Acc's Top 50 Michael Jackson songs v. TOP 10 TUNES!!

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It's been awhile since I've done a music or movie list, which I always take special care with. However, this specific list is something I've been doing for a very long time...probably even before I became a DTF member. Besides the Beatles, no other artist has an impeccable catalogue of work than Michael Jackson.

Here is an artist who eclipsed the scene before his balls dropped as a member of the legendary Motown group, The Jackson 5. However, his adult solo career changed the balance of music forever. He was able to break down barriers like no other artist, and in doing so, he became the biggest superstar in the world.

It doesn't matter what genre of music you're into, more than likely, Jackson has in some way influenced them. Jackson was labeled as the King of Pop, but his music ranges from rock to jazz to disco.

From his first solo album, Got To Be There, to his critically acclaimed post-humous album, Michael, I will list the top 50 songs of Michaels. I will only do his solo work, nothing from The Jackson 5. In any other case, I Want You Back and ABC would be on this list. You will see his hits, but other lesser known songs that really showed how versatile Michael was.

Keep your eye out!

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50. Get On The Floor

Off The Wall

This is a perfect song for me to start off a Michael Jackson countdown of his very best songs. It's one of the many disco/funk driven songs that are filled in Michael's fifth album, Off The Wall. A lot of people forget that Off The Wall isn't his first solo album, mainly because Michael was still making records with The Jacksons while he was recording his childhood era of solo records. His voice didn't start maturing until the last album of that era, Forever Michael. This specific song has a really funky bass line that i absolutely love. The bridge mixes african-esque drums and chanting while keeping that disco flair that is just fun to listen to. The whole song just makes you want to go up and dance with Michael.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ierY2nOVX64

49. Hold My Hand

Michael

Here's the only post-humous song you will see on this list. It's not because the other songs are bad either. Let me explain. The songs off of Michael are very good songs. However, they were all incomplete and did not have the blessing of the king of pop himself to have it as a completed work of art. The fact that Michael's long time industry partner, Quincy Jones, even said this does not sound like a Michael record. A lot of these songs probably even wouldn't even see the light of day. However, the only song in my opinion that sounded like a complete work, and not tainted by the lawyers of Michael's father (who gave the go-ahead with this), is Hold My Hand, a duet with Akon. It's a beautiful, inspirational R&B tune, and the backing vocals of Akon aren't too bad. I was skeptical because I really hate the auto-tune era of hiphop/r&b, but the overall sound of Hold My Hand is very house like, thus, the Akon vocals work.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oCCnxBos10&ob=av3e

48. Blood On The Dance Floor

Blood On The Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix

If Michael Jackson and Trent Reznor ever had a love child, they would get Blood On The Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, the EP/Remix album that was released in support HIStory. There's a definitely a lot of industrial rock influences throughout the album (Morphine feat. Slash is very industrial heavy). The titled song is classic Michael, but very evocative to what Michael was dealing with at the time as far as women goes. Back stabbing bitches, man. Anyway, Michael's vocals are unique in that it feels like he is holding his frustrations inside of him, until the chorus, when he let's it all out.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3_NntYhzV4

[wolfking]

Off the Wall is great, but I lost interest after Dangerous, so numbers 49. and 48. are unfamiliar to me.

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47. Working Day And Night

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Off The Wall

This is a hyperactive dancing bomb. Fast paced, groovy, and just fun to listen to. From its opening moments, Michael injects the song with as much frenetic energy as possible through his vocals and double-timed percussive elements. And the infectious beat pounds on for the next three minutes. The song was never released as a single, but it still was played on the radios, was featured in some films, and in dance clubs. Sitting still is nearly impossible
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w35qFeKCIBU

