Coming onto the music scene as a young, drugie rapper is everyone’s dream to make a quick buck, but in Mac Miller’s case it amounted to more. With a number of juvenile mix-tapes under his belt, Miller’s song writing took a major 180 and became as introspective as anyone in the genre. Going from a boom-bap production style to blending jazz and blues with hip-hop as his career went on went to show the growth of Miller not only as a musical artist, but also as an adult in the world. With his impact as a self-taught musician and everlasting music, Miller is undoubtably one of the biggest and best hip-hop artists in our generation. Even after his untimely death, we continue to get new music, including a total of seven studio Mac Miller albums, two Live LPS, 13 mixtapes and countless singles. That all culminated in the most recent release — Balloonerism.
Delving into music, the following Power Rankings from FlurrySports will ranks all seven Mac Miller albums based upon listenability, production and song writing in general. Miller is one of my favorite artists of all time and I consistently find myself going back to each of these albums consistently.
Ranking Every Mac Miller Album
7. Blue Slide Park
At 19 years old, after four mixtapes, Miller released his debut album, Blue Slide Park. As a full length solo project, Miller displayed some of that naive, good-feeling, nostalgic sound that we heard on mixtapes like K.I.D.S. The majority of the album revolves around the story of his life growing up in Pittsburgh. As many artist’s debut albums go, the main grabbing point on this album is the fun rawness of creating his first project that many of the masses of heard.
Miller’s signature story-telling ability is fully on display in this album, with singles like Frick Park Market and Up All Night making you feel like you are the one growing up in Pittsburgh and tagging along with Mac to house parties.
6. GO:OD AM
In his third studio project, Miller tackles more serious topics in his life like addiction and rehabilitation. Not following the theme of his first studio album, Miller brings in legends of the rap game like Ab-Soul, Chief Keef, Lil B and Miguel to help tell the story of his ever growing drug addiction. Not nearly as naive and nostalgic as Blue Slide Park, Miller shows vulnerability and support to those listeners who are tired and ready to give up.
What is interesting about this album is that even though Miller tackles those heavier topics, he is still able to infuse his stoner rap theme that so many people fell in love with. “Weekend” is undoubtably the best song on the album and may be one Mac’s best songs that he has ever recorded. Adding to the allure of the album is producing credits from Tyler, the Creator, who today stands out as a rapper who uses some of the most unique production in the game.
5. Balloonerism
The new Mac Miller album comes on the back of songs that were recorded over ten years ago. The second album released posthumously from Miller’s camp relies a lot on the incredible production from a cast of collaborators, including the incredible Thundercat. As opposed to his beginnings as an in-your-face, silly production, we get a little more of a psychedelic feel in this album. When this album was being teased in 2014, it was hard, but you could find leaks if you dug deep enough. I was able to find some that slipped through the cracks when I was in high school and, to me, this was really when I felt like Miller’s growth as a musician and song writer started to hit its stride.
As a complete album, to me, this is the lesser of the two albums that were released after Miller’s passing. While this album will always be around because it is Mac’s, I am not sure that this is an album that will be played over and over for me.
4. The Divine Feminine
This is an album that seems like I may like it more than the masses, but instead of talking about addiction, parties and having fun, Miller digs into the topic of love in this one. Going along with the evolution of his music, Mac brings in superstars of the hip-hop game like Kendrick Lamar, Ty Dolla Sign and Anderson .Paak, not to mention collaborating with his one time girlfriend, Ariana Grande.
This album really slows down what we are so accustomed to with Mac, as infusing jazz and r&b really digs into the femininity and love themes of the album. We also got to hear Mac’s singing voice on this album, which is always fun to hear from rappers. Straying away from the normal Mac Miller cloth, I like the different sounds and themes with get from the hip-hop legend.
3. Circles
Before Balloonerism, this is the Mac Miller album that we thought he would leave us on. Going back and listening through this album, it does sound like nine years of a music career culminating into one album. While Miller will always be considered a rapper, Circles in a nutshell devolves into more of an emo, funk project. As the production certainly differs from what we are used to, Mac’s lyricism is at the top of his game here. “Blue World’ is probably Mac’s best song ever and really ties the album together.
There is probably some kind of nostalgia when going back to this album knowing that it was finished after his passing, but I think that adds to the allure. Music tells stories and, in all honesty, this album probably feels a little different if the circumstances surrounding the making of it were different.
2. Swimming
In Swimming, Mac Miller’s music career really comes to realization of everything that he has accomplished in his career. “Self Care” is the standout song on the album, and rightfully so, but this may be the album with the most replay value. This album really encapsulates all of Miller’s topics in his albums, including drug addiction, growth as an adult and mental health, all with the classic fun-loving nostalgic sound that we love. While there is no credited features on this album, we do get guest verses from the likes of Snoop Dogg and JID.
After Miller’s brake up with Ariana Grande, we do get an emotional performances as there was obviously still love between both parties. Including synths is always a great when producing albums, and on songs like “So It Goes,” it works perfectly. As Miller’s last album before his death, Swimming works incredibly well.
1. Watching Movies With the Sound Off
Undoubtably Mac Miller’s greatest project, Watching Movies With the Sound Off, sees features from Schoolboy Q, Action Bronson and Earl Sweatshirt. Added in with production from Tyler, the Creator and Flying Lotus, among others, this album is certainly a step up as his second studio album. This was really the first album that Miller put out that featured the mix of hip-hop with jazz.
Really the first time that we saw Mac opening up and being totally vulnerable, it feels like this was his first relatable album, in terms of adulthood as those who were growing up along with the hip-hop legend. The maturity that Miller shows in relation to his first album, really ups his credibility as a true musical mastermind.
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