Composer Ranks Every Michael Jackson Song (DEEP DIVE Analysis)

[music - 'Paralyzed' by Valcata] hi everyone I hope you're doing well my name is  Oha Cade I'm the composer for the symphonic metal project Valcata before I continue please like  and subscribe please check out Valcata I'll leave links to our music down in the description below  now even though I'm obviously a big metal fan and a metal composer I also really enjoy pop and  Michael Jackson is one of my favorite artists of all time he's probably my favorite solo artist of  all time and I noticed re

cently a trend of videos of people ranking all of his songs, I figured you  know what, I'm a huge fan I'm pretty opinionated on the quality of each of these songs I'm so  familiar with all of his stuff his studio albums and also his unreleased tracks that I thought it  would be just a fun thing to do today I think this is the first time that someone has been audacious  enough to actually rank every song definitively in one list I would like to address every single  song and say at least a couple

sentences about it and try to give a solid argument as to why it  should be placed in that specific slot in the list of course it's only my opinion my taste I'm  sure there'll be disagreements now I should point out that this list is not totally complete  I have not included in this list pre Off the Wall stuff except for some key songs that are too  big to omit so I hope you'll forgive me for that but I think that there is plenty of stuff to go  through for the sake of this video his career is

mostly judged on his post Off the Wall stuff  anyway because that's when he really started like coming into his own as a visionary artist  so yeah no Jackson 5 stuff it's possible that I will have forgotten one or two songs post  off the wall but I really tried to include everything I went through the Wikipedia page of  his unreleased songs I went on YouTube looked at playlists so I really think I have everything  and there's actually songs here that I haven't even heard so it's going to be a lo

t of fun the  way that I'm gonna do it is that first I'm going to look at the album tracks I'm gonna pick an  album track from Off the Wall put it on the list and then I'm gonna pick an album track from  Thriller and put that on the list and then decide which one of those is better go to  Bad rank that song in relation to the two songs already on the list and so on so we're  going all the way through the eras the whole way through the list and then we'll end up with a  solid ranking of the album

tracks then I'm gonna move into the unreleased slash miscellaneous  collaboration stuff and finally we're gonna do the singles for last because those tend to be  the strongest songs of his that everyone knows and everyone loves and for good reason so that's uh  the system so without further ado I think it is time to do the first ranking so the first song  is Workin' Day and Night [one] so right now we have Workin' Day and Night versus the second song  added to the list which is Baby Be Mine [tw

o] okay damn this is already so hard okay Workin' Day and  Night it's so funky there's so many cool little details going on I love his little beatboxing  and stuff I think the chorus is really catchy the production is outstanding of course both  songs are produced by Quincy, Quincy Jones, this is a really strong one I had this on repeat  a lot the first time I heard it percussively it's really good I love the horns then we have Baby Be  Mine which is quite different it's a very melodic bop his v

ocals on Baby Be Mine I think are more  impressive than on Workin' Day and Night but he's going for something different it's a totally  different style of song to my ears it's way more smooth and romantic and Workin' Day and Night is  this more like energetic groover so already it's really hard to rank these two I'm thinking Baby Be  Mine is stronger only because melodically it's a bit more sound [singing - you got me working day  and night] I don't know, that's so good though, I have to be deci

sive otherwise I'll  be here all day okay in my heart I think Workin' Day and Night is better  it's just a little bit more of a unique creation to me than Baby Be Mine even  though Baby Be Mine is a beautiful track um they're both bops you can dance to both of them  but Workin' Day and Night it just has that secret sauce, that secret MJ sauce that Baby Be Mine uh  doesn't um just in terms of the percussion and his trademark beatboxing and stuff so yeah we'll  leave them in this order for now the

next song is Speed Demon, Speed Demon is funky I think it  has some good attitude and stuff the instrumental is pretty creative it's a pretty creative song  overall a fun song but I would say out of these three it's probably the weakest so this is gonna  go number three [three] the fourth song is Why You Wanna Trip On Me, again this song is probably the  weakest [four] it's creative it actually has a lot in common with Speed Demon with the guitar licks  and stuff the funkiness of the guitar but

it's a bit repetitive it just feels kind of half-baked  even though there are some pretty cool sections in the song and uh it's fun, I do think the other  three songs are stronger, next song is This Time Around, I think This Time Around goes here [three]  that might be kind of controversial because obviously Speed Demon is from the Bad album and  we love the Bad album we do but This Time Around, the attitude of the song is a little bit more  sincere the anger of the song can be really felt I th

ink the chorus is very smooth and even  though the chorus does repeat a lot I think the chorus is so smooth and pleasant to listen to and  it repeats a lot but you can really get into it, the verse from Biggie is really solid really cool  atmospheric stuff I love the background vocals the whoa um I like that he swears on it, it's just  a different thing for him so yeah I'm happy with that placement next song is Morphine, Morphine  is so good that I'm almost inclined to put it number one but I am

doing my best to be objective  so if I were to be really objective... man it's hard, I don't know, Morphine to me it's just so  powerful so personal the vocal performance is outstanding the overall style is so experimental  I love that the song takes a complete 180 in the middle with the strings and stuff really beautiful  and then the finale where he's doing his signature howls right on the beat it's so huge that I really  think Morphine is like an achievement for him so Morphine is going numb

er one [one] all right,  are we upset yet? Are we upset yet? I hope not, I hope that I'm making sense here, the next song  is Unbreakable, Unbreakable is a pretty good song I used to enjoy it a lot more I think the beat  goes hard the verses go hard I really like his delivery in the verses the chorus could be better  I think there's not a whole lot of melody to it because the chorus to me is kind of weak and it's  repeated so much during the song I think the song is overly long, I don't know, it

's good I used  to think it was one of the strongest songs on Invincible and it probably is but it's not like...  it's not as strong as some of the songs on this list I'd probably put it above Why You Wanna Trip  On Me [six] yeah Unbreakable it's still solid I still think it's going to be high on the overall  list but this is kind of how it's looking right now, next is Hollywood Tonight, Hollywood Tonight  is a great song it's the best song on the Michael album so I think we might be looking at

a sort of  a mid-tier situation it probably goes here [five] it's strong it's melodic the only thing that  really sucks about it is that horrible rap part and I think that's Teddy Reilly  who included that part because I guess the song is a bit incomplete, Michael  never recorded a bridge but I feel like they still could have come up with something else  other than that also the production on it is kind of weak the production is a little bit cheesy  it's not that tasteful there's too much auto-t

une on Michael's voice but you know what, the more  I talk about it the more I think I have to put it down a bit lower, I still think the song is  a better song than Unbreakable though at least, you know it's so catchy and funky, really  my problems with it are more to do with the production choices the posthumous production  choices... posthumous, sorry, however you want to pronounce that, next is Chicago uh this song saw a  recent resurgence on TikTok it's quite popular now um I think it's act

ually in his top five  most played songs on Spotify at the moment which is really crazy very very unexpected I  think the story of the lyrics is really cool but again it is an unfinished song and some of  the production on it is weak, by the way when I talk about the Xscape album I'm not going to  include two different versions of the song on the list like the original version of Chicago and  the contemporized version of it, they're going to take up one slot and we'll take into account all  the

pros and cons of each version for this one slot yeah again it's because it's so unfinished  I can't rank it too highly but again honestly I'd probably put it above Why You Wanna Trip On Me so  Why You Wanna Trip On Me is getting pushed down a lot, we're still on album tracks so we're  gonna go with Get On the Floor from Off the Wall [singing - get on the floor and dance with me]  it's a good song and you can definitely get up and dance to it but there's something about the  melody that is just k

ind of weird I don't know it doesn't hit me very hard in particular [singing  - I love the way you shake that thing] it's cool it's definitely catchy but even though it's catchy  the songs that are on this list are catchier so I'd probably put it at the bottom [nine]  again ahead of Why You Wanna Trip On Me, next is The Girl Is Mine and while this technically was  a single it's not like a huge single that got like a music video and everything it's more  like a radio single so it kind of fits in

the album track vibe a lot of people don't  like this song it's pretty corny and cheesy but I think that that's kind of cute and it's just  a sweet love song with a cute little vibe and I'm down for it, and the bridge in this song  is so good [singing - but we both cannot have her] you know that stuff is so good  so... The Girl is Mine, The Girl is Mine, The Girl is Mine... it's definitely better  than Chicago, Unbreakable... I'd put it above Unbreakable right here [seven] next is  Liberian Girl

great song very unique vibe uh very interesting melody this particular vibe  is something that he never really explored that much kind of reminds me of the vibe from My All  by Mariah Carey that sort of uh I guess darker moodier love song but I don't think it's a  particularly... it's good, it is strong but like not the strongest I feel like it's missing a good  bridge or something and you know it fades out and kind of like whatever so I would put it below  The Girl is Mine [eight] next is She

Drives Me Wild from Dangerous, you know what I do like  this song it has a lot of good stuff going for it a lot of people would say that this is the  weakest song on Dangerous, I think it sounds... I think it might be better than Why You  Wanna Trip On Me actually [singing - and she's driving me wild] yeah it always spoke to  me a little bit more than Why You Wanna Trip On Me so while Why You Wanna Trip On Me does have  some cool moments with the guitar and stuff I do like how in She Drives Me W

ild you have those car  sounds and the sounds of the door slamming like that is so creative and cool and the chorus is  pretty melodic and nice to listen to as well and um his ad-libs are pretty fun so it's tough but  it would be at the bottom of this list for sure in terms of like personal taste I would definitely  put She Drives Me Wild above Why You Wanna Trip On Me, but objectively speaking I do think that  Why You Wanna Trip On Me is a better song, um it does have more going for it, has a b

it more  musicality so that's fair enough so I'm gonna put She Drives Me Wild at the bottom [thirteen]  next is D.S. I think the song is pretty solid um it can be a bit repetitive but I like  the energy I like the guitar work the guitar solo from Slash is awesome to me it's quite a  banger of an album track, it probably would fit above Liberian Girl [eight] I'm gonna do one  last look over the list at the end and maybe move things around a little bit but for now  we're just looking at getting th

is list made, next is Superfly Sister, Superfly Sister is a  great song I really like it there's lots of cool little production things going on lots of tiny  little creative details musically it's pretty impressive there's so many cool little details  in the song that go under-appreciated I think like the little bells and the synth work and  uh the little like [synth impression] that's cool you know it's fun and vibrant but  what I think lets this song down is the chorus the repetitive chorus li

ke they really  could have done something else with that and the snare sound is kind of annoying very high  pitched high-end snare like [snare impression] it's like whoa man you know, could you  not have come up with a warmer sound for that? It is like one of those middling  songs, I would still place it higher than Liberian Girl [nine] yeah so  I guess Liberian Girl is the um I guess the one to beat in terms of the  low end of the list is what I'm noticing because I'm pretty comfortable with ho

w the  bottom is ordered and how the top is ordered, next is Heartbreaker from the Invincible album I  think that this song is underrated the production on it is just outstanding mind-boggling stuff uh  credit to Rodney Jerkins Darkchild really really phenomenal work it has elements of like early  dubstep Michael's performance vocal performance on this song is so good the ad-libs are so funky they  really enhance the beat the rhythm the chorus is, you know, it could be better but the more you  h

ear this song the more that the chorus really settles in you really settle into it and  the chorus really exists just to drive the beat forward so in that sense I think it's a very  well-crafted song the rap is kind of like whatever I could take it or leave it but I suppose it does  serve a cool function as like a little breakdown after the beautiful bridge which is amazingly  melodic and stuff sorry my phone went off there um I love the melodic bridge the chords used  on it, it's a great bridge

great song overall so this song is strong, it's a strong song and  it's my favorite song on Invincible personally, it's stronger than Unbreakable, this song is  going to go up pretty high um I'm gonna put it above Hollywood Tonight [six] I won't put it  above Speed Demon it's hard to beat Speed Demon, Heartbreaker nearly did it but I do acknowledge  that it's a very repetitive track if you're not really into that kind of thing so I would hesitate  to put it higher than that, Speed Demon has lik

e a bit more variety in the broader picture while  Heartbreaker has a lot of variety in the smaller details in the production so the next song is  I Like the Way You Love Me really nice catchy um I suppose mid-tempo ballad/pop song um cute  lyrics it's quite simplistic but the melody is like it's such an earworm I actually prefer  the version that was released on the Ultimate Collection box set rather than the version that is  on the Michael album but they're both pretty cool I suppose I'll get

to the point which is that this  is a strong song and it deserves to be somewhere in the middle on the list I'll put it just  above Unbreakable and after Liberian Girl [12] the next song is Loving You from the  Xscape album another very strong song very underrated very smooth beautiful vocal  performance from Michael this one deserves to be up there I would probably put it above  I Like the Way You Love Me just above here right there like that [12] [singing -  loving you, that's what I want to d

o] it's good it's good stuff, I'm starting to  wonder if D.S. is a bit high okay I'm gonna move D.S. down as much as I love that song  I have to do my best to think objectively so I would probably put that song here  [12] yeah next song is Off the Wall pretty good pretty good, I still, I actually...  I'm not crazy about this song I'll be honest it's got some good moments it's got some  good melodies some good harmonies and stuff but I think Off the Wall has better more funkier  tracks but it's s

