The Best Nas Albums Ranked: From Illmatic to Magic 3

Let’s talk about the king of Queensbridge, the poet with the illest rhymes – Nas. This cat dropped “Illmatic” and changed the whole damn game, forever earnin’ his spot in the hip hop hall of fame. But that was just the start.

Nas keeps reinventin’ himself, pushin’ boundaries, spittin’ that real talk over beats from the hottest producers. Lately, he’s been droppin’ fire with Hit-Boy – that “King’s Disease” series and the new joint “Magic 3”? Straight heat, mixin’ old-school vibes with new-school flow.

Dude’s got classics for days – the raw energy of “It Was Written,” the comeback fire of “Stillmatic,” the bold moves on “Hip Hop Is Dead” and “Life Is Good.” Nas ain’t just makin’ albums, he’s droppin’ pieces of hip hop history, straight from the soul of the greatest MC alive.

So, let’s dive in and put it out for the fans to rank every Nas album, from the early classics to that fire he’s spittin’ right now.

Released: April 19, 1994

Label: Columbia

Best songs on the album: “N.Y. State of Mind”, “The World Is Yours”, “Memory Lane (Sittin’ in da Park)”, “One Love”, “It Ain’t Hard to Tell”

This was Nas’ debut album and there’s no denying the impact Illmatic has had on the hip hop world. It is not only hailed as Nas’ finest work but also reigns supreme as the quintessential rap album of the ’90s , setting the gold standard for hip hop debuts and solidifying its place among the greatest albums of all time , transcending genres. With its gritty, authentic portrayal of life in New York City and Nas’ unparalleled storytelling ability, Illmatic gave voice to a generation searching for meaning and identity. The album masterfully blends jazzy boom-bap production, intricate wordplay, and thought-provoking narratives, creating a timeless masterpiece that resonates with rap fans even today. In a world where music often feels fleeting, Illmatic ‘s enduring legacy is a testament to its brilliance and the indelible mark it has left on hip hop culture. It’s the album that ruled the world upon it’s release.

Released: July 2, 1996

Label: Columbia

Best songs on the album: “The Message”, “Street Dreams”, “I Gave You Power”, “Affirmative Action”, “The Set Up”, “Live Ni**a Rap”

Out of all of Nas’ albums, including debut album, It Was Written is the one that has aged the best. While the difference between this album and his ’94 debut must have been jarring for hip hop heads in 1996, there has been enough time that’s gone by to allow it to be appreciated as its own project. Save for a couple of let-down tracks – “Nas Is Coming” and “Black Girl Lost” are the most glaring – It Was Written is a straight-up rap classic with a ton of replay value.

Released: July 13, 2012

Label: Def Jam

Best songs on the album: “No Introduction”, “Loco-Motive”, “A Queens Story”, “Back When”, “Stay”, “Cherry Wine”, “Nasty”.

20 years since his verse on “Live at the Barbeque,” Nas linked up with No I.D. and Salaam Remi for his best album since It Was Written . With a mix of nostalgia, love themes, and classic Nas boasts, Life Is Good was the perfect album by a rapper who accomplished everything there is to in a rap career, and is still hungry to move forward with his craft.

Released: December 13, 2002

Label: Columbia, Ill Will

Best songs on the album: “Get Down”, “The Cross”, “Made You Look”, “Last Real Ni**a Alive”, “Thugz Mansion (N.Y.)”, “Dance”

Rejuvenated by the commercial and artistic success of Stillmatic , Nas came back a year later with another album that ranks at the top of his catalogue. “Get Down” is one of the best Nas intro songs ever , “Last Real Ni**a Alive” is him putting an epilogue on his epic beef with Jay-Z, and “Made You Look” is quite possibly the greatest Nas song of all time .

Released: December 18, 2001

Label: Columbia, Ill Will

Best songs on the album: “Stillmatic (The Intro)”, “Ether”, “You’re da Man”, “One Mic”, “2nd Childhood”

The first of many Nas comebacks over his 30-year recording career. After receiving a trouncing from Jay-Z on “Takeover” that had New York thinking his career was over, Nas exploded back with “Ether” and the accompanying Stillmatic . The album showed that, not only was Nas’ career very alive and kicking, he was taking back the King of New York crown .

