The College Dropout

The College Dropout is the debut album by famous American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records.This album was a high risk high reward project for Kanye, because his lyrics differed from the traditional gangster persona that hip hop was known for. It is widely known as one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of all time. 
Untraditional Lyrics/Release
His lyrics were more about his family, self-consciousness, and higher education. Nobody knew how these lyrics would sit with the fans.  The College Dropout was originally scheduled for release in August 2003, but West's perfectionist habits producing the album led to it being postponed three times. It was first delayed to October 2003, then to January 2004, before finally being released to stores on February 10, 2004.
Fan Reception
Although many viewed this album as nothing special, it is safe to say The College Dropout was a pretty big hit. During the first week of sales, The College Dropout debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 441,000 copies. It was a massive success becoming the best-selling album in the United States, with sales of over 3.4 million copies by 2014. Many publications including well respected companies like Time magazine and the Rolling Stones consider The College Dropout as one of the greatest albums of all time. 
Awards
 The College Dropout was voted as the best album of the year by Rolling Stones as well as being ranked number one by Spin on its list of 40 Best Albums of the Year. 2004 was a big year for The College Dropout in which the album won best album of the year at three different award shows. (MOBO Awards, The Source Awards, Teen Choice Awards) Arguably one of the album’s greatest achievements, in 2006 The College Dropout was named as one of the best albums of all time by Time magazine. In 2008, Entertainment Weekly named Kanye’s album as the fourth best album in the last twenty five years.