With a music career spanning over a decade, Ariana Grande created an undeniable legacy as one of the most influential pop stars of her generation. Now the most-streamed female artist of all time on Spotify (peaking at 117.3 million monthly listeners), Grande has earned multiple Grammy Awards and countless Billboard Hot 100 hits, though her immense impact extends far beyond just numbers and commercial success.

In fact, she reshaped pop culture and what it means to be a star entirely. Grande’s discography showcases an unparalleled artistic evolution that leveraged elite vocal prowess and range to become a contemporary mainstay, but which albums transcend time and critique as her best? Based on the albums' commercial success, cultural impact, and overall sound, here's our ranking of Grande's albums, sorted from worst to best.

7 Yours Truly

Release Date: August 30, 2013

Grande’s debut album was a Nickelodeon actress trying to prove her worth as a legitimate artist, which she unequivocally did, but you can hear its influence much more than a clear artistic vision. This was still the introduction to a legitimate artist as opposed to just a TV star making music, though it’s an album that searches for sound rather than owning it, with more ‘90s throwback R&B elements, shades of Mariah Carey, Babyface and others, than the Grande we’ve grown to love.

However, 3x platinum "The Way" (feat. Mac Miller) received massive attention, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and giving her a seat at the mainstream music table. Yours Truly is a celebrated debut that sparked the incredible career of Grande, but it doesn’t define her artistry or move the genre in the manner of her other works, which served as infinitely better, unique and refined offerings.

6 My Everything (2014)

Release Date: August 22, 2014

This one really did it. By the time My Everything came around, the world had no choice but to acknowledge Grande’s belting ability and masterful whistle tones as she brought live vocal ability back to the forefront of pop music. With radio-dominating tracks like “Problem” (feat. Iggy Azalea), “Love Me Harder” (feat. the Weekend), “Break Free” (feat. Zedd) and “Bang Bang” (feat. Jessie J & Nicki Minaj), Grande transformed 2010s pop as she went from newcomer to A-list vocal powerhouse.

My Everything was exactly the versatile pop statement she needed to officially evolve into a coveted mainstream act, experimenting with more modern R&B, EDM and hip-hop influences while also commanding the spotlight among star-studded guest appearances. Even so, a central theme isn’t exactly apparent. Instead, this project feels like an assortment of hit singles and industry trends, focused on commercial success over organic artistry and deep-cut storytelling. It was certainly a stepping stone to unimaginable success, just not a complete work of art.

5 Eternal Sunshine (2024)

Release Date: March 8, 2024

Eternal Sunshine is a wild card on a list like this, though it simply didn’t give us anything new from Grande. Does its sound match up against any project in her discography? Absolutely. Is it a cohesive collection of songwriting fit to be ranked among her best albums? Debatable.

It simply didn’t give us anything new from Grande.

Nonetheless, Grande’s seventh studio album achieved notable success as it debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 and earned her third-largest opening week sales. In six months, the project was also certified platinum. Eternal Sunshine gives us honest and emotional insight that explores a number of personal themes; however, it leaves much to be desired in of innovation and depth. If the pen had as much intricacy as the production, this piece would likely be much higher.

4 Positions (2020)

Release Date: October 30, 2020

Positions, maybe Grande’s most intimate and undoubtedly her most sexually-charged piece, took a step away from her now-developed and direct pop approach to contemplate new romances. Its sensual melodies lean heavily into R&B-infused pop with a unified and intentional theme, while her immaculate vocals enter a softer, more captivating realm that feels seemingly effortless.

A self-assured Grande used her newfound maturity to push title track “Positions” to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and generate roughly 175 million first-week album streams. Although “34+35”, “Safety Net”, “My Hair”, and “POV” help make this one of her most consistent works, it's not as groundbreaking or culture-shifting as the top-three. That isn’t to discredit her growth in authenticity and confidence throughout Positions, which came off refreshingly grounded.

3 Sweetener (2018)

Release Date: August 17, 2018

Grande’s Sweetener is where her art was reinvented into atmospheric, forward-thinking and emotionally relatable pop that yielded a global hit record and solidified her status as one of the biggest stars of her generation. “No Tears Left to Cry” debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and won Best Pop Vocal Pharrell Williams helped Grande craft a layered, textured production that allowed songs like “R.E.M” and “God Is a Woman” to flourish through euphoric, other-worldly essence.

Sweetener is where her art was reinvented into atmospheric, forward-thinking and emotionally relatable pop.

Grande took risks here that defied the mainstream expectations being placed on her, and it paid off significantly. This wasn’t your typical pop offering from an established star, conversely a fearless experimentation which wrestled with the boundaries of her artistry in a way that bred inventive production and an optimistic, imaginative sonic experience.

2 Dangerous Woman (2016)

Release Date: May 20, 2016

Dangerous Woman is what you listen to when you want to hear a dominant vocal force brilliantly morph into a fully-realized pop sensation with a sophisticated, timeless and genre-blending intention. It’s the first album where the true power of Grande was embraced, where versatility, glamour, sensuality and power took center stage for a superstar transformation that might just be her most vocally spectacular body of work.

The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and produced three major hits: “Side to Side” (featt. Nicki Minaj), “Dangerous Woman”, and “Into You”, all of which made Grande a global music icon. Her new persona, prepared for a head-first dive into landscapes of emotional complexity, embraced an infectious energy that gave the concepts of empowerment and vulnerability new life, creating a window into the human experience of Grade with a balance unlike we’d seen before.

This also brought about her first major, global tour success. Grande moved into large-scale arenas and stadiums to the tune of more than $70 million in total gross revenue, across 75 shows throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and more. Only one other Grande album has managed to sur the level of stratospheric stardom that Dangerous Woman accomplished.

1 Thank U, Next (2019)

Release Date: February 8, 2019

Few pop albums of this generation have sparked an emotional, commercial and cultural impact in one stride, like Thank U, Next. Free, raw and unfiltered in a way that will never be replicated, this album showed Grande had nothing left to prove, simply something to become. Max Martin, Social House and Tommy Brown aided an unapologetic, socially refined project that gave Grande a platform to share her creative peak without blurring authenticity for the sake of radio favor.

This album showed Grande had nothing left to prove, simply something to become.

Thank U, Next, which has become one of the more successful and beloved pop albums of all time, was a movement, not a moment, that marched to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and brought in her biggest opening week (360,000 album-equivalent units). Grande also became the first solo female artist to have all tracks on an album enter the Hot 100, with a trio of singles holding the top three spots: title track “Thank U, Next”, “7 Rings”, and “Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored”.

In the midst of unimaginable personal upheaval, she took her grief, heartbreak and longing for self-discovery and molded them into what many consider to be her magnum opus. What ultimately pushed Ariana Grande to the brink in her personal life warranted a prevailing rebirth that welcomed one of the more influential and generation-defining pop figures into the rare air of a record-breaking, cultural trendsetter.