...Baby One More Time

🎵 MY LOWER BACK 🎵 IS KILLING ME 🎵(and I)🎵 I MUST CONFESS SO ARE MY KNEES 🎵(ow, my knees)🎵

Are you kidding me? I'm 46 years old. I can´t go in my car listening to this.

danny_devito_nope.gif Fave track - well, I was gonna say "The Beat Goes On" but it has a damn advert baked into the end of it. I'd give this one star but I don't want to dilute the purity of my contempt for Kid Rock 😠

It's Britney, Bitch!

Ugh. I'm almost the exact same age as Britney. I remember being icked by her treatment by the media, and how she was presented as a teen. I can't get over that when listening. I guess this is a great example of 90s pop, but most of the songs remind me of the end credits of bad romance movies. I actually said "wtf" at Soda Pop, and cracked up at "Email My Heart" Why is this my longest review?

If someone came to my room while I was listening to this album, I'd just switch to porn because that would be easier to explain. Bad music! The Goblin King awakens from his slumber!

Ugh oh man this is a hard rate for me. Britney Spears is one of the greatest and most important pop stars of all time- she ushered in the bubblegum / cute blonde sexy schoolgirl / chorus hooks that are literally infectious tonal shift in music and you can't deny the effect that this has had on the majority of music beyond this release. Max Martin is one of the greatest pop songwriters and producers of all time. Really, to me he is possibly as skilled at writing as the Beatles and I don't know if I consider anyone else to be in that area. Reasons why I don't want to give it a 5: It's a team of super producers/minds who created this music in what is essentially a lab. Like scientists mixing chemicals to find a cure for an end-of-the-world virus, this album similarly was genius producers finely crafting a cure for an end-of-the-90s virus (called "The Grunge"). I'm trying to be objective and bias-less in these, but it's hard! And it's really hard for me to not envision Britney Spears leaving her mandatory 6 hour gym dance practice and daily appointment with her nutritionist and going straight to the studio where all the music is ready for her and the lyrics are in their 501st iteration and all they need is her to step up to the microphone and sing. And I hate this image! It's so... manufactured and so far removed from a more natural songwriting environment, like a group of people sitting in a room with instruments and each of them working through a bad breakup by writing a song together. It's funny to me, when this album popped up I literally said "oooh shit" to myself, because this is such a monstrously popular album, but one that I don't really ever think to put on and listen to. After that innate reaction I took a moment to think and realized that it's really just like all the other albums on this list; it's simply a record full of music tracks. Yes, I have like 50 events from my youth where I associate songs from this album very strongly to- and I'm sure there are many other people my age who have the same. It's just funny how once anything gets so ubiquitous and famous it kind of changes, right? Like the name "Britney Spears" isn't two names- Britney and Spears put together, it's one phrase- "Britney Spears". I think what I'm trying to say is that this album has this quasi Gestalt effect where the sum is greater than it's parts, and it's easy to forget that the parts are really just chords and melodies put together, and the album is just songs bundled up and put in a specific order. A younger me would have given this a 4 and felt that was generous, but alas- I am not that same young, stubborn, opinionated music head anymore. I am wiser. I can see this album pop up on this list and say "oh shit, this album ushered in one of the biggest paradigm shifts ever in the industry". I can say "these songs slap, and ultimately that's what music is about- songs that are simply great to listen to. No matter how you get there, you can't deny a slap." It's a 5 for me. The songs are great, and It's just too important of an album to the landscape of popular music.

2.5 - This record shoots its wad early, within the first three tracks. After that, songs churn out on a conveyor belt, each vaguely similar in their glossy sheen but with slightly varied deformities. I like how one critic sums it all up: "a collection of either competent pop songs underwhelmingly executed or underwhelmingly written pop songs competently executed." This is the music you hear as you accompany your tween daughter to purchase her first thong.

Iconic Princess of Pop, truly the sound of a generation. As far as I am concerned, it earns a 5 based solely on the importance in music.

It's a very good example of bubble gum pop so I understand why it's on the list, but it's really hard to listen to as a grown adult.

No thanks. I know and like the first track ("like" is a relative term here), but everything else feels so painfully pop-manufactured and dated to the era. Skipped most of the tracks, just not feeling this at all. One good laugh for the track titled "Email My Heart." I've noticed that most of my "one stars" on here are more of 1.5 stars, or like a 3 out of 10. But to be sure, anything in the 1-3 range is bad. This is a stinker. Favorite tracks: Baby One More Time. Album art: Goofy font for her name, and the portrait is just weird. I mean c'mon, this is a former Mickey Mouse club child performer, album is released right after she turns 17, and they went with this kind of pic/aesthetic? Christgau called her a "girl next door version of Madonna," I'm not in a position to say he's wrong but is that not a concerning label to attach to a minor? Something just don't feel right. Hindsight's 20/20 but I can't help but feel like launching a girl into pop stardom in this way contributed, at least in part, to the troubled life she's lived. 1.5/5

I could not stop laughing through the first 15-20 minutes of this album. I think the song “E-mail my heart” finally broke me. Bad in an enjoyable way, and good in some ways that count. The producers are clearly having tons of fun with their assignment. It’s not jaded, apathetic, soulless pop… it’s often very silly, but you can have fun with it. So dated, too! Every one of Britney Spears’ songs have the same quality of her album covers: you can tell immediately what year it was made in, because there could be no other.

