Reviews (page 2 of 15)
Nr. 16/1001 Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 4/5 Baby Be Mine 4/5 The Girl is Mine 4/5 Thriller 5/5 Beat It 5/5 Billie Jean 5/5 Human Nature 4/5 P.Y.T 4/5 The Lady in My Life 3/5 Average: 4,22 Awesome album. Really enjoyed it more than I remembered. This is my best rated album so far, taking over from Vol. 4 - Black Sabbath (3,78)
ok so this album starts off with an absolute slapper of a track. out of the 9 songs on the original, five of them hold near and dear places to my heart. the other half of the album is very lackluster and boring in comparison. Baby Be Mine is the one of the lesser half that could definitely grow to be a personal hit given some more listens, the beat is crazy funky. it's like a higher tempo version of the next song (the Paul McCartney collab) with a little more going on. Human Nature is cute and not a terrible song but it's pretty hard to follow Thriller, Beat It, then Billie Jean. Same for the last song, it's a goood jam but not as good as PYT right before it. obviously this album is pretty fantastic and the highs are extremely high and the lows are higher than a lotta artists ever get, but the perfection and range of the higher tempo songs makes the lower tempo tracks meld together into one big R&B mush.
the sound can feel dated at times, but it is almost hilarious that 3 of MJ's most legendary songs are in a row
Thriller is all killer no filler? Sure, it's a pillar of pop iconography, but the shillers that can't see the weaknesses really need to chill here. It absolutely has some of the best pop songs ever written on here. But Human Nature is good not great; The Lady in My Life is just a step above mid; and good god in heaven The Girl Is Mine is so dogshit it makes me question two of music's biggest icons. The bops still outweigh the flops by a mile, but there ARE flops. This isn't the greatest pop album of all time; it's not even The King of Pop's greatest album (or even second greatest).
Ok, so here's where I lose a lot of cred with most folks: I don't actually like Michael Jackson. Never have. This record, however, is the one MJ album I have on vinyl. It's probably his best known (follwed closely by Bad), is the best selling album of all time, and on top of that, has some pretty good tracks on it. I play it once a year on or near Halloween and that's enough MJ to last me a whole year. I totally get why this is on the list. It's a good album. I'm just not much of a fan.
yep Micheal Jackson, good but not interesting
Too bad he touched little boys
This album is really on the cusp; the first of the massive 80s block-busters, it showed how big an album could be in the video-enabled new music industry. But it sounds still quite disco. The sound is super-polished, but not as ground-breaking as the presentation --all the singles, all the videos, and MJ's massive charisma -- is it all a bit safe (perhaps)? Well, that's how you sell a bazillion albums. Some songs (Baby Be Mine, The Lady In My life, the Girl is Mine) are middle-of-the-road, inoffensive pablum. But the stronger singles (Billie Jean, Beat It and Thriller) have a slight edge that makes them stick out above the crowd. Quincy Jones' production is slick, funky, and has aged really well. Wanna Be Starting Something is, by consensus with Dave and my sons, the best song on the album because it is the closest to Off the Wall. The Girl is Mine (duet with Paul McCartney) is, however, frankly horrible. The spoken word in the middle 8 is... just not credible. This album and MJ himself set a precedent for how big a star could be. Not to anyone's benefit; record companies chasing bigger and bigger (and more irrelevant) mega-hits, and had MJ chasing the dragon of success that led him to some VERY unfortunate places. This is the last time that I find MJ to be a relatable human, and his descent into celebrity freak begins in earnest with the success of this record. In retrospect, PYT is a bit creepy. Clearly, MJ was a deeply damaged person, and the evidence of this damage starts to become unavoidable, and is reflected in his song-writing, which becomes less and less relatable. And the joy seems to disappear from his work. Do I actually ever listen to this album? No, I don't, but think it is required listening in the history of music.
Would be 4*, but -1 for paedophilia
I never danced to this at the time so it has no specific memories apart from chart action and the MTV videos. Jackson was not cool for 17 year olds back in 82/83. Surprising how many songs I recognise, only 3 I didn’t remember hearing. However that this remove in the cold light of day Billie Jean is a great track, human nature quite good but the rest leave me pretty cold. I’m one of the 70 million people who bought this (I was surprised to see I owned the 25th anniversary edition of this) but it wouldn’t come near my top 500 favourite albums list. 3/5
Automatic star deduction for Paul McCartney and pedophilia. Honestly 3/4 of Thriller is amazing. 2 songs I would skip. Quincy Jones’ production is great and MJ is at the height of his talent.
used to love this, now hard to listen to given the weirdness and perversion following. Far better than Gary Glitter in a musical sense, but rating adjusted accordingly for similar behaviors
I always liked Billie Jean but aside from that song I wasn't a fan of the rest of this album on release or of Michael Jackson in general. After he died and we were bombarded with all the music he made I warmed up to him. I enjoyed listening to Beat It today. Truth be told, I know the lyrics to Weird Al's Eat It much better than I know the lyrics to Beat It. I remember Ray Davies introduced Lola as the song Van Halen made famous. For me, Beat It was the song Weird Al got me to like. Go figure. Vincent Price makes an appearance on Thriller. It's OK but his role pales in comparison to his role introducing Black Widow on Alice Cooper's Welcome to my Nightmare LP. There are a few too many weenie songs on this album. Human Nature and The Lady in my Life are good examples of songs that are so weenie they're hard to stomach. The worst though is This Girl Is Mine. It seems Michael was trying to adopt a cool image with the red leather jacket, etc. Who told him a duet with Paul McCartney would be cool? Makes ya wonder.
This one left a bad taste. Had heard quite a few of them though.
There’s a paradox at work here. For all the sense I have of having enjoyed Michael Jackson – “Thriller”, “Beat It”, “Billie Jean” and “Smooth Criminal” especially – I have never knowingly proactively listened to the man. I’ve wanted to watch the “Thriller” video as a 10-year old who’d seen a clip of it and never seen anything else like it before. I’ve insisted on listening to EVH’s solo in “Beat It” over and over again, often skipping the rest of the song entirely. I’ve been one of the six people on earth who first heard “Billie Jean” not as performed by MJ, but as a late 90s b-side by Ian Brown (to “Dolphins are Monkeys”, I think; around that time anyway, I remember Ian performing it on TFI… Friday) – and enjoyed it. And, no mum, Alien Ant Farm’s “Smooth Criminal” really wasn’t just a phase. Maybe it’s overexposure. Maybe it’s the increasing difficulty of separating art from artist. Maybe it’s just a record I don’t have to like any more than I do, which on the whole isn’t actually all that much. There’s undoubtedly an embarrassment of riches on “Thriller”, but I don’t personally feel any richer for having listened to them in the context of this record. I don’t mean it as an edgy opinion; I just don’t wake up to listen to Michael Jackson. And to be honest – if it hadn’t been already impossible by then to reverse out of the cultural fact of him, I’m not sure we’d much miss the guy. To his victims, I and every listener owes something. I’m not sure what precisely, but some sort of contrition at least. Yes, the songs are here to stay, that much seems clear, but still. We can’t ignore the cost of it. What’s a paradox but a fancy double standard anyway?
Some total dross mashed discontinuously into a few singles. Buy the greatest hits if you must
Hard to ignore that astonishing interview where Wacko confessed to sharing a bed with young children and was seemingly obliviously unaware that anyone would find this unnatural! The multiple sex abuse allegations and out of court settlements have forever tarnished his image. The album and the man are nothing short of massive cultural and musical icons and he should be applauded for his contribution to the advancement of black culture and shaping the future of pop music. Also the video to Thriller was iconic in itself. The hits from this album are good examples of pop music whilst I found the rest of it very underwhelming, including the cringe worthy duet with McCartney.
Certified loverboy, certified pedophile.
Album review 025 Thriller by Michael Jackson (1982) Rating 1/5 Ignoring context and taking this album for the music only, Thriller is exceptional. However, and it’s a pretty big however… Michael Jackson was “allegedly” abusing young boys from the late-70’s and, at the time of this recording, there were already several reports of him having regular unsupervised “sleep-overs” with children at both his home and in hotel rooms. As good as this album is, Michael Jackson was a predatory paedophile and I can’t separate him and his behaviour from his music.
