The College Dropout
by Kanye West

The College Dropout by Kanye West
Year: 2004
Release date: 2004-02-10
Overall rank: 178th   
Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,438 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 2004 (4th)
Award Top 50 albums of the 2000s (29th)
Award Top 200 albums of all time (178th)

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Kanye West bestography

The College Dropout is ranked 2nd best out of 15 albums by Kanye West on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Kanye West is My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy which is ranked number 34 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 22,751.

Kanye West album bestography « Higher ranked (34th)
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
This album (178th)
The College Dropout
Lower ranked (205th) »
Yeezus

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

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The College Dropout track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 79 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Rating/Comments
1.
Average Rating: 67 (204 votes)Comments: View 4
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2.
Average Rating: 87 (300 votes)Comments: View 5
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3.
Average Rating: 75 (218 votes)Comments: View 4
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4.
Track pick (890 - 374 votes)
Average Rating: 89 (374 votes)Comments: View 2
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5.
Average Rating: 77 (225 votes)Comments: View 3
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7.
Track pick (910 - 464 votes)
Average Rating: 91 (464 votes)Comments: View 8
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10.
Average Rating: 64 (204 votes)Comments: View 2
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11.
Average Rating: 79 (267 votes)Comments: View 5
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14.
Average Rating: 71 (189 votes)Comments: View 4
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15.
Average Rating: 82 (246 votes)Comments: View 2
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16.
Average Rating: 70 (192 votes)Comments: View 1
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17.
Average Rating: 69 (191 votes)Comments: View 3
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19.
Average Rating: 87 (306 votes)Comments: View 4
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20.
Track pick (870 - 282 votes)
Average Rating: 87 (282 votes)Comments: View 4
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21.
Average Rating: 82 (251 votes)Comments: View 8
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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

The College Dropout rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 178th | 2000s rank: 29th | 2004 rank: 4th

The College Dropout collection

The College Dropout ratings

Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,438 votes)
   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 1,438 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
85/100
 !
44 minutes ago Slewkey   29580/100
 
0/100
 !
01/06/2026 03:08 Olli   6,73463/100
 
60/100
 !
12/29/2025 17:47 mutant   1,63455/100
 
95/100
 !
12/27/2025 16:55 Siromynian   1,59878/100
 
10/100
 !
12/27/2025 04:56 AbsurdCheesecake   33187/100

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 82.6/100, a mean average of 79.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 82.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 19.6.

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The College Dropout comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 89 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:  
100/100
From 07/01/2025 12:07 | #309823
Although he got his start as a producer, working for big names like Jay Z, more than anything he wanted to be an artist. And fuelled by an intense belief in himself, at a time when few people believed in his vision, West overcome all odds, including a car accident that left him with his jaw wired shut, to create what I consider to be the greatest Hip hop album ever made. With an innovative production style, and a powerful social voice, West was able to reach every plateau, with a Hip hop record that introduced the world to the most influential artist of the 21st century.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 08/03/2024 14:03 | #304637
A very good album with some memorable hits. It's a little too long and lacks enough excellent album tracks, but it's still worth a listen. It has a nice combination of R&B, Soul, and Rap. It makes a few key observations regarding education, racism, and religion. 9/10!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 03/20/2023 14:57 | #295214
Kanye West is on fire on this release with this sounding like someone who is determined and hungry for success. We get tracks like Through The Wire, Jesus Walks, All Falls Down and We Don't Care being the evidence for this as they demonstrate everything that is great about Kanye. The features on this album are fantastic as well and elevate the music so much. This is definitely one of his more consistent releases and his ideas stay fresh the whole way through on here. Despite this, there is a significant amount of filler with just less than half the tracks being skippable as they are mediocre. The run time is another issue I have also as there isn't an hour and 16 minutes worth of content on here and it could be reduced. Overall, this is probably Kanye's most consistent release and his passion for music shines through on this release which makes it one of his most enjoyable to listen to.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/18/2022 19:33 | #287587
I tend to find myself surprised, repeatedly, by the creativity behind the rhymes and flow in Kanye’s flow. Strong debut album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 05/24/2022 11:08 | #285668
One of the best debuts off all time. Kanye West's College Dropout set the tone for Rap, and marks a switch in rap as popular music, and he is definately top 5 ever in my book. Tracks like Jesus Walks, All Falls Down, Through the wire, Family Business, and my fav: Slow Jamz are classics, still today. Some weak points, and i personally think some of the takes on the school spirit skits are plain wrong, but that doesn't distract from the point that this is a masterpiece. Kanye may be crazy, may be a Genius, but his discography proves he is a musical Genius. 9/10
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 02/04/2022 22:27 | #280761
85

El debut de Kanye y no podría ser para menos. Pese a que tenga muchos interludios, se siente que todos aportan al concepto del album y tiene muy buenas canciones, siendo mis preferidas Through the Wire, All Falls Down y Jesus Walks. Hasta ahora me parece el segundo mejor disco de Kanye, después de MBDTF.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/13/2022 16:35 | #279262
This album is probably Kanye's best. The chipmunk soul production is on full display and Ye sounds so hungry. Incredible features as well.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 01/08/2022 22:06 | #278884
Some great tracks on this. Not a fan of albums that contain too many filler 40-second tracks (I don't see what it adds personally), but the sheer quality and consistency of the full-length tracks make up for this for me. One of my favourite rap albums ever. Highlights are Through The Wire, Slow Jamz and Jesus Walks.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (1 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 07/04/2021 21:41 | #271342
Highlights:

- We Don't Care
- Spaceship (Feat. Consequence & GLC)
- Jesus Walks
- Never Let Me Down (Feat. Jay-Z & J. Ivy)
- The New Workout Plan
- Slow Jamz (Feat. Twista & Jamie Foxx)
- Through The Wire
- Family Business
- Last Call
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 06/05/2021 18:25 | #270401
Great album, but the skits on this album make me lower my ranking
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 2004
1. Funeral by Arcade Fire
2. Madvillainy by Madvillain
3. American Idiot by Green Day
4. The College Dropout by Kanye West
5. Hot Fuss by The Killers
6. Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand
7. Good News For People Who Love Bad News by Modest Mouse
8. Antics by Interpol
9. Mm..Food by MF DOOM
10. The Milk-Eyed Mender by Joanna Newsom
11. Hopes And Fears by Keane
12. Abattoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
13. Brian Wilson Presents Smile by Brian Wilson
14. Seven Swans by Sufjan Stevens
15. A Ghost Is Born by Wilco
16. Sung Tongs by Animal Collective
17. Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge by My Chemical Romance
18. Our Endless Numbered Days by Iron & Wine
19. The Libertines by The Libertines
20. Leviathan by Mastodon
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