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[Cranster]

No, and thats not even with saying that the last 20 years in the music industry has saw the worst and most overhyped music artists in history.

MTV probably wouldn't even be a thing right now if Thriller hadn't come out. The channel probably wouldn't have existed past the mid 80s.

I think you are stretching it a bit far, MTV was succesful before Thriller due in part to Rock, New Wave and Transitional bands like Styx and Journey. Even without Thriller Pyromania left a huge impact that kicked open the doors for Hard Rock and Heavy Metal on MTV.

 

[WolfeTone]

I think the album as a concept is pretty much dead to the mainstream. People don't digest music in this way anymore when you don't have to listen to the whole record or cassette tape all at once. We now select our songs from a list and can even ditch the stuff on the album we don't like.

I would say there have been many single pop hits released in the past 20 years that are as big or bigger than many of the individual tracks on the Thriller album, but there will never be an album with the same overall appeal and sales.

 

[AbsolutBro]

Thriller practically owns a damn holiday. No other song comes close to that.

 

[Jarate]

Thriller practically owns a damn holiday. No other song comes close to that.

Monster Mash is a strong contender

 

[WolfeTone]

Monster Mash is a strong contender

I would argue the Ghostbusters theme song is more associated with Halloween than Monster Mash.

 

[lazygecko]

The era of record companies being both affluent and willing enough to promote their artists and records as hard as they did back in the 80's is long since over. We shouldn't really be conflating talent and quality with marketing and promotion.

Not saying at all that MJ wasn't super talented or that Thriller wasn't a remarkable record. You should just be mindful over the context here and just how much more was invested into the artists and productions during that era. By the end of the 70's the idea of the "super group" in the wake of The Beatles had pretty much run its course and record profits were hitting a slump, so the new strategy was to push these singular mega stars like Michael Jackson or Phil Collins.

The same talent and artistic quality very much exists today. We just aren't seeing the same money and manpower pooled into them. And at the same time the internet has allowed musical niches to thrive within their own bubbles without having to depend on mainstream success.

 

[Lights and Waves]

Thriller practically owns a damn holiday. No other song comes close to that.

All I Want For Christmas is You is played and downloaded waaaaay more than Thriller during Christmas vs Thriller on Halloween.

 

[TheTylerRob]

I would argue the Ghostbusters theme song is more associated with Halloween than Monster Mash.

Finally the real music debates can begin. Thriller = Monster Mash >>>> Ghostbusters theme

 

[ColdLasagna]

The ability to use multiple means to get your music out currently is something I will always take over how companies and distributors ran the game from start to finish back then.

 

[Brian_FETO]

All I Want For Christmas is You is played and downloaded waaaaay more than Thriller during Christmas vs Thriller on Halloween.

That's from a Christmas album rather than a normal song on a normal album

Probably due to the focus on horror movies rather than the holiday

Misfits' Halloween was robbed

 

[WolfeTone]

Finally the real music debates can begin. Thriller = Monster Mash >>>> Ghostbusters theme

Quality wise, I would definitely agree, with Ghostbusters theme sitting far down at the bottom. However I think in terms of listens and airplays around Halloween it's more likely to be: Thriller > Ghostbusters theme >>>>>Monster Mash.

 

[Adam_Vania]

No, but personally I think it's the most iconic album ever, even beating out Sgt Pepper.

i can see that. it is pretty amazing. the guitar solo on "Beat It" takes the best Beatles guitar solo ("Taxman" from "Revolver") and turns it up to 11 and adds vintage explosion sound effects.

the production also at the peak of analog studio recording with those warm synth tones and drum machines. most stuff after this has been digital, making it sound crummier by default.

plus the fact that "Thriller" the album and the promotional cycle was popular in spite of the discriminating standards of early MTV. MJ was also a former child star. that he pulled off this prolific stuff (don't forget "Can You Feel It?" Jackson 5 reunion) is inspirational.

 

[AbsolutBro]

Monster Mash is a strong contender

As much as I love Monster Mash "strong" is a well... strong word for it. It's a contender, but ask 100 people in the street to name a Halloween song and at LEAST 95 will say Thriller. It's that synonymous with Halloween to the US.

All I Want For Christmas is You is played and downloaded waaaaay more than Thriller during Christmas vs Thriller on Halloween.

There are so many Christmas songs though that in popular mindset it becomes harder for one to stand out. My first thought is TSO's Carol of the Bells, followed by Rockin Around the Christmas Tree (which is a song I actually kind of dislike).

However I think in terms of listens and airplays around Halloween it's more likely to be: Thriller > Ghostbusters theme >>>>>Monster Mash.

I do agree with this 100%. Monster Mash doesn't get enough love around Halloween, but I think it's partly because the song is so old.