The extracurricular activities are a no for me, dog. 0 stars, will not listen.
Epitomises everything that was wrong with 80s music.
I try to see the art apart from the artist, to a certain amount of my own moral point of views. That being said, I just cannot listen to songs named "Baby be mine" or "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" by Michael Jackson, without an awful pain in my stomach. So, the album might musically be real good, but that is not what I am rating here, as I cannot and will not listen to it, again.
Massive peado
Classic, but is a kiddy fiddler so marks down
Not willing to listen to
Not listening to this stupid cunt shit pedophile faggot
Heard it
I don't have anything to add to the discourse about Thriller. The music is great, the videos were groundbreaking, the album art is iconic. It catapulted MJ into mythical status as the world's biggest pop star, perhaps the biggest pop culture icon since the Beatles, and he's probably unsurpassed since.
An amazing album by a one of a kind artist. I knew almost the whole album before going into it because my parents were big Michael Jackson fans. It has some of his biggest hits that are timeless. I remember watching the Thriller music video countless times growing up. It’s Michael at his most iconic, the album artwork is iconic, the production is iconic, I mean it deserves 5 stars cause it’s Thriller.
Think back on all the brit-pop you've heard so far on this journey. This album's existence in 1982 is a monumental breath of fresh air.
An absolute masterpiece. 5 stars. Duh
All timer - absolute classic.
10/10 album. Iconic for a reason
perfect, 5/5
Really good!!
This album is just toooo good. It’s so iconic, every single song I’ve either heard snippets through out my life, or I’ve watched the music video when I was younger (cough thriller cough)
Born too late to see the real MJ hype. And this music is not necessarily my cup of tea. But when Billy Jean starts, goddamn!
There is no better example of love the art, not the artist, than this one.
What else can you say, all hits
YASSSS
I don’t think there’s anything I can say about this album that hasn’t been said
Banger after banger
#241 - It's weird rating these albums because do you rate it as the artists album; like should a 5-star rating be based on his other output, or just compared to other albums as a whole. In either case, this is gets 5 stars, and that is with two very skippable songs. This album is a machine, and a greatest hits by itself. There isn't much I can say about this one. Biggest Hit (if I had to choose) - Billie Jean Biggest Miss (if I had to choose) - The Lady In My Life Not So Hidden Gem - Baby Be Mine
Michael Jackson – Thriller (1982) On Day 267, this record was so exceptional that I had to run it back across platforms just to ensure not a single note or production detail escaped me. It is lean, concise, and delivers everything a flawless record requires. Learning that Michael intended for every single song to be strong enough to work as an individual single explains everything because he delivered on that promise completely. The consecutive run of "Thriller," "Beat It," and "Billie Jean" remains arguably the greatest three-track run in popular music history. The chemistry between Paul McCartney and Michael on "The Girl Is Mine" is effortless and smooth, making it easy to see why it earned the sole featured artist credit on the tracklist. Add Eddie Van Halen’s blistering, legendary guitar solo on "Beat It," and it becomes obvious why this remains the best-selling LP of all time. Every arrangement, groove, and vocal performance is dialed in to absolute perfection. Giving this anything below a five would be an insult. An undeniable 5/5.
One of, if not THE defining Pop album of the 80’s, it’s such a good time but there’s one sore thumb on the bunch and it’s the girl is mine, even though both artists involved are fantastic, it’s such a creepy and possessive song lyrically (instrumentally its wonderful), however there’s exists a version of the song without Paul on it and it’s way better and comes off as less of a fight over a woman, though i can’t count it for this rating, that said i’m giving it a 5 anyway. Standouts are Baby Be Mine (fave believe it or not), Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean (obviously) and Human Nature.
Great songs and amazing production. The bass and drums sound so good. Loved this.
Superb.
Listen, I have 5/9 songs on this album completely memorized and I've never listened to this album in full. Just songs that have been omnipresent in my life; I have never not known them. For that reason alone I'm not sure how anyone can give this anything less than a 5. Not to mention how good even the non-hits are on this thing. Sure, the girl is mine is the weakest link but it's hardly as bad as people seem to think it is. It was a great way to get the white audience to tune in: throwing a Beatle on there, a practice still used to this day! Production is crisp, the hits hit so hard, inarguably one of the best albums ever made even if I'm not actively reaching for it often.
Okay Mike, lets let bygones be bygones
Exceptional
One of the all time greats. ★★★★★
So many absolute bangers.
Viene considerato il capolavoro di Michael Jackson e ha tutte le carte in regola per essere considerato il migliore album pop di tutti i tempi, considerando anche il riscontro commerciale che ha avuto. Di Michael Jackson ho sempre preferito Bad ma entrambi si meriterebbero più di 5 stelle.
Any argument made against Thriller being the greatest pop album of all-time pretty much crumbles if you just turn the music on and listen. It’s an epic accomplishment on pretty much every level. Thriller is best selling and probably the most famous album ever. There is nothing new to be said about it. It’s just occupies a space in pop culture history that is so enormous and important that it’s pretty much impossible to do it justice in this format.
Nope
Yeah obviously this rocks
Hiii Macca
catchy and easy to sing along from a first listen. Although I found it too tranquil at some points, almost eerie.
The impact of this cant be understated. Half the album contains 4 amazing singles topped by incredible album tracks
It’s hard to overstate the impact of this album on pop culture at a time of enormous awakening in me personally - I was almost 12 years old when this album truly broke out and was everywhere important to a 12 year old. It’s near impossible to judge this objectively without influence of memory. Listen today had me feeling like a kid - I can smell the pepper trees that lined street in my neighborhood, see the nerf ball flying through the air to my intended target, the street light coming on telling me it was time to head home. On pure merit this is probably a 4 (I think Off the Wall is stronger) but deserves a 5 for everything else it represents. 5/5
Thriller is actually an album you should hear before you leave the planet. The album was huge, and has become legendary. MJ came pretty close to achieving his goal of every song on the album being a hit single. We both (and pretty much everyone else aware of the eighties) know and remember the album well. L = (4.7*s) Epic album, he captured a wide range of genres with Thriller. I can see why he’s still the King of Pop. He sure can write’em! J = (4.7*s) MJ and MTV timed it well, the videos of that crazy threefer (in a row) of Thriller, Beat It, and Billie Jean were just as big as it gets.
Amazing album made by a deeply weird individual
Jolly good
Qué sonido magistral.
King of Pop with one of the strongest middle-album stretches of all time.
9/10 not one bad song expected it to be peak
Greatest hits album lol. Michael doesn't miss
Legendary. Fantastic. Michael Jackson was such an incredibly talented musician and performer. Nearly every song is iconic, and the album still sounds amazing decades later. Absolute classic
Thriller is full of upbeat songs that make you want to get up and boogie. It’s clear to me why this album has stood the test of time and will continue to be enjoyed by generations to come.
Hard to forget this one, it was absolutely everywhere. Thriller completely redefined MTV, and honestly, the album still holds up incredibly well. I still love Eddie Van Halen’s surprise guitar solo on "Beat It," and I’d almost forgotten it featured that duet with Paul McCartney on "The Girl Is Mine". For me personally, the only real low points are "Baby Be Mine" and "The Lady in My Life." I wasn't the biggest MJ fan but always liked this one.
You don't become the greatest selling album of all time by accident.
nice
There are a few weaker tracks (girl is mine) but this would be anyone else’s greatest hits album
Maðurinn hræðilegur. Lögin einstaklega frábær, og eins og maður sé að hlusta á best of plötu.
Michael at his best. The impact this album had on culture was immense and solidified him as a pop icon. Quincy Jones, Toto, Paul McCartney, and even Vincent Price contributed to its success. Every song seems to be a hit. The videos this album generated put MTV on the map and to this day, we listen to Thriller every Halloween. Must have in any record collection.
willhave to relisten. a shame he was a child molester
A haiku: Still such a banger. How is every song a hit? King of pop indeed.
a masterpiece.
The raw pop and energy is undeniable to me, so many all timers in one collections with more staying power than some bands entire discography. Opens up with a forward momentum that keeps up to the end, his singing has this edge that grabs you from within and drags you into his rhythm. The backing music is so fun, danceable and bouncy. This is a top 5 album no contest, just peak art.
