Justified

I understand that there's been a cultural reassessment of JT in the last several years, but the fact is that most of his early 2000s stuff sounds like Axe Body Spray smells. Best track: Cry Me a River

That was awful. Torture.

Bland early 2000s pop. It's competently done (Pharrell is a producer) but it's just bland. And too long. Could have cut 20 minutes and it would have been bearable. It's also really cliche and just sounds of that time.

Its shocking or depressing that a couple of the songs on this album each have over half a million listens on Spotify. What does that say about our society? To me it just sounds like a white guy trying to sound like Michael Jackson, sorry Justin that boat has sailed. The inclusion of this album on this list is not Justified.

Pharell Williams has obviously written most of this, to the point his voice is the first thing you hear on the album lol. And Pharrell loves Michael Jackson, but JT doesn't have the chops to really pull off the vocal theatrics needed for a good MJ knockoff. There's cheesy "reppin" from no doubt wholesome rappers, eg. Pharrell himself, maybe 1 or 2 others. Really cringey lyrics; almost every line a tired cliche. I recognised way more than I thought I would (club hits from when I was 18 I guess, even though I tried to avoid clubs I still ended up in them from time to time). It's at least consistent in songwriting, and the production is flawless, but overall too long and too many ballads. Dragged on towards the end. 3/5. None of the full charm of catchy boy band stuff, but at least there wasn't 300 different songwriters like on Britney/Christina etc albums.

I'm not a Justin Timberlake guy but I did enjoy watching my wife dance to the album, and that adds a +1 for me.

THE best pop album of all time no arguments nothing further from the defence thanks your honour. I've said it a few times now during this exercise but Pharrell is absolutely everywhere on everything if you listen for him, absolute production genius. Sprinkle in some Dre with JT over the top and you've got a recipe for something very special.

Not bad for the guy who threw Janet Jackson under the sexy bus. 4 stars.

Dude… no. Literally the music that made me get into alt genres. Production is impressive tho.

I am not the target demographic for this record, I'm sure it would have been better if I were in a club looking for action. Best song for me was Cry me a River, which is a sentence I never thought I would write.

I don't disdain, and even admire in some ways, ther star maker machinery (behind the popular song). The judicious addition of soul and hip hop elements to the dance and pop foundation of his boy band roots is well considered and well done. He certainly has the goods, both in voice and star quality. Typical of products of the machine, it has that manufactured taste... the human element almost glossed over. For what it is its top of the line though, if not really my cup of tea.

Super nostalgic. Takes me back to HS and college days. Half of these songs were played on the radio and in "da club". Some songs have aged, but the hits still sound fresh. Hard to believe this album is over 20 years old now.

it’s not bad it’s just really not any good

Man wanted to be MJ so bad! This is such a Time Capsule of an album… The Neptunes sound was everywhere when this came out and there are a couple of great singles. But so many of the rest are grafting forgettable songwriting and indifferent vocals onto that production. Songs *feel* long even when they’re not. Not great.

Generous 4 but the singles still bang

Remember that YouTube video of the shirtless teenage boy saying “Hey baby girl, it’s okay baby, I love you more than there are grains of sand on all the beaches…?” This is the auditory equivalent of that. This album sounds like 2002, in a bad way. “Cry Me A River” is a good track, and the album is well produced, but the whole thing oozes with this awkward, performative “sexiness” that is hard to take seriously.

It was almost good. Almost catchy. Almost impressive. Sometimes it even was. But mostly, it was just... almost.

lol

Oh lord, it's a whole album of Justin Timberlake. The mouth clicking sounds on Cry Me A River are ewww. Rock Your Body is fine, but holy moses this is a slog.

