Album: Kanye West, Yeezus (Def Jam)

Kanye's running scared of reviewers. His label didn't send out Yeezus until the day after release, Snakes on a Plane-style.

Perhaps because, though it's far from his worst album, it's his least commercial – with its harsh beats, mangled vocals, and Marilyn Manson samples, it mimics the aesthetics of a DIY mixtape. Yeezus can't decide whether it wants to be political or pornographic, Public Enemy or David Banner. There, Kanye. Did that hurt?