Reviews (page 4 of 15)
Man in the Mirror is great, and the other hits are catchy. Liberian Girl and I Just Can't Stop are awful, though admittedly I dislike almost all R&B. I've always found the braggadocio of the title track kinda ridiculous.
Following up Thriller, one of the best albums of the 20th century, is an impossible task but MJ comes close to doing it here. There are some absolute classics on here (Smooth Criminal, The Way You Make Me Feel) and some underrated gems (Speed Demon), and it doesn't feel as bloated as Michael's later albums. But you can start to sense his general weirdness coming out overall ("your butt is mine" still is one of the corniest opening lines), that would soon overtake his career. There's not as much magic on here as Off the Wall or Thriller but mostly it holds up.
its pretty good yeah
It was so-so. Not bad, not great.
Bunch of grooves and Michael’s voice is fantastic
Maicol
Ups and downs, the popular songs overshadow the lesser ones. Yes, it has a generic 80's sound throughout but it's literally the 80's, every pop song sounds the same. Doesn't mean it's not great
Making me listen to this should be a hate crime. I will never understand why this was popular.
There is nothing bad you can say about king of pop! Hee Hee
I used to think it was 'Librarian Girl'... it's not. Also, the 'Speed Demon' video is jokes
While I’ll take Prince over MJ 15 times out of 10, and Bad has always been a very (very) distant third when it comes to MJ overall, this particular listen has probably been my favourite time through the album for some reason. Just in a receptive mood I guess.
Pretty much all Michael Jackson album titles are hilarious in hindsight. “Bad”. “Dangerous”. That’s right.
Track 1: Bad; 6.9/10; Outdated disco pop sound?? Track 2: The Way You Make Me Feel; 6.6/10; Also outdated. Track 3: Speed Demon; 6/10; Obnoxious chorus Track 4: Liberian Girl; 5/10; boring Track 5: Just Good Friends; 6.7/10; better Track 6: Another Part of Me; 6.8/10; groovy Track 7: Man In The Mirror; 7/10; listenable Track 8: I Just Can't Stop Loving You; 5.8/10; not good Track 9: Dirty Diana; 7.7/10; solid track (pop rock) Track 10: Smooth Criminal; 7.6/10; nostalgic, slightly dated but excusable Track 11: Leave Me Alone; 6.5/10; boring but fun chorus
A real flat album with the highlights being the hits and singles only. It was always going to be impossible to follow up Thriller, but somehow this came out more flat and more dated. The only unique hit on the entire record is "Smooth Criminal", and that's not enough to sustain this. Add to it what we know about Michael's actions and it just makes for a gross record all around.
Can't in good conscious give this a true listen.
Not bad (hahaha)
Really thrown off by this, I like a lot of the tracks (obviously there are some huge iconic hits here) but the whole record has a slightly uncanny feeling to it that I struggled with. I'm going 3 because I feel I'm overthinking it and I can't give a 2 to a record with so many great tracks, but with that as a disclaimer
Not all of them were hits, but they could have been.
It's kinda hard to get bad Michael Jackson, provided you can tolerate him at all, which I can. Some bangers, some fillers, all listenable.
Michael jackson is a must hear, amazing album
Yeeee
clickbait, o álbum não é bad
eu asmei
Haige bänger MJ poolt. Et pärast Thrillerit saaks veel üks suurepärane plaat välja tulla. Siin pole küll iga lugu 100% hitt, aga plaat on väga lähedal sellele. Produtsent ja Michael on super töö teinud ning see 1987. a väljalase inspireeris järgmiseks 10 aastaks terve popi kõla. 4.5/5
I had this on cassette. Smooth Criminal is still my favourite song of his. That said ... can't really endorse the artist, but also... man, a lot of this album just isn't very good.
There’s not really an off song on this album, all hits in their own way. Obviously it has the bangers like, bad, smooth criminal and man in the mirror. But honestly I felt it’s a great listen. Fully understand why this is on the list. Wouldn’t normally think as a go to, to listen to MJ but now I want to listen to more.
A guilty pleasure for sure, this album cranked up makes you wanna dance!
very very good, but a dropoff from thriller. the songs that aren't as well known (in my opinion) have a distinguishable drop in quality
Bad - 5/5 The Way You Make Me Feel - 5/5 Speed Demon - 3/5 Liberian Girl - 3/5 Just Good Friends - 4/5 Another Part of Me - 3/5 Man in the Mirror - 5/5 I Just Can't Stop Loving You - 3/5 Dirty Diana - 5/5 Smooth Criminal - 5/5 Average score: 4.1/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ i like half of the tracks from this album (the more well-known hits in particular), but unfortunately i didn't really care much for most of the others. some of the tracks i gave 3s for are just a little too corny or forgettable for me personally (though Liberian Girl was on the border or being at least a 4) it's still obviously a fairly strong and popular release from MJ, the popular tracks definitely make up for the weaker ones. maybe i'm just a bigger fan of Off The Wall and Thriller
Super catchy, good grooves, great instrument sounds and synth squelches but not many substantial songs
Excelente disco, de lo mejor!!!!!!!
3 stars for 3 bangers. rest is worthless though
Very iconic Michael Jackson album packed with memorable moments. It is less cohesive than other albums of his, but cannot deny the bangers. 8/10 [KEEP]
it just doesn’t do it for me….. i hated this
Pretty good. Has my favorite Jackson song on it (“Man In The Mirror”). Would say its a four but with the bigger hits on it (“Man In The Mirror,” “Smooth Criminal”) its a 4.
Huge album with flawless production. A couple of the album tracks are pretty blasé but you can’t argue its importance.
not as bad as Joni Mitchell’s Blue
I can't believe how many mega-hits there are in 48 short minutes. "Bad", "The Way you Make Me Feel" "Man in the Mirror" and "Smooth Criminal" on one album?! He really was the King of Pop of his era. This is a 4/5 threshold for me.
