We Ranked Every J. Cole Song

We ranked every J. Cole song from worst to best. This list includes 100+ songs that range from mixtape cuts like Villematic to classic album tracks like No Role Modelz. What’s Cole’s best song in your opinion?
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#rap #jcole #hiphop

[@nayanramam6332]

Foldin clothes is not a random song. Depending on your interpretation of 4yeo, it can either represent James (Cole's friend) wanting to settle down with his partner and escape his rough past living in the streets, or it can represent Cole wanting to help James' family after James is killed (by doing chores, etc).

[@RM-wp7df]

4 your eyez only is a crazy underrated album, especially the title track, this is the "Samidot" of Cole, not because of it's length, but because of it's message and thematic purpose on the respective album.

[@GorillaGamer]

L Take

[@nine3seven]

@@GorillaGamer RATIO

[@SPR023]

nice reach buddy

[@thecoronavirus8359]

@@SPR023 dam man I didn’t know you were gay

[@jmc9978]

if kendrick released amari, y’all would call it the best song of all time

[@chrisc1072]

Fax bruh 😹

[@seksi.superstar]

ong or fr moment?

[@LilBoyBart]

Fax

[@BoxOfCurryos]

Kendrick fans are as annoying as Eminem fans. Both are the “TOOL” equivalents of rap. Like shut the fuck up, let people enjoy what they want

[@sumitpanwar8812]

for real man you just snatched my words.

[@anochi8965]

4 Your Eyez Only is one of the greatest songs period.

[@RegentMills]

2nd for me, sing about me goated

[@zeflr122]

Fr im a jcole hatter and i love it

[@taybazza6528]

Love Yourz is my favourite but 4 your Eyez Only is probably the best

[@namansinghbrar1891]

​@@zeflr122 why u hate him tho??

[@danielmuller7490]

Folding Clothes is not just a random song. It shows James (Coles late friend) realising he is ready to settle down with this girl and leave the life of crime behind. It fits the album perfectly

[@deBrawnyo]

They are just looking at the song in its singularity instead of the whole album and this song being a piece in a bigger puzzle. Anyone thinking folding clothes is just about cole "chilling at home" couldn't be more wrong.

[@Muskonen]

I didn't even see where they placed foldin clothes. Where exactly did they rank it, i cant seem to find it.

[@silas6663]

Change really is a masterpiece. Not enough people understand the gravity of that song. Truthfully great penmanship

[@andreasinnerdal5375]

Change is my fav song oat fr

[@kcopara1417]

Losing my balance at #102 had me raging for a good minute😂😂

[@-AS7-]

Nah fr and they called the guitar “cheap” oh nah

[@leoshrimpton15]

Same

[@fumani9496]

Same here bro no cap!😂😂

[@streetsoldier2941]

Yea They put the classics low it’s all biased

[@simirdhawan]

Exactly !!! Best song to listen to when u got a crush

[@DrizzyIGottem]

Apparently (pun intended), I think "Foldin Clothes" wasn't terrible and didn't deserve to be as low as it was ranked. It feels in contrast to the rest of the album, no doubt, but I almost feel like it was meant to be that way. It highlights the "mundane" of the day to day life and how love doesn't always need to be "extravagant" or "flashy" and that just doing something boring that you may not necessarily like for your significant other is its own way of showing love. I think this was an overall theme throughout the project - looking through the lenses and perception of others for all situations or stories.

[@rednebula7612]

it also gets more meaning at the end when he uses the everyday mundane to comment on the way that doing these things sort of grounds him in his life despite all of the injustice in society. i genuinely really fuck with foldin clothes.

[@erickcoello5162]

W opinion. i fuck with foldin clothes. the beat is fire and the meaning of song overall it’s related to the whole album

[@rednebula7612]

@@erickcoello5162 right. i mean there are obviously some pretty corny lines but again i feel like that was sorta the purpose of it. i think it was a really well composed song especially with the last verse and the way the beat evolved from that funky upbeat mood to more of a solemn ballad at the end. it’s cool. it’s bottom end of 4yeo but it’s definitely cool.

