These are my rankings by albums from MJ, J5 and Jacksons. Only songs originally released ether by Mike solo, The Jackson 5 or the Jacksons (no Christmas or Live recordings on my list also).


1969 Diana Ross Presents the Jackson Five
Essential Recordings
I Want You Back
Who's Lovin' You
Can You Remember
Nobody
Chained

Good Recordings
Stand!
You've Changed
Standing in the Shadows of Love
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

Okay Recording
Born to Love You


1970 ABC
Essential Recordings
ABC
The Love You Save
(Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need
One More Chance
2-4-6-8
Don't Know Why I Love You
La-La (Means I Love You)

Good Recordings
Never Had a Dream Come True
The Young Folks
True Love Can Be Beautiful

Okay Recording
I'll Bet You


1970 Third Album
Essential Recordings
I'll Be There
Mama's Pearl
Goin' Back To Indiana
Can I See You in the Morning
Darling Dear
Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)

Good Recordings
The Love I Saw In You Was Just a Mirage
How Funky Is Your Chicken
Reach In


1971 Maybe Tomorrow
Essential Recordings
Never Can Say Goodbye
Maybe Tomorrow
My Little Baby

Good Recordings
Honey Chile
The Wall
It's Great to Be Here
Petals


Essential Recording
(1971 Single Only Release) Sugar Daddy


1972 Got To Be There
Essential Recordings
Got To Be There
Rockin' Robin
I Wanna Be Where You Are
Maria (You Were the Only One)
Ain't No Sunshine
Love Is Here and Now You're Gone
Girl Don't Take Your Love From Me

Good Recordings
Wings of My Love
You've Got a Friend

Okay Recording
In Our Small Way


1972 "Lookin' Through the Windows"
Essential Recordings
Lookin' Through the Windows
Little Bitty Pretty One
Doctor My Eyes
Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing


Good Recordings
Don't Let Your Baby Catch You
If I Have to Move a Mountain
Don't Want to See Tomorrow
To Know
E-Ne-Me-Ne-Mi-Ni-Moe (The Choice is Yours to Pull)
I Can Only Give You Love
Children of the Light


Essential Recording
(1972 Single Only Release) Love Song


1972 Ben
Essential Recordings
Ben
What Goes Around Comes Around
Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day
The Greatest Show on Earth
You Can Cry on My Shoulder

Good Recordings
People Make the World Go Round
Everybody's Somebody's Fool
We've Got a Good Thing Going

Okay Recording
My Girl


1973 Skywriter
Corner of the Sky
Hallelujah Day
I Can't Quit Your Love

Good Recordings
Uppermost
Skywriter
You Made Me What I Am

Okay Recordings
Ooh, I'd Love to Be With You
Touch
The Boogie Man


1973 Music And Me
Essential Recordings
With a Child's Heart
Music And Me
Morning Glow
All the Things You Are
Up Again


Good Recordings
Euphoria
Happy (a theme from Lady Sings the Blues)
Too Young
Doggin' Around

Okay Recording
Johnny Raven


1973 Get It Together
Essential Recordings
Dancing Machine
Get It Together
Don't Say Goodbye Again
It's Too Late to Change the Time

Good Recordings
Reflections
Hum Along & Dance

Okay Recording
You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)


1974 Dancing Machine
Essential Recordings
Dancing Machine
I Am Love
Whatever You Got, I Want
If I Don't Love You This Way
What You Don't Know
The Life of the Party

Good Recordings
The Mirrors of My Mind
It All Begins and Ends With Love

Okay Recording
She's a Rhythm Child


1975 Forever, Michael
Essential Recordings
We're Almost There
Just a Little Bit of You
One Day in Your Life
Take Me Back
Cinderella Stay Awhile

Good Recording
Dear Michael
We've Got Forever
You Are There

Okay Recordings
I'll Come Home to You
Dapper Dan


1975 Moving Violation
Essential Recordings
Forever Came Today
Body Language (Do the Love Dance)
All I Do Is Think of You
(You Were Made) Especially for Me
Honey Love
Moving Violation

Good Recordings
Breezy
Call of the Wild

Okay Recording
Time Explosion (MJ's worst officially released recording, sorry bruh)


1976 The Jacksons
Essential Recordings
Enjoy Yourself
Show You the Way to Go
Blues Away
Living Together
Think Happy
Good Times

