artist that like most others struggles with mental health. Couple that with modern technology, social media, and general cultural toxicity and it’s no surprise what we got. That being said (required denunciation out of the way) this is a perfect album. This was the zenith of what Kanye could be. Creatively and culturally it is amazing. This is a triple LP on vinyl and well worth every side. He curated a trip through the mind of a genius (much like Stevie’s Songs in the Key of Life). We got everything: amazing samples, features, and Kanye’s childish but biting wit. I won’t apologize for this one. I remember when it came out, the video build up and the glory of listening to it on repeat for months. This one is still perfect even if the human is far from it.

Kanye West has nothing on KRS-One. Nothing. 3

Did not listen out of protest and giving one star to try reducing the average score.

Trying to separate the art from the artist here... It's a little difficult, and I can't honestly say that I am without bias here... That being said, I do not understand why this album gets the automatic 5/5 "best album" treatment. I can see some of the interesting pieces, the flow is pretty solid throughout. But some of the tracks are of a maximalism style that I just don't love, and I'm shocked to see how many people don't share that opinion. Also, a lot of the lyrics in this album are very corny. There is a constant argument I hear floating around hip-hop circles about lyricism vs rapping ability, and I feel like this album is an amazing example that an artist's flow is at least 75% of the success of an album. Kanye has good flow. He's a real piece of shit, and he spends a sizable amount of time on this album complaining about how hard it is to be him, all the people against him, etc. etc. And yes, in 2010, I thought, the African American from Chicago, making it big in the music industry probably did have a lot of enemies, hating him, for no real reason... But now, looking back with 2025 eyes, he was always a real egotistical asshole, so those who hated him in the industry probably did for a good reason. Separated art from Artist I'd be hard pressed to give this a 3/5. Without separation, this is a 1/5. Kanye needs to get some help. I'll rate it 2/5. It'll get plenty of 1s for those who can't separate, and I understand that. It'll get plenty of 5s for those who enjoy the beat style, and don't hear lines like "If you don't really care middle finger in the air if you don't really care it's like that sometime man ridiculous. life can be sometimes ridiculous." as whack.

I hate to say this, because he's not my favorite person, but this album is great.

It sucked!

Hate to admit it but this is a great album

dont tell anyone I love it

Not going too much into detail on this one. One of my favourites of all time and a gateway to hip hop some time ago. Thanks Kanye. It's modern baroque music. There's too much of everything and yet somehow it works amazingly. I didn't want to do the usual "music good, kanye bad" review, just a small note: Kanye's arch from a young and promising yet troubled genius to a fully psychotic attention whore who lost his mojo makes me more sad than anything. And yet the indignant reviews "im not listening to his music" make me laugh a bit - just a quick check in most of these guys pages and there's positive reviews of albums made by 70s rock bands full of rapists and pedos. Seriously?

I hate Kanye, so it's hard to detach that from the music. I just wish he'd close his mouth when he's just resting, reminds me of the thick kids at school. Objectively this wasn't terrible. Some catchy stuff going on, he had bars at times, but a lot of the lyrics were poor. That one about eating jerk....bet he was really proud of that.

This ain't it

Fuck Kanye. Tried to give this an honest go and it's boring at best. I hate modern production and this is no different. Flow and rhymes are entirely amateurish outside of a few moments from guests. This has to be one of if not THE MOST overrated artist/producer in the history of music.

I think I liked this more than Yeezus and less than the College Dropout. So many long songs and the language once again bothered me, "Yeezy reupholstered my pussy." How can anyone listen to that line without embarassment?

I never would have listened to Kanye on my own. Gotta admit, this is really good.

This has some listenable tracks on here, but entirely screw this guy.

Yeah, no.

