Jay Z ranks his own albums.

[Certain]

The way I break it down among the three classics is:

Reasonable Doubt was all about establishing Jay Z as an elite rapper in the 1996 New York rap climate. It's his best album lyrically and features a lot of classic production. It holds up very well, better than most contemporaries, because of Jay Z's charisma. It's the Jay Z album for Nas fans, in a lot of ways.

The Blueprint was the commercial touchstone. It's swaggering and towering and enormous. It's the album that everyone can appreciate on some level. The songs and beats are widely varied, and the lyrics form a mission statement to conquer the world.

The Black Album was our peak behind the curtains. Jay Z has given us this in individual songs before and since, but The Black Album was his most personal work, yet it stands out just as much for the strong production and lyricism. It's his most consistent album. And unlike the off-putting and largely lazy Kingdom Come, it makes Jay Z more relatable. That's why it's my favorite.