It Was Written
by Nas
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Nas bestography
It Was Written is ranked 2nd best out of 22 albums by Nas on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Nas is Illmatic which is ranked number 73 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 15,139.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
Listen to It Was Written on YouTube
It Was Written track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
It Was Written rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 6 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  JMGL95 | Top 38 Music Albums of 1996 | 18/38 | 3 |
| 2026 | sweetness | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | 78/100 | 5 |
| 2026 | daCritic | Top 45 Music Albums of 1996 | 33/45 | 1 |
| 2026 | fabm0 | Platinum year 1996 | 63/100 | - |
| 2026 | juanr1096 | Top 69 Music Albums of 1996 | 29/69 | 3 |
| 2026 |  SomethingSpecial | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | 32/100 | 14 |
| 2026 |  LebowskiRams | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | 76/100 | 5 |
| 2026 | saltysurprise | Top 59 Music Albums of 1996 | 10/59 | 4 |
| 2026 | Siromynian | Top 27 Music Albums of 1996 | 9/27 | 4 |
| 2026 |  imacgill | Top 100 Music Albums of 1996 | 76/100 | 1 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 170 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 685 | |||
It Was Written collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 59 members
It Was Written ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 3 ratings for this album. | Show all 243 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 10/04/2026 13:46 | Siromynian | 1,789 | 74/100 |
| ! | 08/07/2026 20:30 | JeffN999 | 1,512 | 80/100 |
| ! | 08/02/2026 02:07 | xhitmanx | 1,604 | 75/100 |
Rating metrics:
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 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.2/100, a mean average of 75.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 18.0.
It Was Written favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 22 members
It Was Written forum mentions
pedro1976 09/12/2026 09:02 in What album are you listening to? (cont.)
BestEverAlbums 08/01/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5391): By SomethingSpecialView latest topic →
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It Was Written comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
If 4 or 5 weak tracks were omitted, we might have an Illmatic pt. 2 here. Still a great album just from the power of the first 8 tracks and the final big single. "I Gave You Power" is some potent writing that never ceases to give the chills. The beat on "The Message" and "Take it in Blood" are also phenomenal and construct the albums eerie atmosphere.
PsychologistHD 08/27/2015 17:10 | #148688 | TOP COMMENT
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When you have to follow-up one of the best albums ever made, you can only hope to do this well. I'd be a contrarian, and a lying one at that, to tell you this is better than Illmatic, but it's a powerful project that demands your attention.
Graeme2 TOP 100 COMMENTER 07/08/2016 22:43 | #170914 | TOP COMMENT
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Can't say this isn't enjoyable. Nice production. Nice rapping. But the cynical switch in subject matter and drop in lyric quality from the debut grates. Straight head nodder though even with the misgivings. Better judgement says I'm wrong but i can't help but enjoy it.
SomethingSpecial 06/29/2025 12:09 | #309767 | TOP COMMENT
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Although Illmatic is considered to be Nas' defining record, and even the best ever Hip hop album, It Was Written was the album that solidified my love for Nas. With better production and Nas' best lyrical flow to date, It Was Written is a decade defining album. (Edited)
Criminally underrated. (Edited)
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