Stripped

First thing: this shit is just way too long. This could have been two albums, especially at the time. The contents are actually not bad - I think she’s always been one of the better actual musicians in the sea of pop music from the mid 90s to the late 2000s. That said it is still fundamentally an album written and produced for mass market appeal. The standout tracks are all the singles, which makes sense. “Drrty”, “Beautiful”, “Fighter”, etc. The other tracks seem average to fine with nothing particularly bad in it. Just kinda boring stuff that doesn’t resonate with me, the absolute opposite of the intended audience of course. You could do a lot worse for a pop album. You could do a lot worse than Scott Storch as a producer of the time too, which for various personal reasons is still hysterical to me.

She has always had an outstanding voice. For some reason a lot of this album felt long and boring to me, though. I wanted to like it more.

Not sure I expected to see something as "poppy" as this on the list, but I'm glad I did. It's fun with something other than rock! The album itself was a bit too long for my taste with it's 1hr 20min or so runtime. Christina really has some superclass vocals, and I never experienced this before, but it actually got a bit fatiguing after a while somehow. It's just so intense, and it feels like all lines she sings needs to be sung with extreme presence and energy. Almost like she's trying to sing every song in the most technical and impressive way, just for the sake of doing it - and because she can. There were a handful of classics in there that you've heard before, like 'Infatuation', 'Beautiful', and 'Dirrty'. The hits are decent, but it's not really my jam to be honest. You can't deny that this probably had some impact when it came, definitely played a lot when it came out! Solid 3 overall.

Some pop was really a breath of fresh air! It was fun to listen to something other than rock. I didn't expect this album on this list but looking through its very long runtime there actually are quite a few hits. You could remove maybe two thirds of this album (keeping the hits) and you would have a really good album worthy of a four star. As it stands, the album is a bit all over the place. You can tell that there are very many songwriters as there is not really a cohesive vision or sound. The album runs long, and while Aguilera's singing is on point, I got very tired of her style by the end. The whole thing just comes off as an overproduced collection of songs where the producers took the shotgun approach and of course managed to get a few good shots in. Still the hits are good and I think this album may be a trailblazer for future pop stars to follow.

fine, seemed like average pop sound, not terribly distinctive.

Surprisingly good

3.75, liked first half but then it kept going and going

You love her or you don't like her. I'm undecided. Nice pop - Album.

I never got into Christina when I was younger beyond radio singles. I was in the Spears boat as a fan, but these are the albums that get me excited on this list. The ones I truly missed while growing up, not some 60's UK folk album that no one remembers. I will give a ding for all the interludes, a product of its time but still. I know I've heard Fighter before and Beautiful is a classic. Glad this one made it on here, but it's funny I wonder if she was going for the Hip Hop cred having so many interludes and an album clocking right in at that CD max of hr 20. I think the album is a bit long in the tooth, but not going to complain.

Somewhat unremarkable pop album, but Christina has a great voice. I didn't think I'd know any tracks on here, but I definitely recognized "Beautiful." I'm saving four tracks, which is pretty good. I'm not sure if this really belongs on a list of this magnitude, but as far as pop albums go, it was a pretty good time. Favorite tracks: Walk Away, Fighter, Beautiful, Soar. Album art: Christina posing in front of a white background. She looks pretty powerful here, goated one might say. The look and picture are somewhat iconic for her, but as an album cover it's not super interesting to me. 3.5/5

definitely too long but then I hear "Dirrty" and every endorphin in my brain gets activated all at once.

R&B, pop comercial. Buena voz pero no me hace mucho. Ni fu ni fa.

This album came out my senior year of high school and I have never heard all of it. I do remember some of the tracks, and they never excited me as much as the videos(you know what I mean). Anyway, right away I enjoyed Walk Away, as it features her vocals, and she clearly has a great singing voice, and that theme continued throughout. I enjoyed the less popular tracks a little more. The bigger singles were fine, and overall the album is good for a pop album, which isn't really my thing.

Inexcusably long, but it's generally fine. Wouldn't seek it out but there's worse pop.

This album would be half the length if you took out all the notes Christina over sings That said, there are some decent songs on this that have held up far better than expected I gave Britney a 2 and this is better so I guess it gets a generous 3

Being it's the first time I've ever heard this album or any track on it but “Beautiful,” I'm a little surprised this release was selected over Ms. Aguilera's first album, which had quite a few hits. While I've always respected her singing ability—stunning voice and control over it—I have never followed any of her work. I'm happy to have heard the album and found a handful of tracks pleasant. I'll be happy to return to them individually. The album seems well produced, and several sources claim this album inspired many in the next generation of musicians, but to me it doesn't seem particularly memorable.

This was fine for what it is. The vocals are good enough to get to a 3 even though I'm not a big fan of the genre, but barely. 2.5

I have to admit that I was surprised to see this one the list. I remember hating most of this album when it came out and was played constantly. I was probably wrong. This is not my style of music, but it's not bad. I'm not sure what makes this album different from a ton of other pop albums from the same decade. Why did this album make the list instead of them? Or are they all here and I just haven't gotten to them yet? Overall good, but slightly too long, pop album. Not sure how influential it actually was.

Xtina, how and why did you make this so long?!

A good misture of influences and great voice. I find her pop music has aged and I con only enjoy it in small doses. A full album is too much

I can’t listen to over an hour of a diva I do not claim as mine. The filler tracks are awful. True pop drivel. But, she does have some legit pipes on her, I can’t deny that. Fighter is a great song. And this album birthed a whole new era for her career. I was in high school when it came out and I remember how scandalized all of our parents were by the Dirrty music video. I could never tell if this new hyper-sexualized image was a bold personal choice on Xtina’s part or if it was just corporate puppetry to sell records, and I guess that’s why she never became a favourite or staple to me. But good for her for having a hugely successful album that did produce so many major pop culture defining moments.

I have a soft spot for Christina, but the irony of an album called stripped going on for 78 fucking minutes! Some killer tunes but lots of filler too.

While the music was nothing special to me, her voice is powerful and wonderful to hear.

Not in my edition of the book! 2002. 3 stars. Well, she's got a great set of pipes, and there are a handful of good songs on this - but there is also a LOT of filler. Better quality control and this could have been a 5 - as it is, it goes on far too long.

It was okay overall with my favorites being “Fighter” and “Beautiful”

When it started I was thinking I’m liking this more than I thought I would. Then after a while I was getting pretty tired of it. She has got a great voice but there are so many songs on this album. Towards the end there were a couple of songs that I kinda liked again but in the end I’m feeling about 2.5 but I will round up.

I only listened to this just for the sake of knocking it off the list. As much as I don't want to admit it, I actually enjoyed some of it. Unfortunately, it had a lot of weak moments, but I have to give credit where credit is due—it had some moments that I really enjoyed.

there are some nice songs on here and christina's voice, as always, is incredible. but honestly i found this album a bit boring and same-y. the hits on here are great pop songs, but the rest of it is very generic early 00s pop music that does not stand out in any way. very middle of the road for me.

Never listened to an album of hers although her stamp on the late 90s and beyond has been and continues to be significant. I've heard many of her songs, several of which came from this album. Her vocals are signature in the same way Mariah Carey's are. You just know a Christina Aguilera song the moment you hear the voice. Some of the songs have some substance instead of disposable pop, which is cool to hear, "Beautiful" is chief among those. I also respect her musician-ship in that she wrote many of these songs and produced the vocals. The instrumentals in the album are minimal, and at times feel sampled, underproduced, and secondary to the vocals, which occassionally is ok, but then a song like "Impossible" comes on, and you realize how much better this album could be with stronger instrumentals. "Fighter" kicks ass and is a solid pop single. It builds, it has energy, and it just begs to be part of an early 2000s teen movie montage. I'm sure it was in one or ten. This album clips along, and is mostly a cohesive pop album. I see its relevance. It's not my thing overall, but worthy of a listen.

A good album, I liked Fighter, impossible and Dirty.

A couple of bops on this album can't really save it from my lack of interest.

