Madonna album by album: the great and the not so much
Madonna’s albums, excluding compilations, remixes, live DVDS and most soundtracks:
1 “Madonna” (released July 27, 1983)
A startling debut, combining dance classics (“Holiday”), fine-boned pop songs (“Lucky Star”) and even a flat-out rocker (“Burning Up”).
2 “Like a Virgin” (Nov. 12, 1984)
A far richer sound deepened Madonna on this disc, thanks to producer Nile Rodgers. He brought added finesse to character pieces (“Like a Virgin,” “Material Girl”) as well as to prime pop songs (“Over and Over”). Interestingly, only the reissue version holds Madonna’s peerless dance cut “Into the Groove” (from “Desperately Seeking Susan”).
3 “true Blue” (June 30, 1986)
A giant leap ahead for the star: She branched out with Latin pop (“La Isla Bonita”) and grand balladry (“Live to Tell”). Madonna fleshed out things even further with the headline-grabbing abortion-themed piece “Papa Don’t Preach” and the plush video-vehicle “Open Your Heart.”
4 “Like a Prayer” (March 21, 1989) Madonna created the most elaborate song of her career with the show-stopper of an opener (the gospel-pop title cut). But she nearly equaled it with the club anthem “Express Yourself” and the mock’60s pop smash “Cherish.”
5 “erotica” (Oct. 20, 1992)
So begins Madonna’s dark and stormy period. With “Erotica” the star bored deep into serious dance music to create her most underground, cohesive and subversive album. It follows that it’s also her most divisive.
6 “Bedtime Stories” (Oct. 25, 1994)
For this venture, the star got into the rapera groove of ’90s R&B. But she managed to break that up with a sweeping ballad (“Take a Bow”) and a nod to Bjork’s avant-garde electronica (the title track).
7 “evita” soundtrack (Nov. 12, 1996)
Madonna wiped the floor with every other previous Evita on the soundtrack to the movie. Why? Because she’s the only one who ever sang it from the inside, without feeling a need to comment on her character’s politics. It helped that, to Madonna, there’s probably nothing wrong with being a fascist pig. Technically, she sang the role with an unexpected poise and power. Apparently, those singing lessons really paid off. So did the striking string arrangements.
8 “Ray of Light” (March 3, 1998)
Madonna got enlightened on “Ray of Light” — for better and for worse. The disc may have come as sweet relief after the heaviness of her previous two, non-soundtrack releases. But that led to lots of preaching about the inner self and the like. Luckily, all this didn’t prevent the disc from containing one of the most dizzying dance songs of her career — the smashing title track.
9 “Music” (Sept. 19, 2000)
A sister to “Ray of Light,” “Music” took a lighter approach to Madonna’s heightened new self, resulting in the note-perfect title single. The song “Music” rates as her simplest and, so, most perfect, pop statement since “Holiday.” The disc also soared on the endless melody, and savvy feminism, of “What It Feels Like for a Girl.”
10 “American Life” (april 22, 2003)
Whoopsie. This rates as the only facedown pratfall of Madonna’s recorded career. It’s a preachy, strident mess. Most damning, it’s not hooky — except for that cool, flamenco-inflected Bond theme, “Die Another Day.”
11 “Confessions on a Dance Floor” (Nov. 11, 2005)
“Confessions” was supposed to return Madonna to the fun club self of her youth. But it didn’t make it all the way. It can still be preachy, or clumsy (like the song that rhymes New York with dork). Happily, the disc includes the blissful single “Hung Up,” fired by a groovy ABBA sample.
12 “Hard Candy” (april 19, 2008)
“Candy” was the album “Confessions” claimed to be. It’s a total dance floor rave-up, complete with nonstop smart melodies and beats. “4 Minutes,” a duet with Justin Timberlake, ranked as the coolest single of 2008.
13 “MDNA” (March 23, 2012)
On a roll, Madge upholds the tone of “Hard Candy” on the new disc, again delivering something fast, sweet and fun. More, she expands both her melodic palette and her ironic élan.