Okay, I draw the line on this. I can listen to plenty of crap on this list, but I refuse to give even 0.003 to an avowed Nazi and hate speech slinger. Instead, here's a review of an album I've enjoyed recently that you should listen to instead. "After Destruction", by Descartes A Kant (2023) A concept album of "Art-Rock Prog Punk of the Retro Future" (their words), this band from Guadelajara, Mexico looks like they walked off of the set of The Fifth Element and bring us an album based around the difficulties with mental health in an increasingly online world. The album is based around a new machine, The DAK, that can use its computing power to give you poor coping mechanisms, silly dog videos, and a warning that "The system has detected you are creating problems in your own head again". All of this interspersed with music that sounds like it takes cues from St Vincent, Le Tigre, Metric, Talking Heads and David Bowie all in one, the videos themselves are worth checking out for the theatrical performances that go along with it. Plus, it's only like thirty minutes long so what have you got to lose? Check out "After Destruction" (the title track) as a taster. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_igolfkQU0

i really do miss the old kanye

Nothing will get me listening to this facist, anti-Semite

Great album - really breaking boundaries and has some masterpieces. Too bad Kanye is insane these days.

CAN WE GET MUCH HIGHERRRRR Dark Fantasy - 10/10 floating take me away Gorgeous - i always skip this song its pretty boring. lyrics have great meaning, and the guitar towards the end is sick asf. LOVE raekwon's verse too 7/10 POWER - love the samples, but realizing the entire song is kanye being cocky ASF. synth at the end is crazy 8.5/10 All Of The Lights (Interlude) - absolutely beautiful 10/10 All Of The Lights - rhirhi go crazy i love this song. the drums go absolutely crazy and all of the features and the production on this song is just beautiful 10/10 Monster - actually the first song i knew on this album bc of nicki. i am also a motherfuckin monster thank you kanye very nice 10/10

Favorite Track: Devil In A New Dress

Not gonna listen

Devil in a new dress used to be my favorite damn song.

Regardless of how amazing this album is, or any other possible album of his that may show up in here again, out of principle there is really only one score I can give.

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Don't get me wrong, I hate this guy as much as you do. As an ex-Kanye West fan, ever since he went on that Alex Jones interview in 2022, I knew it was all over for me to continue giving a blind eye on the bullshit he has done. For years I had defended the actions he made before that, but afterwards, it was impossible for me to ignore. He has all the resources in the world to improve mentally and get better with himself, but he's a grown ass man and he's choosing to continue living the lifestyle he has, with the lastest twitter rants proving that point even further. However, this was one of the first albums I ever heard before I loved listening to albums, so this really brings a lot of memories and nostalgia for me. This album not only saved his career (temporarily), but also saved me. Even in my darkest moments, I listened to this album countless of times and became unstoppable, wanted to continue living and ignore the negative bullshit that I was going to, hoping to strive for better things and that's what I did. This album feels massive in any way, feeling as if you were capable to rule over the whole world with this album, and it truly is bigger than life itself. This album is so amazing that it was capable to revive an career that had a lot of backlash back then. It's not the best rap album of the decade because To Pimp A Butterfly exists, but this is definitely one of the best: The intro has to be some of the best intros I heard, not only in a rap album, but in all albums overall, giving an glimpse of how Kanye was feeling after his backlash with Taylor Swift and showing how maximalist and massive this album feels. Then Gorgeous comes in, great Kid Cudi feature there and some iconic and yet funny lines that Kanye says are also there. POWER has to be one of his most iconic songs he's ever made, with the king crimson sample, and the way he builds up to the end, metaphorically jumping down the window on there. All Of The Lights starts with a short yet beautiful piano section, before inevitably you hear a bunch of voices singing, while the song goes hard. Monster has by far the best Nicki Minaj verse she has ever done in her career, better than almost any song she has wrote. Many people would exclude So Appalled as an amazing song, but there were so many rappers rapping on it and somehow it worked greatly in their favour, as if they united the smartest kids in the class for a school project. Devil In A New Dress has the best riff section I heard in awhile, and can't forget the iconic Rick Ross verse. However, Runaway is the best song on this album personally, everything about it is perfect, start to finish. Hell Of A Life is such an underrated song too, the way he builds up the beat to feel grand and huge is so compensating to hear. Then there's Blame Game which to be honest is great, but didn't had to be that long (that Chris Rock skit was great though). Finally there's the last two tracks, Lost In The World and Who Will Survive In America, such an amazing way to end an incredible once-in-a-lifetime album. If I'm being honest, I had already gave up hope for Kanye West to recover for years, he had the chance too, but he's still the same guy he was back in 2022, nothing changed. Kanye West is dead, and now all we have is a clone of him, Ye, someone who represents the exact opposite of what Kanye preached in his songs. It's sad how he went from making songs like these back in 2010 to make Vultures 1 and 2. Eventually one day, Mr. Ye will have to wake up to his beautiful dark twisted fantasy, and return to what made him so impactful and great to hear in the first place. Overall, this album is the epitome of near perfection. I miss the old Kanye. I hate the new Kanye. 1.- Dark Fantasy = 10/10 2.- Gorgeous = 10/10 3.- POWER = 10/10 4.- All Of The Lights (Interlude) = 9/10 5.- All Of The Lights = 10/10 6.- Monster = 10/10 7.- So Appalled = 10/10 8.- Devil In A New Dress = 10/10 9.- Runaway = 10/10 10.- Hell Of A Life = 10/10 11.- Blame Game = 8/10 12.- Lost In The World = 10/10 13.- Who Will Survive In America = 7/10 FINAL SCORE: 9.5/10

