Ariana Grande's Albums Ranked: From the Most Mid to the Ones I Think Will Go Down as Classics

03/28/2025 08:00 AM

The singer releases 'Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead' on March 28, 2025

Ariana Grande certainly doesn't have a bad album, but a few are in a league of their own.

The pop star/actress/r.e.m. Beauty founder turned tween famous in 2010 when she portrayed red-haired ditz Cat Valentine in the hit Nickelodeon series Victorious. Shortly after the show ended, she took her once-in-a-generation vocals to the next level, launching a music career that produced six No. 1 albums, nine No. 1 songs, two Grammy Awards and record-shattering numbers. "Ariana Grande" has become a household name, synonymous with a pitch-perfect voice, a high ponytail — and the occasional unintelligible lyric. 

Over the years, Grande transitioned from a singer known primarily for her hits to a full-fledged artist with complete authority over her sound and vision. The chart toppers that follow her albums are simply undeniable, because Ariana Grande's talent is undeniable.

With seven albums under her belt, each has seen the singer grow her artistry in different ways, from honing in on key themes throughout the record or tapping into a more vulnerable side of herself.

As she releases the deluxe of her latest album Eternal Sunshine, subtitled Brighter Days Ahead, here are all her records ranked from "just okay" to a generational masterpiece.

7. My Everything (2014)

Sure, there are timeless hits on My Everything — "One Last Time," specifically — but as a whole, the body of work feels more like a compilation of songs intended to be smashes than a fleshed-out album. Individually, songs like "Bang Bang," "Break Free" and "Be My Baby" are great for radio play, but in the context of an album, they're not doing much for me. It also feels markedly less personal than any of her other albums, with more than half the record filled with features.

6. Dangerous Woman (2016)

Dangerous Woman contains songs that would easily make a list of Grande's all-time best, like the transcendent "Into You" or the title track's vocal somersaults. At the heart of her third album, there is a clear aim: to make gutsy, punchy pop perfection that establishes her maturity. It's easily her loudest, most challenging album to sing, but sonically, it's not as adventurous as her newer work. So, powerful? Sure. Dangerous? Not so much.

5. Positions (2020)

Following up the Sweetener and thank u, next double was a hard ask. Inevitably, Positions received unfavorable comparisons to its predecessors, with some deeming it too safe and too similar to what she's done before. Despite the initial criticism of her sixth album, which was released in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the LP has aged well. It crafts a comfortable soundscape that feels like lounging cozily in your house — apt for the moment, and even more welcome now. 

Track by track, it might not be as dynamic as her other albums, but as an overall project, Positions sets the mood, delves into Grande's perspectives on love in all forms and — with a handful of tracks — will have the neighbors yelling "earthquake."

4. Yours Truly (2013)

Imagine the first song to play in your discography being "Honeymoon Avenue," a five-minute orchestral serenade that encapsulates a whirlwind romance like no other. It attests to the quality of Yours Truly, a remarkably consistent and explosive debut for a then-20-year-old Grande. 

Her first two singles, "The Way" and "Baby I," are no-brainers for her future catalog of greatest hits, while her soaring ballads like "Tattooed Heart," "Daydreamin'" and "Almost Is Never Enough" are the purest demonstration of Grande's natural ability to sing her face off. Yours Truly lives up to its title, and it listens like a letter signed by the bright-eyed ingenue herself.

3. Eternal Sunshine (2024)

Four years since Positions — her longest break between albums ever — fans almost stopped holding out hope for new music until after Wicked's two-year rollout. But during the SAG-AFTRA strike, she spent time in the studio to create her most intimate and cohesive record to date. Addressing media speculation about her personal life, as well as her past and present relationships, Grande lets listeners in to her inner psyche and turmoil more explicitly than ever. 

The album, drawing inspiration from the 2004 Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet film of the same name, grounds itself thematically in fated relationships: Regardless of her attempts to interfere with destiny, every connection will play out exactly as it's meant to, over and over again. The media will go through hot-and-cold periods with her ("We Can't Be Friends"); a previous relationship was doomed due to their different natures ("Don't Wanna Break Up Again"); she would always fall in love again ("Supernatural").

2. thank u, next (2019)

When Grande announced the title track of thank u, next and the album less than a year after Sweetener, she captured the zeitgeist in her hands, and everybody stood at attention for her next move, musically and personally. The quality of the music matched its immense commercial success, with Grande producing, writing and performing an intensely personal record during the most tumultuous period of her life. She seems to produce her best work out of necessity — and thank u, next is no exception. 

For the better half of the 2010s, Grande was on a road to superstardom. With thank u, next, she landed firmly at the top of the pop game, reigning queen supreme with a trap-pop sound that defined 2019. Famously, she became the first artist to claim the entire top three of the Billboard Hot 100 with "Thank U, Next," "7 Rings" and "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" (though the latter does stick an okay landing to an otherwise immaculate album).

1. Sweetener (2018)

One year after the tragic terrorist attack at her Manchester concert, Grande returned with a record that would redefine her career. An eclectic mix of Pharrell Williams' smooth production and Max Martin's pop sensibilities, Sweetener sounded completely different from what Grande had previously released. "R.E.M." and "Better Off" showcased the airiness of her voice in a new way, and even the traditional "pop" cuts like "No Tears Left to Cry" and "God Is a Woman" take risks in their production.

Although much of Sweetener seems soaked in sunshine, there's sadness in the lyrics that emulates the album title — in the sense that sweetener disguises its contents with an artificiality akin to the happy mask Grande dons on the album. Sweetener is by far her most nuanced record emotionally and sonically, and as the years have gone by, it's become one of her most significant in the context of her life.