till pretty solid I would probably put it here yeah [10] there you go one  thing about Off the Wall is it does have a really strong bridge I love the bridge in it as well um  but I think that's a solid placement for now uh the next is Human Nature this one is definitely  one that people love it's probably gonna go right there up above Baby Be Mine um below Baby Be Mine  it's a beautiful song and stuff [four] but I do think Baby Be Mine is just a little bit stronger  yeah Human Nature has beautif

ul like little guitar parts and the melody is obviously beautiful  it's very romantic and his falsetto part is iconic I just prefer Baby Be Mine, I honestly  think Baby Be Mine is a little bit stronger, the next song is Just Good Friends from the Bad  album this is a really nice song I like the energy I like the interplay between Michael and Stevie's  vocals but you know I think it's commonly agreed upon that this is not like Michael's best song  ever or anything but it's cool to put on now and

then but no one is going to be like fighting  for this song to be high on the list I think we could safely put this song low right  here [19] above Why You Wanna Trip On Me, the next song is Can't Let Her Get Away uh  this is a weird one definitely a weird song it's funky it's incredibly funky and he really  goes off on his ad-libs and stuff on the song with his like gasps and his rasps and stuff the  chorus is bizarre but I like it, I do like it, it's just a little bit of a mishmash of differen

t  stuff which is why it's not considered his most memorable but definitely funky definitely  fun I'd put it above Just Good Friends, the next song is Money definitely a creative song  I think Boyz II Men did the background vocals on this I like that he has like some spoken word  parts in this song the beat and the verses are quite sparse compared to the larger chorus which  is very catchy, many years ago I would have put D.S. above it but now I'm kind of acknowledging  how Money is really like

one of those timeless bops the message is also quite poignant honestly  I think it fits right above D.S. [14] and I'm not sure if I'm putting them together just because I'm  familiar with them being together on the album but I think that works, the next song is Ghosts which  is a really great song I love the atmosphere of it the ghoulish vocal lines um I like how Michael's  falsetto creates this kind of like creepy ghostly persona just compositionally it's very sound  my only thing about it is t

hat the production is questionable again the drum beat the snare is  kind of odd, could have had a lot more impact than that, where would I put this song... I think I'd  put it on the high end to be honest, I'm gonna put it below Off the Wall above Liberian Girl [12] the  next song is Break of Dawn this is a very smooth sexy slow jam you could say I like the theme of  like dawn and the birds singing and walking in the park and it's very romantic the vocal performance  is very strong from Michael

I think the song is let down a little bit by the chorus and the chorus  is repeated way too many times like this song didn't need to be this long at all however I do  recognize that it is a favorite from Invincible um it does stand out nicely in the tracklist  compared to some other more, I suppose, generic offerings that that album has, I'd put  it above Unbreakable I guess [18] I can't with a good conscience put it above I Like the Way You  Love Me because I really like the simplicity of I Li

ke the Way You Love Me and I think it's just  a little bit more compact and well-made so I can put Break of Dawn right there um just below I Like  the Way You Love Me, the next song is Best of Joy sorry this is uh this needs to be extended a  bit... this is just kind of... it's cute, it's okay I think it's kind of overly sweet there's not  really a whole lot going for this song except for the very sweet lyrics and melody it could be  overly sweet and cloying but I do like how he gets to explore

a little bit of his lower end of  his range in this song but overall the song is not particularly notable otherwise I'd put it down  quite low actually I would probably put it at the very bottom [26] I feel like it wasn't  released for a reason and that reason is not because it's a bad song it's just that compared  to the other songs available it just wasn't cutting it, wasn't cutting it, the next song  is A Place With No Name this is a really good song really strong song I know that he sampled 

the chanting part a little bit can't remember the original song but basically the rest of the  song is original the verses the lyrics the actual chorus it's all original it's beautifully sung  there's a really cool storytelling vibe in in the lyrics and the bridge is just sublime his vocal  performance on the bridge it's powerful sublime iconic, the moment, all the rest so this song is  going to be placed pretty high I'll put it right here [eight] well done A Place With No Name good  job the ne

xt song is Girlfriend from Off the Wall a lot of people really dislike this song and I  can understand why it does have that sort of same thing that Best of Joy has which is that cloying  sweetness that is a little bit um adolescent or childish but personally I like this song because  of the simplicity of it it's just a simple nice little whatever bop I think Paul McCartney  wrote it and I can see that it was just intended as a silly little pop song and I like that it  kind of knows what it is a

nd the production is is beautiful I wouldn't rate it super high but  it's definitely not his worst song by any means and it's definitely not even the worst song on  Off the Wall to be honest and we'll get to that I put it just above Why You Wanna Trip On Me [25]  the next song is Pretty Young Thing and this is a big song recently I feel like it wasn't quite  as big before his death and in the recent years became huge it's a bop for sure I like that  the song has a sense of humor it's very light

and bouncy the little call-and-response in the  bridge with the girls that features Janet, Janet was among those girls singing in that moment by  the way it's cute very cool [singing - PYT] like that's nice it's punchy it's catchy and creative  so this song deserves to be up there for sure definitely above The Girl Is Mine and Hollywood  Tonight this song is going up high it's going up high you know it's a Thriller track all  these Thriller tracks are pretty high so far I don't know if I can put

it above Morphine  I don't actually don't think I would put it above Working Day and Night either but I would  definitely put it above Baby Be Mine [three] the next song is I Just Can't Stop Loving You  from Bad real talk this song is not that strong it has some good movement to it  the chorus is certainly catchy but I honestly don't really think that there  is much chemistry between Siedah's voice and Michael's feels like she's unnecessary in the  song as beautiful a voice as she has the thing

is Michael is such a high tenor that I feel  like the duets that he sings with women they seem a little bit pointless because there's  not a whole lot of contrast there but she did contribute I believe she wrote Man In the  Mirror so in that sense she deserves to be on any song she wants because she contributed that  but we'll get to that song but um I Just Can't Stop Loving You some nice moments but overall  weak I would say weaker than Just Good Friends to be honest I guess it's better than t

hese okay  so I'm gonna put it just below Girlfriend [27] the next song is Keep The Faith from Dangerous  the message of this song is strong but I think that the dynamics... let me put it this way the  distribution of energy throughout the song is not well thought out in my opinion I feel like it's  always hovering around the same level of energy um it's not like it starts off slow and then  builds to some huge climax the climax is reached quite early within the first chorus and then  it doesn't

really develop too far beyond that, that said there are some really  cool parts with the the gospel choir especially towards the end Michael's  ad-libs are pretty crazy but I think that as far as his songs that incorporate gospel  choirs this would be one of the weaker ones so again it is one of those kind of middling  songs I would say we're gonna put it just below uh Just Good Friends [26] all of the songs  above that are definitely better than it the next song is Come Together from HIStory w

hich is a  cover of the Beatles classic I love this cover, now that said I haven't really listened to  the Beatles' original much at all only like in the background I might have heard it  I've never been that curious about it this song might as well be an original Michael  Jackson song to me and as far as that goes I think it's a banger I absolutely love it um  I love the heavy beat I love the guitar riffs especially I think the production is really solid  if you ever get a chance to look up the

extended version of this song I would definitely do that  because Michael really goes off on the ad-libs and it's just it's just epic it's a banger so this  is a strong one for sure okay I'm gonna put it after Break of Dawn [21] for now because  this is kind of a hard song to place for me but I think after Break of Dawn works next is  Is It Scary and this might be easy enough to rank since it shares the verse with Ghosts  and I think overall the tone of the song and the quality of the song is v

ery similar  to Ghosts the only question is which song is better I think this song is better I think Is  It Scary is a little bit more sophisticated and elaborate there's a little bit more going  on in the composition and with Michael's vocal performance so I would rate this song a little  bit more highly probably even more highly than um than Superfly Sister... would I? I don't  know about that actually maybe just below Superfly Sister honestly it's better than The  Girl Is Mine and Hollywood T

onight though... is it? This is where it starts getting hard um  okay I'm gonna put this above The Girl is Mine [eleven] it's so hard to judge two different songs  side by side when the styles and the production and the songwriting everything is so different  but that's the challenge that we have today so I'm sticking to it the next song is Invincible a title  track yeah not the best song certainly groovy certainly has some nice moments both  instrumentally and vocally but overall it's pretty mi

d I wouldn't say it's underrated I wouldn't say  it's overrated I would say it's just rated we're gonna put it somewhere in the middle bottom  probably this one is going to go down pretty low to be honest it's better than Best of Joy at  least but it's not better than She Drives Me Wild so this puppy is going here [33] the next song is  I Can't Make It Another Day off the Michael album this song is pretty weak the chorus is great  though this song is all about the chorus which is strong but othe

rwise this one is weak it's  going at the very bottom very bottom [35] the next song is Do You Know Where Your Children  Are this is an interesting one I really enjoy the verses in this song I like Michael's vocal  delivery it has a cool there's somewhat of a New Jack Swing thing going on I'm not sure if this  song was recorded during the Dangerous sessions or not I guess there's like some sort of social  commentary thing in there going on you know the lyrics are a little weird I appreciate the

message  but the lyrics are a little weird it's like what is the sentiment exactly I can see why he put it  in the bin but it's definitely... it's solid you know it's enjoyable but I would never really put  it on um I think the the contemporized version on Xscape is particularly weak uh the earlier  straight up demo is much stronger it does have that old school sort of early 90's MJ feeling  which is very enjoyable I would put it maybe above Invincible and below She Drives Me Wild [33]  the next

song is I Can't Help It from Off the Wall this song in my opinion is the weakest song on Off  the Wall I really enjoy the verses and how Michael sings them but the chorus is really... it's just  a bad chorus like there's like no musicality to it at all it's very stiff and I just like I could  never get into it and I'm sure a lot of people would agree with me here so I Can't Help It  is definitely weak even though it does have some redeeming qualities in the general vibe of  it I really can't ge

t past that chorus I put it pretty low below Invincible [35] because I enjoy  Invincible more than I can enjoy I Can't Help It next we have The Lady In My Life another smooth  slow jam very cool [singing - listen to your...] it has that really classic feeling  classic love song it's very nice probably deserves to be pretty  high even though I personally I'm not crazy about it I do recognize that a lot  of people are quite in love with this one like the [singing - oh girl let me keep you warm]  t

hat's a pretty neat idea pretty fun, fun to listen to but I would prefer a song like Break  of Dawn which is a little bit more I don't know it's... this one's hard okay yeah I would  put it uh just above Superfly Sister [13] strong definitely strong next we have Another  Part of Me which is one of the earliest songs that I remember playing on repeat as a child  so I rate this song very highly it's very funky um I remember hearing that funny story about  how Quincy and Michael's friend like dance

d to it more than Streetwalker and that's why it  was left on the album or something like that um so I can definitely see it's a banger it's  a very very cool song very unique sounding the rhythm the groove so this one's going up there  I would put it above Working Day and Night [two] it's just that good next we have Gone  Too Soon it's a beautiful beautiful ballad absolutely gorgeous the vocals  on this thing are crazy good beautiful composition beautiful songwriting beautiful  dynamics underra

ted for sure now as good as it is a lot of the stuff that I'm looking at is  better it's going to go above Liberian Girl [18] I feel good about that next we have Tabloid Junkie  banger of a song really neat everything about this song is so cool um the message the harmonies the  funky beatboxing just quintessential MJ and the passion the power in his voice is hypnotic I  just love it I would also rate this one pretty highly yeah it's strong it's better than Human  Nature okay I said it [six] it j

ust is there's a lot going on in this in that song it's  very creative the way it's built and stuff it beats the simplicity of Human Nature in my  opinion that's my argument I guess next we have Heaven Can Wait, Heaven Can Wait is another song  that curiously just blew up on TikTok recently and uh I don't say curious because I think it's a  bad song it's just that it's so random it's such a deep cut on Invincible someone just had the idea  to throw on a TikTok and do a thing with it and it's pop

ular and I'm glad because it's a great  song I think that the production and everything on this song is really cool what I'm not entirely  crazy about is the sound of the drum seems overly aggressive considering the general vibe it could  have been a warmer drum sound and his ad-libs... it's very rare that I say this but I think his  ad-libs on this song are a little over the top considering how smooth the song is supposed to  be he sounded maybe a little bit uncomfortable or overdoing it or may

be not feeling the song  entirely um because the ad-libs to me they don't exactly fit what's going on something sounds  a bit off with that so uh I guess it's a minor nitpick because everything else about the song  is great I think the lyrics are cute and his his clean vocals are nice just the screaming vocals  are a little bit much I found, I would probably put it a little bit lower um probably lower than  Break of Dawn... where is, where's Break of Dawn, yeah it's gonna be better than Get On t

he Floor  how about that [29] uh the next track is Behind the Mask this is an interesting one because at  first glance it seems like a pretty good song but I don't think it has the uh it doesn't have  particularly good staying power there's not much of a chorus there to speak of so yeah I can see  why it wasn't released so I'm gonna put this one reasonably low as well I'm noticing that a lot  of Michael's songs are ending up at the very bottom and I guess it makes sense you know  but out of thos

