easily one of the best rap album of the decade if not the best. personally i believe it matches the black album and reasonable doubt in quality and may even outshadow them. ultimately jay z at his best

Clearly his best album of his carrer. So many great tracks over and over again. Classic Album.

Just as good as his classic debut "Reasonable Doubt", wait, actually... it's better, alot better overall. I don't think Jay-Z's ever going to top this album. EVER!!

The reason you cant always trust the user ratings on Metacritic (especially in the Rap genre) is because there are the "haters" who will not even listen to the album and rate it a 1 because that rapper has "beef" with his favorite rapper. Even though this album has an 8.5 rating, I'm disgusted. This is one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of ALL TIME. Jay's rapping is sick, and so are the beats. That's all you need to know. It's balanced.… Expand

Yes, every track in this album/compilation/life story/masterpiece sounds like a hit. Can't get over it until Jay releases a better one.

true classic

Jay -z's best album, Izzo and company provide a great album of rap/hip hop

It's easy to make an excellent rap album when you're "stealing" so much from other people's songs. Anyway, this is Jigga's most confident album, and one of his best albums. And, All Music Guide gave him 5 stars and said it's his "masterpiece" and a "flawless" album so it's 100, not 90.

every song, verse, word is perfect

These guys who gave this album lower than a five is stupid. This is one of the best albums in all of rap music..Ever. Nuff said. the best from jigga. Also Kanye West's starting point (besides Roc la Familia) Go cop it

It is truly THE MASTERPIECE of Jay-Z with Reasonable Doubt.Each Track is worth listen to,it has something for everyone.without feeling that jay-z is trying to please everyone.diss track,love tracks,club bangers,lyrical bangers...it has everything.it is and stays fochused from the beginning to the end.After so many 6-7 years since his debut he did and made an album equal to Reasonable Doubt.Neither you hate him or you like it,this shit is ill and god damn classic..With this album,having perfect beats and rhymes you cannot hate this album,neither you are an underground freek or a crunk juice groupie.hate it or love it,jigga is on top.… Expand

Very strong album - one of the best of all-time in the hip-hop genre. I don't give out 10's often, but the way this album flows as well as the beats, lyrics and flow from Jay-Z are outstanding. Hard to pick a favourite track - "Heart of the City" maybe.

I don't see the appeal of Jay Z. Monotone robotic delivery of weak rhymes that often don't rhyme. I thought hiphop had graduated from "I'm the baddest dude" and "I've got the biggest d***" back in the 80's. Can't compare to Nas- Illimatic or Mos Def- Black on Both Sides. Both with relevant material about the real world. The Blue Print focuses on superficial materialism and club life. Why do hip hop heads believe Jay Z when he says is the best? I wish this was good.… Expand

His best album since Reasonable Doubt. Standout tracks: Takeover, and Girls Girls Girls.

This album is easily Jay's best album since Reasonable Doubt (sigh, the memories)

With out a doubt Jay-Z's best work of his career. Nuff said.

best album

Overall, I was impressed but know that the Great Jay Z could do better. the lyrics are what I wasnt impressed with on a high level. I mean, How could you go to writing Lyrics for the Man, Dr. Dre, to doing something like the blueprint and not adding up to the expectations of being a legend.

A Modern Day Masterpiece. Top notch production from start to finish. By far, Jay-Z's best work to date.

Best album of 01.

The best rap album since Nas' "Illmatic". It's a masterpiece.

This is one of only few albums that you can and must listen to from beginning to end. It is a classic in every way possible.

I must Awesome album of this Year.

It's so hypocritical that Jay-Z first puts a track on the album, called D.O.A. (Death Of Autotune) and then records a song with Kanye West, who clearly used de voice altering software. Do as you say, not as you do, Jay!

Great album, but I don't believe this is Jay-Z's greatest. Reasonable Doubt, The Black Album and American Gangster are before Blueprint in my opinion. However, I do rate it an 8 out of 10, so it is a great album!

ew

A hip-hop classic thanks to Kanye West's genius production!!!

Its a shame that this albums overall user rating is at 8.4 because 2 people decided to give it a zero. Even if you didn't like this album, its obviously worth more than a zero. An amazing album, and one of the reasons people continue to put jay-z in their top 5. If your a hip-hop head, you deserve to treat yourself to, in my opinion, the greatest mc to ever hold a mic. Im not a "dick rider" in any way....but once i heard the Black Album, i went back and listened to this dudes whole discography......Amazing artist, Amazing album, Amazing dude. G.O.A.T!… Expand

Overrated. One of the best produced albums ever, since every beat on this album is amazing. But the lyricism isn't quite there. Still a good album, but by no means worthy of a 10. Pick up The Black Album instead, it's better. Final Verdict: Worth a full listen if you're a Jay fan, but to anyone else, just hear these: Must Hear Songs: The Ruler's Back, Renegade, Breathe Easy (Lyrical Exercise) Also Great: Jigga That N*gga, Heart of the City (Ain't No Love), Song Cry, All I Need… Expand

Jay-z hires the best song producers in the business. he creates fairly clever but shallow improvised lyrics. but the songs are boring and repetitive. There are much more creative and talented rappers, but since he is an a hole people say he is great. he is overrated.

One of the few real classic in the genre of hip hop. Came out on 9/11 2001 and still went number one on Billboard. Musically very different and it ushered a new era of soul sampling in hip hop, thanks to the production from Kanye West, Just Blaze, Eminem a more.

overrated album i only liked a few songs on it................................................................................................ its not his best album. REASONABLE DOUBT IS...........................................................................................

An album that flawlessly balances mainstream appeal and a high level of street (underground) credibility. Jay's flow and rhymes are at their respective peaks, and his lyrical content is as diverse as it is real. Upon its release, The Blueprint redefined the modern hip-hop sound and lived up to its title by creating a template for all future emcees to follow. In 2001, Carter created a masterpiece and (finally) an album that was on par with Reasonable Doubt.… Expand

The Blueprint is known as Classic for it's production. Lyrically the Album is good, I won't deny it, but there is many lyrical Albums which are better than this Album. Having said that, The Blueprint is a known as a way of perfecting Mainstream appealing Songs with soulful samples. This Album is known to be one of the best produced Hip Hop Albums of all time and also I have to give praise to Kanye West and Just Blaze who were the main Producers of the Album. These Tracks are flawless for the production. We have Classics like Renegade and Takeover. Even though Renegade was produced by Eminem and the original version was performed by Royce da 5'9" and him; Renegade by Jay-Z and Eminem is still a Classic.… Expand

Top 10 Albums of all time. Jay really made this album a classic piece. One of these days im gonna pass this album down to my kids and there going to bump this when there 30. Good Job Jay