Donuts
by J Dilla

Donuts by J Dilla
Year: 2006
Release date: 2006-02-07
Overall rank: 407th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 528 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 2006 (6th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 2000s (65th)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (407th)

Listen on Spotify SPOTIFY
Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
J Dilla - Donuts [New Vinyl LP] Audiophile, 180 Gram, Anniversary Ed
Condition: New


eBay
eBay
J Dilla - Donuts - 2006 - Stones Throw - Lp VG+/VG+
Condition: Used


eBay
eBay
J Dilla Donuts 12" Vinyl LP Record Stones Throw Hip-Hop Sealed
Condition: New

$201.00


Go to store

  My favourite store:  

J Dilla bestography

Donuts is ranked as the best album by J Dilla.

J Dilla album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (407th)
Donuts
Lower ranked (22,431st) »
The Shining

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Apr
11
Sat
Sponge
Stage Red, Fontana, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
11
Sat
Meek Mill
Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
May
04
Mon
Bruce in the USA
Broome County Forum Theatre, Binghamton, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 

Listen to Donuts on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

Donuts track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 80 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort Sort by
#
Track
Rating/Comments
2.
Track pick (870 - 113 votes)
Average Rating: 87 (113 votes)Comments: View 0
10.
Track pick (870 - 107 votes)
Average Rating: 87 (107 votes)Comments: View 1
30.
Track pick (850 - 92 votes)
Average Rating: 85 (92 votes)Comments: View 0

Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Donuts rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 407th | 2000s rank: 65th | 2006 rank: 6th
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026saltysurpriseTop 39 Music Albums of 20065/394
2026lanadeleswiftTop 56 Music Albums of 200616/564
2026jdizzle123456Greatest Hip Hop Albums of All Time20/50 -
2026 AAL2014Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s71/1006
2026cicadelicTop 91 Music Albums of 200688/910
2026 Norman BatesTop 100 Music Albums of 20061/1005
2026 RomanelliMy Overall Chart: 1501-160057/100 -
2026joathomeTop 60 Music Albums of 200658/600
2026augie_jonesTop 40 Greatest Music Albums15/4065
2026jdizzle123456Top 99 Greatest Music Albums77/9923
2026 NowhereManTop 19 Music Albums of 20064/194
2026 covecoveTop 100 Music Albums of 200613/1004
2026 eclabTop 19 Music Albums of 200613/192
2026 cestuneblagueTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s32/10014
2026 RomanelliTop 75 Music Albums of 200632/753
2026blueandthemoonTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s87/1003
2026LittleM1971Top 90 Music Albums of 200686/900
2026SiromynianTop 19 Music Albums of 20068/193
2026jonny5244Upcoming Album Club Picks 26/100 -
2026Exist-en-cielTop 20 Music Albums of 20063/205
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 467
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 4,095
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Donuts collection

Donuts ratings

Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 528 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 528 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 
03/09/2026 20:15 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  8,13370/100
 
100/100
 
02/20/2026 19:18 Kronikal433  Ratings distribution  15493/100
 
85/100
 
02/01/2026 22:31 sweetness  Ratings distribution  1,07279/100
 
80/100
 
01/25/2026 12:36 stareaterogni0n  Ratings distribution  34872/100
 
80/100
 
01/14/2026 23:57 This_is_handsome  Ratings distribution  76979/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 81.2/100, a mean average of 79.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 81.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.7.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Donuts comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 24 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
85/100
From 09/06/2024 18:42 | #305160
The tracks are too short to rate this album per track... I also always zone out when I'm listening to this, so I can almost never tell when the track changes... it's as if this album is one giant instrumental track. Maybe it sounds like I'm criticizing it but nope... I'm definitely praising it. This is something else.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 01/05/2023 21:40 | #292528
Bagunça boa pra porra!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 05/09/2021 17:00 | #269526
Great instrumental album. There is genius and death in those beats.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 04/25/2021 04:12 | #268951
lo-fi hip-hop pioneer??
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 02/07/2021 12:31 | #265954
Happy 15th Anniversary To This Album!

Fav. Tracks:

- Workinonit
- Waves
- Light My Fire
- Stop
- The Diff'rence
- Time: The Donut Of The Heart
- Glazed
- One Eleven
- Two Can Win
- Don't Cry
- Anti-American Graffiti
- Dilla Says Go
- Last Donut Of The Night
- Welcome To The Show / Donuts (Intro)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 01/21/2021 21:33 | #264809
This is cool in and of itself, but it's more resonant when you know something about the context in which it was made.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 06/15/2020 23:23 | #253607
Donuts is an incredibly sad last effort by J Dilla. This album is amazing.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 11/04/2019 00:04 | #244416
On the 7th of February 2006, after around 4 months of label disputes J Dilla's 'Donuts' was finally released.
3 days later he was dead.

Donuts is so much more than just a beat tape, it's the final swan-song of a dying man who felt that in his final moments he had to push himself into making something worth being remembered by. 29 out of the 31 tracks were recorded from a hospital bed in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with nothing but an Boss SP-303 small 45 record player his friends had brought him as a gift, Dilla was undergoing treatment for TPP and lupus, records that his mother would bring him were used as the sources of the sampling for the album. It's a common complaint that all of the songs here are too short and fleeting, but to me it's perfect. It's sort of hauntingly symbolic of how life itself is too short and fleeting, but personal meaning aside, every song here is so lush and beautiful, tiny little details are spread across all 31 tracks, it's impossible to listen to them and not hear something new. I wish they could go on forever. I really do.

I am not worthy of listening to this. I can't even believe this thing exists. I listen to this and I think about how terrifying death is, how scared Dilla must have been. there are no words to describe how breathtaking this music is.


fuck.
RIP.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 03/20/2019 13:45 | #233787
One of the records that got me into listening to hip hop music in general.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 03/03/2019 15:09 | #232940
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -6 votes (2 helpful | 8 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Donuts

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this album by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this album.
Best Albums of 2006
1. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys
2. Ys by Joanna Newsom
3. Back To Black by Amy Winehouse
4. Black Holes And Revelations by Muse
5. The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
6. Donuts by J Dilla
7. The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me by Brand New
8. 10,000 Days by Tool
9. Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers
10. Sam's Town by The Killers
11. Silent Shout by The Knife
12. The Crane Wife by The Decemberists
13. The Eraser by Thom Yorke
14. Return To Cookie Mountain by TV On The Radio
15. Continuum by John Mayer
16. The Life Pursuit by Belle And Sebastian
17. The Trials Of Van Occupanther by Midlake
18. Modern Times by Bob Dylan
19. FutureSex/LoveSounds by Justin Timberlake
20. Yellow House by Grizzly Bear
Back to Top