Tyler, the Creator has put together a hell of a discography.
From his early days making wildly ambitious (and rebellious) albums like Goblin and Wolf to more melodic (and commercially successful) albums like Flower Boy and IGOR, his career arc has been fascinating to watch over the past 15 years.
For as much talk as there is about how much Tyler has grown, though, it’s not like he completely changed his tastes and sensibilities along the way. Going all the way back to his debut solo mixtape, Bastard, you’ll find the creative seeds that ultimately blossomed into his most recent albums, CHROMAKOPIA and DON’T TAP THE GLASS. His technical abilities have improved every step of the way, but the ideas have been there from the very beginning.
A couple of weeks removed from the surprise release of the brisk, jubilant DON’T TAP THE GLASS, there’s been a lot of talk about how it compares to the rest of Tyler’s albums, so we took this as an opportunity to dive back into his discography and rank all his projects.
These are Tyler, the Creator’s albums, ranked from worst to best.
(This was originally published in 2021.)
Released: 2009
Features: Casey Veggies, Hodgy Beats, Domo Genesis, Earl Sweatshirt, brandUn DeShay, Mike G, Jasper Dolphin, Taco
A lot of people refer to Bastard as a mixtape, but Tyler counts this as an album, so we’ll follow his lead and include it on this list. Like many of his projects that followed, Bastard is entirely produced by Tyler, and it serves as our first glimpse of his grand ambitions. Tyler was a teenager at the time, and his technical abilities hadn’t fully caught up with his ideas quite yet, but he was already on to something special. On the very first track, he opens up to a therapist about his absent father and outcast tendencies, immediately separating himself from every other kid posting their music on message boards at the time.
Tyler has always been in a realm of his own, making songs like “Blow” and “Sarah” at the age of 18, completely disregarding any trends that existed at the time. And even back then, he had visions of where his career would go next, rapping, “My goal in life is a Grammy.” Bastard isn’t perfect, and many of the ideas aren’t fully formed, but it nicely sets the stage for everything that would come. —Eric Skelton
Released: 2015
Features: Cole Alexander, Syd Bennett, Shane Powers, Schoolboy Q, Roy Ayers, Jameel Kirk Bruner, Samantha Nelson, Tiffany Palmer, Onitsha Shaw, Kali Uchis, Wanya Morris, Dâm-Funk, Aaron Shaw, Charlie Wilson, Chaz Bundick, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Coco O., Alice Smith, Leon Ware, Clem Creevy
It’s too easy to dismiss Cherry Bomb as a transitory record, the weird cousin of Wolf and Flower Boy, or a sharp turn from the classic Tyler sound to the road he was about to enter on his next four albums. But it’s so much more than that. In a way, Cherry Bomb was Tyler’s Noah’s Arc moment. While it wasn’t his task to save humanity one species at a time like the biblical figure, he still treated his third LP like everything was on the line. He took any preconceived notions of his production skills and instead rebuilt his ship piece by piece, with chords that were beginning to sound brighter, wackier, and fuller, just to fit everything he wanted inside before he set sail. And what was it that he wanted inside Cherry Bomb that he couldn’t have possibly invited into his albums before?
Well, few in 2015 had the suave-ness or appreciation for old-school pop to welcome Boyz II Men’s Wanya Morris on a hook (“Blow My Load,” for that matter), the courage to introduce a relatively fresh-faced Por Vida-era Kali Uchis to their growing fandom via “Find Your Wings,” the pull to link with heroes like Pharrell Williams for a second time, or the pure power to get both Eezy’s (Wayne and Kanye, that is) on a track together—later inviting at least one of them to each of his following albums.
At that point, Cherry Bomb was Tyler’s chance to get weird, sing a little more, and hint at the fact that his creative innovation was near the point of explosion, with no sign of a detonator in sight. —Brenton Blanchet
Released: 2011
Features: Frank Ocean, Hodgy Beats, Jasper Dolphin, Taco, Domo Genesis, Mike G
Some generations remember the moment Bob Dylan pulled out an electric guitar at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, when Michael Jackson first moved his feet in reverse (or however you do the thing) at Motown 25, or when Britney Spears rocked a school girl outfit and changed pop music forever. We, however, are privileged to remember exactly which family computer we were sitting at when we first saw a 19-year-old Tyler Okonma gnaw on a cockroach.
