Which Delayed Albums Were Actually Worth the Wait?

As a musician, there's danger in delaying any album: no album flops harder than a long-awaited album. On the other hand, there's a chance for magic: albums that lived up to the hype sometimes become instant legends, ranking among the best records of all time. The anticipation before their releases makes them that much more memorable, and the time spent crafting the music lends to the myth of their greatness.

Frank Ocean's Blonde has already seemingly reached legendary status. With over four years between Blonde and his previous release, channel ORANGE, Ocean did more than just deliver a great delayed album: he upended the music industry by severing ties with Def Jam, his record label, just a few days before released Blonde independently. A money move.

Not every delayed album causes an industry-wide stir, of course, but between Blonde, Kanye's The Life of Pablo, and Rihanna's Anti, 2016 is been a year of delayed gratification. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

Here are the delayed albums that were most worth the wait. Vote up the records that delivered the most.