All 32 Rap Albums, ranked by 186 players
Players rank To Pimp a Butterfly #1: it wins 69.5% of its matchups (n = 439) and took the title in 22 of 186 brackets. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Illmatic follow. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has the most titles (23). Disagree? Hip-Hop Album Bracket is one tap away.
Updated hourly · last refreshed November 15, 2026
Brackets finished186
Head-to-head picks4,814
Entrants ranked32of 32
To Pimp a Butterfly title share11.8%n = 186
Title odds
Share of 186 finished brackets won
- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy12.4% (23 of 186)
- To Pimp a Butterfly11.8% (22 of 186)
- Illmatic11.3% (21 of 186)
- good kid, m.A.A.d city9.1% (17 of 186)
- Take Care7.0% (13 of 186)
- The College Dropout6.5% (12 of 186)
Greatest Rap Albums: the community tier list
Built from win rates across 4,814 picks. Tiers use the win rate steadied toward 50% for entrants with few matchups (S from 75%, A 60%, B 50%, C 40%, D 25%). Steadying pulls a small sample toward the middle, so a high raw rate can sit a tier lower and a low one a tier higher than the rate shown, which is the raw one. What does S tier mean?
Stier, win rate 75% or more
- Nobody yet
Atier, win rate 60% or more
- To Pimp a Butterfly69.5%
- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy69.1%
- Illmatic68.4%
- good kid, m.A.A.d city67.7%
- The College Dropout66.1%
Btier, win rate 50% or more
- Madvillainy57.3%
- Ready to Die56.6%
- Take Care56.5%
- DAMN.54.7%
- ASTROWORLD54.7%
- Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)54.5%
- All Eyez on Me53.6%
- Stankonia53.4%
- Rodeo52.4%
- The Blueprint50.2%
Ctier, win rate 40% or more
- The Marshall Mathers LP45.5%
- IGOR45.2%
- The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill44.8%
- Aquemini43.7%
- The Chronic43.1%
- Me Against the World41.6%
- Reasonable Doubt40.6%
- Life After Death40.2%
Dtier, win rate 25% or more
- Flower Boy38.9%
- Midnight Marauders35.7%
- Doggystyle35.1%
- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...29.8%
- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back28.8%
- GNX26.4%
Ftier, win rate 0% or more
- The Score21.9%
- SOS20.4%
- Paid in Full19.1%
Standings
Every entrant with its record. Ordered by win rate, steadied for small samples; a rate shows once an entrant has 30 matchups. n is the number of head-to-head matchups behind each rate.
| # | Entry | W–L | Win rate | Against .500 | Titles | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | To Pimp a ButterflyKendrick Lamar - 2015 | 305–134 | 69.5% | 22 | 439 | |
| 2 | My Beautiful Dark Twisted FantasyKanye West - 2010 | 302–135 | 69.1% | 23 | 437 | |
| 3 | IllmaticNas - 1994 | 316–146 | 68.4% | 21 | 462 | |
| 4 | good kid, m.A.A.d cityKendrick Lamar - 2012 | 302–144 | 67.7% | 17 | 446 | |
| 5 | The College DropoutKanye West - 2004 | 287–147 | 66.1% | 12 | 434 | |
| 6 | MadvillainyMadvillain - 2004 | 204–152 | 57.3% | 8 | 356 | |
| 7 | Ready to DieThe Notorious B.I.G. - 1994 | 202–155 | 56.6% | 4 | 357 | |
| 8 | Take CareDrake - 2011 | 188–145 | 56.5% | 13 | 333 | |
| 9 | DAMN.Kendrick Lamar - 2017 | 191–158 | 54.7% | 6 | 349 | |
| 10 | ASTROWORLDTravis Scott - 2018 | 182–151 | 54.7% | 10 | 333 | |
| 11 | Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)Wu-Tang Clan - 1993 | 183–153 | 54.5% | 4 | 336 | |
| 12 | All Eyez on Me2Pac - 1996 | 171–148 | 53.6% | 8 | 319 | |
| 13 | StankoniaOutKast - 2000 | 174–152 | 53.4% | 5 | 326 | |
| 14 | RodeoTravis Scott - 2015 | 174–158 | 52.4% | 6 | 332 | |
| 15 | The BlueprintJay-Z - 2001 | 139–138 | 50.2% | 4 | 277 | |
| 16 | The Marshall Mathers LPEminem - 2000 | 130–156 | 45.5% | 5 | 286 | |
