Every Britney Spears Album, RANKED | ...Baby One More Time to Glory

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Ohh baby baby! Welcome to MsMojo, and today were taking on the difficult task of ranking every Britney Spears album from worst to best! Whats the princess of pops signature song? Which record best defines her career? And how does each album hold up? Lets get to work bitch.

#9: Britney Jean

As huge Britney fans, it pains us to come down on any of her albums. But some simply have to sink to the bottom. Theres a number of reasons why Britney Jean is her most critically panned and lowest selling record. Though shockingly, a lot of this isnt even her fault. Although it was promoted as Brits most personal studio recording yet, the end result was pretty far from it. Primarily produced by will.i.am (groan), theres an overreliance on auto-tune. Popular theories assert that backup vocalist Myah Marie filled in for Britney on a number of songs, which would mean there are some cases where Britney isnt even actually Britney. The album was rushed out to align with her 2013 Vegas residency, so execs may have been determined to prove they could make a Britney album without her full involvement. And they were terribly wrong! Outside of singles Work Bitch and maaaybe Perfume theres sadly nothing memorable here. Ultimately, Britney Jean overpromised and underdelivered.

#8: Femme Fatale

Okay, this is where things get tough. Femme Fatale is beloved by so many fans, and its an undeniably fun dance album. As for why it ranks so low on our list, the record simply has no true legacy. Femme Fatale was a big departure from her signature sound. The experimental design clearly rides the over-produced Max Martin/Dr. Luke EDM wave. Till the World Ends and I Wanna Go are great party tracks for 2011. Like Britney Jean, Femme Fatale hasnt aged all that well, especially considering the lead single is a bit dubstep influenced. To be clear, music failing to be timeless isnt inherently a problem. After all, Britneys early albums are so explicitly tied to the Y2K era. However, the difference is that those records pioneered a distinct style of pop, and drove trends. Whereas, Femme Fatale simply chased trends. In fact, it feels a bit lost amongst albums by artists like Lady Gaga and Kesha, who were leading the charge with more authority at the time.

#7: Baby One More Time

You might be surprised to see the album that launched Britney into superstardom so low on the list. But thats just a testament to how many incredible LPs she has under her belt. ...Baby One More Time is best known for the single by the same name. But the 99 studio debut spawned a number of other chart-topping hits for the icon in the making. It holds impressive accolades, like the highest selling album for a solo teenage artist of all time. Its Britneys highest selling record too! Although it made Britney a household name, it did receive some criticism for falling into the camp of immature teen pop. This is a bit of a stretch though, considering Britney was just 16 when she released her first single. Perhaps the biggest issue with ...Baby One More Time is that, through a modern lens, it doesnt feel like the album is really for anyone anymore. Her early fans are grown up, and likely relate more to her mature music. And the current teenybop generation has moved on to the Billie Eillishs and Olivia Rodrigos of the world.

#6: Oops!... I Did It Again

Britneys sophomore album confirmed that she was far from a one-hit-wonder. It also refined the now 18-year-olds image from pigtails to latex. While the record does lean into some of the whimsical, daydreaming songs that made ...Baby One More Time pop, it has a sharper edge in its construction. Theres a little less desperately wishing upon a star, and a lot more unapologetically reaching for the stars! From Britneys confidently charged vocals to the fiercer production, Oops!... I Did It Again! soared up the charts, giving us incredible tracks like Lucky and Stronger. The titular single earned her a diamond-certified, #1 spot in countries across the globe, and the album became the fastest ever selling record by a female artist. So she wasnt lying when she said: Oops I did it again! A major shortcoming that lands Oops in the middle of the pack is that Brit only has one writing credit on the entire album, which sort of bolsters the manufactured pop star criticism she often received.

#5: Glory

On the other end of the spectrum, Glory is an album Britney had tons of involvement in. She co-wrote a number of songs, and even co-produced Private Show. Released in 2016, Glory saw the pop icon testing out an R&B/Hip-Hop influence, prominent on tracks like Make Me and Slumber Party. Full of glorious ballads, the album features a wide pool of collaborators all working in stride to bring Britneys vision to life. It received favorable critical reception upon release, and fans widely considered it her best album in years. Part of what makes Glory such a pleasure to celebrate (even to this day) is just how much fun Britney had making it. Its a cohesive body of workwith playful, sensual lyrics that welcome listeners into a world Britney is finally in control of. The infamous conservatorship battle started just a few years after this album cycle, making it her last studio album to date. Wed love for Brit to release more music, but should this be her final album, its safe to say she went out on a high note.