[@arminkhalilnejad7012]

Thats what im sayiiiing finally someone said it

[@StopMotionPark]

Nah I like cole but this song is so unlistenable

[@joaquinvenegas573]

I personally loved amari, 100 mil and pride is the devil (which makes sense because i'm relatively young and a new listener) , i think you should have put them higher, but I respect your opinion. Great video! You guys are one of my favorite youtube channels

[@callmetherm]

same bro tf

[@konstantinschmitt7782]

Great concept. Would love it if you would do this again with some other rappers.( Kendrick Lamar, André 3000)

[@joshuacha6261]

Kanye, Jay Z would be nice as well.

[@ProdByAngus]

The em video would be 3 hours

[@nelsig1032]

imagine they did it with gucci mane 💀

[@badmeetsevil6163]

Do one for 50 Cent

[@aezidoubleu]

@@nelsig1032 😂

[@jacksonb7475]

The quality of the content has been stellar for the longest time, but a video like this is truly spectacular. Please keep doing this style of video regardless of run time

[@NFRPodcast]

Thank you Jackson your support means everything man🤝

[@RM-wp7df]

@@NFRPodcast we want either Kendrick, Kanye or Jay-Z next please 🔥

[@Jacorn_on_the_Cob]

@@NFRPodcastdid you rank farewell by j Cole on this list?

[@idklucam4040]

@@Jacorn_on_the_Cobyes

[@markopolo19892012]

@@NFRPodcast yall should check out truly yours 1 and 2 .

[@xClicKx]

Number 1 j cole track for me is 03 adolescence. Story telling is impeccable

[@coolbreeze4861]

Fax

[@aaronrichards2477]

yes sir, my favorite off of 2014 and possibly my favorite j cole song

[@jojan715]

that song is my life story lol

[@chadwebb2789]

Agreed

[@chadwebb2789]

@@jojan715 i swear i say that all the time lol

[@RedAnimal100]

Amari and 100 mil were fire to me so i woulda had them higher. She knows and Wet dreams should easily be top 15 j cole songs. Also love the video and concept!!

[@georgetanner9953]

Absolutely disrespected Crooked smile, it’s my favorite song Cole has ever made

[@majinbluu_956]

I love Hello and Amari, thought those were ranked very low. Good list overall though! It's hard ranking this many songs. 03 Adolescence , Window Pain, and Apparently are probably my favorite J. Cole songs of all time.

[@Sixsince-dd2eu]

Amari is one of my favorite songs of all time

[@majinbluu_956]

@@Sixsince-dd2eu hell yeah, I love it! It's my most listened to song from The Off-Season album.

[@michaelfontana1311]

Right!! How did they have Hello so low?? The production on that song is so good

[@TheeMoonstar]

Bruh.. Where was Middle Child??

[@ralphtena9393]

This made me want to go back and listen to J.Cole’s full discography again and appreciate it like I already do plus seeing him preform this songs live is another level !

[@seksi.superstar]

bro ong but it takes so much time listening to all his projects

[@RM-wp7df]

@@seksi.superstar he doesn't even have that many albums in his discography, imagine listening to all of Drake's albums 💀💀

[@seksi.superstar]

@@RM-wp7df albums+mixtapes also he has many more mixtapes than just 2 that are included in the video

[@merricklawson3250]

This type of video of ranking all of an artists songs is gonna blow up! Great video y’all🖤

[@bool2max]

it's been done many times

[@merricklawson3250]

@@bool2max no one has done it for cole yet tho!

[@RM-wp7df]

Lmaooo I was reading your comment and it was the 13:01 minute and he said "blow up" right as I was reading that part of your comment, it was kinda trippy 🤣 (I hope you understood what I meant, because english is my second language and sometimes it's hard to explain cohesively what I'm trying to say😅)

[@merricklawson3250]

@@RM-wp7df that’s funny 😂

[@erickmay405]

I think you guys should’ve included the loosies. I know you’re already ranking 119 songs and big respect for that, but songs like False Prophets, Everybody Dies, High For Hours, and Middle Child are some of his best or most commercially successful, and I feel like they deserved to be in this list even if they’re not from a studio album.