Didn’t realise a few of the songs on this album were by her. Was fairly enjoyable

Good

This is a fine pop album and probably one of Aguilera's better ones. My question is largely unanswered as to why this is a must listen. I'll throw in that this album clocks in at a whopping 1 hour, 17 minutes - that's about 30 minutes too long for a pop album regardless of what the message of it is supposed to be, which after listening to this album, I'm not sure. 3/5

Bit too long for my taste, could have stripped some of the less memorable songs and would have been a 4

Much more R&B vibes than I expected. She's definitely talented, but just not my thing.

A hell of a singer

Actual banger

Chicken strips

This whole era of pop is so nostalgic for me and man Aguilera has a hell of a voice, but this album was about three times as long as necessary imho

As far as turn-of-the-millenium Pop goes, this one is alright. Aguilera's voice is her strength, most songs are not, with the notable exceptions of (obviously) Fighter and Beautiful. 3/5

Better than peak Britney - isn't that all that matters?

Two hits from early 2000s and a long album of quite average song to compliment it. Christina had an amazing and unique voice at the time, but stylistically it's on the rather boring generic pop music level. Anyway, Stronger will remain a great song forever.

Great voice but come on.

A little unnecessary

Mixing struck me as a little flat, but I was surprised by the quality of the songs nonetheless. Not sure I needed an hr 17 min of Aguilera runs tho

3.75

When I was younger I would have given this a 1 sight unseen. However, pop has really grown on me and this is a career and decade defining album. The vocals on this album are fantastic of course, though the production and skits are very dated. My biggest issue is the total lack of cohesiveness. There are heartfelt songs interspersed with songs about claiming female sexuality. There’s nothing wrong with mixing up your content, but there are so many sounds here (Latin, gospel, soul, R&B) that don’t blend, but rather transition abruptly. This record plays like a collection of unrelated songs rather than an album. However, due to its influence, it still deserves a 3.

It was kind of a refreshing to have something so poppy on here. She does have a belter of a voice. I wouldn’t necessarily choose to listen to this, but it was kind of fun. It also brought back endearing memories of us driving in Park City with ‘Beautiful’ blaring on the radio. Some of these songs probably have a lot of resonance with a certain contingent and if it empowers them (or anyone) then I am overjoyed.

Her voice is powerful. Production is super slick. I know the words and will sing along with the hits. I could take or leave this album.

No question, Christina Aguilera can sing. She's got a nice depth to her voice that sets her apart from many of her contemporaries. But I find so much of this record sounds sterile. Or distant. I'm not finding the words to describe it, but there's some music that can evoke a serious emotional response, and this flavor of pop just can't — not from me, at least. Even the song "Beautiful," which I've heard (I wouldn't have known it was Aguilera), it's a beautiful song. The melody is striking, the production is pretty sparse, until the harmonies kick in, and still, I feel like there's a wall between me and the performer. She just sounds distant and untouchable. It's a product of the product — which is why I don't relate to this genre in general. I hear the talent. I am unmoved.

The hits really slam but this is a long album with a lot of that belting out, which is best for me in smaller doses.

I don’t think I’ve ever really listened to an Aguilera song other than beautiful before. In all honestly I don’t think it was super necessary to have heard not influential but i don’t have anything negative to say about it. I thought it was just a fun album and seemed to go by fast. No complaints.

Million dollar voice, 25-cent lyrics.

Yep. That was an album. This was my second experience with Christina Aguilera, and I'd say I enjoyed the two albums about the same. This is a solid pop album. As stated in my Back to Basics review, I think that her singing is quite good and impressive. The instrumentals are decent. They vary in quality, but most of them are good. The writing is pretty personal actually. The big reason for why this whole album feels personal was because Christina felt that her debut album wasn't personal enough, with her not really getting any creative control. This album was said to be her true debut, and I can see that. Is this my favorite album in the world? No. It really isn't my thing personally. On top of that, this thing is just way too long. They probably could've cut half the songs from here and all of the desired points would have still come across in a meaningful way. However, I have an immense amount of respect for this album and can see why it's on here. High 3/5.

Christina at her best

Christina’s Stripped is a relatively constant, extended display of her change in ways. Her voice is beautiful, and on songs like Beautiful, really make way to create an enjoyable listening experience. However, the undeniable filler in this album brings the score down, not to mention the overall lack of variety as well. All in all, Stripped is an alright album.

Her voice starts off pretty good, but then it kinda falls into a more average pop voice. Not too impressed halfway through and I am not thrilled that this is well over an hour long. The last half picked up a good bit once "Beautiful" hit. I'd say this brought it up to a soft 3. Wasn't my favorite listen, especially how long it went, but there was some stuff to like in here.

Some of these songs went pretty hard, especially Fighter. She has some serious sass to her which I was getting down with. The horns and guitar in some of the songs were pretty toight too. Beautiful was a classic song from childhood. The slow songs were a bit tough and some parts were a little too poppy. I liked this album more than I was expecting. Rating this a pretty high 3. Wish it was about 20 minutes shorter though.

Overall a pleasant album, but too many songs! Every song sounded nice, but some weren't so distinct from another. The album didn't seem totally cohesive, more like a collection of songs that sounded pretty good. Christina Aguilar also insists on belting every part of the song on multiple tracks, which can be grating if not distracting. There are some big hits, like "Fighter" and "Beautiful." Of course "Dirrty" is a BANGER and such a fun song. A pretty good album with some skips.

Love her tits but the music is a bit generic

The hits are great, rest is filler.

3.5 - This record is a lot more grandiose than it needs to be. Christina had a massive vision that isn’t fully realized. She takes a chomp out of many different genres: Latin, hip hop, neo-soul, pop-rock anthems, gospel, R&B, Disney-esque ballads. Obviously she managed to land a couple huge hits, notably her best song “Beautiful.” And she’s clearly done the work — she gets songwriting credit on most of these songs — so I can’t fault her for swinging for the fences. But, once again, she’s all over the place, and most of her songs sound derivative. Also, I find her hypersexuality phony and more than a little tacky (just look at the pants she’s wearing on the album cover and their accentuated vag triangle).

For some inexplicable reason, there was a fad in the 00s where every pop artist deemed it necessary to have their albums run for more than an hour. It's a damn shame, because even though I'm not part of the target audience, Stripped could have been a great, focused pop record. 'Fighter', 'Beautiful', and 'The Voice Within' are generational anthems, and there is no denying Aguilera's incredible voice. Though I did wish she would hold a bit back on the phrasings and vocal runs.

Solid pop album by Aguilera containing some of the defining bangers of the 2000’s. It’s just a shame that they included the 20 song, 77 minute anniversary deluxe edition for this list. What? Are you telling me that’s just the regular edition? Well, that’s embarrassing - and completely uncalled for.

The way I screamed when I saw this come up -it was kinda iconic she put an intro song on here, like classic rock album style -it’s giving big Alicia keys vibes too -fighter fucks so hard -this is like a group project where CA did 70% of the work -I love the little sound bite songs between songs, it feels so intentional in the album crafting. Makes it feel like almost a live album -that being said, this album is entirely too long -Underappreciated -it seems almost intentionally “stripped” back sonically

Better than I was expecting, though a little long. A nice mix of pop/rock/ballad/rap. She's got a great voice and the backing music was varied and enjoyable.

Как-то я пропустил этот альбомыч, не оценил. Давайте оценивать. Кристина Агилеровна знакома нам (мне) с детства. Так что ожидаю что-то знакомое на этом альбоме, классика попсы. Заодно повод взглянуть на неё свежим взглядом. Почему-то я ожидал большего. У Кристины прекрасный сильный голос, но тут её голос сильно тонет в окружающем шуме, будто бы ставку сделали не на то ) так что не знаааю не знаю. Да, треки движовые балдёжные, чего и ожидаешь от попсы. Но в целом не дотянула.

Very listenable, well produced pop-album with the hit-single "Beautiful". Maybe little too long.

Credit where credit's due, this one surprised me - Aguilera kept me entertained for over an hour, and while a certain fatigue does set in by the end it was much less than that of other lengthy pop LPs. The big hits definitely shine brightest here (any '00s child will recognize 'Fighter' whether they know it or not), but there was enough interesting production and artistic flourishes to push this above radio-friendly filler. The airtight production does feel a bit sterile by the end, but Aguilera's killer vocals punch through the gloss and offer a more varied, organic element to the album. Pop music can be good actually!

Some good songs

Offen und ehrlich. Die Stimme ist irgendwann zu viel.