Can’t argue that this isn’t a classic pop album!
Espectacular
A true classic
Classic, half of the album are hits
Favorite songs: Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’, The Girl Is Mine, Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean, Human Nature, P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
Absolutely a 5. Songs that have stood the test of time and appeal to generation after generation. Executed perfectly and produced perfectly. An absolute staple in music.
Primer 5 estrellas. Es otro palo pa la historia. Thriller Beat it Billie Jean es la MSN del 2015
prime Jackson, can you believe its only 9 tracks? no notes, just pop perfection.
My favorite album by a pedophile!
An excellent album made by an iconic gem. Another 10/10.
No explanation needed
Highlights: Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', Baby Be Mine, The Girl Is Mine, Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean, Human Nature, P.Y.T., The Lady In My Life Again, an easy 5. MJ and Quincy just copy pasted the formula he developed on The Dude and made the deservedly best selling record of all time. It's kinda amazing how its predecessor didn't blow up the same way this record did. Not to say that this is the only influence, but it's my favorite to point out. But yeah, no misses, just pop perfection, though I feel like I'm committing a disgraceful act by calling this just "pop". This is way to cool and refined to be thrown on the same pile as 99% of the slop in that genre. Reading the wiki while writing the review I was amazed how there were 7 singles from a tracklist of 9. Damn, nuff said.
9/10
Classic from beginning to end. Still sounds fresh.
Arguably one of the best pop records ever released, it's certainly one of the biggest. It's a classic and an undeniable record, a true landmark of American pop culture.
popularity ≠ good but sometimes an album is the highest selling album of all time for a reason 10/10 best song - human nature
one of the best ever made
There isn't much to say about MJ that hasn't been said already. I've heard all the songs before (except The Lady in My Life) but this is the first time I've listened to it as an album. Putting three of the greatest pop songs ever written next to each other is bold. But I don't want to know anything about the production of this album. It existed before I was born and it feels like it exists out of time and space. It's a history defining album. That isn't a compliment; the album could've been shit. But it isn't.
5/5 cmon it’s mj
Michael Jackson’s Thriller should be all I need to say, but: - Every single released reached the top 10 on the U.S. billboard hot 100. - It remains the top selling album of all time. - It is likely the most influential album of its era, changing music videos and reshaping how music was produced, marketed, and consumed. - It transcended generations and is still in heavy rotation / searched for on radio and streaming services. Anything other than a 5 is wrong
Great album comprised almost entirely of hit singles. Still have problems separating the man from the music though. 5
THE KING HAS SPOKEN
No skips, iconic top to bottom.
Great album! I love Michael Jackson's voice. I was obsessed with him when I was little, but I was sooooooo scared of the Thriller video. Even after watching the making of it, I was still terrified of the end when the zombies are breaking into the house! I knew the majority of the songs on this album. I didn't know Baby Be Mine and The Lady in my Life. My favorite song on the album is Human Nature, and I do love Thriller. My least favorite song is P.Y.T. I've never liked that song.
Classic Bangers, Michael always hits and on a sunday morning it was a fun start to the day.
I mean it's Thriller. What can be said that hasn't been said already? This is one of the highest selling albums of all time, and for very good reason, remaining the pinnacle of 80s music, transcending genres and audience and never stopping. I'm especially impressed by the production, which consistently features a crisp sound that never seems to age and a real ear for creating immersive soundscapes without sacrificing the funkiness. All Thriller, and absolutely zero filler.
It’s great idc who you are. He sounds so good. So funky. No skips. 5 stars
So bloody good. So much better than Bad.
Minus half a star for “That Girl Is Mine”: Why was the worst track on the album its first single‽ 4-1/2 stars
What am I meant to say? It’s Thriller!! We were very much a Michael Jackson household growing up, but often we were just spinning HIStory front to back, so it’s been great to really listen to some of these albums in the way they were intended to be listened to. I think this is my favourite Michael album; Thriller aside (which like come on how is it THAT good), I fucking love PYT, and The Girl is Mine is one of my all time faves (and was also my gateway to Mr McCartney!!) ((“the doggone girl is mine” truly scratches something in my brain)) I really could take or leave Baby Be Mine (crazy that after such meticulous thought, Jackson allowed two subsequent track titles ending with the same word) but this is a perfect album. We could talk until the cows come home about separating the art from the artist but he really was the king of his craft and we’re lucky to have this music in our lives (or at the very least, I feel lucky to have this music in my life. So many core memories are soundtracked by these songs that I can’t imagine a world without them)
Well, it continues to be wonderful
Excellent
Amooo
One of the greatest albums ever and still not MJ's best in my very questionable opinion
The, and I do mean THE 80’s album. Defined a generation and a man. The art is greater than the artist.
I am not capable of saying anything new or evocative about the talents of Michael Jackson. This is in the “put it on spaceships for aliens to listen to” tier of music. Banger after banger.
I looked at the track list and thought "that's not even fair". I never looked into Jackson's discography to see what was on this besides Thriller, and holy cow it's more hits than not. The Van Halen guitar work is killer. Adding this to the physical collection when I get a chance.
Uno de mis álbumes favoritos. Estoy muy biased, no puedo darle nada que no sea 5/5.
The best-selling album of all time arrives already carrying more cultural weight than any rating system can meaningfully process, which makes honest assessment both easier and harder simultaneously. Easier because the greatness is self-evident. Harder because separating what the record actually is from what it became requires a deliberate act of listening that most people stopped being capable of decades ago. What it actually is: Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson operating at the absolute peak of their considerable powers, nine songs that collectively redefined what pop music could achieve commercially and artistically at the same moment. "Billie Jean" is the centerpiece — a bass line so instantly recognizable it exists outside the song now, attached to a vocal performance that Michael never surpassed. "Beat It" brings Eddie Van Halen in for a guitar solo that had no business being there and is completely essential. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" opens the whole thing with a lyrical complexity — the vegetable section, the Manu Dibango-lifted closing chant — that most listeners never stop to examine because the groove doesn't give them room to breathe. "The Girl Is Mine" with Paul McCartney is pure schmaltz delivered by two of the most talented people in pop history, which makes it fascinating and slightly bewildering in equal measure. Loving it and being unable to fully defend it is the only honest response. Off The Wall and Bad both earned fives in this project on pure musical terms. Thriller sits above the five — a record that transcends its own rating, which is the rarest thing there is.
It's Michael Jackson, of course the album is five stars. Some of the greatest hits of all time on this record. Iconic.
Ugh. I already know this is one of the greatest albums of all time before even clicking on it. Thriller, the song, is a MASTERPIECE. I have already listened to this album numerous times from start to finish in prior years. I am also feeling quite conflicted about how to rate it for obvious reasons. Sigh. That being said… If I am rating it purely on the music, plus the music videos, it is the easiest 5. This is one of those albums you don’t just listen to, but get lost in. I can’t help but dance whenever I hear this album. As much as I wish I didn’t have to rate this at all on here, I can’t give it less than a 5 because it truly is a iconic masterpiece of an album. And the Thriller song and choreography is a cultural phenomenon that forever changed the face of music and dance going forward.
So many songs from this album became mega hits. To all have been included in one album is an impressive feat. Would say this album deserves a 5 based on how many hits came off of it and it's overall popularity.
First listened on 18th-19th September 2024. Favourite songs are Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', Human Nature and P.Y.T.
I think this is pretty close to pop perfection* *strong art/artist separation applied
Day 356 I actually prefer Bad to Thriller but it’s not possible to go less than 5 for this. Highlights Wanna be starting something Beat it Billie Jean
10/10. ICONIC Glad I finally got his album in rotation!!!
i think it says a lot that some of the lowlights on this album are from world renowned musicians being featured on the songs highlights: wanna be startin' somethin' baby be mine the girl is mine thriller beat it
Simpelweg van tevoren bepalen dat je het beste/best verkopende album ooit gaat maken en dat dan ook gewoon doen. Wat een plaat.
