Wassup Theorists it’s QB  and we’re back with another ranking. He’s a country boy from Tappahannock, his words not ours. CB has been on the scene since he was 16. Over his 15+ year career Chris has dropped 10 solo studio albums, a collab album with Tyga and a handful of mixtapes. Brown has been hailed as one of the best artists of all time due to his prolific catalog innovative dance styles and captivating live performances. Today we’re seeing how those solo studio albums stack up against each other and what truly deserves to be called his best album. If you like what you see hit that thumbs up button, drop a comment down below and subscribe to become part of the family. Now that that’s out the way, let’s get to it.

#10-Heartbreak On A Full Moon

You ever heard the saying, “Bigger isn’t always better”? Nowhere will you find a better example of this than the singer’s 45 song, 3 hour long 8th studio album. In an era of diluted streams and short attention spans, Breezy put it all on the line and while we admire the work ethic, we can’t say that the album is heavy on replay value. Home to some solid tracks, the album is by no means a complete waste of time. Its just tedious to sort through the nearly 50 tracks to find the handful of songs that make it worthwhile. Club bangers: Party featuring Usher & Gucci Mane, Pills & Automobiles and High End all give you something to turn up to. Strong album cuts like the title track, Paradise & Run Away also make for an enjoyable listen. While at its core, the album could certainly move a couple spots up on the list, when looking at it in its entirety we can’t help but to sit it firmly at the bottom of our rankings.

#9-Indigo

Brown’s 9th studio album, and 3rd to top the charts, lands at our 9th spot. Slimming down to just 32 tracks, CB’s second consecutive double disc has a list of producers longer than a CVS receipt. But this varied project with its  deep bag of sounds makes sure each one of Chris’ skillsets gets highlighted. The album sees him linking up with H.E.R., Justin Bieber, Tank & a reunion of Young Money heavy hitters with: Wayne, Nicki, Drake & Tyga all making appearances. Major contributions from OG Parker, Hitmaka & Vinylz tie the album’s sound together pretty nicely. While it’s a much more cohesive and impactful offering than Heartbreak, it’s still too bloated and inconsistent to rank any higher on the list. 

#8-Graffiti

Graffiti debuted at #7 on the charts, barely moving 100K units in its first week. Many people would attribute this underperformance to the domestic violence scandal that had Chris taking up headlines all throughout the year. It didn’t help that the album’s infusion of synthpop production and over-saturated auto-tune vocals played out as jarring departures from his traditional R&B sound. Sporting another feature from frequent collaborator Lil Wayne, the album’s lead single “I Can Transform Ya” would peak in the top 20 being one of the hightlights on the album along with “Take My Time”, the singer’s collaboration with Tank. Despite the album being critically and commercially panned, it’s not as bloated as the aforementioned albums coming in at a lean 13 tracks for the standard addition. So he gets points for trimming the fat. Chris also did write virtually every song on the album, so kudos to him for taking creative control and netting 2 Grammy nods. 

#7-Breezy

CB’s most recent release makes it to #7 on our list. With a mere 24 songs and a runtime of an hour and 20 minutes, Breezy interestingly holds the title of Brown’s shortest album in nearly 7 years. Linking up with everyone from Lil Baby & EST Gee to Wizkid & Fivio Foreign, then again with Lil Wayne on “Possessive” Breezy sees Chris collaborating with some of the biggest names in the industry. The album would debut at #4 moving 72K first week, to the disappointment of Brown himself feeling that the release didn’t get the support it deserved. Ultimately, while we feel “Call Me Every Day”, Catch a Body” & “Psychic” are some of Brown’s strongest releases in recent memory, the album fell out of rotation too quickly to make it any higher on our list. We just hope moving forward Chris goes back to his 12-15 song tracklists, giving his album cuts the best chance to standout and be appreciated.

Fun fact: “Possessive” marks the 7th time Chris tapped Weezy  for an album feature.  We know he’s had collab projects before with Tyga and Young Thug but If he were to do another, would you like to see one with Lil Wayne or maybe someone else like Drake?? Let us know in the comments below.

#6-X

Following back-to-back #1 albums and the most critical success he had ever experienced, Chris had a daunting task ahead of him. Try to outdo himself again. Needless to say X is one of Chris’ most ambitious projects to date. Moving almost 150K first week, the album would debut at #2. This was more than 10K more units than his previous #1 release. X would see collabs with Kendrick, an up and coming Jhené Aiko, Usher, Wayne, Ross…if you can name em they prolly were on there. Capping off at 17 songs and just over an hour of runtime, the album used its time effectively and helped expand his artistic soundscape. The only reason we can’t put it any higher is because of how good his top tier projects are 🤷🏽‍♂️. Be sure to check out “New Flame”, “Autumn Leaves” & “Loyal” to get a sense what the album offers.

