On Off the Wall, the 1980s come early…or do they? The ’70s disco era of orchestral strings, booming basslines and high-hat rhythms, courtesy of producer Quincy Jones, still animate “Working Day and Night,” “Get on the Floor” and more. But the flawless Off the Wall also came complete with music videos (“Rock with You,” “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough”), and a mega-superstar aesthetic that would redefine the template of what it meant to be a pop star in the next decade—like the musical blockbuster equivalent of Jaws or Star Wars. Thriller was the 2.0.

– Miles Marshall Lewis