Down With the Kings

Jay-Z's and Kanye's No. 1 Albums

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Down With the Kings: Jay-Z's and Kanye's No. 1 Albums - Jay-Z and Kanye West's over-the-top collabo album, Watch the Throne, was released last week to much fanfare. It's already broken records at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino,CA, selling 290,000 copies on iTunes alone to surpass the digital distributor's previous one–week sales high mark. The album is expected to debut at No. 1 when Billboard releases its Hot 100 chart tomorrow morning. But sitting on the throne is old hat for Jay-Z and Kanye West—they've each released several chart-topping solo albums already. Wanna be down with the kings? Click on to see all of Jay-Z and Kanye's industry-ruling No. 1 albums.

Jay-Z, Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life - Hov's third LP was his first No. 1 album and his best-selling overall to date. Led by Jay's Annie-sampling smash single, "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)," Vol. 2 made Jay-Z a household name and eventually hit five-times platinum.\r\rU.S. Sales to Date: 5,299,000\r\r \r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

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Jay-Z, Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life - Hov's third LP was his first No. 1 album and his best-selling overall to date. Led by Jay's Annie-sampling smash single, "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)," Vol. 2 made Jay-Z a household name and eventually hit five-times platinum.\r\rU.S. Sales to Date: 5,299,000\r\r \r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

Vol. 3....The Life and Times of S. Carter - But "Big Pimpin'" was just one of the highlights — a very high one — of Jay-Z and Timbaland's most prolific collaborative period, the former's 1999 album Vol. 3...The Life and Times. Timbaland's contributions — "Big Pimpin'," "It's Hot (Some Like It Hot), "Snoopy Track" (feat. Juvenile) and "Come and Get Me" — form the backbone of the triple-platinum blockbuster disc. (Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

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Jay-Z, Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter\r\r  - Vol. 3 debuted at No. 1 in 1999, pushing triple-platinum off the strength of club classics like "Big Pimpin'" and "Jigga My N----." \r\rU.S. Sales to Date: 3,094,000\r\r\r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

Jay-Z, The Dynasty: Roc la Familia  - With the Neptunes-produced hit "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" leading things off, La Familia was Hov's third straight album to debut at No. 1. It also featured his first collabos with up-and-coming producers Kanye West and Just Blaze.\r\rU.S. Sales to Date: 2,521,000\r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

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Jay-Z, The Dynasty: Roc la Familia  - With the Neptunes-produced hit "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" leading things off, La Familia was Hov's third straight album to debut at No. 1. It also featured his first collabos with up-and-coming producers Kanye West and Just Blaze.\r\rU.S. Sales to Date: 2,521,000\r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

Jay-Z, The Blueprint\r - Despite dropping on September 11, 2011, Jay's back-to-basics classic The Blueprint pushed almost 500,000 copies its first week and introduced us to mean-mug classics like "U Don't Know" and "Takeover."  \r\rU.S. Sales to Date: 2,608,000 \r\r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)\r 

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Jay-Z, The Blueprint\r - Despite dropping on September 11, 2011, Jay's back-to-basics classic The Blueprint pushed almost 500,000 copies its first week and introduced us to mean-mug classics like "U Don't Know" and "Takeover."  \r\rU.S. Sales to Date: 2,608,000 \r\r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)\r 

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The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse: Where Are They Now? - The best blueprints create buildings that last. And Jay-Z's The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse is definitely lasting. The 2002 album is sometimes overlooked, but it was filled with big songs and big moments. And it all happened thanks to the big names behind it—the numerous rappers, singers, producers and more that helped Jay put it all together. Today (Nov. 12), 10 years after The Blueprint 2 dropped, we're taking a look back at the album's all-star team. Diamonds are forever, indeed. —Alex Gale (Photo: Def Jam Records)

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Jay-Z, The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse\r - Jay's first and only double album, Blueprint 2 debuted at No. 1 yet again, recapturing its predecessor's magic commercially. Musically? Not so much.\r\rU.S. Sales to Date: 4,069,000\r\r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

Jay-Z - “Interlude / December 4th,” The Black Album (2003) - “I learned that all things must come to an end...” says the voice on the first track of Jay-Z’s then farewell album before blasting into “December 4th.” The track includes spoken word interludes from HOV’s mother over a “That’s How Long” by The Chi-Lites sample. It’s a heartfelt account of HOV’s early life immersed in triumph.(Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records)

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Jay-Z, The Black Album\r - Billed as Jay's "retirement" album, this gritty "swan song that wasn't" is one of Jay's most successful albums musically and commercially, debuting atop the charts yet again off the strength of stadium-sized epics like "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" and the Kanye-produced "Encore."\r \rU.S. Sales to Date: 3,345,000\r\r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

