Bad

Not much one needs to say about this album. Absolutely brilliant. Wish he wasn’t a child diddler though.

Overall I liked it quite a bit. It's cool hearing what inspired pretty much every Sega Genesis soundtrack all in one album. A lot of bangers on this one, but every once in a while you get something like Liberian Girl and it sours it just a little. Well, that and the whole nonce thing.

this album contains my two favorite MJ songs (the way you make me feel, smooth criminal). hadn't listened to the rest in full but nearly every track is great. nearly danced through my office lobby on my way to work. I guess this rating separates art from artist?

Unmatched 80s

It’s Michael man. Forget the controversy of the person behind the music, he was king of pop for a reason.

Would not buy

A family favourite. Incredibly talented. A wonderful apprentice to Quincy Jones. A survivor of Pater Familias Greed. A perpetrator? It needs to noted. I can still love this music though.

Obviously plenty of bangers but I find some of Jackos non album tracks quite dreary

Listening session: september 27th, while cleaning the house Listened to before: yes, listened to all songs before Thoughts: I will always be a Thriller & Off the Wall girl but still this album has so many bangers. There’s no greater combo than Quincy Jones & Michael Jackson Favourite tracks: Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal & Leave Me Alone

How do you even follow up Thriller? This is a good effort, with some truly brilliant tracks, but a few that fall short as well. Jackson is clearly angrier this go-around, no doubt due to the probing and fame that comes with being the biggest pop star on the planet. This comes through in the music in interesting ways, as he moves away from the smooth grooves and warmth that make Thriller and creates music that is harsher, colder, and more synth-based than before. At times, this works as a plus - outside of the singles, "Another Part Of Me" really find a solid rhythm and humanity that coexists well with the new direction. It doesn't always produce success, though - "Speed Demon" has too many sounds and compositional sections that fail to connect with each other, and "Just Good Friends" becomes so lifeless that it feels like it could have been released by any other pop artist on the radio, a level that Michael should have been trying to surpass at the time. This is a fine album, but you kind of want an MJ album to be better than fine. Also... what is Liberian at all about "Liberian Girl"?? I can see that the foreign language spoken part is in Swahili, but then it turns out that the primary language in Liberia is ENGLISH?? Has every Michael Jackson song been a Liberian tune???????

2 MJ albums in 2 weeks - I dont know if it is fatigue, but this doesn't work as good.

classic

If you look past all of the controversy, which in MJs case is quite a big ask, this album slaps. Following bonafide 5* album Thriller was never going to be easy, but this fella was so naturally gifted when it comes to music - every song on this album is good. Most of them are bangers, but it's not quite a full 5* album if you ask me. He probably also nonced some kids. MJ will forever be an enigma, whatever the truth actually is is so nuanced and difficult to unpick, I doubt we'll ever actually know the full truth.

Listens: 2.5 Standout Tracks: Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Smooth Criminal I'm surprised it took over 500 albums for me to have a Michael Jackson record on the List. I can only assume Thriller is also present, but I haven't come across it yet. As far as world-wide stardom and popularity is concerned, Michael Jackson might be the top, possibly only dethroned (now) by Taylor Swift. He's got the brand awareness equivalent to that of Coca-Cola. And yet... this album is dated, not to mention humorously ripped on by Weird Al. It's a peak 80s album, which I increasingly dislike as I progress through the List, and aside from a few tracks, I am not really on board with this kind of music. But that's okay. not all music needs to be liked by all people. I recognize the importance of the album despite not really enjoying it. I also always get a kick out of hearing Smooth Criminal, and reminiscing (and subsequently face-palming) about the fact that my first exposure to the song wasn't through Michael Jackson, but rather Alien Ant Farm. And, being just a tiny bit too young to really comprehend the concept of a "cover" song, when I learned that AAF didn't in fact come up with Smooth Criminal on their own. So, despite this being pretty cheese, Michael Jackson is still a legend, albeit a kind of creepy one.

Awful, dated production. Compare to Off The Wall or Thriller for timeless arrangements and recording. Bright spot: Man in the Mirror by Glen Ballard (he of later work with Alanis)

Albumi, jolla Jackson ääntelee tavaramekkimäisesti enemmän kuin laulaa. En voi mitään ajatukselle, että tällä albumilla se on itsetarkoituksellista mutta samalla se alkaa ekan biisin tuntua päälle liimatulta, koska ääntely vain jatkuu… Hittibiisit itsenäisinä biiseinä ovat toki vallan hyviä. Ja onhan tämä hyvä albumi, joskaan ei missään nimessä erinomainen tai Jacksonin parhaimmistoa. Ei itselleni oikein nostalgia-arvoakaan joten tuskinpa tulen tähän albumiin palaamaan. 3/5

(I am mortified to report I did not listen today because I have been in a Kurt Cobain/Nirvana induced psychosis for 48 hours) // Update: 72 hours But I did squeeze this album in and WOWOWOW. I’ve somehow never listened to a Michael album in full so I didn’t realize literally every song I love are apparently from the same album? What? Random MJ related nostalgia (setting aside for a moment the fucking travesty of his legacy and the ways his victims were failed): - “dirty Deanna” sung to my childhood best friend, Deanna - we all learned he died tailgating for a Fun. concert at Jones Beach, so everyone started playing MJ and dancing around in the parking lot - Center mfin Stage - (unrelated to this album, 13 going on 30)

The first half and back half of this album are all hits. The middle sags a little. This album had me dancing in my chair at my desk in the office. It's just infectious pop music. The drum tone really dates it, but in the best way.

Dance-pop, R&B.

Hard to judge Michael anymore as he has lost his luster. Even ignoring the sordid tales, though, this album feels trapped in the 80s with lots of synthesized sounds. It doesn't hold up like Thriller or The Wall.

4/5

Not nearly as good as Thriller. Man in the Mirror is good, but I think that you can tell the end of the Quincy Jones era was coming

Agree with the critique that this has its moments, but certainly lacks some of the magic of Thriller. I've never really cared for the title track or The Way You Make Me Feel for some reason, even though they were/are massive songs. Man in the Mirror and Smooth Criminal are classics to be sure, Dirty Diana is another one I like, but I wouldn't call this album overall a masterpiece by any stretch. Still quite good, just not great for me.

It's funny what this site's algorithm will do from time to time. Yesterday, I had a very highly produced synthy 80s pop album, and it was damn awful. The algorithm decided to try again with another very highly produced synthy 80s pop album. Of course, this time it was from the King of Pop himself. Yeah, this album is far better than yesterday's. I've never actually listened to this album front to back, though there's plenty of familiar songs here. And even the deeper cuts (are there deep cuts on an album with 9 singles?) are pretty fantastic, too. There's a few just okay songs...the title track is cheesier than I remember, and "Liberian Girl" is kinda meh, for two...but there are no bad songs on this album. "Man In The Mirror"? "Dirty Diana"? Hell yes. Didn't think I'd be experiencing ratings whiplash on 80s pop so soon. 4.5 out of 5.

A classic Rating: 5/5 GEMV (18.09.2026)

Yesterday I had Massive Attack's 1991 album Blue Lines and today MJ's 1987 album Bad. To be honest, it's not helping Bad in any way. Just four years apart, Bad sounds incredibly dated production-wise. Turns out throwing money at expensive state-of-the-art equipment does not make up for a lack of vision. Tinny and empty. And this album is MJ at his paranoid worst, anyway. Sha-mon. Despite the big songs, I feel this album sinks like a leaden balloon. The worst of 1980s excess and marketing. Also, there is no separating the art from the artist.

Nice fredagsvibe!

Love him or hate him, he definitely made good music. This album is way more synthetic than Triller or Off the Wall and I miss a bit of that disco feel. My spin class uses The Way You Make Me Feel like every week, and I really enjoy that song. It's probably the best here. Speed Demon is pretty cool, even if a bit unhinged. I also liked Just Good Friends, which was my favorite new song. Speaking of familiar songs, however, Bad, Man in the Mirror, and Smooth Criminal are classics for a reason, and this album sprinkles them in over the full album length. Great album overall.

One of the first albums I bought and still love it

Favorite track(s): Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Liberian Girl, Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal

goated album no notes

This has been a long time family favorite

kein kommentar

TEMONES qué decir.

Goes toe to toe with Thriller and that's saying something. Infact, Bad could be slightly better because Thriller has a few big skipabble ones. Just Good Friends is the only track in this one that I don't find to be on the same level as others.

buen disco, no mi preferido. tiene un par de temas medio de cornudo que no me gustan

His best album

Following Thriller was an impossible job and this doesn't quite manage it. But it doesn't embarrass itself either, and a few tracks stand with anything he ever did. The sound is tougher: less warmth, more machine, everything sharp-edged and 1987. What carries it is him. The phrasing, the timing, the way he attacks a line — nobody else does that. "Bad" itself is a punch in the face, and "Smooth Criminal" and "Man in the Mirror" prove the range is still there. Not his best. Still brilliant.

