Just because MJ is the biggest pop star on the planet doesn't mean he does not have songs or albums that are not appreciated. Also, just because something is known doesn't mean it is respected or known for the right reasons. Off The W all gets its just due from music lovers but its not an album that gets much attention from the media or general public from a musical standpoint compared to Thriller. Ironically, OTW is more musically diverse than Thrilller.

...okay. Refer to Mr. Chiulas stats and you might find a lot of music enthusiasts.

All of Michael's album's sold over 10 million copies world wide. He is the third biggest selling artist of all time. However, that still does not necessarily mean it certain albums or songs do not get recognized by the media. OTW is often overlooked even by the general public. Thriller and even BAD are always sited OR all three of them together (OTW, Thriller, BAD) However, OTW, is never really appreciated on its own merit artistically compared to his others like Thriller.

Music enthusiasts and the general public/media are different audiences though.

Uh...

Music enthusiasts do make up a large percentage of the general public.

Actually no they don't.

A general music listener is very different from a music enthusiast "music listener."

What's the difference exactly? Both have the ability to form a strong opinion about an artist / band. And what even is a "general music listener"?

Soulflower - I don't know you except for a few months on this forum. I have a word of advice that you can take, or blow off. Your choice.

You don't have to fight every damn fight. Stop being so defensive and/or combative about your passions. It'll probably make your ride here much smoother.

Off The Wall is a MONSTER album achievement by any standards.

Accept that and stop trying to argue that it's "not appreciated enough" or "overshadowed".

Sure, the MJ bandwagon fans that jumped on board once Thriller blew up probably don't wanna look back, but any true MJ fan reveres OTW. I personally think it's MJ's best work.

Chill girl.

I'm a music fan and I don't know much about that album.

I will use us and this conversation as an example.

You and I are not "general" music listeners. We are passionate and are very opinionated about music. We go out of our way to voice our opinions about various topics related to music, songs, albums artists and pretty much anything related to music. We go out of our way to do this by going on message boards and engaging in other extra behaviors that an average casual music listener would not do. We are music enthusiastics.

A general music listener is someone who casually listens to anything at their disposal or anything that is easily accessible. They don't care enough to have an opinion about it and they are not interested in looking for music or other types of music. Listening to music that they have easy access to (i.e. turning on the radio in the car) is done out of convenience, not passion or extreme interest. They have little interest but its not enough to call them enthusiastics.

But you know the songs.