I mean it's Michael Jackson
This was ok?
bad es clave para entender el pop moderno y escuchado en contexto se vuelve todavía más claro. pero incluso reconociendo todo eso, no me termina de cerrar como escucha completa hoy. lo respeto más de lo que le doy play por eso le pongo 3/5, smooth criminal y dirty diana por siempre en mis playlists :)
9,50/10 Que puedo decir, es Michael Jackson, no erra un tema este tipo. No es un 10 porque algunos temas no me terminaron de encantar, de rompe huevos nomas
I mean come on, its anything BUT bad. it might even be great
Full of hits. Had fun with it, but not an album I would revisit a whole lot.
Ah, and so the king of pop rears his ugly head. This album has a few of the stone cold classics, and I have a hard time saying the rest are bad. Maybe a tad dull. Seems like a 4. possibly i push this one up to 5 on account of having man in the mirror which I think might be the best of his hits? And the rest get to stay down.
4,5/5 ✨, i loved it!!! michael jackson is the goat of pop
Can't say every sound used in this album is my favorite, and there are certainly relics of the 80's pop sound that make this feel outdated. However, the hits are still here, and they'll always be classics. Just fun music that I'll come back to every once in a while, and MJ has such a unique vocal style that makes this so entertaining and really sets this apart. Favorites: Bad, Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal
Don't think I've ever listened to this all the way through, so wanted to see if there were any hidden gems in here. Not really. Bad is corny, Smooth Criminal is great, I kinda like The Way You Make Me Feel, and despite everything in my body rejecting what I'm hearing, The Man in the Mirror is over-the-top 80's pablum at its best. The deeper cuts are blah.
It’s a great record but I struggle to listen to this music anymore
Isch zwar nöd s best aber trotzdem so peack
Michael jackson eif peak. ( Die 1stern rezensione sind so miserable btw)
Already listened to this. It’s a good album.
Pretty fun, I like man in the mirror. And probably a couple others. I’d relisten but not speaking to me rn
Album itself is great, but I am really struggling with the ‘separate the artist from the art’ thing here when listening.
Another album I've got too memorized to be objective. Throwing it a 5 to spite all of the whiny haters on here.
If this list was 1 album you need to hear 1001 times before you die, this would be the album.
I’ve never really enjoyed Michael Jackson’s music in passing and this is actually the first time I’ve sat down and listened to an album all the way through. You quickly understand why he was an international star through the music alone. For me, it’s fine and I think I enjoy other disco/synth pop music of this time more but like I get it.
It isn't. It's actually quite good. Of the ten songs on this album, six are some of the best pop songs ever written, and the other four range from good to average. I think it's obvious which songs are which, and guessing which six I'm referring to is left as an exercise for the reader. If you're unsure, here's a hint: they come in back-to-back pairs. Also if you read my review of Thriller, you'll know what one of them is straight away. This album may not be Thriller, but it's leagues above a lot of the offerings on this list. I think this album has been rated unfairly by the masses for three reasons: 1. It's Michael Jackson - no Michael Jackson album will be "better than I expected". Expectations are high from the get go. 2. It's not Thriller. You know, the best-selling album of all time? The one he released before this one? Yeah, that Thriller. That's a high bar right there. 3. The pedo allegations. Look, I get it, but I'm just not here to rate humans - and even if I was, nothing was ever proven. All in all, I give this a 4 and a hankering to watch Captain EO.
half is amazing half is bleh
7.5/10 The creepy part is that yesterday I said to my mom that I wanna listen to a Michael Jackson album soon and then this popped up. But again I felt the highs were high and the rest was just alright. Don’t play with man in the mirror RAH. Favs: bad, the way you make me feel, man in the mirror, dirty Diana, smooth criminal
It's Michael Jackson. What am I supposed to say? There were quite a few songs I hadn't heard before in this, but I think the reason why you don't hear them as often is because they aren't as good, sadly (With the exception of 'Leave me Alone.' I liked that one, but I had never heard it before). The bass on a couple of these makes me think of the Sega Genesis. Favourites: Smooth Criminal, Leave Me Alone
the gap from the way you make me feel to man in the mirror was fucking painful.
"Smooth Criminal" might be my favorite MJ song. It's absolutely incredible. "Man in the Mirror" is a great pop song. Beyond that, Thriller this ain't.
So many iconic songs that I’ve heard soooo many times it is really hard to listen to this album fresh. But this was the first time in a long time I forced myself to listen start to finish. We know the singles - 40 years of radio overplay means there’s not much left unheard there- and it’s clear Jacko was at the peak of his powers at least leading up to this album in 87. After that, well things started falling off! On this listen I came to appreciate some of the musicianship and the arrangements to help accentuate his vocal delivery. He was adept at multilayered vocals and this effect could sometimes treat lush vocal harmony like another instrument - a trick sister Janet also used to great effect on Rhythm Nation. But, for me the test was: beyond the radio singles, was there anything else on offer to get you through this album! Not so much. Three stars.
5 sterren. Bad The way you make me feel Man in the mirror I just can’t stop loving you Smooth criminal BANGERS
All time classic. Probably top 50 easily. Great listen. Favorite song is "Just Good Friends" or "Man in the Mirror"
Uno de los mejores álbumes de la historia
absolute perfection, no skips in this album.
Bangers all the way down. 5/5
Top Songs: Bad The Way You Make Me Feel Man in the Mirror Dirty Diana
One of the greatest albums of all time
Man in the Mirror, Dirty Diana & Smooth Criminal sind für mich okay gealtert. Boah wusste ich treffe auf Arbeit von ihm schwierig
4,1 Highlights: Bad, Smooth Criminal
obviously the singles are all iconic and incredible but like, for the most part the “deep cuts” (if you can even call my songs deep cuts) are kinda just alright in comparison.