Me gusta más como termina que como empieza creo que principalmente porque el acercamiento a bad es por la cultura pop mas que por la canción en si no me encanta esta versión más pop de Michael

Ah man. I can't put my finger on why I don't like Michael Jackson. He insists upon himself, I guess. Hard to argue with how good this album is though. Quincy Jones producing, so its slaps AND bangs. Its a 3 for me though

Pop magic

Hits in the truest pop form. Not challenging or offensive, this is a mindless enjoyable experience

.

It’s fine. Feels more like a collection of hits than a cohesive album. That’s more on me because I grew up listening to the “greatest hits.” Feels weird to support MJ because of all the weirdness. Uncomfortable legacy, but the music is still good.

Even tho Michael Jackson is a diddler

thankful for this album as it did bring about the best glee cover of all time

An album that lives up to it's name. I gave Thriller five stars mostly on the strength of well-written and arranged songs married to amazing production, but I think MJ and Quincy Jones (who also co-produced Thriller) drop the ball here. They go more synth-reliant sound, to the point where there's only one track with a credited bass guitar and all the drums are fed through a sound board. The whole thing sounds choppy and mechanical. On top of that, I think aside from "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Dirty Diana" and "Smooth Criminal" the songs are just not that great this time around, and lacking in better production to hide the flaws. It also feels like we got more yelping, screechy MJ throughout, in accordance with his purposefully edgier sound. It's bad. It's bad. Really, really bad. Or at least, it's not good.

Quit playing with me!!!! I screamed when this album popped up it was a happy Monday baby yes!!! Where do I start. The fact that Mike layered his own background vocals! A true artist. I remember my parents having this album on vinyl. This is a true classic. He can't matched. The love that I have for him and his music has me in a chokehold. Love me some Mike No skips on the BAD Album.

Mye her som ikke tåler tidens tann, både musikalsk og etisk. Men Man in the mirror er faktisk en god sang, bare synd MJ selv aldri hørte på denne....

Il primo che ho ottenuto con Teddy

não tem tanto o que falar, é bad do michael jackson, enfim. o problema de ser um cantor pop é que o público escuta mais os hits do que os álbuns, e isso se justifica pelo fato de que os hits são bons e os álbuns não. as músicas são repetitivas e bem parecidas entre si, não gosto tanto do synth pop desse álbum porque é difícil de ignorar o quanto o som é genuinamente datado, mas consigo abstrair isso em algumas faixas que me prendem mais. top tracks: another part of me man in the mirror ⭐️ pq se afastou muito da proposta pop descartável do restante do álbum e trouxe uma letra muito sensível ainda mantendo o catchiness que eu acho que faltou no restante do álbum pra mim, mesmo sendo a faixa mais voltada pro r&b e soul ate agora i just cant stop loving you (lovesong maneirinha e mesma coisa da anterior) smooth criminal, 🤷🏼‍♀️ leave me alone

*91 Jeg er lagt ned med dansefeber

Virkelig nogle bangers på det her album. Det er ikke en 5'er for mig, men vi er godt nok tæt på!

Svært at sige noget om det her, som ikke allerede er blevet sagt. Både om albummet og kunstneren Jeg kan rigtig godt lide det, men jeg kan sagtens respektere, hvis man ikke kan. Igen, både ift. albummet og kunstneren 4.5

Havde nået at tænke, at det var en automatisk femmer, da jeg så albummet, for der er et par numre på, som nærmest alene ville udløse topkarakter, men jeg havde helt glemt, at der omvendt er ret mange af de andre nummer, der til gengæld bare er fyld og nogen der er decideret dårlige (I'm looking at you 'Speed Demon'). Jeg kan dog ikke helt slippe fri af nostalgiens klør, og de store hits der trods alt trækker meget op

I was expecting more from one of the biggest selling albums of all time. There are some classic songs on here but it felt over produced and sagged in the middle.

I'd give it a 6/10 it has a lot of good songs but some of the songs weren't all that great and were kinda corny

This Pop album feels like walking into a huge stage show where I already know the choreography, the lights and half the songs, yet somehow the curtain rises and I am excited all over again. The sharp drum machines, synths, bass, funk grooves and sudden guitar attacks create an almost perfectly controlled pop spectacle, while Michael Jackson's voice constantly jumps between smooth singing, breathy phrases, cries and his unmistakable vocal exclamations. The most famous songs are so deeply embedded in my memory that they should feel completely worn out, but instead tracks like “Smooth Criminal” can still hit me with the excitement of hearing them for the first time. The familiarity itself becomes part of the experience: I know what is coming, but I still want the lights to go down again. The other songs are just there so I wouldn't want to relisten the whole album.

In 1987 when I was a too cool, I didn’t like Michael Jackson. I’m glad older me can appreciate him for being a hell of an artist now.

Classic, awesome!

Хотя я не считаю себя фанатом Джексона и довольно редко слушаю его музыку, все же не могу поставить этому альбому ничего, кроме пяти звезд. Он очень хорош на всем его протяжении

Hee hee

Oui, si on oublie son penchant pour les enfants Man in the mirror est top

Hee hee (Cro bien)

Одна из самых сложных задач в музыке, которую только можно представить - сделать достойное продолжение самого продаваемого альбома в истории. Трудно представить себе более ожидаемую пластинку на тот момент - и как тогда оправдать настолько высокие ожидания? Получилось не так плохо, как можно подумать из названия альбома. Результат - 11 песен, из которых 9 (на мой взгляд) шедевры на все времена. Какие-то из них до сих пор у всех на слуху, какие-то менее известные, но оттого не менее выдающиеся. Даже 2 трека, которые на мой взгляд чутка не дотягивают - Speed Demon и Leave Me Alone - теряются только на фоне таких мощных соседних треков. Хотя, опять же, этот сырой бас из Speed Demon, который забавно разгоняется в припеве, это что-то примечательное, то есть по крайней мере они не скучные. Ну а остальные треки я даже не вижу смысла отдельно разбирать, все их и так прекрасно знают, равно как и истории, связанные с ними, типа принцессы Дианы и трека Dirty Diana, или пародий типа Fat от Странного Эла или великой классики "Саня, ты в порядке?". Все это важная часть нашего культурного наследия, ну или если менее пафосно - лора. Отмечу только свои самые-самые любимые здесь треки - The Way You Make Me Feel, Man in the Mirror и Dirty Diana. Услышав этот альбом еще совсем в детстве, я был поражен его мелодичностью, цепляемостью, атмосферой, аранжировками (хотя я наверно и слов таких не знал), ну и конечно его фирменными hee-hee и чам он. Добавляла любви к этим трекам игра Moonwalker на сеге, которую я проходил десятки раз, где на фоне играли 16-битные версии его песен. И что самое главное, эта любовь не иссякла спустя десятки лет. He made that change.

Сорри, но нет. Отдельные песни мне нравятся, но весь альбом криков, охов и вздохов мне тяжело слушать. Разогнал мою тревожность резкими звуками где попало. А так, конечно, молодец. Просто не мое.

Нот бэд

ожидаемо неплохо, но все же не 5, а - 4

Legend. “Leave Me Alone” is the hidden gem on this one.

non-skip

Ok, spicy hot take time (or, at least, spicy hot question) is Michael Jackson really known for his albums? He's one of the most famous musicians of all time (if not THE most famous) but I never hear anyone talking about "Bad" (unless referring to the song) or "Thriller" (again, unless it's the song). One frustrating/comforting thing about this project is that people can't reply and tell me that I'm an idiot. I think my self-esteem has benefitted greatly from this. Don't get me wrong. PLEASE for the love of god don't get me wrong. MJ has some killer singles. This is known. But the other songs on this? They're alright? That said, there's this thing where it's easy to forget that the singles are also part of the album. Like, I've heard these songs so much they seem like separate things. But I'm never going to listen to this for the singles, because I can just hear the singles when I turn on the radio at any given moment. So am I imagining that this is the only route I can hear these songs, by taking my medicine with the good stuff? In that case it's a four. But that's not the case. We live in reality. And in reality I don't want to hear this ALBUM that much. Maybe on occasion but probably not. So it's a three.

Great pop songs, although the production can sound extremely artificial in certain tracks (especially the first two tracks).

This album is a blast, althought I'd definitely say the singles do the heavy lifting, the non-hits are kind of puzzling and seem almost like a parody of people writing Michael Jackson songs as a joke. Like Another Part of Me (specifically when he says "part of me" in a weird New Yorker accent) he tosses on a hee-hee to the point it made me laugh. Anyway, its got Dirty Diana so I'm all in baby, its close to being a 5 for me but just doesnt reach that height. Great production, killer songs, and he had even more on the way.