[@mmmair]

Fr bro false prophets is in my top 3 cole songs

[@wasabijones4571]

false prophets is definitely top 3

[@zyetwo]

don’t forget snow on tha bluff

[@jakelaville242]

Love that you guys had “change” up there. One of my favourite songs of all time and have been telling people this forever. The way he crafted that song to make you feel like you were in James’ world and were with him as he struggled with all these internal and external battles is truly beautiful. And the whole idea how even though sometimes in life we finally make that change, unfortunately sometimes it’s too late. The whole concept and craftsmanship behind 4yeo makes it one of my favourite albums of all time and I truly don’t know if we’ll ever see another album like it. He truly told the story of James while highlighting so many issues in our society and in inner city North America

[@tomatojuicecroissant]

I love it how sideline story gets ranked #103 and #19😂😂

[@ethanvorstenbosch1650]

Man your top 3 picks are indisputable, each of those songs changed my life for the better, keep killing it!

[@hoopssupply3856]

Change is my favorite J. Cole song. It’s tough to make a list like this. Think you guys mostly got it right

[@richardb81]

Thank you for showing love to Cole! Been waiting on this kind of video and now I can’t wait for future ones with Kendrick or ye… I definitely have change and 4 your eyes up there, along with let go my hand, GOMD, window pain, and a tale of 2 citiez

[@SIM89F]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the output and quality of content from you guys is top tier. Keep it up!

[@kevynn.]

W video guys… love to see 4yeo get the respect it deserves. The nostalgia and the story telling element mixed with the very smooth beats that tell a life story is unbeatable. Easily my favorite Cole album of all time and debatably one of the best albums to come out in the past 10 years.

[@kipper807]

Folding clothes is one of the best songs off of 4yeo, and one of the slickest bass grooves in any modern hip hop album.

[@nikosbonvieplays]

Bro that's not even the right album, fake fan@@secretyzeroo

[@tytyrl5731]

I hope you guys keep doing more of these ranking videos, great content as always!

[@johnherbert9171]

This might be my favourite youtube video. Thank you nfr podcast❤

[@ichbinkommi]

Horrible take on Amari

[@kingcendley670]

Thanks guys, today's been rough but seeing my favorite KZbinrs rank my favorite rappers discography is a nice change of pace. Also the Hello placement is criminal 😭

[@NFRPodcast]

Thank you King🙏 glad we could bring joy to your day brother

[@ftmjay6449]

@@NFRPodcast can you guys rank all of roddy ricch’s songs

[@badmeetsevil6163]

@@ftmjay6449 no, please no. Do one for 50, Eminem, Nas, 2Pac or OutKast.

[@twizzybih]

@@badmeetsevil6163 theres been many lists for all of those, i wanna see sum new like roddy, lil tjay ,babytron etc

[@ProdByAngus]

@@NFRPodcast like he said, em, 50, or do a pac/biggie video since their disogs are small

[@dandychux]

Some of these shocked me buh I always appreciate y’all insight and opinions. I wish you would’ve included the Truly Yours EP I’m curious what y’all think about tracks like Kenny Lofton, Cole Summer, 3 wishes, killers, knock on wood, etc

[@jarell1996]

i was the same thing 3 wishes and cole summer is the some of my favorite cole songs

[@ddgonnz2981]

Beautiful work boys 🥳 enjoyed this throughout the whole day, you should do a ranking of coles features pls

[@sergeantmaddon4866]

the emotional expression jcole has in amari is greater than most jcole songs. he isnt shouting, he is hurting and you can tell

[@PrinceZam]

I love Note To Self. I listen to the full thing every single time it plays. I’m very thankful for everything in my life and hearing my hero say his own thank yous is super empowering to me and helps me make sure I’m always very vocally thankful. It’s genuinely in my top 20 Cole tracks lol

[@samkoevenig7203]

Agree completely, dude shows off the jokes too

[@jr2988]

do these for all of the big artists, this is amazing !!

