The recent passing of music icon Michael Jackson still has left millions of music fans in a state of disbelief, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t be. From childhood through adulthood, Jackson was ceaseless in his pursuit of musical perfection, producing some of the most successful pop music of the 20th century.

1987’s Bad was the only album in history to produce five No. 1 singles, reaching global sales of approximately 30 million. Bad, while not reaching the colossal success of its predecessor, Thriller, further managed to cement Jackson as a bona fide superstar.

Bad saw Michael Jackson taking on different musical style as well as personal style. His clean-cut, friendly image started to make way for a harder-edged version of the King of Pop. Jackson’s creative freedom grew with Bad — he wrote all but two tracks on the album. The late 1980s saw an overall shift in the public persona of Jackson, as tabloid stories grew at an alarming rate and were mostly untrue.

It was this force that may have distracted some from the musical genius that Jackson was. All controversy aside, this album is a timeless testament to the brilliance that Jackson was able to capture on record — something which today is quite a rare find.

— by Rebecca Koons