I wasn't a Britney girl I have to say and listening to this I've remembered why - literally every song is about a boy and some romance thing! I was not interested in this at all. I respect Britney Spears and of course appreciate she was THE pop icon of the time, but this simply isn't for me. Was a slog getting through that

What is this doing in this list? I don’t mind a decent pop album, but this cheesy nonsense!

I was trying to find a way to rate this higher than a 1. It has two singles that topped the charts, so it can't be THAT bad, can it. Yes, yes it can. It's terribly dated, way overproduced, bland, AND infuriating at the same time. It's really not good, and I'm glad it was removed from future versions of the book.

You know I'm a sucker for a good Britney album. Love it

In the early 2000s one of my best friends at school had a 'shoe box of shame' within which lurked albums that he was too embarrassed to store on his CD shelf, lest anyone see them. Owning this record as a schoolboy was bad enough, but as an adult it would be even more questionable (particularly if you happened to buy a version with the North American album cover). The big hit singles could, at a stretch, almost be considered ok(ish) late 90s manufactured pop music, but in retrospect even these aren't great. Go beyond the singles and this is really awful. Overall this album has aged about as gracefully as it's creator. Unlike Britney, however, the record doesn't deserve any sympathy. Rating: 1.5/5 Playlist track: ...Baby One More Time Date listened: 24/01/23

It sounds like they took some built-in phone ringtones and wrote super generic lyrics that reference "you," "love," and "heart" as many times as possible.

What I’ve just listened to is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in this rambling, incoherent album was there a musical idea even close to anything that could be considered an interesting tune. Everyone who pressed play is now dumber for having listened to it. I award this album 1 star, and may God have mercy on “1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die” editor Robert Dimery’s soul.

This is a cultural moment to be aware of, not an album to listen to. If teenagers made this music themselves for other teenagers it'd be unlistenable but fine. For grown adults to decide it's fine to send a teenager through the grinder to sell records and soft drinks is chilling. music: hated. (⌐■_■)

I am a 28 year old male and know many of these songs just by virtue of having ridden in my mother’s car.

This is so fun and magical I love it. I’ve never described an album as being magical before, so I really felt something with this one. The album cover is atrocious, but I won’t hold that against Britney. She was just a girl. She’s got a great voice that has an infectious energy to it. The writing isn’t the most groundbreaking and the production, while sounding crystal clear, really is a one trick pony on this album. The songs can blend together and get repetitive, which makes things super boring, but there’s some range here and there. For example, “Soda Pop” sounds distinct from the rest of the project, which isn’t necessarily a good thing though. Jankiest song on the album. Best tracks “…Baby One More Time” (obviously), “I Will Still Love You (with Don Phillips)”, and “The Beat Goes On”. Can’t dispute the impact of this album and no arguing that I had fun listening. 4/5

Here is one of those albums I've been hoping was on this list, or at least, an album that has some incredible songs that I was obsessed with as a kid but never actually had the CD or listened all the way through. So I'm glad it's on this list so I can finally dive in. Obviously the first three tracks are pop classics, and while none of the other tracks reach those same heights, it can't be denied what this album did for music at the time. So many other artists in this genre wouldn't exist without this, even if a lot of the songs have similar themes of a woman needing a man to be complete. Those themes don't hold up as well in our current day, but as a time capsule, this album is great. I’d normally give an album like this a 3 but due to the prestige I gotta give it a 4.

I guess if we had to endure Justin Timberlake's debut album, then it probably makes sense that we'd have to suffer through Britney Spears' debut album. But I have no idea why either of these albums are in this collection, honestly, especially since both of them produced (arguably) better albums a bit later in their careers. It *is* shocking to see how young Britney Spears looks in the videos--could she possibly be any older than 16 or 17 in most of them? Although I had to confirm it by reading the Wikipedia entry for this album, everything about the music and videos made me think of people like Miley Cyrus or Ariana Grande or Christina Aguilera, trying to transcend (and largely succeeding) their child-actor status and make the big time as a singer. Much like fellow-Mousketeer Timberlake's debut album, it's hard to tell what if anything Spears contributed to this album, sadly; maybe the old-fashioned a-woman-is-always-there-for-you sentiment? I'm shocked that this is her best-selling album, as it seems so bland and syrupy (even down to the appallingly unoriginal cover to "The beat goes on"), although certainly more bouncy than poor Timberlake. It also seems like something that belongs to the 80s rather than the cusp of the 21st-century. But it certainly propelled her along a weird and often sad journey through the entertainment world, and likely made her and her custodians a ton of money.