 

[Frodo]

I'm just glad E.MO.TION is getting some love.

Long live the queen.

Buy E.MO.TION SIDE B on iTunes today.

 

[WolfeTone]

I'm just glad E.MO.TION is getting some love.

Long live the queen.

Buy E.MO.TION SIDE B on iTunes today.

This is a great album and deserves more mainstream success. Seems almost non-existent to most people.

No way will this be remembered in 20 years time though. Carly Rae will forever be known as the Call Me Maybe girl.

 

[Master_Funk]

There has never been and will never be a bigger star than Michael Jackson and that will extend to thriller as well. People just don't buy music the same way as 1982.

 

[qcf x2]

Absolutely not.

 

[Androidsleeps]

I wanna say Bjork's and Radiohead's but those are in no way mainstream and to be realistic will never be popular with mainstream audience. The only ones that would come close to that level are Adele's 21 and maaaybe Lemonade (we should wait a couple of years to see how that album age). The stronger choice imo came out just a little over 20 years ago: Jagged Little Pill. It's already one of the best selling albums ever and I could see it climbing up the charts again after Alanis (hopefully not anytime soon) passes away.

Edit: people mentioning Taylor swift and Katy get real fam.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

I don't think you can objectively call any artist with a billion youtube views for several individual songs "niche". If you haven't heard anything from them you are the rare exception.

Taylor Swift and Katy Perry have easily reached the cultural relevance of Michael Jackson in music.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_Dream_(Katy_Perry_album)#Chart_performance

It's arguable whether or not they have reached Michael's level at his peak (they certainly are not as simultaneously critically well-regarded as he [mostly] was, and their appeal is more to younger audiences whereas Jackson had a higher number of fans across the spectrum of age), but it is almost assured that they are not going to be relevant in the sense of being counted as influential and relevant for decades to come.

 

[PillarEN]

It isn't on the same level but on some level for people under 35 I think maybe Daft Punk's Discovery. No your mom doesn't own and listen to this album and no the songs aren't played everyday on the radio but if you were to play any of the big hits from that album to a under 35 group of people I'd say it gets the same reaction like a Thriller or The Best of Bob Marley. Everybody seems to be down with Discovery.

And those who swear by Homework, I get you. There are those that swear by Off The Wall but hey. The successor is what the mainstream knows better.

I wanna say Bjork's and Radiohead's but those are in no way mainstream and to be realistic will never be popular with mainstream audience. The only ones that would come close to that level are Adele's 21 and maaaybe Lemonade (we should wait a couple of years to see how that album age). The stronger choice imo came out just a little over 20 years ago: Jagged Little Pill. It's already one of the best selling albums ever and I could see it climbing up the charts again after Alanis (hopefully not anytime soon) passes away.

Edit: people mentioning Taylor swift and Katy get real fam.

Definitely have to wait. For now if there is one Beyonce album that I think is universally recognized because of its singles is I Am... Sasha Fierce. Those tracks get played every single day on the radio like that Adele record.

 

[WhereAreMahDragonz]

you didn't lie, sis

 

[game-boi]

 

[Fallout-NL]

I like Discovery and Homework. But there's some filler on those albums man.

Kid A - Radiohead
Since I Left You - The Avalanches
The College Dropout - Kanye West
To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar
Funeral - Arcade Fire

Off the top of my head here are some darling critical albums. Hard to compare to MJ's commercial success though. Not the biggest Radiohead guy, so I just took a guess that Kid A is their most popular album.

OK Computer probably is both a bit more popular generally as well as among fans. And it's 19 years old. If we're talking Radiohead. I'm going with that. Landmark album. Huge impact.

 

[Straight Edge]

The closest I can think of is Nirvana's Nevermind, but that "doesn't count" because of the bizarre 20 years qualifier.

 

[The Albatross]

I don't think anything will ever be as iconic as Thriller.

The mention of Adele - 21 is really the strongest candidate, because similar to Thriller, not only did the album sell like gangbusters to all generations, but virtually everybody can respect it. Like, even in 1990, people thought "Damn, Thriller was a great album," and that has persisted for decades. When you look at other strong selling pop albums, like NSync, Backstreet Boys, that Sanata comeback album, Oasis, etc., wide swaths of the public legitimately hate those albums. I know people who don't listen to Adele, but nobody thinks that Adele's 21 is a bad album.

I'm sorry to make you feel old, but this came out 25 years ago.

 

[teruterubozu]

It isn't on the same level but on some level for people under 35 I think maybe Daft Punk's Discovery. No your mom doesn't own and listen to this album and no the songs aren't played everyday on the radio but if you were to play any of the big hits from that album to a under 35 group of people I'd say it gets the same reaction like a Thriller or The Best of Bob Marley. Everybody seems to be down with Discovery.

