138. Madonna, "The Immaculate Collection"

 

It's wild to think there have only been a few albums on this list where I absolutely knew every song, and most of them are albums that I absolutely love, like In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.  And then this one.  Yes, as we were driving back from dropping our kid off at sleepaway camp for the first time yesterday (I'm ok, thanks for asking) we listened to this album and IMAGINE MY SURPRISE to learn that I knew every song on this album with one exception - the last song, "Rescue Me," which I cannot recall ever hearing.

Let me be clear: I have never owned a Madonna album and, as far as I know, never listened to a Madonna album all the way through until I did Like a Prayer in July 2021.  This is a compilation album, so it's pretty much just hits, including "Like a Prayer" and "Like a Virgin" and orher songs that aren't about things being like other things.

Here is a quick rundown:

"Holiday," "Lucky Star," "Borderline," "Crazy for You," "Live to Tell" - ok I guess, not great

"Like a Virgin," "Cherish," "Papa Don't Preach," "Open Your Heart" - really good pop songs, would be anyone else's best song probably

"Material Girl," "Like a Prayer," "Into the Groove," "Express Yourself," "Vogue" - absolute bangers, total classics

"La Isla Bonita" - weird ass cultural appropriation, also though she was saying "soft bagel" instead of "San Pedro" in the line "Last night I dreamt of San Pedro"

"Justify My Love" - like literally sex music

So yeah except for "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me" this was a greatest hits album, and on those terms it's absolutely a collection of greatest hits.  I have issues with comp albums being on the list but they're too boring and pedantic to get into.  If you like the Madonna songs that have completely and totally permeated the culture such that you know every word if you were within the blast radius if a mainstream radio station in the 80's then you will like this.

Is this album in my personal Top 500? Nope.