There’s a 5 star album in here but there’s some real stinkers in the first half that bring it down (looking at you Speed Demon). On the other hand you’ve got some of MJs best songs. “The Way You Make Me Feel” and “Man in the Mirror” are worth the price of admission alone. However, it sounds very dated musically and the hee hees/shamons/AOWS are borderline egregious which also hold it back. Overall though it’s a fun time despite being made by a pedophile

This hurts because I have no love for Michael Jackson the man, but his partnership with Quincy Jones was magical. Even the songs I'd never heard before could have been hits.

People are understandably suspicious when I tell them about my encounter with Neil Gaiman. Not that there is much to it. He came into the radio station I worked for. I escorted him to the studio, we chatted a little, and later I found that he'd sent a few books of his to my desk. I guess it was a nice thing to do, but, when combined with his strangely empty stare and sleeked charm, it felt a bit off. It was too much. Too nice. Unnecessarily so. When it came out that he was a sadistic sex predator, it didn't seem at odds with the figure I met. It made sense of an unctuous, but perfect veneer. Thus, I understand that people are unlikely to believe that I never liked Michael Jackson. Even before any of the rumours or jokes made it to the playground, I found him off-putting. His insufferable nice guy demeanour. His ridiculous, but strangely unflamboyant clothing - the rolled up sleeves on the cover of Off the Wall make him look like a high school loser; the gang leathers of Bad would be unconvincing in West Side Story. Into the 90s, he adopts the broad-shouldered look of a dictator, without irony or satirical intent. It is only on the cover of Thriller that Jackson has anything approaching style, but, even then, the clothes seem too big for him. Of course, as a child, I didn't know much about style, but I knew about cartoons and everything about Jackson was cartoonish. That is the only way I can make sense of him. Not as an artist, comparable to other artists making works of depth, of insight and introspection, or of innovation, but as an avatar. He is nothing more than a Harlem Globetrotter, a technician who can only play exhibition matches, he's not seriously in the competitive leagues, he only produces spectacle. This is exemplified by the dancing, which is pure technique - it communicates nothing, it represents no emotion nor human experience, it amounts to nothing more than fleet-footed feats of glamour. That his whole moonwalking dancing schtick is lifted from Bob Fosse's 1974 choreography for The Little Prince should prove that Jackson wasn't interested in externalising anything through artistic labour, but in creating a pure exterior. That the exterior is flat may explain why it actually lands for so many people - a Potemkin village of creativity. It is difficult to grasp what artistic persona Jackson puts forth. He is not a poet, like Dylan. Not a sex god, like Prince. Rather he is a superstar, which is as disconnected from relatable human experience as possible. There is not even real emotional content to any of the songs, barely even intellectual honesty - Jackson isn't bad in the way that the song implies; Jackson is superficially sexless, so Dirty Diana sounds like a tame imitation of Darling Nikki. Liberian Girl is preposterous. But why would these songs have any connection to Jackson himself? When Quincy Jones assembled the writers to write material for the album, he said he wanted "hits" and nothing more. The songs would be hits because Jackson was singing them, so really all Jones needed was empty sentiment, mere content through which Jackson can achieve his technical feats. Even the songs Jackson supposed wrote here are merely vessels for the Michael Jackson persona to be put into, not creations that actually came from within him. Man in the Mirror is the emotional heart of the album and its half-baked appeal for individual change shows the true mettle of Jackson at this period. Totally devoid of insight. Devoid of perspective. Charity single made personal anthem, which horrifically turns the responsibility for systemic change onto the individual. While Jackson videos usually feature him, Man in the Mirror is different. It opens with clips of famine, cuts to Martin Luther King and Hitler, then, somehow - jarringly - takes a turn away from tragedy to hope: people helping others, Farm Aid, Live Aid, We are the World, there's Bob Geldof. And yet, this is a typical Jackson video - all surface, an assemblage of images, no depth. Indeed, the shoddiness of the whole affair becomes obvious through unintentionally hilarious edits: at 2.25, a protestor throws a rock at a cop which bounces off the cop's helmet comically; at 2.31, a one-legged gunman hops about in time with the song's snappy snare. These images are being used by the song rather than the song being used to advance any of the positive sentiments in the song. Indeed, the sentiments are buffoonish and unpracticable. In interview, Jackson is clearly not a sophisticated thinker. His song selection suggests someone who is not emotionally mature or who wants to present as emotionally immature. Were the albums and singles not such humungous hits, you would suspect that Jackson was a camp clown, that his whole adult career was a joke. But obviously it is not. This is the artistic material and persona that he wanted to put out into the world. He chose this. Cynically, you would point out that this crap sells and it made him rich; Quincy Jones put a lot of sheen on not much. More charitably, you might accept that Jackson was a child star, abused by his father and taken advantage of by the industry: of course, he wouldn't develop a full emotional life, he wouldn't develop rounded political or philosophical beliefs, he wouldn't develop mature tastes or ambitions. Personally, I think it is clear that his best work was done when he was a child - it sounds emotionally honest and his performances are full-throated, robust, and lively. As an adult, he is somewhat dead behind the eyes. It's easy to feel sorry for him. But I wish that those dead eyes didn't remind me so much of my encounter with Neil Gaiman. There is a coldness to the charm, a dominance to the generosity. There is an insidious personal closeness to that sort of generosity - whether giving me books or Jackson inviting children to his home - that is distinct from the invisible and regulated good work done by Dolly Parton or George Michael, say. I'm not saying that I have a particular perspicacity or attentiveness to predation. I was as enamoured of Jimmy Savile and Jim'll Fix It as anyone else of my age. His charity work was as upfront as Jackson's. He too was horribly unstylish and uncool in appearance. He too was wilfully eccentric. He performed in such as a way to turn himself into a cartoon, to make himself less tangible, less of a threat. And I can't listen to or watch Jackson without suspecting similar moves. The empty woo-hoos and shamones that litter his songs - meaning nothing, signifying nothing other than the exaggerated presence of Michael Jackson - are of a kind with Savile's "now then now then," a tag that turns the person into a caricature - nothing about him is to be taken seriously. Jackson's mechanistic dancing often terminates in a crotch grab, an unnecessarily sexualised gesture brought into a dance style that is otherwise robotic - doesn't he turn into a robot in Moonwalker? Why do that thing but to transgress and blur the boundaries? Why do it but to see it imitated by children? As with Dirty Diana, it is an inappropriate intrusion into what is otherwise children's music , with all the unsophisticated, naïve perspective of children. I don't know. I can't say much more. I've never understood the point of Michael Jackson. Maybe it is easier to accept that a master predator played a trick on the whole world than it is to accept that millions of Disney adults like this unmitigated schmaltz and shit. 1 The most incredible thing about the album Bad is that there is, so the liner notes claim, a real drummer on all but 2 tracks (Another Part of Me and Man in the Mirror). In fact there are 3 different drummers (and a percussionist) credited as playing on Just Good Friends. Additionally on that particular track the ‚rhythm arrangement‘ is credited not to any of these people but to Quincy Jones. And Terry Britten. And Graham Lyle. I know what you’re thinking - surely those 7 different contributors would nearly do for the drum track? No, sir. Do not overlook Cornelius Mims - who did the ‚drum programming‘ on Just Good Friends. And now the reader rushes back to spin Just Good Friends again wondering, on the way, how on earth their ears managed to miss the bit where Michael Jackson invented Slipknot. Baffling, no? Just Good Friends sounds, as does the rest of the album, like someone (1 person that is) pushed ‚Drum Start‘ on a keyboard. Perhaps not even an expensive keyboard. Despite all the documented humanity - it sounds entirely sterile and synthetic. So it is with the brass sounds on this album. Two trumpeters and two saxophonists on almost every track! Allegedly. Well I think it is hard to feel that there is air in the studio outside of when Michael Jackson gasps a breath in between every line. Still - the official record says that squeaking of what I would have guessed was keyboard mice was human musicians. Who am I to question? I wasn’t there. The bass lines at least are unabashedly synthetic - the liner notes record that on only one track was a bass guitar fingered by a human man (I Just Can’t Stop Loving You). That seems plausible. That I think we can all believe. If there is, in every sense, Successful pop music here - catchy, hook laden songs in slick arrangement (well done ‚rhythm arrangers‘) delivered with dramatic energy by a very gifted singer - it still doesn’t actually *sound any good. That’s the main problem with Bad. Unless you happen to think that there is a real paedophile on every track, in which case I suppose that is its main problem. 2/5