Que álbum tan increíble, me gusta mucho, me encanta la energía de este álbum
This is my least favorite of the three albums produced by Quincy Jones. The album was just okay. I would rather listen to “Thriller” or “Off The Wall”.
4/5 This is not my favorite Michael era but Dirty Diana and Smooth Criminal at the end are too good
Много ме дразни майкъл джексън
Nice
A pleasant album. I will say that there are some songs that are forgettable, as they kind of blend together from my perspective. Another thing, I feel like a lot of the songs could be made shorter, given that there are large portions where the same thing is simply being repeated to conclusion.
one of the big 3 michael jackson albums, a little overrated but damn are the highs high. Solid 7/10
Not my fav artist
not my favourite, but can see why it was popular at the time
Not "bad" meaning "good". More like "bad" meaning "paedo"
Very produced and iconic. But I’m l bit weary of this music.
This is a good album. I remember when it came out and it paled in comparison to thriller. It would be impossible for anyone to make a follow up to thriller. But it is hilarious for mj to write sing and perform a song called bad in the way he did.
I liked it a lot, a solid 8/10, my fav song was Dirty Diana, I was vibing the whole time.
The best ever
really good because of course it is
Its the King of Pop at his zenith. This album might not have sold as many as Thriller, but its still damn good.
Can’t believe the guy who helped write the Sonic 3 soundtrack also made pop music! This one is just hit after hit. I think overall Off The Wall is a better overall album. This one has some weaker tracks. Also, a reminder to listen to The Weeknd’s cover of Dirty Diana because it is fantastic. I think Smooth Criminal might be my favorite MJ song. In conclusion, Prince is better.
1/1001
9/10
I have heard this album many times. It's pretty good, not really my style. I have weird chikdhood memories associated with this one, so it's hard to give an unbiased opinion on its music.
I love Michael but this ain’t his best
Perfectly fun but not the upper echelon of MJ.
I’m not sure I knew anyone who didn’t have this album, even if they claimed not to. Was certainly the first/only MJ album I had and it’s filled to the brim with hit after hit. This is definitely one of the most iconic albums of the 80’s. Even without pressing play the music is coming to me just by reading the track listing. Looking forward to relistening to this after a very long time. Strangely I found this quite dated and not as good as I remembered in the end. Still has some cracking songs on it, but a number I had fond memories of didn’t stand up.
I can't deny the appeal of this. Some absolutely classic songs.
Separate the art from the artist. Sure. The album has a lot of really, really brilliant songs. The man who wrote and performed these was a singular kind of talent, and it's impossible to deny that. Really a musical genius who defined pop culture for a period. However, we're also talking about somebody who harmed or ruined the lives of an unknown number of children and suffered no consequences for that. Somebody whose position of power and privilege allowed him to live with no repercussions, even beyond the grave. Even today, in a time when society now is better than ever at holding our heroes accountable for their actions, this guy still seems to get away largely unharmed. A movie about his life will be in cinemas in a few months that will portray Michael Jackson as a genius and a visionary, and likely ignore entirely the manipulative and harmful actions he used towards children and parents. Fuck this guy. I don't believe in heaven or hell, but if I'm wrong and they do exist I hope it's really fucking hot where he ended up. 5 reluctant stars. 5 stars for the music, not the man.
4/5
Realmente es un álbum que refleja lo que buscaba Michael salirse de todo lo que venía haciendo y romper y superarse aún más post thriller
I had forgotten how wanderful this album is. One song after another is a jorney to memories. Thank you, Michael.
Bad, Smooth Criminal and Man in the mirror are the stand out tracks that I remember. It doesn't really do it for me
Not a big favorite. Most of the tracks sound quite dated. “The Way You Make Me Feel” will always be good, though, and “The Man in the Mirror,” while a bit cheesy (especially with that big jet change at the end!), has a great melody and is a nice motivational sentiment.
bad, bad, bad.
Perfekt produziert, perfekt nicht meins
Goated Album
Good but a one and done for me
I just can't...
Well, he certainly was bad… but this album is ok. I prefer this to a lot of the other Jackson material I’ve heard, since it has a lot more force to it that gives the album energy throughout. And there are of course some classics on the album, led by the title track and Smooth Criminal. I do still think it sounds a little dated though, something I find 80s music suffers from most. And there is of course the matter of his incessant ‘hee-hees’ and ‘owwws’, which definitely grate after a while.
A frustrating mix of the absolutely brilliant and the merely decent. The highlights (‘Bad’, ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’, ‘Man in the Mirror’, ‘Smooth Criminal’) are possibly some of the best pop tracks ever recorded, with ‘I Just Can’t Stop Loving You’ and ‘Leave Me Alone’ only a notch below, but several more are fine-to-good but not exceptional: ‘Speed Demon’, ‘Just Good Friends’ (despite featuring Stevie Wonder), ‘Another Part of Me’ and ‘Dirty Diana’. Worse is the cringe-inducing ‘Liberian Girl’. As an album, it’s easily strong enough for 4 stars overall, but it’s a definite step down from ‘Thriller’.
Album 143. Bad (https://open.spotify.com/album/3Us57CjssWnHjTUIXBuIeH?si=J4DxiiD_Shyo-ApPUpKlYg) — Michael Jackson (1987) Great album, but I'm negatively biased towards him. Lots of good songs, but not my kind. 3/5 Liked: — Bad
Good album, would listen again. Not MJ's best though.
Classic album. Although I did not care much for the other songs
Classic. All of him is classic and awesome. Even for a GenZ
Really good, a lot of the most iconic songs ever made on it, other songs kinda mid -1 star for MJ being a creep
There's no doubt this album was a banger in 1987, but the bar was set soooo high with Thriller, in today's world, it's mid to me. Tons of MJ music better than Bad, like pre-Thriller jams, and I think this is the moment he started to lose relevance. Favorite songs are "Dirty Diana" and "Smooth Criminal", but they're not great enough to pull my rate from a 3 to a 4.
