Rich4rd

Ok, so I've ordered DOAD on Amazon. I figured most of Control was on that album anyway (it has 9 songs, and only really one single, plus "You Can Be Mine" and "He Doesn't Know I'm Alive" are missing). Apparently it will arrive next week.- I will let you know what I think.

Thanks for the continued replies. OK, so it seems like "Janet" has a bit of filler - I didn't quite know what to think of an album with 28 songs, and half of them are 10 seconds long, almost like interludes. As far as I can tell, a couple of the electronic/dance songs on "Rhythm Nation" sound a bit like early Madonna, and some other songs (the later ballads) sound like Dina Carroll. Is that a fair assessment? Is there anybody else that people would list as a clear influence/similarity for different eras?

^ yes, I definitely remember TTWLG from radio and clubs (I used to work in a big dance/house club from about 93-96). I guess thinking about it, I probably know well over 50% of her singles. I guess I was after some input from fans to see what else there was hidden behind the scenes - the picture is starting to become clear now. Before asking this, I was hedging towards janet. as I had just assumed it was her best album. Is it a bit too much of a concept album? (maybe not as easy to listen to, especially with all those short tracks which appear to be just effects or clips of dialog?) Are the lyrical themes more diverse or more political on the earlier albums? Does the sound/stylle evolve as we come more towards the present day? Who else would you say each album sounds like? For example, I've always thought that Whoops Now sounded like Diana Ross...

Thanks for the input guys. Wow, I'm taken by surprise with all the people saying Control. Just looked it up, the ones that stand out to me as tracks I know are "What Have You Done for Me Lately" and "Let's Wait Awhile"... Seems there were a lot of singles from that one, maybe I will recognise a couple more if I heard them. Also strange that the two albums I thought would lead the poll currently don't have any votes at all...

As a bit of an intro - I'm a big fan of Michael, I listen to all of his stuff from the Jackson 5 all the way up to Invincible. I guess my favourite era is Bad and Dangerous. So, I'm looking to get a bit more into Janet - I've heard all the 80s and 90s stuff on the radio, plus one or two non-singles. I've decided it's time to get one of her albums. I'm drawn towards the older ones. I guess the main two contenders would be "janet" and "Design of a Decade", but I'm just looking to see what other people would suggest. Any songs I might have overlooked? Does "Janet" work better as an album (i.e. flows better, isn't just a collection of songs)? Which works well as an intro to her voice and style? I might end up just getting one CD, but potentially I could buy a few more afterwards. Is there a natural order to the way I should get them?