Kanye West Survivor: Pick Your Favorite Kanye West Albums

[LemonMelon]

OK, we doin' this. As is customary, we have to determine the tiers for the albums first, and this is the most fun way of going about it, unless there's a method that I don't know about, perhaps involving monkeys and laser guns or something.

Here are the albums we're voting on:

1. The College Dropout
2. Late Registration
3. Graduation
4. 808s & Heartbreak
5. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
6. Watch the Throne
7. Cruel Summer

The winner will receive five songs in the final draw, #2 and #3 will receive four songs, #4, #5 and #6 will receive three songs and the loser will still receive two songs because I'm a nice enough guy. This makes 24 songs for the final poll, and if you like, we can do a non-album draw to make it 25. Your call.

For this poll, pick your FOUR favorites. No more, no less.

Vote strategically if you wish for the duration of this survivor, but do not ask me to change your vote unless you really did click the wrong button. We're on an honor system here. If you want to vote strategically, wait until the poll is about to end.

Let's do this.

 

[LemonMelon]

First two + MBDTF will probably be a popular answer, and it is mine as well. The fourth is a close one between Graduation and 808s. I want to vote strategically there, but I have more of an emotional attachment to Graduation. It just came out at the right time for me, and every time I hear it, the album is a huge mood lift. 808s is probably going to get fucked though, which blows. It's a very good, well-constructed album. More so than Graduation, which is just a bunch of songs.

 

[lazarus]

Graduation is significantly better than 808.

Also, does Kanye even appear on all the Cruel Summer tracks?

 

[LemonMelon]

Also, does Kanye even appear on all the Cruel Summer tracks?

Nope.

But I know that, at this point, a Kanye West survivor without Mercy and New God Flow would be a flawed one, so I want it to at least get the opportunity for two songs in the final draw. I figure at least HeartlandGirl will vote for it.

 

[lazarus]

So why not save a bunch of hassle and just executive order them into the poll. Because nothing else from that album is making it.

 

[LemonMelon]

The album hasn't been around long enough to make an executive order like that. Maybe in a Passengers situation where Miss Sarajevo and Your Blue Room are clearly more popular than the surrounding tracks. Digitize nearly did that with the current U2 survivor.

There isn't really any "hassle" either; each poll will just involve us picking our favorites in a single round for three days. The final draw is where the survivor actually starts.

 

[cobl04]

Awesome

I went with MBDTF, Watch the Throne, College Dropout and Graduation.

 

[lazarus]

Late Registration not even in your Top 4?

That's fucking nuts.

 

[cobl04]

I know. Definitely one of my most unpopular opinions.

 

[cobl04]

Also yes please to a non-album draw. White Dress might be on my Yeezy Rushmore.

 

[LemonMelon]

Alright, I'll put something together. The Joy is so good.

 

[cobl04]

I never understood planned parenthood / cos I never met nobody who planned to be a parent in the hood

 

[HeartlandGirl]

Nope.

But I know that, at this point, a Kanye West survivor without Mercy and New God Flow would be a flawed one, so I want it to at least get the opportunity for two songs in the final draw. I figure at least HeartlandGirl will vote for it.

I appreciate the consideration and lack of executive order. Maybe others love New God Flow as the second best track on the Cruel Summer record, but I would take Clique and To the World over it. I'm glad we'll have the chance to debate it and vote, even though some may find it a foregone conclusion which songs would move on.

 

[cobl04]

Late Registration not even in your Top 4?

That's fucking nuts.

How about Mofo not voting for MBDTF?!!?!

 

[LemonMelon]

808s & Heartbreak > MBDTF? lololol

Spoiler

Really, I don't care.

 

[u2popmofo]

808 was the last album of his I enjoyed. For whatever reason, I didn't enjoy Dark Twisted Fantasy. I know I'm pretty much alone in that.

 

[cobl04]

I love every single song. It speaks volumes that Run Away would be my least favourite track.

"To each their own", as they say!

 

[LemonMelon]

There's no point in defending MBDTF anymore, it's probably the most acclaimed hip hop album of the last five years, but I get why some would dislike it. I just think it's a musical marvel.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

1. College Dropout
2. MBDTF
3. Late Registration
4. Watch The Throne
5. Graduation
6. 808s

 

[gvox]

I picked 5.

 

[LemonMelon]

Here are the tracks that will be included in the non-album draw. Let me know if I missed anything officially released:

Heavy Hitters (All Falls Down b-side)
We Can Make It Better (Gold Digger b-side)
Back to Basics (Heard 'Em Say b-side)
Impossible (Mission Impossible III soundtrack)
Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been) (non-album single)
Bittersweet (Stronger b-side)
Good Night (Homecoming b-side)
See Me Now (Good Friday series track)
Good Friday (Good Friday series track)
Lord Lord Lord (Good Friday series track)
Christian Dior Denim Flow (Good Friday series track)
Take One For The Team (Good Friday series track)
Don't Look Down (Good Friday series track)
Looking For Trouble (Good Friday series track)
Chain Heavy (Good Friday series track)
Christmas in Harlem (Good Friday series track)
Illest Motherfucker Alive (Watch the Throne bonus track)
H.A.M. (Watch the Throne bonus track)
Primetime (Watch the Throne bonus track)
The Joy (Watch the Throne bonus track)
White Dress (Man With the Iron Fists soundtrack)

The 13 votes we have so far is good, but another would be nice to break the tie at the top. Right now, the top three would all get 5, Graduation would get 4, 808s and Watch the Throne would both get 3, Cruel Summer would get 2 and the non-album draw would get 1, adding up to 28.

 

[Hewson]

Has Kanye ever covered Baby's Got Back?

Spoiler

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

That whole non-album track thing is unnecessary. Nobody's heard fucking all but two of those songs, and none of them have a chance in hell of winning...

Except now that I think about it, there will only be like 5 or 6 of us voting so who the fuck knows. This shit is so stupid. But I'm down with it because I love Kanye and I'm looking forward to going back through all of his albums and talking about the songs with the five of you guys.

Let's go.

 

[lazarus]

What GAF said.

 

[LemonMelon]

We'll have better numbers than the Cure survivor did by the end. There aren't as many people to start with as there was in the first Cure album poll (though now it's pretty close), but this survivor will fly by in comparison. I doubt we'll lose as many regulars in the month it will take to reach the final.

Non-album draws are fun because we'll have a chance to actually hear some these songs for the first time and discuss them. Yeah it's pointless. The whole survivor is pointless. Our lives are pointless, but here we are. Let's do something fun.

 

[PhilsFan]

I wish we had done this a few months earlier to brush up on my Kanye. It could have helped me for completely unrelated professional reasons.