Un muy buen disco de pop. Las interpretaciones vocales de Aguilera son sencillamente sorprendentes. Sin embargo, la producción es sumamente anticuada y se escucha muy de su época. Actualmente, eso le juega bastante a favor, ya que está bastante de moda los sonidos post Y2K. Aun así, el LP peca de ser, quizá, innecesariamente largo. De todas formas, es un disco recomendable.

I thought I only knew one song of hers going in, Genie in a Bottle. Turns out I know at least two others (Fighter and Beautiful), just thought they were Kelly Clarkson or somebody else. Well, this album started off poorly with a GIRL POWER song featuring an annoying Lil' Kim rap. Big pass. After that, there is actually some decent pop stuff here. The girl can sing for sure, though sometimes her vocal acrobatics are a bit much, but that's what was popular (is it still?). The album goes on too long with too many "inspirational" songs. Cut it off after 15 tracks and we're good.

Christina Aguilera is a pretty strong singer. I liked this album overall, it felt more like soul than like pop for the most part. However, this album did not need to be 77 minutes long. I feel like it would be easy to crop this album's 20 tracks down to 13-15 at least.

I never really listened to Christina before; I didn’t think it was my kind of music. And I was right, it isn’t what I typically listen to. But that being said, I was quite surprised. This girl can sing. Her conviction, passion and power help sell what normally I would consider rather banal lyrics. A number of different styles going on here. I must admit, it was an enjoyable listen.

Can't hold us down, what a bop, even if she did basically black up in the video. First thoughts were wow she really does have quite a voice, but after a bit it's quite a lot of warble and ballads. I didn't get Beautiful or Dirrrrrty so something went wrong there. Another one that seems to have been since bumped from the book

One hour and 17 minutes! C'mon Christina, EDIT. Some bangers, for sure, and her voice is obviously great. 30 minute album would probably be 5 stars, but lots of these songs started sounding the same and could have been dropped.

Bit torn on this one. I think its good well produced pop album. However she thinks her voice is better than it is. The album is a bit scattergun and it's way too long.

Pre-listening thoughts: I think I’m familiar with three songs here. Even in her heyday I was more of a Britney person. I can guarantee I’ve never listened to this album. Underappreciated was a new find. Dare I say, an underappreciated one? But I think generally, Christina is not for me because her project is not one I’m interested in. Of the Britney/Jessica/Mandy generation, she’s the One Who Can Sing. No denying that. But that’s not what I want. So when she Sings, it falls flat for me. Not her fault. I’m just not going to keep coming back to this, except for the songs where she’s just doing pop stuff.

Versatile and wide ranging voice that sounds wonderfully bluesy when needed. Some songs are strong ballads, others catchy rock funk. Generally better than her peers. Good, albeit too long (a criticism I levelled at her other album showcased on this list, Back To Basics).

Oväntat svängigt på vissa ställen.

The epitome of the 90s teen-star-turned-adult female empowerment album; add urban credibility from hip hip producers and guest rappers; break all the records and make all the hits; here’s the r and b track, here’s a ballad, here’s a Latin rhythm. If there’s a formula here, Aguilera elevates it for sure; powerful voice and charisma. But it’s long - very long - and judicious editing maybe gets you a succinct satisfying record. Props to Beautiful - a perfect pop record - and Dirty gets you in the club.

Really? This is one of the 1001 albums? Well ok, I guess I’ll give it a shot. A little more than halfway through, and I’m actually enjoying this a fair amount. Many of the songs are more rock oriented, some are R&B oriented, and some are the ones I know and eye roll at like “Beautiful”. Despite the differences between songs, it all feels cohesive. Interestingly, every song on the album was written or co-written by Aguilera except for “Beautiful”, which is the one part of the album that doesn’t feel like it belongs. It’s a major pop ballad though so it made sense to include it to help drive sales. Overall, I found myself liking this much more than I had expected, to the point where I listened to the deluxe edition with 2 extra tracks: a b-side and a remix.

It was actually pretty good, but Holy Christ, 77 minutes.

Not bad for a pop album. Great voice, good flow. 3.5/5

Never would have listened to the whole album without the project. A few bangers.

Yllättävän all over the place, siis monenlaista biisiä ja jopa laulutyyliä - jälkimmäisestä propsit Xtinalle. Erityisesti b-puoli hämmentää sekaisuudellaan. A-puoli kun on Fighteria lukuun ottamatta vähän laimea. Mutta pätevää amerikkapoppia.

Pretty well written songs. Didn't hate it as much as I had expected. Still, not my bag.

R&B, pop comercial. Buena voz pero no me hace mucho. Ni fu ni fa.

Beautiful.

This was a mixed bag for me. On one hand it’s obvious she has a great voice, but on other hand I felt like she was trying to hard to prove it for half the album. A few solid songs which saves me from giving it 2 stars. Plus she had a hand in writing most of the songs which is impressive compared to many others in the pop genre.

Better than I expected. 3.5 stars

Prima muziek terwijl je werkt

Mostly Forgettable, Couple good jams like Cruz and the Redman Jam, but i do think this is a good album and she is super talented, im happy for her.

lots of talent floating around here - slick production and a vocal range i can't hit so hats off

I'd only listened to the singles from this and I did enjoy them - found this album kind of a joy overall, though bloated and with a thematic adventurousness that careens into being unfocused at times.

Not the best album, but it gets an extra point for the nostalgia

Better then I thought, I feel like this was a pretty good album although it needs some fat trimmed off it, Aguilera’s voice carries for sure

I was expecting to last about 3 tracks before turning it off but I made it the whole way through - and even enjoyed large parts of it.

Vocally she's amazing, musically it's absolutely not for me

Boring talent. Waaay too long an album. If this had been culled to 40 minutes, it would have earned 4 stars.

Helt ok

Fighter e banger. Annars helt ok

Þetta er ekkert leiðinleg tónlist þótt maður hafi í gamla daga ekki mikið hlustað á þetta en þetta er samt svo mikið bara af því sama.

Strong 3, I actually enjoyed this album which is cool

Some good songs on the album.

It’s an ok pop album, couple of fantastic songs, like Dirty, Beautiful, Stripped and Fighter. Solid 3/5.

2.7, rare verassingen

Went on a bit

She's got a great voice and I recognised a couple. One, fighter I think, is pretty heavy and I enjoyed that the most.

its ok

Stripped flies along for a seventy-minute record. It also tries to do absolutely everything. The butter spreads thin, as expected. Coating but not sticking is respectable for a pop album, though; Stripped is a little bigger than the sum, even though the terms aren't spaced as well as on its successor.

A high 3 - if it had been shorter it would have been a 4 or a 5.

2.58 per track. Excluded intro and interludes

I feel like my review of this album suffers a bit from getting a Justin Timberlake album from the same era in the last week. While I enjoy this album overall, I don't think it's as good as the Timberlake album, and I find it impossible not to compare the two because they very much existed in the same musical space. This is a better pop album than I would have given it credit for at the time. I still hate the complete lack of self awareness that the song Beautiful shows, but it's a solid album overall that features her voice well. The music could have been better, but that's true for most of the albums that came from the graveyard of the early 2000s 3/5

Kudos to Christina that I'm giving this 3 stars when it's definitely music I wouldn't normally have any interest in whatsoever. I was also impressed that the big hits didn't really stand out above the rest of the material and there were no real dips in quality.

1h20, sérieusement, pour de la pop des années 90-2000. De la musique de producer, c'est rough, beaucoup trop long. L'albums a ses hits c'est certain, Mais moi c'est le genre de musique qui manque de vie. Elle chante bien par contre et a eu une belle carrière par la suite. C'est juste platte que ca soit probablement son plus gros hit comme album et que ca soit aussi fade. 3 car j'Ai déjà entendu beaucou de ces chanson et c'est pas mauvais mais vriament pas plus.

I was not expecting a Christina album to show up here. I’m not a big pop fan but her voice is excellent. I like that it leans into r&b.