46. I Wanna Be Where You Are

Got To Be There

Growing up, I always thought this was a Jackson 5 song. During Michaels early solo career, he was still a member of the 5. One could say it took Michael a bit to perfect his own distinct sound for the rest of solo career, but honestly, the boy didn't get a mature voice until he was almost 18. This song is one of my favorites off of Got To Be There. Psychedelic soul at it's best. The melody in his voice is soothing.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFL_gYXE6Rk

45. Liberian Girl

Bad

Very exotic. Very erotic. One of the smoothest ballads in Michael's catalogue. I really enjoy the overall production on this song from the Bad album. Again, percussion sets the mood like in many Michael's songs. Fun fact: You may think Michael had some sort of crush on a Liberian woman, but he actually wrote this song for his good friend, Elisabeth Taylor!
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm2BsOnAYcM

44. Smile

HIStory

Whenever I list a great cover song,  Smile will be one of the first I mention. Smile is the very last song off of HIStory, and what a great way to end a fantastic album. The music for smile was written by Charlie Chaplin for his film, Modern Times. Years later, Nat King Cole added lyrics to the music and became one his most well known songs. In the lyrics, the singer is telling the listener to cheer up and that there is always a bright tomorrow. Michael's cover is just genuine. It may or may not have brought me tears at one point. It was a bad idea to watch this video around the time he passed away.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiKJmBgAfFE

[wolfking]

I always liked Liberian Girl, and it was nicely placed in the album IMO.

[Progmetty]

Blood on The Dance Floor at 48? 
This is cool though, old hardcore fan of MJ here 

[KevShmev]

I'll follow this, but I can make a tiny suggestion: put the song titles in another font color.  Having to squint to read them in that yellow font is no bueno.

[wolfking]

Also, one more suggestion, could you put the album the songs are from after the song title.  Just so I know how many songs come off Michael's last few albums, since I lost interest after Dangerous.

[Accelerando]

Suggestions have been noted and i'll make the changes shortly 

[wolfking]

Cool mate, thanks.

[KevShmev]

 

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43. You Are Not Alone

HIStory

You Are Not Alone was Michael’s last number one hit, and considering how many number ones he has had, this ballad is the only song that has ever made it to the number one spot instantly. Co-written by R. Kelly, this song may seem like a love song, but if you listen to the lyrics closely, the meaning is deeper. Both MJ and R. Kelly wrote this song during a time where both were going through difficult times in there lives, and it was exploited publicly. It’s a song about isolation, where I think the genius lies. The song is simple (typical R. Kelly-esque ballad with similar chorus of “I Believe I Can Fly), but Michael’s vocal performance is just top notch. You can feel like the lonliness is his voice.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAyKJAtDNCw&ob=av2e

42. You Rock My World

Invincible

It’s a damn shame that this song didn’t get any love UNTIL Michael died. I was a fan of it since I first heard 10 years ago. It was Michael’s last top ten song.  Invincible was Michael’s response to the current R&B sound. However, Michael went back to his disco pop roots from his early solo career that flavored many influences from his past songs. The vibrating vocal harmonies are probably my favorite part of the song.
LINK:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1kHeeEMe-s

41. We Are Here To Change The World

Captain EO

If you were a child back in the 80’s, and you went to a Disney theme part in either California or Florida, you probably saw a 4D attraction (3D film that included in theater effects) created by George Lucas and Francis For Coppola called “Captain EO.” And more than likely, you were dancing and rooting for EO, Hooter, and the gang through song and dance in a 80stastic 3D film. We Are Here To Change The World is the only original song from that attraction that features up-tempo synths and beats.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ4ldy6z340

40. Scream (feat. Janet Jackson)

HIStory

It took me awhile to enjoy this song when it first came out. I was still really young when HIStory came out, and I don’t think I appreciated the beatbox element of the song back then. It has since grown on me tremendously. The bridge and chorus are 100% flawless. The vocals by Michael and Janet are just full of fury, and I love it. And I enjoy the beatbox and pointed lyrics after all.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P4A1K4lXDo&ob=av2e

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39. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

