Kanye West's "College Dropout" Songs Ranked, Best to Worst

Kanye West has made legendary contributions to music and pop culture, whether you like him or not. His influence over the years has been evident. Before his anti-Semitic tirades and anti-Black remarks, he built an incredible discography. West’s debut album, 2004’s The College Dropout, is an all-time classic and arguably consists of some of the greatest hip hop songs ever made. The story behind the album can be seen in the jeen-yuhs documentary on Netflix about Kanye’s rise to fame.

The College Dropout’s tracklist boasts gorgeous soul samples, legendary features, and some of the best rapping from Kanye. The album was the first glimpse of West's artistic greatness on a major level before he went on to push musical boundaries. HotNewHipHop has previously compiled lists about The College Dropout era Kanye, but this latest piece is about ranking the entire tracklist. While no bad songs are on the project, this list ranks The College Dropout tracks from best to worst, excluding the skits. 

"The New Workout Plan" is at the bottom of this list for obvious reasons. It is not meant to be taken seriously and is pretty funny to listen to. It is a fun song that uses a fitness regimen as its base, and the skits in the middle are entertaining. Although Kanye raps well on the song, it ranks at the bottom lyrically, in my opinion. The instrumental is well-produced, and the hook is catchy. However, I don't believe it is better than other songs on The College Dropout because the production and rapping are not on par with the quality of the album's superior tracks. The song is still legendary is carries on its legacy as J. Cole made great use of the ending on “Work Out.”

Yet another great track, “Family Business” discusses fundamental interactions between relatives and the pain that struggling families often endure. Even when tackling such a difficult subject, Kanye melodically raps his lyrics over an ethereal beat. The chorus consists of fantastic contributions from many different vocalists. Though it is a good song, it doesn't rank among the album’s best because the rapping and production from Kanye are better than other tracks. It should not go unnoticed, and Travis Scott incorporated "Family Business" on “90210.”

West was among the first rappers to have an outro that acted like the closing credits on a film. The twelve-minute closer, “Last Call,” consists of Kanye telling the story of his come-up by speaking on his beginnings as an artist. The song has a great beat produced by both Kanye and Evidence, and although it is a standout, it is quite long. Kanye talks through most of it, which is why it is ranked toward the bottom. “Last Call” influenced artists such as J. Cole and Logic, as they have made their own “Last Calls,” taking inspiration from this song. 

The story behind Kanye West’s breakout single “Through the Wire” is iconic. West was in a car crash and broke his jaw. He ended up recording the song with his jaw wired shut, so the vocals sound strange compared to other tracks. The title is a clever play of its sample: Chaka Khan’s “Through the Fire.” Kanye's flow on the song is nice and makes for an enjoyable track. The beat and lyrics are great, but I believe it is legendary more for the backstory than the song itself.

“We Don’t Care” sets the tone for the rest of The College Dropout. The song is the right amount of seriousness and sarcasm the group of children sings about “drug dealing just to get by” in the chorus. It is an excellent song with great verses, a catchy hook, and a gorgeous instrumental. It may not pack a punch like other tracks on the album that have significantly better rapping, but “We Don’t Care” is a phenomenal opener that prepares listeners for the album’s soulful sound, as well as Kanye’s signature rap style.

“Spaceship” is a story about Kanye being tokenized while working at the Gap store, dreaming of moving on to greater things. The down-tempo, Marvin Gaye-sampling beat is nice and soulful. Kanye’s singing voice sounds great on the hook. The appearances from GLC and Consequence are exemplary verses but do not match the quality of Kanye's songwriting and the album's other features.

“School Spirit” fully embraces the theme of The College Dropout as Kanye raps about his dissatisfaction with school. In this song, Kanye playfully raps about dropping out to pursue his dreams as a musician. The song features a beautiful sample of Aretha Franklin’s “Spirit in the Dark” that only got cleared if the song was censored. Even with the censorship on the explicit version, “School Spirit” is a fantastic song with a catchy chorus that perfectly combines the album's themes.

“Jesus Walks” is nothing short of legendary. The verses contain quotable bars and stellar production, sampling Curtis Mayfield and the ARC Choir. It is one of Kanye’s best lyrical moments, looking inward at his own faith but also outward to a world of struggles. It was the first song of its kind and featured the vocoder sound that Kanye would heavily incorporate in his following albums. West would also go on to make more music centered around his Christian faith, but those never fully captured the magic of “Jesus Walks.”

The College Dropout is a project full of moments, and “Two Words” is one of the album’s greatest. The sample combined with guitar and orchestral sounds on the instrumental brings intensity to the song. This is matched by the incredible verses from Mos Def, Kanye, and Freeway. The three stick to a “two-word” structure for their verses, but each delivers a unique style. The vocals from the Harlem Boys Choir toward the end make for the ideal ending to a flawless song. 

Though he only performs on the hook, Ludacris is the perfect feature for this song as he matches Kanye’s clever wordplay over the anthemic horns. The beat is one of the more minimal instrumentals on the album. In his verse, Kanye raps with this confident attitude that is only really captured in his earlier albums. His flow and animated rap style seem so effortless. Of course, one cannot talk about this song without mentioning the iconic “Ph.D.” line, one of the funniest punchlines in rap history.

“Slow Jamz” is one of the more relaxed songs on The College Dropout, but it is one of the best songs on the album. Jamie Foxx’s catchy hook sets things off right over the Luther Vandross sample, while Kanye’s verse is lighthearted. There is also the iconic “Michael Jackson" lyric that always entertains listeners. Twista’s rapid-fire flow is a unique approach to the relaxed soul of the song but is equally as captivating as Kanye’s verse and Jamie’s hook.

Kanye’s ascent started with his production credits on JAY-Z’s The Blueprint. Aside from 2002’s “The Bounce,” “Never Let Me Down” was among the first tracks where the two shared verses. The natural chemistry between the rappers on this song paved the way for Watch The Throne. On undeniably one of the best beats on the album, Kanye spits one of his most emotional verses. Meanwhile, Jay raps two amazing verses, and J-Ivy steals the show with a spoken-word poem, making the song even more powerful. The soulful beat with the looped hook is plenty catchy but is brought to life by the choir at the song's end.

“Get Em High” consists of Kanye’s best flows on the entire album and some of his finest rhyming. Kanye's flow is arguably his most skilled on this song as he effortlessly "catches the beat." The instrumental has the signature Kanye bounce and is the perfect soundtrack for all three rappers to transition between verses seamlessly. Both Talib Kweli and Common showed up to rap and approached the track differently. Kweli’s verse, in particular, really steals the show.

“All Falls Down” is one of the greatest songs that Kanye West has ever made. The production is top-notch and includes amazing vocals from Syleena Johnson. It is a timeless song that includes some of Kanye’s most significant verses as he showcases some of his wittiest one-liners while also telling a sincere story about materialism and consumerism. He flows so smoothly over the beautiful acoustic guitar. Kanye’s initially performed the song on Def Poetry Jam before making it into a classic.

Overall, ranking songs on The College Dropout is not easy. There are no bad tracks, which speaks to its greatness as a hip hop classic. The "worst" songs on this album are still some of Kanye’s best work.