Released: November 11, 2022

Label: Mass Appeal

Best songs on the album: “Legit”, “Thun”, “30”, “Once a Man, Twice a Child”

The king had done it once again, this time teaming up with Larun Hill. It was released almost a year to the day since he dropped his 9-track tease Magic where he told listeners that King Disease III was on the way, the legendary rapper stuck to his word and dropped it. Unlike the past albums of Nas’ recent run, the album doesn’t feature any guest appearances, it’s just the Queensbridge spitter over smooth-but-gritty production. Both Nas and Hit-Boy are locked in and in prime mode right here, which is sort of unbelievable considering the rapper debuted 31 years again with his verse on “Live at the Barbeque.”

Released: December 24, 2021

Label: Mass Appeal

Best songs on the album: “Meet Joe Black”, “Ugly”, “40-16 Building”, “Wu for the Children”, “Wave Gods”

This might be recency bias playing up, but I truly feel like Magic is one of the best Nas released albums of all time. Whether deliberately or not, everything about the album is a stark reminder of the magic (pun intended) that was Illmatic : the 9-track listing, the one guest verse, the DJ Premier connection, even the sepia-toned album cover is a throwback to Illmatic . The fact that Nas managed to drop an album this great, this deep in his career just proves that he’s one of the best to ever do it.

Released: September 23, 2002

Label: Columbia, Ill Will

Best songs on the album: “Doo Rags”, “No Idea’s Original”, “Drunk by Myself”, “Poppa Was a Playa”

In between dropping two classics, Stillmatic and God’s Son , Nas had time to throw out a compilation album that turned into one of his most beloved projects to date. The beauty of The Lost Tapes was the simplicity of it – no hyped up ad campaign, no star-studded features list, no superstar producers – it was just Nas with a mic spitting incredible rhymes over dope beats.

Nas released this on his 50th Birthday, with Hit-Boy’s cinematic samples and beat creates a canvas for Nas to paint vivid pictures of reflection, triumph, and lessons from a life deeply embedded in hip-hop.

It’s a collaborative dance that’s become second nature. The project, though not a show-stopper, is a solid nod to the duo’s chemistry, showing that Nas, even 30 years in, still has some left in the tank. Each track is a testament to an artist who’s not just still in the game but evolving, offering fans a blend of the classic Nas aura with a fresh Hit-Boy twist. Magic 3 isn’t a wild spectacle but a subdued, reflective celebration of a journey well-traveled and a legacy that continues to unfold.

Released: August 6, 2021

Label: Mass Appeal, The Orchard

Best songs on the album: “Death Row East”, “40 Side”, “EPMD 2”, “Nobody”, “Brunch on Sundays”

Almost a year to the date since dropping the first King’s Disease , Nas and Hit-Boy linked back up for the sequel. It was a blessing for Nas fans who were getting used to waiting years in between releases. King’s Disease II proved that the first collaboration wasn’t a fluke, and the Hit-Boy working relationship was amazing for Nas’ productivity and lack of overthinking in the studio.

Released: August 21, 2020

Label: Mass Appeal

Best songs on the album: “King’s Disease”, “Car #85”, “27 Summers”, “Full Circle”, “The Cure”

King’s Disease was the first time Nas collaborated on a full-length project with just one producer. After decades of rap fans calling for a Nas x DJ Premier album or a Nas x RZA album, who would have known that it would be Hit-Boy who managed to secure the legend’s attention for a whole project.

Released: May 18, 2010

Label: Def Jam, Universal Republic

Best songs on the album: “As We Enter”, “Strong Will Continue”, “Count Your Blessings”

The best thing about Nas linking up with Damian Marley for Distant Relatives is that you could tell how much working on the project revitalised him. Nas used this album as a testing ground for the themes that he would later explore on his 2012 magnum opus, Life Is Good .

Released: July 21, 2023

Label: Mass Appeal

Best songs on the album: “Abracadabra”, “Motion”, “Bokeem Woodbine”, “What This All Really Means”

Magic 2 marries the electrifying energy of his ’90s work with fresh vibes, blending past glory with contemporary flavors. Highlights include the funk-driven “Abacadabra”, and “Office Hours”, whose soulful gospel influences hit home run. “What This All Really Means” serves as the album’s philosophical center, encapsulating rap’s place in the Black American narrative. Nas proves himself once again as an enduring hip hop titan, giving younger artists a run for their money in tracks like “Slow It Down” and “Pistols On Your Album Cover.”

