1001 Albums Summary

Anything less than a 5 ignores the avalanche of impact this album had across all aspects of culture for decades. Not just music. Film, Music videos, fashion, video games -- all of pop-culture. Not every song can be "thriller", because there are no other songs like Thriller after 43 years. Anyone that lived through this era almost certainly knows every song by heart already. Many if not all of the songs still stand up in composition and artistry against modern musical culture. Has some of the production hardware used aged poorly against this backdrop? Of course. But, come on. It's MJ. It's Thriller. Some of these younguns giving 1 stars, their parents were probably concieved to this album. PYT was always one of my favorite songs. I remember sitting on the floor of my parents kitchen in my diapers banging wooden spoons on pots to this album. 4 decades later it still gets me dancing and singing. Now that's talent worth 5 stars.

It's all very "Jack White" and over-engineered. His competence is on full display, but there is a veneer to his solo work that I just can't get past. As much as I loved The White Stripes, his solo work just never jives for me. I won't ever listen to this album again.

It's all very "Jack White" and over-engineered. His competence is on full display, but there is a veneer to his solo work that I just can't get past. As much as I loved The White Stripes, his solo work just never jives for me. I won't ever listen to this album again.