Good Recordings
Strength of One Man
Style of Life
Keep on Dancin'
Dreamer


1977 Goin' Places
Essential Recordings
Do What You Wanna
Even Though You're Gone
Different Kind of Lady

Good Recordings
Heaven Knows I Love You, Girl
Music's Takin' Over
Jump For Joy
Find Me a Girl
Man Of War

Okay Recording
Goin' Places


Good Recording
(1978 The Wiz SDT) You Can't Win


1978 Destiny
Essential Recordings
Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)
Blame It on the Boogie
Things I Do For You
That's What You Get (For Being Polite)
Destiny
Push Me Away
Bless His Soul

Good Recordings
All Night Dancin'


1979 Off The Wall
Essential Recordings
Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough
Rock with You
Off the Wall
She's out of My Life
I Can't Help It
Get on the Floor
Workin' Day and Night
Burn This Disco Out

Good Recording
It's the Falling in Love

Okay Recording
Girlfriend


1980 Triumph
Essential Recordings
Heartbreak Hotel
Can You Feel It
Lovely One
Walk Right Now
Everybody
Your Ways
Time Waits for No One

Good Recording
Give It Up


1982 Thriller
Essential Recordings
Billie Jean
Beat It
Thriller
Human Nature
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
The Lady in My Life
Baby Be Mine

Good Recordings
P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
The Girl Is Mine


1984 Victory
Essential Recordings
Torture
State of Shock (w/Mick Jagger)

Good Recording
Be Not Always


1985 We Are The World
Essential Recording
We Are The World


1987 Bad
Essential Recordings
Smooth Criminal
Man in the Mirror
Bad
Just Good Friends (duet with Stevie Wonder)
Dirty Diana
Another Part of Me
I Just Can't Stop Loving You (duet with Siedah Garrett)
The Way You Make Me Feel

Good Recordings
Leave Me Alone
Liberian Girl

Okay Recording
Speed Demon


1991 Dangerous
Essential Recordings
Who Is It
In the Closet
Remember the Time
Will You Be There
Gone Too Soon
Dangerous
Jam
Why You Wanna Trip on Me
Black or White
Give In to Me (feat. Slash)

Good Recordings
Can't Let Her Get Away
She Drives Me Wild
Heal the World

Okay Recording
Keep the Faith


1995 HIStory
Essential Recordings
Stranger in Moscow
Tabloid Junkie
This Time Around
Money
Earth Song
Scream (duet with Janet Jackson)
Come Together
Smile
You Are Not Alone

Good Recordings
They Don't Care About Us
2 Bad
Little Susie
HIStory

Okay Recordings
Childhood (Theme from "Free Willy 2")
D.S.


Good Recording
(1996 Get On The Bus SDT) On The Line


1997 Blood On The Dancefloor: HIStory In The Mix
Essential Recordings
Ghosts
Morphine
Superfly Sister
Blood on the Dance Floor
Is It Scary


2001 Invincible
Essential Recordings
You Rock My World
Butterflies
Whatever Happens (ft. Carlos Santana)
Heaven Can Wait
Break of Dawn
Invincible
Don't Walk Away

Good Recordings
You Are My Life
Unbreakable (Ft. The Notorious B.I.G.; Brandy)
Heartbreaker
Threatened
Privacy
Cry

Okay Recordings
Speechless
2000 Watts
The Lost Children


Essential Recording
(2003 Single Only Release) One More Chance

1979 Off the wall

5 stars
Don't stop til you get enough
Rock with you
Working day and night
Burn this disco out
She out of my life
Get on the floor
Off the wall

4 stars
Girlfriend
I cant help it
Its the falling in love

1982 Thriller

5 stars
Pretty Young Thing
Billie Jean
Beat it
Human Nature
Thriller
The Lady in my Life
Baby be mine
The Girl is Mine
Wanna be starting something (This whole album is PERFECT)

1987 Bad[b]

[b][b][b][b]5 stars

The Way you make me feel
Bad
I just can't stop loving you
Dirty Diana
Man in the mirror
Smooth criminal
Leave me alone
Another part of me

4 stars

Liberian Girl

3 stars

Speed Demon
Just good friends[/b][/b][/b]