ahahah really? Christina Aguilera a few days ago, now this? In Australia we had a show in the 90s that talked about pop music etc, and on this show they TOLD US ALL that this album was coming and that it (specifically the single) was going to be a huge hit. It hadn't come out yet, and "no one knew" whether it'd be a hit... but somehow they did! I guess this makes me a nerd/captain obvious to point out, but its success was pre-guaranteed in deals between Max Martin, the record company and retail outlets. Britney didn't have to grind her way around the local touring circuit hoping to hit it big by her 4th album, getting ripped off every 2nd gig, drunk punters spitting in her face and spilling beer on her speakers, sleeping in shitty rooms above bars and all that. Her handlers just bought the #1 single spot and that was it. Anyway, the album is a non-event for the most part. The single carries it, but the entire affair is the sort of stuff that could've been Britney, Christina, Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson, any spice girl, etc etc. It has no actual character, it's just nameless pop songs that I guess the swedes had sitting on a shelf ready to fill up an album. It does that thing where pop music ticks boxes while ticking none: there's some "reggae-infused" nonsense, a bunch of ballad-type tracks, latin-ish stuff and dance numbers... yet it's still very much bland tween pop. Song title of the album award goes to EMAIL MY HEART. hahaha. I know the internet was still kiiiinda new in '99, but that's a 1995-level reference if ever I've seen one. That shelf the swedes kept their album filler material on must have been DUSTY. I dunno, it's hard to actually rate this. 2/5.

Oh boy, right in the childhood, nostalgia through the roof! I meant to give it a 4 because I never liked the second part of the album as much as I did the first but it's gotta be a 5 for the feelings it evoked... good times

C’mon now

DIVA!

Some people need to get their heads out of their butts. Now, look, I hate making my reviews about other people's reviews, but, like... If you wanna find this album dated, that's one thing. That's fair enough, honestly; this material is **very** late 90's/early 2000's. I mean, for goodness snake, there's a song on here called "E-Mail My Heart". If that's not dated, nothing is. I'd get ragging on this album for that — though I wouldn't, myself. I actually kind of really enjoy it when music sounds so much like the time period it came from? Of course the stuff that withstands the test of time will always be better, but as if I'm not sometimes in the mood for the specific sound of an era, y'know? And if you're not into this kind of teen pop production and songwriting, I also get it. Y'know, the songs can sound maybe a little unspecial, which can not pair very well with how huge they present themselves. Although for me, I've always loved what an absolute steamroller these songs can be. For real, this whole era of teen music, from Britney to *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys, is absolutely amazing. I'll acknowledge I might just be shallow, but even if the substance itself isn't much, how enormous they can sound more than makes up for it. And there's other stuff you could ding this album for. The dancehall thing on "Soda Pop" is a little "...Huh?" Not to mention, it's entirely fair to not like how this album presented Britney despite her age at the time. That's completely legit. No, my problem with these reviews from what I've scanned is that most all of the negative ones seem to boil down to just "I CAN'T LISTEN TO THIS; I'M AN ADULT." And, like... Are you serious? Are y'all for real? That's **really** enough of a problem in your eyes to give this album a 2 or even a 1 outta 5? Heck, to drag this album's average rating down to a 2.66? Allow me to quote someone who was mocked at the time for speaking the truth: leave Britney alone. I mean, OK, sure, some of this seems to be tied into how Britney was portrayed here, but come on. Unless you're listening to straight-up nursery rhymes or music made for actual toddlers, however old you are shouldn't matter. I'm in my late 20's, and that might not be too old in the grand scheme of things, but I hold no shame in liking these songs. They're good listens, even if most of them aren't exactly the most mind-blowing things in the world. I mean, in general I still eat Nesquik and read books like DOG MAN alongside "proper grown-up" fare. Let's not act like there's an age limit on things, eh? So, yeah, that's my review built out of complaining about other peoples'. In total... Honestly, I'd give it a good 4. Even as much as I like this album, there's still a part of me that feels like it blows its load a bit early? I mean, after something like the title track there's really nowhere to go but down. Still, it's not enough of a drop off to bring the album **that** far down. I'd give it a few more listens, and I wouldn't feel the need to switch over to porn 'coz it'd be "less embarrassing." Frankly, I hope there's more teen pop albums on here. Give us MILLENIUM! Give us NO STRINGS ATTACHED! Give us some also-ran who's not as good as any of the before mentioned but, damn it, just hit the spot! I'll be there to give 'em 4's — just you watch.