Thriller

One of the great things about Thriller is that each song had some engaging story. However, P.Y.T. is Michael’s “im on the streets flirting with all the fly mamas in town” song. PYT is energy fueled by funky riffs and a dance element that is undeniable. The chorus is infectious

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-3JYuv9w4U

38. She's Out Of My Life

Off The Wall

It’s never easy to have a very slow, moody, keyboard driven song in an album that is a dancing machine. However, Michael, was no ordinary artist, and can pull off a song about a lost love and blaming himself for it. It is one of his most enduring and endearing love songs and finest vocal performances. The bridge is clutch. In the final 25 seconds of the song, you can hear Michael choking and crying. It was no gimmick, that part. According to Quincy Jones, Michael was tearing up. These were lyrics Michael did not write, by the way.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DQJPL9Yuq0&ob=av2e

37. Why You Wanna Trip On Me

Dangerous

The press haunted Michael Jackson, before and after Dangerous was released. In Why You Want To Trip On Me, Michael wrote his frustrations about the media. The song begins with a guitar shredding and screaming, then goes into a funky beat and rhythmatic guitar that settles, until it reaches the chorus, then the music boils. The chorus is just too good.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qSfCjVk6Xc

36. Whatever Happens

Invincible

The sad part about Invincible is that Sony never pushed the album to be successful. Thus, only hardcore Michael fans were the only ones to here the gem of a tune called Whatever Happens. It’s a spaghetti western flavored song that features Carlos Santana playing a beautiful tune with a lap steel guitar. Don’t worry. There’s a Santana solo in there. Santana plucks the strings ever so delicately which forces MJ to sing with more emotion than you’d think possible. It’s almost like these two music legends were about to draw on each other! The chorus is just godly. It’s one of my favorites from any Michael song.

Link: https://youtu.be/0XuFouOpDag

35. Heal The World

Dangerous

Heal The World is an anthem of peace, love, and unity. Michael has always made it a point to use his talents to call attention to the world's injustices, and his message music is one of the reasons why he is a stand out artist. The message is as powerful as the chorus is catchy. This song is said is one of Michael’s proudest songs.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWf-eARnf6U&ob=av2e

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Someone reminded me via messages that I haven't finished my list, and it has been almost a year. A freakin year. I looked at the last time I updated my list, and it was around the time my Uncle passed away. I probably forgot about it in the process. Well, I'm determined to finish this by the end of the new week.


so...ahem...let's start this...again....

34. Butterflies

Invincible

It's a shame Invincible never got the cred that Michael's previous did, because there's a lot of fantastic work in that album. Such as this song. Butterflies is probably the best song that he released in the twilight of his career. This song is fantastic neo-soul, and it's that type of soul he sang before becoming that larger than life King of Pop. It has a very laid back groove and it floats like...well...a butterfly. A heavenly track by MJ.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wthgd_Rg1qg

33. The Girl Is Mine (feat. Paul McCartney)

Thriller

This is where the King of Pop and a Beatle duke out a battle for the heart. A very soulful song, and sometimes I think McCartney might outsing Michael in his own song, but it's one of his most memorable songs. The banter between the two in the middle of the song is pretty fun. This is one of the few collaborations these two had. Fun Fact: This was the very first single of the legendary Thriller album.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHp0s2wKajw

32. Happy

Music And Me

A song Smokey Robinson wrote and sold to Motown in which they gave to little Michael. Michael was at the point of his young career where he wanted to expand horizons with contemporary approaches. Music And Me is probably Michael's worst solo album, but there were a few songs that had really interesting arrangements. Happy utilized Michael distinguished capability of grabbing notes out of nowhere and flying with them. Vintage young Michael.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6gBr5ZY4j0

