Justified is the debut solo studio album by American singer Justin Timberlake. It was released on November 5, 2002, by Jive Records. The album was written and recorded in a six-week period as Timberlake's band NSYNC was on hiatus. For his solo album, Timberlake began to adopt a more mature image as an R&B artist opposed to the previous pop music recorded by the group. The majority of the album was produced by the Neptunes (credited as "Williams and Hugo") and Timbaland, and features guest appearances by Janet Jackson, Clipse, and Bubba Sparxxx. Primarily an R&B album, Justified also contains influences of dance-pop, funk, and soul music. Justified received generally positive reviews from critics, who complimented the mature progression of Timberlake's material, although some criticized its lyrical content. The album earned Timberlake four Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year, and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. Justified debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 and sold 439,000 copies in its first week. It was certified three-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), having sold over 3.9 million copies in the US. As of 2012, the album has sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
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.
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.
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.
Not bad for the guy who threw Janet Jackson under the sexy bus. 4 stars.
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.
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.
Dude… no. Literally the music that made me get into alt genres. Production is impressive tho.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A Timberlake Thanksgiving was well received. Also, I can tell he went through quite a breakup. I feel you, man. I've been there.
Not bad at all but a little boring
it’s not bad it’s just really not any good
It was almost good. Almost catchy. Almost impressive. Sometimes it even was. But mostly, it was just... almost.
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.
Generic, bland early aughts pop drivel
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.
Fun fact: Justin Timberlake is allergic to music.
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.
Omg yes! This album makes me feel so good. Very upbeat & fun. Has you singing & dancing
Из овог жанра кида, 9/10
Good
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
LOVE
Just a great pop album with so many bangers
good old school
Never listened all the way through. The hits are hits, there's a lot of quality, but also a bit of boy band hangover.
Pretty strong record with Timbaland's prints all over it. Just bloated heavily.
Generous 4 but the singles still bang
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.
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
Justin Timberlake is a generational talent. no doubt about it. I think one of the things he does best is working with the right people. The Neptunes did the bulk of production on this album and turned out some incredible tracks like Senorita, which is a massive leap above the status quo of the pop charts in 02. Pharrell's choppy drum work and genre-bending vision makes this album still groove 20 years later.
I came of age right around the heyday of Britney and the boy bands, so they’ll always have some kind of place in my heart even if this was never the music that excited me. And I definitely remember when Justin became the heir apparent to Michael and just how good some of these songs are. I never listened to the album before, only knowing the hits, but some of the deep cuts are good, just the kind of 2000’s R&B that takes me back. Definitely too long and runs out of steam halfway in, but I can’t rate this any lower than a B.
good
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.
Some of these are jams from the era, but listening now feels dated. 3.5
Just brilliant 4/5
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.
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)
This is one of the less expected ones for me to say I own on vinyl. Original pressing. There was a rumour at the time that this album is made mostly of tracks Michael Jackson rejected for his comeback album. It rings true. This is high end pop. Timbaland and The Neptunes at their peak and giving their all for the singles, all of which pop. The back half of the album is less good, sadly. I have a worn first disc and a spotless second one...
Hate the man but he makes great music
It's fucking sexy. Great debut from JT with some absolute bangers on it. One hell of an R&B classic
Blisters with influences everywhere. Disco, pop, funk and latin all tinge throughout this solo debut. JT is bringing it even if the party seems uneven in stretches of this. You’ll definitely shake your whole ass when this spins.
The first half is great, the second falls a little flat.
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.
A cool pop r&b album, a number of known tracks. and worth a listen.
Very poppy. Too much for me.
Featuring some of the hottest talent in music from the last 25 years and Justin Timberlake. Justin delivers a decent Pop/R&B performance. The real stars here are in production. Pharell Williams and Chad Hugo are pure legends.
Stukje nostalgie. Toffe plaat
Well this was a real blast from the past. It had slipped my mind how much of a megastar JT was back in the early 2000s, as he shook off the boyband innocence of his N*Sync days and embraced post-Britney manhood. That there's a lot to like here for me is largely down to the heavy influence of the Neptunes and Timbaland, whose own signature beats make the bulk of this album incredibly catchy. The slower, more R&B style tracks weren't so much to my taste but the big bangers catch fire in just the right way.
Heerlijke early zeroes pop sound, doet me terugdenken aan het groep 8 eindfeest van de basisschool. Grote hits als Like I Love You, Cry Me a River, Rock Your Body, en Senorita, worden afgewisseld met iets te "dertien in een dozijn" popliedjes met een gepoogd Michael Jackson gehalte dat er niet helemaal uitkomt.
Added a star for surprise bubba sparx appearance
Some real bangers. Not 100% quality front to back but a worthy listen. 3.5/5
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.
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.
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.
C'est ça qu'on veut mon Justin.
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.
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.
This dude has a killer voice. Tunes are on point Well done all around. Easy to listen to. 8/10
Hate to admit it...it's damn good. Way to go JT. 4.5
Current events made this a little difficult to full appreciate, but it is good none the less
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 .
