Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’ Is Rolling Stone’s ‘Best Album Of The 21st Century’

January 11, 2025

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Beyoncé‘s sixth studio album, Lemonade, is hailed as the “Best Album Of The 21st Century,” according to Rolling Stone. Released in 2016, Lemonade offered Beyoncé fans a sneak peek into her life and marriage with Jay-Z. Rolling Stone says, “Since the release of her self-titled fifth album in 2013, each Beyoncé volume has leveled up in some way — yet Lemonade bests them all in storytelling, revelation, and cultural resonance.”

“In all she’s accomplished, she has yet to meet the world as vulnerably as she does here, laying bare the trauma of her very famous husband’s infidelity to their marriage and the empire they built upon it. Still, the shock and intrigue from that end up trailing far behind the defining ethos Beyoncé constructs from her despair,” the outlet said. “Lemonade has always been more than just an album. It’s a music film as layered, gorgeous, and haunting as a canonical drama, a matrix of generational heartbreak, a celebration of legacy, and a hand-drawn map to the intersections of many Black women’s interpersonal and political lives.”

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 05: Beyoncé accepts Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for “Renaissance” onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

“Lemonade has always been more than just an album,” Rolling Stone Says

An accompanying visual came out with the album, bringing the singer’s words to life in more ways than one. Lemonade spawned several hits, including “Formation,” “Sorry,” “Hold Up,” and “Freedom.” It’s also been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Lemonade dropped after rumors swirled that the iconic couple had trouble in paradise amid allegations of infidelity on Jay-Z’s part.

Beyoncé boldly addressed the cheating allegations on her track “Sorry.” The track also works as a warning to her partner about the consequences of his actions. “I see them boppers in the corner/They sneaking out the back door,” she sings. “He only want me when I’m not there/He better call Becky with the good hair.” While there wasn’t a definitive answer to who “Becky with the good hair” was, many assumed fashion designer Rachel Roy.