31. Remember The Time

Dangerous

I think Dangerous is my favorite Michael Jackson album. It was needed for it's time; a 90's pop record with rock and new jack swing influences that raised the bar of 90's pop. I remember first listening to Remember The Time...or rather watching the music video that was set in Egypt with Eddie Murphy, Magic Johnson, and Iman and the Fatima-choreographed dances. One of the best MJ videos ever. Anyway, the song is ridiculously cool. One of the few songs that Michael doesn't give one his falsetto "hee hee's" or trademark "Whoo!." Michael just outright sings the song in a flawless tenor. It's as infectious a song as it is contemplative and reflective. "It just seemed like heaven, so why did it end?" We should all have one great love like that.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeiFF0gvqcc

[wolfking]

I love Dangerous, IMO it's almost as good as Bad or Thriller.  Great songs with lots of variety and that was a killer tune.

[masterthes]

You know you have PYT being from Off the Wall, right? Anyway, very much following this

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You know you have PYT being from Off the Wall, right? Anyway, very much following this

I've must've been drunk, or drunk. That mistake has been fixed!

 Adding more soon!

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30.I Can't Help It

Off The Wall

This is one of the smoothest songs in all of Michael's great catalog of music. It's really evokes the dance floors of the 70's with  nattily-dressed couples having a good time. Off course, it's off from Off The Wall, which is a perfect encapsulation of '70's overindulgence and the '80's decadence that would soon follow. The rhythm in I Can't Help It is just clutch. It'a beautiful yet simple track that was penned by Michael.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnhWML43NI8

29. Just Another Part of Me

Captain EO/Bad

I cannot listen to this song and not think of Captain EO, leaving that theater to this great MJ joint and dancing and singing with friends. Captain EO is one of my favorite EPCOT attractions at Walt Disney World, an attraction that was revived as a tribute to MJ no less than a year after his death, with the original in-theater effects and the original 3D film. This song was actually written for that attraction way before it was selected to be on the Bad album. It's a great song that you can dance to.

Link:

28. I Just Can't Stop Loving You (feat. Siedah Garrett)

Bad

My favorite characteristics about Michael's love songs are their intense purity. His vocal performances are just top notch and emotional. Same applies with this wonderful song. This is my favorite duet with Michael. When he and Siedah sing to each other, it's a manifestation of heaven. They conjure the spiritual ideal of love. A wonderful duo

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcvLiFLiu9g

27. In The Closet

Dangerous

This is Michael's most explicit song. There's no bad language, but just that dirty feeling he has when he wants it from a sexy, sexy woman. I mean, my god. "Ohh she wants to get it...ah, she wants to get it. Because there's something about you baby that makes me want to give it to you." Throughout Michael's career, he has never been very outspoken about woman unless he gets marries to them. This caused some controversy on his sexuality, especially in the title choice. But if the song didn't signify that he was a straight man, then the music video did, where he writhes and grinds with supermodel Naomi Campbell. The song has a very sexy tempo, with lots of sighs and moans.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qLY0vbrT8Q

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26. Childhood

HIStory

If ever want to know who Michael Jackson was, just listen to this song. It's just him explaining himself. The poignant lyrics provide insight of his tragic life. He didn't have a normal childhood like everyone else, with the fame, the glitz, and cameras always shining on him. But he never wanted that. He also didn't want to be raised in a abusive household like he did. He didn't want vitiligo that started making making his skin white. Just listen to him; "People say I'm not okay, 'Cause I love such elementary things...It's been my fate to compensate, for childhood I've never known...Before you judge me, try hard to love me."  He wanted people to understand him a little better, but media only ridiculed him. The song is truly beautiful.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xNlASEEHaI

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Alrighty, here we go with the top 25 songs!