Christina has a unique growl to her voice that comes out when she is emphasizing lyrics, and it is great! She has a beautiful singing voice, and I would say that of the 00's pop divas, Christina is the best. Her music has aspects of jazz, rock, and soul to it on top of the pop backdrop. I feel like my ears need a shower after listening to Dirrty. I can distinctly remember seeing the music video on Much Music when I was in high school and thinking my eyes needed a shower after watching it too! So much sweaty gyrating!! The album definately overstays its welcome, at 78 minutes of runtime, over 20 songs. There is only so much female led pop I can stomach at once. It isn't necessarily bad, it just gets old fast. Favourite songs: Dirrty, Fighter, Beautiful, Underappreciated, Make Over, Can't Hold Us Down, The Voice Within Least favourite songs: Stripped Intro, Primer Amor Interlude, Loves Embrace Interlude, "Stripped, Pt. 2", plus the dumb skit at the end of the album (fuck skits), Impossible 3/5

Better than i anticipated, but too long

Some great bits, some over produced crap

Ok

Yea 2000s pop not my thing usually but it was an enjoyable listen. Pharrell was all over this thing which elevates it big time

One of the many embers that kept the Y2K teen pop era burning, Christina Aguilera resolved (after instances of being torn apart by strangers and supposed colleagues) to not only differentiate herself from the pack but to burn even brighter in the process. The result is a hodgepodge of empowerment anthems and definitive statements over her personality all the while dabbling in styles that were de rigueur. Whilst it could have been "stripped" (hehe) down to save the listener from repetitive and, therefore, monotonous returns to the subject, this still serves as a turning point in the career of someone who will always be more than what those who thought of her as. Favorites: Can't Hold Us Down, Walk Away, Fighter, Loving Me 4 Me, Underappreciated, Beautiful, Make Over, Get Mine Get Yours, Dirrty, The Voice Within.

Very good! 3.5

ça fait un peu beaucoup de Christina Aguilera en deux jours, mais c'est toujorus mieux que les albums de country de merde de Robert.

Thought I’d hate this. I’m not a pop fan but this was ok.

I audibly groaned for two reasons before starting this record: one, it's in that time and place where 77 minutes was considered a reasonable run length, and two, Scott Storch handles a large portion of the production. As far as I'm aware, he's a Timbaland protegee with a penchant for throwing ""middle eastern"" sounding production onto everything he touches ("Baby Boy" by Sean Paul and Beyonce comes to mind). I guess he hadn't reached that place yet, since the production is more restrained and varied. Christina can fucking sing, and she's best when she's going for broke and absolutely belting, but I don't think there's enough of this. She does the soft, sensual singing well, but I just think her strengths lie elsewhere. Her abilities vocally push a song that might have some cheesy lyrics into something else, something meaningful. I can't imagine many other singers tackling "Beautiful" and coming out sounding anything less than sappy. This thing could've been trimmed and been more manageable, but we had to have twenty tracks. Call it a 2.5, but Christina's powerhouse vocals keep this from being lower. Favorite tracks: "Fighter", "Beautiful"

I don't think I can fairly assess pop albums like this. I loathed them growing up - avoided at all costs, really - to the point where I don't recognize any songs here - and that bias is just too deeply ingrained. Christina Aguilera can really belt 'em out though.

Ik vind Christina Aguilera wel leuk. Dit album is wel heel veel RnB, maar ook wel met een paar krachtige pop-nummers en af en toe een vleugje Spanje :-).

OK

the music of my childhood

Þessi var ekki eins slæm og ég óttaðist, sumt var meira að segja fínt. Í raun merkilega fjölbreyttur hljóheimur og röddin ágæt á köflum, sem mér fannst nú ekki einu sinni. Ég held ég muni þó ekki hlusta aftur.

None of the songs are all that bad but this type of music gets tiring when listening to it as a whole album and not just as something playing on the radio

Amazing vocals and talent, but the music is just not for me. Has a bit of culture vulture to it, and I don’t think it’s a sound that suits her voice.

Some bangers, bit too much sappy filler. Overall decent album.

Poppy pop, but with a stone cold 5 star song (Beautiful) in there.

i enjoyed this a bit more than i care to admit. she is crazy talented. however, there are a few things that i could do without: 1. the collaborations lacked chemistry and seemed forced, 2. when she does what i call “vocal acrobatics” (when she sings a word and all of the sudden that word lasts for ten seconds and she hits like 23 different notes during that ten seconds), 3. when she “whisper sings” (a technique used during that era when women wanted to sound “sexy”… i just find it gimmicky and annoying). other than that, great effort by a woman with a killer voice.

Unquestionably talented vocalist with a strong, high production backing... and I just couldn't care about it.

Great voice.

Got this on my 23rd birthday, and listening to it more than a year later. Not as bad and dreadful as I thought.. Christina Aguilera has some soul in her voice, but more importantly, she better switch me chairs so I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst.

Didn't want to like it but did. Great voice tslent

Heard it before?: No Enjoy it?: Yeah, some og classics on here that have stood the test of time Favourite song: Track 2 - Can’t Hold us Down

3+/5

Enjoyed the hits and bits of the rest. Mixed.

This was a solid pop album, with catchy arrangements and some really lovely vocals by Christina Aguilera. Her lyrical game here is also strong here, with an emotionally honest, empowering message that doesn't take away one bit from the album's solid pop sensibility. On the negative side, there is way too much filler and the interludes add nothing to the album. She could have dropped 20 minutes from this album and it would have been so much better. The less said about "Dirrty," the better. That song is simply terrible. Fave Songs: Fighter, Beautiful, Walk Away, Can't Hold Us Down, Infatuation, Impossible

Due to my sheltered nature, this was one of the first times I heard songs on the radio like "Can't Hold Us Down" that talked back vs. expectations/judgements on certain behaviors towards women vs. men. Let's see, I was in 9th or 10th grade. Surprised how many tracks there were on here I recognized. Like Fighter, Beautiful. I do remember how much people judged her back in the day, like I remember Conan talking about her dressing in a "hoe-uniform" which in retrospect was so gross that I'm sure he'd be appalled today. She's clearly talented and got a bad rap at times. All that said, still not my thing but I can her trying to reinvent herself.

I entered into this album somewhat aware of some of the songs but dismissive of the teenybopper echoes. I should’ve checked myself better. I was impressed by the full-throated range of feminist vibes from this millennial offering, especially from someone so Disney. The grooves are somewhat undercooked but the vocal virtuosity cannot be denied. A surprisingly satisfying listen.

The only song I had heard was “Fighter” when it was on the hit FM radio back before phones. I listened to most of the album and wasn’t disgusted at all, in fact, the album has a great recording quality to it. 2.9/5

Would be 4 if it were shorter

Eh

This was a 2000s album and I never really heard the whole thing before. I’ve heard the popular songs and that alone never really made me interested in Christina Aguilera. I always thought she was ironic how much of a hoe she acted but her songs are for fat girls. Either way this album wasn’t horrible in comparison to the rest of this list. I wouldn’t revisit it but it was ok. 5.8/10

Better than I expected but still not my cup of tea.

I enjoyed it more than expected, in the balance. Although it is too long, with too much filler.

Nice!

kind of cool seeing the singer highlighted so much. rest of the music was pretty simple, repetitive beats. not my thing

Je me suis pris au jeu

une top review vraiment 🤠

Can't Hold Us Down is pretty tight! Fighter is another bop. Impossible is good. It generally comes off as a cusp of adulthood sort of album, with naive songs on the first fulfillment of love, the stripping away of the dumb rougeishness of young affection, but also wanting to be swept up in that all encompassing way that is just too exhausting for a full adult. Beautiful is a nostalgic hit. Her ballads are just not my thing, otherwise. On the whole, its an ambitious album that I don't think has the chops to back up the ambition. It's spread thin.

Wasn’t as revolutionary or feminist as she believed. Pop.

She's got incredible vocals, and this album is rangey... but I think it's tough to listen to a lot.

Never listened to much of this artist; it was better than I expected. Certainly she has the voice. Lyrically it had this aspect of a pretty young person presenting some bog-standard, 101 level political/social ideas like something new and innovative because they just discovered them for the first time. But she was very young here and that's what you do. The music is serviceable but not much more.

Some of this is good. Some of it is filler. I remember having a lot of fun at this tour though. I’ll go 3/5

Really? All in all it went by quick and I didn’t have to check to see how close I was to the end (criteria for a 2 star) but I was distracted by working. Idk

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Fighter, Beautiful, Dirrty, Stripped intro

Solid

Not my type of music. She is fine. She can sing. I just don’t like her music.

