Late Registration
by Kanye West
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 1302 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,153 out of 1302
  2. Mixed: 39 out of 1302
  3. Negative: 110 out of 1302

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  1. ByronM
    Aug 28, 2005
    9
    Well if 10=100. Well I have to give this album a 9 which is a 90 on metacritic which is still AMAZING for an hip-hop album out now. This album is AMAZING. I think its slightly better than The College Dropout. His lyrical content has gotten a lot better and I think he uses his samples better with this album. I do agree though by next week...the album will probably drop to like an 88 but Well if 10=100. Well I have to give this album a 9 which is a 90 on metacritic which is still AMAZING for an hip-hop album out now. This album is AMAZING. I think its slightly better than The College Dropout. His lyrical content has gotten a lot better and I think he uses his samples better with this album. I do agree though by next week...the album will probably drop to like an 88 but like I said...still AMAZING for an hip-hop album. Kanye is a legend in the making.… Expand
  2. whb
    Aug 29, 2005
    7
    This generation's Bob Dylan? Is someone smoking Crack Music? Jon Brion's production is great, but Kanye's is all over the place. One minute he's socially conscious in "Diamonds" and the next minute he lets Jay-Z come on to rap about how great he is. Kanye is way to pretentious and arrogant. But he makes a good record.
  3. bobd
    Aug 29, 2005
    10
    this is the best album of this year ! the man is amazing and i cant wait til the next 1 !
  4. MikeB
    Aug 29, 2005
    10
    Kanye West is a brilliant new talent and with this album proves that he is not only evolving hip-hop but also giving it class and sophistication that is sadly missing from other rap acts. A pioneer in every respect and a powerful album that has fantastic music, every track is great. Standouts include the funky 'Gold Digger', the emotional 'Hey Mama', the epic 'We Kanye West is a brilliant new talent and with this album proves that he is not only evolving hip-hop but also giving it class and sophistication that is sadly missing from other rap acts. A pioneer in every respect and a powerful album that has fantastic music, every track is great. Standouts include the funky 'Gold Digger', the emotional 'Hey Mama', the epic 'We Major' and the beautiful 'Gone'. Something here for everyone and by far and away this years best album that'll mark as a highlight of this decade. This generations Bob Dylan has arrived.… Expand
  5. TripleL
    Aug 31, 2005
    10
    WOW, I can't stop listening to this album. I don't know how anyone can give this less than a 10. It's an 11!!! All tracks are potential singles, incredible!
  6. JoshN
    Aug 31, 2005
    10
    kanye is a musical genius. he uses other artists and different types of sound to create an album for the ages. this album is the epitamy of brilliance and kanye is just beginning to show that he is "pop." If you dont believe me, just listen to the cd and its brilliance.
  7. drep
    Aug 30, 2005
    10
    best hip hop cd of the year!
  8. APB
    Aug 31, 2005
    10
    18 songs. just about everyone is great. how could you not like this album?
  9. Kingcosmos
    Aug 30, 2005
    10
    with the quality of rap nowadays slowly reducing( g-unit being its main garbage contributors)..here comes a man with more than good lyrics and beats, Kanye west.... a Musical Genious. You can hear the class and quality(jon brion) in this one. If you are not a big rap fan( and I cat blame you) i wud strongly advice you to pick up this kanye album! not because its good rap! because it is with the quality of rap nowadays slowly reducing( g-unit being its main garbage contributors)..here comes a man with more than good lyrics and beats, Kanye west.... a Musical Genious. You can hear the class and quality(jon brion) in this one. If you are not a big rap fan( and I cat blame you) i wud strongly advice you to pick up this kanye album! not because its good rap! because it is good music!… Expand
  10. edfromtoronto
    Aug 30, 2005
    10
    kanye has just dropped the album of the year. amazing
  11. CoreyC
    Aug 30, 2005
    10
    "Heard Em' Say" is one of the best hip-hop tracks i've ever heard.
  12. JimmyH
    Aug 31, 2005
    10
    Everytime an album is applauded, people gotta say, "It's not the great." This is commonly know as "hatin."' Late Registration is worth every single dollar you spend on it. Most artists can't produce one entire album of good songs - Kanye has done it twice.
  13. Lavaluca
    Aug 30, 2005
    10
    you probably have heard this already, but this album is definatly worth a 10. Rap is not just about cussing and sex, and this album shows that there is more. its somthin that most albums fail in greatly. this album like he said in Diamonds From Sierra Leone, "You got to love somebody still speaks from his soul"
  14. mikeb
    Aug 31, 2005
    10
    best rapper out right now! and also exceptional album!
  15. yuyuiy
    Aug 31, 2005
    10
    everythin in this album is perfect except for the beat of hey mamma but little defect is over shined by everything else
  16. JohnW
    Aug 30, 2005
    9
    To start, "Heard 'Em Say" is the hip-hop track of the year. This CD is almost perfect, with the exclusion of the tracks "Drive Slow" and "Crack Music" being slightly mediocre because they're just not Kanye. Everything else is gold. Highlights are Heard 'Em Say, Diamonds, Roses, Bring Me Down and Hey Mama. Buy this album.
  17. Reignstorm_UK
    Sep 1, 2005
    10
    Best Hip Hop Album out right now>>>>>Scratch that best album for 2005. Talk your noise Kanye, you are a genius. This is not just an album, it's a soundscape....better yet a soundtrack for life......Thanks for making great music Ye!