e three it's definitely the best ones so [41] yeah the next song is Blue  Gangsta and um honestly this song is not good it has some good moments like I think there are  parts of the verses and stuff that are cool his ad-libs are pretty cool as well like pretty  impactful they go well with the music there was like a leaked version that had better ad-libs  than the versions on the Xscape album and I don't know where it went to uh because it was pretty  cool but this song really just... it doesn't

hold up I'm gonna put it at the very bottom it  pains me to do so because again I do quite enjoy that early leaked version but I haven't heard it  in so long that I can't with good conscience put it any higher than this [44] next song is It's the  Falling In Love and this is a really lovely song I love the energy of it it's very happy very joyous  really makes you feel good just puts a smile on your face not the strongest song on Off the Wall  but it's a really nice song I really do enjoy it I w

ill put it below Off the Wall I don't think it's  as interesting as Loving You see yeah the thing is even though it is happy and stuff musically there  are other songs that are more interesting but I'll put it um I'll put it above D.S. [23]  the next song is Dangerous title track very interesting song I guess it has that thing in  common with Money where it's a spoken word verse and a sort of soaring chorus again I think the  drum sound in this one is a little bit strange it's not very musical i

t sounds a little  strange to my ears and I never got past it in the decades of listening to the song so  it's not one of my favorites from Dangerous there is something cool about it something  creative about this song that I can't put my finger on it is going towards the bottom  but not like the very bottom it's going here [34] just above Keep the Faith the next song is 2  Bad this is another banger from the HIStory album very strong song very funky I love the harmonies  in this track I love th

e aggression I love the atmospheric intro objectively speaking if I  take off my nostalgia goggles this song is a little bit one-dimensional it would have been  nice if there was something a little bit more um melodic included here and there like maybe  some sort of nice bridge or a softer part just as a break from the intensity but I would still  rate it pretty highly looking at the songs that we have here I would put it above Hollywood Tonight  and under A Place With No Name [12] the next song

is Butterflies beautiful beautiful Butterflies  this song is so nice so lovely such a beautiful creation beautiful vocals um gorgeous production  I love the vocal harmonies um the little sprinkles of the female vocal in there is very nice as well  I love the the little record crackling during the intro like little touches like that really elevate  a song and really pull you in so that's a strong one it's going high up there it's better than This  Time Around but it's not quite as good as Human

Nature [eight] pretty good well-deserved next we  have Much Too Soon from the Michael album this song is quite beautiful actually there's a little  bit of a country vibe to it you can tell that there's a little bit of a story in the lyrics  there yeah it's an odd folky sort of country influence that is very uncommon in his music  and that's why this song intrigues me so much and it's why I'm gonna rate it pretty highly  actually oh one thing I forgot to mention is that I'm not including the Casc

io tracks in this list  those tracks being Keep Your Head Up, Monster, and Breaking News because that's not Michael singing  it's not Michael's vocals and I always knew that the first time I heard Breaking News I was like  this is not Michael's singing come on it took a while for it to come to light that it's really  not him singing so there's no point in including them on this list even though I would say a  Monster uh in particular is a pretty good song it doesn't excuse it from being included

on an  album that's supposed to be a posthumous release it was such a disrespectful nasty dirty thing  to do to Michael's fans and his legacy so that was utterly shocking but anyway I'm not gonna go  off on that for too long so those songs aren't going to make it, so back to Much Too Soon one of  the strongest songs if not the strongest song on Michael um... I don't think it is the strongest  song I think it is second to Hollywood Tonight, is it better than Gone Too Soon? No, is it  better than

Liberian Girl? No, I think it's better than It's the Falling In Love uh... is  it? I think it is I think it's more touching than It's the Falling In Love so I'm gonna put  it there yeah how about that [25] [singing -take away this never-ending sorrow] like come on  that's just so touching and like really moves you I love it the next song is Xscape and I love  this song it's so good the contemporized version is not it I'm sorry it's just not good it  completely ruins the atmosphere and the vibe

of the original like the original version goes  hard it has that signature MJ attitude really cool textures and the production and stuff  it's just really strong really groovy funky I'm so into it I don't know why it was left off  of Invincible to be honest it could have replaced a number of songs in that album so as far as the  original version of Xscape goes it's high up there uh one thing that is unfortunate about it is how  long it goes on for it goes on for a little bit too long one small d

etail that I must complain  about is that in the original leaked version the strings in the chorus don't appear until the  second half of the chorus which is what I prefer actually because it was more of a development  but in the so-called original version released on the Xscape album the strings kick in right  away as soon as the chorus hits and I don't like that but it's just a little detail I like  the sparsity of Michael's vocals in the chorus with just the drum beat it's a really cool effec

t  so if you can find the original leaked version of the original version of this song you'll see what  I'm talking about but I'm having trouble placing the song at the moment, you know where I'll  put it I'll put it just after Is It Scary [16] yeah I would put it higher if it weren't for a  couple of those uh if it weren't for like the length issue and stuff like that so the next  song is Burn This Disco Out this is one of my favorites on the Off The Wall album actually  I just love the beat th

e way it staggers along like that's so cool to me I don't know just  the way that song moves I love it really like gets you grooving and I love the little  vocals [singing - keep the boogie alright] it's kind of cool it's kind of funny but  like I really like it I think it's a nice touch [singing - everybody just get on down]  it's pretty neat like that's so cool I'm gonna put it above The Lady In My Life and The Girl  Is Mine right here [17] next is a big one this is HIStory the title track I t

hink this  song is gorgeous I know some people have an issue with how the verses are in such a  different style and in a way it sounds like two different tracks spliced together but I don't  know to me it works it's a nice contrast the clips are good for atmospheric thematic purposes I guess  maybe the production could be a little better but it's pretty strong it's a pretty strong creative  track uh so I put it up pretty highly relatively highly um it is a little bit in the more middle  ground b

ut I would say high middle let's put it above Gone Too Soon [23] next we have Speechless  this is a beautiful ballad written I believe uh by Michael about Michael's kids or am I right about  that I'm not sure but I love the acapella intro and outro the chord progression is very simplistic  but I think that's part of the song's charm and the choir and the key change at the end the impact  is there so this is a strong one for sure it's definitely... is it stronger than HIStory? Maybe  not, it's no

t quite better than Gone Too Soon or Liberian Girl or uh... it's better than Loving  You yeah [26] there you go next song is Slave to the Rhythm this is an interesting one because  it's like which version are you talking about there are so many different versions of this song  there's the original demo and the contemporized version both of which were on the Xscape album  there was also a really cool sort of dance-like version like an electro-dance type version that  was leaked early that is my f

avorite version but it's very it's kind of rare now it's hard to find  but it is on YouTube if you want to search for it there's also the version with Justin Bieber  that I really enjoy also, every version of this song is pretty solid uh in fact I would say the  demo version is my least favorite even though I think that the contemporized version is a little  overproduced I think it still fits the vibe of the lyrics better there's a little bit of darkness to  it this song is such a banger and it

deserves to be placed quite highly, higher than Speed Demon  higher than This Time Around so I'm gonna put it right here [nine] it's a great great great song  like Michael's vocals on this are just insane very very underrated track in my opinion  now we're almost getting to the end of the um of the album tracks okay yeah so next song is  Little Susie from HIStory what even is this song it's such an odd inclusion on the album but  you know what, it's great it's uh I'm really a fan of this composi

tion I guess it speaks to  Michael's classical influences because he was a fan of classical music and this song has just  kind of strings and just this melancholy melody very chilling lyrics very chilling story about  uh about child neglect it seems yeah it's dark it's certainly an odd inclusion on the album but  I'm a fan of the song I would rate it reasonably highly I think it's very well written put together  performed I think the choir intro is so cool such a great idea I'm thinking it goes

right here right  after The Lady In My Life [21] okay 2000 Watts another weird song for some reason they pitched  down Michael's vocals for the song uh digitally okay those aren't Michael's unedited vocals this  isn't an example of him managing to magically change his voice to sound lower or anything it's  his voice pitched lower and I'm not saying that's a bad thing it's an interesting creative decision  that they tried this just for this one song I think it was a pretty cool idea and it worked

out  reasonably well but the song itself it's not great it's okay reasonably high energy and um maybe good  for like working out lifting weights or something like that it has a very masculine vibe which  in some ways works against it I think because it is lacking like a really strong melody um  however I enjoy the production and I can sort of get behind the steady beat but unfortunately the  pitch correction was an odd choice and I do think that actually leads to it not being a fan favorite  to

o, it is going on the lower end it can go here just under Behind the Mask, 2000 Watts [53] next  is Smile this is a cover song but the arrangement is beautiful the vocal performance by Michael is  very heartfelt and the piano outro is very very nice very enjoyable very light-hearted a cool way  to end the album, an emotionally demanding album, I guess just because it is a cover song  automatically I'm inclined to rate it lower and I know that Come Together is a cover song and I rate  that higher

I just feel like Come Together as an arrangement offers something a little more than  Smile, Smile it is pretty standard orchestral, you know, a vocal with the orchestra it's  nice but it's nothing like groundbreaking so I am going to rate it a little bit lower,  you know what it's right between these two [48] Finally those two get separated it's right  after Why You Wanna Trip On Me and right before She Drives Me Wild and to close out  this album track section we are going to end with a few In

vincible tracks in sequence um the  first being You Are My Life okay this song is pretty but that's about it the lyrics are  overly simplistic the song goes on for too long and the production is lacking no one including  Michael was trying very hard when it came to this one I think I've heard again that  this is about his kids and stuff but the end result just doesn't cross the finish line  for me personally and I'm sure many of you feel that way too it's just a pretty song that's about  it coul

d easily have been left off the album it kind of drags the album's momentum down but it  is pretty I don't hate it but it's going to be rated quite low and I'm gonna put it just below  2000 Watts [55] the next song is Privacy and um this one is controversial I've noticed  either people love this song or they hate it I used to be a huge fan of this song because I'm  a metalhead I like guitars I like heavy beats but I've become less fond of it over time however  I still like this song more than di

slike it I appreciate the intensity in Michael's vocals  it's like a total vocal transformation almost demonic the anger in his voice that's something  I really appreciate about the song the chorus lets the song down a bit the lyrics in the chorus  are a bit silly and the hook is a bit silly but I do think that the lyrics in the verses are  very impactful and sincere unfortunately the guitar solo is a bit weak you know there's not  a whole lot of shredding it's just a sequence of notes one after

the other there's not a whole  lot of passion in the guitar playing the same way that there is in a guitar solo in a song like for  example Beat It or D.S. it's a very lame guitar solo in Privacy and that also hurts it I think  this song is solid and it's sort of a middling song in his discography stronger than a good lot  of the songs on Invincible maybe the higher end of the low end okay so I'd probably rate it above  She Drives Me Wild and after Smile [49] because you know it does have a uni

que sound you love  it or hate it, it has a very unique sound and another cool aspect of that song in the production  is how there's the sound of the camera flashing in the middle of the beat very creative I thought  that was a cool touch the next song is Don't Walk Away and this song is so boring I actually can't  even believe that it made the album or that it's a song that Michael would even consider recording  a very strange choice to include it on the album, again it bloats the album it's fi

ller the part at  the end is pretty when the extra background vocals come in you know [singing - even though I won't  forget you girl] like that part's kind of neat but the rest of it is no good and I'm really confused  about that snare sound that you know the pop just this popping snare sound throughout the song is  again a very confusing choice so I rate this song very low it really is bottom of the barrel for  me [60] sorry, next is Cry and Cry is another weak song unfortunately you know I fe

el like the  songwriters were going for a sort of a Man In the Mirror moment or almost an Earth Song type moment  I think it was written by R. Kelly actually so, you know forget this song you can tell that  Michael himself wasn't really feeling it just nothing about the song screams passion to me  it was really just cookie cutter it was like an attempt at something Michael had already done  much better previously in his career and I can't believe it was also chosen for a single very  confusing t

here are some parts of this song that I like um I like some of the the percussive  elements the, you know like that sound and the drums is nice but nothing else is really decent  but I would still rate it above Don't Walk Away next we have The Lost Children uh I like this  song a lot I like the campfire vibe again the folky influence is cool I think the kids' choir  is very impactful at the end because it's paired with a key change the verses have a nice flow to  them Michael's vocals are really

really pretty I can get behind this song I like it good  chorus too you know when you have a folky campfire-like song of course a sing-along  course is what you need and he nailed it um so this song is going a little bit higher and  I know that like the title and the the lyrics and stuff they might seem cheesy to some people  but I don't really mind because the melody is so good you know the general progression of the song  the bridge is really really well written as well, nice tension and rele

ase, it's all solid I put  it above Dangerous [43] uh Whatever Happens is another strange collaboration but it works yeah  it doesn't really sound like a Michael Jackson song but Michael was certainly giving it his all  vocally I wonder if they pitched down his vocals a little bit in this song as well the same way that  they did in 2000 Watts because his voice sounds like sort of unnaturally deep to me um I don't  know if maybe he was a little under the weather or something but his voice sounds

a little bit  deeper and raspier in this song than usual and I don't think it fits with the smooth um what  would you call it like a Spanish guitar vibe um it's cool it's a great song definitely  a worthwhile exploration good chorus I like the lyrics it's very strong definitely one  of the strongest songs on Invincible his voice just sounds a bit weird to me on this one and I  can't really pinpoint why that is without knowing more about how his vocals were processed,  all that said let's put it

