It'd be cool if you broke down why you ranked each one as you did.

TonyVanDam said:

All 4 U is better than Dream Street and even Janet. Its her Here My Dear to Rene and to Tina

Havent listend to RN or Contorl in years. I always pull out All 4 U and its tour wasn't that bad.
[Edited 10/25/06 20:09pm]

I'd say...

1. janet.
2. Rhythm Nation
3. Velvet Rope
4. Control
5. All For You
6. 20 Y.O.
7. Janet Jackson
8. Dream Street

I think Damita Jo is underrated.

I think there were 9 or 10 winners on the album:


Island Life
All Nite (Don't Stop)
R&B Junkie
I Want You
Like You Don't Love Me
Thinkin' About My Ex
Moist (yeah I like this one)
Slo Love
Just a Little While
Put Your Hands On

even Sexhibition and Strawberry Bounce were pretty far from terrible. If she'd cut out the pointless interludes, changed the album cover, released a different first single, and got rid of most of the lame midtempo junk, I think the album would've been received much better.

JackieBlue said:

1. RN1814 - For Janet, this is THE greatest album of her career. Beside some of the songs dealing with social issues, the best thing about this album is the industrial funk & rock sound that was executed by Jam/Lewis (and I can't forget about Jellybean Johnson OR Jesse Johnson). The album is just perfect from start to finish. And BTW, The RN tour was the first concert that I ever went to in my whole life....and on the week of my 16th birthday at that!

As far as I'm concern, THIS album deserves to be rank higher than Control.

GangstaFam said:

Where's Damita Jo?

iconsweat said:

Rene, I understand. But Tina London?

TonyVanDam said:

Its true. You Aint Right is regarding her (her choreographer firned)

iconsweat said:

You mean Tina admitted that she slept with Rene?!? Oh damn!

BTW, where can I find that article?

Axchi696 said:

I bet Fam threw it in the river!

TonyVanDam said:

Who has Tina choreographed for lately? the last time I saw her she was on a Latino Arts program and danced the hell out of some number. That was like 3 years ago.

I think the first 4 are all top-notch pop albums. If these were all she'd ever released, I think Janet's legacy would be secure.

Rhythm Nation 1814 This can't be anywhere but #1. Grew up with this album, and it still holds a special place in my heart. Almost everything on this is top notch (except Livin' In A World...). It's a great mix of soul, funk, pop, and rock. Even the interludes work on this one. Think this is probably gonna be the pinnacle of her career.

janet. I think it's a definite step down quality-wise from 1814; even some of the singles are just a step up from filler (You Want This, Because of Love), but it holds together well as an album, and the interludes still don't annoy that much.

The Velvet Rope Overrated amongst the hardcore, The Velvet Rope didn't "change my life", and I don't think it's all that deep. However, there are numerous amazing songs on this CD. It's only when she gets all Oprah-esque (Special) does the album start to annoy.The interludes are annoying here, though.

Control While it is undoubtedly one of the albums that defined the '80s, I have a hard time sitting through Control. Maybe it's cause I've played it so much, or because it is in such desperate need of remaster, but I find myself skipping from song to song. Really only one bad song on here (He Doesn't Even Know...).

Damita Jo My opinion of this album is a couple of posts above. I think it's underrated. A step up from AFY, certainly.

All For You The first time Janet ever disappointed me. I remember being so excited ( ) for this album to come out, and then just being totally underwhelmed. There are good tracks scattered throughout the album, but coming off the prior 4 releases, this just didn't cut it. I think her songwriting defintely took a downturn here, and the Jam and Lewis sound really became stale throughout the album.

20 YO Just mediocre. The high points would be filler on any of the above albums, and the low points are just dullsville. Only bought it to complete the collection, I doubt I'll be playing it much in the future.

Janet Jackson/Dream Street Haven't listened to either of these enough to distinguish them from one another. I was really little when they came out, and they certainly didn't get any airplay around my area when I was growing up.

TonyVanDam said:

I would rank 'Janet Jackson' above 'Dream Street'. As much as I like 'Dream Street', how much did it do for Janet's career? Her first album put her on the map as another Jackson sibling with a recording career. The lack of success of her second album could be seen as a step backward at the time.

I would also rank 'All For You' higher since it yielded one of her biggest hits and kept her in the spotlight by selling modestly well.

The bottom two in terms of power would be 'Damita Jo' and 'Dream Street'. It's too early to tell yet where '20 Y.O.' should rank.

sextonseven said:

Too many slow cuts ruined All For You, IMO. Don't get me wrong, I love a Janet Jackson slow jam! But the album didn't have an equal amount of dance tracks.

TonyVanDam said:

You fell for that? I didn't. All 4 U is real self exploration and expelling. VR sentiments came off as fake to me save for Together again. Everything else she had already done way before.

iconsweat said:

So you weren't feeling What About That or Everytime?

Axchi696 said:

Slipped my mind, sorry. I'd put it at the level of the new one.

Chico...your top 2 are so on point.

But my list is the definitive...sorry

1. TVR
2. Control
3. RN1814
4. Janet

----SLIGHT QUALITY DIP----

5. 20 Y.O.
6. Damita Jo

-----HUGE PLUNGE----

7. All 4 U
8. Janet Jackson
9. Dream Street

badujunkie said:

we're pretty much the same. flip flop an album or two and it basically the same list.

I don't have Janet Jackson, still, but let me do this, and try it without comments!



1. The Vevlet Rope
2. Control
3. janet.
4. All For You
5. RN1814
6. 20 YO
7. Damita Jo
8. Dream Street

Ok, I'll add comments!


