Rolling Stone Names Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' Best Album of the Year

All hail King Kendrick. It’s been an incredible year for Kendrick Lamar, and he’s capping it off on a high note. The Compton rapper’s third album To Pimp a Butterfly ranks No. 1 on Rolling Stone‘s 50 Best Albums of 2015 list.

K-Dot’s chart-topping set, which debuted with 324,000 units in March, beat out albums from Adele, Drake, D’Angelo, and The Weeknd for the top spot.

“Musically, lyrically and emotionally, Kendrick Lamar’s third album is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece—a sprawling epic that’s both the year’s most bumptious party music and its most gripping therapy session,” declares Rolling Stone.

Adele’s record-breaking album 25 takes the runner-up spot, while Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, D’Angelo and the Vanguard’s Black Messiah, and The Weeknd’s Beauty Behind the Madness round out the top five.

Other hip-hop and R&B albums making the top 50 include Future’s DS2, Miguel’s Wildheart, Jazmine Sullivan’s Reality Show, and Rae Sremmurd’s SremmLife.

See a partial list below.

Rolling Stone Best Albums of 2015

1. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly
2. Adele – 25
3. Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
4. D’Angelo and the Vanguard – Black Messiah
5. The Weeknd – Beauty Behind the Madness
6. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
7. Jason Isbell – Something More Than Free
8. Various Artists – Hamilton: Original Broadway Soundtrack
9. The Arcs – Yours, Dreamily
10. Blur – The Magic Whip

24. Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment – Surf
26. Future – DS2
28. Miguel – Wildheart
31. Leon Bridges – Coming Home
32. Jazmine Sullivan – Reality Show
35. Vince Staples – Summertime ’06
44. Rae Sremmurd – SremmLife