right here [34] the last song from our album track  section is Threatened which is a banger love the production I love the chair dragging  sound in the beat I love his sinister delivery his um embracing of this like monster character the  smooth harmonies smooth creepy harmonies and the chorus his ad-libs during the finale the climax  are just nasty this is a great song I really like it shame that it doesn't get the attention it  deserves yeah I'd rate it just above Liberian Girl [27] okay so no

w we're moving into the area of his  discography that is focused on... we're talking about b-sides unreleased material collaborations  songs that weren't really featured on any of his albums but maybe other artists' albums or  also including like demos incomplete songs miscellaneous stuff, stuff done for soundtracks  that kind of thing which will be interesting very interesting because a lot of this stuff I'm  gonna need to re-listen to it again now and see where I think it fits if I'm not too f

amiliar  with the song I might just need to give it another listen so we're going to start with  a song called One More Chance and this was an extra little track included with the Number  Ones album the Number One's greatest hits album there was supposed to be a video included  with it and technically it was a single but I am including it in the miscellaneous section  just because I don't think the impact of it was that great it's another R. Kelly penned track  I think the verses in this song ar

e strong but the chorus is no good so it's sort of a weird mix  and the processing on Michael's vocals seems a little bit over the top too on the song but that  does seem like an artistic decision and I suppose it works but an odd song overall, pretty but not  very noteworthy I would put it towards the bottom honestly I'd probably listen to it more than  You Are My Life so [59] next is a song called Sunset Driver uh which I believe was a B-side  left off of Off the Wall and this song is fine, ag

ain like I can see why it was left off  even though it has a pretty cool beat it was definitely worth salvaging in terms of  like bonus material but the chorus is whatever it's just there's nothing that really makes  it stand out apart from a reasonable beat I can't really object to the song that much  and the production is quite good so if it's a fave of yours I can totally understand  it honestly it's probably stronger than I Can't Help It at least I put it right  above I Can't Help It right t

here [56] hello my cat came to say hi how are you doing buddy we're filming  a video for the YouTube aren't we yes yes you gotta be quiet you gotta  be quiet okay don't make noise it's raining out there bud you don't want to  go out all right you know I'm gonna pause I'm actually gonna go through the list and listen to  all the songs that I'm unfamiliar with in one go then I'm gonna come back and I'm gonna bang out  the ranking of them okay so we are refreshed and ready to go the next song is Ea

se on Down the Road  uh from The Wiz with Diana Ross this is obviously a very high energy very inspirational anthem uh it  does have that musical quality which is great uh great build I like the horn parts for some reason  though it doesn't uh hit me very emotionally and I don't know why that is there's something missing  about this song something missing for me uh could be that it's missing like a, I don't know  more drama or something it's quite upbeat but could feel deeper musically somehow a

little, I  don't know what's missing honestly so I'm gonna ease it down the middle of the road here we go  [39] better than Unbreakable the next song is Hot Street which is a cool little bop uh I can see why  it was left off of Thriller but I do think this is a strong song um it's fun you could throw it on in  the car have a great time so um where could we put that I think we can put that right here [55] the  next song is Streetwalker which in my opinion is a classic I love the song I love all

the little  different details the movements the guitar solo um unusual vocal melodies kind of a  funny groove lots of weird little parts unfortunately it was left off of Bad  but I still think it's as strong as anything on that album I'd rate this quite  highly actually I'd put it right here [17] next is She Got It which is a demo from the  Dangerous sessions and I quite like this demo it's pretty good it's groovy yeah again maybe a  little bit one-dimensional although I do like the guitar riff

and the attitude and the vocals um  pretty standard stuff but still pretty groovy so it would be like one of the stronger demos  I would put it right here there we go [64] next is Shout which is a B-side from the uh,  or unreleased track from the Invincible album uh honestly I really like this song it's very  interesting I love that Michael is rapping on it it's also my theory that Janet joins him in  the background during that harmonizing vocal part if you listen closely it sounds a lot like  h

er the chorus kind of sucks unfortunately and I think that the song could do with some  ad-libs especially at the end and maybe during the middle, the guitar solo is pretty good but what  I really like about this song also is the bridge uh the sung bridge, really good so this song is  going to be rated somewhat in the middle I guess, put it right here [45] next is the song What More  Can I Give a beautiful song I believe it was a tribute or dedication to the victims of 9/11 you  know it involved

a lot of other artists such as Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Usher, Britney um maybe  not Britney actually but Beyonce a ton of artists really nice song amazing vocal performances  from everyone involved I prefer this song to We Are the World it was kind of a We Are the  World 2, unfortunately I don't think it ever got an official release which is unfortunate  because it's a great song I would put it just above Much Too Soon [33] next we have You Can't  Win which is another song from The Wiz I bel

ieve this song goes a little harder than Ease on Down  the Road I quite enjoy this one especially the outro [singing - you can't get out of the game]  that's good that's good stuff so um yeah we'll put that a little higher than Ease on Down the  Road, where are you... Ease on Down the Road, again not a song that is very emotionally  impactful but I would still put it a little higher um I feel very similarly about these two  tracks so I feel okay with putting them side by side like this [41]. the

next song  is Niteline it's okay it's kind of a whatever track it definitely has some cool parts but I  feel like the parts don't really fit together in a way that flows nicely I feel like stuff  just kind of happens in this track and obviously if it'd been given more attention things could  have been smoothed out but I think Michael was wise to just drop it early on so this one's  gonna go down a little further it's still a bit more listenable than Don't Walk Away maybe  better than Cry still

[72] next is Fly Away the vocal melody on this one is especially nice  yeah it is sort of still an unfinished demo but I think it still holds a certain beauty that I  can really appreciate it sounds fresh to this day um one of the stronger demos for sure nowhere  near as strong as a track like Streetwalker but it holds its ground I think I'll put it here  [62] next is Serious Effect insanely groovy track unfortunately it you know it is a sort  of an unreleased demo so it has that unfinished qual

ity but there's something very very funky and  groovy about this song really good vocalizations from Michael and the production is very very  quirky like I really dig it I would put this over Girlfriend right here [53] next we have  Seeing Voices this is just such a lovely song um I believe the song is about sign language  it's like seeing voices you know you're seeing the voices it's about a deaf person or people  who are deaf and how they communicate with each other it's so nice such a sweet s

ong  um somehow didn't make it onto Invincible, I don't understand that this is such a strong  track with a great atmosphere and composition we'll be putting it up there I think it's a  better song than Speechless even maybe better than Liberian Girl, no not better than Liberian Girl  but definitely better than Speechless [Thirty] next we have the infamous We Are the World I  mean it's a good song it's a good song nice melody uh simple I don't know the ins and outs  of how much money that it act

ually made for the people it was intended to, I I'm pretty sure it  made a [ __ ] ton of money for people in need and that's a great thing unfortunately Michael's  part in it is very small obviously there is a version with just his voice but I do prefer  the version with all the other singers because well first of all it makes his part sound more  special and you get the variety of all the other vocalists um it's a strong song strong ballad a  little cheesy sure but you know it has its place so

um I think it's a good song but I wouldn't rate  it too highly I would probably rate it somewhere in the middle right after Hot Street [62] the next  song is Heartbreak Hotel which is an incredible song so many different cool parts with the strings  and the background vocals the dark atmosphere I think the song is about ghosts or something  but there's so many cool production choices very strong vocal work I can't say enough good  things about this song actually the only thing that keeps this so

ng from being like number one or  number two in my opinion is the chorus, the chorus for some reason is a little weak everything else  about this song is perfect but the chorus I think lets it down slightly but it's still a really  really solid song overall so it's going to end up in the top 10 here at this point somewhere  I think probably above Tabloid Junkie [six] it's also known sometimes as This Place Hotel  but I think that's just an attempt at avoiding litigation because I think Elvis or

someone has  a song called Heartbreak Hotel but whatever the next song we're going to discuss is Someone In  the Dark and this is a really nice song it's has kind of Disney vibes soundtrack vibes because it  was written for the E.T. soundtrack now whether it actually made it onto that soundtrack or not I  don't know but this song has a very cool beautiful melody sort of a sleeper track like it grows  on you a lot over time and definitely deserves a little bit more attention for how beautiful  it

is and Michael's performance on it um but I understand that the movie-score/Disney vibes could  turn some people off uh I would put this song maybe above Keep the Faith okay I think Dangerous  is a little better actually so [54] the next song is Cheater which is a great song and it's  such a shame that it didn't make the Bad album great chorus, what a hook that is, the production  in general and that piano part that comes in at the end with the key change it's just perfection  so yeah unfortuna

tely it's only a demo but I have no idea why that didn't make it onto the  album I'm gonna put it just ahead of Speechless [32] next is Monkey Business phenomenal track  absolutely phenomenal totally underrated I love the ad-libs in this track the instrumental is  cool very groovy I love the synth work Michael does some interesting characterizations with his  voice that we don't often hear like especially in like the low end and it's great song I really  like the build up at the beginning too th

e monkey voices as well is a weird choice but I'm cool with  it I just love that build up the intro the groove very very cool this one would be rated  highly too maybe above HIStory for this... um I'm tempted to put it quite high  actually I'm gonna put it here [13] yeah maybe it's not quite better than Speed  Demon but it's good it's really good next is Why uh the song that Michael did with his nephews  the band 3T I really am into this song it's so nice really nice vibes the triangle work and 

stuff in it the little [triangle impression] you know moments of magic I know he only sings the  chorus on this song but I just thought it was note... excuse me noteworthy, the performances  from his nephews on this song are excellent nice build ups big payoffs so solid great  collaboration I put it above The Lady In My Life [23] next is Carousel and um I'm really  not into this song it moves along at a decent pace and it's kind of nice enough to  listen to because the production on the demo is

good but as a song it's pretty boring it doesn't  really give a whole lot I can totally understand why it was dropped and the lyrics are just kind of  corny and don't really make much sense so this one is going at the very bottom [84] the next  song is Price of Fame I like the dark vibes of this song I think Michael has some cool  vocal moments some good grit and aggression um the synth work is cool but uh yeah it  does sound unfinished so there's nothing really there to really make it pop but

as a demo  it's pretty solid maybe we could put it like above Best of Joy [78] next is Work  that Body I think this demo is so good like it's a shame that this song wasn't developed  more because it really has so much potential, that chorus is so sick that chorus is nasty and it  could have been really great built out with like even more harmonies just like the dissonance in it  and stuff is super cool and I like the little nod in the bridge the little spoken word nod I think  it's a nod to um i

t's a Jackson 5 song ABC maybe it's like you know, "get up girl" that was really  cool unfortunately there was nothing else done with this song but I really like it, where would  I put it, I like it more than Keep the Faith, Dangerous, I put it above dangerous [56]  it's good so much potential on that one next is Fall Again which is another demo that  I'm quite fond of this song is really pretty um has a nice definitely a unique emotion sort of  a bittersweet emotion coming through it doesn't re

ally sound like a Michael Jackson song and I can  understand why he didn't take it farther than he did apart from this very brief take it sounds  like he only did one take of it but it's worth listening to and I've definitely heard worse  demos than this, it's hard to decide because even though I think the song is quite strong  like the demo was so sparse and bare-bones I'd probably put it above I  Can't Make It Another Day [81] next is Got the Hots which is a demo  recorded for Thriller I belie

ve and um honestly I had heard of this song but I  had never listened to it until today you know in preparation for this ranking and honestly this  is really great it's a really great track it's so interesting because like it starts off the intro  in the verses as a lot of dissonance and clashing in the music but then when the chorus hits it's  such a smooth magical like journey and then the hook at the end of the chorus is so good I really  think this demo also had a lot of potential and it's a

shame that it wasn't taken further but I  would rate this demo very highly I put it right above Why You Wanna Trip On Me [63] next is Al  Capone which was recorded for the Bad album it's kind of like a prototype of Smooth Criminal  catchy very Smooth Criminal-esque but I guess because it's so like Smooth Criminal it's hard to  rate it too highly as much as I do enjoy it but you know it's stronger than a lot of these other  demos I'll put it... just above Hot Street works [68] next is If You Don