Oepsie enge pedoman maakt het perfecte popalbum. Thriller is volgepropt met hits, instrumentals viezer dan Michael zelf. Die basloopjes op Billie Jean en Thriller🥺 Persoonlijke fav is Human Nature. Wat. Een. Reffrein.
i live for this shit
9.9/10 Great album. So many classic hits on here! Michael Jackson is such easy listening.
Incredible, arguably the greatest pop album of all time. He’s the king of pop for a reason. Billie Jean, thriller and beat it get all the shine, but songs like PYT, baby be mine and human nature always pull me back in. Masterpiece.
Can't believe I've never listened to this front to back. Maybe one of the best four song stretches ever. Everything felt so tight, crisp, and intentional.
Rhythm and grooves that draw the most stubborn feet to. Move
90% bangers and 2 songs I'm pretending weren't there
classic mj
Already listened, album of the century, mayhaps the millenia, amazing work.
It is impossible to make an album this iconic. So terribly 80's but this is what sets the standard for pop music. You can dance to it, you can relax to it, you can read into it deep, become inspired, it tugs on the strings of every person, music lover or not. I remember when I was a little kid listening to Billie Jean on repeat, not understanding how corny the actual instruments are today, the electric pianos, the drum machine, the programmed bass, but it paints the modern pop record. It is not a bad thing, it is just the way pop music is and was made. All modern pop music has pieces of this record and even most music in general. What a voice as well. It seems like the lyrics are overall very positive and empowering, inspiring. I am also now realizing how much Bruno Mars pulls from Micheal Jackson, Baby Be Mine has definitely been ripped off by Bruno. Again, not a bad thing, just an interesting observation. Muted guitars as well, very corny but I can see it through because it contributes to the Micheal Jackson sound. The "doggone" on The Girl Is Mine is an interesting choice of words, very family friendly Micheal. I had originally thought that The Girl Is Mine was quite boring compared to the rest on the album, particularly of lacking a catchy hook and the slower tempo. This is a slow dance song, not much for me. It is pretty groovy though, just decent nothing that makes it stand out. The next song however has such a different vibe. Still a groovy, funky, artificially made song but the entire vocal melody from the beginning to the end is one of the best of all time. Maybe the best of all time. I am gaining a lot of inspiration from the percussion as well. It sounds like the samples of Blood Orange, where he pulls his samples from for the same type of percussion. I think it adds a very special feeling that people in the 80's were able to harness well. The whole album so far just sounds like an exciting party, non-stop dancing. I have to figure out what that percussion thing is in my right ear, it's so fun. The spoken word adds so much, I normally hate it but this is amazing. The laugh is the cherry on top. Next, Beat It, one of my favorite songs since I was just around 3 years old. This is Micheal Jackson's best written vocal part. Very aggressive delivery for such a heavenly voice, he does it great. Bruno Mars has copied that "Ooh," funny to finally see the inspiration that I hadn't seen before. This song is kind of an anti-violence song. How have I never seen this before? I guess I didn't understand what "Beat It" meant before, and never listened to the lyrics so closely. It all makes sense now. Billie Jean. I don't really have to say much. This video will forever live in my memories. Every aspect of this song is iconic. The drum, the vocal, the synth, the bass line. Perfection. The transitions into the verse, on most of these songs really drives the energy. I haven't heard such things in a long time, and I think that is what modern pop songs are lacking. I enjoy it very much. I really don't understand what this song means though. Now, Human Nature, everyone's favorite song since the Micheal movie had came out. I can admit, this song has a very different, smoother, cleaner, like a cloud feeling to it. Right off of the jump. Sadly, the people on TikTok have made the beautiful chorus sound so corny to me. Now that I am listening to the raw sound without any accompanying visuals I really can appreciate the song for what it is. Slow, beautiful, catchy, and amazing instrumentation. The ease that Micheal Jackson displays when singing the high whys makes it so different than other people attempting to sing it on TikTok as well. I've seen people use all of their air and body and amplitude to try and replicate it but, and this is common knowledge, it is much cooler when it seems like you don't have to try. Now while the others are very emotionally stroking, the most fun song and funky and just my personal favorite is P.Y.T. This song is THE funk dance pop song. Now I don't believe I've listened to this last song. Slow love song, nothing special to me though, not particularly catchy. Very good R&B though. Almost I would say evoking the same emotion that Frank Ocean had done. 30 years ahead of that time. He could do a good cover of this song. Overall I am feeling a 9/10 on this album. 2 songs that don't mean very much to me but I can still appreciate their genius. Some songs also have useless parts that they can do without which holds it back from perfection. Turns out I cant do that so I will round up to 10.
Michael Jackson en general marco harto de mi infancia hay un cariño muy fundamental y aparte me encanta el pop.
Banbrytande på gott o ont, o alla låtar är inte riktigt på samma nivå vilket säger en hel del när jag ändå måste ge maxbetyg. Legend.
The best pop album ever recorded. Every song is a timeless hit. This record holds the very essence of what pop music is and should be.
Banger, banger, banger, banger, banger. No misses. I was boogieing at my standup desk all morning. HEHE
Legendaarista. 5/5
Quincy Jones did a great job bringing new sounds to this album and the vision from cover to cover is focused.
Amazing album. One of the best recordings in music's history.
It's crazy that this is one of the best albums of all time but it's not even Michael Jackson's best album. I still think this should be the album we show the aliens when they get here. Every song is a 10/10. Even with all of the very 80s song elements, this album has aged incredibly well. Yes, I'm biased because this album was the soundtrack of my entire childhood, but I can't imagine there are too many music lovers that would disagree.
Thriller, Beat it, and Billie Jean.... very cool! Also I learned that Bubbles is still alive at an ape sanctuary and seems to be doing well. https://centerforgreatapes.org/chimpanzee/bubbles/
his best. 34x platinum for a fucking reason
As much as many of these songs have been overplayed (for 20 years at this point), this album just has the sauce. It's always been one that I have considered perfect even if it's not my favorite. Just the perfect storm for its time.
Thats why he’s the king of pop
5 - mastapiece
Siempre álbum top
One of the best if not the best pop album of all time. Every song is great.
I'm not necessarily a huge MJ fan but you can't deny that this is an almost perfect album. Every song is a hit and the 42 minutes just flies by. There's a reason this is the best selling album of all time.
Iconic, and with good reason. Really some fantastic production in there.
Oh geez. A classic. To me, this is more of a Quincy Jones joint than a Michael Jackson one.. when there is a genius in the producers seat driving the show, sometimes the headline talent is just in the passenger seat. U2 / Eno is like that for me, and this album is the same. Many bangers on this. Human Nature is my favorite here. The crew they had running through the studio is nuts as well.. Van Halen, Porcaro, Tom Scott.. its like a Steely Dan session, practically. I must give it a 5. Quincy Jones is the GOAT and this is up there with his highest achievements.
This is a terrific collection of pop songs that is deservedly regarded as one of the best pop albums ever made. The album peaks in the middle with 'Thriller', 'Beat It' and 'Billie Jean' but there's not a bad track on the album. I also really like the 80s production style, even if it is very much of its time.
I had no idea just how many incredible songs are on this album. There's a reason it's considered an all time great. Absolute whopper of an album
not a great fan of michael jackson, but the album is definitely super impactful + gives me a glimpse of nostalgia, since my parents used to play it in the car
A classic, come on.
I never noticed his zip up before lol
tal vez el álbum más Cool del mundo? y por qué no sabía que había un feature de Paul McCartney?? 5/5.
Um bom álbum.
There is a very good reason this album sold as well as it did. It just goes from highlight to highlight. Personal favorite: ‘Wanna Be Starting Something’. 5/5
Ok
Finally getting some Michael Jackson on this list. Every track on here is a heater. Favourite Track(s): Baby Be Mine, Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean, Human Nature, P.Y.T. Least Favourite Track(s): The Lady in My Life
probably one of the biggest "howd he do that even" ratios for any album
This could honestly be a greatest hits type of album looking at the track list, easy 5 star album, one of the all time great pop records
5/5
Wow, on a Friday? I literally watched his biopic the day before. Easy day today. People know most if not all the songs here. They're catchy and groovy what else is there to say? (4.5-5)
Yep.
