The Best of Michael Jackson

Alright, so here we go… and yeah, this is one of those things where you kind of have to take a deep breath before you even start, because you’re talking about Michael Jackson.

I mean, not just a pop star, not just a big deal, not just a guy who sold a few million records—this is Michael Jackson. This is as big as it gets. This is Mount Rushmore stuff. This is cultural, global, generational impact that’s almost impossible to overstate, and yet… I’m gonna try anyway, because that’s what I do.

Michael Joseph Jackson, born August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana (which, by the way, is not exactly Beverly Hills, not exactly the kind of place you expect a global icon to come from) was the eighth of ten kids in a working-class family crammed into a two-bedroom house.

His mom, Katherine, had musical aspirations of her own, played instruments, had talent, had dreams, and his father, Joe Jackson, former boxer, steel worker, part-time musician, and… let’s not sugarcoat it… a notoriously tough, demanding, sometimes brutal taskmaster, decided that his kids were going to be performers whether they liked it or not.

And that’s where it all begins. The Jackson family, the Jackson 5, the whole machine. By 1964, Michael (this tiny little kid with this enormous voice and even bigger presence) joins his brothers, and almost immediately, you know, it’s over.

He’s the one. He’s the center. He’s the magnet. Even when he’s sharing vocals early on, it’s obvious: this kid is different. This kid is special. This kid is going to be something we’ve never seen before.

And the stories about Joe Jackson, you know, sitting there with a belt during rehearsals, the discipline, the fear, the pressure… that stuff matters. It shaped him. It’s part of the mythology, part of the tragedy, part of the genius.

Some of the brothers downplay it, Michael didn’t, and you can feel that tension in everything that followed. But out of that environment comes this unbelievable talent.

By the late ‘60s, the Jackson 5 hit Motown, Diana Ross introduces them, the whole “Motown production line” kicks in, and boom:“I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save,” “I’ll Be There," number one after number one after number one.

And here’s this kid, front and center, singing like a grown man, dancing like nobody else, completely owning the stage. Rolling Stone called him a prodigy, and that’s putting it mildly.

Now, while all that is happening, Michael starts dipping into solo work early...like really early. Between 1972 and 1975, he releases four solo albums: Got to Be There, Ben, Music & Me, and Forever, Michael. And yeah, people remember “Ben” (the love song to a rat, which is still one of the weirdest hit singles of all time) but a lot of people forget those albums even exist.

And here’s the thing about those early solo records… they’re not really “solo” in the way we think of it. It’s still Motown. It’s still Berry Gordy. It’s still the same songwriters, the same producers, the same assembly line that made the Jackson 5 what they were.

A lot of covers, a lot of material handed to him, not stuff he’s writing himself yet. So yeah, it sounds like the Jackson 5. It feels like the Jackson 5. It’s Michael stepping out front, sure, but he hasn’t really broken away yet.

Meanwhile, the group itself starts to get frustrated (creative control, all that stuff) and they eventually leave Motown in 1975, go to Epic, become the Jacksons, and Michael starts to stretch a little more creatively. He’s writing songs, he’s evolving, and then… The Wiz happens in 1978. He plays the Scarecrow, the movie bombs, but something incredibly important comes out of it: Quincy Jones.

And that changes everything.

Because when Off the Wall comes out in 1979, that’s it. That’s the moment. That’s when Michael Jackson becomes Michael Jackson. Not the kid from the Jackson 5, not the Motown product...this is the real deal.

Teaming up with Quincy Jones, bringing in Rod Temperton, working with incredible musicians… suddenly the sound is richer, funkier, more sophisticated, more adult. And Michael is writing. He’s creating. He’s in control.

That album (Off the Wall) is a masterpiece. I don’t throw that word around lightly. Four top ten hits, “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough,” “Rock with You,” “She’s Out of My Life,” the title track… it’s smooth, it’s sexy, it’s joyous, it’s emotional. It’s one of the great R&B/pop albums ever made. Period.

And then, of course, he follows it up with Thriller in 1982, which becomes… what? The biggest album of all time. Seventy million copies worldwide, seven top ten singles, 37 weeks at number one, 80 weeks in the top ten. “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” “Thriller,” the videos, MTV, the whole explosion. He becomes the King of Pop. There’s no bigger star on the planet. End of story.