And those who swear by Homework, I get you. There are those that swear by Off The Wall but hey. The successor is what the mainstream knows better.

But if that's your criteria then it's certainly Random Access Memories - it's their best selling album to date. Nevertheless, you can't even get Daft Punk fans to agree on their best album so...

 

[Patrick Bateman]

But if we are talking cultural impact in the 2010s, Radiohead's influence is undeniably more present than Michael Jackson's when it comes to today musical landscape and audience taste.

Hu?

Jackson's style is still present. Most male pop artists of today who sell records (Justin Timberlake, Usher, Bruno Mars whatever) are similar in style like MJ. They sell more than Radiohead, are played more often on TV/Radio/youtube etc.
Pop music shapes the general musical landscape. Radiohead may be good or genre defining in their part of the musical spectrum but their style is not the taste of the main audience.

 

[Straight Edge]

Radiohead's mass appeal lived and died with "creep"

 

[Imm0rt4l]

No

 

[Jigolo]

Did thriller really sell over 100 million albums?

 

[PillarEN]

But if that's your criteria then it's certainly Random Access Memories - it's their best selling album to date. Nevertheless, you can't even get Daft Punk fans to agree on their best album so...

I can't argue the numbers. You got me there. But I would argue that after the hype has died down (and I can't think of any album that had such an overblown marketing campaign in recent memory, even more than Kanye) the only song from that record that will live on in the memories of the average joe is Get Lucky.

 

[Fluvian]

I'm certain both of Frank Ocean's albums so far are going down in at least R&B history.

 

[Dishwalla]

No, and thats not even with saying that the last 20 years in the music industry has saw the worst and most overhyped music artists in history.

I think you are stretching it a bit far, MTV was succesful before Thriller due in part to Rock, New Wave and Transitional bands like Styx and Journey. Even without Thriller Pyromania left a huge impact that kicked open the doors for Hard Rock and Heavy Metal on MTV.

Thriller ushered in diversification to the channel, you said it yourself prior to Thriller it was a rock powerhouse. Hell one of the channels most exposed artists was Rod Stewart in those early years. Jackson opened the doors for a wider variety of music on the channel and within a few years new genres were given major airtime on the network, such as rap.

Also the fact the channel was a money losing venture for its first several years, probably at the very least until 1985 when Viacom bought the channel from Warner-AMEX. I think that without Jackson making the channel famous and vice versa the business may not have survived long enough to have Viacom come in and save the channel.

 

[Sabotage]

Nope, never....

Michael will be played till the end of time...

 

[teruterubozu]

Thriller ushered in diversification to the channel, you said it yourself prior to Thriller it was a rock powerhouse. Hell one of the channels most exposed artists was Rod Stewart in those early years. Jackson opened the doors for a wider variety of music on the channel and within a few years new genres were given major airtime on the network, such as rap.

Also the fact the channel was a money losing venture for its first several years, probably at the very least until 1985 when Viacom bought the channel from Warner-AMEX. I think that without Jackson making the channel famous and vice verse the business may not have survived long enough to have Viacom come in and save the channel.

Yup, it's why they brought in Eddie Van Halen to play on Beat It - for that MTV rock crossover appeal.

 

[cwmartin]

stahp with that Radiohead and Neutral Milk ridiculousness.

Aeroplane is the album everyone on the internet says they listen to.

Thriller is fucking thriller god damn.

 

[Kevtones]

A better thread would've been 'since Thriller'.


Nirvana - Nevermind fits the bill. Otherwise there's just not a record as equally huge commercially/critically. Kanye West might be able to do it somehow but he already made his 'masterpiece'.

 

[shoelacer]

Thriller is kinda corny tbh

 

[Tall4Life]

You can definitely make the case for some albums in their own individual spheres - OK Computer, Kid A, To Pimp a Butterfly, etc. - but I don't think anything can really come close to Thriller. Closest is really Adele's 21. There have been many influential albums since Thriller, and they might have had a humongous impact on their genres, like OK Computer for indie rock in the 21st century, but nearly every album is missing some critical factor like Thriller had.

Strip away what makes the legend of Thriller - the critical reception, sales, impact - and focus on one of them, and you can probably find a few that fit one of those factors. Something that fits all three? Tough luck. Music is consumed so differently now, and albums aren't even that important anymore for most mainstream listeners (sadly, but that's beside the point). Put in a previous era, some albums from the past 20 years might have reached the same success as Thriller. Who knows. But as it is, the current music environment and landscape is not conducive to such a thing ever happening again.

You'll see landmark albums in certain genres that spawn copycats or even innovate new styles, but it will almost always be missing one of the three above factors that made Thriller what it was.

