Michael Jackson - Thriller [SACD] (CD 2000)

Nobody could have prepared anybody for the success of Thriller, since the magnitude of its success was simply unimaginable — an album that sold 40 million copies in its initial chart run, with seven of its nine tracks reaching the Top Ten (the terrific "Baby Be Mine" and the pretty good ballad "The Lady in My Life" are not like the others).

This is a record that has something for everybody, building on the basic blueprint of "Off the Wall" by adding harder funk, hard rock, softer ballads, and smoother soul. True, it's not as tight — and the ridiculous, late-night house-of-horrors title track is the prime culprit, arriving in the middle of the record and sucking out its momentum — but those one or two cuts don't detract from a phenomenal set of music. It's calculated, but is outdone by their success. This is where a song as gentle and lovely as "Human Nature" coexists comfortably with the tough, scared "Beat It," the sweet schmaltz of the Paul McCartney duet "The Girl Is Mine," and the frizzy funk of "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)."

Although this is an undeniably fun record, the paranoia is already creeping in, manifesting itself in the record's two best songs: "Billie Jean," and the delirious "Wanna Be Startin' Something," the freshest funk on the album, but the most claustrophobic track Jackson ever recorded. These give the record its anchor and are part of the reason why the record is more than just a phenomenon. The other reason, of course, is that much of this is just simply great music.