Drake on Vinyl: Which Albums Belong in Your Collection?

Stream Drake and the low end gets polite. Drop the needle on a clean pressing and the same record turns cavernous: the submerged drums, the smeared vocal samples and the late-night space that Noah "40" Shebib built into these albums come back into the room. That contrast is the whole case for owning Drake on wax. His catalog leans on long runtimes and deep bass, the two things a good cut of vinyl handles better than a compressed file. Below is our editorial shortlist of the Drake records worth hunting down, with verified years, labels and pressing notes for each one. This is a curated pick of standouts, not a full discography.

Every record below has been checked for exact title, original release year and label. For each one you get the reason to own it on vinyl, plus a few pointers for spotting a good copy.

The selection at a glance

Take Care (2011): the breakthrough that belongs in every crate

If you only own one Drake record, make it this one. Released on November 15, 2011, Take Care is where Drake and producer Noah "40" Shebib perfected their blueprint: submerged drums, smeared vocal samples and that signature 3 a.m. melancholy. In October 2025 the album was certified RIAA Diamond, a rare milestone for a rap record. As a double LP it has the runtime and the dynamic range to justify the format, and the slow-burning cuts feel made for sitting through a full side rather than skipping around a playlist. This is the cornerstone of any Drake shelf, and the natural first stop if you are building one of the 15 essential vinyl records to own.

Nothing Was the Same (2013): his most cohesive statement

Where Take Care sprawled, 2013's Nothing Was the Same tightened. Issued on September 24, 2013, on OVO Sound alongside Young Money, Cash Money and Republic, it is arguably his most front-to-back consistent album, with the kind of warm, spacious production that genuinely benefits from a turntable. It runs as a double LP, and the title has been reissued in a long list of colored variants over the years, so collectors have plenty to chase. If you care about presentation and pressing condition, this is a good record to learn the difference between a flat streaming mix and a properly cut LP. For tips on tracking down the right copy without overpaying, see our guide on how to find vinyl at the best price.

If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015): the surprise-drop reset

Dropped without warning on February 13, 2015, If You're Reading This It's Too Late swapped the introspection of earlier work for something colder and more menacing. Officially it is a mixtape, Drake's fourth, released through OVO Sound, Young Money, Cash Money and Republic. It is the project that signaled he could pivot his entire sound overnight, and it remains a fan favorite for its mood and its low-end weight. On vinyl it lands as a double LP, and the murky, bass-forward production is exactly the kind of material that rewards a decent cartridge and a quiet room. For collectors, the surprise-release lore only adds to its appeal.

Views (2016): the blockbuster era on wax

By 2016, Drake was operating at stadium scale, and Views is the sound of that moment. Released on April 29, 2016, on Young Money, Cash Money and Republic, it is a long, ambitious record that leans into dancehall and Caribbean textures alongside the usual nocturnal balladry. With twenty tracks and a runtime past eighty minutes, it spreads across a double LP, which is part of why the vinyl edition works so well: splitting it over several sides turns a daunting tracklist into a sequence of digestible sides. Pressed in a gatefold jacket, it makes a statement on the shelf as much as on the platter, and it is one of the era-defining titles you will see turn up among new vinyl releases and represses.

Scorpion (2018): maximalism with three number ones

Released on June 29, 2018, Scorpion is Drake at his most maximal: a two-sided concept split between rap and R and B, carrying a run of chart-dominating singles. Three of them reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, "God's Plan", "Nice for What" and "In My Feelings". It arrived as a double album of twenty-five tracks, with standard black vinyl in a gatefold jacket plus several color variants at launch. The sheer length makes it a true vinyl listen, best taken side by side rather than in one sitting. If you came to Drake through his streaming-era smashes, this is the record that captures that peak-pop ambition in a physical format worth owning.

So Far Gone (2009): the origin story for deep diggers

Before the Diamond plaque, there was So Far Gone, the mixtape Drake self-released on February 13, 2009, through his October's Very Own banner. It is the tape that turned him from a promising newcomer into a phenomenon, and it carries real historical weight for fans tracing how the OVO sound came together. A note for collectors: this began life as a free mixtape, not a commercial album, so early vinyl pressings are unofficial and official configurations only appeared years later. Availability and pressings vary, so check the listing details and pressing notes carefully before you buy, and treat this one as a deep-cut pickup once the core albums are already on your shelf.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Image à la une : Photo : musicisentropy, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
• Wikipedia EN (album and mixtape entries: Take Care, Nothing Was the Same, If You're Reading This It's Too Late, Views, Scorpion, So Far Gone; Drake albums discography)
• Discogs (release pages, including Nothing Was the Same r25718656 and So Far Gone r19128793 and r23861147, the latter noted as unofficial pressings)
• Billboard, udiscovermusic, SPIN (Take Care RIAA Diamond certification awarded October 24, 2025; original 2011 review)
• Image: no freely licensed photo of the artist exists on Wikimedia Commons; the featured image is an editorial illustration.

Years, labels and formats checked on Wikipedia and Discogs. Data checked in France, June 2026.