8/10

Kanye West is a racist, narcissistic, egomaniac, and a terrible person. That being said, I am separating the artist from the art for this review. Especially because the majority of his unforgivable public behavior has taken place after this album came out. Kanye had a string of albums from College Dropout up to MBDTF that are fantastic. Just about every song on this album is a hit. It's crazy because of those albums I mentioned, this is not even his best imo. Kanye's use of sampling is unparalleled in the hip hop industry. Monster is probably my favorite song on this project but truly it's hard to pick because so many stand up to the rest of time even despite his antics in real life.

As crazy as Kanye is, he’s a musical genius and he knows it. Every album just hits. Can’t even put my finger on it-whether it’s the beats, the lyrics, the message of those lyrics, or the shock factor of some of the songs. Something just WORKS! This is an album I played on repeat to try to find a favourite song, but couldn’t narrow any down because they’re all great. Listen again: yes Purchase for my collection: yes Favourite Song: I went with All Of The Lights Interlude, because having an orchestra instrumental on a hip hop album is gold.

Moments of brilliance interspersed between self indulgent, bloated messes. It also has the cringiest title I’ve ever seen.

Many iconic tracks but its only worth the choruses

Too bad he's a psychopath

No to Nazis

I hate that I'm about to do this because KW is such a shithead, but fuck me this is a great album. Musically, he's a unicorn. Everything about the album (songwriting, rapping, singing, producing) is uniquely and unmistakably Kanye.

Rubbish

Starts off with really good beats and sounds. Towards the end it started to loose me, but overall I enjoyed it more than I wanted to

This person with not make one more cent off of me. F Kanye

fuck him. and his music, too.

Kayne is super fucked up. But this album is one of the best ever.

Kanye didn’t just make an album—he made a spectacle, a maximalist odyssey where orchestras, prog-rock samples, and rap bravado collide in glorious excess. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the sound of an artist at his absolute peak, crafting a larger-than-life masterpiece that somehow justifies its own ego. From Nicki Minaj’s career-defining verse on Monster to the audacity of Runaway’s nine-minute self-indulgence, every moment is deliberate, every choice over-the-top in the best way possible. But greatness is a complicated thing. Once an album I played obsessively, MBDTF now gathers dust on my shelf, overshadowed by Kanye’s self-inflicted fall from grace. Can you separate the art from the artist when the artist won’t let you? That’s the lingering question. For now, the album remains a towering achievement—one that may be harder to love, but impossible to ignore.