Well, not everything on this album is amazing. The two non-singles are just OK. “PYT” is somewhat better than that. Hit or not, I have always found “The Girl is Mine” to be fairly irritating. The part at the end where McCartney and MJ verbally “joust” over the affections of the lady in question is completely ludicrous. Which leaves us with five pretty much ace/killer tunes. But honestly this is not how we are to judge this album. The influence of this album, both musically and culturally, simply cannot be underestimated. It is highly influential on the following grounds: -he almost single-handedly broke the color barrier on MTV. -the premiere of the video for “Thriller” actually became destination TV, something simply unheard of previously. -his videos for the above song plus “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” raised music videos to an actual art form. I don’t remember too many other videos over the years, but I remember all three of those well. -this was one of the first mega-albums, spawning no less than SEVEN hit singles over two years. -this was the best-selling album over two consecutive years, again unheard of., and has gone on to be one of the few biggest selling albums of all time. Disrespect it at your peril.
09.07.2026 23 Jähriger Michael - krasse Stimme, coole Beats, hört sich nicht veraltet an. Ruhiger Vibe, entspannend. Viel Frauenbezug. Zeitloses Album 5/5 1. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' - 5/5 2. Baby Be Mine - 4/5 3. The Girl Is Mine - 3/5 (morning jam) 4. Thriller - 5/5 5. Beat It - 5/5 6. Billy Jean - 5/5 7. Human Nature - 4/5 8. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 4,5/5 9. The Lady in My Life 3/5
Hit after hit and loved actually listening to them myself rather than out
Forgot how much we used to listen to this album growing up! We used to play the CD all the time during school, listening to this album brought back those memories. Obviously 5/5 ⭐️
A perfect album, no notes. Every song is certified fresh.
I'm torn. Because the main tracks are pure genius but the ballads... Not so much. However, I'm going to be generous and go full marks.
Ow!
INMEJORABLE
The absolute goat (also problematic)
Somehow I actually had never listened to it start to finish. Doing that for the first time, I finally put it into context, that from the public's perspective none of these songs existed before this album dropped and then suddenly there they all were. They listened to them in sequence for the first time, the same way I'm now listening to a new album every day and wondering if I'll ever hit one that becomes an all timer on first listen. It's hard to disentangle the fact that I've been listening to MJ hits since before I could form full sentences but I did try to listen to all these songs with fresh ears including the ones I knew, not letting them just wash over me as feel good background music. They are insanely good pop songs I'm not gonna say a single unique thing about. The only flaw of this record is that its first half is so ridiculously stacked that the rest can't quite live up because what the fuck are you supposed to follow the stretch of thriller/beat it/Billie Jean with. Well I guess dirty Diana/smooth criminal/leave me alone a few short years later Standouts: the obvious ones okay it's Michael Jackson not rocket science his most famous songs are also his best ones. But: confession I had never heard the girl is mine. How had I never heard it. Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson gently teasing each other is a fever dream I never want to wake up from
One of the greatest funk singers of all time, working with one of the greatest producers ever, created the soundtrack of the '80s. Naïve but necessary.
Una obra de arte
Peddo, men grym skiva
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" is golden. One of my favorite albums ever. It has the iconics "Thriller" and "Billie Jean" which completely rewritten Pop music after their release.
It's the best selling album for a reason. MJ at his best. Easy 5.
Wow, yet another of my desert island albums — the fourth in a month! Listening to this album brings up all kinds of great childhood memories.
In my last review for this list I stated that pop music could be so much better. Then I got Thriller and my point was immediately proven correct. This is a masterpiece. Say what you will about Jackson as a person. This album is banger after banger. 5/5
Total 5. It may not have been my favourite album when it came out, but there is no denying its imperial consequences on the music of that era. Really, there's pretty much something for everyone here; personally, I remember hearing Beat It - and not knowing who the artist was but immediately recognizing Eddie Van Halen's solo. I could not understand what I was listening to ... but I liked it. Other tunes have grown on me over the years (Wanna Be, PYT), and others are still completely skippable (Girl is Mine). But, wow, what an LP.
It's MJ, it can't be less than a 5. It's not my ultimate favourite album, but every one of his albums are favourites of mine. So many bangers, not a bad song in sight. Even a bit of EVH on there. Come on... stop hating this guy.
Classic album is classic. This is an absolute masterpiece.
I absolutely love this album, it’s just full of hits. Thriller is the kind of record that works for any occasion and any season. 'Thriller' for Halloween; 'P.Y.T.' and 'Billie Jean' for spring/summer, or as get-up-and-go songs in the morning when my brain is still asleep. I remember 'The Girl Is Mine' from road trips with my parents (it was perfect for napping to). I must have listened to this album dozens of times during my first year of journalism studies because one of my professors was completely obsessed with Michael Jackson. Fun fact: Michael Jackson visited Poland in 1997 (a year after playing a massive concert in Warsaw, which was basically the event of the century) and wanted to buy the huge, historic Cistercian Abbey in Lubiąż to serve as his European headquarters and museum. Unfortunately, the deal fell through, apparently, the renovation costs were just too high... My professor was incredibly disappointed by this (and to be honest, so was I when I found out).
good vibe, for morning dance with a coffee
Obligatory, he’s a really bad person. Unfortunately, he’s also incredibly talented. I’ve heard Thriller about 100 times, and it still gave me a little chill up the spine. I find the idea that MJ and Paul McCartney fighting over the same woman absurd. There are a lot of hits on this one, and it’s considered one of the best pop albums of all time. For good reason. The songs are great, well produced, catchy, with insane staying power. An absolutely top notch album.
One of my all time favorite albums.
1. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (★★★★★) -Fav 2. Baby Be Mine (★★⯨☆☆) 3. The Girl Is Mine (★★★⯨☆) 4. Thriller (★★★★★) -Fav -Posiblemente con el videoclip más influyente de la historia... 5. Beat It (★★★★★) -Fav 6. Billie Jean (★★★★★) -Fav 7. Human Nature (★★★☆☆) 8. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) (★★★⯨☆) 9. The Lady in My Life (★★⯨☆☆) -TOTAL = ★★★⯨☆ (3,89) -Imposible valorarlo con 4 estrellas como me sugiere el promedio. Definitivamente es un álbum para el que pesa la historia y su influencia, por lo que lo convierte en 5 estrellas.
nunca decepciona
Ahh yes, my favorite MJ songs: 1. Ay yo, wanna start some shit?! 2. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE 3. Of course my girlfriend would cheat on me with Paul-fucking-McCartney 4. I’m bouta make you shit your pants 5. The Crips and the Bloods?? I barely know em’ 6. YOU AINT MY BITCH, AND IM NOT PAYING THAT CHILD SUPPORT 7. Night pweeety 8. Damn gurl, you FINE 9. The Lady in my Life
No notes
Wow. This album is so good. I've never heard an album that has so many banger good songs. It's literally one after another. I knew most of the songs but the ones I didn't know I now really like and will be listening to more. Like Baby Be Mine and The Girl is Mine with Paul McCartney. The one song I didn't like is The Lady in My Life. While I like the message, it doesn't have enough groove or energy for me, but it is a nice song.
10/10
ok
Another test of “is this song good or do I just already know it?” And I can confirm that these songs are good. Thriller-Beat It-Billie Jean might be the greatest three song run on any album ever.
Love it or hate it, this is undeniably one of the great pop albums of all time. It’s just hit after hit after hit.
"You're a vegetable" - Michael Jackson
9 1/2 - last song kinda sucks, everything else is an all timer
what a coincidence. i already listen to this
No sabría decidir entre un 9 o un 10 así que diré que es un 5/5. Hit tras hit, es un gran álbum verdaderamente. Es el típico que te pones para cocinar y te cantas todos los temas.
Uno dei migliori dischi di Michael, il disco più venduto di sempre, incredibile
It’s the GOAT- what else is there to say?
This is legitimately an amazing album. Yes, it's a lot of pop music, but it hits STRONG and has some absolute bangers. I'm not gonna say it's my favourite album of all time, but if someone told me it was theirs, I would nod and understand. 5/5
10/10 - Probably the best pop album in history
not a perfect album but damn near it, it’s best tracks might just be the least listened to ones. i’m giving it 5 stars but just know it’s more like a 95/100
the grooves and tracks on this thing are incredible. shame about the artist but what a collection of tunes. easy 5.