Teen pop was good all this time?!? The answer may shock you

A classic.

Rating a little higher than it deserves because the first three tracks are so iconic. The rest.... is fine. I was surprised by how strong her vocals are on this compared to her later work.

Am I a certified Girl Boss now? #FreeBritney

As much as it's not my kind of music this is an iconic album. The entire thing in one go was a bit much, but truth be told I never had a listen to the whole thing! Saved tracks: ...Baby One More Time, (You Drive Me) Crazy, E-Mail My Heart, The Beat Goes On, I Will Be There

some songs I hadn't heard before, she actually has a great voice

Definitely see how this album really had a public. Britney Spears into fame. Typical pop music. Very catchy. Worth at least one listen.

Oh yes, this smells like the 90's. Good memories.

I’m shocked. While not my thing in many, many ways, this album is actually quite good. I’d heard the singles released from this before…..I mean what American hasn’t? And used those to prejudge the album. Not aa incorrect assessment for style and taste, but this album most certainly doesn’t suck.

Un très bon album pop. Pour quelqu’un qui n’aime pas beaucoup le pop, j’ai adoré les performances de vocaux de Britney, et les beats très pop culture, malgré que certains soit peu inspiré. Il y a aussi des très bon featuring.

BANGERS!

I am shocked because I thought that this will be one of the worst albums that I will ever listen to but no... it's ok. Yes, it is Teen Pop with lyrics that not only sound but were written by a teenage girl that just found a "love" for songwriting. But there is something very innocent, even with some not so innocent moments, and sweet about it. Like a cringe memory to the teenage years, very dated but with nostaliga. And there are some geniuenly good written tracks on here. Of course '...Baby One More Time' is a classic song that everyone knows but it probably has the same amount of haters as lovers. I, as a "music critc", feel kind of obligaded to choose the first but I do geniunely like the song. It is banger song and so fun to listen to. It's not a perfect song though. There are a couple of very boring moments that do drag down the overall enjoyment but once that chorus comes I am hooked again. HIT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME!!!!!!! Even when you'd expect that the album stops with good songs, '(You Drive Me) Crazy' keeps quality even if it is slightly less of a earworm. Again, the hook and chorus are very catchy but the main highlight is probably the production that is actually a really solid New Jack Swing beat. I like this song pretty much on the same level as the title track. The following 'Sometimes' is a much more basic Teen Pop track that doesn't cut the edge at all neither with lyrics, songwriting, hooks or even production. It is just a slightly below average Pop song that is weirly annoying. I do not like this song... It's too girly teen for me. It sounds like the song played in the end credits of a horse movie. I do not like horses or movies and especially not horse movies. There is a slight change of genre on 'Soda Pop' with the introduction of Ragga, a Dancehall subgenre that brings in a "deejay" who is similar to an MC as both deliver raps. That makes the song weirdly catchy and different but not necessarily better. I'd argue that it's even more annoying but as there are some catchier hooks and a better production present, I think it's solid but not good. There is a really lovely production on 'Born to Make You Happy' wasted on an average artist. It's not bad... in fact the song as a whole is quite good. But other artists could've made much more with the beat than Britney did. But, as said, it's a good song just not anything crazy. Its got a nice chorus that really sticks out but the bridge is cringe. The songwriting and the vocal melody is great though. Overall a pretty good song... good but not great. The slow and mellow 'From the Bottom of My Broken Heart' is just a very average Pop song with not many interesting moments or songwriting. I actually hate it. The melody feels fake and overdone, the production tries more than it actually does and the lyrics are even worse than normally. Nothing about this is worthy listening to exceot maybe the vocals in the chorus? It is also way to long. The albums second half starts with 'I Will Be There' which features a much more Rock infused sound that makes this not only different but also a little more interesting... at least at the start. The actual song is pretty bad. Not dreadfully annoying but boringly bad. Not much here that really does anything. Meh... The same thing happens with 'I Will Still Love You', it's too basic with not enough moments to make it at least with one thing interesting. The main difference is that this song has a feature that is really bad. So naturally the whole song sucks. It's not completely bad but it isn't good. (For those listening on streaming: Deep in My Heart wasn't part of the original US release, only the EU bonus track release, so skip it if you want to) 'Thinkin' About You' is the same thing again. It's boring without many catchy moments. The production is alright which makes it a passable song but far from being good. I absolutely do not care. The bad aged and bad lyrics of 'E-Mail My Heart' are much less than what they try to be. And considering that it's supposed to focus especially on that aspect on the song... it's not really well executed. But there is one thing that is exectuted pretty great: the songwriting. The song has a really good structure, good vocals, a melody that really sticks and a pretty great chorus. It is a pretty underrated song and I think a good song. Nothing crazy or worthy listening to but it is good. The most "experimental" (in VERY BIG quotation marks) song 'The Beat Goes On' closes the album in a mix between the usual style combined with Big Beat and Dub. It's pretty interesting even if it feels so weird on the album but it is a really good song. I wish more on the album sounded like this because this is really f-ing good. (not great though) favourites: ...Baby One More Time, (You Drive Me) Crazy, Born to Make You Happy, The Beat Goes On, E-Mail My Heart least favourites: From the Bottom of My Broken Heart, I Will Still Love You, Sometimes, Thinkin' About You Rating: decent to strong 5 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