[@trentspitz495]

I'm so happy that 4 Your Eyez Only and Love Yourz are 1 and 2. They've always been my 2 favorite Cole songs. The best message on a Cole song with Love Yourz, and best storytelling track from Cole with 4 Yourz Eyez Only. 2 nearly perfect songs

[@zayuh1896]

Lights Please is one of the greatest rap songs of all time

[@NFRPodcast]

Very hot take!! Where does it rank for you?

[@RM-wp7df]

Nah not really 😅 but it is very good and cohesive and it's really easy to see why Jay-Z decided to sign Cole after listening to it

[@cgpxae2119]

A fact

[@HipHopEnthusiast911]

Such a dope idea would love to see a ranking of other rappers songs aswell imagine a ranking for Kendrick, nas, Tupac, Eminem etc would be a dope watch great vid again NFR!!!

[@Dkirk215]

We love videos like this guys make more !!

[@johnherbert9171]

Amari, runaway, workout and gods gift that low is a crime

[@johnzgambo9818]

Friends and folding clothes are too low for me cause they send out a great message, maybe friends is a 10/10 but it's a 7/10 at least. Cole speaking out on people using drugs as a coping mechanism and telling them there's better ways to cope and kill Edward saying why he uses drugs and how he feels after the pressures leave him after he smokes is great. And folding clothes is just a love letter of a song(literally). Its definitely a 10/10 song and the message is great cause he's showing how much he loves his partner, him wanting to fold her clothes is just a small gesture to show he loves her and would rather do her chores and let her sleep in peace than wake her up, him doing all these cheesy things like having a Netflix series they watch together and eating raisin beans cause of her. If you've been in love before you know all this cheesy stuff and doing it with/for/because of the woman you love is a great feeling, and it shows how much he loves her cause this is a street bigger he's that's doing this stuff, he realizes that he's going soft but he doesn't care. This album was a message of a real nigga to his loved ones and to the world and it fits perfectly to this album cause it's a love letter to his lover

[@bakhtiyarguseinov9402]

Coles one of the first rappers I really started enjoying, this was a WHILE ago too

[@LloydxMcfly]

lets get it🔥🔥 listened to every album & every tape so this is fye...

[@pawsVillainy]

they fr acting like folding clothes is about folding clothes. way too underrated I WANNA FOLD CLOTHES FOR YA 🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥

[@Payan8]

Hello is one of J Cole most touching songs. If you really take the time to feel what hes saying you’ll get it. He’s talking about lost love and how time passes by and now the women you once were in a serious relationship with has a kid and its tough for Cole to go through that and has to move on from her. “And damn that makes 2 now Oh what do I do now? 'Cause if we ever got together I'd have to be them niggas step-pops forever And well that I ain't my thing cause I I ain't even got my own And I ain't really got no home No place to put these things I own” Wow this song writing was really under appreciated when putting this list together

[@dawin09]

You putting 100 mil so low in the list proves to me that music is subjective, because you have no idea how much I enjoy that song. I went to USA to the off season tour mostly because of that song.

[@hwburner1524]

100 mil is so underrated it’s not even funny. The last chorus goes stupid

[@kohanu95]

Yeah I love 100 mil

[@guillermoosorio3623]

Huge jcole jan here I’m so glad you did songs from even his mixtapes bc personally I feel his mixtapes are flawless

[@fuhyfelax8218]

Honorable mention to False prophets and Everybody dies, false prophets was one of the first songs that got me into rap

[@dwayne1474]

My top 10 1. 4yeo 2. Change 3. Love Yourz 4. No rôle Modelz 5. O3 Adolescence 6. Climb Back 7. She's Mine pt 2 8. Wet Dreamz 9. Apparently 10. A tale of 2 Cities Also Amari is cold, Idk what you talking about. The vocal inflections in the second verse make the song fireeee. Honourable mentions: Hunger on Hillside, Fire Squad, pride is the Devil

[@len1356]

You should definitely have false prophets up there

[@frrraser]

@@len1356 was it even on the nfr podcast list ????