Better than I expected

Not my thing. But great voice.

In the days when I was forced to still listen to the radio at work, this album, and in particular the singles, were plastered across it. For me at the time, it all just melded into one big current pop music sound that ran through my work hours. Some of it grated at the time, other songs just floated on down the stream. Listening to the whole album today - the for first time and most likely the last - I found it to be inoffensive pop. The songs all have a similar programmed song line underneath, to which Christina then sings over the top. "Make Over" was actually the best of them because she actually had a go at putting on the rock chick voice and getting away from pop for a second. More of that and I could probably have gotten more into the album.

5/10. Gosh, I mean there were some good parts, and it was even pretty good throughout, but my God, man, it's 77 minutes long.

I could see why this would have been huge in the 2000s. Many tracks feel dated but there’s a lot to be said about Aguilera’s vocal chops and she (or her producers) certainly had a good idea of the pop zeitgeist. For me, it’s too long and a bit too aughts. 6/10

Muy buena voz femenina típica actual americana. Alguna canción más reconocible y con más intensidad. Pop elegante y canciones bien construidas. No es mi género

Pop. R&B

Helt alright!!!

Det här var nog rätt bra! Lite långt men...

A 77 minute long album which is really long, and maybe it is the reason why I felt even more that musically the album is just directionless. The hit songs (Fighter, Beautiful) stand out and Christina's voice is great throughout the whole album. Overall it is an OK album.

Damn catchy

Some songs are good but the album itself is quite mediocre 2/5

It’s good. It’s not fabulous and I don’t know how often I would listen to it but it’s good

Soul. Not my genre.

It grew on me. It has a focused concept and great vocals, but it drags in a lot of places.

'Can't Hold Us Down' and 'Dirty' are pretty good songs, but this album has 20 tracks and 77 minutes of music, so my mind inevitably started to wander. 'Stripped' is no longer in my edition of 1001 Albums (which ends with David Bowie's The Next Day), so I started thinking which relatively recent releases could replace the albums cut from the next edition. Here are my suggestions: - Big Thief: Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You (2022) - Aldous Harding: Warm Chris (2022) - Alvvays: Blue Rev (2022) - Wednesday: Rat Saw God (2023) - Jessica Pratt: Here in the Pitch (2023) - Nala Sinephro: Endlessness (2024) - MJ Lenderman: Planning Fireworks (2024) Since the latest edition was from 2021, I only listed albums released after that.

"Fighter" is one of the best pop songs of all time. That's all

Can't deny she's got a great set of pipes on her, but I didn't enjoy the tone. Giving 2 stars just because when Fighter came on it triggered me like a sleeper agent into dancing.

HUNG LOW LIKE BERNIE MAC

Very long album (couldn't listen on one sitting), with a nice variety of pop centric sounds and a few fun hits I remember hearing on the radio when I was a kid. 2.5/5

It’s fine for what it is, which is that version of samey pop music that was ubiquitous in the early 2000s. Christina has pipes, but it also sounds like she’s trying too hard a lot of the time. 2.5/5

08/20 Meh. Too long

I can already tell you that this is going to be too long but she has a helluva voice

Honestly, a good deal better than I expected. Slick pop production built around star power. A landmark of music? No, but decent for what it is. -.5 for being waaaaay too long.

While there are some songs I recognize from my younger years this isn’t the type of music that resonates with me. My wife on the other hand would give it a 10/5.

This album was fine, but this style of music isn't my cup of tea.

I hated other albums more

Another vocal gymnast who can certainly sing, but uses every trick in the book to sing ALL the notes. At times (You're Beautiful, Can't Hold Us Down, The Voice Within) her songs seem torn from the gritty pages of a new age self help book. And at nearly 80 minutes it really does go on too long and seems unfocussed. I do like some decent pop music, but I'd prefer Millie Small singing My Boy Lollipop to this bloated, self-important artistic statement.

Is nice, but not my jam. I still have a fav and it's make over, that song is great, love it.

Not my thing. Could have been worse

The faster, more beat-driven tunes are amazing here. The rest of it, I can do without. Her voice is obviously very powerful, but over-affected at times.

2 out of 5. Not my thing but still better than new country.

Instead of titling this “Stripped”, she should have titled it “Bloated”. There are some good songs on this album, but she really could have used an editor. 20 tracks and 77+ minutes is simply too much. If she had knocked off right after “Beautiful”, it would have been a decent album. As it is, I am docking her a full star for refusing to edit herself.

Dette har vært en vanskelig skive. Den begynner bra. Ja, faktisk bra! Synes introen er skikkelig kul og det kommer en kavalkade av bangers. Til-og-med interludsa funker for meg. Og Can't Hold Us Down må være noe av det bedre som kom ut av popfabrikken på tidlig 2000-tallet. Det er for det meste god production med fin mix av Soul, RnB, og Pop. Litt for påtatt vokalprestasjon, men det kommer med territoriet. Skiva holder seg ut Beautiful, en ballade jeg tenker Oasis innerst inne skulle ønske de hadde skrevet. Hadde skiva bare endt her, ville den kanskje fått en 4er. Det er her det begynner å bli vanskelig. Neste låt, Make Over, er et merkelig forsøk på å gjøre alt. rock med en latino twist, men den har ikke noen edge og stemmen hennes funker ikke i denne sjangeren -- spesielt i refrenget, hvor hun liksom skal rope. Og så kommer skivas første ordentlige drittlåt. Cruz er ikke bra. Refrenget er faktisk til å bli dårlig av. Skiva faller så hardt i andre halvdel at jeg knapt klarer å fullføre og lurer på om den egentlig var dårlig i starten også. Så jeg lar det gå en stund og sjekker ut starten igjen. Og det blir en slags loop hvor andre halvdel får meg til å tvile på mine opprinnelige smaksdommer. Dirrty er et lys i andre halvdel, men synes den er overrated. Mens The Voice Within får meg til å lure på om ikke Cruz har blitt danket ut som skivas dårligste låt. Vurderer å sette igang en underskriftskampanje for å forby ballader.

Dette var seigt, men ikke helt jævlig. Er noen store låter her som er bops, men jeg sliter med rnb og vokalrunking. En del spennende sjangermikser, da

Listened to some tracks. Very much a thing I do not care for—and probably not very good in general—and I would rather not blemish a wonderfully sunny day.

3 - BAD

I've heard of her. Some songs are OK. After a while, I got tired of listening to her. An OK album.

Dirrty and Beautiful are good songs, but this album is too long and she gets boring pretty quickly

bad

qq飞车来了说是

Don't think it's bad or anything, just never gonna work for me. I do wish I could go back in time a few days to when I forgot Beautiful existed Will I listen to again: 0%

Well - I tried - twice. One day I made it through maybe five songs. Today I went through and read lyrics while listening. I guess in small doses this would be okay, but sitting through 20 songs for over an hour .. no. And that video - Beautiful - she is, but the rest of it ... ick.

Pop music off an assembly line.

She has such a great voice. It feels like she lacked a great producer because this album is all over the place and I barely enjoy a single song. It's a shame. She could probably do a cover of any already great song and meet or exceed the experience. Can't deny drrty and beautiful though. 2-3 rats

Back when plumbers butt was sexy.

obvious talent, but the music is just not for me

Aside from "Beautiful," I would say this is utterly unremarkable.

So very long

Meh. Not for me.

I don't see why "Stripped" is on the list. There are a ton of albums that sound identical to it. Most of the songs on "Stripped" were devoid of soul. "Stripped" isn't a complete disaster, with some nice-sounding songs. When "Dirrty" came on, I was like, "I knew that song!" 2 stars for "Stripped".

Didn't listen when I was 20. Courtesy skip through the album 24 years later. Some OK pop songs, but this is pretty generic stuff.

Great voice. I love good pop music, which this is not.

So much of this album sounds like you are shopping in Ross Dress for Less.

Another great voice chooses or is allowed to be chosen for her, the same crap that any female was putting out at the time. You really could substitute Mariah Carey or Janet Jackson and there wouldn't be much difference.

I enjoyed parts of this album. Beautiful, Dirty and Fighter are all great songs. However, how an album can start off so fiery with Can’t Hold Us Down and then repeat the same ballad about love for at least 10 songs is criminal. This album could be 30 minutes with 6 songs on it. So much filler, as with the previous Christina album I listened to.

