# 5

"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" 1979

Make a list of the top 10 "ooooh!" screams in history, and this hit has at least six of them. MJ introduces the world to his grown bad self, rocking harder than anything on rock radio, yet sleek and debonair enough to make the rest of the Top 40 to sound like hot air. Who else could get away with that murmured spoken-word introduction? Who else could wear white socks with a tux and still look cool?

# 3

"Got To Be There" 1971

His first solo single, and a first taste of the mature, introspective Michael to come, it sold more than a million and half copies after coming out in the fall of 1971. The song itself is hardly childhood stuff ("Got to be there in the morning?") with bittersweet minor-key harmonies that should have been beyond the reach of a young thing. Yet Michael coasts over the jazzy chords and lush orchestration, handling each key change like a born soulman. He'd just turned 13.

essential moment in history - i want you back

"I Want You Back" 1969

THOSE SUPERFLY DANCE MOVES! THOSE DRUMS! Michael's purple pimp hat! At a turning point for the Motown empire, Berry Gordy puts all of Hitsville U.S.A's resources (including the then-unthinkable sessions budget of $10,000.00) into devising the perfect pop song. Michael's pleading vocal brings it home. Literally nobody has ever walked out of a room while this song is playing."