Surprisingly interesting

Today's the fated day I have to listen to a Kanye West album in full. I have long rued this day, as Kanye West is an absolute tool who I wish would just go away from the public eye forever for everyone's sake. As terrible as he is his music remains critically acclaimed, with this project often regarded as his best. Never listened to it, and thought, especially after his recent outburst that, I never would. Of course as a result of being alive and concious during the last 15 years since this album came out, I've heard more than a couple of the songs from here. Let's hope I can remain objective during this reaction/review. Obligatory Fuck Kanye. Dark Fantasy Fun intro segment. RZA with a producer credit is usually a good sign. Great beat, the use of the sample works great. Some of the effects sound a bit dated. His delivery is fine. Overstays its welcome, the sample isn't so powerful that it's needed one last time at the end. Solid. 4/5 Gorgeous I love Cudi's part, though it sounds a muddled at certain points. Fantastic beat. The effect on Kanye's voice sucks. Solid verses from Kanye, though I don't always love his line delivery. The black balls line is terrible. Kanye's bravado has always rubbed me the wrong way, even "before" he went insane. Bloated song, beat gets stale. Fine. 3/5 Power Classic. Samples one of the best songs of all time, and implements it well. Produced magnificently. The asshole lines remain corny even after many listens. A great time, nostalgic. Begrugingly a fantastic track. 5/5 Interlude Does what an interlude should. Bridges one song into another. Interlude/5 All of the Lights Iconic horns. Rihanna's chorus kicks off the song marvelously. The cast on this song is extremely impressive. Many of the biggest stars of the early 2010s having features on one track is really fun. Anthemic song which represents the early 2010s well. Nostalgic. 4.5/5 Monster Crazy list of features. Production goes hard. Don't care for Rick Ross's verse. Fantastic performance on Kanye's verse. The hook isn't great. Jay-Z's verse has some fun writing. Charismatic verse from Nicki. Outro is fine. Fun track. 4/5 So Appalled Don't like the intro. Not really a fan of the squeeks on the beat. Flows well on top of the beat. Not much more to say, the performances are good, but nothing is grabbing me personally. Maybe longer than it needs to be. Could be a grower. Fine. 3/5 Devil in a New Dress Delicious sample implemention. There's some charming delivery here. The writing is oddly fantastic. The guitar interlude before the feature is great, when the sample comes in is pure bliss. Rick Ross is fine I guess, his voice is great for this, but I don't care much for the content of the verse. Good. 4/5 Runaway The famous piano intro. Some call this Kanye's peak. I like how the intro takes its time setting up the song. Almost a bit vulnerable in the delivery and lyrics. There might even be a bit of self-awareness here which is something I didn't know Kanye West was even capable of. The purely instrumental parts are for the lack of a better word, interesting. It's bold and refreshing sounding oddly beautiful at times. Great. 4.5/5 Hell of a Life Crunchy beat. Iron Man interpolation is terrible. Ambivalent about the lyrics. The storytelling is decent, but the lyrics veer on cringe territory. I don't like the moans. Kanye isn't very likable on this track. Did not like. 2/5 Blame Game Aphex twin song used as a sample is great. Avril 14th does however sound better without Kanye West and John Legend over it. The chorus is fine. The panning distorted vocals don't sound great, but I do like the idea behind it though. The phone part is extremely corny it's sacriligous to put this on top of Avril 14th, it's not funny or charming. Pure blasphemy. 1/5 Lost in the World Vocoder harmonies are fun. I like how the tempo shifts. Didn't find much to appreaciate outside of the production. Closes the album well. Decent. 3.5 Who Will Survive America Gil-Scott Heron! Preach. Interlude/5 A decent microcosm of the early 2010s. Great features, good performances and amazing production. The sample work is fantastic. And Kanye even manages to be likable on some of the tracks. Had a good time for the most part, though many of the songs strayed into overly long territory, where it felt like they ran out of steam. Also many of the attempts at humour fell flat, felt in bad taste or just straight up went over my head. And while Kanye is likeable on some tracks, he is extremely unlikable on others, getting to the point where I just want to block him out. I do recognize a personal bias which might affect my reaction to this piece, but I think I gave it a fair shot and probably liked it more than I thought I would. Fave track. Power Least fave track. Blame Game Rating. 3.5/5

He’s a very sick individual who occasinally makes good music. I just never listen to it freely - not only because he’s that person, but also because I really never cared about this type of music - it doesn’t really move me emotionally

Not a feminist masterpiece, but god how great is POWER?