An absolute banger factory and certified hood classic. 10/10, 5/5, whatever. Also Paul McCartney continues to show his cheese here. Love it. Somehow I've never heard their “it’s my girl” tug-of-war skit before. Hilarious.
Great. Classic
Truly a stellar album with so many hits it feels like a greatest hits album. There’s no way you’re a human on earth and haven’t heard these bangers. Having DJ’d many weddings, thank you MJ
Given the man was never found guilty of anything I will give this a proper review. I don’t know if I’d actually listened to this front to back for whatever reason, but now that I can say definitively that I have, I’ll keep it simple. This is one of the greatest pop records of all time, packed with hits, and the numbers will tell you that basically every track on the album was considered a hit, a crazy achievement. Rightfully deserves its place in discussions of the greatest albums of all time. 4.5/5
Legendary
갓앨범 짱
Everyone knows and likes Michael Jackson! This album has so many HUGE hits on it. Not necessarily a criticism but listening to it in 2026 I noticed that some of keyboard and synthesizers sounded dated/cheesy and that the production was relatively simple.
Great album. Every song is good, most are huge hits. Classic. Probably a 4.5 upping to 5.
One of the greatest albums of all time, PERIOD. Just a banger from start to finish that should not be missed.
Yeah, this album is perfect in every single way. There is not a single and I mean one flaw. There is not a drawback or any second of this album I did not thoroughly enjoy listening to. Out of this world production paired with MJ’s vocals. I mean, how could it not be perfect. The three song run of thriller, beat it and Billie Jean is the greatest three song run in modern music history, and this album is probably the best album in history.
I choose to separate art from artist. And this album is one of the reasons why. It is pure perfection and goes above and beyond in every possible category you can judge music by. This is certainly a contender for the greatest album of all time. I wish I could give it a 6.
Not my favorite MJ album, but nearly. It's been a few years since I've heard this, today I was listening with a critical ear, and honestly, it's very impressive. It sounds like the 80s without grating excess amounts of cheesy production. Vocal skill is exquisite, general composition is solid. Most albums have a few star tracks and a bunch of listenable filler, while this effort has a couple of "regular" songs and a bunch of eternal classics. What I remembered the least was the tracklist order, and it's been a lot of fun hearing these songs weave through each other. I think it's a little overrated, but it's really hard ignoring the importance this record carries. We've got McCartney on a friendly dispute before MJ bought his catalog behind his back, we've got a song where MJ insists Billy Jean's child wasn't his, we've got Thriller itself which is STILL one of the the most recognizable pieces of choreography ever, Vincent mother fucking Price lends his eerie voice. Let's just top this off with Quincy Jones, Toto and Eddie Evan Halen. Bangers. Everywhere. The only reason this isn't a strong 5 is because I'm not a fan of the intense 80s influence, and because it's been impossible to escape this brand of pop since he perfected it on this record. 4.6/5
I have had a few rough albums lately so it was nice to get back on track with a certified classic.
Almost lost a mark for the hideous spoken interlude in the Girl Is Mine. Let’s not bring back this trend. Still a 5 though, full credit to QJ
Greatest album of all time
Great album💗
Icónico, muito bom.
Wow truly a classic pop album. Here MJ has evolved his earlier disco style to a R&B funky sound. Pretty much no misses, even The Girl Is Mine is kind of endearing to me.
Not a fan, but even I can understand it’s one of the best produced albums ever.
The best album ever containing some of the greatest hits of all time. MJ is such an icon hee-hee. 10/10
Wild that I never listened to this straight through
It's one of, if not the, best selling albums of all time. What can I honestly say that hasn't already been said? Every track is a banger. 10/10 Would I listen again? Absolutely
A masterpiece. Absolute bangers there. I think the biggest flaw is The Lady in my Life (personal opinion).
Perfect album by the King of Pop. Quincy production, feat. Toto and Eddie Van Halen
Awesome songwriting, amazing performances by Michael and his legendary friends. This album couldn’t be any better, and was a big part of is soundtrack of my youth. No one else comes close to being as good at him as a dancer, performer, writer, and singer. He’s the complete package.
Vamos hoy con otro álbum que es un "Ufff". ¿Qué se puede decir de novedoso de éste, uno de los mejores trabajos de Michael Jackson? En lo personal, me conecta con mi infancia. Sus videoclips y su modo de cantar y de estar en escena me volvían loco y lo imitaba frente al espejo. El disco entero, más allá de Thriller, Beat It y Billie Jean me emociona. Se me eriza la piel con los recuerdos y con las ganas de jugar a ser alguien como él. Muchas gracias por el regalo y hasta el viernes.
An all around iconic album. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' is an epic opener, and the Thriller / Beat It / Billie Jean run is maybe the best three song run ever. There are a few slower R&B tracks that I don't like quite as much, but this is an easy 5.
The king keeping his perfect record
The King. Too tier album.
you cant go wrong with michael jackson so i enjoyed every single song!!!
Timeless.
Bon, je partais avec l'idée que c'était peut-être overrated comme album, mais en l'écoutant, je me rends compte que c'est quand même de la bombe. A peu près toutes les tounes sont des gros hits. Shout out à la toune avec McCartney et à Human Nature qui sont mes prefs personnelles. Quincy Jones savait ce qu'il faisait!
sucesión de pepinos
This is one of the best selling albums of all time for a reason. It is hard to overstate how important and ground breaking this was. I sometimes wonder what will survive culturally 500 years from now, like Shakespeare as a touchstone to current culture, that has stood the test of time. I am certain this will be one of those cultural touchstones.
Where do you start with this one... Huge cultural impact, amazingly written, Amazing voice,3 huge tracks. I think there really are like top 100 albums on this list you really need to hear and this one is probably in the top 5. Almost heard all tracks before but the ones I haven't I Would defiantly listen to again.
Great of all time
Obviously
Almost every song is a hit! Very creative and has a unique energy.
Mama-say, mama-sa, the phrase of "mama appelsap" took me a while to realize which song they were talking about. Hee-ha 😃 An album with hits like these can't help but get the absolute highest score.
