Blog Albums · Top 50 WOKE
Top 50 WOKE Albums
The 50 albums with the highest chudrank scores right now, most WOKE first: how each album is seen in the culture war, with the reason under each title. Disagree? Every vote moves the score.
Vote on these albums →← CHUD · swipe · WOKE →| # | Title and why | Score | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite by Max RoachJazz suite on the civil rights movement and Black freedom | 96Full WOKE | Vote |
| 2 |  Let’s Get Free by dead prezRevolutionary rap with Black power and anti-capitalist themes | 94Full WOKE | Vote |
| 3 |  RBG: Revolutionary but Gangsta by dead prezRevolutionary rap with anti-capitalist and Black power themes | 92Full WOKE | Vote |
| 4 | The Alternate Some Time in New York City by John LennonRadical left remix of the leftist-activist album | 92Full WOKE | Vote |
| 5 |  Transgender Dysphoria Blues by Against Me!Punk album on the lead singer's transgender transition | 92Full WOKE | Vote |
| 6 |  Dirty Computer by Janelle MonáeQueer-liberation and feminist concept album | 91Full WOKE | Vote |
| 7 |  Evil Empire by Rage Against the MachineRadical left anti-capitalist rap metal | 91Full WOKE | Vote |
| 8 |  Fables of Faubus by Charles MingusJazz protest piece against segregationist governor Faubus | 91Full WOKE | Vote |
| 9 |  Penis Envy by CrassAnarcho-punk feminist album attacking sexism and patriarchy | 91Full WOKE | Vote |
| 10 |  Rage Against the Machine by Rage Against the MachineAnti-establishment rap metal; famously left-wing activism | 91Full WOKE | Vote |
| 11 |  Revolutionary, Vol. 2 by Immortal TechniqueRadical left rap with anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist themes | 91Full WOKE | Vote |
| 12 |  Small Talk at 125th and Lenox by Gil Scott-HeronSpoken-word poems on Black liberation and anti-establishment views | 91Full WOKE | Vote |
| 13 |  The Battle of Los Angeles by Rage Against the MachineRadical left anti-establishment rap metal, leftist activism | 91Full WOKE | Vote |
| 14 |  Joy as an Act of Resistance. by IDLESPost-punk on immigration, toxic masculinity and anti-Brexit politics | 90Full WOKE | Vote |
| 15 |  To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick LamarRap album on racism, Black pride and inequality | 90Full WOKE | Vote |
| 16 |  A Seat at the Table by SolangeAlbum on Black identity, racism and Black womanhood | 89Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 17 |  It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public EnemyLandmark political hip hop on Black power and racial justice | 89Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 18 |  Renegades by Rage Against the MachineCovers album from a famously leftist, anti-capitalist band | 89Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 19 |  Sandinista! by The ClashLeft-wing album with anti-imperialist, solidarity themes | 89Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 20 |  The Revolution Starts Now by Steve EarleAnti-Bush, anti-war protest album by a left-wing artist | 89Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 21 |  The Shape of Punk to Come Obliterated by RefusedAnarchist, anti-capitalist hardcore band, left-wing messaging | 89Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 22 |  Fear of a Black Planet by Public EnemyPolitical hip hop attacking racism and white supremacy | 88Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 23 |  Long Violent History by Tyler ChildersAlbum about white privilege and police violence | 88Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 24 |  Not a Pretty Girl by Ani DiFrancoFeminist folk-rock by an outspoken queer activist | 88Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 25 |  We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service by A Tribe Called QuestAlbum on racism and Trump-era politics | 88Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 26 |  Workers Playtime by Billy BraggSocialist folk rock by a prominent left-wing singer | 88Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 27 |  Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black by Public EnemyPolitical hip hop attacking racism and the media | 87Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 28 |  Born This Way by Lady GagaPop album with LGBTQ equality anthem title track | 87Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 29 | Entertainment! by Gang of FourMarxist post-punk critique of capitalism | 87Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 30 |  It’s My Way! by Buffy Sainte-MarieFolk album with anti-war and Native American rights songs | 87Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 31 |  Lemonade by BeyoncéVisual album on Black womanhood, racial justice and feminism | 87Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 32 |  Living With War by Neil YoungAnti-Iraq war protest album attacking the Bush administration | 87Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 33 |  Na Poi / Zombie by Fela Kuti, Africa 70Afrobeat anti-military, anti-authoritarian protest album | 87Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 34 |  Less Talk, More Rock by PropagandhiPolitical punk, anarchist, pro-animal rights and feminist | 85Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 35 |  Diesel and Dust by Midnight OilLeft-wing environmental and Aboriginal rights album | 84Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 36 |  Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables by Dead KennedysHardcore punk satirizing Reagan-era politics and conformity | 84Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 37 |  Pieces of a Man by Gil Scott-HeronPolitically charged soul-jazz on race and injustice | 84Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 38 |  The Clash by The ClashPolitical punk debut with anti-establishment themes | 84Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 39 |  What’s Going On by Marvin GayeSoul landmark protesting war, poverty and racism | 84Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 40 |  Dust Bowl Ballads by Woody GuthrieDust Bowl folk songs by a left-wing, pro-labor songwriter | 83Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 41 |  Black on Both Sides by Mos DefConscious hip hop on Black identity and social issues | 82Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 42 |  By All Means Necessary by Boogie Down ProductionsConscious rap on Black empowerment and anti-racism | 82Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 43 |  Clandestino by Manu ChaoMigrant-rights and anti-border themes, leftist worldview | 82Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 44 |  In the Wind by Peter, Paul and MaryFolk album with civil rights and antiwar songs | 82Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 45 |  Jerusalem by Steve EarleAnti-war post-9/11 album; a song voicing 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh caused outrage | 82Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 46 |  Kick Out the Jams by MC5Radical left proto-punk linked to White Panther Party | 82Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 47 | Lives in the Balance by Jackson BrowneLeft-wing album on anti-intervention and social justice | 82Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 48 |  MONTERO by Lil Nas XPop rap by openly gay artist; LGBTQ themes drew culture-war backlash | 82Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 49 |  Special by LizzoBody-positivity and self-love pop; strongly progressive | 82Leaning WOKE | Vote |
| 50 |  Survival by Bob Marley & The WailersReggae album on Pan-African unity and anti-oppression themes | 82Leaning WOKE | Vote |
Across these 50: average score 87, median 88, from 82 to 96. Highest score: We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite by Max Roach (96). Lowest score: Black on Both Sides by Mos Def (82).
What critics said about the quality
Scores are about how a title is seen in the culture war, not whether it is good. For some of the titles on this list, here is how critics judged them, word for word from Wikipedia.
By All Means Necessary by Boogie Down Productions
AllMusic critic Steve Huey described the album as a landmark of political hip-hop that's unfairly lost in the shadow of Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone praised its social commentary and wrote, "Over irresistible beats provided by his BDP cohorts, KRS delivers the word on the drug trade, AIDS and violence—three forces that threaten to destroy minority communities."
Wikipedia, By All Means Necessary, quoted verbatim · CC BY-SA 4.0