Oh I am so not listening to this sonic garbage. Heard way too much of it in high school against my will when it was all the little Britney and Xtina clone wannabes were forcing on me through speakers in gym class, at dances, over loudspeakers in the hallways as “hurry up, get to class” muzak. So I can confidently say it is bonafide crap. Plus, I hate this smug, smarmy asshole for all his male privilege and toxic behaviour towards women. Jessica Biel, you gotta drop him like a sack of dirt, girl. Not gunna be giving this talentless little prick a royalty check in my watch.

I will go 4 stars because there are 4 good songs on here. There are several skips but a few of the high quality songs have become iconic, so JT gets the bump from 3 to 4.

A Timberlake Thanksgiving was well received. Also, I can tell he went through quite a breakup. I feel you, man. I've been there.

I'm typically not a big fan of Pop music but I have a sweet spot for JT. Obviously Cry Me a River and Rock Your Body are the standouts on this album. There are some other hits too, namely Senorita and Like I Love You. While this album has some big highs, it also has some really skippable songs. The slow R&B love songs are the worst in my book.

A bit surprised by the negative reviews this has on here. Maybe it's nostalgia speaking on my part, but I thought this was a pretty great debut pop album. Great production from Pharell and Timbaland and some absolute classics on this thing.

It would be too high praise to call this album amazing. It is straight up noughties pop music at the end of the day, but it’s still damn catchy. I didn’t realise how many of JT’s bops came from this particular album. I remember all the gossip at the time when Cry Me A River was so blatantly about Britney. His falsetto is probably one of my favourite modern day pop voices. I’ll admit I enjoyed this album a fair bit.

relaxing.... smooth.... rock your body sexy thing.....

It’s 5 material but I give out 5’s lightly so it’s a 4

Undeniably catchy for the most part. Not my style of music, but well done.

Not bad at all but a little boring

My husband vigorously defends this album, and while my first instinct was to be sceptical, I now concede that he presents the strongest argument for this record I've heard, which is that it's the greatest collection of songs from the two most powerful producers of the era: The Neptunes and Timbaland. Justin Timberlake, on the other hand, can come across as grating and insufferable. Even though he is a talented singer, his contributions are not at all what make this album enjoyable. My husband brought up the fact that this album would be even better if it was sung by someone less unctuous, like Usher for instance. But I responded that I can't see Usher being interested in the weirder sides of The Neptunes and Timbaland. And weird they were! Before Timbaland, did you think it was possible to take traditional Middle Eastern songs and create hooks that would be burned into your brain for literal decades? Before The Neptunes, did you think it was possible to have a synth sound like silk? The string arrangements are luscious, the acoustic guitar is crisp and sensual, the flute (?) is unexpected yet natural and proves the record deserves to be taken seriously. I can't say I've kept up with JT, but his interest in producing pastiche (even executed poorly) at least demonstrates a curiosity and musical appreciation uncommon of pop singers generally but certainly pop singers of the Bush era. The weaknesses, of course, are plentiful. It's front-loaded (typical of pop albums) and the blatant Michael Jackson rip-offs (and then a blatant Stevie Wonder rip-off!) are bland. My husband says that JT has absolutely no sincerity, that it's clear he doesn't believe in what he's singing. I don't know about that. I'd argue his conviction is very clear on the songs where he feels he is the wronged party. No one like JT can lean harder into sounding petty as hell. For what it's worth, I'm relieved that even as a young girl I found him annoying (I had a crush on JC Chasez instead). Still, I can see why this album is on this list. It's fair. B+

This album really is all over the places with a lot of different sounds, instruments, influences. But despite variety of elements and vocal range, the album is severely lacking in any kind of soul or any aspects that make it actually interesting.

