These two albums are the core of JacksonвЂ™s legacy, and it simply feels wrong that Number Ones gives them short shrift. This may be a fairly accurate reading of chart positions, but it doesnвЂ™t result in a particularly representative collection, since the brilliant Off the Wall is granted only two songs, leaving behind such charting hits as вЂњOff the WallвЂќ and вЂњSheвЂ™s Out of My LifeвЂќ (both gold singles, mind you), and Thriller is represented by only three tracks, with such defining songs as вЂњWanna Be StartinвЂ™ SomethinвЂ™,вЂќ вЂњHuman Nature,вЂќ вЂњPYT (Pretty Young Thing),вЂќ and вЂњThe Girl Is MineвЂќ being left behind. So, by sticking to number ones, and adding вЂњSmooth Criminal,вЂќ this collection skews very heavily toward Bad, at times playing like an expanded reissue with bonus tracks. Its successor, Bad, had seven of its 11 songs hit the charts (one other, the CD bonus cut вЂњLeave Me Alone,вЂќ was a staple on MTV), and of those, five peaked at number one. Thriller generated tons of hits - six of its nine tracks hit the charts, but only two of them hit number one. Then, thereвЂ™s the fact that Thriller changed the business, inaugurating the era of the blockbuster album that rode the charts for years, spinning off hit singles every quarter. (there is, of course, the requisite previously unreleased song, the OK slow jam вЂњOne More ChanceвЂќ). First of all, he doesnвЂ™t strictly follow the number one rule, leaving behind the number one hit duet вЂњSay Say SayвЂќ with Paul McCartney, substituting a 1981 live version of вЂњBenвЂќ for the original hit, adding вЂњBreak of Dawn,вЂќ an Invincible album cut never released as a single, and including вЂњThriller,вЂќ вЂњSmooth Criminal,вЂќ and вЂњEarth Song,вЂќ none of which hit number one, and the latter wasnвЂ™t even released as a single in the U.S. Jackson doesnвЂ™t fare so well by the number one rule. For some artists, sticking to number one hits isnвЂ™t a bad way to make a collection - the Beatles are a perfect example, actually, since even if 1 didnвЂ™t contain such seminal items as вЂњStrawberry Fields Forever,вЂќ it still offered a full, representative portrait of their career. An avalanche of similar-minded compilations by other titans followed, notably ElvisвЂ™ 30 #1 Hits and the Rolling StonesвЂ™ Forty Licks, and MJвЂ™s Number Ones is part of that wave.

This second collection, Number Ones, was released in the wake of the 2000 blockbuster Beatles 1, which rewrote the rules of modern-day hits collections from major artists, since it not only contained a generous, representative cross section of hits, it had a specific focus and did gangbuster business. Since Michael Jackson botched his first hits collection by pairing it with a new album of material in a double-disc set, making it considerably less attractive for those legions of listeners who want just a single disc of hits, itвЂ™s both inevitable and welcome that he attempted another compilation a few years later.

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