 

[WolfeTone]

It isn't on the same level but on some level for people under 35 I think maybe Daft Punk's Discovery. No your mom doesn't own and listen to this album and no the songs aren't played everyday on the radio but if you were to play any of the big hits from that album to a under 35 group of people I'd say it gets the same reaction like a Thriller or The Best of Bob Marley. Everybody seems to be down with Discovery.

And those who swear by Homework, I get you. There are those that swear by Off The Wall but hey. The successor is what the mainstream knows better.

I like this answer, not just because I'm a big fan of this album. Nowhere near as big as Thriller and Daft Punk don't have half the star power of MJ, but you're right in that a lot of songs on this album are instantly recognizable to young people and seem to have decent lasting appeal.

 

[Fluvian]

You know what? Maybe in the next twenty years people will get their heads out their asses and realise Bad is a way better album than Thriller, even it's bad tracks are better than thrillers bad tracks.

 

[CygnusXS]

I'd bet on Lemonade.

 

[Timeless]

You know what? Maybe in the next twenty years people will get their heads out their asses and realise Bad is a way better album than Thriller, even it's bad tracks are better than thrillers bad tracks.[/IMG]

Ha. Thriller doesn't even have bad tracks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(Michael_Jackson_album)#Track_listing

1. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (recorded April – November 1982)
2. "Baby Be Mine" (recorded April – October 1982)
3. "The Girl Is Mine" (featuring Paul McCartney) (recorded April 1982)
4. "Thriller" (featuring Vincent Price) (recorded April – November 1982)
5. "Beat It" (featuring Eddie Van Halen) (recorded April – October 1982)
6. "Billie Jean" (recorded April – November 1982)
7. "Human Nature" (recorded April – October 1982)
8. "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (recorded April – October 1982)
9. "The Lady in My Life" (recorded April – November 1982)

Meanhile, Bad has "Bad", which is awesome. The whole album is more all-out than Thriller, which I don't like as much as Thriller's purity. Man in the Mirror is one of my favorite MJ tracks, and Smooth Criminal is killer. But there's quite a few I would throw off a sinking lifeboat before touching anything in Thriller.

 

[Tall4Life]

You know what? Maybe in the next twenty years people will get their heads out their asses and realise Bad is a way better album than Thriller, even it's bad tracks are better than thrillers bad tracks.

It's not really about which album is better, or what album in the past 20 years was better than Thriller. It's about the whole package, and I'd definitely argue, and I think most would agree, that Thriller had a much larger cultural impact than Bad did, though both were quite iconic. When someone says "Michael Jackson" most will probably think of Thriller.

 

[greycolumbus]

No.

Thriller was a force of nature. It changed the landscape of popular culture and influenced racial politics. Artists to this day are still emulating the model that album put forth. There's very little on the same scope as Thriller. Michael Jackson aimed very, very high with the project and he succeeded.

 

[Fudgepuppy]

This an obtuse question. The market today, means that taste will never be as aligned as it was when Thriller was released.

I can namedrop Massive Attack, Grimes, Slint, Gy!Be, Aesop Rock, Portishead and *Shels, and quality or sales, would not matter when comparing to when Thriller was released.

 

[Fluvian]

Ha. Thriller doesn't even have bad tracks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(Michael_Jackson_album)#Track_listing

1. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (recorded April – November 1982)
2. "Baby Be Mine" (recorded April – October 1982)
3. "The Girl Is Mine" (featuring Paul McCartney) (recorded April 1982)
4. "Thriller" (featuring Vincent Price) (recorded April – November 1982)
5. "Beat It" (featuring Eddie Van Halen) (recorded April – October 1982)
6. "Billie Jean" (recorded April – November 1982)
7. "Human Nature" (recorded April – October 1982)
8. "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (recorded April – October 1982)
9. "The Lady in My Life" (recorded April – November 1982)

Meanhile, Bad has "Bad", which is awesome. The whole album is more all-out than Thriller, which I don't like as much as Thriller's purity. Man in the Mirror is one of my favorite MJ tracks, and Smooth Criminal is killer. But there's quite a few I would throw off a sinking lifeboat before touching anything in Thriller.

Blasphemy! Speed demon is great, leave me alone is weird and I love it, the way you make me feel is probably one of MJ's most under appreciated tracks.
Dude lets be honest some of those songs on Thriller are completely forgettable, Human nature is a snore fest, I'd forgotten about PYT till now and baby be mine is meh, apart from beat, thriller and billie jean it's a completely average record, those three tracks were so fucking good they made that record iconic.

 

[Ristifer]

Thriller conquers all.

 

[nillah]

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

Ctrl + F '2Pac' and 'Tupac' no results found. It's ok thread, I ain't mad at cha'.