In the late fall of 1998, or maybe it was early 1999 - either way, it was during my senior year of high school and “…Baby One More Time” had already been released as a single - there was a rumor in my central New Jersey Catholic high school that Britney Spears was going to be moving to New Jersey in order to be closer to New York City and was considering attending my high school. Now, I can’t verify if the basis for this rumor was true in any way, only that it spread through the halls of my school like wildfire for a few days towards the end of the last century. I suspect that the rumor was due in part (or maybe in totality) to the video for “…Baby One More Time”, in which Spears was clad, provocatively, in a private/catholic school uniform. I can say pretty assuredly that there were few, if any, of my male classmates who liked Ms. Spears’ music, but the video? Yeah, that video was a hit with the teenage-boys-in-private-school demographic. Because of that, when the rumor that Britney Spears might attend our school came along, the male segment of the school’s population was pretty psyched about the news. The girls in my class, I think, were a lot less excited about the prospect of a newly famous pop-star, who was primarily known for dancing kind of seductively in her catholic school uniform, attending our school. Can’t say I blame them. Thinking back now, it would have been an incredibly awkward and toxic environment for someone to enter into. I mean, it would have been impossible to have a “normal” school experience if you were in Britney Spears’ shoes. You would be automatically put on a pedestal by some, you’d be the object of contempt or jealousy by others and it would be very difficult to know who to trust, because who knows what kind of ulterior motives people might have in getting to know you. It sounds nightmarish, to be honest. Clearly this rumor turned out to be nothing more, or I would have started this review with, “I went to high school with Britney Spears” instead of telling you about a rumor that went around my school, but that is pretty much the extent of my connection with this record. To use a tried and true New Jersey-ism, this album “is what it is”: Sugary pop music for teenagers. It’s not the first album of its type and it certainly won’t be the last. Should it have been included on this list? I don’t know. I’m inclined to say no, but I’m not a pop music fan. It did give me an opportunity to reminisce about a strange couple of days during my senior year of high school, so, for that, I’m giving it 2 stars.

…Baby One More Time Hit me AB159 I’m guessing we’ll all go for the title track for our playlist - not only is it a copper bottomed stone cold classic pop banger it's also the best thing on here, despite there being some perfectly serviceable teen pop on the album. (You Drive Me) Crazy is decent mid tempo pop with a good chorus and Sometimes, despite being rather coldly formulaic, is cheesily catchy, and is perfectly suited to the teenage Britney. Soda Pop is unintentionally quite amusing, with a slightly strange vocal, but for some reason its’ very listenable with a kind of winning naive charm to it. It definitely feels very late 90s, one of those songs that might have been turned down by Bran Van 3000 or Smash Mouth before landing at her door. Born to Make You Happy is another bit of standard 90s teen pop, although it has a cloyingness to it that hasn’t aged that well and is ultimately a bit irritating. From the Bottom of My Broken Heart again is a perfectly fine pop ballad, but definitely a tier or two below Sometimes. You can really hear I Will Be There is a Max Martin tune, with it’s Bo Diddley rhythm and crafted efficiency, however it definitely feels like filler, not terrible, but apart from the rhythm there’s not much melodic interest. Obviously this is a genre that flirts heavily with cheesiness, and while there are elements of cheese throughout, it goes full blown cheese on I Will Still Love You. The gospel-ish melody isn't good and the seriousness with which they’ve approached it is very jarring for what is quite a boring song.. Also whoever Don Philip is, he oversings the shit out of it, remorselessly stripping the song of any semblance of quality it might have had. Thinkin’ about you is a return to the more bouncy pop sound, with some slightly leftfield country touches, and again is perfectly fine. E-Mail My Heart. Not a great song, but what a title, the proustian rush of late 90s internet is strong and pleasingly nostalgic. I suppose nowadays this would be called Snapchat My Dick, or TikTok my Minky or something. The Beat Goes On is a great tune, no matter who sings it. Interesting that the All Seeing I helped produce it, having done it themselves the year before, and this sounds pretty much the same, although it does seem to suit Britney’s vocal tics well. Overall this is pretty much exactly what you think it would be. The whole point of it was to make a late 90s teen pop album that would be totally unthreatening and sell a ton of copies to adolescents. And on that front it’s very successful. Everything on it is entirely interchangeable, and apart from …Baby One More Time, which towers above the rest, it doesn’t actually matter what is on here, as long as there are some ballads and some fun pop. And that’s fine, there’s craft and skill in doing that and it makes a perfectly listenable album, but obviously not one I’ll come back to, so on my scale that lands it as a solid 2. 👶👶 Playlist submission: …Baby One More Time

That stuffy, sexualised teen nasal voice. That glossy marketable plastic backing band. Sheesh.

