I have the following albums:

True Blue
Like A Prayer
The Immaculate Collection
Greatest Hits Volume 2
Ray Of Light
Confessions On A Dancefloor
Hard Candy

How representative is this of the most essential Madonna albums? How can one define the eras in her career? What are the major gaps that I am missing in terms of eras and albums? Can you please recommend how you would add to/delete from my collection?

Finally, I've briefly read through the Hard Candy review thread, and I have to say, most of the comments are so in-depth from fans that they seem to overlook just how great the music really is. My simple thoughts: it absolutely rocks.

I'd recommend Bedtime Stories, contrary to many fans, I don't believe the 4 edited versions on GHV2 represent that album as well, it has some strong album tracks like "Forbidden Love" & "Sanctuary".

Or you can just get Something To Remember that has "Forbidden Love" and because it contains "Rain", I'd say the Erotica album is not necessary at all.

Music & American Life have some great songs as well, and the latter is one of her most cohesive records.

Pretty much everything is essential after Erotica LOL!

I wouldn't recommend anything else from the 80s though, Like A Prayer & TIC covers that well in my opinion.

I think the best Madonna albums you are missing are Madonna from 1983 and Erotica from 1992. Both capture very important moments in Madonna's career, and both are among her 5 best albums.

Like a Virgin and Music are patchy at best, so I wouldn't tell you to go out on a limb and get them.

I really like Bedtime Stories, but it seems to have a mixed reaction from fans. If you like her R & B side, you may enjoy it. American Life is another album that gets a mixed reaction, but I quite enjoy it.

Moonbeam said:

I agree- hear both Bedtime Stories and American Life- they both have a certain feel to them away from 'pop'...and are interesting listens.
You have to get The First Album and Like A Virgin and it's great to listen where she began- her fun, funky side and suddenly, in my opinion, Hard Candy will make even more sense.

I gotta be honest with you, Anj,
I don't own any Madonna albums.
So, y'know,
if you still want my advice,
I can give it to you,
but I'm not sure how much it would qualify as being "expert", yo.

You definitely need Erotica and Bedtime Stories. That's number one.
Madonna, Like A Virgin, Music, and American Life are less solid but all have standout tracks.
[Edited 5/3/08 3:18am]

Just go get her 1983 self-titled debut.

Get them all.

Moonbeam said:

Bedtime stories is shit! don't get it!

Matronik said:

It is a better listen than Erotica (especially since Anji has all its singles compiled on Greatest Hits Volume 2).

Cinnie said:

yep...it's rehash TLC reject songs

You see this is where, like it or not, you can see growth, risks, ups and downs of an artist willing to shake things up. I would agree on everyones opinions so far, to me Like A Prayer is one of my all-time favorite albums, and trust me that IS saying alot, but Madonna has so many cornerstone albums in her catalog, whether they were big or not.

Just get them all. All the ones your missing. Your missing her early 80's pop era albums Madonna and Like a Virgin. Her I guess 'sex' r'n'b era with Erotica and Bedtime Stories. And her more folky 'trying to be a serious artist' era with Music and American Life. I think you've already got her 3 best albums with her perfect pop era of True Blue and Like a Prayer. And Ray Of Light which is all by itself and doesnt really have a companion. And then you've also got her 'comeback' albums with Confessions and Hard Candy. Thats how I'd define them anyway.

I completetly disagree with what some people are telling you to get, so I think it would be easier for you to buy them all and decide for yourself. Personally though I wouldn't bother getting Bedtime Stories and American Life. I think they are her most boring albums and have the least amount of catchy songs, but again I'd buy them all just to see which ones you like.

Erotica is a great album, but more importantly, was the first album where she actually moved away from the safe Stephen Bray/Patrick Leonard formula that had made her famous.

Even with I'm Breathless, she still held onto them (well, Patrick Leonard at least) as a kind of 'this may not work, so don't leave me' anchor. But with Erotica, she finally put herself fully into the hands of a new producer(s).

And it's probably one of her most historic albums, because it was the one that established her as a producer whore in the most wonderful sense. That's to say that it was where she realised that using the same production team wouldn't work into the 90s and she needed to constantly see what was hot at the time and use the people responsible for whatever current pop sound was going, in order to stay on top of the pop scene.

Unfortunately, with Bedtime Stories, she mis-judged it (as she did later with American Life, but at least Bedtime Stories does contain some quality songs), but all in all, she's done pretty well when choosing producers for her albums.

So, buy them all except American Life, which is Madonna's 'Rave Un2..'

