Every The Weeknd Album, Ranked
The Weeknd gave his first three albums away free online in 2011, long before the stadium hits, and this vote weighs those two eras against each other. Slots go to full-length records credited to him alone, ever sold or streamed, whose songs were mostly unissued when they first appeared, however weak, whatever their name. That excludes Trilogy (27 of 30 old), My Dear Melancholy, (six songs, 21:50) and the Hurry Up Tomorrow score (credited jointly with Oneohtrix Point Never). Complex, HotNewHipHop, The National and The Phrasemaker split two bands. A record placed top three (outside records set aside) by 2 or more rankings that rank it or appeared after its release day rises. A ranking whose stated scope omits a record it doesn't rank isn't counted for it, dropping The National (five albums) and The Phrasemaker (Trilogy whole) for the 2011 three. Lower-band records start by mean place, outside records set aside; items quote printed places. Links play the earliest Spotify edition carrying the original's songs by number and name, date aside, unless ListWorld links one, flagged where inexact.
The Weeknd — After Hours (2020) is #1 on “Every The Weeknd Album, Ranked”.
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The Weeknd — After Hours (2020)
A red suit and a look drawn from Casino and Joker ran through the era's videos. A 444,000-unit first week made it a US number one, and Until I Bleed Out closes it, yet the next Grammys gave it zero nominations and he called them corrupt. Complex and The National print it second and HotNewHipHop fourth, while The Phrasemaker's second becomes first once Trilogy is set aside: 3 of 4 eligible have it in their first three.
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The Weeknd — Thursday (2011)
Its title refers to a fraught open relationship he had with an ex; it was recorded in Toronto, and Drake, its one guest, cut his verse for The Zone in the studio. Its link is the nine-track original that ends on Heaven Or Las Vegas. HotNewHipHop prints it second and Complex third, which is 2 of 2 counted rankings, since The National limits itself to the five albums from 2013 on and The Phrasemaker folds the tape into Trilogy.
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The Weeknd — House of Balloons (2011)
It borrows from Siouxsie and the Banshees for its title song and from Beach House on Loft Music. Kept from another ListWorld list, the link is the Trilogy-era ten-track edition: it adds Twenty Eight, a 2012 bonus, and loses the Aaliyah sample on What You Need and the Fate/stay night voice on Coming Down. Complex and HotNewHipHop both print it first, 2 of 2 eligible, as The National's scope omits it and The Phrasemaker folds it into Trilogy.
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The Weeknd — Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025)
Billed as the close of a trilogy begun with After Hours and Dawn FM, it drew 490,500 first-week units, enough for number one, and partners a Trey Edward Shults film that gave the singer his first lead in a feature. Hurry Up Tomorrow, the title song, closes all 22. Of the two later rankings, Complex prints it fifth and The Phrasemaker third (second once the 2012 Trilogy is set aside): 1 of 2 eligible put it top three.
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The Weeknd — Dawn FM (2022)
Framed as a station playing in purgatory, its 103.5 tag a nod to Toronto's Z103.5, it carries narration from Jim Carrey, Quincy Jones and Josh Safdie, and Gunna's DS4Ever held it to number two on debut. The National, published eight days after release, prints it first, while Complex and HotNewHipHop have it sixth and The Phrasemaker fifth, 1 of 4 in all, with Phantom Regret by Jim, spoken by Carrey, closing it.
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The Weeknd — Beauty Behind the Madness (2015)
Max Martin and Kanye West both hold production credits on it, Labrinth, Ed Sheeran and Lana Del Rey sing on it, and Can't Feel My Face and The Hills both topped the Hot 100 before it won Best Urban Contemporary Album. Angel, the closer, keeps vocals Maty Noyes recorded before Stephan Moccio brought him the song. The National prints it third for 1 of 4, against fourth at Complex, fifth at HotNewHipHop and seventh, last, at The Phrasemaker.
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The Weeknd — Echoes of Silence (2011)
D.D., the opener, is his cover of Michael Jackson's Dirty Diana, Juicy J turns up on Same Old Song, and Clams Casino worked on it too. Its nine original tracks returned to streaming on December 21, 2021, ten years to the day, and the link plays that copy, closing on Echoes Of Silence. HotNewHipHop prints it third and Complex ninth, 1 of 2 eligible rankings, as neither The National, with its five-album scope, nor The Phrasemaker counts for it.
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The Weeknd — Starboy (2016)
Daft Punk guest twice, on the song Starboy and on I Feel It Coming, which closes the 18 songs, with Kendrick Lamar, Lana Del Rey and Future also aboard. Its 348,000-unit first week took the top of the chart, and it won him Best Urban Contemporary Album a second time. Nobody prints it above The National's fourth, Complex and HotNewHipHop have it seventh and The Phrasemaker sixth, and the count comes to 0 of 4.
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The Weeknd — Kiss Land (2013)
His debut studio album, out on XO and Republic, is one he likened to a horror movie, naming John Carpenter, David Cronenberg and Ridley Scott as influences; it debuted at number two on 95,000 copies and went gold in 2019. Tears In The Rain closes it at more than seven minutes. Complex, HotNewHipHop and The National all print it last, but The Phrasemaker's fourth counts as third with Trilogy set aside, so it scores 1 of 4.
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