25. Man In The Mirror

Bad

This song incorporates one of the greatest key changes in the history of popular music. It's very subtle, doesn't need to reach a climax, but the change for the verse just hits it. This song is also one of the most covered songs in the....universe. It's in concert choirs, concert halls, churches, rallies, etc., initially for it's universal message: Make a change in the world. Undoubtedly this is a personal message from Michael stating that nothing matters if we aren't making a positive change in ourselves and towards those who are less fortunate than we are.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9Nh84lfvW0

24. Leave Me Alone

Bad

I remember singing this simple but fun chorus as a kid, and I think it drove my mom bonkers. "Did you clean your room?" "Just leave me aloooone!" Yeah, probably did not bode too well. Despite the fun I had singing and dancing to this song, the lyrics vide on the fun Michael did not have in his tabloid lifestyle he was getting at that time. In between Thriller and Bad, he was the circus act of a media scrutiny. Changes in his appearance and lust for his personal life had those papparazi foes everywhere in Michael's life. You can hear the exhaustion in his angst as he almost cries that elongated "alone" in the chorus.

Link: https://youtu.be/crbFmpezO4A

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23. Off The Wall

Off The Wall

This is a song that took many years for me to warm up to. It was one of those songs on an album where I would hit the next button. However, it came more and more apparent for me what a freaking great tune this was, and the fact it took me so long for me be like “Hey, this is cool” is an embarrassing fact of my life. It's got a killer groove and wicked bassline with some nice brass work mixed in. A complete disco packaged song.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrd3lSn5FqQ

22. I Can't Let Her Get Away

Dangerous

One of the most underrated MJ songs IMO. It's a very fun, fast paced song that I feel is a reminiscent of a James Brown song. The production value and production sound is very James Brown-ish. James Brown always had songs about loving a girl he loves so much that he can't lose her, and this is what this song is about! I don't know if Michael made this as some sort of tribute to one of his inspirations, but regardless, this tune is kickin'. I can't help but move my feet to this. This song should have been a hit, but it was never released as a single. Would have done well on the dance floor!

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MBhxAO-T1I

21. Give In To Me

Dangerous

I really wish that Michael and Slash formed a side project, because it's songs like Give in To Me where I truly believe Michael was so diverse in his singing that he could have been a rock/metal singer. That chorus he sings is filled with angst. Michael really had range when he picked his songs, and I think thats why he was in the buisness as long as he was, because his diversity was with style and he was unafraid to switch it up. This song in particulary is sexy and kind of raw. The slow tempo is ripped by a heavy metal lick and incoporates a fantastic solo by Slash. This is one of my favorite songs off the Dangerous album.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ7qXHjxj_0

[wolfking]

Give in to Me is killer.

[Scorpion]

What wolf said. I'm not familiar with MJ, but Give In To Me is definitely my favourite out of those that I have heard.

[Accelerando]

Hey everyone, with much debate, I did decide to move around a couple songs that were in my top 20. My last entry only had two songs, but now there's three since I edited my last entry with the third song, I Can't Let Her Get Away.

So here we go with the top 20!

20. The Way You Make Me Feel

Bad

A great attribute about Michael's music is they way he makes you feel. Exactly what he does in this song. That young, giddy joyousness of that person you are attracted to and the butterflies you may get. What a groove this song has right from the get go. That baseline is quite boisterous that a love song becomes fun and you can dance to. That, and the song's confidence! From the finger snaps and Michael's crooning just makes that song a game of cat and mouse with a playful and cocky Michael pursuing a fly female. I don't even know if I would call this song a love song because it's not sappy or smarmy. It's just upbeat and flirtatious!

Link: https://youtu.be/HzZ_urpj4As

19. The Lady In My Life

Thriller

Before I even started listening to Michael Jackson when I was a boy, I remember my uncle picking up his acoustic and playing a bluesy song, as if he was singing to my aunt. Then I discovered my Michael, and when I heard this song on Thriller, I remember being so excited that this was the song my Uncle played. As mentioned before, this is very much a blues tune in the form of a Soul ballad. That guitar lick is just deep. I truly believe this is one of the greatest love songs of all time. This song was not written by Michael, but it's the  tender delivery that transformed the words on the page into pure soul gold. The songs starts off with a sweet innocence, then it builds to harmonious croons and shouts.