Outside of Man in the Mirror and Smooth Criminal, not blown away by this album.
Some good songs
5/5
Fantastic timeless album, not much else to say. The music is funky, exciting. the vocals are iconic.
It deserves all the hype - every song is incredible.
хи хииии
Bad opens up Strong with bad and the way you make me feel then it really slows down from songs 3 to 6 but then once you get to men in the mirror there are no more skips. He is the king of pop for a reason I would hike recommend listening to the 25th anniversary edition as the addition to listen to four out of five y’all
A classic. MJ is just too good.
You don’t have to tell me who’s bad.
I don't often find myself in the mood to listen to Michael Jackson, so this one took me a while to rate. But on this album he is undoubtedly at the top of his game, and it's very consistent throughout. Hee hee! Favourites: The Way You Make Me Feel Man In The Mirror Smooth Criminal
This one, like Thriller, has some classic hitting all the nostalgia buttons. It also has more clunkers than Thriller. But the bangers are bangin.
Man in the Mirror and Smooth Criminal are still great songs. The rest haven't aged well.
As much as I admire Stevie Wonder and love the idea of him and Michael Jackson working together, Just Good Friends is why I can't give this full marks. If it had included Leave Me Alone instead (which is only an extra on the cd and - I think - cassette versions), it would have come closer to Thriller and I would have said 5. But as it is ...
Good pop of course, nothing really stands out here except for Bad.
Favourite Songs: The Way You Make Me Feel Liberian Girl Just Good Friends Another Part Of Me Smooth Criminal Leave Me Alone
Some classic songs on this one, never been into MJ, but obviously highly talented, and misunderstood in most circles, but j His talent as a singer is clear.
Not bad at all, if anything rather good
Hard to argue with five #1 singles plus Fat plus Alien Ant Farm's career. Dirty Diana (track 9) into Smooth Criminal (track 10) is a ridiculous flex of a one-two punch. Some dated synths and the non-hits are not good.
A few of the fillers are cringe, but the hits are still hits. The run of Man in the Mirror, Dirty Diana, and Smooth Criminal have given parody writers and Ryan Reynolds a lifetime of material.
The first album I ever owned and I loved it then. Not so sure now. Its iconically late eighties and it defined the era. It is also rammed full MJ vocal tropes (Shamone) to the point that I found some songs hard to listen due to how much piss has subsequently been extracted over the years in relation to them that it jarred every time MJ squeaked. Dirty Diana/ Smooth Criminal are still great tracks tho and there is not much filler other than Speed Demon.
Bad I had this on official cassette, I must have asked for it for a present as I was only about 8 when it came out and I don’t think I was really into music at that age, unless it was the Spitting Image chicken song or the Fraggle Rock theme (which I had on vinyl single), or Boney M songs recorded onto cassette for me. So when I see the album cover I immediately think of the cassette cover in portrait orientation, and also that the tape itself was clear plastic, which was _very_ exciting. I can also clearly see the Epic records logo printed in white on the cassette itself. Listening to it, it surely has to be one of the most evocatively late 80s albums in existence - It’s Big Trouble in Little China, it’s Coca Cola, Sprite and Fanta yo-yos, it’s Going Live, it’s the Challenger disaster, it’s Max Headroom, it’s renting Three Men and a Baby for the 10th time from Ritz video, it’s the Pizza Hut salad bar, it’s birthday cake wrapped in a paper napkin to take home after a party, it’s Andy Crane’s cast iron hair, it’s the Smooth Criminal video where the coin magically changes orientation before going into the slot on the jukebox, it’s the great Storm of 87, it’s the Blue Peter York Minster bosses appeal. It’s not Noel Edmond’s Telly Addicts though. Divorcing it from all those Proustian feelings, it is a genuinely excellent mid-late 80s funk-pop-soul album, with nearly every track a banger, and with barely a lull. It's arguably more consistent than Thriller and Off the Wall, even if nothing quite touches the stellar heights of Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough, Billie Jean or Thriller. Although Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Man in the Mirror, I Just Can’t Stop Loving You, Dirty Diana and Smooth Criminal are all of course superb, and could all vie for a place in his top 10 songs. It’s notable how many of the songs are built around relatively simple, rhythmic, repeating synth hooks, and nearly all of them are incredibly catchy. Lyrically it is interesting too. Man in the Mirror is a bit of an outlier in its more mature and thoughtful outlook, but much of the remainder feels very much the words of an adolescent talking about love and rebellion - ‘I’m bad, I’m really, really bad’, ‘I’m heading for the border’, the concept of a Smooth Criminal and nearly all of I Just Can’t Stop Loving You - which makes sense for someone so clearly in arrested development (the concept, not the rap group). It’s been a lot of fun revisiting, remembering and realising what a great album this is, even with a big dollop of nostalgia. 5. _Nakupenda pia Nakutaka pia_ 🧤🧤🧤🧤🧤 Playlist submission: Could be many, but today, for the it’s sense of joy, I’ll say The Way You Make Me Feel.
Perhaps the most ironically named album ever made, because this is goid. Although bad meant good back then, but now it means not very good again. Whatever, it's an album of stone-cold classics, only tempered by some mid-album tracks that stick out like a sore thumb in the midst of their superior company. There's a run of songs in side 2 that's arguably only rivalled by Abbey Road for sheer continuous quality. And the fact Jacko was stepping up to write the songs now adds even more credibility. Is it better than 'Thriller'? Does it matter? But yes - yes it is.
What an iconic album
A bad person, for sure. Man in the Mirror is a great song though.
