Drake Albums Ranked, From Take Care to ICEMAN
Drake albums ranked is harder than it looks, because almost every record in his catalog was a commercial event. Every solo album since 2010’s Thank Me Later has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and in May 2026 he became the first act to hold the entire top three at once with ICEMAN, HABIBTI and MAID OF HONOUR.
This ranking sets the sales aside and judges the albums as albums: cohesion, replay value and how much each one changed the sound around it. The first-week numbers are included for context, not as the score. For the latest news, see our Drake hub.
Key facts
- Best Drake album: Take Care (2011), winner of the Grammy for Best Rap Album
- Biggest first week: Views (2016), about 1.04 million units
- Latest album: ICEMAN, released May 15, 2026, 463,000 first-week units
- No. 1 albums: 15, the most of any solo male artist
- What is ranked: ten solo albums, including the 2015 retail mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
Drake albums ranked, best to worst
No. 1 is the best. Collaborative albums, playlists and the two ICEMAN companion records are listed separately below.
| Rank | Album | Year | First-week units | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Care | 2011 | 631,000 | His masterpiece and the blueprint for a decade of moody rap and R&B. Won the Grammy for Best Rap Album. |
| 2 | Nothing Was the Same | 2013 | 658,000 | His most focused album, from Started From the Bottom to Pound Cake. |
| 3 | If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late | 2015 | 535,000 | A surprise-dropped, rap-first reset that aged better than almost anything he has made since. |
| 4 | Views | 2016 | 1,040,000 | Overlong, but home to One Dance and Hotline Bling. His only million-unit week. |
| 5 | Scorpion | 2018 | 732,000 | A 25-track double album carried by God’s Plan, Nice for What and In My Feelings. |
| 6 | Thank Me Later | 2010 | 447,000 | A confident debut that already sounded like a star’s third album. |
| 7 | ICEMAN | 2026 | 463,000 | The lyrical anchor of the May 2026 trilogy and his 15th No. 1. Still settling. |
| 8 | Certified Lover Boy | 2021 | 613,000 | Commercially enormous and creatively safe. Every track charted on the Hot 100 at once. |
| 9 | For All the Dogs | 2023 | 402,000 | Flashes of vintage Drake buried in a 23-track sprawl. |
| 10 | Honestly, Nevermind | 2022 | 204,000 | A house and Jersey club detour that was braver than it was consistent. |
Why Take Care is still No. 1
Take Care is the album the rest of his catalog is measured against. Produced largely by Noah “40” Shebib, it turned Drake’s melancholy into a whole sound: muted drums, underwater keys and songs like Marvins Room that blurred rap and R&B so completely the line stopped mattering. It opened with 631,000 copies sold in the pre-streaming era and won Best Rap Album at the 2013 Grammys.
Nothing Was the Same runs it closest. It is tighter, colder and more confident, and its 658,000 first week was bigger. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late rounds out the top three as the hungriest record he has made, a surprise drop that sounded like a rapper with something to prove.
Where ICEMAN fits
ICEMAN is the most interesting late-career Drake album because it is the leanest. Released alongside the R&B-leaning HABIBTI and the club-focused MAID OF HONOUR, it carries the rap-first material and opened with 463,000 units, his 15th No. 1. Read our coverage of the ICEMAN Billboard 200 sweep.
We have placed it seventh for now, above Certified Lover Boy and For All the Dogs and below the classic run. Albums this new tend to move once the release-week noise fades, and we will revisit the spot.
Collaborations, mixtapes and companion albums
These projects are part of the catalog but not part of the main ranking, either because they are shared with another lead artist or because Drake framed them as something other than a studio album.
| Project | Year | Type and debut |
|---|---|---|
| What a Time to Be Alive (with Future) | 2015 | Collaborative album |
| More Life | 2017 | Playlist, 505,000 first week |
| Dark Lane Demo Tapes | 2020 | Mixtape |
| Her Loss (with 21 Savage) | 2022 | Collaborative album, 404,000 first week |
| $ome $exy $ongs 4 U (with PartyNextDoor) | 2025 | Collaborative album, 246,000 first week |
| HABIBTI | 2026 | ICEMAN companion, No. 2 with 114,000 |
| MAID OF HONOUR | 2026 | ICEMAN companion, No. 3 with 110,000 |
How we ranked Drake’s albums
Cohesion and influence came first, then replay value. That is why the sprawling streaming-era records, Scorpion at 25 tracks and Certified Lover Boy at 21, sit lower than their sales suggest: both have great singles and too little editing. Honestly, Nevermind lands last not because the house experiment failed outright, but because it is the album fans return to least. For his best individual tracks, see our best Drake songs ranking and our list of the biggest first week rap albums.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Drake album?
Take Care (2011) is widely regarded as Drake’s best album. It won the Grammy for Best Rap Album and set the moody, melodic template that a generation of rappers followed. Nothing Was the Same (2013) is its closest challenger.
What is Drake’s biggest album by first week?
Views (2016) had Drake’s biggest first week, with about 1.04 million equivalent album units on the Billboard 200. Scorpion (2018) is second at about 732,000.
How many No. 1 albums does Drake have?
Drake has 15 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 after ICEMAN debuted at No. 1 in May 2026. That is the most of any solo male artist and of any rap artist.
What is Drake’s newest album?
Drake’s newest album is ICEMAN, released on May 15, 2026 together with two companion albums, HABIBTI and MAID OF HONOUR. The three debuted at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 on the Billboard 200.
Is If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late an album or a mixtape?
Drake and his label called it a mixtape, but it was sold as a retail release and debuted at No. 1 with 535,000 units, so most rankings count it alongside his studio albums. We do the same here.