Dangerous 1991

5 stars

Dangerous
Black or white
Who is it
Give into me
Will you be there
In the closet
Jam
Remember the time

4 stars

She drives me wild
Heal the world
Keep the Faith
I can't let her get away
Why you wanna trip on me

2 stars

Gone too soon

1995 History

5 stars

You are not alone
They don't care about us
Scream
This time around
Stranger in Moscow
Earth Song
Tabloid Junkie

4 stars

2Bad
Little Susie
History

3 stars

Money
Come together
Smile

2 stars

D.S

1 Star

Childhood

Just rating the ones I know best
[Edited 7/24/09 2:32am]

LittleBLUECorvette said:

I KNEW yo ass would try to show off your extensive knowledge

LittleBlue - great review - I agree with most of your classifications. Nicely done.

Swa

bboy87 said:

Knowledge is power!

Thanks for this thread! As an MJ fan, I don't want to read about scandals, rumors, etc, either.
anyways, I love the Dangerous album, as well as the Invincible album. To be more specific, my faves are: Will You Be There, Who Is It, Keep It In the Closet, Dangerous, Invincible, Whatever Happens,Break of Dawn, and Heaven Can Wait.

Great one, BLUE!

Anyone who has the Ultimate Collection...

The Way You Love me....who really digged the vocal styling near the end...

When he sang oooh oooh oooh, oooh oooh, oooh and the pitch kept gettin higher and higher....



Also on Beautiful Girl....also on TUC, the piano arrangement...

SIIIICKKK!!!!

I see you enlisted some J5 tunes as "essential" however to me half the time the albums of the j5's were kind of dull. I liked about a good 5 tracks off of each..the rest would basically in my opinion be throwaways. Or tracks that would put me 2 sleep. I did like their remakle of "I Bet You" the maybe Tomorrow album I thought was boring...Going Back To indiana..was aaaiiiigh...Moving Violation & Skywriter...AIIGHT i guess.

paisleypark4 said:

I used to dig "I Bet You" from them but compared to Funkadelic, I'm gonna have to ride on Funkadelic and their version over theirs.

jamgirl said:

Some of those unreleased / demo versions were just great to hear and I agree his vocals o The Way you Love Me and Beautiful Girl are so good.

Songs like Scared of the Moon and esp We've Had Enough just show his depth as a writer and performer that many don't see.

Swa

paisleypark4 said:

I love the J5 albums, especially Third Album and Maybe Tomorrow. Their singles were consistently fantastic, but there are plenty of outstanding album tracks. The remakes are usually top-notch ("Ready or Not Here I Come," "I Bet You," "Don't Know Why I Love You," "Chained," "(Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need") and often definitive ("Who's Lovin' You," "Stand!," "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage").

I was reading my copy of ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY and saw a list of essentials, I didn't agree with all of her (Leah Greenbaltt)'s choices, but her writing is awesome, these stood out for me...



“Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” (1979)
The thrum of the bass, the clang of the cowbell, and then — that inimitable falsetto, blowing the chorus wide open. When Michael commands, “Keep on with the force don’t - don't stop til you get enough,” the dancefloor obeys.


“Rock With You” (1979) - offers a sweet escape from the everyday: A place where sequin-encrusted bodysuits are de rigeur, hangovers don’t exist, and “riding the boogie” is a physical possibility.


“Billie Jean” (1982) -
Who else could turn the tale of a paternity battle with a desperate and possibly deluded groupie into a worldwide smash? No one who hears that spare, hypnotic opening synth thump can resist what comes next.


“Smooth Criminal” (1987) -
The galvanizing, guitar-heavy centerpiece of Jackson’s short film Moonwalker presents a murky murder scenario with that infamous refrain, “Annie, are you OK?” Both foreboding and ridiculously, repeatedly listenable.
[Edited 7/24/09 18:26pm]

RONNYRON said:

A lot of the times I think we all take the wonder of these track (and many others) for granted because they are so ingrained in our listening experience that sometimes we fail to remember how dynamic and cut through they were.

A true test for me is how well the songs stack up today, and these still sound as fresh as they did the very first time I heard them.

Thanks RonnyRon.

Swa

While lyrically there is no denying that HiStory is his most personal, several other tracks are often not recognised for the lyrical content.

