Kanye West's third in a whimsical trilogy of "scholarly" albums, Graduation wears its predecessors' badges of success on its sleeve. Matriculation has its rewards, apparently, and it's time to take stock. Lyrically, there's plenty of self-congratulation to attend to, but the real fun comes in the collabs, and West chooses co-conspirators like a kid in a candy store--John Legend ("Good Life"), Coldplay's Chris Martin ("Homecoming"), Mos Def and the Section Quartet (both adorable choices for the foreboding "Drunk and Hot Girls")--and plucks samples with A-list braggadocio: Elton John, Steely Dan, Daft Punk, Can, Michael Jackson, Public Enemy. Nothing here quite captures the superlative symbiosis of West's past best beats (think "Gold Digger"), but the central motif remains: No one ever accused Kanye West of being too cool for school, and Graduation still knows how to party. True, Kanye West will happily whine about the pitfalls at the top of the heap, clear his throat and try to rhyme it with Barry Bonds, or diss fish in a barrel all day, but that can't stop a shameless good time, and Graduation maintains an unshakeable knack for producing it. --Jason Kirk

Graduation is the 3rd installment in the Kanye West series of ground breaking albums, targeting every school kid, from those that have dropped out (Debut Album, College Dropout), to those late registrants (sophmore album Late Registration), to those that have gone on and completed school (current album Graduation). Though technically this earmarks a junior year, West's approach to crafting this album was very much senior. Kanye teams up with veterans Daft Punk and Edwin Birdsong on "Stronger"- Graduation's forthcoming single; as well as enlisting a little help from current chart topper T-Pain on "Good Life". Chris Martin of Coldplay appears on a track called "HomeComing" as well. Kanye has continued to prove his understanding and appreciation for a wide array of music and musical influences. What makes GRADUATION so special? Like most Kanye titles, his fearlessness and blindness to inhibiting boundaries, coupled with his fan driven core competence is evidence that he knows exactly what people yearn for...great music, perspective, and a voice to be heard.

Graduation is the 3rd installment in the Kanye West series of ground breaking albums, targeting every school kid, from those that have dropped out (Debut Album, College Dropout), to those late registrants (sophmore album Late Registration), to those that have gone on and completed school (current album Graduation). Though technically this earmarks a junior year, West's approach to crafting this album was very much senior. Kanye teams up with veterans Daft Punk and Edwin Birdsong on Stronger- Graduation's forthcoming single; as well as enlisting a little help from current chart topper T-Pain on Good Life. Chris Martin of Coldplay appears on a track called HomeComing as well. Kanye has continued to prove his understanding and appreciation for a wide array of music and musical influences. What makes GRADUATION so special? Like most Kanye titles, his fearlessness and blindness to inhibiting boundaries, coupled with his fan driven core competence is evidence that he knows exactly what people yearn for...great music, perspective, and a voice to be heard.

So apparently, Techno is now Hip-Hop? 10 years ago, he would have been laughed at by Hip Hop fans. But since today's hip-hop fans are a completely different generation who have no regard for what hip-hop actually is, he's put on pedestal instead.

This guy is so full of himself after his initial album's success, that he barely raps on this album. He's just letting his image do the talking.

So this apparently the situation...the guy is no good when it comes to making music. BUT wait, HE HAS A LOUIS VUITTON BELT! OMG, LOOK AT HIS JORDANS! WOW! HE'S ALL INTO THAT JAPANESE FASHION! WOW! Let's just overlook his lack of musical talent and judge him by his shutter shades and played out sneakers. Aight, thats fine.

If you think Kanye is a genius, chances are you're one of those kiddies who used to be all 'gangsta' and are now out pretending to skateboard and trying to be "into fashion". Just give it up.

Having the benefit of 4 songs being released as singles before I purchased the album, I knew this was a good purchase. As with Late Registration, a couple of songs on the album that have failed to grow on me but enough out of the others to recommend

After experiencing disappointment with Kanye's previous effort of Late Registration, I had little to no expectations for this album. Of course, The College Dropout was an instant classic when released, but this album tops it. While Late Registration was spotty with the great and the outright bad, this album is a gem from start to finish. It's one of the few albums I can play all the way through without wanting to skip songs. The standouts (five out of five stars) of the album are "Good Morning", "Stronger", "Good Life", "Can't Tell Me Nothing" and "Flashing Lights". The rest are no less than four to four and a half stars. I think Kanye has finally found his style and groove and I can't wait for his next album.

If you enjoy hip hop, rap, Kanye, you probably already own this album. If not, get it!

I went to see him at the Glow N the Dark Tour in houston.... there is something about him that is so touching... he is a true performer. I think he is at the top of the game... hes brilliant. GRADUATION is a mind-blowing album with excellent samplez...

my favourite track hands down is "Flashing Lights" ft. Dwele. the beat is just OUTSTANDING... the video helped it become a INSTANT CLASSIC...

other joints on this album that i love...
"Homecoming"
"Champion"
"Barry Bonds"
"Good Morning"
"Cant Tell Me Nothing"
"I Wonder"

the whole album is amazing to me... he is alwayz going to b over the top and im not going to hate.... I just wish ppl would just give him the respect that he deserves...

4.5 out of 5 stars

Well the question of whether this album was going to be better than Curtis was answered a long time ago, so I think enough time has passed to look back on it and assess it as it is; Kanye West's third studio album. To start off, the artwork is one of the best I've ever seen on a hip hop album, and it'll catch your eye every time. As far as the music goes, I think it could have been much better had the original version of "Homecoming" been used. I still don't quite understand Chris Martin singing the chorus of a love song about Chicago, but who am I to question the marketing machine that is Mr. West. I think "Home" with John Legend is a far better song and was disappointed not to see it here. And speaking of that, where is "Bittersweet" with John Mayer-? Some of Kanye's best lyrics ever and in my opinion a far better song than "Big Brother" which should have been a b-side or a bonus track somewhere, as I believe "Bittersweet" became. Other than that, you know most of these songs already b/c he's released about 5 or 6 singles from this record. If you like those pick it up, if you're just starting out I'd suggest starting with College Dropout and than Late Registration (my personal favorite West album). 3 1/2 stars.