't Love Me again another  unique song because of the rock situation going on here uh it's a very bright and uplifting happy  vibe even though the lyrics seem a bit bittersweet I guess that's the appeal of the juxtaposition  of it I like the unique energy of this song it's a good exploration for Michael's style it's  cool it's like reminiscent of like something that you would hear in like a 50's diner or something  in a good way it like has that young romance to it so this is definitely a good de

mo maybe one of the  stronger demos at that, maybe not quite as good as Work that Body but better than Girlfriend, not  quite as good as Serious Effect [61] next we have People of the World and I'm not sure where this  song was recorded or what album it was recorded for I think probably Invincible or around that  era this song is so nice it has such a lovely vibe real feel-good stuff the lyrics or what's there  of the lyrics you know how he kind of improvises stuff it does seem a little bit uh c

heesy but I  really like the vibe and the verse and that chorus is just beautiful I can definitely get behind the  multiple key changes at the end of the song sort of reminiscent of Heal the World and you know I  get it, it's totally Michael and it's a shame that he didn't finalize his vocals more for the  song because it's really just stunning writing really I really like it so I would rate it up  somewhere around What More Can I Give but it's uh you know it's just very incomplete to rate too 

highly I'm gonna put it just above Dangerous [57] and I know uh some of you might be a little  confused as to how I can put an unfinished demo like that seemingly so high on the list but I  really am trying to like give the unfinished demos a fair shot and take into account their  potential and not just the state that they're in, an unfinished demo can have even more impact  than a finished song if that finished song just doesn't have that secret sauce you know, next we  have the song She's Trou

ble I'll admit I'm not too familiar with the song I've only heard it a  handful of times but I listened to it again just now just to remind myself and um yeah this is  really the definition of a really just kind of middle of the road, it's funky but like this  is Michael Jackson all of his stuff is funky you know and relatively speaking there's nothing  that really makes this song stand out but what I do really like about it is the bridge the bridge  is very strong and of course his vocals are a

lways stunning but not a particularly interesting song  otherwise so this is gonna go towards the bottom it's better than Carousel that's for sure and  definitely more interesting than these offenders right here it's probably better than Niteline  I'll give it that so [88] the next song we're going to discuss is Don't Be Messin' Round this  was a demo recorded for the Bad album this song is so boring it's mildly groovy I guess but  there's nothing special about the vocals it's actually quite low

energy and I really don't think  the song has much, like it doesn't really have many redeeming qualities at all so I'm gonna  have to put this at the very very bottom [93] the next song is an interesting one it's called  We've Had Enough uh this was released on the Ultimate Collection and this song is extremely  strong very powerful lyrics very powerful vocals um I love the guitar work I love the build up  it's a really really strong song overall the only thing that I really wish they had worke

d  on a little bit is not making it so much of an Earth Song clone because the chords they use,  the chord progression is identical to Earth Song so that's a bit of a bummer it kind of makes it  transparent that they were trying to recreate the energy of Earth Song a little bit which they  succeeded in somewhat and that's kind of what makes the song powerful but that's my only  criticism but it is a mild enough criticism because even though the chord progression is  pretty much identical I think

they vary the vocal melodies quite a bit to make it stand on its  own I'll put the song right above Gone Too Soon [30] it's a similar song in a way to HIStory I  guess but I do think HIStory has the edge the next song is Who Do You Know a demo recorded for  Thriller I had not heard this song until today and I'm quite impressed I think that the general  sentimental flow of it is very very nice you know Michael did have sentimental songs but I like  how this one seems to have its own vibe going f

or it and even though the chorus is not exactly an  ear worm it is nice to hear those extended notes and the harmonies that he incorporates to create  the sort of magical sound that only he can create definitely a strong song stronger than I expected  I'll put it right above You Are My Life here [83] um I probably would put it higher if it  were a little more complete yeah the impact isn't quite there yet, the next song is I'm So  Blue I really enjoy this demo the songwriting in this one is real

ly heartfelt even though the  lyrics are not complete Michael does some really beautiful vocalizations at the end really  just kind of melts your heart when you hear those vocals and I love his falsetto in this song  too the falsetto part is really pretty uh again it does sit in that generic ballad territory a  little bit but I can definitely appreciate it, definitely more than a song like Don't Be Messin'  Round I think we can safely put it above Behind the Mask... nah I wouldn't go that far, a

bove  One More Chance sure [81] the next song is Mind Is the Magic I have no idea what the song was  recorded for it seems to be Siegfried and Roy they were like a magic act or something but this song  slaps I just love how creative it is how wacky it is it's really over the top really just quirky  idiosyncratic production I love the harmonies the mood of the song it's magical it's really  cool really into it and I love the breakdown at the end and just the noisy breakdown it's just  so sick I l

ove that, just repeated just slamming on whatever it is like a tin can or something,  just why not, you know? Experimental very cool very very cool I feel like I want to put it... uh  this is getting harder and harder to do by the way looking at all these great songs and being like  where do I interrupt this, I'm gonna put it just after Come Together [47] the next song is What  a Lovely Way to Go and again another song that I only heard for the first time today not much  good to say about this o

nly because it seems like it was sort of a Beatles-esque idea that  Michael wanted to explore but it sounds like it was recorded in one or two takes it's  quite sloppy even the piano chords don't quite go with his vocals it really does seem like a  really rough idea that he wanted to play around with and clearly he decided it wasn't working it  wasn't worth pursuing and that's fine you know interesting attempt at experimenting but probably  not noteworthy at all so this is going to go at the ver

y bottom [98] the next track is Free I like  this one it's a breezy relaxed track nothing to you know think too seriously about his vocals are  great I like how he's really not taking it too seriously he kind of goes off a little bit on the  ad-libs a little over the top at the end he's kind of having fun and then his um his keyboardist just  kind of [ __ ] around just starts playing wrong notes and stuff and Michael cracks up and it's  a nice moment between friends so that steps this recording

up a little bit even though it isn't  part of the song exactly I compare it to I'm So Blue because I think they're like listed one after  the other I do prefer I'm So Blue but this one can go... I'll put it after She's Got It yeah [85]  next is On the Line I'm a big fan of this song a beautifully melodic heartfelt smooth ballad-esque  type song I love Michael's vocals on this track those bells that come in at the end pretty cool  I think there's a key change in it too yeah it's a strong ballad u

m I guess there's nothing really  that makes it stand out too much but I would say it's definitely a gem like a hidden gem in  his discography and it's hella hidden like you gotta really look if you're gonna discover  this track but it's certainly worth discovering um I'll put it above People of the World which  is a [59] similar vibe that those two tracks are going for I guess, the next one is Song Groove  (Abortion Papers) well first of all let's not get into it but I feel like whichever way y

ou  stand about the subject matter of the song I just don't think this song is that strong at all the  beat is okay but I mean how are you gonna dance to something like this or feel anything it's just  not good, not a moment, you know it makes total sense that this was really never supposed to see  the light of day, compositionally yeah it's just average I'll put it above Don't Be Messin' Round  only because it gives a little bit of energy or something [99] but that's about it uh this next  song

is a fun one it's Elizabeth, I Love You which is a very nice song that he wrote for  Elizabeth Taylor on her birthday and performed for her live at her birthday celebration  unfortunately I don't think there's a high quality studio recording that you can find  of it um but what a great song I guess it's a little hard to get into if you don't really care  for Elizabeth Taylor or whatever but obviously it's just a personal song from him to her about  their friendship it's sincere it's beautifully

written and performed, I'm a fan of this track  and I love the climax of the song as well, I guess I put it above On the Line [59] I just love the  sentiment of it, it's so innocent and meaningful just between friends I just like that and I like  the song, so deal with it uh next song is a weird one it's What's Up Wit U or What's Up With You or  Whatzupwitu it's actually Eddie Murphy's song but Michael appeared on it yeah honestly I don't know  how to feel about this one it's sort of a funny up

beat song I think there's some sort of Heal the  World message in there somewhere um but not a fan of of Eddie Murphy's vocals, the vibe of the song  is just kind of strange even though it is kind of upbeat I'm not sure how to dance to it it's sort  of a very strange vibe obviously Michael sprinkles some cool ad-libs and stuff here and there but  I don't know the chorus is also kind of annoying I'd put it down low but it's not horrible you  know it's not awful at least it's got something a littl

e more unique going for it than Cry so  I'll just put it above Cry [97] the next track we're going to talk about is Someone Put Your  Hand Out this song doesn't really get any rise out of me or any emotion or anything like that  it's kind of boring and there is kind of a cool like sax solo or something in the middle and  a nice bridge for sure but the verse and the chorus is basically the same melody repeated over  and over again Michael is just kind of phoning it in vocally not really feeling i

t himself it seems  to me so I'll be rating this one low-ish it's a little bit more complete than She's Trouble so  I'll put it here [95] now I was kind of debating whether to even include this song which is Happy  Birthday, Lisa [singing - Lisa it's your birthday, happy birthday Lisa] I guess technically  it's a Michael Jackson song so why not, I mean I don't really need to explain why I'm not  going to rate this song highly it's so simple it's really only created for a Simpsons episode a  funn

y moment but that said it does serve its purpose better than some of these ones I'll  put it here [102] next song is For All Time a gorgeous little ballad a little bit incomplete  production-wise and vocally but the melody and overall feeling that I get from this song is  very good I like it quite a bit uh where would I put it... right here after If You Don't  Love Me [67] the next song is Get It which is a Stevie Wonder song featuring Michael and  this is a great track I like the groove of it I

like the attitude of it I think it might  be a similar sentiment as Just Good Friends where it's like they're competing for a lady's  attention Michael's verse is next level in this, amazing range he displays and beautiful ad-libs  and definitely one of the better collaborations that he did I guess it's not a super special  kind of song though so I am tempted to put it more towards the bottom I'll put it just above I  Can't Help It [82] next is We Are Here to Change the World which was written

and performed for  the Captain EO soundtrack which I believe was a 3D ride at a what do you call it theme park or  something, I'm not crazy about this song I'm sure it was fun on the ride or something but I guess  without the context of the story or whatever it doesn't really hit that hard I guess I'd put it  above Happy Birthday [104] the next song is I Am a Loser this is a really rough bare-bones demo that  he created I guess just to suss out this type of vibe but um it's just so squeaky clean

inoffensive  mild like vanilla there's nothing really going for this song even though like obviously his voice  is nice and the harmonies are nice but there's just such a lack of emotion in it that it really  doesn't appeal to me so we're gonna put that right here [106] you know I guess the soundscape is  okay but that's about it I'm actually gonna put it lower still better than... well actually it's  probably the worst song so far to be honest [109] the next track is You Were There which he I 

guess wrote and performed live for Sammy Davis for his 60th anniversary celebration and um  this is a nice song the sentiment is there, performance is nice um I just don't think it's as  strong a song as Elizabeth, I Love You um I'm only comparing the two because they were performed in a  similar context it's a nice enough song it serves its purpose the message gets across the lyrics  obviously makes sense it's cool ,I have to say it cracks me up a little bit after he delivers the  final line a

nd then he breaks into the crotch grab pose it seems a little not quite appropriate for  the moment but you know I like his style I like that he just kind of went for it, it's what he was  feeling in the moment cool performance song wise not the strongest you know compositionally so I'm  not gonna rate it too highly, since it's a little more sincere I will put it above Someone Put  Your Hand Out [97] sorry um... You Were There... the next track is Say Say Say which is a duet with  Paul McCartney

while I've never been crazy about this song personally I do recognize that it's  pretty catchy it's a pretty well written track the songwriting is strong I don't know who  wrote it whether it was Paul or Michael or a mix of them both but both their vocals on it are  pretty strong and it's definitely a solid cut so I'm gonna be fair even though for some reason  it doesn't speak to me that much I'm going to be fair and I'm gonna put it up there because you  know what, it's iconic that melody is i

conic and I think it was sampled for like a dance remix  later on that was also a hit but I have to stay true to my heart and not rate it too highly just  because I feel under pressure, we're gonna put it above Loving You [37] next is State of Shock with  Mick Jagger good song I much prefer this song to Say Say Say love the guitar riff love the  energy it's just like this constant barrage of funkiness that you can't get away from it's quite  infectious so I think they did a really great job with

this one so Say Say Say is here I would  put State of Shock right about it [37] sorry for lacking imagination but that's honestly where I  see it the next song is There Must Be More to Life than This which was a collaboration with Freddie  Mercury, never really got properly released but I think you can find a version with just Michael  out there and a version with both their vocals and really it's kind of magic that they created  and it's such a shame that the recordings are such low quality I

like this song quite a bit even  though I don't listen to it too often it's strong it belongs somewhere in this area here I'll put  it just below For All Time I think that works [70] next is Scared of the Moon a weird one it sounds a  little bit like a lullaby, like a children's story I appreciate the experimentation with a different  atmosphere the theatrical thing but it just doesn't really speak to me it's a little bit too  cutesy there's nothing to really grab my attention it has points for

being a little bit different  and experimental but other than that not really that good to be honest yeah [85] just after Sunset  Driver that's fine then we have the song This Is It and I don't know when this song was recorded  but it really became known around the time the movie came out soon after his death so there's  a lot of um there's a lot of emotion attached to that song and I totally understand it I quite  enjoy the verses but it's not his best song it's not super strong but I do apprec

iate how they  built out the chorus a little bit and made it into something a little more final but it would be  one of his weaker ballads still stronger than a lot of these to be fair I think it goes right  here [93] this next song is The Man another duet between Paul and Michael and I only just heard  this song for the first time today and I have to say what a song this is really good um I'm so  surprised I haven't heard this before because this could potentially end up being my favorite  out

of the three songs they did together I'm into this one great energy great bouncing back  and forth between the two vocalists I really enjoyed the guitar solo as well good stuff so  let's see where I could potentially put this it's hard because I haven't developed an emotional  attachment to the song yet but I acknowledge that it's quite good, it's good material you  know, I'll put it above Serious Effect [67] yeah the next song is All In Your Name which was  a song that Michael did with I guess

