Ranking The Best Snoop Dogg Albums Ever
Snoop Dogg has a massive fanbase, and it’s no surprise. Few artists have eighteen studio albums, and in addition to that impressive resume, Snoop also has four soundtrack albums, a video album, and sixteen compilation albums. If he’d stopped there, it would be a remarkable career, but Snoop also does television, a podcast, movies, and he gives back to numerous charities. He founded the Snoop Youth Football League, and spends time working with the Orca Network, the Shriners Hospital for Children, Save A Life Foundation and Habitat for Humanity. In honor of his many accomplishments, we’re ranking the best Snoop Dogg albums ever.
10. Bush (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzc0zk2D5T0
Any album produced by Grammy Award winner Pharrell Williams is bound to be worth listening to, but BUSH is unique. Snoop Dogg is massively talented no matter what he does, but this humorously named album is a tribute to the superb music of the 1970s, especially funk. The first track, California Roll, even features Stevie Wonder. Snoop has range, or as August Brown put it in the LA Times, “There aren’t many ’90s rappers who could credibly settle into a sound like this, but Snoop is an excellent student of his formative musical era.”
9. Ego Trippin (2008)
There’s no doubt that Ego Trippin, Snoop’s ninth studio album, lives up to its name. The album sold a hundred thirty-seven thousand copies the first week and debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200. Overall, it was the tenth best-selling Hip Hop Album of the year. It’s no surprise considering the all-star lineup of additional artists like Pharrell Williams and Charlie Wilson.
8. Well Almost…Tha Blue Carpet Treatment (2006)
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., better known as Snoop, has had a stunning nine platinum albums. Well Almost…Tha Blue Carpet Treatment was his eighth overall album, and sadly the last to have Nate Dog on it. Notably, this album ended an era of back-to-back platinum albums by falling short of that mark, which almost makes it underrated. However, the album was outstanding, and hearing him work with Dr. Dre on Imagine is worth it.
7. Malice N Wonderland (2009)
During his career, Snoop has been to some incredible places and made numerous outstanding appearances. One of the oddest was when he hosted WWE Raw to promote Malice N Wonderland. Despite mixed critic reviews, the album’s three singles, Gangsta Luv, That’s Tha Homie and I Wanna Rock, are all 2000’s era fan favorites. Malice remains a solid and very well-curated album full of great performances.
6. Tha Last Meal (2000)
Snoop Dogg’s first album in the new millennium was Tha Last Meal. This was his last album with No Limit Records and another double-platinum effort full of superb back to his roots tracks. As Urban Legends so aptly puts it, “Snoop Dogg had transcended rap and was slowly becoming a cultural figure by the time his fifth studio album was released. He was also a hit machine, and industry brass took notice. Tha Last Meal, Snoop’s final release on No Limit Records, had a who’s who of personnel that added to the album’s success.”
5. R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece (2004)
Drop It Like It’s Hot, one of Snoop’s best-known mega-hit songs, comes from R&B. Like many before and since, this album went platinum, selling almost two million copies in the US. The simplicity of dance-worthy Drop It Like It’s Hot played a creative counterpoint to the more reflective and philosophical Ups and Downs, where Snoop talks about his rise to fame and what it might mean moving forward.
4. Paid Tha Cost To Be Da Bo$$ (2002)
The title of this album is a reflection of what was going on in Snoop’s life at the time. Part of the cost he paid to develop himself outside the big labels he’d worked with in the past was giving up weed. The famous smoker went two years without touching his beloved green. This album, his sixth, had his trademark Doggystyle Records label.
3. No Limit Top Dogg (1999)
The highly disputed loved and despised No Limit Records clearly had a hand in both the production and naming of this album. Regardless of how some artists and fans feel about No Limit and Master P, this album went double platinum. No Limit Top Dogg was Snoop’s fourth studio album, and it lived up to its name by showcasing his musical range. Original fans were also happy to see him back to making songs with Dre.
2. Tha Doggfather (1996)
Everyone recognizes the play on words and the exceptional yet simple cover for Tha Doggfather. As his second studio album, and his first without Dr. Dre, the sound on this album was a serious divergence from his previous work. Doggfather wasn’t enough to overshadow his best-selling debut album with its eleven million sales. Yet it was still a brilliant album on its own.
1. Doggystyle (1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHqZ87xld2Q
Snoop Dogg has put out a lot of albums over the years, and they span a wide variety of genres, with guest stars from the obscure to the iconic. However, there was only ever one album to put at the top of this list. Doggystyle debuted at number one on the charts, and it has stayed on top in the hearts of the fans ever since. This was his first studio album from Death Row Records, and the unforgettable Gin and Juice came from this foundational classic. If you haven’t heard Doggystyle, you don’t know Snoop.
Final Thoughts
You don’t have to love rap music to be impressed by Snoop’s work, but it helps. As an artist, his work is prolific and truly well-produced, and as a person, his charities and other projects match that energy. Throughout his decade-spanning career, the D-O-Double-G has donated well over a hundred million dollars to various good causes, voiced cartoon characters, and appeared on Sesame Street. Few musicians have accomplished so much, and he’s still giving us great music and shows to this day.