On January 17, Mac Miller’s estate remastered and released his 2014 album Balloonerism. It was recorded around the time of the release of his mixtape Faces. The album has mixed themes of nostalgia and trauma, which is often shown through stories about drugs, a recurring format in Mac’s music. The following ranking features each track from worst to best.

14. 14. Tambourine Dream: This song isn’t bad, it’s just impossible to put any song here below 30 seconds of nothing but a tambourine. However, the song does offer a preview of the heavy use of Tambourines on the album.
15. 13. Transformations: If I had to describe this song in one word, it would be chaos. There are so many sounds overlapping each other at the same time in a way that doesn’t really work that well, and the pitched vocals are simply annoying. The lyrics are also questionable, with a recurring line being, “Your b*tch like a bad fart, all she do is linger.” These elements combine to make a song that leaves you confused when it goes on to the next one.
16. 12. Mrs. Deborah Downer: This song doesn’t really stand out as anything different. The instrumental is boring, and the theme of drugs doesn’t tell a story, it just sits there without developing throughout the song’s progression.
17. 11. DJ’s Chord Organ: This is a great intro track, but it doesn’t hold up as a song a listener will go back to and replay. This feels more like a SZA song than a Mac Miller song, as Mac doesn’t even have a single verse throughout. SZA delivers a fantastic verse, and this would likely be higher if my list was that of a SZA
18. 10. Manakins: This song is about Mac’s belief that God is always watching over him, and that he fears that he will die if he upsets God.
19. 9. Do You Have a Destination?: This was the last song recorded in the 2014 sessions for It was teased the same year when Mac set his Twitter bio to “do you- have a- desti- nation?” The song is very similar to Stoned, but that song does things a lot better than this one.
20. 8. Shangri-La: Not much is known about this song, other than it was likely recorded after the original Balloonerism tracklist was finalized. The song talks about it being recorded at Rick Rubin’s house and studio in Shangri-La.
21. 7. Tomorrow Will Never Know: This is a highly experimental psychedelic track, and, despite its long running time, the instrumental is highly captivating and keeps you interested throughout. Many times throughout the song, the sound of a ringtone plays, which paints a picture of someone calling, but nobody answering.
22. 6. Excelsior: This song features Mac reflecting on the simple joys of childhood, as shown through a short story about kids playing on a playground. Excelsior is also Latin for “higher,” which is Mac saying that being a kid is like flying; you have very little responsibility and it’s easy to enjoy life.
23. 5. Stoned: This is a really, really good song. The guitar instrumental matches perfectly with Mac’s voice. The story is about Mac emotionally dissecting a girl and her confessing things to him, like how she never gets along with her parents and makes up stories in her head. They eventually end up getting stoned so they can calm down, which Mac says feels like heaven.
24. 4. 5 Dollar Pony Rides: This was the only single from the album, released on January 9. It shows Mac reflecting upon a complex, distant relationship. Mac attempts to do anything he can to save this relationship, offering short-term pleasures (“Let me give you what you want”) and long-term pleasures (“Let me give you what you need”). Overall, this song is extremely catchy, and is a break from the heavy emotions the album throws at you. The chorus is reminiscent of Mac’s 2015 song “Weekend” on GO:OD AM, which is a favorite of many. 
25. 3. Friendly Hallucinations: The second SZA feature on the album, despite her being less involved in the song. The song tells a vivid story of a girl falling in love with a hallucination she experienced after getting high. This is shown in the chorus with the lines, “She’s falling for her hallucination / What’s love without imagination?” The first verse is from the perspective of the hallucination. The hallucination compliments the girl, as shown with the line “Girl, I love the way your body fit inside that gown.” The girl then falls for the hallucination. The second verse is from an outside narrator’s perspective. The girl has stopped taking care of herself, and she finally accepts at the end that the hallucination isn’t real and she has to stop taking the drugs because she’s going insane. The powerful story of this song is the main reason it is ranked so high, along with how catchy it is.
26. 2. Funny Papers: Mac compares the positives and negatives of what someone would read in a newspaper to the positives and negatives of his life. This comes full circle as Mac asks, “Why does it matter at all?” By this he is saying that everything in life is temporary, and not everything is simple. In the chorus, Mac says, “The moon’s wide awake, with a smile on his face, as he smuggles the constellations in his suitcase.” Mac is observing the morning sky, which is a sign of good luck. As the blue sky arises, it locks the stars behind a “suitcase.” The reason this song is so good is because of how catchy it is, along with the complex lyrics and stories told.
27. 1. Rick’s Piano: Not an easy choice, but this is the best song on the album. According to producer Josh Berg, the song was originally called “Rick Rubin’s Piano.” The title stems “from a field recording of Mac playing piano on a field trip to Rick Rubin’s house, which led to a side-splittingly ridiculous exchange.” In 2014, in the midst of his substance abuse issues, Mac spent time at Rick’s studio in Shangri-La (which is talked about in the song with the same title). Rick helped Mac stay clean and helped him with the production of his 2018 album Swimming. Many times in the song Mac asks, “What does death feel like?” which continues the existential theme that the album has repeated many times. The line “The best is yet to come” is also repeated many times throughout, which is a glimmer of hope, with Mac saying that there is reason to keep living as the best times in his life haven’t come around yet. 

Please, give this album a listen. It was the most respectful way to honor Mac Miller’s legacy as a legendary artist. It’s so sad that Mac isn’t alive to give us more quality art, as we know he would have easily been able to. This album is an emotional experience that should be viewed as a landmark for the music industry. Rest in peace Mac Miller.