One of the definitive pop albums
I'm by no means the first person to have this opinion, but I think Bad is basically just a less good Thriller. It's got all the same ingredients (which resulted in some more all-time great MJ tunes), but it's not as tight and the writing/production/performances feel slightly dialed back compared to the previous album. It's not bad (well, I suppose it is Bad), but I'm never going to consciously play it over Thriller unless I've just listened to Thriller and want to hear more of that style without just listening to Thriller a second time. Highlights: Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Speed Demon, Just Good Friends, Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal
I liked this. Interesting, not too long, nothing too ambitious. A good listen.
good
good
Very good album. Groovy, Upbeat, Beautiful, what you'd expect from an album by Michael Jackson. Another Part of Me and Dirty Diana were my favorites, but all of the songs could hold up on their own. 9.1/10
Hee hee
Ok
Not bad, but who is Shamone?
A mi si me gusto el álbum, personalmente la voz de Michael me parece muy única y en particular Bad tiene hitazos. Entiendo por donde viene todo el hate que tenia este album, más allá de la música. Pero bueno acá nos piden una reseña del álbum y su música logra lo que comete que es hacerme sentir algo que es lo que busco cuando escucho música. Sube muchos puntos por que esta Dirty Diana que me parece un temón y que encima también era de los favoritos de Lady Di. Esa fue mi humilde opinión, normalmente soy partidaria de no separar a la música del artista, pero en cuanto a Michael nunca tuve un lado muy marcado. Besos Rosa 💋
On hyvö
This album is BAD ass
I still believe The Way You Make Me Feel is one of Michael's best, and produced perfectly. Have it on vinyl, haven't had an opportunity to listen to it yet.
A rating purely on the music - not his best
Tuff Groovy Mj low-key the goat Så under 4 stjerner er kriminelt
no
There are moments of greatness from the King of Pop on this album, but the shine had already began to diminish. The biggest problem with this album is that none of the really significant moments of self reflection and evaluation seemed to come from MJ himself. He had become a full blown caricature of himself, so none of the songs ring true. Off the Wall and Thriller are the best of his solo work, and everything else pales.
I love Michael Jackson. I know a few songs from here, but not all, but it seems to be filled with hits. Should be fun! Bad's a classic. Extremely fun, and full of personality. The Way You Make Me Feel is a sweet, romantic, dance track. It's all but impossible not to feel energized. Love the percussion on Speed Demon. The vocals and the riff at the middle are great too. Very funky. Liberian Girl is good, and a welcome change of pace. Is Just Good Friends a duet? Either way, it's the least exciting so far. The beat don't do much for the song. Another Part of Me is the same case, they feel like filler songs. Man In The Mirror is another slower, emotional song, but this one is much more successful. It grows into a choir chant that is impossible to stay indifferent towards. Also very influential. I Just Can't Stop Loving You is a ballad, better than the first one but not as good as the previous. Still, good. Dirty Diana is the biggest hit here, and for good reason. The beat, the guitar, everything's good. But the stand-out is definately the vocals. Every time the chorus hits it's like he's posessed by passion. Great stuff. Smooth Criminal is my favourite Michael Jackson song. It has everything: a great dance beat, great bass, great guitar, and dramatic vocal performances. He's at his best. The final track is yet another banger, a hidden gem (as I had no notion of it). The album is bookended by strong dance tracks (some of his biggets hits), but some of the slower tracks in the middle fall flat. However, none of those tracks are outright bad, so the record is still immensely enjoyable and, most of all, fun. Deserving of its reputation. Bye
Зажигательные песни!!
Iconic songs, but it hasn’t aged well
No. 135 cool, feel good album. amazing vocal composition, very good production, overall peak pop-music.
Ronseal. (but I do still have a soft spot for Smooth Criminal)
FFS. I can’t believe there is something worse than Tears For Fears, physically unpleasant to listen to.
It’s Bad
pas au même niveau que thriller bien qu'il y ait quelques classiques, c'est au même niveau que "off the wall" pour moi
trop fort
Toujours aussi excellent, tout simplement le goat (je suis pas objectif)
Ehh I wouldn’t call it that…
pretttttty dated I think ultimately and there's two songs on here i can't hear without WISHING i was listening to a parody of them or a cover... so there's that. i think conceptually as always with MJs music there's a lot of really grand ideas at play, some of which fall a bit flat for me and i think the failings and flaws of this album are much more palpable than the ones on Thriller which at the end of the day isnt that exciting to me....... anyhow nice to think about these albums deeply when i feel like they are so ubiquitously 'music'
Goated asf
- kyyll maikkelin musiikilla on mulle aina merkitystä vaikka vähän shady kaveri olikin - tälläkin levyllä aika monta kovaa stygeä
Geweldig album 8/10
I admire people who can separate the artist from the art. I cannot. And this is not a well aged piece of art as a consequence
я не люблю Майкла Джексона потому что когда он умер, моя мама смотрела его похороны и обсуждения его смерти, а я очень хотел погулять сходить но мне нравится человек в зеркале, прям оч кайфовая песня
Very dated style of music. Was good in it's time. Only one song I really liked.
Some good tunes. One star deducted for being a paedo.
This would be a decent album if the production wasn’t so awful
Think he was trying to tell us something here..
MJ defined pop music and this album exemplifies this. I have to deduct a point for being a nonce though. Fave track: Smooth Criminal
Plenty of MJ bangers to be found here. 3.5/5
Smooth Criminal is a classic!