What. Fresh. Hell. Even for 1999 pop. An aside. If in any doubt about the motives of Ms Spears backers: the music on this album is on a par with the music of S Club Seven. Which is to say, aimed at twelve year olds and made by a notional big sister or brother. It's impossible to unthinkable "(Baby Hit Me) One More Time" (although the Travis cover does help. But it'll be interesting to do the Lady Gaga test on this song and video.

I have to admit, when I saw this pop up, I was happy to have a happy little throwback album to listen to for the day. Baby One More Time and You Drive Me Crazy are both bops, Sometimes was sort of blah, but Soda Pop is the song that broke me. I had tried skipping to the next song, but it didn’t erase Soda Pop from my brain. I had to abandon the experiment partway through when I saw there was still 12 tracks ahead of me.

Aged like milk. I get that Britney was a significant figure of the late 90s and early 00s, but aside from the title track (which holds up quite well) this is forgettable cookie cutter R&B pop which dominated a large portion of the 90s and 00s. It shouldn't be on the list.

It would be cool to find some modern defense of this, but it's just way too artificial to find any interest in. Spears has a good voice and the hits are catchy (but in an annoying way). The worst era of pop?

Yet another ex-1001 album!™ http://1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie.wikidot.com/album-artists-a-z-ex Dreadful album. But ...Baby One More Time still hits the nostalgia hard. Oh how teenage me wanted to go to that school!

Classic. I got some weird looks for the album cover, however.

It's a great teen pop debut.

what a time to be alive - apparently this got taken off later editions of 1001 Albums, but I don't know what the problem is - EMAIL MY HEART??? gold.

I'm completely biased with this album. This is a huge childhood favorite and definitely an important album when it came to my musical tastes.

fire album, absolute classic

Holy smokes, this list has actually recognised a pop album?!?! I'm overjoyed at this occurrence, pop music deserves a chance too! Granted, this probably wouldn't be my Britney choice for this list but the title track alone makes it pretty worthy. Also 'Born To Make You Happy' might be one of the most underrated pop songs out there. On the basis that I don’t know when I’ll next see a pop record on this list, I gotta go for 5 stars. Love from, a true pop girly

Va beh, la titular spacca. Ma anche (you drive me) crazy! (Non me la ricordavo). Pff, sono una via l'altra. Trovo che in qualche modo reagiscano con qualcosa del mio inconscio. Perché anche se non mi riportano alla mente particolari ricordi o momenti, sembrano associate a periodi felici (anche se non è vero o comunque non erano periodi rilevanti). Forse è lo stile di quegli anni, associato a qualcosa inconsapevolmente. Ok magari erano le prime 3/4 a farmi questo effetto, ma il resto è comunque solido.

Absolutely nothing wrong with this album, unless I wanted to explore any insecurities I might have about being known to like music performed by a teen who had everything handed to her on a plate, and had only to apply her honeyed voice to the lyrics. Happily, I either possess no such insecurities, or do not wish to explore them, so I'm giving this five stars and adding it to my Tidal library.

am i a britney glazer? probably. do i care? not really

Pure perfection pop music (Warning)this album will not give you answers to the live the universe or anything.

Free britney

This is such a terrific pop album. Some slow stretches in the second half of the record, but catchy, danceable hooks are all over the place here. Couple that with the talent and charisma of Spears, there's no wonder why she became such a cultural phenomenon. And it still stands up today. Notable Tracks: - ...Baby One More Time - (You Drive Me) Crazy - Sometimes - From the Bottom of My Broken Heart - I Will Still Love You - Deep In My Heart - Autumn Goodbye 9/10

