Going from the 80s thread from alphastreet, let's dip into the 90s for a bit. She had two soundtracks and two compilations combined with her three studio albums. So I'm listing them all.

Studio:

Erotica (1992)

Bedtime Stories (1994)

Ray of Light (1998)

Soundtrack:

I'm Breathless (1990)

Evita (1996)

Compilation:

The Immaculate Collection (1990)
Something To Remember (1995)

I'm really torn between all three studio albums. They are all unique to themselves, from rough street vibe, to a silky smooth set, to electronica with a heart.

Maybe I'll comment later on which studio I like best.

Ray of Light for me. It takes me back to graduating from high school and feeling the big wide world open to me. I took a couple road trips that summer and put Ray of Light on - it was a perfect album to capture the open road and the sense of adventure.

Erotica and Bedtime Stories are both really good, too.

I know The Immaculate Collection is a classic compilation, but having different versions of the tracks and missing out on a lot of key cuts holds it back for me. I far prefer Something to Remember.

these 3 are her 2nd era of Super Stardom

I mean wow

1. Ray of Light (1998) - I remember spending a lot of time in Toronto and hearing this one

The album over all(and outtakes) are spectacular. Like Blade Runner Utopian

2. Bedtime Stories (1994) The album was very organic and eclectic. It felt like she came home after

Erotica and lounged and wrote in her diary.

3. Erotica (1992) - The WHOLE era is #1 out of all 3. The album captures the gritty, urban(and a little suburbia), nightlife of someone taking on the big city love and sex. the early 90s hardhitting beat, I never fell into. But the album takes you in flux.

OldFriends4Sale said:

For me,this is a tough one.For many years,I considered Erotica to be my favorite Madonna album.But then,Ray Of Light came along

I'm gonna go with ROL.

The opening song on ROL,"Drowned World/Substitute For Love",still gives me chills when I hear it.I think it is the best song she ever recorded.

Bedtime Stories is my favorite 90s Madonna album. It has a coherent vibe, it is smooth , sexy and romantic and she looked great, too.

KoolEaze said:

Erotica is the best for me. It is a real solid album which despite not having a world beating single (in terms of popularity) it had really good singles and just every track is listenable.

Bedtime stories is also very good, but is a second pick.

Everyone likes Ray of Light more than me, but I don't mind it. Ray of Light the song annoys me a bit and I don't really gel with the album.

robertgeorge said:

Erotica is the best for me. It is a real solid album which despite not having a world beating single (in terms of popularity) it had really good singles and just every track is listenable.

Bedtime stories is also very good, but is a second pick.

Everyone likes Ray of Light more than me, but I don't mind it. Ray of Light the song annoys me a bit and I don't really gel with the album.

I think my order is going to be:

Bedtime Stories

Erotica

Ray of Light

Bedtime Stores - it's just silky R&B pop perfection. The videos were just amazing and varied. The street aesthetic of Erotica mixed with a pink and blue femininity was so great. If you can ever find the version of "I'd Rather Be Your Lover" with Tupac, it's a good listen, too.

Erotica - solid ass album. A couple of songs sound like throwaways or just ...grinding on the ear. Something. "Words" tries too hard, and "Thief of Hearts" sounds cliche. But I don't necessarly FF thru them either. Songs like "Bad Girl," "Deeper and Deeper" and "Why's It So Hard" really nail the album for me.

ROL - the electronica is fine, and the production is amazing. Never heard anything like her before on this. I do believe she gives it heart and depth. I just think she got stuck on that dry electronic trend for too long.

Also:
Something To Remember > The Immaculate Collection ("Justify My Love" deserved to be on Erotica.)

Ray of Light, I could always go back and discover something new sonically or even emotionally, the album is rich and multi-layered, not only because of the production or the lyrical themes, but all of the factors combined. Its full of mystery to me, beautifully haunting and an emotionally complex piece of work. My fave album from her in any era/decade, I don't think she will ever top that.

alphastreet said:

KoolEaze said:

Bedtime Stories is my favorite 90s Madonna album. It has a coherent vibe, it is smooth , sexy and romantic and she looked great, too.

And some of the best videos of her career also came out of bedtime stories era

From

Justify My Love

This Used To be My Playground

Erotica

Deeper & Deeper

Fever

Bad Girl

Rain

I'll Remember

Take A Bow

Secret

Human Nature

Bedtime Stories

You'll See

This was a beautiful visual story that feels so interconnected

Hamad said:

Ray of Light, I could always go back and discover something new sonically or even emotionally, the album is rich and multi-layered, not only because of the production or the lyrical themes, but all of the factors combined. Its full of mystery to me, beautifully haunting and an emotionally complex piece of work. My fave album from her in any era/decade, I don't think she will ever top that.

It is an incredible album and unlike anything she had done before.

Erotica by a mile.

to be honest, i never really listened to these albums in full untill this thread went up...after listening to all of them once, Bedtime Stories sounds the best, and is the easiest to listen to in full...but im more curious about Ray Of Light and want to hear more of it

RJOrion said:

Ray of Light by a generous margin; but closely followed by Erotica had it been a tight 11 songs album. That actually makes Bedtime Stories her second best '90s album (11 songs, not the 14-16 songs nonsense so typical of the '90s).

[Edited 8/12/20 13:49pm]

Bedtime Stories, even though I loved ROL as much as everyone else in its era.

the title cut for Bedtime Stories was like an opening for Ray of Light

OldFriends4Sale said:

SoulAlive said:

The opening song on ROL,"Drowned World/Substitute For Love",still gives me chills when I hear it.I think it is the best song she ever recorded.

I regard DW as her best song in her career as well.

RJOrion said:

"Mer Girl" on Ray Of Light is my favorite song for the week... it sounds beautifully extraterrestrial...i dont even know what that means but i can hear and feel it...deep lyrics too... ive been missin out on some shit here

One of her most underrated songs, and one fo her most personal and painful songs in her career about her mother.

OldFriends4Sale said:

the title cut for Bedtime Stories was like an opening for Ray of Light

Yes fits better in the Ray Of Light album