5/5 hell yeah. Everything slaps every time. Icon diva yass I have nothing interesting to say it just bangs heavy saved in my library
Un clásico. Lo he disfrutado mucho mientras lo escuchaba, pero no he sentido una conexión fuerte
Glee version of smooth criminal is better
Michael Jackson followed up the greatest pop album of all time with another really really great pop album. It's not perfect, but there are some amazing tracks all over the runtime here. Let's go through some! "Bad" and "The Way You Make Me Feel" are wonderful little California, summertime jams, excellently produced and crafted. Bet you didn't know the "Bad" music video was directed by Martin Scorsese!!! "Liberian Girl" was a song I had not heard since I was really young, and it still hit just the same. Just the right amount of 80s cheese with absolutely fantastic vocals from MJ. "Another Part of Me" is an underrated little synth-funk jam. "Man in the Mirror" is simply divine. This guy could write emotional ballads like nobody else could around this time. I was stunned to read that horrific bullshit sprawled across this album's page as it's "Top" review and find that someone out there hates this song. THIS ONE?! God that review sucks. For being the supposed "corny" one, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" unexpectedly might be one of my favorites. The melodies are amazing, the vocal interchanges with Siedah Garrett are beautiful, and it's so deliciously 80s that I can't call it dated, for the simple fact that it still sounds super pleasurable to the ear. "Dirty Diana" was always one I said was overrated, but now I see the light on that one. It's the song the Weeknd created his entire career from (lol) and it's this grimy, dark take on the hair metal craze. Awesome song. And of course there's the classic "Smooth Criminal," one I don't think I like as much as most, but there's no denying how classic that song is. And closer "Leave Me Alone" properly ends things on a powerful (while still funky) note with bravado and seemingly some 4th-wall breaking commentary from Jackson directed at the paparazzi. "Speed Demon" and "Just Good Friends" are definitely filler and don't hit nearly as hard. Not bad songs, just nowhere near as good as the rest of the tracklist. As far as how this record compares to "Thriller," in all departments its predecessor is better, but that does not mean this is not also an excellent record.
Most underrated artist ever!
funky jam.
It’s the first album I remember ever consciously listening to but I was on the fence about actually returning given how awful a human being MJ was. Like, the first movie I ever remember watching was also Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker, effectively all based around the songs from Bad. Does that make this a concept album? The songs are still incredible compositionally and super formative for me, and I feel like dumping this as a 1 or 2 because of how I feel about MJ also does a huge disrespect to everyone else that worked on this - particularly the excellent Quincy Jones production.
80’s Pop ⭐️Dirty Diana
Michael Jacksons best album for sure, Liberian Girl is a mastepiece, and so is Leave me Alone, Just Good Friends, and basically every other song on this album
Standouts Bad The Way You Make Me Feel Another Part of Me Man in the Mirror Smooth Criminal
One of the best pop album ever played
good album of course
One of the best selling records of all time, if not the best It’s proof positive that sales are no reflection on quality and this remains an act of indescribable aural violence. Put another way there is no accounting for popular taste…
ниче так
liberiaaaann gyalllllllll
229/1089 Just a REALLY great pop album. The fact that the album tracks hold their own up against the hits is amazing and you can hear the direct impact these songs would go on to have. something I love about this challenge is when i’m given an album by one of the greats and it meets my expectations and this was one of those times faves: Smooth Criminal, Speed Demon, Liberian Girl, I Just Can’t Stop Loving You 84/100
MJ does it again! A solid 45 minutes of pure dance-pop, synth-funk goodness. Opening your album with the two absolute bangers Bad and The Way You Make Me Feel is so unfair, especially when you go on to close it with mf Smooth Criminal!!!
The hits aren’t my favorite hits of his but most of the album is still awesome regardless.
Well I don't think it's as good a project as Off the Wall or Thriller, but don't get it twisted, it's undeniably a classic. Fill my veins with these synth basslines please!!! Standouts: Bad • The Way You Make Me Feel • Liberian Girl • Another Part of Me • Dirty Diana • Smooth Criminal
This is my personal favorite Michael Jackson album, and while I think dark/evil Michael Jackson is hilarious as a concept it works musically. There is such a unique sound for him on here and the track list is absolutely stacked. It helps that Dirty Diana, my favorite MJ song, is on here. I am always somehow surprised at how good this album is.
Grew up on this record, know it by heart.
The rare album by a black - or even pop (ie not hair metal or REM/U2) - artist that I owned and loved when I was in sixth grade. Unpopular opinion, this is better than Thriller. Man in the Mirror is an all timer, and I have a soft spot for Dirty Diana.
Daarom was MJ in de 80’s de King of Pop!
Not as good as I remember, on the whole. Four absolute bangers (Another Part Of Me, Man In The Mirror, Smooth Criminal, Leave Me Alone), a few middling entries (Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Speed Demon, Dirty Diana), and some absolute guff (Liberian Girl, Just Good Friends). Regardless how uncomfortable the artist makes _me_ feel, those better songs are all-timers and justify a strong mark by themselves.
140726 18:05 3.5
Some hits but just not my taste
decent record. not overly fond of most of michael's records even if individual tracks (like a few on Bad) are really good
A few of these are great, a few really bad. Quite like The Way You Make Me Feel and Man in the Mirror. Bad and Smooth Criminal are good but super overplayed.
It's bad, it's bad, it's really really bad. MJ's tough guy songs are just weird. I do dig Smooth Criminal though.
One of the best pop albums of all time
Heard some before; 3; I actually enjoyed the over-produced, squeaky clean sound. To me it makes it fun to listen to, but at the same time doesn't make it really great. A few standout tracks, but about half of the album doesn't really really stand out to me. Favorite Track: Smooth Criminal
Wykurwiste. 5/5 Mnóstwo bangerów
Fantastic record and obviously a classic. The songs aren't all spectacular, but MJ turns them into something quality at the very least. Thriller and Off The Wall are certainly better, but this is a solid release from an amazing artist (RIP) and amazing producer in Quincy (RIP). Long live the king.
Have decided I’m being too much of a hater so from now on being more positive with my rankings– this is no better than all of the other albums so far my criteria has just changed!! It is however a great album– did not know that all of these songs were on the same album
Hee hee 🕺🏻
Listened driving my wife to and from work. Didn't think I'd end up liking this as much as I did. Neil Cicierega has forever ruined Smooth Criminal for me as I kept singing "One Week" instead of the actual lyrics. A classic.
Michael Jackson é sempre una garanzia, pezzi eccezionali e intrattenenti come pochi.
