Where Off the Wall was pretty much straight good times, Thriller introduced dread into Michael Jackson's solo work. By 1995's HIStory, this element curdled into overwhelming self-regard and out-of-touchness, but here it's bracing. While Thriller offers its share of cute ("The Girl Is Mine," a duet with Paul McCartney that was the album's first single; "P.Y.T."), the most memorable cuts remain "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," all of which meld musical imagination and worried-mind lyrics.