
( Channel Orange meanwhile lagged behind at No. 79 - only three albums from the 2010s (Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, and Beyoncé’s Lemonade) did better, so perhaps Blonde is now considered that decade’s fourth best record. But on the magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time list, compiled just one year later, Blonde rose all the way to No. 10, a stellar but of course slightly worse placement.) Over at Rolling Stone, Blonde came out over Channel Orange on its Best Albums Of The Decade list, popping up at No. Initially released to enthusiastic but somewhat reticent reviews - many critics, including yours truly, found it to be somewhere between a masterpiece and an incomplete mess - Blonde has indeed over time overshadowed (or “outshined” or “eclipsed”) its predecessor.Ĭonsider that Pitchfork rated Blonde a 9.0 upon release – a stellar but slightly worse score than Channel Orange‘s 9.5 - only to rank it as the best album of the 2010s three years later. Actually, as far as critical consensus goes, “arguably” almost seems unnecessary at this point. That’s four - count ’em four! - indicators of “greatness,” all leaning in the opposite direction away from Channel Orange.

For instance, Rolling Stone noted that Ocean’s second LP, 2016’s Blonde, has “arguably outshined Channel Orange in scope and impact.” Similarly, Stereogum also suggested that Blonde has “arguably eclipsed in terms of influence and prestige.”įor those keeping score, Channel Orange “arguably” is now down to Blonde in scope, impact, influence, and prestige. Except the critical love was curiously qualified in the same, specific way.


Earlier this month, Frank Ocean‘s first proper album Channel Orange turned 10, which naturally prompted writers to sing the praises of the highly acclaimed 2010s landmark.
