Culling a playlist from an artist as estimable and earth-shaking as Michael Jackson is a monumental task. There's always going to be the one that got away — the shoulda-been classic that got dwarfed simply because his classics were just too towering to allow any runner-ups. But whether chart-topper or quiet victory, what stands out about the best Michael Jackson songs is how the music mostly cleared the way for his outsized personality. His vocal style was marvelously flexible, often favoring simple attack over cheap pyrotechnics, and he applied it to some of the most indelible melodies ever...
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