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The Top Three Madonna Albums That Best Represents Her and Her Career


Voguerista
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Voguerista

Hi Hi. Question: If you were to name THREE of Madonna's albums (excluding her greatest hits) that best represent her and her career as a whole at this time, which would you choose and why? (If you can't stop at three, you can name more) I would choose Like A Prayer (for the emotion, the controversy, and religious aspect), Ray Of Light (for the complete mix up from her previous albums, the spiritual and life journey, and the experimental sound. Also, for her beauty and creative Geisha style)

Karma

From an objective standpoint, I'd pick 1. Madonna - The album that established her as primarily as a dance-pop artist, the most representative music genre throughout her career (Confessions On A Dance Floor, Hard Candy, MDNA, Like A Virgin, True Blue). 2. Like A Prayer - Her first conceptual album, when she officially became an "adult" artist and proved her abbility to tackle political and social themes through her work (Erotica, Bedtime Stories, American Life, Rebel Heart, Madame X

Husam Elzien

1. Like a Virgin: The album that really catapulted Madonna into the mainstream conscious. 2. Like a Prayer: The album/era that really solidified her staying power in music and pop culture 3. Ray of Light: The album that maintained that even though motherhood and Kabbalah softened her, she was still the HBIC of the music industry despite being amongst the rise of teen-pop/bubblegum-pop/boy bands/girl groups. Honourable mention: Confessions on a Dancefloor  Those three albums a

I agree with your choices as well. Like A Prayer defines the Madonna of the 1980s best. Ray Of Light was her spiritual rebirth in the 90s and Confessions was the celebration and culmination of everything she had succeeded in by the 00's. An honorable mention is Madame X (in my opinion) because it feels like a full circle moment for Madonna's career where she's rebuilding from the ground up in terms of her future and looking back which she doesn't like to do.

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LIKE A PRAYER;

Essentially a biography of her life and ethos. Her first statement as an artist. 

BEDTIME STORIES:

An insight into her psyche when then chips are down, her ability to adapt and her resilience. A softer side with a kick in the teeth at Human Nature. Her spiritual awakening and the beginning of the search for something more. This is Madonna inside a safe cocoon before she re-emerges as a new creation. I personally think the metamorphosis is more interesting than the final product Ray Of Light. 

MUSIC:
Don’t Tell Me / WIFLFAG / Gone / Paradise / Nobody’s Perfect / I Deserve It and even Music represent better version of themes she would revisit again on American Life and Confessions but there’s a better balance of pensive insightful and optimism on Music. 

I think these albums have themes and subject matters that just resonate more highly than something like Confessions / Erotica / American Life. 
Ray Of Light isn’t as personal as everyone things aside from Mer Girl / Little Star and Drowned World. It’s actually a bit pretentious in many places. The production saves it. Confessions doesn’t really divulge anything new. 
 

Madame X and Rebel Heart divulge newer questions in her life but I still think her most essential album is yet to come. 

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Top 3 it's veeeeeeeery hard.

RAY OF LIGHT, EROTICA, TRUE BLUE.

All very diffrent, but i think they are her turning points. Like A Virgin and Like A Prayer are so legendary (mostly because of the title songs), but "my top 3" is the best to represent her career as a whole piece. I rejected automatically: BS, Music, AL, HC, MDNA and MX. I think that if i could i would go with Confessions as a fourth one. If i could pick 5 i would go with LAP.

TB defines 80s the best. Erotica and ROL are turining points.

Edited by Mateusz Klimecki (see edit history)
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Most of you are going with your favourite albums, I see. But this topic is about being objective. Music and Madame X doesn't represent her career in even 5%. Bedtime Stories either- the most legendary thing about this album is album cover.

Edited by Mateusz Klimecki (see edit history)
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52 minutes ago, Voguerista said:

Hi Hi. Question: If you were to name THREE of Madonna's albums (excluding her greatest hits) that best represent her and her career as a whole at this time, which would you choose and why? (If you can't stop at three, you can name more)

I would choose Like A Prayer (for the emotion, the controversy, and religious aspect), Ray Of Light (for the complete mix up from her previous albums, the spiritual and life journey, and the experimental sound. Also, for her beauty and creative Geisha style), and Confessions On A Dancefloor (for the full on dance album and for the dancer she is).