3/5
Great Album
I don't ever need to listen to him again, but he was a good pop star.
music is love
The hits are incredible, the deep cuts are forgetable and the song sequencing is unfortunate. rearranging the song order might do it good, but it's not as strong as the previous two.
Unlike some of MJs better work, this has aged poorly, and has a sickly 80s feel that I can't really get behind. Has it's moments in the title track and smooth criminal.
This is my first album from Michael Jackson in the project. I must stress that statutory rape allegations, while a massive moral stain on his legacy, do not affect the quality of his music. As for the actual music, it's stock 80s pop. You can tell that every song was designed to be a single(because they all were, except "Just Good Friends") l. It's all about catchy beats and big choruses, and Jackson delivers on this premise with aplomb. It's unabashedly mainstream and doesn't even try to hide it, but that's not inherently bad. Admittedly, the focus on soaring choruses and danceable beats does result in repetitive songs, and his infamous vocal noises can be a little off-putting. The fact remains, however, that this album is important, not because of its timelessness, but because it encapsulates its time so well. That's why it's an album to hear before you die. Not because it's a masterpiece that exists outside of time and space, but because it captures the era it was made so well.
Bueno
A worthy follow-up to one of the best selling albums all time for a man in crisis.
I mean come on, who DOENS'T know this album? It's Michael Jackson!
Not the biggest fan of michael, but no doubt an all-time classic. Fav song coming out of this 'Letter to my unborn child' heee heee
Maybe because it is the first album that introduced me to Michael Jackson but I can't see myself giving this with anything other than a 5!!
Like 4 classics from one album, wow.
I like Michael Jackson, but this album is a mixed bag
Srednja žalost. Ima tu dobrih stvari, ali brijem da ima i boljih njegovih albuma. 2/5, 4/10
Have heard multiple times in the past, skipped it this time.
Classic MJ. Loved this album as a kid, but listened to the Weird Al version of Bad, “Fat”, a bunch more. As an adult I have to be in the mood for MJ or someone has to request it but I always love it!!
Absolute banger, shame how conflicted I feel listening to prime Michael Jackson now, but it's undeniable how hooky this thing is, and his voice was just so beautiful at the time.
I like the album but they’re not exactly songs I’d go out of my way to listen to. Phenomenal album though.
Bad. Not a fan. Too high pitched
Straight bangers back-to-back-to-back
omg i’ve been waiting for a MJ album. finally. surprised i didn’t know all of these already!! had a great time with this
excellent
OOOHHH
god
The finale of the epic triptych of Jackson and Jones. They reached great heights in music production, accomplishing what many only dream of. There will never be another duo like The King of Pop and The Da Vinci-like architect of Pop.
Heee heeeee...
I just really don't like Michael Jackson... The Way You Make Me Feel is a bop, Bad is barely tolerable, Man in the Mirror is obnoxious and Smooth Criminal is a chore. I just... can't with him.
MJ is so good. So many bangers here. Nuff said.
Surprinsingly many duds, but the bangers are bangers...
un clásico 10/10
140 albums in and I finally got my first Michael Jackson album. I can't imagine, as an artist, trying to follow something up as massive as Thriller but MJ does an amicable job. The hits are massive but unfortunately I found the songs in between the hits to be a mixed bag. A solid 4/5 album. Also shout out to my friend Tyler from elementary school who danced to "Speed Demon" in like the 4th grade. Fun fact: this album was released on my birthday
It isnt his best album in my opinion but its so mutch better than anything in the gerne at the time. I cant give it anything else than a 4
Here is a record that definitely belongs on this list. A piece of music history filled with bangers. Not personally my favourite MJ record, but very close.
I always kinda struggle to say anything about Michael Jackson. Not gonna say it is bad music, but at the same time that is all I can say about it. I don't care for his music, it's just kinda fine.
No notes - almost every song is a banger. Loved this album
This album has some of Michael Jackson’s great and well known songs, but I didn’t find it to be my favorite album by him. It’s definitely full of songs that are classic Michael Jackson, but definitely some filler between the hits.
I mean, are we serious? Its not even the best MJ album, but its still a 5.
Idk it’s was pretty good lol
Overall Rating - 3.82/5 (7.64/10). Where it's good, it's among the best. Where it's bad, it's pretty forgettable. For all of the hype, this is hit-or-miss.
Not my fav MJ album but it’s still an enjoyable listen.
How can anyone follow up an album like Thriller? After listening to this, front to back, I realize, you can’t follow up Thriller. Every time I hear Bad, I think of what could have been with Prince and Micheal singing that song as a duet. Dirty Diana, Smooth Criminal, and Man in the Mirror are some of my favorite Micheal songs, but as an album, nothing flows or feels cohesive. Overall, I like a few of the songs, but the album as a whole is mid. Not Bad, but not good either.
Classic. Half the tracks were monster hits. The other half were new to me. A couple clunkers which kept it from a 5. Still can’t hear Bad without thinking of Weird Al in a giant fat suit.
Pretty good album. 4/5
Wow, "Speed Demon" is a rad song. "Liberian Girl" is terrible. This was a super fun listen. I went through it twice. Despite being 80s-tastic, it holds up really well. It's a great album and MJ was a great entertainer. The lyrics are kind of ridiculous. Pop music. Let's go.
Following Thriller is basically impossible, so I empathize with the challenge that faced Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones. That said, "Speed Demon"? "Liberian Girl"? The 2nd quarter of the album is such a miss, but at least it comes back strong(ish) for the last three songs. There are obviously classics on here; it's just too bad everything is so saddled by the sounds of "synthetic everything" '80s production. 3.5 stars.
Good start but inconsistent
I mean Bad was a pop classic but not sure it really holds up. It just comes off a bit cheesy compared to some of his other older albums. It just feels like he's trying to show off that he's edgy but it falls super flat on it's face. It's got some bangers on it but also some really bad songs. Overall a bit of a mixed bag for me.
lo amo
Better than Coldplay
My vindicated king! The only Bad thing about this album is that it ends.
