#10. Graduation
by Kanye West

West isn't the first celebrity to worry that fame has made him dull, but he is the first to settle the matter by pondering it for the entirety of an album. Thin as Graduation is on material, it delivers knockout hooks at a Louis Vuitton price point. From Elton John to Daft Punk to Steely Dan, West plunders the best and meticulously layers every track with enough surprises that there are thrills and discoveries a dozen listens in. He may be in danger of running out of things to say, but his ears are only getting sharper.