Discography Chat: Mary J. Blige

[jarrylf]

Mary, Mary, Mary. I do love me some Mary when she's not sangin bout Crispy Chicken. But she's ma girl, always has been, I just LOVE her voice, so much damn pain,emotion,soul, and rawness. Overall I think 90's Mary is just amazing lol, I LOVE & LIVE all 4 of those 90's albums. I like 2000-06 Mary, but not the same (like around the time of Growing Pains, I LOVE Just Fine but thats about it). But I love how in the early 00's she became alot more crossover friendly with her music and image, Especially with The Breakthrough, I thought that was a GREAT era, and I loved all the love and support she was getting from both pop & R&B. I wasnt hear for majority of the songs on Growing Pains and Stronger, but she brought me back big time with My Life II, but the era is pretty dry, so I love the album but Im not really here for this era lol. But my Fave Mary era without a single doubt is My Life, I LOVE that album so damn much, like its just.......gold in my eyes. I really love What's the 411 too, but it has filler to me, more so than My Life, but What's the 411 made great singles choices, like really good ones lol. I feel like My Life shoud've had more.

I really cant stand it when people compare Keyshia Cole to Mary (the same way I dont like people comparing Ciara to Janet) its sooo not the same to me, similar yes but not the same at all in my eyes.

This is kind of a hard poll and question for me because #1 is set and always has been, but its the rest that switch places.

Poll Predictions, I really dont know, I think I'm gonna go with The Breakthrough or My Life leading the polls.

My ranking is (today, it MIGHT change lol)

1.My Life

2.What's The 411

3.Mary

4.Share My World

5.No More Drama

6.The Breakthrough

7.My Life II

8.Love & Life

9.Growing Pains

10.Stronger With Each Tear

[jarrylf]

I consider these like 2 of the best songs she's ever recorded (along with Be Happy, Real Love, Reminisce, & All That I can Say) But its something sooo special about these 2 songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBApMFw9b_0 (I LOVE playing this song at night in the dark, sets the mood, let you feel that voice)

(I think this is my fave vocal from her, when I was little (like 4ish) I thought it was Toni Braxton lol)

[bu.]

[hotboy06]

My Life>>>>>>>>

My favorite album by her.

I love the "Mary" album too. She lost me after that album.

But everything before that are classic.

[Rock & Roll Hall of Game]

Breakthrough... the best album she made... hey.. i like commercial albums

[bu.]

I find most of her albums boring to listen to in one sitting tbh...but they all have some great gems on them.

Breakthrough... the best album she made... hey.. i like commercial albums

That's the only Mary album I can listen to all the way through.

[Rock & Roll Hall of Game]

I find most of her albums boring to listen to in one sitting tbh...but they all have some great gems on them.

That's the only Mary album I can listen to all the way through.

LOL me too... the rest... not worth it

[jarrylf]

For me I gotta be in the mood for Mary. Like it's not that hard, but still I kinda gotta be in the mood. I think I'd get bored with all of Mary's albums if they didnt have like outstanding standout trackes (except Strong with each tear....no standouts there) but I think all of them have filler in 1 way or another. I do LOVE The Breakthrough, but........I do favor depressed "My Life" Mary over Happy growing Mary lol But its a very good album and era, I liked that album more than Emancipation Of Mimi honestly lol. Both of them albums were ma 2005

[bu.]

Here's my faves from each album (bearing in mind that apart from Breakthrough I've probably only heard the rest like twice each

What's The 411:

Reminisce

Real Love

You Remind Me

I Don't Want To Do Anything

My Life:

Mary Jane

You Bring Me Joy

I Never Wanna Live Without You

I'm Going Down

Mary:

The Love I Never Had

Let No Man Put Asunder

Share My World:

I Can Love You

Everything

Not Gon cry

Love Is All We Need

It's On

Missing You

No More Drama:

Rainy Dayz

No More Drama (the single version)

Love & Life:

Love At First Sight

Ooh!

Not Today

It's A Wrap

The Breakthrough:

No One Will Do

Enough Crying

Be Without You

Gonna Breakthrough

Good Woman Down

Take Me As I Am

Can't Hide From Luv

MJB Da MVP

Ain't Really Love

I Found My Everything

Father In You

Alone

One

Growing Pains:

Just Fine

Feel Like A Woman

Stay Down

Roses (the lyrics mainly)

Fade Away

If You Love Me

Smoke

Come To Me

Stronger With Each Tear:

I did like I Am actually.

My Life II:

Love A Woman

The Living Proof

[God]

My Life>>>>>>>>

My favorite album by her.

I love the "Mary" album too. She lost me after that album.

But everything before that are classic.

This. I like everything before (and including) Mary. Not too crazy about Share My World though.

I also like the singles from No More Drama, although I don't care much for the album itself.

[jarrylf]

This. I like everything before (and including) Mary. Not too crazy about Share My World though.

I also like the singles from No More Drama, although I don't care much for the album itself.

Yea I feel you, and Im completely with you on the No More Drama album. I love the videos (LOVE the videos, Mary does have a really nice video catalog) but damn that album had some filler and forgetables. But I love the era, and the look.

