Jay Z Discography

The top five Jay Z discography albums have sold millions of copies all over the world. A true rags to riches story, Jay-Z came up through the hard projects of Brooklyn to become the New York king of rap. If you grew up in a barn and have never heard a Jay-Z album, you might want to start with these.

1. "The Blueprint" – Released in 2001, “The Blueprint” topped several best of the year charts and solidified Jay-Z as the “King of New York.” Not only was the album a success among critics but commercially as well, selling 426,000 copies in the first week alone. With hit songs like “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” “Girls, Girls, Girls,” and “Takeover,” this album is as solid as they come.
2. "Reasonable Doubt" – “Reasonable Doubt” was Jay-Z’s debut album, and it hit markets in June of 1996 on Roc-A-Fella Records. The album received positive reviews from critics and peaked at number twenty-three on Billboard’s top 200. “Reasonable Doubt” features guest performers such as Memphis Bleek, Mary J Blige, and The Notorious BIG. The album is generally classified as Mafioso rap due to the high prevalence of crime references in Jay-Z’s lyrics.
3. "The Black Album" – Jay-Z’s eighth studio album, “The Black Album” was publicized as Jay-Z’s final album upon its release. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard top 200 list and received general acclamation among critics. Rolling Stone magazine called it “old school and utterly modern,” which with singles like “99 problems” and “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” it was.
4. "Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life" – This is the album that shot Jay-Z up the ladder into superstar status. It debuted at number one in September of 1998 and by 1999, earned Jay-Z a Grammy Award for best rap album. Several hit singles accompanied the album, the most memorable probably being “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem).”
5. "American Gangster" – The last album to make the list, it is no slouch. “American Gangster” hit the streets in December of 2007 and saw an immediate commercial success. Like several other Jay-Z albums, it debuted at number one. This allowed Jay-Z to tie Elvis for the second most number one albums in the United States. What’s unique about this album is that it coincides with the movie of the same name. Jay-Z has often said that every track on the record is based on a specific scene from the film.