Bad: um dos hits do álbum. O refrão é muito bom, super catchy. O resto da música é boa, mas com momentos não tão memoráveis. The Way you make me feel: outro hit, mais coesa, catchy do inicio ao fim, não apenas liricamente mas instrumentalmente também. Speed Demon: muito funky, criativa instrumentalmente. "Speed demon" ajuda na memorização, mas aquém do potencial que tinha. Ainda assim, contribui para o álbum. Liberian Girl: não acrescenta ao álbum. Não adorei. Just Good Friends: faz o álbum rodar, é ok. Another Part of me: mais uma super funky. Impossivel não bater o pé ao som dela. Sem expectativas, gostei dela, acrescenta ao álbum. Man in the mirror: pouco conhecida relativamente a outras. Fica no ouvido, mas não é inovadora. Faz sentido no contexto de álbum, é ok. I Just Can't Stop Loving You: boa mudança de pace. Balada, que abranda o rumo funky e energético do disco. Não é incrível mas está bem encaixada. Dirty Diana: muito boa. Refrão no ouvido, instrumentalmente criativa, mais até para o lado do rock, algo "novo" que até agora só "houve" na "Bad". Tanto cresce, como acalma, bem estruturada e nivelada. Smooth Criminal: voltando a hits, esta é o maior hit, por bons motivos. Os instrumentos (crédito extra para a bateria) complementam a voz de forma eximia, muito memorável do inicio ao fim. Impossível não dançar ao som dela. Melhor do álbum. Leave me alone: termina o álbum com energia alta. Bom som, apesar de não trazer nada de novo relativamente aos hits. Fecha bem.

I'm not a huge MJ fan, but he's far from Bad... My favourite song was probably man in the mirror. Some of the songs are a bit much for me though.

Calling your album ‘Bad’ is something of a hostage to fortune. This was Jackson’s third and final collaboration with the great Quincy Jones - Off the Wall was breezy soul, Thriller was a behemoth (and I’ll say more when it turns up on this list) but this album is very much diminishing returns. The good parts are pretty much all down to Jones, but Jackson’s increasingly weird vocal tics (shamone!) and yelps are distracting to the point of annoyance. The pointy nosed elephant in the room though, is Jackson himself. It’s clear he was an extremely damaged individual who had an abusive and controlling father, and after the success of Thriller was the subject of intense and intrusive media interest. He also suffered from body dysmorphia and started the process of transforming his appearance in increasingly bizarre and extreme ways. This does not excuse in any way his behaviour with children, even though the truth of that is still shrouded in out of court settlements and disputes. Was he sad? Definitely, judging by the song “Leave Me Alone”. Was he mad? More than likely. Was he bad? In my opinion, yes, but some fans may disagree. Do I want to listen to this album again? No.

An influential artist that’s musicality has inspired fans and artists across generations. You can’t help but tap your toes and stop loving MJ!

so strange how this feels smoother and more put together and he's still goin "ah He AH" in between even the slowest most saccharine lyrics

Liberian Girl was too weird. The rest was solid though

eh. “off the wall” and “thriller” are loads better than this. “the way you make me feel” is the best track on here. i find “bad” to be a bit annoying tbh. not a fan of the production overall. a little too of the time.

Really good pop album. It’s Michael Jackson at the top of his game. I may prefer “Dangerous” this is still a good album. So many classic tracks “Smooth Criminal” being one of my all time favourites. “Another Part Of Me” musically reminds me of 16Bit video game music (maybe cause this song was in Michael Jackson Moonwalker on Sega Genesis). 4/5

wel echt een album dat t van de hits moet hebben

Iconic 5/5

Smooth criminal is an absolute standout, and very aptly titled in hindsight It's also fair to say that this is where innumerable boy bands and pop singers come from, all pale imitations (forgive the pun)

First of all, Michael Jackson was a pedophile and deserves to be remembered for that. The music: I knew a couple of the bigger funkier singles, and expected a punchy, groovy record - I found something quite lifeless instead.

Michael Jackson was a pedo

Some undoubted tunes… but also a bit of filler. Only listened once (normally aim for at least twice) so view could change in time. For most people would be 5 stars but, sorry Jacko, only 4.

is this hiding in plain site? memories of listening to this playing with Lego yet couldn't quite remember the track listing so was a bit too excited by The Way You Make Me Feel. Is Speed Demon the music from Road Rash? I'm not sure we ever got to the second side before my cassette player chewed it up so I was excited all over again that Man In The Mirror is on this album. what a build, what a key change, but again is he acknowledging he needs to change...? oh no a soppy one, next thing I'm singing along. smooth criminal. was every song a single? leave me alone, ripping off the way you make me feel? cannot give a 5 because I can't believe he's not cancelled. also slightly silly amount of 'shamone', 'hee hee'. and remember that he claimed he'd neither had plastic surgery or changed his skin colour? look at that cover!

Album #151: Bad - Michael Jackson Genre (W): Dance-pop, R&B Singles: I Just Can’t Stop Loving You, Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Man in the Mirror, Dirty Diana, Another Part of Me, Smooth Criminal, Leave Me Alone, Liberian Girl I have listened to this album several times before. Thoughts?: I love Jackson’s vocals and Quincy Jones’ production! While this album isn’t as good as Thriller, I love how almost every song was finely crafted! Favorite tracks: Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Speed Demon, Liberian Girl, Side Two

Had a grown ass man bobbin his head in the office. Brady has preached about MJ for a while but I think I'm going to have to give some more of his albums a listen. Hopefully a few come up sooner rather than later.

One of the best

classic, love this man

Loved this, even though it’s not all killer like thriller, it still has so many great songs on it. I think Michael Jackson’s voice and the team around his production are why he is the king of pop, it’s just too good.

goat

When this popped up I cringed. I know it, it is of my "era" and it was everywhere. I always felt like the oddball for not liking this, or most of his work. I figured this would be a well over 4 rating, was pleasantly surprised it is under four and I am not the only one that hold great disdain for this. 1.0.

Que mas decir del mismisimo Michael Jackson. Canción fav: Smooth Criminal lo volvería a escuchar? Sí

Dated in all the worst ways. I never want to hear Liberian Girl ever again.

Good MJ RECORD!

This album is like being a sportsperson finding your feet as you come to terms with superstardom. You burst on to the scene out of nowhere last year, and everyone loved you. But the tall-poppy nature of sport means that every move you make is now scrutinised by everyone. The media are writing stories about your poor attitude at training. The fans are wondering why you aren't playing as well in your second season as you did in your first. Meanwhile, your high school sweetheart girlfriend has left you under the pressure of your public profile. You've met someone new, but you are aware she is only really dating you for the status that she gets from association with you. You're pretty sure she is cheating on you, but you are travelling to so many away games that you never really get the chance to talk to her about it. Your team isn't winning games that they should, and the scrum of sports journalists are blaming you for it. You internalise this scrutiny and let it weigh you down. Your teammates pull you aside and tell you to block out the noise. They remind you that you got where you are through hard work and talent. And they tell you how to deal with the media. Next interview you give, the gloves are off. No more PR-friendly answers, you're gonna give them a taste of your real attitude. After all, attack can sometimes be the best defense. And those pencil-necked journo d-bags are about to learn that.

right before MJ went off the deep end. there are a lot of hits on this album. but i have to say, every time i hear "bad", it turns to "Fat".....

Wow, again, another SOLID output by Michael Jackson, and even more amazingly this was a follow up to the highest selling album of all time. I was thoroughly impressed with how good and catchy each song was. Super well crafted, and honestly, didn't feel like a regurgitation of Thriller, it felt fresh and advancing. The singles were top notch, and the rest was really good. Interesting how none of the songs really had true drums, but yet a strong rhythm. Great listen.

Wish I could rate as Bad but I was entertained

Regardless if you liked his music or not, you cannot deny he was the king of pop. Overall, a really good album, but obviously not as good as thriller.

Pretty good, but I remember it as being better.

Can't deny Michael Jackson's greatness

I mean, c'mon

Should've been called fine

Would have been less bad without the pedo

I was expecting to give this a 5. Not that I am a huge Michael Jackson fan, just on reputation. Obviously two big hits to start but then nothing that really stood out until the end. I actively disliked "Iberian Girl." Perhaps it's expectations (and how huge a hit the album was at the time) over reality but some of this is meh. Saved by "Man in the Mirror."

Har aldri hatt noe særlig sansen for denne plata.

Annerkjener det men skjønner nå at I aldri helt har vært Michael Jackson fan.

Pakket med hits. Kanskje litt svake tekster, selv til å være pop, men musikken har rytme og noe nesten magisk ved seg. Vekker barndomsminner. Svak femmer.