[RedSimba]

I've only heard the following 4 albums, and the singles from everything else... (favorite songs in green)

1. My Life ("I Love You," "Be Happy")

2. What's the 411 ("Real Love")

3. The Breakthrough ("Be Without You")

4. My Life II: The Journey Continues ("Crispy--er, I mean "Don't Mind" )

I predict Share My World and My Life would be in my top 5 though.

[jarrylf]

Heres my tracks

What's The 411

.Love No Limit

.Real Love

.Reminisce

.You Remind Me

.You Dont Have to worry

.Sweet Thing

.I dont wanna do Anything

My Life

.MY LIFE

.Be Happy

.Be With You

.Mary Jane

.I'm Going Down

.Baby Dont Go

.You Bring Me Joy

Share My World

.LOVE IS ALL WE NEED

.I can love you

.Not Gon Cry

.Everything

.Seven Days

.Share My World

.CANT GET YOU OFF MY MIND

.KEEP YOUR HEAD

Mary

.ALL THAT I CAN SAYYYYYY

.Deep inside

.As

.Your Child

.Not Lookin

.The Love I Never Had

.Dont Waste your time

No More Drama

.Family Affair

.No More Drama

.Rainy Days

.2U

Love & Life

.Love @ 1'st Sight

.Not today

.Willing & Waiting

.Dont Go

The Breakthrough

.Be without you

.Enough Crying

.Take me as I am (video version)

.No One Will Do

Growing Pains

.Just Fine

.Shake Down

.Till The Morning

.Fade Away

Stronger With Each Tear

.The One

.I am

.Tonight

My Life II

.25/8

.The Living Proof

.Mr. Wrong

.Love A Women

.Aint Nobody

.Feel Inside

.Dont Mind

.No Condition

.You Want This

I know some of the albums listed lower on my list have more songs I love than the songs listed higher, but its about the quality not the quantity. My Life is my Mary album lol. All day & night lol

[RaLpHieReBeL516]

my life is the only album tht matters

[TwistedElegance™]

For all the unintended comedy she provides, there's really no discrediting Mary's longevity or impact. And I think a great example of the respect she's earned can be found, somewhat ironically, in the form of Crispychickengate. Had a lesser known or lesser loved black female made that silly decision they would have been pummeled into the ground harder than anyone went in on MJB. A lot of the uproar came from a place of shock. As much as everyone couldn't believe what they were watching, they couldn't believe what Mary J. Blige was doing. Underneath all the laughs there seemed to be a faint level of concern. I think it could've been a much uglier scene had Burger King phoned Ciara or Kelly Rowland instead.

As for the music itself, Mary's work does just enough to get by. There's a great rawness about her earlier work, particularly on her first two albums, something I think she's struggled to maintain throughout her career. I don't know if it's because Mary cleaned herself up, but by the end of the '90s that grit and earthiness had well and truly left the building, and in its place was an almost parody-like effect. Still good, just not quite the real deal. In the '90s Mary was serious about her albums. They were meaty and full, and seemed to have a real sense of purpose. Mary in the '00s was a better singles artist. Maybe "better" isn't exactly the right word, but she was at least more consistent. 'Family Affair', 'No More Drama', 'Rainy Dayz, 'Love @ 1st Sight', 'Just Fine', and my personal fav MJB single, 'Be Without You'. And call it sacrilegious, but I think her update of U2's 'One' is even better than the original. Some great memories lie with those. What disappoints me now, though, is the severe lack of individuality among Mary J. Blige albums these days. Another year Christmas, another Mary J. Blige record. It's the same old story told a hundred times before, only the featured rappers are different. Where some artists have perfected the skill of back-to-back albums (Rihanna, Missy Elliott, '90s-Mariah), Mary is much too R&B-by-numbers to master the art of rapid succession. There isn't enough to distinguish one lot of filler from the next. It almost makes me wish she'd fought that little bit harder for 'Umbrella'.

Overall I think her discography paints her pretty accurately. Some may argue she's overrated, others under, and I can see the sense in both. For me personally, I guess I wish there were more standout moments. I would class Mary J. Blige as a veteran, but an artist whose recording career spans twenty years really should've wowed us more than this.

My ranking:

1. My Life

2. What's The 411?

3. Mary

4. The Breakthrough

5. Share My World

6. No More Drama

7. My Life II: The Journey Continues (Act 1)

8. Growing Pains

9. Stronger With Each Tear

10. Love & Life

[Bailey]

I don't feel like voting but I can say I have enjoyed some of her work, I saw her live front row, she is an amazing vocalist and I enjoyed her

[Bailey]

Breakthrough... the best album she made... hey.. i like commercial albums

that album was da shit

[*~WhitePicketDreams~*]

My fave mary albums are

Mary

No More Drama

Growing Pains

Breakthrough

Her latest is cute....

I also liked love and life....

Wasn't here for stronger with each flop. Not cute.

Oh and of course my life...der.

[vibeology]

My Life

411

No More Drama

Share My World

Mary

The rest dont do nothing for me. Personally I think Mary has 'run her course', but she has a legion of fans behind her.

[*~WhitePicketDreams~*]

Yasss at "Hits are all We Need" Featurning Nas.....classic.

[jarrylf]

Yasss at "Hits are all We Need" Featurning Nas.....classic.

That song is just.......DAMN lol. I love that song and video so much.