It's alright. I wouldn't be gone on this but it's ok. No stand out song. I don't be listening to it again

I think we are at the time where everyone has more or less forgotten about Kanye's X crash out (since nobody is talking about it) so i don't think it will be too controversial if i say that i think that My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a great album. I have had a somewhat mixed opinion on a lot of Kanye's lyrics but i will say that they in this album are not nearly as bad as the ones on Yeezus, but not as good as the ones in The College Dropout. However, what i think is better than both albums is the production. It took a massive step up and delivered some major bangers in basically all of the songs. Kanye might not be the greatest person but this album sure is his greatest. Best Song: All Of The Lights Worst Song: Dark Fantasy Side Note: And since this is the last of the Kanye West albums i will be looking at, here are my rankings 1. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 2. The College Dropout 3. Yeezus

No hace mucho West era el Rey Midas Discos excepcionales uno tras otro hasta The Life of Pablo. Este puede ser su mejor disco y Runnaway con esa introducción de piano su mejor tema. Dark Fantasy, All of the lights, la inquietante Blame Game, Monster... colaboradores de lujo para auténticas gemas musicales Un disco esencial sin duda.

euh..?..? hoeveel kutplaten kan één mens maken?

Pretty good. Monster is a good song and Nikki Minaj is a surprisingly welcome addition. Power is also good, though it leans heavily on the King Crimson sample. However, Ye has clearly leant to far into the album title and his choices now cloud his earlier work (for us).

I do not give racist, Trump loving idiots listens on Spotify.

Wow. This album is crazy across the board. The production is so varied and unique. The features are all used so well. What an inspired album front to back. It sucks that this guy is so good at what he does, cause he really kind of sucks. Standouts: POWER, Monster, Runaway

Overall, this is one of the better albums I’ve heard from Kanye. He’s made tracks that I’ve really enjoyed, but he’s one of those artists I have a hard time taking seriously. He’s always out there rocking the boat, stirring up controversy just to keep the spotlight on himself, to the point where I find it hard to even want to listen to him.

Pre-listen, 3 of these tracks are already on my liked songs list. Solid album. I'm not a Kanye-as-a-person fan, and I wouldn't really consider myself a fan of Kanye-the-artist, but this album is good. Can't deny it. 4/5.

An all time favorite of mine, I’ve probably listened to this album 50 times now. Kanye isn’t a good man but man is this album good.

It's amazing how separated I am culturally from some types of music. Collectively, these songs have had about 4 BILLION listens on spotify, yet I hadn't heard (of) a single one of them. And are they good? Yeah they are fine. Like 2 or 3 stars fine. However, while I usually try to separate the art from the artist, this album does lose 3 stars for Kanye being a literal Nazi.

Ok, I'm no Kanye fan, but the front half of this album slaps. The back half gets real weird, and you can love it I think if you're thinking it's conceptual but with the time thats passed....not shocking that it's turned out this way. However, beside the weirdness, still good. Putting as a 4. Would probably be a 3 in rock, but for not liking a genre or a person...still wild and that counts.

I have listened to this album plenty of times. This album probably one of his best. I am not listening to Kanye these days.

This album is even better considering his situation back than and how he handled things. Sad how he turned out as a person. Music wise he was really on his peak and capturing the best out of people.

Proof a broken clock is correct twice a day, and the poster child for an argument for the separation of art and the artist

Fuck no, not even gonna listen to this N@zi shit

I actually really liked it as much as I hate to admit because Kanye’s an asshole nazi piece of shit

(i liked it sorry sorry sorry sorry)

Couldn’t bring myself to listen to this. One star is the minimum.

I know Kanye is a terrible individual but I really love his music. The production and arrangements are just so great, and I mean what’s better than a rapper sampling King Crimson? This is just so big and cool and interesting. Kanye is at his best here (I also really like 808 and heartbreak album, but that’s different). I’m not a hip hop expert but for me this is top 5-10 hip hop albums ever so easily five stars.

We don’t support Nazi’s. Can’t separate the music from the artist here. 0/5.