There's only been *three* reviewers giving a 5/5 grade to this LP. Not because *Justified* is an "artistic" failure for the sort of commercial music it attempted to sell to the masses during the early naughts. The album *isn't* an artistic failure, it does exactly what it intends to do, and this in every "objective", reasonable way you can assess the music on it. Justin's voice is excellent, even if it doesn't reach the Michael-Jackson-level heights it tries to reach in many songs. And the production values are state-of-the-art for the time period, thanks to experts such as Pharell Williams / The Neptunes, or Timbaland--experts whose imprint is unmistakable on certain tracks. Take those funk-rock rhythms played on acoustic guitar for The Neptunes, or those lush, bass-heavy r'n'b shenanigans for Timbaland. Besides, there are a lot of arrangements that make listening to the album at least once worthwhile. And finally, "Cry Me A River" is a stellar earworm worthy of the best torch songs / break-up songs out there... THAT SAID, let's repeat it: there's only been *three* reviewers giving a 5/5 grade to this LP. And there's a good reason for this. This is the sort of album that was never aimed at people interested in the *big picture* when it comes to modern music genres ("modern" taken in the largest sense of the word here). And this as open-minded as a lot of the people on this app try to be sometimes (me included). Because "Justified" is first and foremost a mass consumption product, and a "music album" later. Everything else is secondary. The fact that, overall, said album holds out far better today than, say, Britney Spears LPs, doesn't make it less dated or more artistically relevant than the latter. If only because Britney left a more impactful cultural imprint than Timberlake through her *singles*, at least--as lame and cheesy as her albums were as a whole... Let's face it: the vast majority of people who bought *Justified* in 2002 will never have a phase where they will try to find what the 1001 most essential albums of all time are. They just go from one trendy pop craze to the next. They're just consumers, not music buffs. "...music buffs like most of us on this app", I'm tempted to add. We all have very different tastes in here, obviously. But I believe that what unites us is that we take the album format very seriously. It can't just be a "product". It has to speak to our "soul" somehow. To be clear, saying this does not come from an elitist stance. I'm certainly not judging Justin Timberlake fans--all of us here are also consumers to an extent, it's part of the music business overall. I'm only trying to be realistic. As a consequence, I consider it's just plain weird or ridiculous to include *Justified* in a list like this. Because this inclusion doesn't really mean anything to *most* of those Timberlake fans, who would never use this app for instance (or probably give up after 20 or 30 albums...). This realism I'm trying to apply here is the one that music sites such as Pitchfork have consistently failed to apply since the mid-naughts, because of their readymady "poptimist" philosophy--a quite artificial, shallow posture *fully* pandering to the worst parts of the music industry (PR shenanigans, label business plans, the heavy and quick "formatting" of up-and-coming artists and performers not lucky enough to have the means or entourage to defend their initial artistic integrity--at least if they had one from the get-go). I'm 100% sure that the way such poptimist stance has led "the most trusted voice in music" to condone so many cheesefest records has already returned to bite them in the ass today. Absolutely no one believes Pitchfork is "the most trusted voice in music" today, lol. Of course, business is part of our music habits, as it is part of the life of *any* "professional" musician and artist. Even the staunchest fan of "independent music" and niche genres should be aware of this. But business also "pollutes" everything it touches. Just like it does for nature. Good music is an ecosystem, you see. And including *Justified* in this ecosystem does it more harm than good. I like "pop music", I really do. But good pop music in the album format has to elevate or challenge you, even if it does it very subtly or discreetly. And in retrospect, it's clear that *Justified* does none of that. It's just a goddamn product, as well-manufactured as it is. Just bought a Britney Spears greatest hits compilation for three euros online after listening to this Justin Timberlake record. If I have to be a consumer and a "manufactured product buyer", I'd rather give up the pretense of an interest for "genuine artistry" altogether, and bob my head quite mindlessly to the more memorable Britney singles with a half-ironic smile on my face. It won't prevent me to enjoy off-kilter-yet-100%-sincere-and-"authentic" acts such as Robert Wyatt, Daniel Blumberg, Big Thief or Crack Cloud on the side. I can enjoy a burger once in a while, even if I prefer more soulful food. But I will never pretend that a Burger King product is akin to the best "cuisine" out there. Everything in its right place, please. 2/5 for the purposes of this list of essential records. Which translates to a 7/10 grade for more general purposes (5+2 - not so bad after all, huh?). Next, please. Number of albums left to review: 319 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 304 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 167 Albums from the list I won't include in mine (many other records are more important to me): 221 (including this one)

Sit down with my morning coffee to enjoy today’s album, then let out a massive sigh when I see Iv got to sit through an hour of Justin Timberlake.