I mean the anthem tracks are really solid, but the rest (and there is a LOT of the rest. Seriously why is a pop rnb album 80 minutes long??) is just kinda...meh.

This was a punish to get through. The production sounds like every pop song from this era, maybe this was influential or derivative, who knows, but I do know that I did not like any of it enough to ever want to listen again. On a positive, you can’t deny Christina’s singing ability is unmatched by many of that era.

erm muy 2000 ero se quedo atras

Thought I might like this more than I did. She can sing but.....

2/5

Christina wants to be free from the bubblegum pop that reigns her debut album and it is a interesting listen. I enjoy the singles since I knew them from back in the day, but wouldn't go back to the project as a whole.

Okay.

One for the sistahs

Reminiscing about my awkward teenage development years is... well, awkward, but this album cover was influential during that time... the music, however, was not... and still isn't. There's potential, but it's not realized, kind of like my development during those years, lol.

Final Christina Aguilera, and this time an album which wasn't removed from later editions of the book. I listened to Back to Basics around 270 albums ago and don't remember much of it as a result, though I do remember the Candy Man song and "Naughty, Nasty Boy", if only because that latter song made me horny. Truly sordid things are transpiring on the thousandty-eighty-nine albums website. Anyways, I'm expecting this album to be a danceable, contemporary R&B album. Here goes. On the money with my prediction. I shall take this moment to gracelessly stroke my ego, though in all fairness the album cover was kind of a dead giveaway. Unsurprisingly, I'm not a teen girl in the middle of discovering herself, so I didn't get much from being told not to be ashamed of my body count or that I'm a precious, itty bitty little snowflake who is perfect in every way. It's difficult not to view these pieces of sex positive, feminist art as socially corrosive with all of the terrible, destructive behaviours they have encouraged, though in all fairness the purchase that these ideas have largely appear to have dissipated. People are having less sex now than they were 10 years ago and you don't exactly see shitlibs batting for sex work and promiscuity like they used to, so I guess chastity VVON. Anyways, the album. It's alright. An hour sixteen is definitely overkill for what this music is, but the album carries itself decently. Aguilera has a nice voice, though she can be a bit shaky during the moments where her voice is strained. I can't say I cared much for the guest appearances, however. As far as the instrumentals go, they aren't remarkable, which I acknowledge is by design. The backing instruments primarily serve a utilitarian role in elevating the vocal performances and filling the empty areas with a warm, bassy sound. I can admit this idea is well-executed, though it's a bummer nonetheless. As mentioned previously, this is a loooong fucking album, which kind of caused me to check out during the final stretch. Overall, this was a dull, if tolerable listen. There's "Fighter". I wasn't expecting there to be any songs on this album that I'd recognise, though I suppose it was inevitable that I'd land on at least one familiar tune. It's an alright song. The songwriting is the obvious highlight - the chorus has a fun, fluid motion to it which builds upon itself in a satisfying way. The delivery, however, is a little hit or miss. The tough sound lands for the most part, but the strained vocal sections are awkward. Thankfully, they never linger. Aguilera also sounds a bit like Michael Jackson at the beginning of the song, which was also quite strange. The instrumental gets the job done, though the tacky guitars and pre-set drum loops show their lack of polish quite regularly. Some of the smaller parts also don't resonate with either, like the bridge near the end of the track. Overall, the song is decent and deservedly iconic, though its quality is questionable when looked at through a critical lens. I've heard "Beautiful", too. It's a better tune than Fighter. The pianos have a nice, sensitive sound. The vocals are dynamic, engaging and harmonise effectively during the chorus. The strings which uplift the song during the latter half are a welcome addition in addition to being contextually appropriate. The lyrics are nice, if shallow. Aguilera's crooning style can be a bit much at points, but for the most part she gets it right. Overall, a solid listen. I've heard "Dirty" before, too. Yet another track with songwriting conventions that are reminiscent of Michael Jackson. It's kind of jarring hearing this style coming from a lady, but far be it from me to complain. Aguilera's vocals go a long way in making the song listenable, with the rolling, punchy style carrying the song along competently. I can't say I care much for the rough, buzzing instrumental and dated 80s percussive sounds, but in their defence they obviously aren't the emphasis of the song. The instrumentation is also generally well-paired with the instrumental. Book time. Released during a period where teenybopper artists were re-inventing their image. Aguilera underwent the most drastic transformation, adopting the "Xtina" moniker and appearing mostly-naked in magazine spreads. Oh dear. "...one of the best mainstream pop records of the year and a quadruple-platinum smash that would spawn several radio singles." Wikipedia says this album has a wide range of influences and was uber successful, being one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century. Critics didn't care much for it at the time of release, though it has since received positive reapprarisals, primarily because of its cultural impact. Aguilera became the most successful female pop artist of 2003 and Billboard have called this album one of the most important releases of the 2000s for its influence over female pop music. Demi Lovato, Sabrina Carpenter, Selena Gomez and Charli XCX have directly cited this album as an influence. The album only topped the charts in Argetina but charted in a grand total of 23 countries, usually peaking at around No. 10. It made the year-end charts in 12 different countries, notably being the third best-selling album of 2003 in the UK and the 10th best-selling album of 2003 in the US. It was also the 21st best-selling album globally in 2002 and the 16th in 2003. On the decade-end charts, it was the 77th best-selling album in the US, the 66th in Australia and the 29th in the UK. It is also the 14th best-selling album of all time from a female artist in the UK. Yeah, this album is a slam dunk if I've ever seen one. I cosign this inclusion.

Great voice but that’s about it

I couldn’t stick with it. I just don’t like this very specific brand of overproduced and hyper-cleaned pop

Christina Aguilera – Stripped (2002) Day 143 was a bit of a disconnect. I have to agree with the critics on this one. As Jane Stevenson wrote for E! Online: "If she had just shown up and sang her ass off, Stripped would've been a better show." Instead, the album sounds like a headless chicken spanning random directions, trying so hard to genre-bend that it loses its own track. While her raw talent is obvious, the lack of cohesion makes it a frustrating listen. Not quite a 1, but definitely a 2/5.

Откуда у Агилеры такая мегаломания? Релизы по 77 минут, воет по страшному все это время, ты че ебанутая?

In theory I should love this album. I mean Xtina has one of the best voices of our generation and there’s some absolute classics in here but I’m clouded by the fact that this whole album feels quite inauthentic. P!nks album Mizundazstood (which I don’t think is on this list? BIG MISTAKE. HUGE.) literally ran so this album could walk. P!nk convinced Linda Perry from 4 non blondes to come out of writing retirement to help her write Mizundazstood as a fresh and more authentic sound than what a lot of the pop girlies were getting pitched at that time (think peak Britney Spears) and Mizundazstood was amazing and ground breaking - so much so Xtina asked Linda to write stripped for her to have the same perceived authenticity and relatability. Because I’m overwhelmingly a P!nk girly this loses major points because it’s hard not to see it as a less good replication

Eh. Kind of bland. If you were into it at the time you probably still are. Not a lot here for me.

Album 190. Stripped (https://open.spotify.com/album/2USigX9DhGuAini71XZEEK?si=DUll7_8GTW2zB52XuCPBng) — Christina Aguilera (2002) Well, it was tough and felt more like torture. It's a really interesting pop album sometimes, I like latin and r&b vibes. But I'm not gonna pretend I give a shit about this kind of pop music. 2/5 No liked songs

Not for me.

2/5

1-800-come-on-now.

i don't like the way some of you talk about women in pop music fave track: i'm ok

A better, more rated R album than the previous entry. Still not a big fan of Aguilera though after the listen. Stripped is definitely more "Dirrty" and Xtina tried to punch back at social bias during her beef with eM and Durst. She does take on the sex double standards but it's a losing battle. It may be unfair for society to label promiscuity in women so harshly but if you compare the devil's 3some to the angel's...well, you get the point. I remember the hits and they aren't as good today as they were upon release. If this album was so inspirational to young women and influenced generations of artists to come than ok, list worthy. Still, too long and just some bland R&B pop...2.1 stars.