Jay-Z, Kingdom Come - After a three-year retirement, Hov's comeback album left some fans and critics disappointed, but with yet another No. 1 debut, it proved he could still run things on the charts.U.S. Sales to Date: 1,510,000 (Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

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Jay-Z, Kingdom Come - After a three-year retirement, Hov's comeback album left some fans and critics disappointed, but with yet another No. 1 debut, it proved he could still run things on the charts.U.S. Sales to Date: 1,510,000 (Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

Jay-Z, American Gangster\r - Inspired by the Denzel Washington-starring film of the same name, Jay-Z's first concept album debuted at No. 1 yet again despite its street-oriented production and lyrical themes.\r\rU.S. Sales to Date: 1,131,000\r\r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

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Jay-Z, American Gangster\r - Inspired by the Denzel Washington-starring film of the same name, Jay-Z's first concept album debuted at No. 1 yet again despite its street-oriented production and lyrical themes.\r\rU.S. Sales to Date: 1,131,000\r\r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

Jay-Z, The Blueprint 3 - Topping the charts yet again, Jay-Z broke Elvis Presley's record for most No. 1 albums with The Blueprint 3, which featured the anthemic "Empire State of Mind."\r\rU.S. Sales to Date: 1,850,600\r\r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

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Jay-Z, The Blueprint 3 - Topping the charts yet again, Jay-Z broke Elvis Presley's record for most No. 1 albums with The Blueprint 3, which featured the anthemic "Empire State of Mind."\r\rU.S. Sales to Date: 1,850,600\r\r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

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The Evolution of Kanye West - Kanye went big on his sophomore album, the 2005 classic Late Registration. Working with acclaimed pop-rock producer Jon Brion, Kanye expanded past his chipmunk soul signature sound with lusher live instrumentation and epic bridges, crescendos and breakdowns. Behind hits like "Gold Digger" and "Touch the Sky," the album was Kanye's first to hit No. 1.    (Photo: Courtesy Def Jam Records)

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Kanye West, Late Registration - Yeezy's epic sophomore opus debuted at No. 1, riding the success of hits like "Gold Digger" and "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" to triple-platinum status.U.S. Sales to Date: 3,000,000 (Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

Kanye Meets Murakami - Yeezy tapped Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami to design the surreal, anime-inspired cover for his 2007 album Graduation. (Photo: Def Jam)

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Kanye West, Graduation - Kanye's second-straight No. 1 debut—and his third-straight dope album—confirmed his status as a bonafide pop star.U.S. Sales to Date: 2,166,000 (Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

The Evolution of Kanye West - Reeling after the death of his mother and his split from fiancée Alexis Phifer, Kanye camped in Hawaii to record his fourth album, 808s and Heartbreak. The album was a huge left turn for Kanye, veering toward electronica and techno, and featuring mostly Auto-Tuned singing. Fans and critics were torn, but the album was hugely influential (we're looking at you, Drake). (Photo: Courtesy Def Jam Records)

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Kanye West, 808s and Heartbreak - Despite a bold left turn to Auto-tuned singing and electro beats, Kanye's ahead-of-its-time fourth album ruled the charts yet again.U.S. Sales to Date: 1,630,000 (Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy\r - Lauded by many as his biggest and boldest album yet, Yeezy's fourth–straight No. 1 debut hit platinum with lush, ostentatious hits like "All of the Lights" and "Runaway."  \r\rU.S. Sales to Date: 1,160,000\r\r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

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Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy\r - Lauded by many as his biggest and boldest album yet, Yeezy's fourth–straight No. 1 debut hit platinum with lush, ostentatious hits like "All of the Lights" and "Runaway."  \r\rU.S. Sales to Date: 1,160,000\r\r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

Soundtrack of 2011 — Watch the Throne - Jay plus Kanye, need we say more? From the first single, "H.A.M.," which added a new phrase to the urban dictionary, the summer banger, “Otis” (and the much-talked about chopped up Maybach in the song’s video), to the album's current chart-topping track “N---as in Paris”, W.T.T. was a true hip hop masterpiece. These heavy weights put everyone on notice that Jigga and Ye are still running this town. (Photo: Courtesy of Roc-A-Fella Records)

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Kanye West and Jay-Z, Watch the Throne - Considering their individual chart-topping streaks, this really shouldn't be a surprise: Jay-Z and Kanye's much-hyped collabo album Watch the Throne is set to debut at No. 1. All hail the kings—looks like they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. U.S. Sales to Date: TBA (Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)