And I have a personal love for 'Music' cos there's something about it's minimal sound that reminds me of Prince. And oddly, I'm sure it's the influence for Prince's Musicology album. There's a very similar trying-to-go-back-to-basics vibe of the two CDs.

First, get:
madonna
like a virgin
erotica
bedtime stories
music
american life
the confessions tour


Then pick up:
you can dance
i'm breathless
evita
remixed & revisited
i'm gonna tell you a secret
[Edited 5/3/08 23:54pm]

I vote for Erotica. It's the most important of the ones you are missing...and then go from there and get them all, because there really aren't that many full albums left that you don't have.

I think erotica and american life are hidden gems and are very artistic yet different from one another.

you don't have like a virgin? I can listen to that start to finish, it's like HER take on Thriller if you ask me, on a musical level.

Haystack said:

Yeah... But don't forget Erotica completely abandoned her trademark melodies, it barely has any hooks, is her longest album with 75 minutes and has the most filler on a Madonna album!


I think Bedtime Stories is a much better album than Erotica. On Erotica most of the songs use the same house beats, which gets really annoying. Bedtime Stories used the most collaborators on a Madonna album, but it still managed to be a cohesive effort with a silky R&B sound.

raveun2thejoyfantastic said:

Fuck, don't even touch those.

Cinnie said:

i love Evita...

Haystack said:

Music is very close to my heart. It was the first madonna album i bought. It's very mixed and some songs are about sadness. The sadder the better for me.

Cinnie said:

That should definitely be the first purchase.

Since GHV2 doesn't have "Bad Girl," you need to buy Erotica. Also, that edit of "Human Nature" is criminal, so pick up Bedtime Stories when you get around to it. Music is pretty solid as is American Life after a few listens. Yeah, you should eventually get all of them. But get the debut first. You don't have "Everybody," "Burning Up," or the great album cuts.

Matronik said:

exactly...that's why its my 2nd fave M album!

LiveToTell86 said:

Matter of opinion as to having barely any hooks and most filler.
Deeper and Deeper, Bad Girl, Rain, In This Life and Secret Garden provide some great melodies. Erotica, Bye Bye Baby and Thief Of Hearts have some great hooks (as do the previously mentioned Deeper and Deeper, and Secret Garden) and the only song on the album that really does come across as 'filler' is Did You Do It? Which seems an utterly pointless addition to the set - but one out of fourteen ain't bad.

And Erotica abandoning her trademark melodies was exactly the point I was making as to how brave a decision it was to create the album. She went for grooves, licks and hooks rather than the melodic pop that had made her famous in the 80s. And in my view, as in many others, it worked.



But the result sounded somewhat bland and there was nothing dymanic about it. It was like Madonna just passing the time. Take A Bow shines the highest out of the set, and Don't Stop was the nearest to those perfect bubble-gum pop songs that she did so well in the 80s. But the rest of the collection comes across as a 'Madonna-does-boring-mid-nineties-production' album.
And I think even she realised it when she hit back with the far more creative and dynamic sounding Ray Of Light CD.

Haystack said:

Erotica was an amazing album and era. Bedtime Stories was the price she had to pay to get back in the good graces of America.

oops, wrong thread.....
[Edited 5/4/08 16:03pm]

badujunkie said:

Cinnie said:

My real take on M's albums once and for all:

80s

Best album - Madonna
Runner Up - Like A Prayer

Overrated - True Blue

90s

Best album - Erotica (I know you disagree boy! )
Runner up (almost tie) - Bedtime Stories

Overrated - Ray of Light (it's weighed down but too many songs and overlong)

00s

Best album - Confessions
Runner Up - Hard Candy (this shit has been so surprisingly better than I thought it would be)

Overrated - Music

I'll play:

80s
Best: Madonna (#3 overall)

90s
Best: Ray of Light (#1 overall)

00s
Best: Confessions (#2 overall)

Haystack said:

That's also just a matter of opinion. I don't consider most of Erotica being anything "brave" or "daring", she was riding high the success of her sexual songs, and the success with Shep, starting from "Vogue"."Deeper And Deeper" is one of her most unoriginal songs ever, because she practically made a "Vogue part 2" with it, I think that's much worse than "Madonna sounding like TLC" or "Madonna sounding like Nelly Furtado" but anyway.

The single "Erotica" brought nothing new either, after the steamy "Justify My Love" it's a bit bland even.

I do think stuff like "Words" or "Why's It So Hard" are just horrible filler and only "Bad Girl" & "Rain" are truly valuable from the Shep collaboration on Erotica.