Oh Kanye. This will be my second Kanye album to review, and it’s his contribution to the list that I’m most familiar with. I was really blown away by this album when it came out, and it really shattered my ideas of what a hip-hop album could be. I got to see Kanye play at ACL in 2011, and I hate to admit it, but it was one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen in my life. The setlist was heavy on songs from this album, and the show was absolutely epic and grandiose in every way. I haven’t listened to this album in a while, mostly due to… *gestures at the general existence of Kanye in 2025* but I’m still excited to fire this album up today, because I know how much I like listening to this. It should be a crime for someone who’s as big of an asshole as Kanye to make an album this great. Seriously, what a waste of talent to make something like this and choose to be a Nazi scumbag. It’s infuriating. MBDTF is one of the most epic and bombastic albums I’ve ever listened to, and it sadly holds up incredibly well, almost fifteen years later. The production is my favorite aspect of this album. The beats, samples, and over-the-top musical arrangements are just a joy to listen to. I like the lyrics and rapping too, but the music is what hooked me on this album when it came out. “All of the Lights” is still my favorite song off of this album, if not one of my favorite songs of the 2010’s. Whenever that beat drops, I could run through a brick wall. I can’t think of many songs that are as pure of an adrenaline rush as this one. Those horns, the drums, Rihanna’s hook… everything about this song is fantastic. “Runaway” is in a close second to “All of the Lights” for my favorite song on the album. The opening piano riff sets the tone for the song so incredibly well, the beat is great, and the lyrics are fantastic. Granted, the self-reflection that Kanye seemed to exhibit in the lyrics don’t really seem so genuine these days, but at the time that this album came out, they really packed a punch. I still think they’re well written, even if they haven’t aged well. I’ll stop myself from writing more about the songs on this album, and wrap up by reiterating how much I love the music and production. Now I’m pissed off again that Kanye is a waste of talent. Even though I think this album is great, it’s not something I’ll listen to often, given who the artist is. Favorite line: “Too many Urkels, that’s why you’re wins low.”

Ich weiß, dass ich das Album mag, aber ich mag Kanye nicht

Leider gute Musik aber Werk vom Künstler nicht trennbar.

This is definitely an album by someone who lives in a Dark Fantasy…

Again I feel weird and uneasy cause I'm enjoying the music of a self-proclaimed Nazi. I guess I'm just a horrible person, but I kinda liked this album.

used to love this record but FUCK KANYE

Really debated not listening to this (an album I loved over 10 years ago but have rarely revisited) but ultimately too many artists on this list have done terrible, despicable things and I want to approach this as objectively about the actual music as possible so in the interest of completionism I listened. And I have to be honest, it’s still a 5 star album for me. So powerful and original, with such interesting production and some of my all-time favourite collaborations, with Nicki Minaj and Bon Iver. It really is the most definitive and creatively engaging collection in every way. What an awful shame.

To quote another reviewer, 5/5 album but 0/5 human being. Fuck the nazi bullshit.

I don't get it. Whatever message he's trying to give with this album, I can't identify myself with it. Musically is not that bad, but when I read about the production process I feel sick. 24 hours recording sessions for a guy that believes he's a god. I just can't take this kind of art. And besides, Kanye sucks now a days. In this case I can't separate the art from the artist. Fck this and fck him and all his enablers.

The imagery of bruising a woman’s oesophagus is not something I want in my head. It also passes up the chance to rhyme sarcophagus with “Mr Snuffleupagus”.

Sigh, Kanye does some wonderful work. Too bad he's turned into a controversial king of sorts. I'm giving this album 5 stars because of the artistry. If I were to include the artists' proclivities of Nazi worship, it would be one star.

I like Kanye West or Ye and a rapper I like his tone. I have his first 2 albums and Yeezus but lost interest in his later stuff. This album passed me by has some great songs on there however tails a bit off at the end and over long. A pleasant suprize.

This album raises the Leni Riefenstahl problem. She was a gifted German filmmaker in the 1930s. Her most significant work was "Triumph of the Will," a mesmerizing depiction of Nazi rallies in Nurnberg that was, above all things, a propaganda triumph for Hitler. She never repented of her work. Comparing people to Nazis is usually a pointless way to end reasonable discussion of an issue. But here, West is now a self-confessed Nazi. So the comparison seems apt. How does one assess his work in light of the fact that he is a thoroughly odious stain of a human being? Musically, it's got a lot going for it. But I can't get over the artist's moral depravity. Maybe this would be a harder call for me if it involved a morally problematic artist from my own youth such as Michael Jackson.

I don't like Nazis, so I didn't listen to this album beyond the Spotify-given clips. It sounded fine, I guess.

am afang hanis wükli no recht kuul gfunde, abem foifte song wirds aber teils lärmig und vor allem werded d songs eintönig (ussert de afang vo runaway aber denn passiert au nüt grosses meh). bi durs ganze album sochli hin und her gumpt zwüsched no kuul und laaangwiilig

Nope!