So that’s the history. That’s the arc. From Gary, Indiana, to global domination.

Now… let me bring this back to me for a second, because this is where it gets personal, and this is where it gets, you know… a little bit contrary, a little bit Nick Digilio.

With the release of the new biopic Michael, which is now in theaters, I thought it’d be fun (just for fun, because that’s what this is) to go back and put together a list of my top 20 favorite Michael Jackson solo songs. And I’m talking solo stuff only. Nothing with the Jackson 5, nothing with the Jacksons. Just Michael on his own.

And the movie, from what it focuses on, is that break. That moment where he’s trying to step out from under Joe Jackson, from under the family shadow, trying to become his own artist, his own voice, and ultimately becoming one of the biggest-selling solo artists in the history of music.

Now, I became a fan early. I mean, I was a little kid watching the Jackson 5 on TV, hearing those songs in my house constantly. Michael was about seven years older than me, so he was still a kid, I was still a kid, and you’re just watching this going, how is this possible? How is this little guy doing this?

“ABC,” “I Want You Back,” “Dancing Machine,” “I’ll Be There”—these songs were everywhere. They’re still everywhere. They’re part of the DNA.

And yeah, even then, he stood out. There was no question. He was the guy. The voice, the moves, the charisma, it was all there from the beginning.

But when you get into the solo career, especially those early ‘70s albums, like I said, it’s still very much the Motown machine. It’s good, there’s some nice stuff in there, but it’s not until Off the Wall that everything changes. That’s the record that blew me away. That’s the one that made me go, okay, this is something else entirely.

Quincy Jones changes everything. Rod Temperton changes everything. Michael writing his own material changes everything. And suddenly you’ve got this album that is just wall-to-wall brilliance. To me, it is still, easily, by far, his best work.

Now, I know this is where I lose A LOT of people (and I’m fine with that) but I’m not a huge Thriller guy. I know, I know, it’s heresy. I get it. I lived through it. I was in high school when it came out.

You could not escape it. It was everywhere: radio, MTV, the videos, the hype. And yeah, there are some songs on it that I like. One in particular that I think is absolutely brilliant, “Human Nature,” which I think is easily the best thing on that album.

But as a whole? I absolutely don’t remotely love Thriller. I think it’s just good at best. I don’t think it’s great.

And everything after Thriller? Bad, Dangerous, HIStory, Invincible… I don’t like them. At all.

Some songs are okay, most of them don’t do anything for me, and a lot of it I just think is not good. "Bad," if you will.

So as I put this list together, I made a decision: I stop at Thriller. That’s it. Nothing beyond that. Because that’s where my connection to his music kind of ends.

So what you’re gonna get here is a list that leans heavily on Off the Wall, dips into Thriller just a bit, and even goes back to some of those early ‘70s solo tracks that people forget about, but that I think are worth revisiting.

And look, I’m not getting into the personal stuff, the controversies, the behavior, the tabloid insanity. That’s not what this is about. This is about the music. The songs. The voice. The records that meant something.

So, in honor of Michael being in theaters now, and in honor of one of the most important, influential, complicated, and undeniably talented artists who ever lived… here are my top 20 favorite Michael Jackson solo songs, from those early Motown records through Thriller, ranked in order of preference.

Let’s go.

MY TOP 20 FAVORITE MICHAEL JACKSON SOLO SONGS (in order of preference):

1) ROCK WITH YOU

2) DON'T STOP TIL YOU GET ENOUGH

3) HUMAN NATURE

4) OFF THE WALL

5) WORKING DAY AND NIGHT

6) BEN

7) BURN THIS DISCO OUT

8) ROCKIN' ROBIN

9) WE'RE ALMOST THERE

10) P.Y.T.(PRETTY YOUNG THING)

11) GOT TO BE THERE

12) JUST A LITTLE BIT OF YOU

13) PEOPLE MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND

14) MY GIRL

15) BILLIE JEAN

16) MUSIC & ME

17) BEAT IT

18) AIN'T NO SUNSHINE

19) ONE DAY IN YOUR LIFE

20) SHE'S OUT OF MY LIFE

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