What are your thoughts on this album? Where were you when it came out? How did it first sound on your record player?

I was just fresh to the world when the album peaked, but the impact of it was always made by MTV and VH1, so it never quite ever left the airwaves and no matter what, this one always sounded cool.  8)

What are your thoughts on this album? Where were you when it came out? How did it first sound on your record player?

I was just fresh to the world when the album peaked, but the impact of it was always made by MTV and VH1, so it never quite ever left the airwaves and no matter what, this one always sounded cool.  8)


Thriller was the single most important album of the late 20th century, no doubt about it. It rethought the pop music superstar as an image-conscious maven whose albums were never strictly in one genre, and could produce singles that appealed to everyone...it was the first megahit album to be driven by MTV.

I was only 4 when Thriller came out, but I remember the impact it made.  I used to see the videos for the singles around the clock on Much Music.  Thriller was massive, and the music channels were milking it for all it was worth

Thriller saw it's biggest success in America, where all 7 singles hit the Top 10 ...

Title of Single The Girl is Mine <w/ Paul McCartney> Billie Jean Beat It Wanna Be Startin' Something Human Nature P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) Thriller

United States #2 #1 #1 #5 #7 #10 #4

Canada #8 #1 #1 #1 #11 #17 #3

United Kingdom #8 #1 #3#8--#11#10

I was six when it came out in 1982. It was my first album that I purchased with saved money. It tore the pop world up.

I distinctly remember being in a favourite nightclub at the time the album was massively popular - the video of him dancing in the red outfit with the zombies was being played on all the monitors - I was totally impressed - enjoyed the album, and have loved his music since the 70's when he was with the Jackson 5. 

I actually bought all of the 94 singles off of it at first...

...and then bought the album! There's logic there somewhere!

Sounds a tad dated now, but at the time...whoa!

The follow-up ('Bad') sounds even more dated and at the time...yawn!

I actually bought all of the 94 singles off of it at first...

...and then bought the album! There's logic there somewhere!

Sounds a tad dated now, but at the time...whoa!

The follow-up ('Bad') sounds even more dated and at the time...yawn!


"Bad" does sound more oudated for some reason or another. "Thriller" has more of a classic tone to it, whereas "Bad" is more cheesy in some areas. Plus, this is when he started looking creepy.

I used to see the videos for the singles around the clock on Much Music.  Thriller was massive, and the music channels were milking it for all it was worth


IIRC, the full-length 'Thriller' video had an 'exclusive' airing on British TV and was watched by several million...

...the kind of thing you'd never experience in this day and age!

IIRC, the full-length 'Thriller' video had an 'exclusive' airing on British TV and was watched by several million...

...the kind of thing you'd never experience in this day and age!



Ahh, back in the day when music video premieres actually meant something to people!  ;D

"Bad" does sound more oudated for some reason or another. "Thriller" has more of a classic tone to it, whereas "Bad" is more cheesy in some areas. Plus, this is when he started looking creepy.


IMO, all of his albums got worse from Thriller on. Bad sounds slick and overproduced, in a very "outdated late '80s", 1987ish sort of way. Thriller and the preceding Off the Wall (a highly underrated album) sound fresh and spontaneous. Did people at the time of Thriller notice how much plastic surgery he'd had c. 1981, between it and Off the Wall?

IMO, all of his albums got worse from Thriller on. Bad sounds slick and overproduced, in a very "outdated late '80s", 1987ish sort of way. Thriller and the preceding Off the Wall (a highly underrated album) sound fresh and spontaneous. Did people at the time of Thriller notice how much plastic surgery he'd had c. 1981, between it and Off the Wall?


I'm sure it was noticable, to an extent, how his face changed.. but by the time he did "Bad," it was very obvious.

I'm sure it was noticable, to an extent, how his face changed.. but by the time he did "Bad," it was very obvious.


What do you think makes Bad so outdated sounding?

What do you think makes Bad so outdated sounding?


I think for the same reasons that you thought. It was over produced, too gimicky sounding, and sort of a rip off of his earlier works.

I think for the same reasons that you thought. It was over produced, too gimicky sounding, and sort of a rip off of his earlier works.


We own all those albums, and Bad is the only one that it's a chore to listen through. I'm listening to Thriller at the moment (inspired by this thread) and it really is a masterpiece...but a song like "Dirty Diana" or "Smooth Criminal", or even "Bad", sounds like such a rip off of the attitude of "Beat It"...and it's so poppy and slick it's jokey that he's trying to be "bad."

We own all those albums, and Bad is the only one that it's a chore to listen through. I'm listening to Thriller at the moment (inspired by this thread) and it really is a masterpiece...but a song like "Dirty Diana" or "Smooth Criminal", or even "Bad", sounds like such a rip off of the attitude of "Beat It"...and it's so poppy and slick it's jokey that he's trying to be "bad."


I think M.J. realises how foolish he comes across in much of Thriller. But, in keeping with the times, it was typical of 80s self-parodying kitsch. Despite its gimmickiness and being over-produced, Thriller appealed to a large audience, and few people of any age can claim not to have some experience related to this album.

^ But on your previous comment, Thriller being the most important album of the late 20th century? It may be the best selling, but I would not go as far as to say that...

I think M.J. realises how foolish he comes across in much of Thriller. But, in keeping with the times, it was typical of 80s self-parodying kitsch. Despite its gimmickiness and being over-produced, Thriller appealed to a large audience, and few people of any age can claim not to have some experience related to this album.

^ But on your previous comment, Thriller being the most important album of the late 20th century? It may be the best selling, but I would not go as far as to say that...



I was referring to Bad being overproduced, not the album this thread is about.

I actually bought all of the 94 singles off of it at first...

...and then bought the album! There's logic there somewhere!