#5-Royalty

Dedicated to his daughter amidst a dramatic shift in his personal life. Royalty sees Chris employing  more traditional and alternative R&B sounds compared to his previous projects. We hear more of an 80s blend of soft pianos and warm melodies rather than up-tempo Hip-Hop drums and 808s. The album would debut at #3 on the charts with 184K units moved in the first week, marking a significant increase in sales despite being his lowest charting album since Graffiti. While the singles released for the album didn’t make the impact he anticipated, “Back To Sleep” would go on to reach the top 20. Brown would  direct 8 music videos for songs off the project structuring them as a linear story which showed a big leap in artistry that he hadn’t exhibited before. Ultimately Royalty would receive moderate praise from critics, but we feel like its one of his more underrated projects. Checkout “Proof”, “Liquor” & “Little Bit” before you take our word for it though. Don’t shoot the messenger.

#4-Fortune

Brown’s would be double CD F.A.M.E resulted in a sequel of sorts in this album “Fortune”. . Earning him his second straight #1 debut, Fortune sees a more mature Chris reflecting on past mistakes/exploring themes of vulnerability and a renewed focus on intimacy. The album would see Chris teaming up with artists like Nas, Big Sean & Wiz Khalifa while continuing his work with The Runners/ The Underdogs & Tha Bizness behind the boards. Fortune also features writing from then up and coming R&B acts Sevyn Streeter and Muni Long. The project didn’t enjoy the same commercial success as its predecessors and would be at the bottom of a lot of critics year end lists due to its lyrical content. While we agree the lyrical content can leave a lot to be desired in places, the improvement in production from F.A.M.E. makes the choice between the two, one with no definitive answer.

#3-F.A.M.E.

Standing for: Forgiving All My Enemies, CB’s 4th studio album would also be his first Billboard chart topper. On top of moving 270K units in its first week (his 2nd highest career mark), the album would grab Chris his only grammy for Best R&B album and cement his claim to superstar status. The highs are super high on this project as 3 of the album’s singles: Yeah 3x, Beautiful People & Look At Me Now would all enjoy international commercial success with the latter being one of Breezy’s most successful songs in the US. And  we gotta give mad love to tracks like “No BS”, “She Ain’t You”, “Deuces” & “Wet The Bed”. However the album’s incorporation of EDM  creates some skippable moments like the  song “Say it With Me”. So since Chris Brown is forgiving all his enemies we’ll let this one slide. 

#2-Chris Brown

The young phenom hit the ground running, dropping his career defining intro album at just 16. Most artists wait their whole career to drop songs like Yo & Run It!, foreshadowing the longevity and dominance Breezy would enjoy for the next decade and a half. The album has some filler to it along with the usual obstacles that come with such a young artist, but it was clear these issues would be buffed out and heavy expectations were placed on his shoulders out the gate. Dre & Vidal, Scott Storch and The Underdogs light it up on production , while we also hear appearances from Lil Wayne/Juelz Santana & Bow Wow. Chris’ self-titled debut is arguably one of the decades best, ensuring the genre had a prosperous future ahead of it. With 154K in first week sales and a #2 debut on the charts, saying CB makes a good first impression on both critics and consumers is an understatement. “Poppin’”, “Say Goodbye” & “Ain’t No Way” are also tracks you need to give a listen if you haven’t heard them in a while.

#1-Exclusive

Originally titled “Graduation”, changed out of respect for Kanye’s album of the same name, and dropping the same year. Breezy’s sophomore album overachieved in pretty much every way imaginable. Despite nearly doubling his previous first week mark, the project would debut at #4 and be supported by 4 singles Kiss Kiss/Take You Down/With You & Wall To Wall, with Kiss Kiss sitting atop the charts and With You peaking at #2. These would be some of the biggest songs of his career and they hit when he was just turning 18. Exclusive sees a lot of the production team from his debut  reprising important roles. We also see a massive leap in subject maturation and production. Adding b-side  staples like ,  Damage, Help Me, I’ll Call Ya & Lottery boy you gotta run this one back. Exclusive is filled with some of Chris’s best work to date being certified quadruple platinum as of 2021. This hip-hop infused R&B album is hard to knock and is number one on our list. 

That does it for this episode. Did we get it right?  Comment below your favorite Breezy tracks and feature. And what y’all think about him rapping though…? A conversation for another time…Don’t forget to like this video. And Subscribe so you don’t miss a list. as we do another deep dive into some of the culture’s best catalogs. I’m QB and we out.