 

Fully agree, nothing to add. ❤️

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From an objective standpoint, I'd pick

1. Madonna - The album that established her as primarily as a dance-pop artist, the most representative music genre throughout her career (Confessions On A Dance Floor, Hard Candy, MDNA, Like A Virgin, True Blue).


2. Like A Prayer - Her first conceptual album, when she officially became an "adult" artist and proved her abbility to tackle political and social themes through her work (Erotica, Bedtime Stories, American Life, Rebel Heart, Madame X).


3. Ray Of Light - The album that opened the doors for radical cutting-edge sonic experimentation and philosopical lyrical themes (Music, American Life, Madame X).

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26 minutes ago, Karma said:

From an objective standpoint, I'd pick

1. Madonna - The album that established her as primarily as a dance-pop artist, the most representative music genre throughout her career (Confessions On A Dance Floor, Hard Candy, MDNA, Like A Virgin, True Blue).


2. Like A Prayer - Her first conceptual album, when she officially became an "adult" artist and proved her abbility to tackle political and social themes through her work (Erotica, Bedtime Stories, American Life, Rebel Heart, Madame X).


3. Ray Of Light - The album that opened the doors for radical cutting-edge sonic experimentation and philosopical lyrical themes (Music, American Life, Madame X).

Your picks are the most similar to mine. I went between going with self-titled debut or LAV for first, but ending up going with LAV because it was really the album that made her a superstar, while self-titled was a bit of a slow burner at first. 

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I'd pick Like A Prayer because it represents so many of the themes Madonna has used in her career and it'd be a shame not to include a Like A album. It's the album of a daughter.

After that, probably Ray Of Light where she has fully evolved her sound, her belief system and has a new voice . That is the album of a mother.

The third would be Rebel Heart I think. It's a safe choice because it sounds a lot like a greatest hits album and actually represents Madonna for who she is and what she has achieved. Also, it has a fresh sound and we have to include a record to represent 21st century Madonna which has been the longer portion of her career. That would be the third age album of an icon.

Those are the albums I'd suggest to any friend wanting to start somewhere with her.

 

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Guest Nobody Knows Me
  1. Like a Prayer
  2. Erotica
  3. Ray of Light

I almost included Confessions on a Dance Floor as well, since she is known for her dance-pop music primarily, and a lot of albums over the past year have drawn a lot of influence from it.  

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1. Like a Virgin: The album that really catapulted Madonna into the mainstream conscious.

2. Like a Prayer: The album/era that really solidified her staying power in music and pop culture

3. Ray of Light: The album that maintained that even though motherhood and Kabbalah softened her, she was still the HBIC of the music industry despite being amongst the rise of teen-pop/bubblegum-pop/boy bands/girl groups.

Honourable mention: Confessions on a Dancefloor 

Those three albums also showcase the three sides of Madonna people know best: the girl with the NY swagger and the look that launched a thousand Madonna- wannabes (LAV), the sexually liberated, introspective and dominant woman (LAP) and the wise Kabbalah inspired mother (ROL).

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18 hours ago, Voguerista said:

Hi Hi. Question: If you were to name THREE of Madonna's albums (excluding her greatest hits) that best represent her and her career as a whole at this time, which would you choose and why? (If you can't stop at three, you can name more)

I would choose Like A Prayer (for the emotion, the controversy, and religious aspect), Ray Of Light (for the complete mix up from her previous albums, the spiritual and life journey, and the experimental sound. Also, for her beauty and creative Geisha style), and Confessions On A Dancefloor (for the full on dance album and for the dancer she is).

 

totally agree!

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Ok, so it’s not that easy to choose 3... 

- True Blue (her first real successful album) 

- Ray Of Light (one word “Frozen”)

- Confessions On A Dancefloor (her last album that I believe the “normal” public still enjoy & play, not to mention it was her last album were she worked with unknown producers & not followed the trend) 

 

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  • True Blue - This is when, in my opinion, Madonna really started growing as an adult woman and as an artist.
  • Erotica - Because M was totally into this album creatively; you can tell she dug it totally (or maybe me that's me talkin'!)
  • Confessions on a Dancefloor - This album is just "eh" for me, but it really digs back into her disco and dancing roots. It's pretty "her" all the way. 
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