Ariana Grande Vinyl Albums: Shopping Guide

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Whether you’ve been following Ariana Grande since her Broadway days or are just beginning to tip an ear towards her albums, there’s no denying the multi-platinum pipes on pop’s reigning princess.

Grande’s high-flying vocals have been leaving audiences breathless for nearly a decade, and she’s routinely compared to the likes of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. But when heard on vinyl, her complexity shimmers—Jazz Age influences (think Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald) mingling with orchestral motifs from Hollywood's Golden Age.

Ultimately, Grande is a once-in-a-generation vocal stylist who doesn’t shy away from playing the musical field. With a survey of her complete discography—and the best-in-show equipment for listening—there’s no denying Grande has earned her place in any audiophile’s record collection (and in pop history).

A Brief History of Ariana Grande, Her Majesty of Pop

Grande launched her professional career in the late aughts when she appeared in the Broadway musical 13. At just fifteen years old, she quickly ascended the ladder to stardom as a leading cast member in the Nickelodeon original series Victorious and its spin-off series Sam & Cat.

After amassing a dedicated fanbase as an actress:

Grande signed with Republic Records and has released six blowout records to date (excluding specialty projects like her holiday albums).
Since her freshman album’s release in 2013, Grande’s unearthly vocal talent has earned her long-standing creative partnerships with the likes of Nicki Minaj to Lil Wayne—not to mention the Billboard’s dub “Queen of the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 Debut” in 2020.¹

Today, Grande is known for her high-feminine persona, and unimpeachable cachet in the music biz—but don’t get it twisted. Her vocals are gutsy, sophisticated, and technically impeccable. To absorb them in full, any true pop connoisseur must take a listen where they’re most dimensional: on vinyl.

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Yours Truly (2013)

Grande was just 20 years old when she released her exploratory debut pop album, Yours Truly (2013), which was produced by renowned produced Harmony Samuels. The record plays like a lover’s scrapbook—heady, retro-inspired bops inflected with the trademark syncopations of modern pop. The melodies themselves are undeniably catchy, but it’s Grande’s syrupy loops and flourishes that carried this record to stratospheric popularity.

Key Tracks

The highlight tracks from Yours Truly include:

“The Way” – Peaking on the Billboard Hot 100 at #9, this peppy puppy-love bop featured the megawatt late rapper Mac Miller and was originally co-written by Jordin Sparks.²

“Baby I” – A throwback to quintessential 90s R&B, this jam plays as Grande’s tongue-in-cheek homage to her multi-octave forbear, Mariah Carey. The track braids sweet, skillfully crooned verses, culminating with an explosive high-belt finale.³

“Tattooed Heart” – With the flavor of 1950s prom night doo-wop, “Tattooed Heart” swells and swings with teenage heartsickness—and a soulful key change at the ballad’s end that points towards love’s happy ending.

My Everything (2014)

No matter the genre, crafting a sophomore album is always a gamble—to stick the landing, an artist must cement her audience while still allowing liberal space for creative growth.

Fortunately, Ariana Grande’s vocal facility and dogged determination enabled her to nail My Everything (2014), an album she loves “five times more” than her freshman collection.⁴ Not only are four of the songs co-written by Grande herself, but alongside nine artist collaborators (and a coterie of prolific producers), she piloted this ensemble effort to double-platinum prestige.

My Everything features five knockdown, drag-out hit singles you’d have to be a hermit not to have heard. From the smash-hit “Problem” with rapper Iggy Azalea to “Bang Bang” featuring powerhouse vocalists Jessie J and Nicki Minaj, My Everything is a time capsule of showstoppers straight out of summer 2014.

Dangerous Woman (2016)

If there’s any record that evolved Grande from a bright-eyed bubblegum pop star to a gilt-edged prima donna, it’s her 2016 release Dangerous Woman. The record’s racier, grown-up feel made it the first album to garner her a spate of Parental Advisory warnings—an important landmark in diversifying her audience and claiming longevity as a legacy artist.

Dangerous Woman enjoyed a groundswell of international acclaim, with top-ten placements in nearly every global territory where it was released. Grande followed up with a multi-leg international tour that took her to Europe, Asia, and Latin America—her biggest theatrical endeavor to date.⁵

Key Tracks

Dangerous Woman is indisputably one of Grande’s most uncontainable works. But if we had to put four songs in a nutshell, here’s what to expect:

“Dangerous Woman” – Debuting at the #10 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, the album’s titular track and lead single is a vampy supernova of a song that puts the rest of the record into the ignition.
“Into You” – This arresting EDM-inspired track was Grande’s second single off the album, dominating worldwide club scenes in 2016 and co-created with production legends Max Martin and Ilya.
“Side to Side” – A steamy, low-slung reggae-pop hit that tendered a different tone for Ariana, this track features Nicki Minaj and attracted critical comparisons to fellow superstar Rihanna.
“I Don’t Care” – Grande throws it back to her roots with this daydreamy track, mused with orchestral strings, meandering instrumentals, and the vocalist’s signature lilting, buttery embellishments.

