Pluto

This isn’t the most groundbreaking album lyrically, and Future’s style borrows heavily from the Southern hip-hop playbook, but damn if these songs don’t hit. There’s an infectious energy and triumphant feel to this album that Future completely abandoned as he doubled down on being a trap lord. His ear for pop melodies here was something special, and honestly, I think his career might’ve been more interesting if he had leaned into that instead of going full auto-crooned nihilism. Sure, some of it hasn’t aged the best, but tracks like Turn on the Lights and Same Damn Time still feel like blueprints for the commercial rap we hear today.