Ah yes, here we go. Always been one of my most controversial opinions, but I truly believe that Michael Jackson is the most overrated artist in music history. He's got some great hits, don't get me wrong. But as an album artist is where he really starts to fall apart for me. Even ghe singles on this album don't stand out like they do on other albums, this is just a collection of mediocrity with constant "heehee"s and other typical MJ tropes that get annoying very quickly. This album is ny no means awful (although it is bad, really really bad), but it is very much on the lower end of an artist's catalogue which to begin with I've never found hugely inspiring.

I liked 6 songs,especially Dirty Diana. Overall,the album wasnt really my style and i wouldnt listen to it again.

easy listening. some real funky production on some of these. man in the mirror is a standout, of course.

Meh

4 because of bad criminal and the sound isn’t the worst, Liberian girl is so insane. Whoever keeps putting that sound effect needs be fired twice

Bad is a good album! Some real hits on here like Man in the Mirror and and Smooth Criminal among others. The non singles are enjoyable if not particularly resonating or memorable on first listen.

The sound of pop in 87. In total, no thanks. Low 3

Favourite songs from album « Bad » - Bad - the way you make me feel - speed demon - Liberian girl - man in the mirror - dirty Diana - smooth criminal

Er jo en klassiker for en grunn.

Meh. Its good but its just not my cup of tea, and they sound to similar for my liking, and the hee hee and gasping kinda annoyed me

So many great songs but a bit too poppy I think

Fuck you Michael Jackson for making such a banger of an album. I want to go back to having your music on my Spotify blocked in peace...

"If I'm not here to receive these ideas, God might give them to Prince." I saw the Michael movie, and that quote has lived rent free in my head ever since. okay thoughts because I was kind of a Michael hater growing up (it was passed on from my mom and I never questioned it!). 1. Dirty Diana is the best song and I'm so mad I only discovered it this year. Also the stories of him and Diana following/during The Wiz? YIKES!!! 2. I Just Can't Stop Loving You sounds exactly like Home from The Wiz, which I am qualified to speak on because my drama teacher in HS cast me, a white girl, as the lead role of Dorothy....... anyway, I Googled it to see if there was a sample, which Google AI says there isn't, but legit they sound identical and people on Tiktok and Youtube have made really good edits of the two songs, proving my point. Maybe MJ was too big for anyone to care? Who knows, but it was interesting to me as someone who knows The Wiz all too well. 3. Smooth Criminal, god bless. Sorry the Glee cast did it so much better, MJ, but thanks for walking so Naya Rivera could run!! 4. Is Justin Bieber's Speed Demon named after/referencing MJ's? I need to Google. Standouts: Dirty Diana and Smooth Criminal are both 10/10 Overall, I get that they can't all be bangers, and they're not! But I've heard more albums that I've enjoyed in their entirety. This album isn't it, but I can imagine how crazy this hit at the time. Anywaysssssssssssss, 4/5

Very good album. I'm not a big fan of the drum programming, though. Interestingly, the song I enjoyed the less is the one with Stevie Wonder ("Just Good Friends"). Some of the songs I enjoyed the most: "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man In The Mirror" (together with "Smooth Criminal", my favourite track), "Dirty Diana", or "Leave Me Alone". It's between 4 and 5 stars for me, although I think that 4 stars may be ok (especially since there are 3 or 4 songs that I find not very inspired).

Appropriately named. What a drop-off from 'Thriller'. Smooth Criminal bumps it from a 1 to a 2.

When this album was hot I hated MJ but also Madonna and Prince. I listened (and still) to Bruce Springsteen and the Stones , Pink Floyd etc. I laughed at MJ as his concerts were done when Bruce was just halfway. I saw the Michael movie this year which is mainly about his youth, the Jackson 5 up to Thriller. After that he went downhill. With Bad the sound went also way less organic and into terrible 80s drumcomputers and synths. The albums has some parts which are ok . The titel song and also Dirty Diana I can sort of appreciate but not sure of that is sufficiënt for 2 starts…

After Thriller, this album felt very tryhard in 1987. Weird Al's Fat seemed like a perfect complement to it, just filling out the sillier aspects of the whole thing. No one thought MJ was "bad" in a cool sense! But it holds up! I'd say it's Michael's third-best album. Smooth Criminal is one of my favorites.

Classic and great

Have heard before but not for a very, very long time. Not really my sort of thing, however... So firstly, I'm reviewing the music not the man. Clearly MJ the human being gets 0 stars. I had this on cassette back in the 80s when I was a child who just listened to pop music on the radio before developing my own taste and style. Once I got into music properly in the early 90s this is something I never went back to and although many of the songs are familiar, this will be the first time I've listened to the whole album in at least 35 years. And, despite the name, it really isn't Bad! The majority of the songs are catchy and the whole thing flowed by. Smooth Criminal is a seriously good pop song and I've had it stuck in my head since my listen. The title track is great, I just can't stop loving you is great. I also enjoyed Man in the Mirror and Liberian Girl. Still not really my sort of thing but I will give it another listen at some point...sooner than 3& years time!! Favourite tracks. Smooth Criminal, Bad, I just can't stop loving you

Never liked Michael. I find his voice really annoying. Also can't cope with his little screams.

banger

Some peak KoP singles but also some real filler and is generally more dated and thinner fare than earlier albums.

“Your butt is mine” ayo?

When it's good it's good and when it's bad it's Bad, and that's not good.

Just to be clear, this is me rating the music and not how he was as a person! To much breathing into the mic for me but there was incredible groove

bad-michael jackson BAD:8 The way you make me feel:8.5 Speed demon:9 Liberian girl:8 Just good friends:8.25 Another part of me:8.5 Man in the mirror:10 I just cant stop loving you:7 Dirty Diana:10 Smooth criminal:10 Leave me alone:7

It was a very fun album to listen too, if I could describe it, sonically id say bouncy

hehe

So many hits.

Bad is great. Maybe not on the same level as MJ's first two, but still a banger

Discazo

some great songs, but also some stinkers. doesnt help that the synths didnt age too well. thriller was much better imo

Lots of classic hits but has an electric energy and feel that underpins the entire record. It was hard not to dance to this album while I was putting away the dishes, and what else can you ask for in a pop album? “Bad” is crazy fun, and “Smooth Criminal” is just iconic. Some of the melodies felt a little generic, and I’m not necessarily going to return to every track, but it deserves a solid four for both its legacy and entertainment value. Hee hee! STAND-OUT SONG: “Bad” HONORABLE MENTIONS: “Smooth Criminal”, “Just Good Friends”

Fantastic, so much fun.

MJ; people ready to judge and jury on this poor guy. Fucking mob mentality! Painted as a monster by the media, used by grifters and opportunistic parasites. Give it a rest. He is nothing more than a kind and misunderstood man. And he is the King of Pop. Album; good, not great. Mediocre thru the middle, but those hits kept his star flying high… for a while at least. Good for him. My wife loved it then, still loves it today. But heck, she loves lots of shite that gets her hips moving. Who knows the truth? We certainly don’t! Do I think his behavior was odd? Oh yeah! Do I think he was a bad man? Nope.

I already knew the hits, they're just okay to me. The rest want anything spectacular. I never understood the fascination with Michael. Perhaps it was had to be there thing

hate to say that despite growing up listening to /watching michael jackson on the radio, at home, on the tv, etc this is the first time i’ve listened to one of his albums in full. i’m sorry. he’s amazing though there’s nothing else to say

Listened to it loads when it came out which prompted me to go see him at Wembley stadium and then watch Moonwalker. Love him or hate him you can’t deny the talent.

Some tracks get a bit repetitive, but there’s some undeniable fun in here too. 3/3.5

The singles make this a 5 star album. The rest of the tracks are more a 3 star to me. Giving this a 4, but I'll admit that it's a very high 4 for me. Just drags a little bit between the bangers for me.

Very fun listen! Hadn't heard a lot of these songs before

During the 80s, he was the master of crappy 80s pop music. I have to wonder if his musical ability would extend to 90s alt or 70s classic rock, or was he just gifted at crappy 80s pop music and happened to be making it in the right decade?

It’s not the best MJ album but it’s pretty wonderful. It’s hard to have an album that’s completely listenable

Adorei, um classico que nunca ouvi todo

prettty good

Killed and smeared by the jews. Such sadness.

Unfortunately really fun and funky. It's a bop and is so unbelievably catchy, which I fully expected coming off only having listened to the singles. Speed demon is a funk banger. If only he didn't diddle those kids. It's dated and Corny at times but i had a lot of fun listening, it's a very established and unique vibe.

なんか聴いてたら秒で終わった。48分ある？ほんまにってくらいすぐ終わった。初めてマイケルの作品を聞いたけど、すごいまじで これは映画やりますよって感じ。アルバムを通しての雰囲気が共通してるとかそういう視点じゃなくて、一曲ごとの完成度がすごく高く、聞いていて全く飽きない。 これはポップの帝王ですよ まああとずっとヒイヒイいってておもろい。

I think Bad and The Way You Make Me Feel are excellent.