Link: https://youtu.be/Cc_KSe6FUoU

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18. Rock With You

Off The Wall

This Rod Tempterton penned song is a true Michael Jackson classic. It was one of the first #1 hits on the Billboard, and widely considered one of the last great hits of the disco era. Many of Michael's songs are odes to peace and harmony to the world. Rock With You is Michael's attempt to hold us close to the groove. "And when the groove is dead and gone, you know that love survives so we can rock forever on." Doesn't that just resinate with you? No? Then click the link below That warm feeling you just got? Yup. I feel that same way, too. He was 20-21years old and here he is performing this poetry he'd help written. Most singers that age are just singers, they can't write and produce for shit.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jF7vmR535E

17. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

Thriller

That album, Thriller, is a true legendary album. It's a perfect storm of ambition, songs, people, production, and timing that launched Michael to pop legend that he is. Is it coincidental that Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' is the first song off of this record? Quite possibly. But even if it weren't, if that song was the fifth track on that album, it still wouldn't have weakened that album. Michael actually wrote this song for his sister, LaToya and her naysayers. He is definitely fed up and he spends a large portion of the song taunting but ultimately his anger dissolves into pure movement. He pop and rocks, distorting his voice and pushing up against the frantic guitar licks and synthesized rhythms. By the time he starts into the final iconic chant of "mama-say mama-sah ma-ma-coo-sah," his earlier sentiments are gone.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg0AsWruz4k

16. Black or White

Dangerous

The first single of the Dangerous album is probably one of his most important works. It's an indelible mark as part of Michael's legacy of racial harmony and popularity that has transcended color lines for decades. With the lyrics, Jackson claimed his right to love and be with who he chose to be, regardless of skin color. That guitar riff written by Slash is memorable as it is fitting, for it is a harmony that fits with Michael's message. I mentioned in my Give In To Me notes that I wish that MJ and Michael would have formed a rock group. Give In To Me showed that Michael could sing a heavy metal tune, Black or White shows that both can write great rock anthems.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dgAaCUa4nM

[Big Hath]

Black or White

I remember the premiere of that video - it came on several channels at the same time, one if which was FOX!  It was a huge deal.

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Black or White

I remember the premiere of that video - it came on several channels at the same time, one if which was FOX!  It was a huge deal.

It's one of his best videos IMO. I was only 4 when it came out, so unfortunately I did not experience that phenomenon 

[masterthes]

Oh God, I remember seeing that and liking the video a whole lot, until that odd dance break at the end

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15. Dirty Diana

Bad

God I love this song. Another rock fused Michael song, it's a sexy as hell song.  I originally thought this song was about prostitutes, but it's just really about groupie hoes. MJ has certainly surrounded himself with some fantastic guitar players, for any type of music he produced, but especially in songs like these. Obviously he's worked with Slash, but also Orianthi, Carlos Santana, and Eddie Van Halen. For Dirty Diana, Michael turned to Billy Idol's guitarist, Steve Stevens, to contribute on guitars for this song. This song to me is Michael's heavy metal ballad; a song about a tenacious groupie. His vocals are so powerful and edgy, especially in the buildup to the chorus.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUi_S6YWjZw

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14. Earth Song

HIStory

This is Michael's prophetic epic. Like many of his songs in the latter days of his career, very political and socially based, such as "They Don't Care About Us." However this song is a hauntingly beautiful preface on the worldwide assault on our environment with deforestation, oil spills, war, famine, etc. His vocals spiral amid the orchestra that is played, but then he smacks the gospel chorus that just adds to the emotional tone to this song. The "Ooh-ohh-ohh's" carries bridges each key changes and makes the song more bombastic and bigger. This is perhaps the most compelling songs ever written about the environment.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7V8p_uCUE4