Barry Gibb um this is a pretty smooth ballad but really  nothing special there's some cool moments uh small moments where Michael's voice shines  but it's really kind of... I don't have any strong feelings about this song so I'm gonna  put it somewhere towards the end right here [112] I do apologize for how ugly this list  is looking I don't know why it's creating these weird spaces yeah I can't really help it  sorry, this next track is To Satisfy You and again I wasn't even sure whether to incl

ude  this or not but I figured I might as well anyway but it's by Brian Loren and Michael basically  does the chorus it's actually quite catchy and I'm into it so I'm gonna put it right here  above All In Your Name [112] uh the next song is Days In Gloucestershire interesting track I'm  quite into this one for some reason the vibe it gives off is unique it's very sweet and it does  have that saccharine vibe a little bit but it's a beautiful melody beautiful hook and I'm into it  and I kind of wi

sh it had been made a final song, unfortunately not but it is one of the  stronger demos like low quality demos out there maybe we will get something a little  bit more high quality eventually, you know what I'm so into this song that  I'd probably put it like above Niteline yeah [106] I'm kind of tempted to  put it higher but I'm trying to not be ridiculous, next is Beautiful Girl a sweet catchy song with a  somewhat experimental production that I appreciate Michael's vocals on this one are a l

ittle strange  he sounds a little bit tired like he's not really feeling it all that much obviously it's a really  rough demo and he's obviously just trying to throw down an idea but I kind of appreciate this  song and I understand why it was included on the Ultimate Collection you know it's one of his  more memorable unfinished demos, I put it above This Is It right here, actually I'd put it higher  I'd put it above Scared of the Moon yeah [86] next song is In the Back which is probably my  fav

orite demo he's ever done this song is so sick the groove of it is just next level really  awesome stuff you can tell he was really inspired preparing this one it's baffling how  this never made it into a final recording because the atmosphere the dark atmosphere the moody  strings the emotion in it, just that insane groove is just... I don't know it's beyond me  how this was left on the uh cutting room floor or whatever the phrase is but let's put this  one reasonably high, as high as I can go

for an unfinished demo it's definitely better than some  of these songs yeah I hesitate to put it above The Lost Children but... you know what I'm gonna  put it above The Lost Children, I'm gonna put it above... it's going above Get on the Floor [55]  yeah that's about right now we've almost reached the end of this section and this one is called  We Be Ballin' I think which eventually turned into We Be Clubbin' it's an Ice Cube song but  We Be Ballin' I guess was a demo where Michael recorded th

e hook for the chorus and it's  actually pretty catchy it kind of slaps but I can see that maybe the energy he was putting  into it wasn't enough for like a final release and I don't know maybe the contract expired or he  backed out of it or whatever but... We Be Ballin', I'm into it, it's kind of cool to listen to, it's  an interesting vibe and I can definitely dig it I guess it's just it's so whatever on the other  hand that I wouldn't rate it too highly I like I'd put it above Whatzupwitu...

would I? Or  Don't Walk Away... I'd put it above We Are Here to Change the World yeah [114] next song  is Somebody's Watching Me by Rockwell featuring Michael on the chorus great chorus great chorus  yeah you know this song is kind of a banger it was a big hit I should put it high up and  even though I personally I never listen to it, it should go up higher just above Privacy [78]  by the way um thank you guys for sticking with me this long as you can see I've been  at this for a while it is now

dark out um but I'm having so much fun honestly I've  been taking long breaks in between because this is quite intense but super fun so we've two songs  left in the unreleased excuse me in the unreleased slash oh my goodness the unreleased slash  miscellaneous section and those songs are... well I won't spoil it for you I'll just tell you the  next song, the next song is Faces this is a very recently leaked song I didn't realize um it  was only leaked like last year or something or even early t

his year apparently it's like an  unreleased track from the HIStory sessions and it's mostly a spoken word speech from Michael uh  sort of similar themes to They Don't Care About Us sort of anti-racism anti-bigotry that kind of  stuff there's a nice sort of synth string pad arrangement as he's speaking quite emotional like  it's very cool definitely fits with the general vibe of the HIStory album and then it breaks into  more like a groovy beat kind of to inspire action at least that's what I to

ok from it I thought  this track was really cool really unusual for him very experimental although I was looking at the  comments and someone brought up a good point where this might have been just a scratch track  for someone else to do vocals or that eventually he intended to put vocals over the beat because  the beat does go on for a while um but I thought this was quite interesting I'm gonna rate it kind  of high uh for a demo anyway... high for a demo, high for a demo... I'm not gonna lie t

hat string  arrangement really got me I really like it I think around here works just above I Can't Make It  Another Day [104] yeah and the very last song for this section is Ghost of Another Lover this demo  is so rough so unfinished so low-quality that it's really hard to tell if it's even him but having  listened to it closely I do believe it is him um it's just him really just kind of messing  around with a very skeletal beat and chords um maybe playing around with this and  that but there's

really no melody there that he's even figured out yet it's just  noises really vague vocalizations and just like a bland atmosphere so it's rough  very very rough I'm not going to say bad because there isn't even a song there, you  know what I mean so I'm gonna put it at the very bottom [125] and this is probably the  definitive "worst song"... sorry there it is I don't see this position changing at all yeah  so there you go there you have that at least um something that I don't think too many

people  are going to be upset about, now that leads us into the final section which is the most exciting  part of course which is his singles, his hits, the man had quite a few hits and I'm excited to  get into those, it's time, we are starting off we're going way back to Ben, Ben what an amazing  song I think the beauty of this song how touching it is goes without saying it's just a moment of  innocence just pure talent from such a young soul um it's quite incredible so this song is going  to g

o up very high this song is probably gonna be above Slave to the Rhythm and after beneath  Butterflies [ten] there you go number ten Ben 10 how about that next we have Don't  Stop 'Till You Get Enough a huge smash hit such a unique and creative way of songwriting  that he was just starting to develop, his genius was just starting to evolve when he  created this song maybe a hot take unpopular opinion I've never really cared for this  song that much but I am fully aware of what the general opinio

n is on it and that  is something that I simply can't ignore and the reason why I don't care for it that much  is because while I do enjoy his falsetto I prefer it used a bit more sparingly than this  I'm really more of a fan of his full-on chest voice like that passion you know but this song  it's iconic the intro, the [impression of intro] I mean come on you can't beat that, where would  we put it, it's definitely in the top 10 of this list anyway I'd probably put it just below Workin'  Day an

d Night [four] because I will die on this hill that Workin' Day and Night is a better song  that is my firm belief next is Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' another crazy good song so recognizable  so iconic the chanting at the end is like a whole cultural reset the whole outro of this song is  just so crazy creative and good and just the general energy of the song it's a fantastic intro  track to Thriller I'd probably put it... this is tough uh I'm gonna put it above Don't Stop 'Til  You Get Enough b

ut after Workin' Day and Night I just think Workin' Day and  Night is so good it's hard to beat so far it's only been beaten by  a couple now this next song Bad, Bad is a banger it is iconic it's catchy it's so  badass it's so badass it's a punch in the face there's nothing like it and it's number one  [one] the new number one Morphine has been dethroned pretty straightforward stuff the next  song is Jam this is definitely an interesting one because I love this song but in my heart of  hearts I

know that it might not make the top 10 but I think I know where I'm gonna put this I  think I'll put it just above Tabloid Junkie [10] okay so it did make the top 10 as is, yeah that  song is great obviously it inspired a lot of people uh Bruno Mars 'Uptown Funk' really  borrows that horn inspiration, I love just that orchestra hit that's repeated throughout the  track it's kind of obnoxious but I love that it's just like again a punch in the face I like that,  I like that energy just hitting yo

u right there I really appreciate and enjoy that so I'm going to  get rid of those rulers yeah that's better just a classic, underrated for sure uh love love it love  it okay the next song, we're in a dangerous place here because this song it is a favorite of mine  uh Scream featuring Janet yeah this one is hella hella good I want to put it in first place but  I'm trying to be, I gotta be objective about this, the song is not really melodic... well it is, it  has a lot of good melodies it has go

od harmonies uh even the chorus, as monotone as it is, is  harmonized but it's those small subtle touches that make it great you know um I love how the  composition is so cold and metallic and aggressive I love the rock influences you got that amazing  guitar solo the interlude with Janet's spoken word section there's just so many cool moments in  the song that I can't cover them all possibly like that distorted electronic synth to open and close  the song I mean they were on something when they

made this song they really were I have to put this  song uh number... this is really hard I'll put it after Baby Be Mine I really want to put it higher  than that but the songs above it are really like you're kind of messing with gold if I'm gonna  move those around too much so Scream goes into eighth place [eight] the next track we're going  to discuss is Blood on the Dance Floor another favorite of mine the energy is just unparalleled  in this song the explosion of the chorus after the subtle

dark grooviness of the verses, the  sort of dimension that this song brings you to is so cool and it's like theatrical and demented  I don't even get it but I love it I don't know how you come up with something like that so I guess  I just appreciate that sort of imagination more than a song that is more typically enjoyable or  can be played in a club or whatever so that's why I would rate a song like Blood on the Dance Floor  very highly I wouldn't rate it as highly as Scream but I would defin

itely rate it above Jam...  I'm going to rate it above Heartbreak Hotel [10] the next song is You Rock My World a  classic of course but it is not like the same status as what we're seeing at the top here at all  unfortunately I think the chorus of this song lets it down it's a little bit bland doesn't really hit  as hard as some other stuff even on the Invincible album but the production and the smoothness  of the verses, Michael's voice is sublime a lot of cool stuff going on instrumentally  e

specially like the piano and the strings and it's a beautiful production, this song,  they really killed it, shame about the chorus um obviously the chorus grows on you over time  but it doesn't surprise me that this wasn't more of a hit I know Invincible wasn't promoted  as much as it should have been but I would be lying if I could honestly put that all down  to promotion, does the song have a killer hook in this case? Unfortunately not even though the  song as a whole is quite a pleasant expe

rience so we're gonna go down quite a bit I'm not gonna lie,  I could probably put it above The Lady In My Life [31] I know that's going down quite far for one  of his biggest singles but that's how I genuinely see it next is Hold My Hand featuring Akon um  this song is fine for what it is which is a very of-its-time cookie cutter emotional pop/R&B  track uh Michael's vocals sound beautiful on this song but the song itself, it kind of sucks we're  gonna be going down quite a bit here again I do

like Michael's voice in this song and the ad-libs  in it, you know if you like this song good for you just to me it doesn't deserve a higher spot  because it's so commercial it's probably the most commercial sounding song I've ever heard him  put out and I guess it worked out in a way... well he didn't really intend to release this song as  far as I know, okay I'll put it above You Are My Life [108] because I would sooner listen to that  than You Are My Life the next song is Love Never Felt So G

ood the big hit from the posthumous  album Xscape I was actually surprised at how popular this song got, pleasantly surprised that  is, to me it's quite average-sounding even though uh and maybe this is because I literally heard  it in too many advertisements or whatever but it really does sound like a canned advertisement,  anyway just a pretty... again like, you know, unobjectionable and inoffensive mild track that  is kind of neither here nor there for me although I guess they did well with a

mping up  the production posthumously for this, I'd rate this song lowly enough because it's just  kind of boring, I'd put it above I Can't Make It Another Day [114] and after Faces this next  song is a great one it's I Wanna Be Where You Are it's a bop it's a cute bop with a beautiful  arrangement you know they really knew how to arrange music back then and make everything pop  with the strings and stuff and the rhythms the mixing so that's really what elevates the song  as well as Michael's pe

rformance of course it's a great great song it really should be put up there  reasonably high I'll put it above Little Susie [33] okay Rock With You is the next song that  is pretty much THE song from Off the Wall, of course yeah I can't argue with how good this  song is I want to argue because Off the Wall is not the album that is closest to my heart but of  course I love Rock With You, Rock With You is a great song especially when you're out dancing  in a club it's so feel-good it just has tha

t power to take you away and just feel some joy and  happiness, I wouldn't rate it as high as Bad... maybe I should it's a great song I'm so indecisive  about this okay I'll do it I'll do it I'll put it... I'll put it first...I have to be, I have  to be objective it deserves it, it deserves that spot it's a great song everyone knows it, it's  like so beautifully written and what else can you say it's a classic it's THE classic... okay,  Thriller... ah, Thriller, Thriller, Thriller... It's gotta

go in first place I mean it's gotta  go in first place now if I'm correct I think Rod Temperton wrote both Rock With You and Thriller  you know obviously he's an amazingly talented songwriter and him and Michael were an incredible  pairing, Thriller is better than Rock With You only because it has that little bit of an edge  in that it's taking a risk doing the whole horror vibes and that outro with uh Vincent Price I  think is his name that is some creepy [ __ ] that is some amazing art an amaz

ing performance  all around the song itself is groovy as hell the chorus is an explosion again a cultural reset  but basically defined pop music so let's not kid ourselves [one] the next song is The Way You Make  Me Feel which is just an outstanding smash hit firing on all cylinders an amazing release  an amazing song his vocals they soar the production is interesting on the drums because  they're so harsh-sounding but it really makes the song sound huge and like a larger-than-life  production i

t's really outstanding I think I can safely put it in third place I think that's  where it belongs at this moment [three] and I know some of you might still be wondering  what the [ __ ] is Morphine doing there in fifth place but what makes Morphine powerful is  really the meaning behind the song how personal it is how experimental it is there's really nothing  like out there like that song and the performance he gives on that song the absolute soul he puts  into the vocals the beauty of the mid