Sounds a tad dated now, but at the time...whoa!

The follow-up ('Bad') sounds even more dated and at the time...yawn!


Oh noo..Paul if you ever want to trade any of those - and they're 7"vinyl - I'm very interested..finding singles in good nick by Michael Jackson is like finding a needle in a haystack!

This was one of the first albums I ever owned.  I didn't get it until Christmas 1983.  Now I have two copies.  I thought the music was great, although his hanging around with a chimp named bubbles all the time was a little weird to me.  :P  ;D

This was one of the first albums I ever owned.  I didn't get it until Christmas 1983.  Now I have two copies.  I thought the music was great, although his hanging around with a chimp named bubbles all the time was a little weird to me.  :P  ;D


How could you tell which one was the chimp? ;D

I remember that whole Chimp think was incorporated into the "Moonwalker" arcade game.  When Michael touches the chimp, he turns into a robot that shoots lazers ;D ;D

We own all those albums, and Bad is the only one that it's a chore to listen through. I'm listening to Thriller at the moment (inspired by this thread) and it really is a masterpiece...but a song like "Dirty Diana" or "Smooth Criminal", or even "Bad", sounds like such a rip off of the attitude of "Beat It"...and it's so poppy and slick it's jokey that he's trying to be "bad."

Yeah, most of the songs were modifications of the Thriller styles. "Bad" and "Dirty Diana" were an inferior version of the hard rock pop he did with "Beat It"; and "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Smooth Criminal" for edgy dance numbers.

Don't get me wrong, I love that album too, but since my fave song off Thriller was actually "Human Nature, I think Bad's best songs are the two hit ballads (Man in the Mirror, and I Just Can't Stop Loving You). Those aren't totally original either, but sound more 1988ish in style.

I think M.J. realises how foolish he comes across in much of Thriller. But, in keeping with the times, it was typical of 80s self-parodying kitsch. Despite its gimmickiness and being over-produced, Thriller appealed to a large audience, and few people of any age can claim not to have some experience related to this album.

^ But on your previous comment, Thriller being the most important album of the late 20th century? It may be the best selling, but I would not go as far as to say that...



I think Thriller is by far in the top ten of best albums ever.

Yeah, most of the songs were modifications of the Thriller styles. "Bad" and "Dirty Diana" were an inferior version of the hard rock pop he did with "Beat It"; and "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Smooth Criminal" for edgy dance numbers.

Don't get me wrong, I love that album too, but since my fave song off Thriller was actually "Human Nature, I think Bad's best songs are the two hit ballads (Man in the Mirror, and I Just Can't Stop Loving You). Those aren't totally original either, but sound more 1988ish in style.


In some ways, Bad seemed like an overdone, self-parodying Thriller. Like, it had nine singles out of eleven tracks, for example, making it basically only an overexposed singles collection, and the vocals and instrumentation are sort of glossed over and heavily forced. Also, Jackson tried too hard to be "tough" in the image of that album...and by that point, he looked and seemed sort of weird with all the obvious plastic surgery-that was sort of his alien/pixie stage. Nonetheless, there were a few good tracks, such as "Man in the Mirror", which I consider one of his best (and which started the gospel choir trend in late '80s music.)

An interesting fact about Bad: originally, the title track was planned to be a Prince/Michael Jackson duet, but Prince insisted the song would be a hit without him. Prince said of the album, "It's called Bad because they didn't have enough room to spell Pathetic."

I think Thriller is by far in the top ten of best albums ever.


IMO, the top ten to twenty best "pop" albums definitely include  Thriller, Sign O' The Times, Color by Numbers, Like a Prayer, Purple Rain...

I think that about late 1991-early 1992 is the absolute last time Dangerous could've been popular, which is how it turned out to be. Alot of people think it was an improvement on the prior album by being considerably more original, which is something I agree with. Though I think alot of the album was intended (like that period in his career, the early '90s) to defuse rumors about himself..."In the Closet" about sexuality and "Black or White" about the skin color lightening. A song like "Remember the Time" was an attempt to update himself into new jack swing, and the overall look/graphic design of the singles/photographs/music videos is more '90s than '80s by far...and the "serious topic" of "Black or White" seems like trying to fit a more serious '90s music theme, along with the concessions to basketball culture in the music videos., and including raps in the songs. It was definitely very successful for its time, and was arguably more in touch with the times of 1991 than Bad was with 1987, though Bad did better commercially. Dangerous is forgotten about alot.

IMO, the top ten to twenty best "pop" albums definitely include  Thriller, Sign O' The Times, Color by Numbers, Like a Prayer, Purple Rain...

I think that about late 1991-early 1992 is the absolute last time Dangerous could've been popular, which is how it turned out to be. Alot of people think it was an improvement on the prior album by being considerably more original, which is something I agree with. Though I think alot of the album was intended (like that period in his career, the early '90s) to defuse rumors about himself..."In the Closet" about sexuality and "Black or White" about the skin color lightening. A song like "Remember the Time" was an attempt to update himself into new jack swing, and the overall look/graphic design of the singles/photographs/music videos is more '90s than '80s by far...and the "serious topic" of "Black or White" seems like trying to fit a more serious '90s music theme, along with the concessions to basketball culture in the music videos., and including raps in the songs. It was definitely very successful for its time, and was arguably more in touch with the times of 1991 than Bad was with 1987, though Bad did better commercially. Dangerous is forgotten about alot.


Does anybody agree that artists who are not rap artists including old school rap on their CDs is quite 1991-1992? Prince, Madonna, and MJ all did this to "keep up with the times."

Does anybody agree that artists who are not rap artists including old school rap on their CDs is quite 1991-1992? Prince, Madonna, and MJ all did this to "keep up with the times."


;D