  18. EricE
    Sep 10, 2005
    10
    This is the best rap album I've heard in a few years. Doing something hip hop dosen't do anymore, experiment. Kanye takes rap to another level on this album. And anyone who thinks otherwise must be hip hop impared. Heard'em Say wakes not only Mr. West but also all the ne-sayers who said that he couldn't do it again. With the help of Jon Brion, who backs Kanye with live This is the best rap album I've heard in a few years. Doing something hip hop dosen't do anymore, experiment. Kanye takes rap to another level on this album. And anyone who thinks otherwise must be hip hop impared. Heard'em Say wakes not only Mr. West but also all the ne-sayers who said that he couldn't do it again. With the help of Jon Brion, who backs Kanye with live instruments, Kanye has become that legend in the making. It's the Roc.… Expand
  19. AlexC
    Sep 11, 2005
    9
    KW has redefined rap music with this killer album. I don't appreciate much rap music, especially modern rap, but for some reason this album just hits me like a freight train. His lyrics are self-reflective rather than self-assured, and the music is simply magnificent (particularly his use of brass instruments).
  20. Al.
    Sep 11, 2005
    9
    I really have no idea why anyone wouldn't like this album honestly,unless they are having problems with their hearing.its way better than 95 percent of the major release this year or i could say these few years.Someone just can't bear to witness good things happening to others so they just have to induced some negativity,Yeah like those who gave this album less than an 8.
  21. RyanF
    Sep 1, 2005
    9
    This is a great album! So many rap and hip-hop albums are full of filler. Not this one. Every track is an excellent tune (except the skits, but even those are hilarious). I can't get that "Gold Digger" song out of my head! "We Major" is also great, with super cool brassy horn samples, and Nas (who would have guessed it?) dropping some great lyrics. Get this album!
  22. carlt
    Sep 1, 2005
    10
    mas-ter-piece. don't bother with those indie reviewers who know nothing about hip hop, or those silly enough to complain about kanye's rapping. this isn't rap, it's pop. brilliant pop.
  23. SlaqishaB
    Sep 1, 2005
    10
    Yo yo yo yo, this record is slammin know what I'm sayin? I axed my sista if she buyed this record yet and she said no and I said giiiiiiiiiiiirl you best be goin to WallMart to get this right quick, know what I'm sayin? And whoever this "Gnarles" is he don't know jack about music. Who is "Gnarles" anyway? Is he some Nebraska white boy, know what I'm saying? When my Yo yo yo yo, this record is slammin know what I'm sayin? I axed my sista if she buyed this record yet and she said no and I said giiiiiiiiiiiirl you best be goin to WallMart to get this right quick, know what I'm sayin? And whoever this "Gnarles" is he don't know jack about music. Who is "Gnarles" anyway? Is he some Nebraska white boy, know what I'm saying? When my babys daddy comes home I can't wait for him to listen with me, straight up. PEACE… Expand
  24. chris`V.
    Sep 10, 2005
    9
    it is a good cd
  25. Mattc
    Sep 12, 2005
    9
    This cd works because its not like his first. He changes it up and makes a completely different record which is essential to great hip-hop and music.
  26. BryanM
    Sep 12, 2005
    9
    This is one of the best cds this year. I love just about every song on this cd. No doubt, some may say it didn't pass up the orginal (College Dropout) But know this, it's not very far behind at all. A great cd overall.
  27. Kayla
    Sep 1, 2005
    9
    I absolutly love this CD i just got it today and i cant keep the music out of my headphones!! I havent bout an album as good as this in years because i havent found any oustanding artist as Kanye! The instrumentals are like no other. He goes where many..if not ALL rapper choose not to go. he wears and presents himself in ways that many people feel is out of the ordinary.That is what I absolutly love this CD i just got it today and i cant keep the music out of my headphones!! I havent bout an album as good as this in years because i havent found any oustanding artist as Kanye! The instrumentals are like no other. He goes where many..if not ALL rapper choose not to go. he wears and presents himself in ways that many people feel is out of the ordinary.That is what attracts me to him as a person as well as an artist. I respect all his work.… Expand
  28. ColageEdukatid
    Sep 1, 2005
    9
    Hip-hop album of the year? I'm not quite ready to say yes - since MF Doom and DangerMouse's collaboration drops in October, and let
  29. JamieA
    Sep 14, 2005
    10
    No immediate sellers like Dropout has but balanced quality through tracks, hit again Kanye!
  30. jono
    Sep 18, 2005
    10
    This cd is his best work ever since it shows his own on the cd
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Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Best Album of 2005
4
#4 Most Discussed Album of 2005
6
#6 Most Shared Album of 2005

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Universal acclaim - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. Slant Magazine
    Feb 17, 2011
    70
    Late Registration's salvation (and, undoubtedly, Kanye's own) are when it basks in the sunshine after the rain.
    Read full review
  2. Village Voice
    Jan 3, 2011
    90
    Each of these songs offers more exquisite details than I could earmark in twice this space, many of them literary, which the English prof's dropout son rightly claims as his calling. But secret brilliance is more likely to emerge from the sops to his hip-hop base.
    Read full review
  3. Amazon.com
    90
    Late Registration can't replicate the novelty of last year's College Dropout, but otherwise, this is an impressively more mature and labored-over album.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »