10 2000s Albums That Are Practically Flawless

10. Late Registration - Kanye West

Every single pop artists has to deal with the sophomore slump sooner or later. Since practically anyone can fall into the right place at the right time on their first record, this is the moment where you prove that you weren't a fluke and you actually had something to say. Especially from the bling era of hip hop, there was no one really banking on the kid in a pink polo to be the breakout star of the genre.

After setting the world on fire with The College Dropout, Kanye West hooked up with producer Jon Brion and created a masterclass with Late Registration. After the chipmunk soul coming from his first outing, there's a lot more experimentation on this record, as Ye pulls from everything from jazz to James Bond themes to even having Jamie Foxx reprise his role as Ray Charles on the breakout single Gold Digger.

As corny as the other stuff sounds though, this is probably the most mature that we got to hear Kanye sound up until this point. Compared to the stuff we heard on Jesus Walks, songs like Hey Mama and Roses are stark looks at the little kid that Ye used to be and how fame is taking a toll on him. You can say whatever you want to about the Kanye of today, but this is probably the most sympathetic dude you could have hoped to see after college.