Michael JacksonBest Michael Jackson Albums Ranked
8.8
Avg Score
225
Opinions
24
Albums
51
Reviewers
Summary from 225 ratings
On Wavelength, fans have rated Michael Jackson's catalog across 24 albums from 225 opinions, with an overall average of 8.8/10. The top-rated Michael Jackson album is Thriller (1982) with a 9.5/10 average from 33 ratings, followed by Bad and Off the Wall. The discography on Wavelength spans 1979 to 2022. Rock With You ranks as the highest-rated Michael Jackson song on Wavelength with a 9.9/10 average.
Off the Wall
“Off the Wall is the sound of young Michael Jackson's liberation. Though he would become even more successful in the '80s, Off the Wall remains unabashedly fun to return to for its joy and lack of baggage. For 41 minutes, we can live in the eternally young Neverland Michael longed for, a universe largely without consequence or death.”
The Essential Michael Jackson
“2xCD career-spanning reminder of why he was once the King of Pop.”
Dangerous
“At the time of Dangerous, Michael Jackson's universal popularity was on par with pizza and the polio vaccine. It was the last time that Michael Jackson was Michael Jackson.”
Thriller
“In the three years since Michael Jackson’s first solo album, Off the Wall, sold 7 million copies and spawned four hit singles, black music has veered away from the danceable but ultraslick style that Off the Wall epitomized. From Prince to Marvin Gave, from rap to Rick James, black artists have incorporated increasingly mature and […]”
Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection
“As a 10-year-old, Michael Jackson mimicked adult emotions, like most child performers. As a teenager, he was able to reach places most mature singers can’t touch. Jackson’s first four solo albums — released from 1972 to 1975, between his 13th and 17th birthdays — document his transition from boy wonder to precocious teen. This triple-disc […]”
HIStory - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE - BOOK I
“A decade after Thriller and MTV transformed pop, Michael Jackson releases a collection that combines a classic greatest-hits anthology with a jarring and uneven new album. Throughout HIStory we’re reminded of the Michael Jackson who helped groove music go mainstream with Off the Wall, fused high-tech New Wave and Caribbean rhythms with the aid of […]”
Off the Wall
“A Quincy Jones masterpiece. Michael is great on this project but it’s Quincy who really steals the show. Funky production that I had a tough time not dancing at work. This album is so much fun. It’s an incredibly jazzy album without sounding that way on the surface. Also the autotune on Michael’s voice makes him shine. Michael is charismatic and an amazing singer (obviously). He can deliver a hook like no other. But sometimes I wish he would let the instrumentals ride. He does too much ad libbing that can be a little too in your face. She’s out of my life is the one sore spot for me. It’s a ballad that’s not my kind of love song. In my opinion, this is 10.0 for Quincy Jones. Michaels delivery pars perfectly with Quincy’s high-pace horns. But he be can over the top at times and the lyrics are nothing special. My good friend Big Dirty compares Michael to Nick Cage. The very best at times but performances that don’t always work.”
XSCAPE (Deluxe)
“This album rocks. Exactly the right way to do a posthumous release. Xscape honors his legacy while delivering a truly exciting reimagining of the tracks no one got to hear. Incredible production, great vocals, and genuinely intriguing concepts. Favs: Chicago, Loving You, Slave to the Rhythm, Blue Gangsta, Xscape, Love Never Felt So Good (JT version) Meh: Love Never Felt So Good”
Bad
“Bad by Michael Jackson follows up Thriller and while the tracks have a pretty good feel, I don’t think it’s nearly as good, from tracks that hit really hit to some that just really fell flat for me, now this album is still overall good and better than some of his other albums, I just don’t think it’s Thriller levels of good.”
HIStory - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE - BOOK I
“Michael was shameless on this one. It has some of the highest highs of his career, but a couple of his lowest lows as well. He showed that he was here to stay even after the world turned on him. Favs: Scream, TDCAU, Stranger in Moscow, Earth Song, YANA, Tabloid Junkie, HIStory Meh: Money, Little Susie, Smile”
Dangerous
“If Thriller and Bad proved his stardom, this one proved his versatility. Fresh sounds and production all around. Very few dull moments. Favs: Jam, In The Closet, Remember the Time, CLHGA, Black or White, Who Is It, Give In To Me, Will You Be There, Dangerous Meh: Keep The Faith”
Invincible
“This one proved he could still do it, but no one listened. A shame. This one has some of his best songs in my opinion. Favs: Unbreakable, Heartbreaker, Break of Dawn, Heaven Can Wait, You Rock My World, Butterflies, Don’t Walk Away, Whatever Happens Meh: The Lost Children”
Thriller
“Perfect record, timeless as hell, nearly infinite replay value. Only song that slightly holds it back (as a huge MJ fan) is The Girl is Mine, should’ve been more like the demo. I still love the song though and this doesn’t change that it’s a 10. Favs: all”
Thriller
“ALMOST a no skip album - beat it, thriller, pyt, billie jean, wanna be startin something, AND THE LIST GOES ON -.5 because i’m not the biggest fan of human nature”
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