JAM in particular is a song that when read feels miles away from the driving beat and hook.

Nation To Nation
All The World
Must Come Together
Face The Problems
That We See
Then Maybe Somehow We Can Work It Out
I Asked My Neighbor
For A Favor
She Said Later
What Has Come Of
All The People
Have We Lost Love
Of What It's About

I Have To Find My Peace Cuz
No One Seems To Let Me Be
False Prophets Cry Of Doom
What Are The Possibilities
I Told My Brother
There'll Be Problems,
Times And Tears For Fears,
We Must Live Each Day
Like It's The Last

Go With It
Go With It
Jam
It Ain't Too Much Stuff
It Ain't Too Much For Me To
Jam

The World Keeps Changing
Rearranging Minds
And Thoughts
Predictions Fly Of Doom
The Baby Boom
Has Come Of Age
We'll Work It Out

I Told My Brothers
Don't You Ask Me
For No Favors
I'm Conditioned By
The System
Don't You Talk To Me
Don't Scream And Shout

She Pray To God, To Buddha
Then She Sings A
Talmud Song
Confusions Contradict
The Self
Do We Know Right
From Wrong
I Just Want You To
Recognize Me
In The Temple
You Can't Hurt Me
I Found Peace
Within Myself

Swa said:

It's all about appreciation Swa, it's a shame that it takes the passing of a legend to get us to rediscover what made them great, but regardless, his music will outlive all of us, I can't say that about most of today's pop stars.

To end the speculation, here is the full list of tracks that are circulating


The Jackson 5 period
----
After The Storm
Come and Get It
If I Can't Nobody Can
I've Gotta Be Me
Take My Heart
Jackson Man
Lavender Blue
She Say What
Sunny Boy
That's How Love Is
To Sir With Love
You Can't Hurry Love
Keep Off The Grass
123
Guess Who's Making Whoopie With Your Girlfriend
ABC (Alternate Version)
I Want You Back (Alternate Version)
If You Want Heaven
Love Call
Be My Girl
Miss Lucky Day
Jungle Sam
Wouldja?

Michael 1979-2009
----
Sunset Driver
Love Never Felt So Good
Hot Street
Night Line
She's Trouble
Got The Hots
Carousel
Billie Jean (Home Demo Recording)
Billie Jean (Studio Demo)
Baby Be Mine (Demo) (Snippet)
Startin' Somethin' (Demo)
The Lady In My Life (Original Mix)
P.Y.T (Demo Recording)
The Girl Is Mine (1981 Demo Recording)
Starlight (Snippet)
Slapstick (Snippet)
For All Time
State of Shock (Home Demo)
There Must Be More To Life Than This
Scared of The Moon
Another Part of Me (Original Version
Bad (Pepsi Version)
Streetwalker
Cheater
Fly Away
Groove of Midnight
We Are Here To Change The World
We Are The World (Demo)
Dangerous (Demo)
Monkey Business
She Got It
Lisa It's Your Birthday
Serious Effect
Work That Body
Gone Too Soon (Alternate Vocal Take)
Remember The Time (Original Edit)
Who Is It (Original Version)
Keep The Faith (Demo)
What About Us
If You Don't Love Me
Give In To Me (Demo)
In The Closet (Demo)
In The Closet (Instrumental)
Black Or White (Pepsi Version)
Ghost (Demo)
In The Back
Hold My Hand
Escape
A Place With No Name
Beautiful Girl
I Have This Dream
Shout (Promo Version)


LBC, add more if there's more

pynkcashmere said:

Agree. His most soulful years were between 69 and 82. As I have said on another post give me songs like "Even Though Your Gone" or "Show you the Way To Go" To "Earth song" or "Your not Alone", anytime, anyday. On the former songs he came across so much more fluid and effortless than the latter years, where he became alot more strained and screechy.
[Edited 7/25/09 4:35am]

coolcat said:

The Bad album had very little funk or soul in it. I would say it was his most poppy album to date. Michael did his funkest stuff with his brothers. I have NEVER gone to an urban club and heard a song played from Bad whilst there. Yet these clubs had no problem playing stuff from The Jacksons or OTW, even though those songs were 30 years old.

whatsgoingon said:

Another Part Of Me, Speed Demon, Smooth Criminal would be extremly funky with real horns and drums in the tracks instead of the Yamaha Sampler they used to create those tracks. Especially hearing the live versions Another Part Of Me...

whatsgoingon said:

"Even Though You're Gone" is so beautiful.

paisleypark4 said:

Speed Demon & Smooth Criminal come across as rock/pop songs as oppose to funk songs and regardless of the instruments used I think that was alway the intention. I think from Thriller onward Michael wanted to move away from his R&B/funk roots and that's what he did in the end.

