The Black Album
by Jay-Z

The Black Album by Jay-Z
Year: 2003
Release date: 2003-11-14
Overall rank: 946th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 472 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 2003 (18th)
Award Top albums of the 2000s (147th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (946th)

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Jay-Z bestography

The Black Album is ranked 3rd best out of 16 albums by Jay-Z on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Jay-Z is The Blueprint which is ranked number 525 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 3,318.

Jay-Z album bestography « Higher ranked (782nd)
Reasonable Doubt
This album (946th)
The Black Album
Lower ranked (1,831st) »
4:44

(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 Black Album track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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

The Black Album rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 946th | 2000s rank: 147th | 2003 rank: 18th
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026jdizzle123456Greatest Hip Hop Albums of All Time50/50 -
2026LittleM1971Top 90 Music Albums of 200369/901
2026 Norman BatesTop 100 Music Albums of 200390/1001
2026 RockyRaccoonTop 43 Music Albums of 20033/435
2026fabm0List 200321/100 -
2026 paladisiacall-time fav arteests (pts) #196-290*6/95 -
2026 eclabTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s84/1003
2026 covecoveTop 100 Music Albums of 20036/1005
2026TroutMaskGregTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s50/10010
2026 paladisiac21st century top albums 101-20048/100 -
2026 travelfulTop 100 Greatest Music Albums82/10019
2026adbrack1988Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s67/1007
2026MrumpTop 23 Music Albums of 200323/230
2026jdizzle123456Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s90/1002
2026Foxforce5Top 19 Music Albums of 20035/194
2026blueandthemoonTop 83 Music Albums of 200363/831
2026sweetnessTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s12/10018
2026Foxforce5Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s27/10015
2026tyleraeppsTop 100 Greatest Music Albums75/10026
2026TroutMaskGregTop 17 Music Albums of 20033/174
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 326
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 1,820
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

The Black Album collection

The Black Album ratings

Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 472 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 472 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 
03/02/2026 14:08 Perring  Ratings distribution  33479/100
 
100/100
 
02/17/2026 11:26 Leginlists  Ratings distribution  2,85083/100
 
90/100
 
02/01/2026 22:30 sweetness  Ratings distribution  1,07279/100
 
75/100
 
01/15/2026 00:28 This_is_handsome  Ratings distribution  76979/100
 
90/100
 
12/30/2025 16:15 travelful  Ratings distribution  3,78672/100

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 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.1/100, a mean average of 74.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 19.1.

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The Black Album comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 21 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:  
95/100
From 07/25/2024 20:41 | #304549
A strong album; well produced, and well rapped. It has a number of memorable hits and is perhaps Jay-Z's biggest claim to greatness. IMO he is a top 5 all-time rapper (along with Nas, Tupac, Biggie, and Em), but others think he is better. That aside, this album is excellent, although perhaps a tad bit long. 9.5/10!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 01/25/2021 16:19 | #265066
Um dos maiores clássicos do Jay-Z, produção de luxo.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
40/100
From 12/25/2020 22:07 | #263204
I dont like it.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 12/09/2020 16:27 | #262406
The most polished Jay-Z album, every track is amazing
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 11/27/2020 16:32 | #261502
This is the Jay-Z album I find the most compelling.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 01/27/2020 17:06 | #247225
Had the album for a few years but only really started to listen to it again in May 18 and it has some excellent and witty, observational commentary as well as some thumping tunes. Excellent album with half of the tunes all rated great by me and the remainder are good. Highlights include December 4th; Change Clothes & Justify My Thug.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 12/27/2019 08:42 | #245967
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (0 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
From 07/17/2017 16:25 | #194491
This might be one of the greatest rap albums of all time! Jay has incredible flow here with amazing production!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 10/20/2016 19:18 | #177226
Classic. Makes for a wonderful introduction to hip hop.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 06/10/2016 04:56 | #168362
The Black Album represents Jay-Z's career peak in my opinion. Supposed to be his final album, it would have made for an incredible farewell for one of rap's biggest stars. Production is consistently amazing, with beats by Kanye West, Just Blaze, Timbaland, The Neptunes, and others, and they are complimented by incredible verses. "December 4th", "99 Problems", and particularly "Public Service Announcement" are highlights on an album filled with gems. A classic from Jay-Z at the top of his game.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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