There are some days where I would say this is my favorite Michael Jackson album. It's not as consistently excellent as 'Off The Wall', and it doesn't have as many pure pop classics as 'Thriller', but there's a kind of scrappy edge to this album that really, really works for me. Out of his 3 indisputable classics, this is the most messy and inconsistent, but this is the one I have the most fun with, and it's my favorite one. Also I think 'Dirty Diana' is his best song.

Classic for a reason. Appreciate the genrebending

Good

Finally one of the best selling albums of all time. How many did Jacko sell of this? 35 Million units? That is an acomplishment, undoubtly. It contains several hits. A top-notch production. I'm not the biggest fan of MJ and I do not own a copy of Bad but have to acknowledge the greatness of it.

ah fuck here we go again... yeah like idk man the music's good but just like last time i would rather not think about this dude and won't listen to his music unless forced to do so. here's 3 stars, im moving on with my life

Solid album. Man in the Mirror is one of my Michael favorites and I'm also pretty fond of Smooth Criminal. Four really big hits here and the rest are good.

Maybe I was in an unusually good mood, but this turned out to be my favorite of the 3 MJ albums.

It's a good album, but not great. Smooth Criminal is the best song by a good margin. Nothing really bad, but meh.

Half all time bangers but the other half is forgettable.

The extremely talented but problematic Mr. Jackson. Follow up to Thriller. Bad: lead single. Not that good of a song. Ironic. Michael was bad. Just ask the children. Drum machines and lack of real instruments annoying. Album seems to lack energy and zest. Just going through the motions. A lackluster effort. Man in the mirror. Only good song on the album. Not a good album. Disappointing effort. Two stars.

很经典的一款老歌，百闻一见

like others have said there's a lot of bangers on this album. off the wall might be more my vibe tho? like the songs are distinct from each other but i feel like a lot of the pop songs feel similar if that makes sense (maybe all the "he he"-ing idk).

1 - 8/10 2 - 9/10 3 - 9/10 4 - 7/10 5 - 8/10 6 - 7/10 7 - 9/10 8 - 8/10 9 - 10/10 10 - 9/10 11 - 9/10

Bad by Michael Jackson is a really good album. Michael Jackson's solo music has never particularly been my genre, and personally I've always preferred the energy and sound of the Jackson 5. That said, it's difficult not to enjoy an album with this many great pop songs on it. Bad is fast-paced, brilliantly produced and full of energy. At its best, it's easy to understand why Michael Jackson became such a huge artist. The production still sounds massive, the melodies are instantly recognisable, and when this album delivers a hit, it really delivers. There aren't many albums that can boast songs as good as "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Smooth Criminal". For me, though, it doesn't have the consistency of Thriller. There are some absolutely brilliant songs, but there's also noticeably more filler. When the quality drops, it drops quite significantly, and there are a handful of tracks I wouldn't particularly want to hear again. Overall, though, I enjoyed this far more than I might have expected. Michael Jackson may not be the sort of artist I'd naturally choose to put on, and I'd still rather listen to the Jackson 5, but there's no denying how good he was at making huge, memorable pop songs. Favourite tracks: "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Smooth Criminal" are brilliant. Three massive pop songs that still sound great today. Least favourite tracks: There's more filler here than on Thriller. Songs like "Just Good Friends" and "Dirty Diana" don't do much for me and are a noticeable step down from the album's best moments. Album artwork: A classic album cover. Simple, iconic and instantly recognisable.

Classic

I know some of these songs, but never sat down to the whole album. I'm open to snappy dance pop when I'm on a dancefloor, maybe I will like this album? Sadly, not so much. There's some good points but also significant weaknesses. The Way You Make Me Feel is neat, funky, my favourite track here. Man In The Mirror I also like, but the "care about poor people" aspect is weak gesture, not fleshed out. I had an impression the title track was hot but listening again, it was much less powerful than I remembered. (Went hunting for mash-up with LL Cool J's I'm Bad, couldn't find a good one, in any event I liked LL's prodution better than MJ's.) Many other songs have nothing to commend. Lyrics have very shallow imagery and are highly repetitive. The songs about lurv are seriously unconvincing, I Just Can't Stop Loving You is so vacuous as to be creepy (mooning about the idea of love, doesn't feel like an account of an actual adult relationship). I thought I might appreciate depth of MJ's painstakingly compiled harmony vocals, turns out I'm more put off by his tremulous voice and the extent of grunts and sighs. So I'm quite unsatisfied by this album. Some of the songs eg Smooth Criminal had to have something special to be so popular, but there's not enough in them to sustain my interest now. In short, for me this is Mix of Good and Bad, 5/10.

-MJ gets ever so slightly edgy with it… i can appreciate his creative freedom and sound evolution but this didn’t hit me quite as hard as Off The Wall or Thriller -still a very strong album by all means, with his signature high production value and addictive song craftsmanship. i don’t LOVE it but it’s impossible to hate -Favorites: Bad, Speed Demon, Smooth Criminal

It was good not the best tho

ta piola, le pondría un 7/10. después de tantos años sin escuchar smooth criminal la encontré sorprendentemente buena.

#405 I had a good time listening, it’s not as good as Thriller but still jam packed with classics. Heard before? ✅ Would I revisit? ✅ Listen before you die? ✅ Fave track(s): Smooth Criminal; Dirty Diana Rating: 7/10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I did use a private session for this one. This album came out after I was done with Michael, though it was hard to be done with Michael as these songs were everywhere. Trying to separate the man from his music: there is no denying the hits and the impact of this album, he had a nearly impossible task following up "Off the Wall" and "Thriller", but he did it. I won't listen this album again, but I know I am going to have to hear a lot of these songs again.

Have it on Vinyl.

3/6

I cannot separate the art from the artist. The artist was a pedophile.

Somehow still not his best album but a very good album overall.

MJ is awful but this album is a banger

Ya know it slaps what more can I say

I’m sorry I know

Honestly I didn’t thought I would enjoy this as much as I did. The vibe was giving “old but gold” and all the songs made me wanna shake my leg and dance on the floor. It’s not the lyrics but something about the music makes me wanna keep listening. TBH I wasn’t rlly focusing in the lyrics I was mostly enjoying it. I will def listen to this again if I’m jst looking to have some fun w music. “I just can’t stop loving you” stood out to me it was rlly focusing on the lyrics, I was at ease while listening to this.

Pues top, claro

So this album throws up an issue with my rankings to date. I agree this should probably be an album to hear before you die. However, it isnt an album i feel I need to hear again. Surprisingly i know a lot of songs on this album and i guess that is testimony to its popularity as I’ve never owned it. The production is slick. The musos tight and many masters of their craft pulled in to ply their trade for the pinnacle of 80s pop. And the album is not dated to be fair. I hate it but i will have to give this a high rating. Some absolute genuine monster hits that worm into your earhole as brilliantly as anything. And then some filler like the song about some chick from West Africa which is just odd.

he's had better, but certainly contains some bangers Would I listen again: to the singles, sure Deserves to be on this list: probably 3.6

Turns out he was bad

⭐⭐⭐+ Mycket har en funkig/svängig grund men jag tycker det ofta förlorar på att jag upplever delar överproducerat. Det blir stökigt med för många element. Plus att det finns en srörande påklistrad "tuffhet" både i musiken och omslaget. Produktionen är också ganska daterad. Det är inte ett album jag jommer söka mig till även om det inte är dåligt har yrots allt en del starka singlar, det blir en stark 3a. Bäst är Bad, The way you make me feel, Man in the mirror, Smoth criminal

hard to rate bc it oscillated between kinda groovy and vomit inducing. overall gave me the ick

Pedophile

Expected to like this more today. Quincy Jones put in a hell of a shift here and MJ could sing, but it all feels hollow and fake.

Some absolute Jackson classics here. Man in the Mirror, Bad, The Way you Make Me Feel and more it’s quite amazing to fit so many iconic songs on to one album. That said Liberian Girl and Dirty Diana are pretty woeful by comparison but they can’t all be hits I suppose. I’m not familiar enough to know if this is the best Jackson album, interested to see if he has an album that tops it in terms of start to finish flow. But an iconic album from a very questionable character to put it politely.

There are enough classics on here to give it a 5 rating. Man in the Mirror and Smooth Criminal are epic songs. Tracks 2,3 and 4 are absolutely terrible and are almost enough to cost this a star but ultimately I can overlook them.