"The Velvet Rope" is pure R&B magic with a few slight forays into dance, rock and techno. Janet is in great voice, writing some personal shit and just feeling a freedom that is bliss to hear. It's a unique album in the fact that it was highly possible that none of the tracks might have been hits (in fact, it was her first album since "Dream Street" to yield some singles that didn't do well at all) but all the songs are strong as hell and are classics, with or without chart position, though not typical Janet faire.

"Control" is the future of pop and R&B. It wasn't freestyle and it wasn't dance pop and it certainly wasn't the lazy ass R&B of the eighties, but it sure made you move for the most part. A case where almost every song is a classic that stands the test of time. The only arguement "He Doesn't Even Know..." is basically a song that could've been featured on any of the early albums, but it's nice. But the energy of "Pleasure Principale" and smooth seducation of "Funny How Time Flies" are two examples that make up for this slight shortcoming.

"janet." is a nice mix of slow jams and upbeat pop. In some cases, the songs feel lazy (the poppy and predictable "Because Of Love" and the listless "You Want This") or too expirmental for it's own good ("What'll I Do"....not this sixitish pop crap!). But some of her strongest songs are here too, like the stomping "If" and a genuinely nice and powerful mix of hip-hop and R&B with "New Agenda". Not just a sex album, but not much more than that either (not the beginging of the rain effect, but the overuse of it for sure)

It's hard to make an arguement that "All For You", with it's girlish immature glee, as a great album but it certainly is a lot of fun. The writing is a big unfocused, the production doesn't vary enogh but there are still a lot of fun songs on here. ALso, the attitude that Janet takes on some songs about revenge is amazing. She sways from anger to happiness easily from track to track and overall, it's a fun upbeat pop romp. Probably most people have issue with that...it being a very pop ablum with light touches of R&B.

I don't think I hate "Rymthn Nation" but it at times feels forced with some of it's interludes, which hamper the ablum a whole lot. Ignoring them, it's hard to deny the hard and funky dance beats of most of the songs. But Janet feels a bit seperated from the process at times (she is not always crediteded with songwriting, even on key tracks like "The Knowledge" and "Miss You Much"). I think for me it's not that it's a bad album, just an overly familar one that does little for me as a whole album anymore. Most of the singles, however, do stand out better alone.

"20 YO", its nicely consisent but has the same problem, hell, even more so because it's shorter, of AFY, where it's a bit samey. There are blocks of songs here that in some cases don't do enough to disquinish between themsleves. Quick, what is the difference between "Do It To Me" and "Show Me"? Some tracks are very nice returns to forum but not classics, though.

"Damita Jo"'s major problem is that it tries to hard to be everything for everybody yet it is by not means a diverse album, despite 90 producers. It's sounds wildly incosisent, with some of Janet's unargably best tracks ("All Nite") to some of, in poeple's opinions, her worst ("My Baby"). Also, the oversexed aspect of it demonstrates how much Janet is unwilling to share with us with this time around. If this album had been edited differently, to include everthing from outakes to those excellent Japanese bonus tracks, it would rank higher. With better writing, it might even be a classic.

"Dream Street". What's to say. Not in fine voice at all and in an overly processed dance pop vein, what's a girl to do? A very pleasant piece of confection but nothing notable. I understand why she dismisses this album, I guess.
[Edited 10/26/06 2:05am]

Axchi696 said:

But do we count "Put Your Hands On"...if so, why not include "Just Love Me"....I guess you can include them, but for me, it had too many weak songs. If edited, it probably trumps AFY.

TonyVanDam said:

hell and no. She already did her daddy is wrong song and better imo with You Need Me on a bside of Miss You Much. She was ready to do that family issue thing some more even then after Control. Everytime, while a good song/melody isn't all that lyuricaly. Oh Im so afraid of falling in love. All 4 U's Truth and Better days aftermath you done me wrong are better than that Again remake.

VinnyM27 said:

Lets re-track Damita jo so it's a GREAT and not just a GOOD album

1. Looking For Love (intro)
2. Damita Jo
3. Sexhibition
4. Strawberry Bounce
5. Put Your Hands On
6. Island Life
7. All Nite (Don't Stop)
8. R&B Junkie
9. I Want You
10.Like You Don't Love Me
11.Could This Be Love?
12.Moist
13.Spending Time With You
14.Thinking Bout My Ex
15.Outro

THAT would be hot shit!

Mine:

1. janet.
2. Control
3. RN1814
4. The Velvet Rope
5. Damita Jo
6. Dream Street
7. Janet Jackson
8. All For You
9. 20 Years Old

The Velevet Rope... The Masterpiece where she pulled all the pieces of Control, RN, and janet together to put together one high concept album that spoke to many people on a personal level. left herself so out in the open that when it failed to set the charts on fire like previous releases it scared her back into follow the formula pop she hadn't done since Dream Street
RN1814... Janet Matures as an artist as a person and into her sexuality. She's funky, independent and ready to make the world a better place through her message
janet. ... building on RN did a concept of a day in the life almost. showing her sexuality and sesnuality. a little too long
Control... her first statment as an indpendent artist. paved the way for the things to come put still had some some filler
All for You... some experiemental stuff, but mostly by the numbers pop to get her in good graces with the record buying public again.
20 YOshort fun and too the point nothing to deep nothing overly exciting
Dream Street... my personal preControl fav
Damita Jo... reeks of trying to hard to be hip instead of being Janet
Janet Jackson