Released: April 6, 1999

Label: Columbia

Best songs on the album: “N.Y. State of Mind Pt. II”, “Hate Me Now”, “We Will Survive”, “Nas Is Like”, “Undying Love”

I Am… has aged really well over the years. While it received some hate back in the ’90s and ’00s from rap fans who wanted Nas to retread Illmatic , it features some of his best work to date, including the anthem “Hate Me Now” and “Nas Is Like” (with a dope music video), which is perhaps the best Nas-DJ Premier collaboration of all time. The album’s closer, “Undying Love”, also has some of the most vivid storytelling raps ever told.

Released: December 19, 2006

Label: Def Jam, Columbia, The Jones Experience

Best songs on the album: “Money Over Bullshit”, “Black Republican”, “Still Dreaming”, “Let There Be Light”, “Can’t Forget About You”, “Hope”

Following the disappointment shared with Mobb Deep in Street’s Disciple , Nas regrouped two years for his first release under the Def Jam banner. Featuring an all-star guest list that included his former rival-turned-collaborator, Jay-Z, as well as Kanye, Snoop Dogg, The Game, as well as production from L.E.S., Scott Storch, will.i.am and Dr. Dre, Hip Hop is Dead turned out to be one of Nas’ strongest releases to date, commercially and artistically.

Released: July 15, 2008

Label: Def Jam, The Jones Experience

Best songs on the album: “Queens Get the Money”, “You Can’t Stop Us Now”, “Hero”, “Sly Fox”, “Fried Chicken”, “Black President”

While Untitled suffered from a muddled message and uninspiring beats (criticism often thrown Nas’ way), there are enough great songs on the album to be one of Nas’ better projects. Nas’ rapping on “Queens Get the Money” alone is a reminder enough of why he’s absolutely one of the greatest rappers of all time .

Released: October 21, 1997

Label: Aftermath, Interscope

Best songs on the album: “Phone Tap”, “Executive Decision”, “Desperados”, “Firm Biz”

Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown and Nature. Dr. Dre. Trackmasters. Aftermath and Interscope backing them. It was a project that seemed too big and too good to fail. Almost anyway. With too many cooks in the kitchen, The Firm’s one and only album was one of those projects that didn’t know what it was and it showed in the music. Still, the album includes some Nas classics like “Phone Tap” and “Executive Decision.”

Released: November 30, 2004

Label: Columbia

Best songs on the album: “Just a Moment”, “Bridging the Gap”, “Thief’s Theme”

The first two singles off Street’s Disciple were incredibly promising. “Thief’s Theme” is one of Nas’ best songs of all time, and “Bridging the Gap” finds him linking back up with his dad on a musical note, just like they did for “Life’s a Bitch” back in ’94 . But like most rap double albums, Nas’ seventh album suffered from too much filler and a bloated track listing with not enough memorable moments.

Released: June 15, 2018

Label: Def Jam, Mass Appeal

Best songs on the album: “Cops Shot the Kid”, “White Label”, “Adam and Eve”

Off the momentum of the Wyoming sessions, which had Pusha, Kanye, Kid Cudi and Teyana Taylor all dropping albums within a week of each other, Nas had his own release squeezed in between. As his first album since 2012’s Life Is Good , and featuring production exclusively from Kanye, expectations were understandably high. Save for a few shining moments, though, Nasir was a disappointment and proved that Kanye’s sweeping, overproduction didn’t suit well with the Queensbridge legend’s rhyme style.

Released: July 19, 2019

Label: Def Jam, Mass Appeal

Best songs on the album: “No Bad Energy”, “Vernon Family”, “The Art of It”

You can’t blame fans for being hyped about this album. The original Lost Tapes remains one of the most beloved Nas projects of all time, and when you saw the producer line-up for the sequel, it was a hip hop head’s dream. From RZA, Kanye and Pete Rock to DJ Toomp, The Alchemist and No I.D., it was the who’s who of greatest rap producers of all time . Unfortunately, like many hyped-up rap albums, The Lost Tapes 2 failed to meet expectations, and has been relegated to the Nas archives.