| 17 | IGORTyler, the Creator - 2019 | 128–155 | 45.2% | 2 | 283 | |
| 18 | The Miseducation of Lauryn HillLauryn Hill - 1998 | 128–158 | 44.8% | 4 | 286 | |
| 19 | AqueminiOutKast - 1998 | 121–156 | 43.7% | 3 | 277 | |
| 20 | The ChronicDr. Dre - 1992 | 106–140 | 43.1% | 1 | 246 | |
| 21 | Me Against the World2Pac - 1995 | 107–150 | 41.6% | 1 | 257 | |
| 22 | Reasonable DoubtJay-Z - 1996 | 108–158 | 40.6% | 2 | 266 | |
| 23 | Life After DeathThe Notorious B.I.G. - 1997 | 103–153 | 40.2% | 1 | 256 | |
| 24 | Flower BoyTyler, the Creator - 2017 | 98–154 | 38.9% | 0 | 252 | |
| 25 | Midnight MaraudersA Tribe Called Quest - 1993 | 85–153 | 35.7% | 1 | 238 | |
| 26 | DoggystyleSnoop Dogg - 1993 | 78–144 | 35.1% | 1 | 222 | |
| 27 | Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Raekwon - 1995 | 65–153 | 29.8% | 0 | 218 | |
| 28 | It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us BackPublic Enemy - 1988 | 68–168 | 28.8% | 1 | 236 | |
| 29 | GNXKendrick Lamar - 2024 | 52–145 | 26.4% | 1 | 197 | |
| 30 | The ScoreFugees - 1996 | 42–150 | 21.9% | 0 | 192 | |
| 31 | SOSSZA - 2022 | 38–148 | 20.4% | 0 | 186 | |
| 32 | Paid in FullEric B. & Rakim - 1987 | 37–157 | 19.1% | 0 | 194 |
Closest rivalries
Pairs the crowd can barely split. Estimated from each entrant's overall record until the pair has met 20 times.
- DAMN.vsASTROWORLD50–50 · estimate from overall records
- Ready to DievsTake Care50–50 · estimate from overall records
- ASTROWORLDvsEnter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)50–50 · estimate from overall records
Most lopsided
- To Pimp a ButterflyvsPaid in Full90–10 · estimate from overall records
- My Beautiful Dark Twisted FantasyvsPaid in Full89–11 · estimate from overall records
- IllmaticvsPaid in Full89–11 · estimate from overall records
Upsets and oddities
Patterns in 186 finished brackets.
- UntouchableTo Pimp a Butterfly wins 69.5%The best record in the field (n = 439 matchups).
- ClutchThe Marshall Mathers LP: 5 titlesOnly #16 on win rate, but #13 for championships.
- Still waitingFlower Boy: no titles yetWins 38.9% of its matchups (n = 252) and has never been crowned.
Upsets need real meetings: a pair shows here once it has met 10 times and the weaker record leads.
Questions people ask
What is #1 in the Greatest Rap Albums community ranking?
To Pimp a Butterfly. It wins 69.5% of its head-to-head matchups (n = 439) and took the title in 22 of 186 finished brackets. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has the most titles (23), but a weaker record across all its matchups.
How is the ranking worked out?
Every pick in a finished bracket is a win for one entrant and a loss for the other. Entrants are ordered by win rate, steadied toward 50% by ten imaginary matchups so that a newcomer with a 3–0 record can't top the table. The rate shown is the real one, with n, the number of matchups behind it.
Why win rate and not titles?
Draws are shuffled, so a title can come from an easy path. Win rate counts every matchup an entrant played, which is a fairer read of how people feel about it. Title odds are shown too, as the share of finished brackets each entrant won.
How many people have ranked Greatest Rap Albums?
186 finished brackets so far, with 4,814 head-to-head picks between them. Only finished brackets count.
Can I rank all 32 myself?
Yes. Play the bracket at 8, 16, 32 entrants, free and with no sign-up. You get your own ranking and a link to share, and your picks join this page.
How often does this page update?
About every hour, as new brackets are finished.
More brackets
Your turn: is the crowd right?
Pick a winner in every matchup and see where you agree with 186 players, and where you don't.