LAV yes, I would agree.

even though Nile, Bernard and Tony were there, I admit I was a bit disappointed at first listen back then, maybe I expected somehting more like the Diana Ross, Debbie Harry or Sister Sledge albums, which basically were Chic albums with guest vocalists

but this was obviously more pop targeted at the MTV audience, and needless to say, I grew to like it over teh upcoming weeks and months as the hit singles and videos kept on coming and coming

in all I think it is a well rounded and better balanced album and has aged better than the other three on the list. but that is just my personal take

[Edited 7/27/20 2:37am]

Like a Prayer is pretty much a pop masterpiece. True Blue has some of her best singles on it. Like A Virgin sounds very dated now and Madonna captures her early club style. Although not an album proper, Who's That Girl features one of my all-time favourite Madonna songs, "The Look Of Love".

Like a Prayer and Madonna are flawless masterpieces and stand as not only masterpieces of 80s pop, but watershed moments in pop in general. My preference is for Like a Prayer, but I can't fault anyone for preferring her debut.

True Blue is a very good album with some legendary singles. It's let down by the final 2 tracks, IMO, and "True Blue" is not a great title track, but nonetheless, its high moments are so high that it still stands as a very good pop album.

Like a Virgin I find to be merely good. It really falls off after "Dress You Up", with "Shoo-Bee-Doo" in particular being fairly cringeworthy.

What's fascinating is that the additional material that didn't make it onto albums was routinely excellent. Replacing "Jimmy Jimmy", "Love Makes the World Go Around", and "True Blue" with "Who's That Girl", "Causin' a Commotion", and "The Look of Love" on True Blue and replacing "Shoo-Bee-Doo", "Pretender", and "Stay" with "Into the Groove", "Crazy for You", and "Gambler" would have made for 4 sure-fire knockouts.

lool said:

It's a bit of a toss between Madonna and Like A Prayer.

Lucky Star

Borderline

Burning Up

I Know It

Holiday

Think of Me

Physical Attraction

Everybody


Like A Prayer

Express Yourself

Love Song

Till Death Do Us Part

Promise To Try

Cherish

Dear Jessie

Oh Father

Keep It Together

Spanish Eyes

Act of Contrition

I really appreciate the level of talent she had on LAP. Bill Bottrell, who engineered for MJ a lot (and can be heard on "Smooth Criminal"). Marilyn Martin, who famously sang "Separate Lives" with Phil Collins. Randy Jackson, Dan Huff, Jonathan Moffet (who toured with her and The Jacksons a lot), Jeff Porcaro (from Toto, who also worked with MJ on Off The Wall and Thriller), his brother Jay Porcaro, David Williams (worked with tons of people, including MJ)... so many great folks. And that skinny motherfucker with the high voice.

Good folks on Madonna, too, but the calibur of talent on LAP exceeds that. I think LAP squeaks out as the leader here. One is raw and hungry Madonna, but straight ahead bops. It's a great debut record. Solid material, but still just sorta that street vibe slightly polished over and over. Again, I enjoy the record, but it makes me want a little bit more. (Maybe that's the point?) The latter is well-crafted, complex, nuanced, makes statements, feels like a movie on tape, a story from front to back. It deals with much more personal things than the "I'm just a girl in love" take that Madonna did. Her divorce, a fictional paternal story, a faerie fantasy, a mermaid bop, power anthems, a quirky duet, etc. It's just perfection.

It sort feels like LAP was the end of an era for her. Not just the end of the 80s, but the end of her approach to music. Erotica was gritty then followed by a silky Bedtime Stories. She started exploring more, stepping out in the 90s. So LAP was the end of a straight-ahead bop era for her. It was also an era that defined her as an icon for women, gays, and in music. Some midwest white girl had a hip-hop band open for her debut tour?! That's pretty amazing.

Her 80s run was fucking phenomenal. I guess it started strong and ended even stronger.

Like A Prayer wins out for me.

Like A Virgin is a strong third after Madonna. I can easily ditch about 3 songs on it and be happy, not missing them. "Dress You Up" is the shit, plus the whole first side. They later reissued it with "Into The Groove" stuck in the middle. Fine, I can take that, too. (Why not "Gambler?") But the last 3 songs are forgettable.

I appreciate True Blue for it's cleaned up look and clean songs, but half of it is amazing and half is bubble gum schlock. It comes in last.

1. Like A Prayer
2. Madonna
3. Like A Virgin
4. True Blue

alphastreet said:

Which Madonna album of the 80s do you like best from the following? Madonna Like a Virgin True blue Like a prayer My favourite is Like a Virgin cause of the Nile Rodgers and Bernard productions

For me, her first LP is still her best, one of my favorites from 1983. I wore it out that summer.

I heard 'Everybody' at a party earlier that year and I thought she was latina....I was shocked when I went to the record store and saw her face on the cover.

uPtoWnNY said:

alphastreet said:

uPtoWnNY said:

For me, her first LP is still her best, one of my favorites from 1983. I wore it out that summer.

I heard 'Everybody' at a party earlier that year and I thought she was latina....I was shocked when I went to the record store and saw her face on the cover.

Cute story! Legend says many thought she was black when that song got airplay as well

I was like, "Holy shit, THAT'S Madonna?"

Moonbeam said:

Like a Prayer and Madonna are flawless masterpieces and stand as not only masterpieces of 80s pop, but watershed moments in pop in general. My preference is for Like a Prayer, but I can't fault anyone for preferring her debut.