I very much hate that this man makes (or made) really good music. Personal enjoyment: 4/5 Relevance to this list: 4/5 Kanye as a person: -100000000/5

Ugh Kanye. But I enjoyed this listen and the album art.

Production is really wild, opulent and experimental, no doubt Kanye is top tier musician, that said it feels like every song is 8 minutes long and they don’t all hit

It was alright. Honestly better than I wanted it to be given who the artist is but I can't deny that he has talent.

In his current mental health system, he's a terrible human being, I really hope he can get the help he needs. This album is objectively amazing and it's sad he's fallen so hard since.

I miss the old Kanye

5/5 production, what can I say

Yeah I know…in fiction it’s a lot of fun and entertainment when a genius goes mad, in real life it’s just sad

I don’t like Kanye as a person. He’s a douchebag. And it’s hard to listen to his music without picturing his stupid face and thinking about how much I dislike him. But I gave this two hard listens. I like his collab songs with others more than I like him by himself. In the end, though, there are only two or three songs on this album I’d gladly listen to again.

Killer beats, snap-wit lyrics, confidence on wax. Points off for being a Nazi fuckhead.

Bad man

This guy is a piece of shit. The music is alright. I wasn’t much interested it back in 2010- sure am not now.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a milestone for Hip-Hop and one of the best albums ever made. It is an artistic, gorgeous look into Kanye’s mind as a person. The production, and alongside it, the samples, lyrics, and features, all come together in a perfect way to create this masterpiece of an album. Not to mention, Kanye managed to get Rick Ross to pour his soul into his feature on the track “Devil In a New Dress” and he still hasn’t topped it since even on his solo work, and this album also kickstarted Nicki Minaj’s career by featuring her on “Monster” despite the fact her verse surpassed everyone else. To say this album had a cultural impact is an understatement. If someone doesn’t understand what makes Kanye so loved as an artist even after everything he has done, show them this album. I’ll admit I have a bit of a bias because this album is the one that make me love hip-hop as a genre as someone who listened to mainly rock before, but now I’m a diehard fan of it. If any album deserves to be called a magnum opus I think it’s this one. Favorite Tracks: Dark Fantasy, Devil In a New Dress, Lost In The World, So Appalled, Power, Runaway, and Hell of a Life.

M'eh, standard rap, nothing at all to reoemmend it

I’m a casual hip hop consumer at best. Enjoyed this album but the first half was just ok. Standard fair guest artist featured w Kanye on fair/good tracks. Second half of the album saw styles expand, get more creative and move away from standard hip hop tropes. Second half was preferred.

Say what you want, but it's a surprisingly good album.

Of all artists to feel conflicted about, Kanye West might win the Most Conflicted About award. I really used to be a huge fan, and this album was my favorite. I haven’t listened to it in a long time, because he is way past “off the deep end,” and I really don’t fuck with Nazis. But most of the things I used to love about this album, particularly its production and certain verses and samples, I still love. It just feels tainted now; it used to be a victory and now it’s a tragedy. The fact that Kanye used to be self-aware to such an extent just hurts to witness. He could have responded to the feelings that created this album in a better way. Oh well. He enjoyed being a douchebag, an asshole, a scumbag, too much and disappeared into that persona. RIP. Anyway, despite no longer feeling like it’s a five-star album, I do think it’s still a must-listen, if nothing else than as a cautionary tale. #81.

Separating art from artist, 5 star album, 1 star person. Dude needs help, desperately. My favorite of his albums.

Better that i expected

I love this album. Reminds me of when I was first getting into music and figuring out what I liked. I was so enamored by the sound of this album. The production is next level. The features are perfect - love Kid Cudi's vocals. Nicki eats. What a collection of songs. My personal favorite being Lost In The World, such a pretty melody and love Bon Iver's feature.

Kanye is one of those artists where I really have to separate the art from the artist. He was never a humble or well adjusted guy, but he has completely gone over the edge in recent years. This may be his greatest album, and possibly the last great album he will release. Kanye’s roots are in production and he puts those skills to great use here. Kanye is an ok rapper, but his ear for finding samples is among the best to ever do it.

It’s ok, there is way better rap out there. Not a must listen album

Masterpiece.

Dookie

more rap, but not terrible - includes King Crimson sample