Michael Jackson has multiple albums that are no skip, six star, bonafide classics. He truly was the King of Pop throughout his life. All the songs on this record could stand alone on their own accord but float into one another so seemlessly. I am jarred how amazing album is. This album takes you to right back to the eighties but holds up just as strong today.
Good
Lowkey slick.
Great album, but not the best from the King of Pop. Lots of material for those who want to pop analyze MJ through his music. Dirty Diana is an underrated piece about stars being manipulated by their “fans.” Probably not the most common interaction between stars and fans— but maybe gives some insight into how MJ felt, generally, about relationships. A 4.
How on Earth do you follow such a cultural thenomenon 'Thriller'? Well, in what might be a controversial opinion to some, by making an album that's even better. Michael Jackson had a gargantuan yet turbulent period in the years following the unbelievable success of 'Thriller'. The album became the best-selling of all time, won 8 Grammys and ensured for a good two-year period that Michael Jackson dominated headlines. However, the pressures of success soon got to him. He suffered second-degree burns to his scalp filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984 and he largely withdrew from the public eye across 1985 and 1986, where the press constantly hounded him about his change in appearance (facial work and lightening skin became prominent with Jackson about this time) and his bizarre behaviour (taking his pet monkey, Bubbles, everywhere, and sleeping in an oxygen chamber). Much has been said about Jackson personal life already that I'm not going into it further. I'm just providing snippets to contextuallise 'Bad' and how the lead-up is significant to its creation. 'Bad' is edgier, funkier and more badass than 'Thriller', and as a result, I like it better. Jackson took all the buzz, good and bad, from the previous years and fuelled it into a stellar collection of songs that explore self-confidence ('Bad'), personal responsibility ('Man In the Mirror'), defiance ('Leave Me Alone') and, quite literally, a smooth criminal in 'Smooth Criminal'. 'Bad' is also notable for being the album in his discography where Jackson has most creative control, writing all but two of the songs. Jackson's in fine form on this record, having well and truly grown into his voice and shows more range and variety here than on 'Thriller', and considering the metric f***ton of pressure he would've been under following up the highest-selling album, its such a shame that 'Bad' is more widely regarded as his true crowning achievement, as it was made in much more difficult circumstances, had the weight of expectation that few artists before (or since) have probably felt and served as essentially a soft reboot. I may be very much in the minority here, but 'Bad' is Michael Jackson's definitive artistic statement as far as I'm concerned. Regardless of how you feel about his personal life and bizarre behaviour, 'Bad' is truly a genius record that sees Jackson at his most unfiltered, raw and unflinchingly real. Best songs: Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Man In the Mirror, Dirty Diana, Smooth Criminal, Leave Me Alone
Great album
duh
Manufactured capitalism slop
Not very interesting... very corporate... made to sell above anything else...
It's MJ duh
Coincidence? I think not
Contains some of the most iconic songs of MJ’s career… and some others. I’m not overly keen on Speed Demon and the collabs on this album are a miss for me, but the key finds on this listen are Another Part of Me, Dirty Diana, and rediscovering just how GOOD the bass line on Smooth Criminal is. Overall immediate thoughts: good album, not quite up to Thriller standards and MJ starts to sound like a bit of a parody of himself here.
they sang this on glee
Pop music isn’t my thing, quite honestly. That being said, I know a great record when I hear it and I can appreciate why this was so big at the time and is one of the highest selling records of all time. Timing matters and this was right in the pocket of popular music at that time. A great record.
Classic album. No notes
You have to separate the artist from the art otherwise this is a 1 star album. After later abuse allegations, some listeners reinterpret the album through a darker lens — especially songs about being misunderstood or persecuted. That tension doesn’t erase the album’s craft — but it changes emotional reception for some people.
Respect, richtig gut. Hör's mir nie wieder an.
Gutes unterhaltsames Album, bei dem sich Michael nun zu 100% in die Popmusik verabschiedet hatte.
Sehr starker Beginn, allerdings kann das Album das Niveau nicht auf diesem Level halten. Irgendwann wartet man nur noch auf Smooth Criminal
Banger of an album. I was stunned to see so many of these songs on a single album: huge impact on the world. Added The Way You Make Me Feel to my library, but otherwise no additions.
Mais c'est très midi Michael Jackson en fait.
vocal performance is undeniable. songwriting...somewhat deniable. lyrics in particular frequently leave something to be desired, and the rhythm section tends to recede fully into the realm of a backing track. to be fair, i have the same opinions about a whole lot of pop music.
Bad - 4 The way you make me feel - 5 Speed demon - 1 Liberian girl - 1 Just good friends - 2 Another part of me - 1 Man in the mirror - 3 I just can't stop loving you - 1 Dirty diana - 4 Smooth criminal - 5 Leave me alone - 2
nyt on niin paras levy että kaikki tähdet menee tähän
I remember listening to this on cassette, must have heard a few hundred times. Not a bad album with some pretty good songs
Goes from some of the best pop ever to peak mediocracy. How do you collaborate with Stevie Wonder and not make a banger I won't downplay it's greatness though
Did anyone catch on good friends the Stevie wonder hidden feature? Yeah man this was fantastic pop and a rnb album that still gives that groove.
Not of my taste, I couldn't distinguish one song from the other
og can't go wrong
My second time listening to this album, as a whole it's better than Thriller. However, I prefer the songs on Thriller, individually. However, my second time listening to this album made me enjoy it more. Song rank from fav to least fav: 1. Liberian girl 2. The way you make me feel 3. Dirty Diana 4. Just good friends 5. Man in the mirror 6. Another part of me - the bridge pushed it up the ranking 7. Just can't stop loving you 8. Bad 9. Leave me alone 10. Smooth criminal - the music video makes it better