At the end of the day, I am simply ✨Just A Girl™️✨ Like, sue me for being a Millennial trans woman who adored Britney as a kid and had to keep that love to myself and grew up to be a Poptimist who actively uses Fantasy on her lazy days and has maybe had a Juicy tracksuit sitting in an online cart waiting to be purchased since my last payday. Like….duh, I love this album, obviiiiii!!! Like, I’m not saying this is the Britney album I would’ve personally picked. Even though Britney and Circus are my personal favorites, I am a bit shocked that the debut came in alone, and above Oops!…, In the Zone, and even Blackout (which makes sense, actually, but has gotten a rightfully-earned critical reappraisal in the post-hyperpop era). But I’m still a fan of ...Baby One More Time. Sure, it front-loads its strongest 3 tracks off the bat, but “Born to Make You Happy” and “I Will Be There” are great tracks exemplary of the late ‘90s teen pop era and therefore crucial for the histrionics of it all, while “E-Mail My Heart” wins me over off its pure camp energy, and “From the Bottom of My Broken Heart” still holds up as a solid Britney ballad. And it’s not like the opening singles are flawless, leaning into Spears’ signature key-change final chorus trope early, but denying that they don’t hit would be like saying water isn’t wet – you’re just being a prick, shut the fuck up and have fun. This said, I’m not a huge fan of the duet with some nameless boi time has since forgotten, nor was Spears ever great with a cover, but two duds on a teen pop album from 1999 is a true success. Plus, the bonus content of “Deep in My Heart” and *especially* “Autumn Goodbye” more than make up for the small missteps in the original tracklist. I grew up on this era of teen pop, and I hold it close to my heart, even today. And yes, maybe I’m able to tolerate “Soda Pop” because it reminds me of Pokémon: The First Movie, but I don’t fucking care!!! Justice for Britney. IRL and on this list. I have no choice but to Stan. I just prefer a cute, flirty, bop of an album. Doll behavior, what can you say ✨💖💅🏻💋💁🏻‍♀️

Это легендарный альбом:)

Classic

Perfect album!

I love Britney!!Gorgeous voice, many songs on this album have an interesting mix of styles and/or modal interchanges within the songs. Time warp back to my teen years. An album which is about love, loss and friendship, sometimes a bit kitschy, but be honest, who hasn't felt that way as a teenager?

Probably THE pop album I think about from my childhood. I find it impossible to separate from nostalgia but I'll say it, it's iconic.

All time classic Popstar album.

I think the reviews for this one are a good poll of who uses this website because this album is undeniably an influential one but the appeal is lost if you were born before like 1980 and/or are pretentious. As a zoomer that loves girl pop this shit is like crack and also makes me remember that max martin is responsible for the success of basically every female pop artist in the 21 century. The title track is an all-timer and I'll never stop loving you is also great. Also, a lot of the tracks still hold up but overall its dated in the best way because of songs like email my heart which I'm sure was the 1999 way to slide into DMs but now it's just hilarious. "Let's circle back on these nudes after Labor Day" vibe

Before the kiss music

... Baby One More Time is Britney Spears' debut album, and one of the best selling albums of all time. The album set - and still holds - several sales records for female artists and for young artists. It made Britney an international star, and a central fixture of pop music. This is a great collection of pop songs of a surprising range, which show the strength of Britney's R&B influenced voice. The title track was global hit - one of the biggest songs of all time. Some of these are dance tracks, but there are as many sweet ballads. It may be bubble gum pop - but it's very, very good bubble gum pop.

Classic

How could you not like this album

It was nostalgic for myself as a 36 year old man and my 2.5 year old daughter really enjoyed the songs so for the ability to entertain that much of an age gap I’ll give it 5 stars.

As a Millennial, this one hits different. I saw Britney perform this album at Grad Night in 1999

Of course I gave it five stars argue with someone else

This album is a mess. But probably by design to get a single out of it matter what. I'd this a decent album? No. Is this an album id listen to again besides the first 2 songs? Also no, but man does it hit a zeitgeist. Plus I'm only giving this a 5 because I know that there are assholes just giving this a 1 because it's brithey and I have to void one out

cool

Okay, let's go over this for a moment... I was nine when this album came out. My barely-younger sister absolutely LOVED this album. When I saw this pop up, the ONLY thing I thought of was how annoying this album was, except I learned that I was conflating it with how annoying my sister was. WHAT. AN. ALBUM. There's a reason she became a household name. This album had people talking, and her follow-up (Oops I did it again) solidified Britney's place in pop culture. My god, to think about how she recoreded this album when she was (checks notes) 16-17 years old! MY GOD WHAT A PERFORMANCE. The vocals are sooooo goood. Like, sometimes as good or better than what you would expect from Mariah, or Janet, or even Whitney. Perfectly timed tremelos and vibrato along with the vocal overdubs will remind you of 90's production techniques, while also reminding you of how versatile and accurate Britney's voice really is. I hate loving this album. I feel like a corporate shill when I think of this as a business-created album from JIVE records. I've never felt so guilty loving an album, especially the covers. But, it's still the 8th highest selling female album of all time FOR A REASON. The duality has me loving and hating myself for this at the same time... Added to library.

I now know why I love A Touch Of Class's Planet pop... They are very similar ! And both are awesome !