Fun fact: Justin Timberlake is allergic to music.

Justin Timberlake struggles to piece together the ashes of his life after his daughter is murdered and presented to the king as an amuse bouche. This tragic tale descends into madness as the singer screeches in pain and tries to sellotape his mind together with memories of his grandmother's large breasts. The climax of the record finds Timberlake smacked off his tits on energy drinks trying to persuade a young boy to frolic with him on the shallow grave of his offspring. It's a sad story with a happy ending. 4 stars.

Is this the smallest man that ever lived? 🤔🤔🤔🤔 album did not age that well.

For all the great production, you absolutely cannot polish a turd. Laugh out loud awful ('I wanna be your lighthouse when you get lost, I'll light a bright and shiny path to help you get across'). This is a new low for this list, henceforth to be known as Greg's 8 million albums of death club.

Er… no

Generic, bland early aughts pop drivel

Hahahahaha This list is literally taking the piss out of me now. 2nd Christina Aguilera album in 4 days yesterday, and this today. Can I have a normal record please? Immaculately produced pop music without an ounce of originality. There's not really any point having this record in the book when Michael Jackson is already in it twice, Janet Jackson is in it once, and Chic is in it thrice (if you count Sister Sledge, which you should). Oh a Stevie Wonder knock off has just come on so add him to the list. Second Stevie track now. Jesus this is really something. What's the point in this record? Well yeah, $$$$, but besides that, nothing. Cry me a river made me feel a bit queasy for some reason. Rock Your Body is the best song, though it's basically an identikit Chic style song and I think it reawakened the Rogers Kraken to take over pop along with Mark Ronson for the next 15 years. The song Never Again is absolutely sickening, lyrically and musically, and is a fitting message to end the album with. Christina won me over with her inventive second entry. This did not, because it's shit. It's also incredibly irritating.

Pound Shop Jacko with embarrassing lyrics. This sounds like a cash-in album cobbled together from discarded Jacko rehearsal tapes & I couldn't wait for it to end.

Justn't

One of the more difficult listens to get through on this list. Take It From Here was sickening. 🤢🤮 This is some kind of cruel joke. This album is meant to be on the other list: 1001 Records to Listen to That Will Make You Die.

Groovy

Underestimated.

good old school

Just a great pop album with so many bangers

LOVE

It's a banger of an album. Nearly beginning to end is pop perfection with great beats, synths, and obviously the production of Timberland. Maybe the best pop album of the 00s.

Rating: 9/10 Best songs: Senorita, Like I love you, Cry me a river, Rock your body, Nothin’ else, Last night

Good

Personally, the book should have had FutureSex/LoveSounds in their next reissue. But this debut is still stellar. So many interesting beats with JT doing his best neo soul impression. I love it. Very catchy album and sort of a sign to come for his next album which was somehow even bigger and better than this one

Quell surprise! A perfect record end to end by Justin Timberlake - who would have thought? It’s soulful, bluesy and catchy but with a confident cool. Yes now in hindsight Timberlake become a mega celebrity and this was his reinvention - but it’s a truly good good record.

Omg yes! This album makes me feel so good. Very upbeat & fun. Has you singing & dancing

Immediate 5. Justin Timberlake's vocals are phenomenal. paired with the two best producers of all time... this album has no choice but to be amazing.

JT, My Beloved, your world tour could never be ruined 💛💛💛

Из овог жанра кида, 9/10

Cheerfully groovy in a decent Stevie tribute style. Strong writing and great production.