I remember the release of this album and Christina's attempt to re-brand and re-emerge as more of an adult in the wake of the teen-pop craze of the late 90's. While I get what she is going for, I'm not sure it stuck the landing. The album is a forgettable mixed bag of various genres. It almost feels like they got a "packaged" version of every genre they thought they could cram into an album so that it would have wide appeal among various radio stations. The album is OK I guess, but its also has almost zero lasting appeal. Outside of Dirrty (and maybe Beautiful because I'm sure the message gives it the chance to show up in some random pop culture piece in the future) I don't think I'll ever hear any of these songs again, and if I did I wouldn't recognize any of them. It's a valiant attempt for a young women trying to reclaim her independence and re-brand but I agree with the initial critical reviews that its just a mediocre hodgepodge of a release. Perhaps if I was a young angsty girl in the early 2000's this would have done more for me. Alas, I was not so Stripped goes back on the shelf to continue to be ignored. 1.88 stars

Pop crud

This really is not as bad as I thought it would be. Very 2000s spanish flavoured pop, has some wild vocals on it, She is clearly talented, maybe a little restraint is lacking but it is low key iconic for the combo of looks and tunes. Overall fine. Some iconic songs from the time.

Favorite track(s): If you're gonna write an album this boring, make sure it's well below a duration of 80 minutes.

595/1001 2026.04.17

Album #77, Christina Aguilera, Stripped, ⭐⭐ Woke up with a cringe seeing this one this morning, but one of the reasons I’m doing this list is to listen to music I would never normally choose. So today was the day to give it a go, and I went in with an open mind. I remember how big Christina Aguilera was when I was younger. She was a phenomenon, and I remember this album being everywhere, so on that level alone I can understand why it’s here. But what an absolute mess of an album this is. It really feels like throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks, and most of it is just shit. She moves through so many different styles and genres with no real focus, through line or consistency. The first quarter sticks fairly close to R&B, and I think the more low key tracks like “Loving Me 4 Me” and “Impossible” are actually quite strong. She has an excellent voice for that style, and the production there is more understated and tasteful. Technically she’s clearly a very strong singer, but she needs the right setting. A lot of the other styles just don’t suit her at all. She dips into hip hop, big Disney ballads, and then the rock side of things is the worst of it. “Fighter” is not great, but “Make Over” is genuinely one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard. It’s just shouting and grunting. The production doesn’t help either. She’s so far forward in the mix that everything else gets buried, and when you do hear what’s underneath, it’s often not great. It gets an extra star because I liked some of the R&B material, but overall it’s incredibly messy, even thematically. You go from overtly sexual songs to something like “Beautiful”, which is actually quite good, and then to very heavy material about abuse. The tonal shifts will give you whiplash! But my God. The length is the biggest issue. This thing nearly as long as Sign o’ the Times by Prince, which I gave five stars. That album earns its length. This absolutely does not. It feels like it exists to squeeze out as many singles as possible, which was probably the thinking at the time. It actually reminds me of Prince in how many styles it tries to cover, but it takes a special kind of artist to tie that all together, and she just doesn’t manage it. There might be a really good shorter R&B album buried in here somewhere, but as it stands I never want to hear most of it again. Final note, looking back now, the early 2000s were rough in terms of how women in pop were presented. The hyper sexualisation around artists like Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears has not aged well at all, and it leaves a bit of a bad taste. It’s not a one star, there are redeeming qualities, but this is probably the worst album I’ve heard so far on the list. I could really do with a five star album right about now.

Ugh. As much as I loathed Britney Spears’ Baby, One More Time, I feel like this one is going to be a short review. I never really liked any of these little pop teens that showed up in the late 90s/early 2000s, the Chrstinas, the Britneys, the Jessica Simpsons, the Mandy Moores. But what I really disliked was the underage teen boppers going from bubblegum pop to sex maniac when they hit 18 or 19. Christina was a genie in a bottle, and then for the next album, she was a what I can only surmise is a sex fighter. The video for her first single off Stripped was Dirrty, and it made it seem like she was in some sort of underground sex fighting ring. I guess she didn’t want to be seen as a little girl anymore. Which is fine, but 0 to XTina is an extreme overcorrect. Though I put the blame more squarely on the adults in the room, because she was essentially still just a kid. I also never cared much for her voice. I know it’s technically brilliant, like on Mariah levels, but she has a bad case of the runs in most of her songs. She can take a two-syllable word and make it a 10-syllable word, which is fine, but not every word in the song needs all that flair. Track 2 is Can’t Hold Us Down, which was a single off the album featuring Lil’ Kim. It sounds just like all the songs featuring rappers and singers from those days. I wonder if Kim and Christina were ever in the room at the same time? Track 3 is Walk Away and it features her growly, bluesy singing. She inspired a ton of less talented women to become pop stars. Good Lord, this album is one hour and 17 minutes long. The production is fine. The music sounds good. She starts track 4, Fighter, with her talking, and I hate talking in songs. Bret Michaels and Shania Twain are the top two offenders. Another thing that turned me off of Aguillera was that I don’t buy that she’s some chick from the streets who had to make her living through sex fighting. It’s the same reason I could never buy Carrie Underwood as the scorned girlfriend who would take a baseball bat to her cheating lover’s car or burn his house down. I watched Carrie Underwood on American Idol. She’s about as violent as Paula Abdul was coherent. Sorry, I’m not this guy. If you like Christina Aguilera, God bless you, but this just isn’t for me. Though I may go back and revisit the Dirrty video. You know, for old time’s sake. Nope, I tried to, but as soon as the video starts and we’re supposed to believe Aguillera is riding a dirt bike through the crowd with her little X underwear on, I become physically ill.

Not my cup of tea

Not really me

Álbum muy pop, en uno de los momentos más pop que han habido seguramente. Trasgresor para la época, pero hoy parece menos atrevido, sin duda. Excelente voz para letras y música tan básica.

Over long with some bubblegum pop filler

Christina’s second entry in the list, and with a better album imo. Still not my kind of thing, but you have to admire the drive. Favourite track: Make Over

Pop med litt av alt attåt. Umulig å bli klok på hva hun vil med musikken sin. Blir masete på slutten.

Well not my cup of tea, Qobuz version is really poorly mastered, very low dynamic range, way too bad to be enjoyable..

2/3 border, I guess. Liked Infatuation and respected the vulnerability of I’m OK but the dozen generic female empowerment ballads bog this down

It’s certainly better than I expected because I expected a disaster. Songs like Dirty kinda save it.

Why is this album so fucking long? It all sounds like one song, broken up by Beautiful. Did people really love this?

Pop. Meh.

Beautiful

Solid pop album, nothing new really going on here.

Yes, Christina can sing. Quite well, in fact. So can Adele, Winehouse, Britney, Celine, Mariah, etc. I never understood why they rarely give them something interesting to sing. It's always hip-hop tinged r&b numbers or smokey lounge act or Latino tinged r&b songs or poppy Dancy bs. A song like Make Over on here is a poppy punk tinged song that was breath of fresh air with all the same sounding songs. Beautiful is a wonderful song that brings a positive body message. Fighter is a decent song as well. Dirty is a terrible song. I like the strong woman message throughout the album. 2

There’s nothing all that wrong with this album, but it’s really dated, it’s really long, and I really don’t care.

modern blend of r&b and pop has never been my thing, but i guess it's not a bad album in its genre. not my cup of tea tho

Light 2,5

With so many songs and so many genres all crammed in, it was really difficult to get into this. She clearly has some vocal chops, and the songs in and of themselves were not awful. But just like most of the sounds in this 90s/2000s genre style, this stuff is pretty disposable and forgettable.

Stick to the singles and hits. Really tough to listen to a full album of this. Seems to be a common theme for me for similar artists around this time frame. She has a great voice so perhaps unfair but this just isn’t that good for me. 2.5

I actually appreciate the song Beautiful, and perhaps Fighter might work in certain situations, plus Dirrty is fun because of Redman. Other than that it’s a pass for me

Came in with an open mind but I honestly didn’t find much to enjoy. I’m a pop music fan and I love r&b and singer songwriters but this sounded so firmly in the early 2000s with the music and song concepts. I didn’t hear anything that would make me think Christina was separating herself from the similar artists of the time.

I’m not doing this again.

