We rank all “Tha Carters” thus far.
TOP 5
5. Tha Carter V (2018)
You don’t understand how much I wanted to love Tha Carter V. At the time, I felt like the hip-hop game needed a spark, and I thought the album would provide it. Though it didn’t quite move the needle for me for various reasons—including features I didn’t think fit, like XXXTENTACION, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott; a little too much singing; a regurgitated beat (the “Uproar” one); interesting melancholic feels; and what feels like several Drake and Eminem reference tracks—it did have some fun moments like “Dark Side of the Moon,” “Uproar,” and “Let It All Work Out.” Ultimately, if you compare the first Carter to this Carter, it’s night and day: two completely different approaches and sounds.
Favorite Track: “Let It All Work Out”
RGM Grade: (C)
4. Tha Carter (2004)
Around the time Tha Carter was floating around—whether from CDs, MP3s, or bootlegs—Lil Wayne was calling himself “the greatest rapper alive.” At that time, I was confused as hell because I had last remembered him from “Back That Thang Up,” and that was nothing close to “greatest rapper alive” type rapping. However, on Tha Carter, I feel like he started proving his worth. He had a bunch of tracks where he rapped with a pep in his step, started hitting us with some of the most unbelievable punchlines we’d ever heard (In my Trump voice), and made it clear he had intentions of murdering every beat he touched.
The reason I have this as one of the lower-rated Tha Carters is because I still feel like the Lil Wayne we all know wasn’t fully there yet. It didn’t have as many certified hits, some moments were just forgettable (Wayne never has forgettable moments these days), and a few random tracks that just didn’t hit for me. Still, there were tracks like “Go DJ,” “I Miss My Dawgs,” “BM J.R.,” and “Bring It Back” that got you excited enough.
Favorite Track: “Bm J.R.”
RGM Grade: (C+)
3. Tha Carter IV (2011)
Following up a classic is the hardest thing you can ever do. The only movie to really pull it off was Back to the Future. That said, Tha Carter IV was almost guaranteed to fail for that exact reason. However, if you look at the album through an unbiased lens, it’s really not that bad. Does it have some weird interludes that don’t feature him? Yes. Does it have a fake “A Milli” in “6 Foot 7 Foot”? Also yes.
But the good far outweighs the bad. There are tracks where Wayne absolutely goes in, like “MegaMan,” an excellent commercial hit in “She Will” with Drake, the very slept-on “President Carter” (which I compare to “Dr. Carter”), and even a Jay-Z diss track in “It’s Good.” This feels like a pretty decent follow-up to Tha Carter III. It’s just NOT Tha Carter III.
Favorite Track: “She Will”
RGM Grade: (C+)
2. Tha Carter II (2005)
I’ll be completely honest with you: Tha Carter II is the album that made me crown Lil Wayne. In my opinion, this is the most focused and polished version of Wayne as a rapper. He made this installment a little darker than the one before it, and it works beautifully. Throughout the project, you hear Wayne speaking on hustling quite a bit, sounding extra hungry, motivated, and competitive.
He doesn’t lean into the singing like he does in the later Carter albums—here, he’s all about whipping beats and spitting bars. Out of all the Tha Carters, I think this one flows the best.
Favorite Track: “Hustler Musik”
RGM Grade: (B+)
1. Tha Carter III (2008)
In 2008, Lil Wayne was at his peak. At that time, every mixtape, feature, or verse he dropped resonated with the people. Then came Tha Carter III—an album packed with hit after hit. Instead of leaning into his rock side or his street persona, Wayne fully embraced his hit-making prowess, crafting tracks like “Lollipop,” with its infectious chorus; “A Milli,” which plays like the most commercial freestyle ever made; “Dr. Carter,” a truly clever concept record; and “Mrs. Officer,” a rom-com-style hip-hop joint like no other.
While the album didn’t flow as seamlessly as Tha Carter II, it felt like a best-of collection—and there’s absolutely nothing to hate on about that.
Favorite Track: “A Milli”
RGM Grade: A-
Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.