Sweetener (2018)

Sweetener (notably having a peach vinyl) reintroduced Grande as a seasoned and streetwise artist who’s done more than earn her stripes in celebrity. After multiple Grammy nominations, it was album number four that secured her first Grammy win for Best Pop Vocal Album of 2018.

The first single off the record is “no tears left to cry,” a requiem for the humble virtue of picking up, moving on, and moving forward. It’s one of many solo tracks on Sweetener with no featured collaborators—a clear sign of Grande’s commitment to cementing a discrete identity as an artist.

Notably, all the tracks on Sweetener are stylized with lowercase text, conveying detachment from her star-powered persona—but never from the music itself.

Each track is fresh and inspired, and Grande says she wrote her second single, “god is a woman,” in just one day. With this empowerment ballad, Grande took a bold step onto the soapbox, redounding two months later with the mental health-focused “breathin.”

thank u, next (2019)

2019’s thank u, next catapulted to number one on iTunes a staggering five minutes after its release, and its titular number enjoyed a Spotify streaming ovation (to the tune of 1.5+ billion) even before the album dropped.

This album represents Grande at her most playful. In her creative prime, she borrows from a host of genres and motifs to explore her range while dabbling in her fair share of humor to boot.

Key Tracks

We think each track here is worth a listen (or ten), but the three keynote singles off thank u, next include:

“thank u, next” – With a #1 US Billboard Hot 100 debut, this track clinched the top slot on charts in 13 countries worldwide. “thank u, next” layers diaristic lyrics over ethereal instrumentals to express Grande’s personal take on romance in the public eye.⁶

“7 rings” – Taking a cue from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s broadway hit “My Favorite Things,” Grande revisits her broadway origins with the edgy, breathy “7 rings.” The song was said to be inspired by Grande’s high-profile breakup with comedian Pete Davidson, immediately nabbing the #1 spot in fifteen counties upon release.⁷

“break up with your girlfriend, I’m bored” – In February of 2019, the third single off thank u, next debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It sat directly between “7 rings” at #1 and “thank u, next” at #3—meaning Ariana Grande occupied all three of the Billboard top slots, an accomplishment that hadn’t been achieved since the Beatles in 1964.

Positions (2020)

As Grande’s fourth album to debut at #1, 2020’s Positions is the latest installment in her discography. Unsurprisingly, every one of its fourteen tracks charted in the top 100, with lead single “Positions” making its own #1 debut.

When an artist escalates to the heights that Grande enjoys, it can be tempting to chalk up each new success to sheer precedent. But Positions points to a transitional moment in Grande’s career, exhibiting her patience for the pace of change and a willingness to play before the next incarnation of her stardom takes shape.

Key Tracks

Timing is everything when it comes to Positions. It’s a rhythmic, slow-burning album that belongs on a turn table, filled with dizzying vocals that would leave any audiophile with the spins.

The best singles to listen for include:

“safety net” – This collaboration with the prolific Ty Dolla Sign brims with gorgeous interwoven harmonies and echoey vocals, giving it an almost oceanic feel.
“34+35” – A bedroom jam rich in frisky wordplay, “34+35”’s upbeat cadence and sighing orchestrals make it, Grande declares, “one of my favorite things we’ve ever done.”⁸
“pov” – With “pov,” Grande keeps her trademark R&B-meets-electro-pop vibes bumping, balancing sex-positive subject matter with an undeniably romantic sonic flavor.⁹

Ariana Grande is also known for collaborating with other great artists. Here are some notable tracks where she collaborated with some of the best artists:

"Bang Bang" - When it comes to collaboration, Ariana knows what she's doing. This hit she collaborated with Nicki Minaj and Jessie J.

"Problems" - This track is one of her earlier hits, which she did with Iggy Azalea.

“Right There” -Catch Ariana Grande On Vinyl with Victrola

Since her inaugural album Yours Truly, Grande’s sweet nothings have ripened into a once-in-a-lifetime kind of talent—and absorbing it on an Ariana Grande vinyl may be the only medium to do justice to her unchained evolution as an artist.

Whether you’re looking to covet your favorite Ari record or are hunting for a sound system to bring her vocals into full relief, Victrola knows vinyl better than anyone else. We’ve been around since 1906 and have followed modern music’s evolution from the very front row.

Take your next Ari record for a spin and tap into a sublime listening experience by browsing our expansive record store collection today. We have records of other big-name artists, such as Kanye West vinyl and Adele vinyl.

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