Little BLUE, that's a great list. It's funny though, because my list would have been soooo much different. The only part that I agree with 100% is Invincible. Everything else would have been placed so much different.

Tabloid Junkie

Speculate to break the one you hate
Circulate the lie you confiscate
Assassinate and mutilate
As the hounding media in hysteria
Who's the next for you to resurrect
JFK exposed the CIA
Truth be told the grassy knoll
As the blackmail story in all your glory

It's slander
You say it's not a sword
But with your pen you torture men
You'd crucify the Lord
And you don't have to read it, read it
And you don't have to eat it, eat it
To buy it is to feed it, feed it
So why do we keep foolin' ourselves

Just because you read it in a magazine
Or see it on the TV screen
Don't make it factual
Though everybody wants to read all about it
Just because you read it in a magazine
Or see it on the TV screen
Don't make it factual, actual
They say he's homosexual

In the hood
Frame him if you could
Shoot to kill
To blame him if you will
If he dies sympathize
Such false witnesses
Damn self righteousness
In the black
Stab me in the back
In the face
To lie and shame the race
Heroine and Marilyn
As the headline stories of
All your glory

It's slander
With the words you use
You're a parasite in black and white
Do anything for news
And you don't go and buy it, buy it
And they won't glorify it, 'fy it
To read it sanctifies it, 'fies it
Then why do we keep foolin' ourselves
Just because you read it in a magazine
Or see it on the TV screen
Don't make it factual
Everybody wants to read all about it
Just because you read it in a magazine
Or see it on the TV screen
Don't make it factual
See, but everybody wants to believe all about it

Just because you read it in a magazine
Or see it on the TV screen
Don't make it factual
See, but everybody wants to believe all about it
Just because you read it in a magazine
Or see it on the TV screen
Don't make it factual, actual
She's blonde and she's bisexual

Scandal
With the words you use
You're a parasite in black and white
Do anything for news
And you don't go and buy it, buy it
And they won't glorify it, 'fy it
To read it sanctifies it, 'fies it
Why do we keep foolin' ourselves
Slander
You say it's not a sin
But with your pen you torture men
Then why do we keep foolin' ourselves

Just because you read it in a magazine
Or see it on the TV screen
Don't make it factual
Though everybody wants to read all about it
Just because you read it in a magazine
Or see it on the TV screen
Don't make it factual
See, but everybody wants to read all about it

Just because you read it in a magazine
Or see it on the TV screen
Don't make it factual
Just because you read it in a magazine
Or see it on the TV screen
Don't make it factual
Just because you read it in a magazine
Or see it on the TV screen
Don't make it factual, actual
You're so damn disrespectable

MuchLove said:

So share your list and thoughts with us.

Swa

paisleypark4 said:

the Seawind Horns play on all those tracks and others. the only synth/midi horn on the record is Larry Williams' MIDI Sax on Speed Demon. Often live drums by JR are stacked with the synths.

bboy87 said:

One of my faves off HiStory. So funky, and the background vocals on this are sublime.

Swa

Swa said:

Agreed, to me, it's the strongest of the JAM & LEWIS collaborations.

Listening to Money I was always curious about the line "Insurance - where does your loyalty lie? Is that your alibi? I don't think so."

Then in reading a recent bio it disclosed that MJ's settlement in 94 was forced by his insurance company who thought the potential payout from a civil case could be higher if the jury believed the accusations and wanted to "punish" by awarding a settlement in the hundreds of thousands. This wasn't the insurer thinking Michael was guilty, but rather thinking that in weighing things up settling was better than not. Michael in turn may have felt betrayed and somewhat forced into a settlement he was against due to the obvious negative connotations it would have.

Money remains one of my favourite tracks off the album due to it's rolling beat, infectious bass and one hell of a hook in the chorus with great layered harmonies.

Swa