The “Yonkers” video was an easy introduction into Tyler’s creations, and into the twisted, haunting, and absurd boundaries of Goblin, his debut studio album. The album gave skinny jean-wearing and tie-dye-loving kids a soundtrack to rebel to, and offered an imaginative look into the mind of a teen who was still trying to figure himself out artistically, despite being leagues ahead of anyone who thought they could do what he did. Goblin was unapologetically raunchy with cuts like “Bitch Suck Dick,” a touch demonic thanks to vocal effects in songs like “Analog,” and borderline alarming on the Frank Ocean-featuring “She.” Not all of the record aged gracefully, but after 10 plus years of keeping it on rotation and Tyler himself calling it “terrible” given just how excellent he’s become since, it was a stepping stone in a career that continues to shock—just using less words to do so. —Brenton Blanchet
Released: 2013
Features: Hodgy Beats, Frank Ocean, Lætitia Sadier, Pharrell Williams, Casey Veggies, Mike G, Domo Genesis, Earl Sweatshirt, Left Brain, Na-Kel, Jasper, Taco, L-Boy, Lucas, Lee Spielman, Erykah Badu, Coco Owino
By the time Tyler made Wolf, he had traveled the world, and his perspective on life and music was starting to shift. Sitting down for an interview with Spin while he was working on the project, he revealed, “Talking about rape and cutting bodies up, it just doesn’t interest me anymore. What interests me is making weird hippie music for people to get high to.”
While he did begin to move away from some of the shock-and-awe that dominated his first two projects, Wolf still represented a relatively smooth next step forward from Goblin. He carried on some of the same storylines and characters from the first two records (his therapist Dr. TC even makes another appearance) but he did it with greater technical precision. It’s a well-crafted concept album that represents the best of Tyler’s early years, complete with standouts like “IFHY” and “Tamale,” which hold up to this day. If you look at his first three solo projects as a trilogy of sorts, Wolf was a fitting finale, a send-off to the characters and artistic sensibilities that defined the opening chapters of Tyler’s career, right before he was about to make a turn for something new. —Eric Skelton
Released: 2025
Features: Pharrell Williams, Sk8brd, Madison McFerrin, Yebba
Imagine you’re an artist, and you’ve just dropped the heaviest, most personal, most conceptual project of your career. What’s the next step? Take a breather.
That’s what DON’T TAP THE GLASS, Tyler’s ninth studio album, feels like. At just 10 tracks and 28 minutes, it’s easily the breeziest of his career. So I won’t bog this blurb down with too much analysis—frankly, it doesn’t seem like Tyler would want that. DON’T TAP THE GLASS is a blast: an album made to shut up all the “mysterious shit” comments—*DJ Khaled voice*—he’s gotten over the years. Here, Tyler takes warm, syrupy Pharrell-ish strings and synths, speeds up the BPM, and dares you to dance.
He’s mostly effective, compartmentalizing the album into three parts. The first third is all bounce, with tracks like the sunny “Sugar on My Tongue” and “Sucka Free” bringing a full-on LA brightness. The middle stretch is pure shit-talking—standouts like “Stop Playing With Me” and the title track are packed with flexes and clever wordplay (“I could grant a ho a wish, think I’m Sinbad / I’ll cater to her, bitch, I’m Bin Lad”). The final act turns experimental, with Tyler blurring genre lines and stepping back to let voices like Yebba and Madison Ferrin shine.
There’s really not a bad song here. But in the context of his full catalog, the lower ambition means it probably misses the Mount Rushmore of Tyler albums. And honestly, he seems just fine with that. Sit back and enjoy the snapshot. —Dimas Sanfiorenzo
Released: 2024
Features: Daniel Caesar, Teezo Touchdown, GloRilla, Sexyy Red, Lil Wayne, LaToiya Williams, Schoolboy Q, Santigold, Lola Young, Doechii
Who would have thought that Tyler, the Creator—the rapper who once put a roach in his mouth, a figure who was known for wearing ski masks and hurling homophobic slurs—would create an album addressing the anxieties of being an aging millennial? Even more surprising, who could have guessed that this album would become the biggest of his career, going No. 1 and dominating the charts without a hit single? Welcome to CHROMAKOPIA, a work that has already secured its place in the modern adult hip-hop canon alongside Jay-Z’s 4:44 and Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.
When considering Tyler’s discography, an obvious bifurcation occurs. It begins with Flower Boy, released when he was 26, where the topics shift to interpersonal relationships and feature a newfound obsession with melody. With CHROMAKOPIA, we see an additional wrinkle: unbridled vulnerability—a first for Tyler, who has often embraced playing a character.
The album centers on the confusion he feels about the Peter Pan lifestyle Tyler, who is now 33, still lives, while his peers transition to new stages in their lives. He delves into his struggles with commitment on “Darling, I” and, most strikingly, grapples with the idea of fatherhood, recounting an abortion in excruciating detail on the album highlight “Hey Jane.” (The song also features some of the most vivid writing of his career.)