Thriller! One of my Favorite Albums of All Time? -- Yes! (Third favorite) ~~~ What an album. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' kicks the album off with some of Michael's quirkiest lyrics and avant-garde vocal stylings. The uniqueness of his inflections and the technical vocal skill he delivers always pull me deeply into the album. You know that you're not getting a run-of-the-mill pop album here; there's already artistic risk and a polished sound to back up the project's reputation. I particularly like the cheeky Billie Jean mentioned in one of the later verses and the mamma-se chorus at the end of the track. Moments like these spark and craft the glittery, high-powered, and distinctive world of Thriller, paving the way for the rest of Jackson's pop masterpiece. Baby Be Mine, one of the two Thriller tracks not to be released as singles, stands out as one of the record's more underrated moments. The song features a jazzier, R&B-centric style that differs from much of the record, neatly tying back to Michael's earlier work on Off The Wall. At the track's end, Baby Be Mine's backing vocals swell, moving up in pitch and bringing back some of the energy lost in the song's initial melodic pace. Had this song been released as a single, I think it would have seen greater mainstream success. It's like a shiny green emerald surrounded by pure diamonds; impressively gorgeous, but overlooked due to its positioning. The Girl Is Mine (with Paul McCartney) is a gem. Glittery and smooth, the track features a melodic battle over a dreamgirl fought by Paul and Michael. (um, who would pick Paul???) Michael's vocals glide across the verses and contrast well with Paul's, who offers a softer, less glitzy sound. I go back and forth on considering this a novelty song, especially considering the faux-argument at the song's tail end, but even if it is a bit kitsch, The Girl is Mine is beautifully catchy and provides the perfect contrast for the following track. ...Thriller! Thril-ler night! I remember watching this music video in my seventh-grade Computer class and acting like I was "too cool" to be scared by MJ's transformation into a yellow-eyed werewolf. I thought about it all October. Disregarding the iconic music video, the track is great! While I don't think the song would have the cultural reach it does if not for its synonymousness with Halloween, Thriller itself is catchy. Apparently, when Michael and his producer, Quincy Jones, were developing the song, they often quibbled over the length of the spooky, minute-long intro, with Quincy wanting to scrap it, and MJ wanting to keep it. Personally, I think Quincy might have had the better take here. The intro is a bit difficult to get through when streaming the song independently of the album (although I would argue that the intro nicely breaks up the airy The Girl is Mine and the darker Thriller.) Other than that, I love the sound effects, the layered vocals on the "Thriller Rrr!" chorus. I also just like the word "thriller," I think. It's such a fitting name for the glitzy, polished, culturally dominant, and intensely interesting best-selling album of all time. (The initial demo of this song was called "Starlight," with the chorus being "Starlight sun" instead of "Thriller night." I think Michael would have lived two very different lives had he kept the initial title!) It is the perfect song to follow up Thriller. The tough-guy vibes bleed through the two songs perfectly and nicely pave the way for the passive-aggressive Billie Jean. I love the catchy baseline and the infamous guitar solo(played by an uncredited Van Halen!) on this song. Listening to the rock sound indicated by the guitar shows an evolution of Jackson's sound, as he shrugs off R&B and shows a willingness to keep up with the emerging glam-rock craze of the eighties. ...Is this a good time to mention that Beat It is my least favorite song on Thriller? Rarely do I consider a Michael Jackson song to sound dated. Of its time? Yes. But not dated. I really can't say the same for Beat It. Something about the Rock influence on the song just seems to cement the song so deeply in the 80s. It sounds like a good Bon Jovi Song, and Bon Jovi sounds like hairspray, perms, neon, and days gone by. I don't think Beat It is a bad song by any measure, but it certainly isn't one of my favorites. Billie Jean. What can I say about Billie Jean that hasn't already been said about Billie Jean? Containing, arguably, the most famous baseline ever conceived and the most intriguing plot of any major pop song, Billie Jean is burned into our collective consciousness. I think you could sing Billie Jean to anyone on the planet, and odds are they could finish the melody. Technically, I love the way the elements of the song gradually appear throughout the song's intro. I love the way Michael enunciated on the song, making his voice almost sound like an additional string on the track. So many different elements of this song combine to create a pop masterpiece. And as a bonus, you can Moonwalk to it! Or watch other people badly Moonwalk to it, which is twice as fun! scoot scoot Human Nature is my favorite song off Thriller. As a New Yorker, I know I'm biased, since this city IS, in fact, an apple, and I DO want to take a bite! Again, MJ crafts a glitzy and smooth melody that pairs perfectly with the visual of fraught love in 80's New York. Human Nature is a fan favorite for a reason, and I wish I heard it in public more often. If you get the chance, walk around Manhattan at night with the song in your ears, and pay attention to the world around you. It's a gorgeous experience. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) repeat after me! God, do I love this song. P.Y.T. is my second favorite off Thriller, largely due to how infectiously catchy the chorus is, and the Na-Na--na-na chant at the song's end. Such a smart callback to the mama-se chant at the end of Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'! This song gets stuck in my head constantly. I really can't understate how genius the layered, chanted "PYT" backing vocals are on this song. I also love its proximity to Human Nature, since he talks a bit about "city light" here. You could really see the two tracks as halves of the same story. The Lady in My Life closes Thriller softly, bringing down the glittery energy of PYT to the smoother, calmer melody of a more R&B-style song. Like Baby Be Mine, Lady in My Life was not a single, and remains the least-streamed Thriller song on Spotify (with only a meager one hundred million listens. ha!) The song sounds like something that Michael would put out on Dangerous or Invincible, when he leaned further into the polished '90s-esque R&B sound of the later third of his career. It's a solid track, but I understand why it wasn't pushed as a single, as it is fairly slow and mellow. Nonetheless, I think it's a great track of his and often come back to it One of Thriller's strong suits is a perfectly balanced tracklist which blends slower tunes into more upbeat, danceable tracks, often grouping similar songs together. You can listen to the album absentmindedly and never find yourself caught off guard by a sudden shift in vibe or subject matter. I've used the words throughout my review, but "glittery" and "smooth" seem to be the defining adjectives of the album, and MJ combines them masterfully. Final Song Rankings: 1. Human Nature 2. PYT (Pretty Young Thing) 3. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin 4. Billie Jean 5. The Girl is Mine 6. Thriller 7. Baby Be Mine 8. Lady in My Life 9. Beat It Album Score: 10/10
this is banger after banger. these lyrics are indelibly marked on my brain. i love michael jackson and im not afraid to say it. who made catchier music than him?? i love being able to shout yeah yeah and heehee and ooUUH! king of pop for a reason and i won’t be taking any criticisms.
Forgot so many good songs, thx!
It's undoubtedly one of the best albums ever made. It features three of his biggest hits in the middle of the album: "Thriller," "Beat It," and "Billie Jean." But beyond that, the first two tracks are flawless, and the penultimate one is too. These songs are often overlooked but incredibly high quality. I highly recommend it to everyone; it's a masterpiece.
Bigger hits than off the wall but not quite as good overall imo. Still one of the greats.
Music is good, better than a vast majority of albums on this list. As others have mentioned, not the best human. 5/5
This is a top, top album!
The middle part of this albums amazing. The start and end are slightly weaker but it’s still an incredible album
Michael Jackson really set the bar for how to make a good pop song. The middle section of this tracklist is just hit after hit. Classic album 9/10
Pop hits from beginning to end. With only 9 tracks this record never gets stale. Jackson’s vocals are sharp and show emotion throughout.
Solo puedo decir mejor album de la historia!
Iconic. Dominated pop and culture for a long long time.
My sister had his album on vinyl and cassette growing up, and the early 1980s we listened to this album nonstop. Well,… Not the entire album. Thriller was by far the number one song that got worn out on the vinyl copy. We used to see if we can replicate the dance in the video which I vividly remember watching the live broadcast on television when I was seven. Despite Michael Jackson’s later days and legal troubles, especially with suspected pedophilia, he was an absolutely amazing entertainer. Nowadays, that would make him a president. But there are so many other songs on here as well: Wanna Be Startin’ Something; Beat It; Billie Jean (which has a Louis Johnson bass part that still fills player blogs); PYT. There are other songs on here too, but even now I don’t remember listening to those. So many of these songs defined my elementary school years. Amazingly enough, one of the weakest songs is the girl is mine with Paul McCartney. This album is truly a classic.
Random thoughts: * This is peak Michael Jackson. I think this might have been the closest I experienced what it was like living during the Beatles peak. * This was THE SHIT in 1983. Even a 6 year old me knew this was awesome. I remember when he came on tour it was insane that they sold out Mile High Stadium. and Remember being so jealous of the kids that got to go to the concert. * It is also so strange to see my kids fall in love with MJ from the biopic that was just released. They like this album and why not, it's a classic! * I'm kind of surprised how well this album holds up. It is a testament to not only MJ but also Quincy Jones too. * Sir Paul is on here! Thriller with Vincent Price! Eddie Van Halen guitar solo on Beat It! * I also remember being terrified the first time I heard Thriller on the radio. * "The Lady in My Life" is the only subpar song on here. * I always like the second tier songs on this album: "Wanna Be Starting Something", "Human Nature", and "PYT" (I always thought the high pitched voice on PYT sounded like Alvin from Alvin and the Chipmunks.) * Billie Jean is probably MJ's best song too. And maybe the best song of the 80s * And Thriller is still the best music video of all time. * Peak pop music at its best!
As a boy who grew up enjoying pop music in the early 70’s, the Jackson 5 played no small role in my development. Loved the group as a silly prepubescent. As a late teen and into my 20’s, my musical tastes had shifted dramatically, and MJ was not on my stereo. I was too cool for that poppy shit! That’s not to say I didn’t hear this album…. a lot! How could I not? It was everywhere! On the radio, in the clubs, on the tube. Shit, it was even on billboards. And the girlfriend was a big fan. Couldn’t escape it. So I listened. I coped. Fast forward to now, and there can be no denial that this album is a beast! Number 1 Pop album of all time, hands down! Prove me wrong! 3 consecutive tracks of pop giants, Thriller, Beat It, and Billie Jean, are typically saved for best-of albums, not first issues. Launched young MJ into super stardom, a space he clearly wasn’t prepared for. For a while, it was good. Then it wasn’t. Heavy is the crown. And the vultures and jackals slowly began to circle, biting of pieces of his soul, tearing his fantasy world to shreds. A sad and ugly end to a legend. I’m glad this album is here. Much deserved. And it got the wife swinging. I might get lucky tonight! God Bless Michael Jackson, the undisputed King of Pop!