dle section so I just kind of want to reiterate that because  I'm just aware that this list is looking a little strange with that song kind of pasted in the  middle there seemingly but this is just kind of what my heart is telling me that it does deserve  its current spot next we have In the Closet very weird, this song is particularly uh weird and  experimental going for something very very different obviously it's kind of sexually charged  I like how there is some dissonance in the verses it's

not very musical per se but it kind of evokes  that kind of dirty feeling in the verses and I like how that is contrasted with the funky vocals  in the bridge and the very melodic chorus where the drum beat switches up very very cool moment  on Dangerous definitely one of my favorite songs on this album the spoken word sections they fit  really well I'm not sure about the whole orgasm part in the middle but you know what he went  for it and you gotta give him credit for that uh I like the outro

you know where where  they're playing around with the production and stuff overall very very strong song very strong  single very unique very hard to place this song it's kind of like a dark horse a wild card but I'm  not seeing any song yet that I would put below it maybe Why [33] Why might be rated a little too  highly actually, well we're gonna do a little bit of rearranging here and there at the very  end this next song is another killer it is They Don't Care About Us words can't describe h

ow good  this song is how powerful it is how relevant it is uh how emotional the performance is the lyrics the  viciousness of the instrumental the passion in it it's just perfection literally perfection you  can tell the blood sweat and tears that went into making this song what it is, that makes me  want to put it above Thriller at number one... again we have to be objective... I don't know,  this song it just really blows me away I could be biased because I tend to be biased against  songs th

at are overplayed like Thriller and Rock With You and I've reluctantly put them where  they are as much as I do believe that they deserve those spots... I have to put it first, it's just  so immaculately composed [one] written performed executed it's such a burst of emotion the strings  the vocal harmonies as well, the little sound effects the electronic parts it's a whole other  level of art, like artistic achievement than songs like Thriller and Rock With You, that's my  personal opinion that'

s genuinely how I feel the next track is Got to Be There [singing - got  to be there] what a lovely lovely little tune [singing - got to be there in the morning] yeah that's good that's really really  nice it's just funny like the tone, that we've changed the tone of the conversation  so quickly just with this one little happy song I wouldn't say it's quite as iconic as a song like  Ben obviously I'm comparing it to the other songs he made when he was a kid but I probably would put  it at least

above This Time Around, I wouldn't put it above Slave to the Rhythm though so it can  go right here, Got to Be There, there you go [22] discussing the singles is definitely the most  fun part of this exercise because the next song is [singing - She's Out of My Life] more beautiful stuff incoming um what  a stunning ballad really underrated I think a really underrated song in his  discography that vocal performance is just oh my goodness it really highlights the shape  that his voice was in at th

at age it's a really beautiful ballad I like that it's just kind of  subdued with just like an electronic piano to accompany him it also contains a beautiful  bridge and a heart-wrenching finale so, there's still a lot of strong songs here...  Speed Demon, it's definitely stronger than that um I'm still getting behind This Time Around as  a strong song, sometimes ballads I think they do get away with preference just because  they are overly melodic so then you're like oh automatically that must

be better right? Not  quite... as amazing as I think She's Out of My Life is I'm not super inclined to place it that  high I know I just said the song is underrated well it's better than uh The Girl Is Mine that's  for sure so here we go [34] the next one is another monster it's Beat It mega mega smash hit  again changing the cultural landscape I think this was the first song by an artist of color on MTV  the first music video by an artist of color on MTV I could have that wrong but if it wasn't

the  first, it was either Thriller or Beat It was the first and the song itself is a belter, great  chorus, what an opening riff, guitar riff, the guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen it just  shreds doesn't hold back at all I heard he did that in one take I don't know how true  that is but I would believe it because there's elements of improvisation in it but it's  still quite melodically sound and contributes to the song's overall momentum pretty  damn well, that little breakdown is like ah so good

, I would  definitely put it very high I think it's a better song than Thriller actually  so I will put Beat It here [two] and I think most people would agree that they prefer this song  than Thriller but of course I'm just speaking for myself so I don't really know that but I think  the list as it is is looking pretty solid okay the next song is Man In the Mirror and I know I'm  saying this about a lot of songs at this point of course because we're getting into the real good  stuff but this son

g is just phenomenal it's so good it is stunning amazing it hurts how good this  song is his vocals on this are out of this world can never be duplicated replicated that's why he  is the King of Pop you know what I mean this is an example of his just raw talent but I also have to  hand it to the songwriters on this song because it was Siedah Garrett and someone else who wrote this  song and cheers to them because it would seem that they wrote it with him in mind because the vocal  lines they rea

lly seem to be like even the chorus it's a very like, there was a lot of staccato  stuff in there that he was very good at and it just seems like the perfect powerful  anthem of self-change that only he could sing in that way and of course the harmonies and in the chorus and then the the gospel choir it's  just so beautiful it's heavenly... heavenly... again this is very hard to place I would put  this song above Thriller but below Beat It [three] yeah that seems about right this next song  is R

emember the Time definitely a bop definitely a funky R&B jam very smooth it was one of the  defining songs of the Dangerous era a very very enjoyable track and the outro where he goes  off on the ad-libs is of course unforgettable it's gonna be pretty high up there it's probably  gonna be ahead of Bad so I would put it right here [seven] like it's such a great chorus the way the  song moves is just sublime and it's just another one of those perfect songs that he released...  timeless, truly... o

kay this next song is Stranger in Moscow another artistic achievement  in my opinion there was nothing quite like that sound in pop music at the time you can tell  he really wrote it for himself you can tell in the lyrics that that was just his dark silent  moment to himself he was a little down on himself feeling like just a stranger you can hear in the  production the melody in the chord progression a very spiritual song very unlike anything else  in his discography which makes it very hard to

place because it really depends on what you're  looking for, like what you value in the music, if you're looking for something to groove along  to and dance to on the dance floor like obviously this is not the song for you but if you're  looking for a little bit of truth something personal something introspective something that  is profound to listen to in a walk home in the rain or something then this song is top top tier,  I do feel like it deserves to be in the top ten somewhere as the list

currently stands...  is it a better song than Bad? They're so different it's so hard to compare them... I'm  gonna put it ahead of Morphine and after Bad [nine] I feel like Stranger In Moscow and Morphine  have a lot in common because they are both so personal but I think Stranger In Moscow just comes  out on top that little bit because there's an element of hope in the lyrics which I think is  worth pointing out and I say it has an element of hope, I can't even remember really if there  is a ho

peful lyric in there but the atmosphere especially towards the end of the song certainly  has an uplifting hopeful feeling that there is a way out of this hole whereas Morphine it's just  like we're in the hole and I don't see a way out uh which is also artistically valid because  that is a genuine emotion that people do feel, so this next song is Dirty Diana this is  another rock monster so groovy and powerful great story in the lyrics great vocal  performance I absolutely love the guitar parts

the string parts the synth string parts  of the song are really gorgeous too and overall this composition is just very very strong and  recognizable, great chorus absolutely great chorus now um I don't know if it's top 10 I think we're  looking more like in the teens somewhere I mean I think this is a better song than Wanna Be Startin'  Somethin' [13] it's great just really good stuff it's a banger it cannot be denied and apparently  if we're to believe Michael this was Princess Diana's favorit

e song so that goes towards  something I'm sure next we have Heal the World, Heal the World is interesting it is the  quintessential... Heal the World song, I guess he was continuing the theme from Man in  the Mirror of making that change and I guess from the Bad album on he always had a song like this on  his albums which is understandable he really cared a lot about about the Earth and humanity and that  kind of stuff uh he was a humanitarian you know these things were very close to his heart

I think  that this song puts a lot of people off because it is very sentimental very sweet a little bit corny  a little bit cheesy a little bit over the top but musically it's quite beautiful it's  quite beautifully written the melodies are gorgeous I love the key changes at  the end I think the spoken word part from that little kid at the beginning is  very touching I actually think it's quite a tasteful song overall even though a lot of  people might disagree, now I wouldn't rate it high-high

exactly but I would rate it at least in  the top half of this entire list uh just above In the Closet yeah [41] and the next song is a  similar track it is Childhood I say similar, sonically they are quite similar but thematically  Childhood is way more personal, Michael said that it's the most personal song he's ever written  and you can really tell that in the lyrics the overall style of it you know it's very Neverland  very Peter Pan, like just a gorgeous ballad in a similar vein to Smile but

obviously an original  song and a better song at that... well okay, I don't know if it's a better song but if you're  looking for a Michael Jackson moment this is the song to listen to rather than Smile it's really  a beautiful composition definitely underrated again it might be a little bit too sentimental  for some people which is why it's not probably that popular but if you just pay attention to the  strings and just get lost in his voice it's good it's very good very unusual melody and cat

chy  even, I do feel like it's my duty to find an honest place for this song in the list I mean it  has such integrity as a song it's really like his heart so it's gonna go here right after Got to  Be There and right before This Time Around [28] this next track is Give In to Me, Give In to  Me is a rock classic I guess it is the third in the rock trilogy of Michael Jackson you know  we had Beat It then Dirty Diana it's pretty cool I think it's probably the least heavy out of those  three songs b

ut what I really like about this song is the extended outro I really love how there  really is a focus on the guitars in this song uh there's like the guitar solo as part  of the bridge and then there's also the guitar solo during the outro where  MJ is ad-libbing over it and stuff um sorry my cat's chasing some stuff over there uh  it's a little bit of noise, I like the main riff of the song the softer riff it's just kind of a  generally quite a passionate moody song I guess it makes sense cons

idering the lyrics yeah it  strikes me as a little bit more experimental than his usual rock style pretty cool I like the use  of strings too it's very well done I don't know if it's better than Beat It and Dirty Diana, probably  not, even though it is like more experimental and stuff and something that I really appreciate it uh  maybe doesn't reach the heights that those songs reach and that's definitely not a slight against  the song because we're talking about, you know, stone cold classics h

ere so... does it beat  Butterflies? I think so... above Butterflies and after Human Nature [24] the next song is You Are  Not Alone I have a lot of fond memories of this song it is quite a beautiful melody unfortunately  Michael was sued for this song because the melody was unfortunately stolen by R. Kelly I believe it  was a French or Belgian composer from their song and if you listen to the original song it's quite  clear that the melody was stolen whether Michael was aware of this or not I h

ave no idea I like  to think not since R. Kelly was the songwriter and probably was the one who presented the song  to Michael, the original composer was awarded, basically won the case because it was pretty  clear cut you can look at the original song for yourself I'm sure you can find it somewhere  unfortunately this song has dipped in favor for me but all that aside Michael's performance on it  is absolutely beautiful and the original song that it was "inspired" by was only an instrumental so

  all of the lyrics are original and the pairing of the lyrics with the melody of course is quite well  done and the sentiment of the song is great it was the first song, correct me if I'm wrong, could  be the first song that ever debuted at number one on the Billboard 100 which is very impressive  I don't want to knock anyone who values this song emotionally or anything perfectly valid thing to  enjoy this song for what it is I'm just including that little tidbit because it's something that  ca

me to mind but it does kind of affect my enjoyment of it somewhat, because it has unsavory  characteristics I am inclined to have to rate it a bit lower but even if that little tidbit wasn't  real I do think he has stronger ballads even if it's performed well yeah I mean the melody as  it is, it's kind of like you could... it's a love or hate it kind of melody I think due to the  simplicity of it definitely a controversial song but I'm not going to go too hard on it even though  I feel like I al

ready have I certainly didn't mean to I'm not gonna rate it unfairly I'm gonna more  take the song as it is I feel comfortable putting it above You Can't Win [74] yeah so it's kind  of like right in the middle of the list it's a very impactful song it does stir the emotions  in that way so it's a solid number the next song in question is Leave Me Alone I think this song  was originally left off the original tracklist on Bad but eventually oh yeah I think it was left  off of the vinyl but it was

included on the CD version when that was eventually released and I'm  glad because this song rocks such a unique rhythm it kind of hits you right away and grabs you I  really like the loud snare I know I've complained about overly prominent snares a couple times but  I think on this song it just works because it's really hitting that message home the lyrics  in this song are pretty cool I like the way they're written they have a lot of attitude  like the way they're delivered and the chorus of c

ourse the harmonies in the chorus are just  so epic lots going on there to enjoy yeah this song is just a really cool unique creation I  love the little weird solo with Mike and the uh the synth pairing as the bridge very cool  stuff very creative it's Michael Jackson at his finest and this is a beloved favorite  I'm gonna put it above Tabloid Junkie [22] and below Jam and that's a really solid spot all  of the songs above it are so so strong this next song is another very interesting one Will Y

ou  Be There what an adventure of a song this is, what a piece and I say piece uh because well  there is a classical piece at the very beginning to really set the mood there's lots of different  movements in this song it's quite complex full of emotion it's bombastic but not over the top I  don't think this song is cheesy some people might use that word to describe it but uh to me it's  quite heartfelt the drum beat you know it's got a sort of tribal thing going on, the gospel choir  brings a lo

t of spirituality and energy and his ad-libs as the song ascends are just perfect what  a talent to elevate music in that way, the way that he does, great bridge too and just the main  hook the main melody is just... the simplicity is the genius of it, the spoken word part at the end  is very well done it's very sincerely performed, written, the backing instrumental behind that  is just so stunning so tasteful and gorgeous with the strings and the humming choir I have  no words so this song is j

ust it really is just stunningly beautiful again I might have to push  down Butterflies but those songs are so different you know... Ben, Got to Be There, Childhood? This  is tricky this is very very tricky I feel like I'm going down too far but when I look at the songs  that are there it's hard to push them down okay I'll put it above Tabloid Junkie [23] yeah okay  at this point I'm actually pretty certain of my number one choice it might not be what you  expect but if you know what songs are l

eft you might be able to guess it but apart from my  number one choice I'm not sure how the rest are going to be ordered the next song is Smooth  Criminal this is a big one this is major news this is major stuff and surely this one  is going to be in the top ten what's cool about this song is again we talked about  Al Capone which is a proto-Smooth Criminal but obviously what Smooth Criminal eventually  became was something much more grand dramatic theatrical and finessed it's a perfect song  it

