Tuesday Top Ten: Favorite Michael Jackson Songs

From child star to child raper, Michael Jackson thrilled (bad pun intended) audiences since he was ten. His looks may have changed, but his voice did not. From the little boy from Gary, Indiana who sang songs to mice to the twentysomething genius who made people faint and hung out with Brooke Shields and Webster to the mangled-faced freak who thought it was okay to let children sleep in his bed, Michael Jackson was an entertainer through and through.

For many of my generation, he was the closest thing to Elvis or The Beatles that we have. When I hear the words "Michael Jackson," it's tough for me to think of him as anything other than the iconic mid '80s Michael Jackson who made every kid on Earth try to imitate the moonwalk and who made twelve-minute videos that premiered on national television. He was an idol. I don't think of him as the plastic-faced creep he became, and I'd rather not anyway.

With that intro, I give you my ten favorite Michael Jackson songs. These include songs from the Jackson 5 as well. As you can see, I think most of the music he made from the nineties forward was subpar.

10. "The Way You Make Me Feel" (Bad, 1987). I dare you to listen to this song and not feel good, unless, of course, you happen to be one of the victims of his molestation.

9. "Dirty Diana" (Bad). This song kind of made me want to meet this Diana. It was raunchier than probably any of his other songs, and its guitars were more hair band than pop, so obviously that's cool in my book.

8. "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" (Off the Wall, 1979). Off of his solo debut album, "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" is upbeat, cheesy, and catchy.

7. "Smooth Criminal" (Bad). I don't think Annie is okay.

6. "Thriller" (Thriller, 1982). Undoubtedly the greatest video of all-time, and not a bad song either. Any song with a Vincent Price voice over is solid in my book.

5. "The Love You Save" (ABC, 1970). A great Jackson 5 song about grade school whores. I love the seemingly innocent warning "Darling, look both ways before you cross me." It's as if he's saying, "Look, you little swing set strumpet, if you can't manage to keep your pants zipped up, I will be forced to spread the word about your spread legs. Be warned: they will label you a flirt."

4. "Billie Jean" (Thriller). One of the baddest beats around. It's hard not to tap your foot when you hear this or sing "heeeee" after "don't go around breaking young girls' hearts." And you know what, given what has recently come to light, the kid probably isn't his son.

3. "Beat It" (Thriller). "Beat It" had everything that embodies the '80s: red leather jackets, a guitar solo courtesy of Eddie Van Halen, gang members climbing out of sewers, and knife fights turned into group dance routines.

2. "Man in the Mirror" (Bad). There's always been something about this song that I liked, perhaps because it's a call for accountability. You see, Ryan, the man in the mirror is you. Well, the man in your mirror is you. The man in my mirror is usually Ace Frehley, so that's pretty cool.

1. "I Want You Back" (Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5, 1969). One of the coolest music-related videos I've ever seen was in my History of Rock & Roll: The '60s class at IU. It was a tape of The Jackson 5's audition for Motown in July 1968. Michael was nine, singing lead, and dancing like he was already famous. It was one of those things you see -- especially knowing what became of him -- and you are just in awe of how pure and amazing the performance was. There was no doubt that this kid was going to be a star, and, even in 1997 (when I saw it), it was tragic watching it because I just wanted to say to that nine-year-old Michael, "Just keep your nose the way it is. Oh, and don't give kids wine." That has nothing to do with "I Want You Back," but I suppose it relates to why I like the song. It's pure and amazing, and it's one of the catchiest damn songs ever written.