Que dire... Un CLASSIQUE proposé par le roi de la POP !
Great variety of songs.
I mean c'mon.
So many great bass jams.
great album, although it closes on its lowest note. i will say it is hard to listen to mj sing about a "pyt" these days.
it was a bop
banger after banger.
I bought this when it came out. That patch in the middle of the album was incredible. Not going to listen to it given what we know about him now.
Thriller, billy Jean....just great hits
36/1089 Thriller by Michael Jackson I was 4 years old when my big brother brought home a Michael Jackson VHS tape with all the music videos on it. I was completely floored. I had never fallen in love with art like that before. The videos, the music, the singing, the dancing… every single thing about it felt magical. Every song I had to learn. Every dance move. My poor parents had to listen to Michael Jackson daily for years. I had the posters, the albums, everything. He was my first real idol. Now 27 years later, I’m still a huge MJ fan. Of course there have been complicated times as a fan over the years, but the music itself still hits unbelievably hard. And honestly, what can you even say about Thriller at this point? It’s basically a no-skip album. Every song is a banger, and the best songs are straight-up masterpieces. I’d honestly say there are at least five genuine masterpieces here, and the “weaker” songs are still like 8 or 9 out of 10. The album flows so well too. It’s pop, funk, rock, R&B, disco… and I always forget just how funky it actually is. How does one album contain “Thriller”, “Beat It”, “Billie Jean”, and “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”? It’s ridiculous. Usually albums this stacked can feel exhausting or lacking breathing room, but somehow this one never does. Easy fucking 5. Wine pairing? Pepin orange wine. Funky, energetic, impossible to ignore. Food pairing? Late-night Korean fried chicken with spicy sauce. This album needs something loud, greasy, and joyful. Favourite song? Honestly impossible. “Beat It” has always been up there, but it changes constantly. Vinyl? Already own it. First album in this challenge where I played the vinyl instead of streaming it. First listen? Definitely not Overall 5 out of 5.
so good
5/5. Such a good album, Michael is such a good singer and pretty much every single one of these songs is iconic in some way.
Aguante michaeeeel
Hee-hee
It's Thriller. Arguably the single greatest pop album of all time on every conceivable level. Scope, concept, production, and execution. The fact that it's also the highest selling album in history simply cements that fact. Michael Jackson's story from my lens is different from a lot of people. Growing up, I only knew him as a laughingstock who made music and weird adlibs within it. There was a time in my life where I didn't understand the Michael Jackson hype and to be frank, a very very teeny part of that still exists in regards to the god status he's worshipped as. So many highlights on the record including Billie Jean and Beat It. The fact that Billie Jean was a last minute addition to the record is just the cherry on top. Quincy Jones' production was game changing at the time. My personal favorite song on the entire record is Baby Be Mine. To me, that song perfectly encapsulates the perfection of the album.
Flawless.
A solid album throughout. 3 massive hits, 3 secondary hits and the other 3 songs ok I would say. Still a 5.
Well, yeah. Obvs
The Good: Fucking Moonwalk! The Bad: Billie Jean being a lying ho… The Ugly: I refuse to mention the little boys… What a fucking album. Had to go into Wiki to make sure that I wasn’t totally losing my mind. For me, this album has always been more of a 1984 kind of thing… probably because, like many of my friends, it was late 1983 when we started paying attention to that zombie freak wearing a red leather jacket. 9 singles. Most reaching the Top-10. Most of them really great. Beat It, Billie Jean, Thriller, they are more than classics, however, the rest; Human Nature, Wanna Be Starting Something, PYT (nah-na-nana)… I would argue that the Paul McCartney due is the worst of the bunch—unlike the Say Say Say duo they did for Sir Paul’s album, which was awesome, and also had a great video! Anyway, I had this on vinyl. I played it raw. Loved it… until Prince knocked him off his throne… In my world that is. My only gripe with this album is that it shouldn’t be on a list of 1001 albums one should hear, because you can not hide from this album. Period… so we have all heard it. 5*
One of the best albums ever. MJ is a pedophile though.
It’s thriller!
lveoma dobar najvise mi svidela kako je kompozicija celog alb
OHHHH YEAHHHHH
Absolute brilliance. Of course, I'm probably completely biased because this is the first album I remember listening to as a kid.
anyone who says they don't like Thriller is lying, either to you or to themselves. I usually don't like to speak in such resolutely objective terms, given the impossibility of quantifying music in such a way. not to mention, I'm definitely being hypocritical, given how often I've come out of these 1001 Albums... reviews with a negative opinion that cuts against the grain. but I mean, come on. Michael Jackson, producer Quincy Jones and the dozens of musicians, engineers and arrangers who crafted these songs deserve our eternal gratitude as listeners for allowing us to witness pop perfection, whether it be on the opening dance party of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", the disco-tinged tribute to horror cinema on the title track, some of the greatest uses of electric guitars (from soloist Eddie Van Halen and lead player Steve Lukather) in pop music history on "Beat It", or the... well, everything of "Billie Jean". I don't really have to do much explaining, because you definitely know these songs, and you like them, dammit! (let me stress that you don't have to hand it to Michael Jackson for literally anything other than his skills as a musician. yeesh.) that's not to say Thriller is an album without its blemishes; "The Girl Is Mine" is a stupid song and no argument in its favor has managed to convince me. Jackson's famous aversion to profanity really hurts the chorus, which should clearly go "goddamn" instead of the incredibly silly replacement "doggone". the album also ends with "The Lady in My Life", a ballad which is pretty great, but compared to the powerhouse B-side run that comes beforehand, it feels a bit misplaced as a final statement. still, though, the highs are insanely high, probably the peak of Jackson's entire output as a recording artist. light 9/10.
This Michael Jackson album is a true masterpiece, sensational production and singing, also the best, most expensive and the best-selling in history.
As the years pass my opinion of Jackson has only waned and degraded into being rather glad he’s cold in the ground but in the end? Thriller is still Thriller. 7 out of nine tracks were hit singles for gods sake. My mother loved this album, and I can’t say she was wrong for that. What am I going do, say it doesn’t completely rip front to back simply because he was a terrible person? I’m not that delusional and this isn’t an instrument in a morality play. It’s good stuff, despite the everything of the person that made it.
Well obviously this is a 10/10 No explanation needed point blank
Allemaal bangers, maar de meeste liedjes kende ik ook al dus een beetje bevooroordeeld! 9/10
The singles from this record were fairly inescapable when I was growing up, but I realized that I really have never sat down and listened to Thriller as an album. I often think about this record as being distinctly different than Off The Wall, but the sound of the first half of the record has more continuity with that sound than I remembered. There is the inclusion of a much more mechanical drum and percussion sound that indicates the shift in time, but the material is still working in some of the same post-disco soundscape seen on Off The Wall. It's really, really good. The weakest track is the collaboration with McCartney, but that still is a pretty good song. The next half of the record takes a dramatic shift in sound. This feels like the dramatic shift in sound that I was expecting. It's more stripped down than the first side. Beat It apparently was supposed to be the rock song, influenced by The Knack. It's fine. Never been a favorite. It's then followed by Billy Jean, which returns to the disco influences, albeit in a far more stripped down fashion. I've always loved this song. Human Nature is the kind of ballad that I typically really don't like from this era, but it's making the most of the approach. PYT is another upbeat track in this more 80's sound. You could probably toss into a new wave/new romantic mix without jarring the listener much. It's good. Finally, the album ends on a ballad that again isn't my favorite approach, but its good for what its doing. I always thought of this record as being somewhat inconsistent but good. That is not true. There's nothing bad on this album. It's great. It deserves the praise it gets. Definitely a five star album.
6 de 9 canciones son hitazos que viven en el inconsciente colectivo de la humanidad? That's a genius in my books
One of the best albums ever. Pretty easily.
Me encanta. Trae toda la onda y la voz de MJ está cabrona.