's such a badass song the contrast of the gritty verses with the falsetto chorus  is very creative, the chorus itself, it's so quickly sung the lyrics are so fast that  it's like a rhythmic chorus but also the chord progression invites a lot of drama the bridge is  also very very funky with those guitar licks the post chorus section is kind of what it's uh  known for, or pre-chorus also, you know just iconic what's interesting about this song is that  I think Quincy Jones never liked it and Mich

ael really had to fight for this song to be on the  Bad album which is utterly shocking to me I'm glad he thought for it because many people would  place this at number one so spoiler alert I'm probably not going to put it at number one it's  not going to end up at number one but it's gonna end up pretty high and I would probably place it  below Man In the Mirror... or would I place it above Man In the Mirror... yeah I've changed  my mind this is where I think the song fits actually I've changed

my mind  again... I'm gonna do it, I'll do it [one] it hurts, it hurts to do that but I have to  be objective just considering how impactful the song is how catchy it is and how um widely loved  it is and stuff, it's hard to put it anywhere else in the context of the remaining songs so  at the moment it's number one the next song is Who Is It we all love this song anyone who is  like an intermediate Michael Jackson fan knows this song back to front, is obsessed with this  song, "why is this son

g so underrated", "why doesn't this song get more attention", "whatever  happened" and honestly I don't know um I have a theory which I'll get to but the way this song is  written is just so um... you know, I've been here a while I've talked about these songs a lot so  I'm running out of vocabulary to describe them so forgive me if I use the same words as I've  been using but it really is just very creative beautiful haunting this song is definitely like  a haunting vibe it does use the strings

and the choirs more in a sort of dark haunting manner the  heavy bass line is addictive really puts a nice contrast to the softer sounds that are used in it  I like the loud clicking sound in the percussion very curious mix of sounds that come together to  create something that is very artistic just really stands out especially in the Dangerous album  it is arguably the best song on Dangerous... arguably... it was a single yeah it was a single  but it would not be something that the layperson wo

uld recognize I don't think there's any single  edits that exist of this song it really does function more and works best as however long  it is I think it's about six and a half minutes um I really enjoy how the chorus is repeated  so many times towards the end because it's not just for the sake of repetitiveness  but the strings and stuff are swelling the whole time and his ad-libs are getting more  intense and he's really evoking the heartache, that's what makes it so powerful that  said I do

think the chorus is a little bit um could be catchier it's very simplistic and  that's a good thing because there's so much else going on in the song but if you're looking  for an ear worm this chorus isn't really it but at the same time I do understand the function  of the chorus within the context of the whole composition all that being said we've got to  find a way to do this song justice by moving some of these guys aside and I think I see  where I'm gonna put it so we're gonna put it here

right after Morphine [12] is that a bit high  I wonder for this song? No I don't think it is, I think that's just right, I was considering  there for a second but that's correct okay we have three songs left I guess subconsciously I've  left these songs until last because I know that they are really up there and one of them is my  number one the other two I'm still undecided as to where they're gonna go the third last song is  Black or White this is another stone cold classic um again arguably t

he best song on Dangerous  definitely the most famous and recognizable song from the Dangerous era, so incredibly catchy  the guitar riff is so ubiquitous you hear it everywhere the more heavy breakdown in the song  is super sick as well and I love the rap verse, the song is a sequence of a lot of different ideas  that come together beautifully and just the main hook the main message is just immaculate yeah this  is a great track it's definitely among his best, one thing I will say is that it mi

ght be a little  bit... might be a little bit joyful and sprightly for some listeners like it's very overly joyful  and sprightly obviously that's what the message is going for but that is the only thing that I  could see holding this song back in the eyes of some listeners it might be a little bit too on  the nose for some people which is understandable but I don't know how you can really argue with the  impact that this song has had and how powerful the message is, as we're getting down to the

wire  here this is really hard I might be putting it a little farther down because I'm looking at  songs like Dirty Diana and stuff which I'm fairly convinced is a stronger track, even Blood on  the Dance Floor I think is pretty heavy-hitting, Heartbreak Hotel has been getting a lot of passes  for this whole ranking I'm going to displace it just this one time [22] that seems like kind of  far down for this song but I think all things considered and all the songs in front of  it, it works, okay

it's time to reveal, there are only two songs left so I might as  well reveal my number one at this point, my number one is Earth Song [one] yes I know, Billie  Jean, Billie Jean is Billie Jean okay I got it but first of all I don't even know if Billie  Jean's gonna be number two I don't know that I don't know that yet... Earth Song is  number one because it has everything it encapsulates Michael Jackson's artistry perfectly  and it's a cohesive piece immensely powerful the message of it the per

formance is so powerful his  vocals range from very soft delicate vulnerable painful to outright anger like a war cry  a cry of the gods it's so freaking epic there's nothing like it he's never done anything  like this across his entire discography it is so godlike honestly I mean that in the best way  possible he just kills it he absolutely kills this song you can feel every emotion amazing range  amazing power, vocal technique, the chorus is very creative there are no words it's just a lyricle

ss  melody like the Earth is crying you know, the guitar work in this song is also really good  really tasteful really adds to the atmosphere the texture of it you have the really chilling  piano intro of the song uh even before that the atmospheric intro is so chilling it really  feels like the Earth's song and the gospel choir is so like... oh my god I have no words the  repetition of that lyric the energy from the choir is so wild and then his howls at the very end  it's just like the the che

rry on top you know, obviously he hit peaks like this in terms of  bombast and epicness like uh with Man In the Mirror but with this song he really hit that  darker emotion that urgency that like we really have to get something done here, we really have  to change, this can't go on it's like a war cry really fighting for change you know to protect the  planet yeah it's emotional it's a roller coaster it's perfection it's his best song  ever and I'm pretty certain about that, not to put words in

your mouth but my  assumption is that a lot of people would prefer his lighter stuff a nice simple dance  beat that you can dance to or jam in the car, that to you is what defines a good song and that  is obviously a totally valid feeling, people should be entitled to enjoy music however they  want judge it however they want I just think that this song Earth Song is really just the peak of  his achievements musically and he put everything into it and it just all culminates in this zenith,  I gue

ss is the word, of his artistry um I think I've ranted about this for long enough but it's  important to me to to make the argument as to why this song deserves the number one spot, all that  being said let's bring in the elephant in the room Ms. Billie Jean and she is a saucy one she is very  very saucy and she deserves respect because she is good Billie Jean is a song that... Quincy Jones  described it very well one time where he said that Billie Jean is basically a song that's full of  hooks

it's like hooks back to front when you think about it, it's like okay the bass line, well first  of all the drum beat when the song opens up that's a hook that's iconic when the bass comes in that's  a hook that's catchy, the [impression of synth] that's another hook, obviously the chorus all  the little parts in the verses it's all very hooky very catchy even the bridge the guitar riff  in the bridge is so catchy and hook-like there's so much to grab your ear and hold your attention  I don't kn

ow where the inspiration came from for this song but I can totally understand its  impact there's nothing like it how do you even describe the atmosphere of this song I  think the video was very well done because it captures the mood very well it's very like  urban city like dark urban city sort of like, I don't know Sin City right, you know that movie  Sin City you kind of feel like you're in this ghost town there's a little bit of melancholy  and stuff but at the same time there's a party and

you're like maybe I'll have a good time and  forget all this sadness and stuff, the subject matter of the song is interesting the inspiration  for the lyrics is certainly interesting about uh apparently a girl who accused Michael of being  the father of her child that obviously turned out not to be true at all hey I guess we don't  know but yeah this song is a classic it obviously changed his career forever it's hard to say but  it seems like this song is the one that really set him on the path

to becoming the most famous person  of all time it was either this song or Thriller that really started that stratospheric trajectory  uh it's hard to judge this song objectively because me personally uh it's never been one of  my absolute favorites I rarely play this song and I think it has a lot to do with that thing  where you know, it is played everywhere right, it's on every radio station, if you go to your  friend's house they have it on their playlist, whether someone is a Michael Jackson

fan or  not they'll just automatically have it on some playlist because it's kind of like comfort  background music background noise to them, it's hard because that's why it's not one of my  favorites because usually when I say something is my favorite it elicits some kind of intense  emotion out of me this song certainly does when I pay close attention but for some reason it's never  drawn me back to it repeatedly and repeatedly and repeatedly and I've never become obsessed like  I have with s

ome of his other tracks like Smooth Criminal or They Don't Care About Us for some  reason that's just me personally but of course I am aware that it at least deserves a spot in  the top five okay and I guess where it belongs to me... okay this is the final placement  hmm this is hard this is really hard I think I'm really gonna put my bias aside here and  I'm gonna put it after Smooth Criminal [three] just knowing what we know about this song,  if I were to go by my own taste personally it would

be much farther down it would be after  Man In the Mirror but I know that's insanity I won't do that, this is good, this makes sense to  me this makes a lot of sense so now it's time to do our final spot check to see if there's anything  that we would change at the last minute or if we really genuinely feel good about this order I'm  sure we're gonna find a couple things that look a little bit questionable I think it's safe enough  to start from the start how do we feel about the top ten I mean

that's a pretty solid top ten if  you ask me, I like how Remember the Time is in the top ten, that's something I didn't expect uh you  could almost switch Remember the Time with Bad but I wouldn't do that personally, I do suspect that  Morphine might be the most controversial placement still but you know I've given my reasons for  that, maybe Another Part of Me is a bit high... what's it worse than? Okay Another Part of Me is  getting moved here [24] P.Y.T. seems a bit low but honestly so does

Scream... Wanna Be Startin'  Somethin' might be a bit high even though it has a lot of merits it wouldn't be as strong as  some of the songs that are surrounding it like I feel it could swap places with Baby Be Mine it's  such a weird song, Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', you know it's got that infectious groove to it but  maybe... okay I'm gonna do something crazy this song yes it's good but we gotta put it lower I'm  sorry it just doesn't have the amount of merits of some of these other songs so

I'm gonna place  it here [28] yeah okay I feel better about that I really am curious to know how mad people are  gonna be at me for all this... I Wanna Be Where You Are, I think this can go lower like here [69]  and This Time Around could probably go lower much lower right here [65] Hollywood Tonight seems  to be placed very high but that's only because I have doubts about the production and stuff but  I'm pretty adamant that that's a great song so I'm gonna leave it and Why is very high in the

list  for what is really just a minor collaboration, I do really like Why but I wouldn't put it up that  high, I'd put it uh just below The Lost Children [92] I'm sure people will think that uh Off the  Wall is down there quite low as well but honestly I'm confident in the placement, Unbreakable  is down there pretty low as well but uh I think that placement works, People of  the World is up there quite high I'm gonna move that down it's definitely better than  Girlfriend though, I'll put it rig

ht here [104] by the way I apologize for this situation  with the spacing and stuff it looks kind of ugly but there's nothing I can do about it so  I'll fix it for the final view of the final list yeah I think the top 100 is pretty solid I'm  actually going to put For All Time higher though, For All Time should be above Why at least [92] I  guess it's kind of crazy that I Just Can't Stop Loving You isn't making the top 100 but I said  what I said... I think Do You Know Where Your Children Are sh

ould be lower right here [131] Cry  and Don't Walk Away are down so far I know people are gonna have a problem with that I just find  those songs to be so uninteresting like even Days In Gloucestershire and She's Trouble and Niteline  they all have little moments of interest and intrigue that Cry and Don't Walk Away don't have  okay yeah all right that's it wow thank you for joining me on this journey this was so much fun oh  my god I really enjoyed this I'm very happy with this list okay now it

's time for discussion I'm  dying to hear what you guys feel about this and if you think I did his discography justice,  god I sure hope I didn't forget any song I don't think I did, I did my best not to, if I did  forget something just let me know in the comments and I'll let you know where it would have  gone... after I'm done with my spiel here I'll do a little graphic at the very end that  will show the entire list just so you can see uh more clearly where every song was placed  and that's a

bout it if you enjoyed this video please like and subscribe and again please check  out my music project Valcata I'll leave links in the description for you to check us out also let  me know what other content you might like to see from me any thoughts you have at all on this list  what you would have changed, what you think I I did well please let me know, it's always fun to  discuss these things even if we disagree you know, it's fun to talk about our favorite artist and  the amazing work that

he created and remember him so that's about it have a good rest of  your day or night and thank you so much, bye [Music]