#4: Circus

Ah, the comeback album. It feels a bit odd to say this, considering Britney had given us nothing but stellar albums up to this point. Her sixth record, which was released just a year after Blackout, is sort of meant to be more of a comeback for Britneys personal life. Shes platinum blonde again. So its as if producers are signaling that shes cleaned her act up, and is ready to deliver more smash hitssloppy VMA performances left at the door. Even the opening line of Rolling Stones Circus review reads, Britney may have left the psych ward, but on Circus, she proves shes still a freak. All of this aside, the album itself is undeniably solid. There are very few skips, with catchy singles earning massive radio play, and tracks like Kill the Lights and Mannequin standing out in their own right. The synth-forward instrumentation is crisp, and the kooky vocal chops create indelible earworms that are fun to sing along to. Ultimately, Circus does feel a bit safer than some of her previous work, which was probably an intentional PR move. But the success of the album is clear, given the Circus tour was her highest grossing!

#3: In The Zone

Like the title alludes, Brit is now a fully realized club crawler. She spent a lot of her early career testing the waters with a more seductive sound and friskier lyrics. After all, she was under societies looking glass as a family-friendly tween act, who risked drumming up controversy should she choose to lean into her sexual side. Caution to the wind, Britney simply goes for it on In The Zone. Toxic is perhaps the most definitive song of her adult career, especially with that iconic music video. She fully sheds the girl next door image to become a siren dancing in the back of the club at 3am. On Early Mornin she whispers, Bump bump till the break of dawn and it dont stop til the early morning. The transformation simply feels complete. Instead of singing about her broken heart on a yard swing, shes now kissing Madonna at the VMAs. In The Zone feels like a breakthrough because its full of vampy, cohesive bangers from start to finish. (I Got That) Boom Boom scored a dance-off scene in White Chicks, proving that this album was made for the clubs. Even Everytime, the only truly slow song on the record, was recently mixed into Charli XCXs Boiler Room set. We cant move on without acknowledging the incredible meme potential of Britney channeling her inner NSYNC when she wails Breathe on mayyyy. Oh and, hot take: Showdown might be the most underrated track of Britneys entire discography.

#2: Britney

Britneys third album feels like the best of both worlds. It perfectly marries where she started and where she was going, delivering bubblegum pop and club bangers that just melt together effortlessly. Boys is a lascivious anthem that previews her In The Zone era. At the same time, Im Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman, harkens back to the essence of ...Baby One More Time. But the lyrics set it in a new age, contextualizing the album and defining where Britney was in both her personal life and career. Overprotected manages to be both a bop and pointed critique of how shes been treated. Theres also the gnarly I Love Rock N Roll cover (anyone remember Crossroads?). The princess of pop actually feels more like a rock star this time around. Truthfully, its her most rebellious albums that seem the most earnest. Y2K trendsetters, The Neptunes, worked closely with Britney to refine the punchy harmonic dissonance heard throughout. Furthermore, Britney herself has cited that the Dream Within a Dream Tour, which supported this album, was her favorite to perform. Plus, the record's biggest song, Im A Slave 4 U, owns the title of most iconic live performance by the megastar. Need we go on?

#1: Blackout

This is it. The pop bible. The blueprint of all pop music. The mother album of all mother albums. Are you really surprised this is number 1? For an album released during one of the most turbulent times in Britneys life, she managed to create her best record to date. Though perhaps its this quarter-life crisis that makes it feel so incredibly personal and rich. In the opening single, Britney sings Gimme gimme more, subtly mimicking the hungry press and general public who never get tired of taking from her. But in the very next song, she reminds us that she can and will make it through the chaos because shes Britney bitch. Blackout embraces a more rugged, urban feel. And theres not a single skip-worthy song to be found, with every track earning its place. On Blackout, Britney proudly declares shes not to be trifled with, belting Living legend, you can look but dont touch. This self-assured confidence is backed up by Britneys one and only executive producer credit. Her creative spark truly shines from beginning to end, proving that she can craft something incredible when given the lead. Not only was the albums dark electro-pop sound deeply influential at the time, but a whole slew of modern pop divas cite Blackout as a major inspiration for their music and style. Theres no doubt in our mindsthis is Britneys magnum opus.

So do you agree with our ranking? Sound off below and feel free to turn the comment section into a circus. Just dont get toxic.