Pretty good.

good

Day112 - really talented, a good debut album with at least 3 classic early 2000’s pop hits. i’m sure they would go back and tone down some of the pharrell slickness if they could

A few classics but he is a tough hang for an album that isn’t thriller

I now understand why there was such a comparison to Michael Jackson. So much of this album is derivative of MJ.

What a classic.

This album came out when? Oh boy, am I OLD :( Sure, some boyband filler here, but back in the day, who knew the Trousersnake could be so FUNKY. The Neptunes influence here means there's plenty of top-notch pop / R&B crossover vibes. "I'll have you nekked by the end of this song" - indeed.

listen it’s good but i think i’m not usually in the mood for 2000’s nostalgia rn… but its good like i know for a fact if it was summer time i’d be going crazy over this, but right nowwww no thanks

Very poppy. Too much for me.

Thank you for bringing sexy back

i grew up wiht this playing on MTV and the singles getting a lot of radio play. this was my first time listening thought the album. and honestly Its not for me. Timberland has a big influence and that cuts though the sugery sweet artificial flavour of the bubblegum pop this album was set up for. but you can feel the tonal change in the album compared to the pop music of a few years earlier. the feel is darker even in more light hearted songs. you can truely feel the change away from the happy pop of N'sync and the backstreet boys or even Britney spears and Cristina Agrilaria that I consider the peers of this album, even though they were before 11/09/2001 that event changed the world around it to a point where it could be felt on this album. more minor keys in the music, less majour keys slower tempo. Over all this album is less happy than you would expect of a pop album and more sober feeling. yes its not for me but taking teh album into acocunt for its time and you can almost see it as leading the charge in pop music to be less bubblegum and more serious.

A cool pop r&b album, a number of known tracks. and worth a listen.

Si apre con 'Senorita', non male. Anche 'like i love you', 'cry me a river' e 'rock your body' sono belle, in generale tutti i singoli famosi.

What I really like here is Timberland's rhythms/hooks. Justin himself has a good voice. The content is "meh" for me. Still, I like 3 of the tracks: Senorita, Cry Me a River, Rock Your Body. So, that's good for a 4 star.

This album sounds just as dated and "of its time" as any of the 60s albums I've reviewed, but since this time is *my* time, these songs cause an absolute flood of nostalgic dopamine in my brain. I used to sing some of these songs to my wife when we first started dating in 2002, the year this was released. It's funny that the album from the *NSYNC kid was considered more as hip-hop than pop a the time, thanks to his collaborations with hip-hop icons like The Neptunes and Timbaland. My walk down memory lane aside, this album is stuffed with bangers. It is "of its time" in all the best way, like a musical time capsule stuffed with early '00s pop, hip-hop, R&B, & Latin-inspired grooves, with a splash of disco and a heavy dose of Michael Jackson worship thrown in for good measure. There are some weaker moments on the album, like the formulaic Take It From Here, and the messy Let's Take a Ride that keep the album from being an all-time classic. But honestly, even the lesser songs are pretty catchy, and overall this album is stuffed to the brim with certifiable radio hits and club bangers that will have you nodding your head and swaying in your seat. Easy 4 stars.

JT is Justin Timberlake and this album is JT, Just Terrific. I know a few of the songs from the radio but the others were new to me. He has got quite a great sound on this album. I was reminded of the 1970s Stevie Wonder and the 1980s Michael Jackson while listening to this album. 4/5

5 stars! Just kidding. But there are some bangers on here. This is his first solo album, and it’s way more soulful and r&b than *NSYNC, although there are a couple boy band songs on here. Great dance music

Overly long album with overly long songs with overly long outros. And that's what Timberlake was all about in 2002, and I'm pretty sure still is a bit now. Did I mention I like the tunes?

4 kæmpe bangers. Og for det får albummet 4 stjerner. Alt for mange skips, der gør albummet fuldstændig ligegyldigt. Kunne have være 4 sange langt og så havde det fået 5 stjerner.