True Blue is a very good album with some legendary singles. It's let down by the final 2 tracks, IMO, and "True Blue" is not a great title track, but nonetheless, its high moments are so high that it still stands as a very good pop album.

Like a Virgin I find to be merely good. It really falls off after "Dress You Up", with "Shoo-Bee-Doo" in particular being fairly cringeworthy.

What's fascinating is that the additional material that didn't make it onto albums was routinely excellent. Replacing "Jimmy Jimmy", "Love Makes the World Go Around", and "True Blue" with "Who's That Girl", "Causin' a Commotion", and "The Look of Love" on True Blue and replacing "Shoo-Bee-Doo", "Pretender", and "Stay" with "Into the Groove", "Crazy for You", and "Gambler" would have mad's album to meire knockouts.

Preach to the Choir. Her best 80's album to me is Like A Prayer with no doubt then Madonna, third True Blue and last Like A Virgin.

alphastreet said:

uPtoWnNY said:

For me, her first LP is still her best, one of my favorites from 1983. I wore it out that summer.

I heard 'Everybody' at a party earlier that year and I thought she was latina....I was shocked when I went to the record store and saw her face on the cover.

Cute story! Legend says many thought she was black when that song got airplay as well

Yes, that's what I've heard that everybody thought she was black.

RJOrion said:

"Think Of Me" is a hidden Madonna GEM

Love that song, Islept on that album for way too long.

Moonbeam said:

Like a Prayer and Madonna are flawless masterpieces and stand as not only masterpieces of 80s pop, but watershed moments in pop in general. My preference is for Like a Prayer, but I can't fault anyone for preferring her debut.

True Blue is a very good album with some legendary singles. It's let down by the final 2 tracks, IMO, and "True Blue" is not a great title track, but nonetheless, its high moments are so high that it still stands as a very good pop album.

Like a Virgin I find to be merely good. It really falls off after "Dress You Up", with "Shoo-Bee-Doo" in particular being fairly cringeworthy.

What's fascinating is that the additional material that didn't make it onto albums was routinely excellent. Replacing "Jimmy Jimmy", "Love Makes the World Go Around", and "True Blue" with "Who's That Girl", "Causin' a Commotion", and "The Look of Love" on True Blue and replacing "Shoo-Bee-Doo", "Pretender", and "Stay" with "Into the Groove", "Crazy for You", and "Gambler" would have made for 4 sure-fire knockouts.

I can't believe Crazy and Into didn't make the album, those two song would have elevated the album. I love Truel Blue though, however I agree Who's That Girl should have been onto the album as wellas The Look Of Love and Supernatural onto LAP.

lool said:

'Madonna'. And that's because of Reggie Lucas' production which many, to this day, wrongly attributed to Jellybean Benitez. Jellybean only produced "Holiday".

Kind of. Madonna wasn't that pleased with some or Reggie's production so had Jellybean come in and remix some of the tracks at last minute (Lucky Star, Burning Up & Physical Attraction)

rlittler81 said:

rlittler81 said:

lool said:

'Madonna'. And that's because of Reggie Lucas' production which many, to this day, wrongly attributed to Jellybean Benitez. Jellybean only produced "Holiday".

Kind of. Madonna wasn't that pleased with some or Reggie's production so had Jellybean come in and remix some of the tracks at last minute (Lucky Star, Burning Up & Physical Attraction)

lool said:

Oh, I see. Nevermind.

Here's a great interview with the late Reggie Lucas (may he rest in peace) on the subject:

https://www.theatlantic.c...er/277974/

[Edited 7/29/20 16:08pm]

Anyway the "best" is probably the first one or maybe Like a Prayer but my personal favorite at this stage if I had to put one on right now is probably True Blue.

First album is great but it's basically her jacking Evelyn "Champagne" King's I'm in Love swagger from '81.

WhisperingDandelions said:

While I do think that technically Like A Prayer is the better album on just about every level, my vote still goes to Madonna. It's just pure, no frills early 80's dance/pop/R&B bliss. Love the street vibe and Madonna just sounds hungry on this album. I know she put her all into it obviously, she had so much to prove but it sounded so effortless. LAP is magic and she was proving herself there too but in a less fundamental way in my opinion. She was trying to bring it to next level with that one and she absolutely did but the sacrifice was some of that "rawness" that "Madonna" had. But in comparison to True Blue (which I do love also) she actually did bring back some rawness with LAP, not in the same way as it was evident on "Madonna" though. Some of those demos were literally recorded in a studio she and Steve Bray "broke into" after hours. It's that "grit" that just can't be duplicated on any of her subsequent albums, no matter how well crafted they may be.

[Edited 8/1/20 7:51am]

I think Like A Prayer stands head and shoulders above her others for the songwriting... I remember listening to 'Oh Father' on a plane ride from Paris a few years ago and getting chills and thinking "oh my god, this is beautiful!" I don't know why it struck me then, after many, many years, but it really did. It was like I finally "got" that album. My overall favourite is Erotica though, I watched the "Bad Girl" video yesterday... she really was head and shoulders above everyone else.

Ray Of Light it's the best album along with LAP.

slyjackson said:

Ray Of Light it's the best album along with LAP.

Ray of Light came out in the 80's? Missed that one.

IAdoreWeronika said:

alphastreet said:

IAdoreWeronika said:

Ray of Light came out in the 80's? Missed that one.

I think she’s just generally saying it’s her personal favourite, no harm in that [Edited 8/2/20 18:06pm]

Indeed, but I'm a penis not a vagina.