Easier listen than i thought, but definitely some really dated and generally bad choices. Was caught of guard a few times by some of these songs, the more R&B rooted ones. Always felt like she could have marketed herself better. Maybe more like a Winehouse instead of the bad Brittney Spears or whatever.

This was quite the 77 minute journey. Where it took me is hard to say. Other than Beautiful, I can't really remember much of anything of what I just heard. But the opening track led me to believe the whole album would be about Fred Durst, which it doesn't seem like it was. But maybe that's fine?

Well, fuck me. Nazadnje sm jo prou na božični dan mela, če se prav spomnim & takrat je bil fakin dolg album (2 uri?!). Mam pa vsaj dva komada v spominu s tega albuma? (Glih sm vidla - 77 minut?! Dj no, I have shit to doooooo.) Fak, kok typical (for the time in izvajalko), kr nek intro ma album. V spominu sm imela, da je "Can't Hold Us Down" boljši. V bistvu je kinda beden. Lil' Kim prou leno rappa. Kul seamless prehod iz whatever je bil prejšnji v "Figther". Ok, ta se mi zdi še kr kul. Njen glas dejansko sede na mal bl rockovsko musko. Loh bi mela čist drugo vrsto kariere. Pol kr nek interlude v španščini, čeprav sm glih brala, da ženska ni nikakor fluent in so ji mogl napisat kako se izgovarjajo besede, ko se je lotila v španščini posnet album. "Beautiful" je še zmer čist kul. Ok, "Make Over" je literally komad od Sugababes. Še creditane so. Pa njihova verzija je boljša. Wtf je ta unnecessary verzija?! "The Voice Within" mi je znan, zdaj ko ga slišim. Pa, honestly, še najbl všečen do zdaj. Đizs krajst, kdaj bo konc? (Lol, zadnji komad je)

Begge Xtina plader har været en del bedre end forventet. Alt alt alt for langt men overraskende fin produktion. Vækker noget nostalgi

Maybe I am beautiful

Ja, om eerlijk te zijn weer hetzelfde probleem. Waarom zo gigantisch lang? Tbh wel hardere bangers, maar met hogere pieken, ook diepere dalen. Conclusie na deze 2 albums is denk ik dat ik simpelweg niet zo'n fan ben van Christina Aguilera, mijn excuus.

I thought this started pretty well and was actually quite enjoying it up until Loving Me 4 Me after that it just seemed to be a series of generic pop ballads after that. It was better than the other record of hers on the list and it was interesting how lyrically uncompromising it was in places but ultimately I tapped out pretty early and won't be going back to this again.

This could have been a much stronger album if 20 minutes was cut off. There are some songs here that I really like. But the whole thing is just too long, and with the album being pretty inconsistent it ends up being a drag to listen to. The highlights on this one made me look at Christina in a new light though.

Couldn't finish. Not for me

Not my genre.

some fun pop songs, didn't realize how much she skewed to rap, don't need to listen again

Only two things worth noting here. 1) Aguilera does have an exceptionally powerful soulful and sultry voice. 2) Alicia Keys is great on the piano on the one number she’s featured on. Beautiful is a highlight.

Surprisingly, really bland.

Ik vind de r&b nummers wel leuk. Maar bij lange na niet r&b op zijn best. Als het hele album alleen maar r&b was, dan was het nog een best aardig album. Alles op dit album wat niet met drumcomputers en synthesizers is gemaakt is niet leuk. Met als dieptepunten de grootste hits’ You’re beautiful ‘ en ‘fighter’ tenenkrommend. Het album duurt ook te lang, je bent dan na 3 nummers die zangtechnieken en toonladders wel zat.

Jaren 00 waren maf, grote obsessie om ultieme popsterren te creëren. Christina Aguilera is een fantastische zangeres. Eén van de beste van haar generatie. Het album gaat alle kanten op, rock, pop, latin, ballads, r&b. Ze kan het allemaal maar tegelijk door deze extreme veelzijdigheid mist het identiteit. Alles is goed geproduceerd maar ook overgeproduceerd. Door te proberen alles te doen wat er ooit is gedaan krijg je een erg lang album zonder verhaal. Muziek van plastic zonder ziel. Het was wel een trip down memory land en zong perongeluk een paar zinnetjes mee. Desondanks kreeg ik een geen goede vibe van net als toen, de adlibs kwamen ook m’n neus uit. Is wel een album die je geluisterd moet hebben om te beseffen wat een rare muziek periode dit was.

2nd Christina album from the generator. And dear god, this kind of early 00s R&B is the worst thing ever, it's so deeply boring. Music that relies so heavily on the singer's vocals that it gets tiring after a while. I do like good vocals but I never cared about them in pop. The big hits here (that I somehow have never heard before) are such nothingburgers. Xtina literally made exactly 0 cultural impact to me 2/5

While there are some fun songs in this album, such as Infatuation, and classics, such as Beautiful, there are no songs I will be returning to in this album. I also think this album lacks a cohesiveness and feels for the most part unmemorable.

Didn't enjoy it, but I probably wouldn't walk out of a joint if this was playing.

Sure, like most people I really like "Beautiful", but the rest doesn't leave much of an impression on me. It's too bad that it's one of those albums that tries to use every second of the CD, because unless you're Janet Jackson doing The Velvet Rope, it's just a law of nature that you're not a good enough pop star to justify that length.

Favorite Track: Fighter

oh no. . . and I was having a good day. I was a youth when this album came out, so I'm familiar with some of the singles. I'm going to try and go in with no preconceptions, but it will be difficult. T2- she has an undeniable voice, but this record may have started the "belty" inflection style of this generation. This is much more explicit that I would have imagined considering I heard these songs in middle school, but what did I expect from a Lil' Kim feature? Man, this production is so of the time. So many strings and clicks, like a Sisco/Dru Hill song. OH, it's produced by Scott Storch. That tracks. T3- OKAY, now I'm convinced she should have done a Bond theme in this era. Her voice is wonderful. This tone/production feels like a 00's version of "Another Way to Die" - Jack Black Alicia Keys. T4- This may have led the way for pop vocals over "rock" guitars. I hate it. T5- Oh, she speaks Spanish. T6- You can't convince me this wasn't produced after listening to the Marc Anthony JLO single on repeat. T8 - listening to this skinemax soundtrack at 8:30 on a Wed morning in my office cubicle feels like I'm breaking HR guidelines. For a record called "Stripped" this has a lot of polished production. I guess it's more exploring other avenues of expression rather than straight disney channel, britney spears backing tracks. T11- Despite my best efforts, I could not escape this song for over a decade. It is impossible for me to be impartial. T12- What is this song. Where does it fit this record?  T13 - Same goes for this song. It feels like she had 2 albums ready and smashed them together with no cohesion. I commented on the production of the early songs, but at least they had character; the last few are so milquetoast.  These are songs you'd hear in a Panera Bread, or a Hallmark movie. You can REALLY tell which songs Scott Storch had a hand in. They have his fingerprints all over them. Once his dominance falls off, the record sounds disjointed. T16 - "Dirrty" - the music video that single-handedly ushered countless millennial boys into puberty. I would have bet you this featured Method Man, instead of Redman. T18 - Was this used on a movie soundtrack, or just composed to hopefully be? Overall, I'd say this is a really disjointed project. Maybe some will like that it offers a variation of production, direction and feel. It's not for me. Scattered and all over the place sonically. It's almost as if they were shotgun blasting genre influences chasing a hit in a place they didn't expect. Throw enough shit and the wall, and surely something will stick! Did I NEED to listen to this album before I died, probably not. She has an undeniable voice, and that's the saving grace of this record. 3 stars, only because 2 seems unfair, and I can't sneak in a 2.5. Nah, it's a 2. I can't throw this in the same ranking as other 3-star albums. Her voice deserves more, but this album does not.

The singles are fun but this album is 1h17m long??

I'm sure it's good if this is your thing but it's just not for me. Sorry 4/10

I mean, it's a well-crafted pop record, executed by talented people. There is a lot more creativity here than in most of the chart-topping pop out there right now. With that being said, this is not really my jam.

This was better than I expected. A nice mix of ballads and upbeat tracks. Not sure what makes this album essential listening though. At 20 tracks, running well past an hour, this is bloated. If this was a tight 12ish tracks, I'd round up rather than down. 2.5/5.