A Definitive Ranking of Ariana Grande's Six Studio Albums

Ariana Grande's discography is LEGENDARY, but which album is the best of the best?

In the seven short years since her 2013 debut Yours Truly, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Ariana Grande has become a household name and one of the mainstream music industry's reigning queens. With the recent release of her sixth studio album Positions, the 27-year-old cemented her status as Madam President of Pop, and we've loved witnessing her journey from Nickelodeon starlet to one of pop's few remaining main girls over the years! 

While each of Ariana's six albums are individual masterpieces in their own right, we were curious to see, based on critical reviews, how each of them stacked up against each other and if a ranking was even possible. Well, thanks to review aggregator Metacritic, we have some insight into which Ari record is truly the best of the best! 

Using scores generated from Metacritic, here's a ranking of Ariana Grande's legendary (and continually growing!) discography:

6. My Everything (2014)

Though her 2014 sophomore LP is the lowest-rated entry in her entire discography (with a critical Metascore of 64) we'd totally be lying if we said we don't still love tracks like "Problem" and "Break Free" to this day! 

5. Positions (2020)

Her sixth and latest effort, Positions is a notable, soulful, R&B-influenced departure from her more poppy projects of the past. Though not as critically-acclaimed as some of her other albums, Positions still has a favorable Metascore of 71, and the title track became her history-making fifth Billboard Hot 100 entry. (She officially "extended her record for the most No. 1 debuts on the Hot 100, as all five of her No. 1s have blasted in at the summit," Billboard reports.)

4. Dangerous Woman (2016)

2016 was a great year for pop, and Ariana's third album Dangerous Woman (which has a Metascore of 76) was proof of that! (The gays still want justice for "Into You," which peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, though!)

3. Sweetener (2018)

Tying 2013's Yours Truly with a Metascore of 81, 2018's Sweetener is a personal favorite of many Ari stans and was hailed as one of her most complex, cohesive, and personal albums at the time of release! The record spawned three singles ("no tears left to cry," "God is a woman," and "the light is coming"), and won Ari her first (and to date, only) Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2019.

2. Yours Truly (2013)

Her grand debut to the pop world, 2013's Yours Truly was truly a moment in history and the first time many listeners were introduced to Ariana's signature range and vocal style! Filled with 808s and pianos galore and with a Metascore of 81, the record blessed us with hit collaborations like "The Way" with Mac Miller (rest in peace!) and "Right There" with Big Sean!

1. thank u, next (2019)

With a Metascore of 86, Ari's 2019 record thank u, next (which was released just six months after 2018's Sweetener) is her most critically-acclaimed album to date and spawned her first two Billboard Hot 100 #1s: the iconic title track "thank u, next" and "7 Rings." 

How would YOU rank Ari's records?

Do you agree with Metacritic's ranking? Think it's total trash? How would you rank each of Ari's six albums? Let us know your thoughts and comments on Twitter!