Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life
by Jay-Z

Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life by Jay-Z
Year: 1998
Release date: 1998-00-00
Overall rank: 8,576th   
Average Rating: 
64/100 (from 127 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1998 (135th)
Award Top albums of the 1990s (1,375th)
Award Best albums of all time (8,576th)

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Jay Z- Hard Knock Life Vol. 2 CD Very Good condition
Condition: Very Good


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Jay Z Vol 2 Hard Knock Life CD Roc A Fella Records Hip Hop
Condition: Very Good


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Jay-Z - Vol. 2 Hard Knock Life - Vinyl LP - Pre-owned - 180G (2014 Reissue)
Condition: Used


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Jay-Z bestography

Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life is ranked 7th best out of 16 albums by Jay-Z on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Jay-Z is The Blueprint which is ranked number 523 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 3,332.

Jay-Z album bestography « Higher ranked (7,767th)
American Gangster
This album (8,576th)
Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life
Lower ranked (17,877th) »
Magna Carta... Holy Grail

(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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Listen to Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life on YouTube

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Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 73 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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1.
Average Rating: 70 (10 votes)Comments: View 0
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3.
Average Rating: 72 (11 votes)Comments: View 0
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4.
Average Rating: 71 (10 votes)Comments: View 0
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6.
Average Rating: 71 (10 votes)Comments: View 0
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7.
Average Rating: 74 (9 votes)Comments: View 0
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9.
Average Rating: 75 (13 votes)Comments: View 0
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10.
Average Rating: 68 (9 votes)Comments: View 0
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11.
Average Rating: 71 (9 votes)Comments: View 0
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12.
Average Rating: 77 (6 votes)Comments: View 0
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Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 8,576th | 1990s rank: 1,375th | 1998 rank: 135th

Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life collection

Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life ratings

Average Rating: 
64/100 (from 127 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 127 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 !
12/28/2025 21:04 MagicSix   90860/100
 
20/100
 !
12/21/2025 04:50 Olli   6,75463/100
 
55/100
 !
12/03/2025 12:32 Tamthebam   22,91369/100
 
50/100
 !
08/11/2025 16:50 EyeKanFly   8,35865/100
 
50/100
 !
08/06/2025 04:03 brent13   1,87269/100

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 has a Bayesian average rating of 63.7/100, a mean average of 63.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 63.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 21.5.

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Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life favourites

Showing all 5 members who have added this album as a favourite

Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life comments

Showing all 2 comments |
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Rating:  
5/100
From 02/20/2016 13:27 | #160305
Was this necessary?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 08/05/2012 21:49 | #47894
The album where Jay-Z launched to the top of the hip=hop game. Not his best, but his most audacious.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1998
1. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel
2. Mezzanine by Massive Attack
3. Moon Safari by Air
4. The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill
5. Aquemini by OutKast
6. Music Has The Right To Children by Boards Of Canada
7. XO by Elliott Smith
8. Ray Of Light by Madonna
9. Deserter's Songs by Mercury Rev
10. Electro-Shock Blues by Eels
11. Car Wheels On A Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams
12. Without You I'm Nothing by Placebo
13. Adore by The Smashing Pumpkins
14. This Is Hardcore by Pulp
15. The Shape Of Punk To Come (A Chimerical Bombination In 12 Bursts) by Refused
16. The Boy With The Arab Strap by Belle And Sebastian
17. System Of A Down by System Of A Down
18. TNT by Tortoise
19. Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star by Black Star
20. Version 2.0 by Garbage
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