13. Who Is It?

Dangerous

This is one of my favorite songs that Michael wrote and composed himself, and probably one of the best he wrote. That bass line is just dangerous, and the percussion. Michael plays with the chord progression, creating something different and it has become one of his more interesting songs to listen to. He has made such great music, but there's a lot of special things about this song. Definitely about being in despair after someone that you are in a relationship with cheated on you and you're wondering with whom.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENC5MEzrRp8

12. Got To Be There

Got To Be There

This is the song launched Michael Jackson's solo career from his 1971 debut solo album by the same name, and boy, it's a fantastic song. It's really shows that Michael can be a successful professional music artist and not be dependent by his brother in the Jackson 5. MJ sings this song in an eyebrow raising octave and with such high majesty.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7DKsWJyl7Y

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11. Scared of the Moon

unreleased

Scared of the Moon is a hidden treasure in the great catalog songs in Michael's great career, and a prime example that shows how gifted Michael was.  I really love the depth and emotion of Michael's voice when it goes into a whisper and builds up to the ghostly but stunning melody of the chorus. The song isn't a lovely tune. It's haunting, beautiful, and thought provoking. I love the melody. It reminds me of antique musical jewelry boxes. It's a melody so manifested that it is mysteriously innocent. Michael's vocals is a heavenly, angelic celestial. This is a song that was written for the Bad album, but never made the cut. In a way, that was a good thing. I don't know if it would have fit in the overall aesthetic of Bad; maybe it would have worked in Dangerous. Or maybe it was just better for people who loved Michael's music so much to have dig deeper into his library to discover that masterful piece.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ea4TAnAOqU

10. Human Nature

Thriller

I have a natural affinity for oblique movement in voice leading, and in Human Nature, the descending ostinato of the bridge with Michael's sweetly ornamented stable line warbling still sends chills down my spine. This is one of my favorite love songs EVER. It evokes an image of a city at night with someone special. Maybe a night out in NYC, strolling though time square. To me, it about the ability to love freely and live the way you want in a city with so many new people is I think what the writer was trying to get across - who happens to be Steve Porcaro, keyboardist of Toto, who gave the unfinished demo of the melody along with the lyrics to Quincy Jones who passed it along with Michael, and all three worked on crafting this masterpiece of a song. It just blows my mind the interspersed melodies that weave in and out of each other throughout this song. There has never been a song that sounds anything like this. It evokes such a deep feeling in my gut every time.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgmbYALa0no

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11. Thriller

Thriller

What can be said about Thriller? To say it's a great song just doesn't justify it. You see, Michael Jackson was the first African-American to break the MTV color barrier with the video for "Beat It." If the video for "Beat It" helped push what a concept music video could be, then "Thriller" was the ultimatum. Thriller just isn't a song with the greatest music video of all time that is accompanied with a 45-minute making of documentary; Thriller is a phenomenon. It's a song with awesome bass licks and a Vincent Price voice over. The video is horrifying with gore and zombies.  The creature work by Rick Baker and Stan Winston is unprecedented. The video didn't just project what the song was about, it added to the song and gave it a whole new new dimension. It was more than an extension of the song, it was a story, it "took" you into it, like you were a part of it. Going from the part of the "date" at the movies, and then taking you into the choreography/song part,then back to the "date". It had all the components of a good film. I honestly think it's something the world will never experience again.

Link: https://youtu.be/sOnqjkJTMaA

11. Stranger In Moscow

HIStory

Michael has a lot of fantastic jovial songs under his belt, especially at his peak. Stranger In Moscow is not one of them. In fact, it's probably his most tormented song; scourging his lyrics to beautifully layout his troubles. As Michael's music became more erractic in his later career, his talent was still undeniable. Moscow is built with all the tools of a worn, torn ballad. Includes beatboxing, tight harmonic swells, and crescendos. His relentlessness is very apparent as lonely and aching. Stranger In Moscow is a great song that reflects the bitterness of Michael Jackson.

Link: https://youtu.be/pEEMi2j6lYE