Perfect pop album. Britney was a star at a young age because she knew how to hit every cord and check all the boxes on bubblegum pop.

still a banger

Better than the 900 brit pop albums on this list

Pop masterpiece. Max Martin at his finest, and Spears vocal performance here is perfect. Shame what became of this pop legend.

I’m a little less than four months older than her and this album kicked off a lifelong love affair with her.

Mother is MOTHERING

Not an album that I would have thought that I needed to listen to, but glad I did. Excellent pop music from a teenager!

It has been a long time since I’ve listened to this album. Since the early 2000s I have just cherry picked hits off it. It’s a terrific album and I’m glad to see it getting recognized for its cultural significance. Pretty amazing coming from a teenager. This deserves its spot on this list!

Modern pop classic

...Baby One More Time

Whoever doesn’t give this 5 stars is lying

surprised how many of these songs I wasn't familiar with. loved it tho

I dint listen to the whole thing but five stars defintiely

Is it a perfect album? Nah. But it's nearly perfect pop music when it does hit the mark. This is Max Martin at the moment even he starts to begin to understand he's... Max Martin (do I hate I have to mention him first? Yes- perhaps admits to the power of the pop machine, though); when that meets a girl so clear in purpose, dream, and talent at the perfect time, it's kinda explosive. This is one of the last albums I remember being EVERYWHERE at the time, perhaps before music stopped being that exactly. Granted, I was a 12 year old girl at the time this was released so it's hard to find a more perfect test audience for this. The holier-than-thou judgement and condescendsion was harsh on this at the time- and persists. Call me a poptimist, but well crafted music is well-crafted music- even if pop music. Admittedly, the second half isn't as strong as the first (the corn of email my heart, anyone?) but when it's hitting on all cylinders.... Phew.

Impossible to give this 5 stars after hearing ‘email my heart’ however there are enough bona fide pop bangers on here to make it an easy listen and tick the right boxes for those with certain music sensibilities.

I’m so sorry, Brittney. Gifted beautiful singer but “they” stole her real voice turning her into someone else. This was the beginning of the destruction at no fault of her own.

This was cheesy. But that's ok, I don't mind some cheesy pop every now and again A very nostalgic album. Baby One More Time was a huge song in my childhood. Britney is an icon I'm not the biggest fan of her music, but since reading her book I appreciate her music much more #FreeBritney 4 ⭐️

Look, I could pretend that I'm a sophisticated music listener and above this bubble gum crap, but I'm too old to care about being a music snob anymore. Also, it would be a complete lie. I was a twelve-year-old girl when this album came out, and I was obsessed. I still remember the first time I saw the video for "Baby One More Time" and immediately knowing everything was going to be different from then on. It wasn't long before that song was absolutely everywhere, and then Britney was as well. The rate at which she exploded was insane. I saw her on the tour for this album in 1999 at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia, which held just over 3,000 people. The next year, my gift to my childhood best friend at his bar mitzvah was tickets to her new tour (spoiler: why yes, he is gay) and we saw her at the E-Centre in Camden with over 25,000 of our closest friends. Okay, on to the actual album. It's bubblegum pop. There's nothing super profound here. But the songs are catchy, her voice is better than we gave her credit for at the time, and though he'd already had some minor success with Robyn and the Backstreet Boys, this is the album that launched Max Martin into the stratosphere and influenced the next decade or more of pop music (for better or worse). That said, even if you love cheesy pop music, this album isn't all winners. There are some pretty corny ballads and it does get a bit repetitive — the first half is definitely better than the back half. But there are plenty of bangers on here, and five of the songs were hit singles for good reason. The title track, "(You Drive Me) Crazy" and "Born to Make You Happy" are probably the best tracks. I personally prefer the video version of "Crazy", but the album version is still great in its own way. "Soda Pop" is ridiculous but annoyingly catchy, and the bizarre cover of Sonny and Cher's "And The Beat Goes On" is oddly endearing. I didn't remember several of the songs just looking at the titles, but my brain had no trouble digging up lyrics I haven't heard in over 20 years, so I guess that's a testament to the album's staying power. Maybe it's the nostalgia as I approach middle-age, and you can judge me all you want, but I still dig this album. I'm glad it's on here. 4/5

1. …Baby One More Time - 10/10 2. (You Drive Me) Crazy - 8/10 3. Sometimes - 9/10 4. Soda Pop - 6.5/10 5. Born to Make You Happy - 8/10 6. From the Bottom of My Broken Heart - 9/10 7. I Will Be There - 7.8/10 8. I Will Still Love You - 8/10 9. Deep In My Heart - 7/10 10. Thinkin' About You - 8/10 11. E-Mail My Heart - 8/10 12. The Beat Goes on - 7/10 13. I'll Never Stop Loving You - 7/10 14. Autumn Goodbye - 7/10 8/10

classic but no musical genius