Top 10 Motown albums of all time
TheGrio counts down the greatest albums ever released by artists from Motown Records.
This August, two legendary albums, Stevie Wonder’s “Innervisions” and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On,” celebrate their 50th anniversaries. These transformative LPs come from Motown Records, one of the most influential labels in music history.
Since boxer-turned-songwriter Berry Gordy received an $800 loan from his sister to start his record label in 1959, Motown lived up to its monikers of “Hitsville U.S.A.” and “The Sound of Young America.” While beginning as an assembly line of massive singles from artists like The Miracles, The Four Tops, The Supremes, and Gladys Knight and the Pips, they soon became known for churning out great albums.
From the early 1970s onward, members of Motown’s peerless artist stable, like Wonder, Gaye, The Commodores, Diana Ross, and others, used the album as a singular artistic statement rather than just a collection of songs. TheGrio counts down the 10 best albums of all time from Motown Records.
*Only one album per artist*
10. “A Quiet Storm” – Smokey Robinson (1975)
How many artists can say that they started a musical movement with a single album? Smokey Robinson’s 1975 album, “A Quiet Storm,” launched radio programming for DJs nationwide for decades. Led by its iconic title track, “Baby That’s Backatcha,” and “The Agony and the Ecstasy,” the album helped establish a then semi-retired Robinson into a consistent solo success into the late 1980s.
9. “II” – Boyz II Men (1994)
Boyz II Men took their patented doo-wop-inspired, four-part harmony of their breakout 1991 debut album, “Cooleyhighharmony, ”to new extremes on their 1994 album, “II.” Songs like “Thank You,” “Vibin’,” and “Jezebel” mixed well with record-breaking songs like “I’ll Make Love to You” and “On Bended Knee.” Boyz II Men are among the biggest-selling male groups of all time, and this album is a big reason why.
8. “Diana” – Diana Ross (1980)
Diana Ross acted as a foundational artist for Motown Records since her days as the frontwoman of The Supremes. By 1979, she was ready to leave Motown to explore new options. Before she departed her label, she made a final statement with “Diana,” a statement of sophisticated dance music. With Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards writing and producing the album, “Diana” provided namesake iconic songs for its namesake, like “I’m Coming Out” and “Upside Down.”
7. “Third Album” – The Jackson 5 (1970)
The Jackson 5 became the template for nearly every male group and boy band that came after them. Their “Third Album” codified what became their signature sound. Thanks to the group’s peerless harmonies, the otherworldly vocals of young Michael Jackson, juxtaposed with the soulful singing of older brother Jermaine Jackson, songs like “I’ll Be There,” “Mama’s Pearl,” “Darling Dear,” and “Goin’ Back to Indiana” possessed that great combination of youthful exuberance and time-tested sophistication.
6. “Johnny Gill” – Johnny Gill (1990)
Fresh off the success of New Edition’s “Heart Break,” Johnny Gill took advantage of his new fanbase with his third album and self-titled debut on Motown. Thanks to producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and L.A. Reid and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Gill utilized dynamic vocal prowess to its fullest potential. The album spawned three No. 1 R&B singles, “Rub You the Right Way,” “My, My, My,” and “Wrap My Body Tight,” and a No. 2 with “Fairweather Friend,” helping the LP sell two million copies.
5. “Can’t Slow Down” – Lionel Richie (1983)
Lionel Richie released his first solo album while still a member of The Commodores. Once he left the group, his follow-up, “Can’t Slow Down,” established him as one of Motown’s biggest superstars. With songs like “All Night Long,” “Hello,” “Stuck on You,” and “Running with the Night,” Richie became an international pop sensation, and “Can’t Slow Down” won Album of the Year at the 1985 Grammy Awards.
4. “Mama’s Gun” – Erykah Badu (2000)
Erykah Badu became the first lady of the so-called Neo-Soul movement with her 1997 debut album, “Baduizm.” She retained the smoky-voice lounger singing style for her next album but expanded from “Baduizm’s” slick fusion of R&B and hip-hop into more eclectic territories. “Mama’s Gun” saw Badu adopt a more organic production atmosphere, heard on songs like “Didn’t Cha Know,” “Bag Lady,” and “Green Eyes.”
3. “Street Songs” – Rick James (1981)
Rick James reached a breaking point by 1981. After riding the tremendous momentum of his first three albums on Motown, the king of punk funk 1980 release, “Garden of Love,” failed to reach commercial expectations. His fifth album, “Street Songs,” was a do-or-die situation. He and his Stone City Band stepped up to the challenge and delivered. “Super Freak,” “Give it To Me Baby,” “Ghetto Life,” and “Fire & Desire” made James one of Motown’s most prominent acts of the early 1980s.
2. “What’s Going On” – Marvin Gaye (1971)
There are two kinds of albums: before Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and after. By the start of the 1970s, Gaye earned a distinction as the Prince of Motown, but he decided he wanted to make music that went beyond just the typical pop music fare of love and relationships. “What’s Going On” is a suite of social consciousness, political upheaval, and spiritual awakening. Songs like the title track, “Mercy Mercy Me,” and “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” diagnosed the ailment of America then and now.
1. “Songs in the Key of Life” – Stevie Wonder (1976)
From 1971 to 1976, Stevie Wonder had arguably the most outstanding creative runs in American music history. After gaining full creative control over his music at age 21, Wonder’s albums, like “Where I’m Coming From,” “Talking Book,” and “Innervisions” became instant classics. But after dropping one hit album after the next, he reached a creative zenith with “Songs in the Key of Life.” A double album that contained classics like “Sir Duke,” “I Wish,” “As,” “Isn’t She Lovely,” and “Love’s in Need of Love Today,” “Songs on the Key of Life” showcased a virtuous execution of different genres, themes, and emotions that’s never been seen before or duplicated since.
Matthew Allen is an entertainment writer of music and culture for theGrio. He is an award-winning music journalist, TV producer and director based in Brooklyn, NY. He’s interviewed the likes of Quincy Jones, Jill Scott, Smokey Robinson and more for publications such as Ebony, Jet, The Root, Village Voice, Wax Poetics, Revive Music, Okayplayer, and Soulhead. His video work can be seen on PBS/All Arts, Brooklyn Free Speech TV and BRIC TV.
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