4.7/5 Favorite Songs: Bad The Way You Make Me Feel Speed Demon Another Part of Me Dirty Diana Smooth Criminal Leave Me Alone

The king of pop

So um… to me, this is one of the pop albums that in my opinion get as close to perfection as possible. I know consensus is that Thriller is Michael‘s magnum opus, but to me Bad is just even more exciting. Every single song claws its‘ way into your brain and just refuses to let go. Production, songwriting and of course the vocal performance are all top notch. This is basically an all-killer-affair, although Just Good Friends is the obvious weak link to me. Bad is simply a thrilling rush of energy, showing that Michael understood pop like barely anyone else ever would. While Thriller build his throne, Bad defended it.

Great on melody and beats, lacking in message. It's a bit like listening to a pedophile sing about how he is actually attracted to adult women.

++: Bad, Just Good Friends +: Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal +-: The Way You Make Me Feel, Speed Demon, Another Part of Me, I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Dirty Diana -: Liberian Girl 4,9/10

1983 dance pop Bad The way you make me feel The man in the mirror

I would give this a 10/10 so easily, however in light of his allegations and the fact that theyre unproven but not disproven, i dont feel comfortable giving it that. If the claims are disproven I will update this, re listen, and give my full thoughts. But for now I'll give this a 5/10

Yeah yeah yeah!!!

Michael Jackson created Thriller with the idea that all the tracks could be singles, and I think he succeed in that. Bad comes close but seems a bit paler than Thriller and Off the Wall. Smooth Criminal is definitely a favorite for me. I feel like the sound of this album with the 'shamones' and the ubiquitous high pitched 'woos' are what made Jackson almost into a caricature of himself moving forward.

The third album in MJ’s famous trilogy, Bad is such a strong inclusion even if not as spectacular as Off the Wall or Thriller as a whole. This project includes some great tracks that, for a lesser artist, would be their defining moments. Of course, we’re talking about one of the best pop artists to ever do it, so it’s great, if not quite at his peak. 1 listen Favorite Tracks: Dirty Diana, Smooth Criminal, Title Track

Epic.

These songs were the background of my high school years. So good.

Cold take: I love Michael Jackson

Pains me to give him a 5 but how can I not. 11 songs, 9 of which are massive super singles.

Kiddy fiddler

MJ innit of course it's brilliant! When it came to his music the man could do know wrong! SHAMOME!!.....

Forgot how many singles and great songs were on this album Cant help but sing Weird Al 'Fat' along to Bad. Forgot how good Speed Demon was, and he definitely says "eat your ticket"... Man in The Mirror "And no moustache coulda been any clearer"... Its his 2 collab songs that are worst on the album. Dirty Diana into Smooth Criminal. Cant not appreciate that. Cant not give it a 5.

First time hearing in full, class

Classic. Slightly fewer major hits than Thriller. Still, one of the best from one of the best. Underrated Stunner - Dirty Diana.

This Album is a MASTERPIECE

Не люблю, когда Джексон переходит на фальцет, из-за этого не слушаю его песни. Но музыка у него отличная. Как уже когда-то писал под одним из его альбомов, это попса здорового человека.

Oof. Fuck Michael Jackson, but Thriller and Off the Wall are four-star albums. This one is pretty... wait for it... wait for it..... terrible.

I always rated this album low because I disliked the song ‘Bad’. So I never revisited any of his music after Thriller. I still hate ‘Bad’ as a song, but after a re-listen I think the rest of the album is solid. 4 stars

Classic for a reason. I'd never listened to the whole album before and the non hits were ones I hadn't heard before. The big hits I hear multiple times a week I'd say especially now that mj is having a revival

His legacy as a child molestor should remove him from all best lists.

Vieles von Thriller findet sich wieder aber alles etwas schlechter. Hat mich nie so ganz begeistert

Smooth criminal ist ein krasser banger. Sonst ok 2.5/5

I liked most of the songs, including the ones I had never heard, like “Liberian Girl”

와진짜개명반이다..

Some real bangers in there.

Really good mix

Not bad. In fact, it's kind of the opposite of "bad".

Sorry, just not for me

Great

lotta classics on here

8/10 - The trouble for me with albums that have so many megahits, is that those songs are so familiar that they take me out of the album experience. It's like listening to Will Ferrel in Blades Of Glory when he says "No one knows what it means, but it's provocative... it gets the people going!" -- it doesn't feel like Will Ferrell it feels like a kanye sample. And that definitely happened to me this album. Luckily, it felt more cohesive second and third listen through. And boy do I like so much more than just the hits. I thought Man In The Mirror would be my favorite, but I think its actually really like "The Way You Make Me Feel" (and never heard of it before... 800 million plays wowwwww 🪨). I feel transported to an indie film when Liberian Girl plays and am now just realizing that its not Librarian girl xd Every song basically has something going for it - Leave Me Alone is on right now and its pretty fire, ngl. Only thing holding it back is that *that* 80s vibe never sits well with me. Caps out at 8/10 but that on me Fav Tracks: The Way You Make Me Feel, Man in the Mirror, Liberian Girl, I Just Can't Stop Loving You Heard before? --------–- ✅ Saved a new Song? ----- ✅ Saved Album? -------–-- ✅ Will Listen Again? ---––– ✅

This album is not "Bad". Diddling be damned, this man had tracks. Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Man in the Mirror, Just Can't Stop Loving You, Smooth Criminal. All bangers.

Rate: 10/10. YOU'VE BEEN HIT BY ... YOU'VE BEEN HIT BY A SMOOTH CRIMINAL!!!

I mean yep, bad is the word I would use!

Gonna do my best to separate the art from the nonce here because that's THE MATURE THING TO DO (if only MJ had done the same thing unowhatimsayin). It's obviously this is an iconic huge album and I can see why it was such a huge hit, it's really well crafted pop, super catchy and engaging, but it just doesn't land on a deep level for me. There's also plenty of filler between the big tracks. Liberian Girl? More like LiBORINGen Girl!!!!! Maybe that's cos at the end of the day I am just thinking 'this is nonce music' but idk... ultimately we have Prince and Grace Jones for amazing 80s pop like this.

I never listened to this one in full before. I feel like this isn't at the same level as Thriller, but it makes for a solid album when not compared to it. Solid singing!

Gear: 64 Audio Duo Artwork: 🏍️💨🧱 Production (2012 Remaster): 🎧😘🤌 Music: 🚀📀👽 Rating: 🕴🏻🕴🏻🕴🏻🕴🏻🕴🏻/5

No skips.

Say what you will about the man. He was a genius with his own stunted growth and demons. The pop hits are undeniable. This album is a monster. These songs are the fabric of American pop and Michael was the last true pop star.

First time I’ve actually sat down and listened to a whole MJ album (maybe even a whole song!) Very enjoyable (maybe not surprising from the king of pop or whatever), but some songs are overlong.

"Fucking MJ. That creep can sing, man" "Yeah, but he's a pervert, Dude"

Eh...a reluctant 4. A marked improvement over Thriller in my opinion but still holding some of the issues I had with that album. Maybe a bit compromised, too with a fixation on out doing Prince.

Some really important songs here (Smooth Criminal, The Way you Make Me Feel) but most of the album is underwhelming to me. Actually makes me appreciate Prince even more.

This a thriller were the first 2 albums I got as a kid. To say this album is in my DNA is an understatement

Some few tracks hold this back, otherwise I really really like this

The most fine/ok a Michael Jackson album can be, production really holds this one back.

This album feels so close to perfection and yet I feel as if something is missing the production is great the impressive vocal range of Michael is on full display but there are some decisions in the composition of songs that make me take a star off. Truly masterful but MJ has better. Fav tracks: Bad, the way you make me feel, Liberian girl, just good friends, another part of me, and leave me alone

The amount of Michael Jackson bangers on this is crazy. Better than Thriller easily. Man in the Mirror AND Smooth Criminal? That's too good. 4/5 because there was some corn on it, but overall it's undeniable. If I was rating it on how much of a paedophile he was, I'd give it a 5/5. But this is 1001 Albums to Listen To Before You Die, not Rate 1001 Paedophiles For Some Weird Reason. Musically, it's a serious step up from Rolf Harris.

20% hortera 80% absolutos temardos

A genuine 5/5 album, banger after banger in my opinion

Great album. Shame about the guy singing it

Peak

Not the best from Micheal in my opinion but still enjoyable and ahead of its time, still a pop icon

No words for!! Just the most amazing album I have ever listened too for months without stopping! 5 stars is just not enough to rate! Even infinite stars wouldn't capture the quality of this!

Pretty big flex to make an album this good, and name it Bad. Just wall to wall hits, maybe better than thriller

I liked this more than Thriller I think. It also just feels like THE quintessential MJ album, if I had to pick one. The Way You Make Me Feel, Man in the Mirror, and Smooth Criminal are all certified bangers.