[@itzdavid7714]

Pt 2 over part 1 is definitely sus

[@Clashedroyaled]

Immortal is a top 5 cole song

[@vincefree]

I think the duality of foldin clothes it what makes it one of Cole’s best and one of my favourites off that project. The fact he talks about relationship in whichever persons point of view and then talks about Men in the hood and how they have to put this Fassade in life. It’s executed soo well

[@ballinhunter12]

Great job guys. Was super fucking happy to see Too Deep for the Intro and Before I'm Gone so high up, both easily top 10 songs. Also agree that Rise and Shine should be a top 10 song as well.

[@josephhiers9523]

I wish songs like Can I Holla at Ya and Kenny Lofton could make lists like these but I understand why. Those are some of Coles best imo but you guys are amazing

[@thandekilethomas9484]

bruh and songs like Simba, Grown Simba, Return of Simba.

[@prod.youngsensai]

Stay should've made it on there too

[@jmc9978]

100 mil is HELLA underrated

[@cebraila2247]

25:06 I was literally at wireless festival when he performed Wet dreamz, it was one of my favourite moments of the entire festival, was so surreal seeing cole live for the first time ever too. An experience I’ll never forget.

[@o.s.a9571]

You need to do more of these videos!

[@jaredisfunny]

Bro what the hell why is ATM so low that’s ridiculous on first listen it was one of the few tracks on KOD I loved and instantly put in rotation

[@nsimons5942]

Yeah they're trippin having that song so low.

[@j0han_xd46]

Amari at 104 is insane bro, i love that song

[@simeonstan5843]

Yess my fav artist, love to see it, especially from you guys. Kanye next? 👀

[@CheezySnipezYt]

I’m so happy love yourz ranked so high it’s my favorite song

[@CheezySnipezYt]

Although I agree there are songs better than let go my hand I think it should have ranked a bit higher

[@rahulraheja6919]

How do y’all go through this list so smoothly lmao? Do y’all rehearse ?

[@desperatelycravingahamsandwich]

Came here to see 4 Your Eyez Only get the respect it deserves. I was NOT disappointed.

[@anonymous_27374]

Intro is a whole vibe

[@giovannitapia2113]

Glad to see breakdown get that love it deserves. I felt that track so hard when that album came out back in during high school.

[@jelle5859]

Change is so amazing, I appreciate the ranking. That being said, Hello is great what are you on

[@Dkirk215]

Y’all should do this for Other Rappers Like Drake Big Sean Kendrick And More Very great content

[@kevinfou771]

Big Sean😂😂😂

[@Dkirk215]

@@kevinfou771 how’s that funny sean Detroit mixtape iconic dark sky paradise as well as hall of fame and even his first album goes hard dude got some heat I feel he’s been around long enough at least for a catalog also with his features don’t sleep on him we can’t talk about the same 4-5 rappers Every week lol it’s like talking about mj in basketball we get their great but theirs other good talents in the game and veterans with catalogs

[@Dkirk215]

@@kevinfou771 literally I can name some of the fire verses he’s spit on numerous songs and mixtapes he’s just a very laid back guy so people don’t notice as much he can go toe for toe with a lot of people going full throttle

[@jerrykod8307]

big sean 🔥😹🤦

[@Dkirk215]

@@jerrykod8307 sean is nice don’t sleep Detroit mixtape and also dark sky pardise top tier work as well as even hall of fame which is underrated

[@RM-wp7df]

18:48 the first time I listened this song I thought that it could play in the beginning of a movie/ movie credits or something, it really fits in something like this because of the heavy instrumental and the overall vibe of it.

[@trashawnw]

My favorite music podcast and my favorite artist for 1hr, favorite video thus far.

[@MichaelJohnson-mn1pb]

I need this whole list written down so I can go back and see all those

[@jessetaylor8912]

Love to see this!! Been working on my own list over the past few weeks, would love to see y’all do this with Kanye so I could compare it to my own list!

[@NFRPodcast]

Appreciate you jesse!

