Ariana Grande Albums: Ranked from Worst to Best

Ariana Grande pivoted to a music career after four seasons on Nickelodeon teen comedy Victorious. She released her debut, Yours Truly, in 2013 at the age of 20. It showcased a beautiful voice with a four-octave range, warm tones, and a distinctive slur. Grande’s vocal abilities are impressive given her petite five-foot frame. Comparisons to Mariah Carey inevitably followed, especially as Grande’s debut is soaked in 1990s R&B.

While Grande belongs to the same diva lineage as Carey and Whitney Houston, I prefer her music as she doesn’t devote much time to torch songs. There’s the occasional slow-burning vocal showcase like ‘God Is A Woman’ or ‘Dangerous Woman’. But her vocal acrobatics are often used in upbeat pop and R&B songs.

Grande’s become more interesting as she’s assumed more artistic control over her career. She’s endured personal tragedy – notably an attack on Manchester Arena immediately after a 2017 concert by Islam extremists that left 23 dead, but also the overdose of former partner Mac Miller. These events have taken her lyrics to unusual places for a pop star, singing about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and divorce instead of puppy love.

With a seventh album, eternal sunshine, recently released, let’s take a look at Grande’s impressive back catalogue.

Ariana Grande Albums Ranked From Worst to Best

#7 My Everything

2014
Grande’s second album represents her awkward artistic adolescence. It forsakes the charm of her debut but lacks the personality of her later efforts.

It’s spearheaded by strong singles like the EDM of ‘Break Free’ and the Iggy Azalea collaboration on ‘Problem’ exist. But the album tracks are often bland. The cover shot of Grande kneeling on a stool later sparked a viral challenge on Twitter, where contestants would try to recreate her pose.


#6 Yours Truly

2013
Ariana Grande’s debut is charming, mining territory like 1990s R&B and 1950s doo-wop as showcases for her voice. 1990s star Babyface wrote much of the material, including throwback pieces like ‘Tattooed Heart’ and the string-laden ‘Honeymoon Avenue’. ‘Baby I’ and ‘Lovin’ It’ are sophisticated 1990s-flavoured R&B, while ‘Piano’ is a charming singalong.


#5 eternal sunshine

2024
Grande took a four-year break between albums after 2020’s Positions. She starred in the Wicked films, while there was upheaval in her personal life with marriage and divorce. She addresses the gossip on the lead single ‘Yes And?’.

Eternal Sunshine is Grande’s least expansive album to date. Working with Max Martin and Ilya, the whole album consists of classy, restrained adult pop, with little diversity. Grande took sole control of lyrics – she has plenty to say, but it’s not always polished. The chorus of the title track bounces between the sublime and the ridiculous.

I showed you all my demons, all my lies
Yet you played me like Atari
Now it’s like I’m lookin’ in the mirror
Hope you feel alright when you’re in her
I found a good boy and he’s on my side
You’re just my eternal sunshine, sunshine

Despite my quibbles, the magic’s still there. The core sound is lovely, as Grande’s voice floats prettily over airy melodies. Pretty pop tunes like ‘Supernatural’ and ‘Don’t Wanna Break Up Again’ are up with her best work.


#4 Positions

2020
Grande’s sixth album returns to her R&B roots. With Max Martin not involved there are fewer pop anthems, and with short tracks, it moves very quickly. It mixes the lust of Dangerous Woman (some simple arithmetic will give you an idea of the subject matter of ’34 + 35′) and the introspection of Thank U, Next. The duet with The Weeknd on ‘off the table’ is gorgeous, while the pirouetting strings on ‘love language’ are vibrant.


#3 Dangerous Woman

2016
Grande’s third effort is her only studio album so far not to top the US chart. It’s surprising when it’s full of pop bangers like ‘Into You’ and ‘Greedy’. It’s worth hearing the deluxe edition, for its strong outtakes like ‘Step On Up’ and ‘Jason’s Song (Gave It Away)’.

Its failure to top the charts is probably due to an infamous 2015 incident where Grande was filmed in a shop licking doughnuts and exclaiming “I hate America!” Dangerous Woman is Grande’s most lust-fuelled album, almost to the point of caricature on ‘Side to Side’.


#2 Thank U, Next

2019
Grande defied industry expectations by releasing Thank U, Next less than six months after Sweetener. It was a therapeutic exercise for Grande, her way of dealing with the death of her former partner Mac Miller and her subsequent breakup with her fiance Pete Davidson.

It’s Grande’s most personal album, especially on the devastating ‘Ghostin”, where she discusses her feelings about Miller over wheezy synths. It’s spoiled a little by the singles ‘7 Rings’ and ‘Break Up With Your Boyfriend, I’m Bored’, both disposable compared to the emotional depth elsewhere on the record.


#1 Sweetener

2018
Grande takes control of the writing process on her fourth album, discussing her battles with anxiety and trauma. Sweetener is the least cohesive of all Grande’s albums – the big-budget productions from Ilya and Max Martin are markedly different from Pharrell Williams’ simple arrangements.

Sweetener, however, is full of gems. The duet with Pharrell Williams on ‘Blazed’ is charming, while the closing ‘Get Well Soon’ is elegiac and graceful. There’s a phenomenal three-song run in the middle of Sweetener; the slinky R&B of ‘Everytime’ is followed by the magnificent ‘Breathin”, with its vocal acrobatics and stinging guitar solo, while the album’s centre-piece is resilience anthem ‘No Tears Left To Cry’.

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Are you a fan of Ariana Grande? Do you have a favourite album?

9 Comments

  1. What the heck is that in that video? Her voice I will admit is very good. I hear a good melody but it’s hard to get past the electronica…but I’m trying.

    • I think it’s her pet pig…. Thanks for listening – I think she’s always been a very good vocalist, and she’s lifted the other parts of her music-making (writing lyrics, making more interesting productions) so she’s one of the most interesting pop stars in the world right now.

    • She’s kind of grown into her popularity – she was instantly popular. Her first album was good, largely thanks to the songwriting efforts of Babyface, but she’s added her own voice.

  2. Her first album was huge for me during my freshman year of high school! I don’t listen to her much now, but I like hearing about how far she’s come since ‘Victorious.’ It was one of my favorite shows on Nickelodeon.

  3. I haven’t paid much attention to Ariana Grande, so I’m mainly reacting to the songs you called out. She has a great voice but her music isn’t so much my cup of tea. I’m a bit reminded of Christina Aguilera who I think is an incredible vocalist, but her music generally doesn’t speak to me.

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Aphoristic Album Reviews is almost entirely written by one person. It features album reviews and blog posts across a growing spectrum of popular music.

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Graham Fyfe has been writing this website since his late teens. Now in his forties, he's been obsessively listening to albums for years. He works as a web editor and plays the piano.

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