Despite this maturity, there are still elements that signal this is a Tyler album. There’s aggressive Tyler (“Thought I Was Dead”); bratty Tyler (“Rah Tah Tah”); and whimsical Tyler, like on the stunning posse cut “Sticky.”
It’s just enough looseness to indicate that, despite his growth, he’s still in the process of growing up. —Dimas Sanfiorenzo
Released: 2017
Features: Rex Orange County, Frank Ocean, Kali Uchis, ASAP Rocky, Jaden Smith, Estelle, Anna of the North, Steve Lacy, Lil Wayne
You can probably sense a pattern at this point: We feel like Tyler’s albums have generally improved as his career has progressed. 2017’s Flower Boy is when it all came together for Tyler. He had shown glimpses of greatness in his previous work, and his production has always been on-point, but Flower Boy was the project that represented the perfect nexus of soundscape, ambitious ideas, and sound execution. It’s a warm, introspective project where he bares more of himself than we’d previously heard on tracks like “When This Flower Blooms,” “November,” and yes, “I Ain’t Got Time” the track where some say he “came out.” But beyond that reveal, Tyler displayed a level of thoughtfulness and maturity that allowed him to ascend from an artist with potential to a full-blown star.
His forays into love and romance went from occasionally disturbing on previous projects to relatable on the lovelorn “See You Again” with Kali Uchis. Flower Boy is a strong, rightfully Grammy-nominated album that straddled the line between rap and so-called pop, providing mass appeal with ingenuity and demonstrating that he had officially arrived at a new stage of his career. —Andre Gee
Released: 2019
Features: Playboi Carti, Charlie Wilson, Solange, Jerrod Carmichael, Santigold, Jessy Wilson, Kanye West, slowthai, CeeLo Green, Pharrell Williams
Depending on who you ask, IGOR could make a run for the top spot on this list, and it comes in at a very close second in our own rankings. The 12-song record is a beautifully crafted concept album that takes us inside Tyler’s vivid imagination for perhaps the most enjoyable top-to-bottom listen of his career so far.
Throughout the tracklist, he showcases his ability to shapeshift, smoothly transitioning from dreamy love songs to murky, grunge-inspired records and back again. Through it all, he never breaks his blonde-headed, suit-wearing character, weaving together a cohesive storyline fit for the big screen. Combining fuzzy pop beats with rap and R&B, IGOR has just the right balance of abstract elements and accessible sounds, all while seamlessly incorporating superstars like Lil Uzi Vert into its own distinctive universe.
Once again, Tyler solidified himself as one of the best “album artists” of his era, and he was rewarded with a No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts and a Grammy. —Jessica McKinney
Released: 2021
Features: DJ Drama, 42 Dugg, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Ty Dolla Sign, Lil Wayne, Teezo Touchdown, Domo Genesis, Brent Faiyaz, Fana Hues, Daisy World, Lil Uzi Vert, Pharrell Williams, Vince Staples, ASAP Rocky, YG
A few days after releasing Call Me If You Get Lost, Tyler hopped on Instagram Live and played the beat from “Massa” for his followers. Replaying the opening drum break over and over, he put his hands to his face, stared straight into his phone, and yelled, “I’m so fucking good, dude, it’s so crazy!” He wasn’t lying.
Tyler’s technical skills have improved on each album, and CMIYGL features some of the best production of his career (and easily his best rapping). It’s not a concept album in the sense that IGOR was, but it’s somehow just as cohesive, because Tyler tied it all together with a singular sonic theme: this is the Gangsta Grillz project he always wanted. With a little help from DJ Drama, Tyler pulls off some of the hardest-hitting records he’s ever made (“Lemonhead,” “Juggernaut,” “Lumberjack”) and puts them on the same tracklist as the most personal storytelling he’s ever put on wax (“Wilshire”).
Following the comparatively melodic IGOR, some people are making the mistake of referring to CMIYGL as a top-to-bottom rap album, but that’s a shortsighted way of looking at it. Tyler pulled together all of his musical abilities on a single project, and did it at a higher level than he has in the past. Sure, he’s rapping all over this thing, but he also left room for 10 minutes of melodic extravagance (“Sweet / I Thought You Wanted to Dance”) and made YoungBoy Never Broke Again sound at home on an R&B record (“Wusyaname”).
This album is full of flexes, from the lyrics to the guest features, and it’s clear Tyler knows exactly how good he is right now. The biggest flex of all, though, is that he somehow keeps getting better with age. —Eric Skelton