Though Justin's reputation has not held up over the years, it's hard to deny the catchiness of his debut. Appreciate the tracks where the Neptunes and Timberland obviously played a part, vs when he's trying to harken back to Isley Brothers style ballads (Take it from Here, Still on my Brain.)

The singles hold up, and a few of the songs I wasn't familiar with feel like Off-The-Wall era Jackson making a cameo on a N.E.R.D. track, which isn't a bad thing. It's like a concept album where the concept is hooking up with someone at a club.

Some of these are jams from the era, but listening now feels dated. 3.5

Fun album, Timbaland nails it as a producer.

Just brilliant 4/5

I wasn't expecting too much from Justified but i just found it so absurd that it was actually pretty fun to listen to. The absurdness of this album comes in many forms from the lyrics, the music videos, and all the way to Justin's vocal scatting (don't know if its that or beatboxing). However, it never really got too annoying. The songs are pretty long with each of them clocking in at above 4 minutes so that is a bit of a drawback for some people. I still loved the absurdity enough for me to give it a 3.5 (You know the drill at this point). Best Song: Let's Take A Ride Worst Song: Still On My Brain

I really enjoyed this one and will listen again.

The first half is great, the second falls a little flat.

And so the holy trinity of The Micky Mouse Club is complete- first Britney, then Christina and now JT. People lost their damn minds comparing JT to MJ, due mainly to his singing falsetto and some talent as a dancer. Of course, Timberlake is nowhere close to Jackson’s level - but he has created a decent album, notable for the choice of producers. This is just as much a Neptunes album as it is JT’s and marks the moment hip hop went fully mainstream- the charts were now all hip hop producers and , to remain essential, pop stars now needed a track from Pharrell or Kanye or Just Blaze or Scott Storch or Timbaland - whose own contributions to this album include album highlight Cry Me A River, a twisted, unsettling, stalker track with crazy beat box percussion. Plenty of tracks are forgettable but the likes of Like I Love You are truly memorable and still sound impressive today .

Current events made this a little difficult to full appreciate, but it is good none the less

4/4 dance w me

Justified had it's time and place. At that time, Rock Your Body was everywhere. You can just tell how much he admires Michael Jackson.

Hate to admit it...it's damn good. Way to go JT. 4.5

I like his stuff from this album more than his current stuff he's making. This is peak JT coming off of N'SYNC and showing everyone why he went solo. This album is clearly justified and if you think otherwise you can cry me a river (dear lord that was a terrible pun)

I really do enjoy some of these songs and the hits have always been favorites. I don’t think that I really needed this whole album, though.

I had not ever listened to a Justin album and have never felt compelled to do so. Nothing out of the ordinary, but somehow I assumed it would be a bit more upbeat than it was. Pretty straightforward pop music. It was just fine.

C'est ça qu'on veut mon Justin.

It's fucking sexy. Great debut from JT with some absolute bangers on it. One hell of an R&B classic

If Michael Jackson wasn't going to make Michael Jackson records anymore, then someone had to, one supposes. And this definitely a good Michael Jackson with a few shockingly sweet tunes and some certifiably groovy bits, too. "Take It From Here" and "Cry Me a River" are tops. Not really one's thing, but hard to deny oneself its easily digestible and extremely well produced charms.

I listened to this album when it first came out and was surprised at the contents. It’s a lot more funk and R&B influences than one would expect. The production quality is high. Listening again today after quite a long hiatus I found it still reasonably enjoyable if a bit long. “Take It From Here” and its ilk were on the schmaltzy side for me and I could have done with a bit less of that. I’m not sure I needed this to be 50 minutes.

Some real bangers. Not 100% quality front to back but a worthy listen. 3.5/5

Never listened all the way through. The hits are hits, there's a lot of quality, but also a bit of boy band hangover.

This one is littered with classics. Would rank it higher if not for a couple songs that don't quite reach the heights of the singles. Great album regardless.