With ICEMAN announced for May 15, the Drake buzz is back—and possibly bigger than ever. In certain ways, to some people, this is the most important album of his career. But with that being said, what is the best he’s given us after nearly two decades in the game?
We ranked the 10 best Drake albums and mixtapes, and gave our reasons why, below!
10. ‘Honestly, Nevermind’
While it received mixed reviews, and even some outright hatred earlier on, Honestly, Nevermind is easily Drake’s most experimental project. Sure, the tracks fit within genres he’s dabbled in before, but the incredibly strict focus on dance riddims and house instrumentation was a major shift. And with tracks like “Overdrive,” which is the sleeper from the album in our opinion, the hate might have been a little premature.
9. ‘Certified Lover Boy’
For an album with some of the worst cover art ever, CLB has its fair share of deep cuts and a strong enough thematic direction that it offsets the visual cringe. Opening with “Champagne Poetry” was a great move—sample-forward, rapping Drake rarely misses, no matter how deep into his career he gets.
8. ‘More Life’
Once Drake started going the 20+ songs, “playlist” route for his projects, it became a game of judging them for their high points, considering they weren’t cohesive bodies of work. That being said, it’s Drake. Love him or hate him, his best showings are still fantastic to listen to. Going through that first listen with some nice tunes, to get to “Do Not Disturb” was well worth it.
7. ‘Scorpion’
Another 20+ song mixed bag of Drake’s genres and voices, the album is home to a rap side and an R&B side—both of which host more solid showings. “Is There More?” does a lot of the heavy lifting for Disc 1, with some of his best post-Views rapping, but Disc 2 is the star for sure. “Jaded,” “That’s How You Feel,” and “After Dark” sit among the top of R&B Drizzy’s discography, and his versatility is still appreciated.
6. ‘So Far Gone’
Okay, here’s where we get into some real shit. From here to Views, Drake’s body of work is genuinely undeniable (for fans and haters alike), and the So Far Gone mixtape pretty much started it all. His ability to incorporate genres and trends into hits that sound intentional put him in a class of his own at the time. The popular approach from his mentor Lil Wayne, with a bit more substance upfront, was a recipe for success.
“Houstatlantavegas,” “Successful,” and “Best I Ever Had” showcase his knack for melody without softening the punch in his rap delivery. “November 18th” takes that Houston nod and goes all in, just doubling down on his artistic range. All in all, a great first listen for soon-to-be Drake fans in the late 2000s.
5. ‘Views’
Views is easily Drake’s most popular album, but it’s not his best. Let’s just get that out the way now. However, its placement on this list is not for a lack of quality; it’s just that he has other albums that feel significantly more streamlined. With that disclaimer in mind, let’s get to the details.
Tracks like “Childs Play,” “Fire & Desire,” and especially “Weston Road Flows” are high as hell on the list of his best songs. Most of the album maintains that high, with an aesthetic that sounds both emotional and cold at once—indicative of his Toronto background. At the same time, the “Hotline Bling” and “Controlla”-type tunes are mega-hits that sound great, but work much better as standalone tracks.
Wait, let us cook! You’ll see what we mean as the list goes along.
4. ‘Thank Me Later’
From this point forward, every track fits every album like a glove, and these projects represent the absolute pinnacle of Drake’s abilities. Albums aren’t just about how good the songs sound—the worlds they create are also important. And Thank Me Later, his first official album, was a crystal clear look into Drizzy’s world.
Obviously not an “overnight” success, the speed and trajectory of his ascent were still unheard of at the time, and you could hear the reflection in the opening three-track run. That controlled passiveness, however, eventually bursts into the run that goes from “Over” to “Fancy.” From there, it’s a mix of the highs and lows that come with newfound fame and fortune—making for what is, possibly, the most uniquely Drake album out there.
And Ye SMOKED “Find Your Love.” Just gotta drop that in there.
3. ‘If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late’
Now, where Thank Me Later was accompanied with the natural tells of someone adjusting to a new lifestyle, IYRTITL was on a completely different type of timing. Drake was, without a doubt, the biggest rapper in the world at the time. And he doubled down on that notion on each and every track.
Starting your album with “Oh my god, Oh my god, If I die, I’m a legend” is a hell of a statement. But it wasn’t just the intro, the album rarely steps away from that level of “Energy”—except when he decides to serenade one of his love interests, as we’ve come to expect. And those brief moments of reprieve from the unbridled confidence are welcomed, because they’re incredible. “Company” is cold as hell. “Jungle” is one of his best tracks, bar none. Overall, it’s a top 3 Drake project, in any order.
2. ‘Nothing Was The Same’
Sorry to bring up Kendrick in this if you hate the guy, but you’ll be alright! The unspoken Cold War and competition between the two, and the rap game as a whole at the time, resulted in consistently incredible bodies of work from a wide variety of artists. No one wanted to be left behind, and Drake’s Nothing Was The Same let it be known that he was definitely among the top of the pack.
The 15-track deluxe—16 on Spotify—has absolutely no skips. “Tuscan Leather” is one of his best intros. The album spawned multiple hits, but the quality of some of them is just ridiculous (see: “From Time” w/ Jhene Aiko). There’s a darker tonality to the majority of the tracks, and he continues to visit those Houston motifs on vibes like “Connect” and “Come Thru.”
And you can’t forget the last verse of “Worst Behavior,” as well as his performance on “Pound Cake / Paris Morton Music 2.” Every track is well-executed, and the album’s hour+ runtime (without a playlist worth of songs) means that every idea is fully fleshed out. If you didn’t like this one, I guess that’s just the motion.
1. ‘Take Care’
To this day, listening to Take Care is one of those pivotal moments as a music listener that contextualizes everything that has happened after it. From the collaborators, to the cover art, it’s one of the most iconic albums in history. And as we’ve said multiple times, even the Drake haters would be blatantly lying to say this album didn’t have the impact it did. It’s in the top 15 longest charting albums on Billboard for a reason.
Drake’s range—both sonic and emotional—is on full display across the 1hr 20m runtime. The major difference between albums like this and the post-Views projects is one thing: continuity. The caliber of the features, and their ability to drive a point home, is one of the album’s best qualities.
And that’s no knock to Drake at all, his ear for song construction makes this album what it is. Deciding to get Rihanna for your dance track (”Take Care”), Rick Ross for your lavish rapping exercise (”Lord Knows”), and Lil Wayne and André-fucking-3000 for your introspective track about strippers (”The Real Her”)? Perfection. On top of that, every track with The Weeknd, regardless of their eventual feud, helped give the album a specific Toronto identity.
And lastly, we all know “Marvin’s Room” is probably a top 3 Drake track when taking importance and sound into consideration. That said, “Look What You’ve Done” is one of the most beautiful songs in his discography. If you’ve ever wondered why some fans have a deep, emotional attachment to his work, you can look at that track as an answer. Every song holds a specific role, and Take Care is one of music’s best time capsules—a look into why Drake is one of music’s most popular and polarizing figures to date.