To be honest I had a hard time finding faults with this. An instance of a pop artist being insanely talented with albums that aren't 2 singles and a bunch of filler which feels foreign

Kinda groaned when I saw this one come up, and then within 10 seconds was like "oh yeah, underneath everything else (granting that there's probably more "everything else" here than with literally anyone else on this list), this guy was fucking awesome." There's a good amount of forgettable filler that I'll likely never listen to again (which is why it'll never be Thriller), but the best songs are just overpoweringly great. The one that I had forgotten all about was The Way You Make Me Feel -- immediately following Bad, I was just like, "oh, this is absolutely getting 5 stars."

Top2MJALBUMOAT.

It contains the song that made me fall over constantly as a 7 year old. I still can't do the lean from Smooth Criminal. I was genuinely shocked how much I hate the instrumentation on here though. And the backing vocals. Grating.

This album isn't Bad, its great!

Franchement culte

I can’t give a low rating to an album that has Smooth Criminal on it, but a lot of the other songs sound pretty dated and cheesy

king of pop

Sounds great

Sweet. Final Jackson. It's been about 180 albums since I listened to "Off the Wall". To be honest, I don't remember anything about that album. I felt a bit of whiplash coming off of the back of Thriller, where I was intimately familiar with just about every song on that album through radio osmosis. At the very least, I know there'll be one song on this album that I recognise, so I'll hopefully have an easier time engaging with this music. Here goes. Hmm. Kind of a bummer. I remember Thriller being immaculately produced, which makes the artificial, minimalistic sound of this album disappointing by comparison. That being said, I understand the assignment with this album. Jackson's trying to create stripped-back, easy-listening dance tunes, and I think he succeeds in that respect. The reduced emphasis on audio fidelity places greater focus to Jackson's vocals, which are generally adept. He has a good level of kick on the more rigid dance offerings and his distinctive falsetto is pleasing on the more ballady and atmospheric tunes. Unfortunately, this music crumbles quite a bit in the songwriting department. The vocal melodies are generally hit-or-miss, repetitious and airheaded, which makes their weaknesses stand out more when paired with the hefty song lengths and simple production. The result is an album where I felt disengaged across most of its runtime. Yeah, there's the title track. I should have expected to be hit with it right out the gate. It's not as iconic as the high points of "Thriller", though there's still a lot that it gets right. The funky synths are instantly recognisable and provide a good sense of forward momentum. Jackson offers a strong vocal performance and I like how the backup vocalists harmonise with him during the chorus. I've heard "The Way You Make Me Feel", too. No surprises there. Good song - I prefer it to the title track. The songwriting is tighter and Jackson delivers a more spirited performance, which is owed in part to his iconic heehee-ing. The instrumental is stronger, too. I do enjoy those Sega Genesis synths (especially down the middle of the song) along with the brass numbers and clapping percussion. Overall, the song nails the one thing it's focusing on, which is a constant sense of forward momentum. There's "Man in the Mirror". Honestly, I was beginning to lose hope in this album by the time this one rocked up, so it's good to be getting back on track. Nice tune. As one of my guilty pleasure instruments, I greatly appreciate the inclusion of the cowbell. The heavy, percussive sound is also charming in how of-the-time it is and I enjoy the ambient/funk synths. The songwriting of this track is once again the highlight, though I admittedly find the vocal hooks to be weaker than the other songs on this album. Overall, I think the song lacks a bit of focus, though it's still nice. Ah. I should have known that I wouldn't be getting through this list without getting hit by a smooth criminal. Great song. The lyrics are fun, the vocals well-delivered and the instrumental is well-executed, if simple. All in all the song is a good time. I, once again, don't need to research why this album is in here - it's a Michael Jackson release. Truth be told, I think Jackson could do with four list albums. The releases following this don't appear to have been as warmly received by the critics, though you can't deny their level of chart success, which I would argue makes at least one of them a must-hear. For the time being, however, I'm content to let this one through. I cosign this inclusion.

Just going to give this a 3, say I get why it's on the list, and move on...

2.5 stars I was not super into MJ when he was alive. Over time I’ve come to appreciate his music more and acknowledge Thriller as a masterpiece. But to me, Bad sounds more dated, the hits stand out more as a product of their time. It’s not a record I come back to or get excited about. While it set records and blew people away at the time, I feel like it doesn’t need to be listened to.

Not the best Jacko album, obviously some bangers (Bad, Man In The Mirror) but at other times it all felt a bit overly jackson if that makes sense. Like he just became more intensly and ridiculously himself as time went on. 3.0/5.0 Best Song: Bad

Not his best album by any stretch, the softer songs are pretty unbearable, but the big songs are obviously huge

Better than Thriller, not gonna lie. It’s more cohesive, and the filler songs are so much stronger.

This is #day705 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… another artist gets checked off the list today, as this is my third and final Michael Jackson record. While Thriller is an all-timer and an undeniable classic, I can confidently say I like Bad more than Off the Wall, the other record represented on the list. To me, Bad captures MJ's fully formed persona, the one that exploded into worldwide superstardom after Thriller. "Smooth Criminal" is, of course, pure gold and one of his defining songs. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day706.

Mike's follow up to Thriller was another iconic ensemble of pop songs. He was the king of pop for a reason. To be fair an honest in my day to day I do not listen much to this music. But Sony had such a grip on the production elements to make an outstanding 80's pop album. It deserves 5 stars, based on my bias and some of the forgotten deep cuts on this album its proper to give 4 stars. Fully seperating art from artist here. As should you.

4*

I mean. Its Micheal Jackson

The title says it all. He's bad!!

Not quite as perfect as Thriller, but pretty close. Favorites: "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", "Dirty Diana", "Smooth Criminal", "Leave Me Alone"

Absolutely beautiful and groovy. 10/10

His music was unique, imbued with passion and his truth at the time, especially this album, so definitely a one has left a massive mark on the music even today, earning him a title of King of Pop completely appropriately ✨👑

I have heard 'Bad' throughout my life, and, naturally, Michael Jackson's ubiquity attests to his power, popularity, and overall talent as a performer and musician. Many of these tracks are one of a kind, Dirty Diana, Bad, Smooth Criminal (All simultaneously amongst some of MJ's most famous songs of all time). The album-- like many of his others-- is phenomenal.

Meee encantó. Obra de arte. Él es muy pro y sabia que me iba a encantar. No sé si lo escucharia en un día normal, pero realmente admiro mucho los temones de este álbum.

It's good (Bad) Micheal. Huge hits unique performance totally 80s production Strong 7

Actually a whole lot better than Thriller in my opinion.

Bad - 4.5/5 The Way You Make Me Feel - 4/5 Speed Demon - 3/5 Liberian Girl - 3/5 Just Good Friends - 3.5/5 Another Part of Me - 3.5/5 Man in the Mirror - 4/5 I Just Can't Stop Loving You - 3.5/5 Dirty Diana - 4/5 Smooth Criminal - 5/5 How do you follow-up on the impossible task of making the next album after the literal greatest-selling album of all time in Thriller? Easy, make another quality album where 6 out of the 10 tracks become long-lasting singles. Even if some of those songs sound incredibly of that era. Having that stretch of tracks 3-6 really damper the mood with the production leading the way over any sort of talent by Jackson. Ending with Dirty Diana and Smooth Criminal saves the album a bit from the mediocre middle but realistically this is a downgrade over Thriller. Era-specific production heavily dates the album that it really detracts from what should have been a great follow-up for the biggest pop star and alleged pedophile. I did this whole review as a bit just so the first words of each sentence spell out "hee hee". Overall: 4/5 Favorites: Bad, Smooth Criminal

Quite good!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=USTWzX-ORGI

It’s not one of my favorite Michael Jackson records but at least it has smooth criminal. Too much HEE HEE for this old cowboy

Good

I have a confession: this is the first MJ album I’ve listened to in its entirety. I’ve only ever played the singles. This did not disappoint! Glad to hear the GOAT on “Just Good Friends.” It’s been a while since Mason really enjoyed an album of the day, but he and I danced through the entirety of this one. Definitely a highlight of recent pulls!

I arbitrarily declared this album to be better than Thriller a long time ago and idk if I still think that but it is wall to wall bangers. What fascinates me the most is that there's a five year gap in these albums, which in 80s time is like an eternity.

Maybe not the best Michael Jackson, but without a doubt the most eighties steeze! The percussion on Speed Demon is ridiculous, and its synth bass riff is so extreme that even an arcade fighting game wouldn’t dare. 🎶 Librarian girl Your educational and technology resources changed my world 🎶 Shamon-a!

Objectively, it is a good album. I struggle with the fact that so much of it has been overplayed. Front to back though a single listen through is worth it, but just once, then you are feeling like you cant take any more, at least for a few years.