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.
I really enjoyed this one and will listen again.
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
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.
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.
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.
Thank you for bringing sexy back
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?
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.
Fun album, Timbaland nails it as a producer.
4/4 dance w me
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
I now understand why there was such a comparison to Michael Jackson. So much of this album is derivative of MJ.
A few classics but he is a tough hang for an album that isn’t thriller
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
Can't wait, really enjoyed, always love justy timm
You know what? I wish I could hate on this, but it's pretty damn solid. JT might not sound the most heartwrenchingly sincere, and the songwriting may be several shades away from personal and moving. But his vocals are pretty smooth and agile, the hooks are sticky, and the production (Timbaland and the Neptunes) is so crisp, clean, and creative. Pretty nice batch of pop songs.
It's a strange album. The music is a mix between R&B, boy band pop, and a huge dose of Michael Jackson. I think the album is best when it's leaning into the MJ style pop, but it obviously can't measure up. Justin Timberlake is a great singer, which this album showcases, but I'm not sure if this is the best display of his voice. The lyrics are fairly basic which is to be expected, but at over an hour, this album is way too long. Overall, it's fine but doesn't quite get to where it needs to.
incredibly odd - strong songwriting and beats on display here. Feels almost like an attempt at some great producers to create a nice non threatening star. His voice is ok, it's not Michael Jackson as much as he thinks he is. really it's an attempt at creating an edgier pop star who is still nice and cute looking, the stand out tunes are really good but they don't have any of the actual singer's personality in at all. Overall it's still a pretty good listen.
Good Album with some big hits but overall, at the runtime of more than an hour, the rest of the songs were just a bit too similar sounding to get 4 stars
Just a very average collection of songs. Yes production is amazing, 2 big singles, but those songs only stand out because of 20 years of exposure. Objectively, they don’t stand out anymore than the other tracks on this album.
This is better and more consistent than I expected - of course I knew the singles, but the rest of the album holds up okay as well. It's too long, there's a bit too much production on it so it sounds more manufactured than I'd like, but I guess that's part of the appeal. Won't ever listen to the album as a whole again, but pleasantly surprised when I did. 3/5.
I wanted to hate this. I expected to give it a single star and move on to something better. But, while there is a lot here to actively dislike, there's also a lot here that forms a compelling argument for JT's enduring presence in pop culture. The songs are mostly dumb, let's just make that clear. The subject matter is shallow and repetitive to an extreme degree. But they're built exceptionally well. There's a deep understanding here of what works and what compels listeners to stick around. Not that I credit JT with that. He's mostly just an excellent vocal talent packaged in a pretty face. But he's managed to pull together a team that knew exactly how to leverage his skills to maximum effect. In the end, I can't, in good conscience, fail the record. I still didn't enjoy it but I also can't hate the skill and, maybe more importantly, the psychological and sociological understanding on display. This is an album that understands its audience and plays directly to what moves them. That's worth some stars.
3.7 - He’s obviously talented but he’s a bit of a tool, isn’t he? Don’t get me wrong, I still like him. I mean, he did “dick in a box”, so there’s that. But doesn’t his whole lady’s man schtick seem a touch cringe in hindsight? Also the way he apes Michael Jackson in his dance moves and his grunts? Or the smooth synth R&B that sounds a little too much like Stevie Wonder (see “Nothin’ Else”)? Still, though it is derivative, this is a fun, danceable pop record.
As much as I love to hear a full hours worth of Neptunes and Timbaland beats, this pretty much follows the usual formula of big mainstream pop albums. Any singles are packed into the front half of the album, and the rest is filled with pretty average filler. We even get a little piano ballad to finish it off. It wasn't too bad, but it really didn't need to be over an hour long. Every single song is like 5 minutes long, just cut a couple songs completely and trim a few to a solid 3 minutes and I'd be fairly happy.
3.75
Not bad. Cry Me a River is a banger. I think what I bump against on this album is that while I find the production interesting and creative, I don’t find Timberlake himself to be that compelling as a singer. Technically, he’s good, but I don’t hear a lot of originality. That makes it hard for me to listen to this and think it’s anything other than fine.
I hated how much I enjoyed it, starts strong but loses a lot of steam in the second half.
Turn-of-the-century heart-throb pop at its finest. Say what you want about him, you have to respect JT for the career he has made, he’s a true entertainer. Pure listening pleasure for me is like a 2, but he gets an extra star for the nostalgia factor and for the way he makes every 30-something year old woman turn instantly back into a 13 year old girl with his poster on her wall and his CD in her Discman.
Not bad. Definitely better than I expected. There was a lot of diversity between the songs. It did seem to peter off in the back half though. Overall, I wouldn't ask my daughter to turn this off if she turned it on. 3.25/5
This album is super over-produced empty-calorie pop, but I can't help but like it. It probably comes from listening to Michael Jackson basically non stop when I was in the second and third grade. I can't say that I ever go out of my way to listen to JT, but I'm never sorry for hearing it in the wild, so this gets a 3/5 for that.