[@richardo188]

Waiting for that person to come through and list all the songs in order 😭

[@AlfredMidTier]

Top tier list and great content

[@Nathanh2421]

Love it overall! Not sure about the foldin clothes take tho 😅but great content as always!!

[@yang5188]

I'm really glad that you put change in number 3. It is my number 1 without a doubt. I just fcking love it

[@sebasf3633]

I would like to see a ranking for Jay-Z, such a legendary set of albums

[@vincentlorico8624]

dudes can I just ask where do yall get the album plaques behind you!

[@karimrahill]

Great Vid guys!!!💯

[@AGrepSTN2M]

Love yourz is definitely in my top 3. I totally disagree about the rating of Hello, Sideline Story and Amari but hey to each their own

[@ernest5737]

You’re crazy for having intro from FHD so low, his best intro by far

[@calebtesfahunabay6865]

95 south is the best intro

[@dliteoftheworld]

Whom the bells toll better

[@jek2258]

Are lion king on ice, snow on da bluff, and false profets not on here?

[@Whodnl]

You know it’s a cold world and even colder NFR podcast

[@danielmalala2.033]

Pride Is The Devil top 3 for me, Let Go My Hand was also way too low Overall good list, keep up the great work

[@atangnkoane3314]

Made my day fr, HUGE J Cole fan here

[@NFRPodcast]

Much love!

[@christianfontenot4980]

Breakdown is AMAZING

[@ismaelmedrano8752]

Where are songs from the come up, truly yours 1 & 2, any given Sunday EP’s??

[@blackbird9645]

Tooooo excited Bet 4YEO at 1, The climb back, lights please, lost ones, 03 adolescence top 10 This will be the first KZbin video I’ll watch beginning to end which above 30 minutes

[@Abibiabobo]

I think 117 to 113 are horrible takes to be honest. Also I believe Amari (at 104) and losing my balance (102) should've been ranked much higher. I also wished u included some of his non album singles like False Prophets, Lion King on ice or even Javari which would've ranked so high on the list. Truly Yours too is a criminally underrated J. Cole project that has some of Cole's most chilling songs.

[@LamyFamily_]

As a die hard day one cole fan that was an amazing content from you guys. I think the ranking was very solid. I have couple of Knocks though … Amari should be higher, Rich should’ve been higher and losing my balance should’ve been higher aswell.. My fave cole track ever is Before I’m Gone so seeing you guys have it at #4 made me happy lol. God bless

[@mr26ix]

You guys are goated mannnnn

[@blackbird9645]

This list is a very interesting intriguing mess lights please is the OG Cole fans anthem. amari is fire. lost ones 🤦 #67?? premeditated murder not top 10 or even 20???? that’s an OG classic Cole song from every musical perspective

[@charliecleere3613]

Runaway had to be a lot higher but respect how high breakdown is.

[@sduarte7946]

i was so shocked to see you placing friends that low, it’s one of my favorites

[@Anbb8]

Bro Friends deserves to be higher

[@MrASAPAB]

So many gems off the truly Yourz series and the come up as well. Cole got a bunch of gems.

[@jg5004]

This was awesome! I’d love to see more artist’s songs ranked. Drake, Kendrick, Eminem… all would be dope but they do have a lengthy list. Maybe a top 100?

[@williampicchiarini7633]

Losing my balance is a classic whaaaaaat

[@colebench1490]

Fr

[@indigo.1702]

i spent 3 weeks in a phyciatric hospital in early 2017. they let my mom bring some CD's to play in the rec room. change was my anthem 🥲

[@xxxkxrma]

We need his features rankeddddddd, much love guys

[@TFreds11]

Lost one’s in the 60’s is criminal

[@jonathanfleming809]

You guys left off Cole Summer easily a top 50 Cole track but pretty solid list. Would love to see a Drake or Kendrick list keep up the good content

[@johnmihelick3184]

cole summer is my favorite cole track of all time

[@wasabijones4571]

loved the in form analogy 😂🤣

[@rogue9230]

Ya gotta do one for Kanye this could honestly be a long running series you got here