A KILLER is Thriller. I made a rhyme, and I'm sticking to it. Jacko was at his pop peak here (though I don't have Off the Wall, so, well, keep that in mind if you disagree). Highest selling album of all time (worldwide), and one of the most revolutionary pop albums of all time. Extremely diverse, too. I guess Jackson tried his best to please everybody around this time.

As everybody who isn't living under a rock knows, dance numbers are what Jackson does best (at least when HE'S at his best), and the 9-song set starts out with one. Fitting, huh? "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" has a skittering beat, a great bassline, and hooks galore. It makes for a perfect introduction to this album, and an excellent dance number. It was probably a hit, too, since seven out of the nine on here became hits, way back when. (Compare that to now, with Jackson cutting 16-song albums and not scoring a single hit)

"Baby Be Mine" is a simple pop song whose premise should be obvious from its title (no, really). It's an innocent and fun track. It shows off more hooks, and the composition shows the great production of this one, though sometimes it can get feel a little overblown, like on the next track, "The Girl Is Mine" with Paul McCartney. Now, you'd THINK that a track with Jacko and Macca would be a pop masterpiece, or at least as good as "Say Say Say" was. But NO, it's syrupy sweet, and the only weak track found in these here parts. Especially the talking in the middle/end. Not cool. Still, I'm sure SOME people like it, which is part of the complete album's charm.

Continuing with my track-by-track formula, the title track more than makes up for "The Girl Is Mine." It also has one of (arguably) the greatest and (unquestionably) one of the most revolutionary videos to accompany it. It's a good dance song, if pointless and cheesy. But it's a GOOD cheesy. It knows that it's cheesy and it revels in that fact. And "Beat It" is up next! Smokin' Eddie Van Halen solo on this one, and one of the best riffs in any song, rock or pop. And it would be the best song on this here record, if it wasn't for…

…Yes, "Billie (F'N) Jean" ( the "(F'N)" is not part of the title, in case you were just born). One of the greatest dance songs of all time, this be. Excellent beat, nice synth work. Heaven on X before X was the thing to do (or at least I've heard). Easily the best song on the album with the sly vocal delivery by Michael, as always.

"Human Nature" is one of the best ballads Michael has done to date (not that he has many good ballads anyway), and another highlight of this album. Same goes for the closing ballad, "The Lady in My Life." So, this time period was good to Michael, in terms of ballads.

And the last dance song on the album, "PYT (Pretty Young Thing)" works well, too. Other than the "Pretty young things! Repeat after me! Say 'nah nah nah!'" part, which is pretty lame and annoying, but the rest of the track is gold, and the greatness that precedes (and follows) it more than makes up for it.

So, in the end, Thriller is a classic pop album. Far more consistent than anything Michael has put out since, and definitely a revolutionary piece of music, especially for its time period.