I bought it on vinyl when it came out, and I was a grownup (age 30) and everything. I unapologetically enjoyed it then, and now.
BTW, when* Thriller* came out, MJ hadn’t yet turned weird or creepy. That was still a couple of years away.
Had it on cassette as a kid. Awesome album, still is.
Like some others here, it was also my first cassette tape, and I played it until it wore out and bought another one.
I don’t have a copy now, but I feel like Thriller has aged well. I still enjoy the songs that occasionally come on the radio station I listen to. Furthermore, I remember that the album itself plays well as whole piece rather than as a bunch of individual tracks.
For a while, I was a Michael Jackson fan, but he did his best to dissuade me of that. “Bad” the song was disappointing, but it was a pretty solid album that I also still enjoy, but it was no Thriller… and everything else he did wasn’t just named bad, it really was. Of course, my tastes were also shifting. By Bad, I had discovered Def Leppard, and so (for me) the standout track on that album was Dirty Diana.
As for general weirdness, criminal charges, etc… I listen to music for the music and try not to let personalities get in the way. Maybe I’m that way because of Michael Jackson. It certainly cured me of considering myself a fan, but some of his music does stand the test of time.
Yes, bought the vinyl the year it came out, listened to it a lot, still like it.
That’s also how I felt. Songs from the album were so omnipresent during the mid-80s that owning it seemed unnecessary.
Came in here to say yes, then realized you weren’t asking about the anthology series hosted by Boris Karloff. Carry on.
No, I’ve never been a Jackson fan. That was right around the time (age 13-14) I started to get into alternative/college/whatever rock like R.E.M., U2 etc. and my tastes have stayed in that area ever since.
Pretty much this. But about three years ago, Amazon was selling the digital album for cheap enough that I finally bought a copy.
Since then, though, I’ve only listened to it once or twice. Seven of its nine songs I was already familiar enough with that I don’t feel the need to deliberately listen to them again; the other two didn’t grab me; and the album as a whole didn’t really flow or add up to more than the sum of its parts, the way some albums do.
I had the LP in high school.
I have the LP, purchased when it first came out. Still in a box downstairs.
Of course I have.
My brother had it on LP. Since it was released in December of 1983, he would have been a senior in high school.
Yup, had it on vinyl. I was more into new wave at the time, but there was no denying it was a great album.
Had the tape with me when me and the ex drove across the Sahara. It was a huge hit with the North Africans we encountered and I remember a lot of dancing and good times listening to it there. I still think it’s one of, if not the, best of pop albums ever made. The video of Thriller was a kick too. Still have the tape somewhere.
Never had any Michael Jackson albums or songs.
Maybe he had 300,000 fans who each bought 100 copies of “Thriller”.
Never had Thriller.
I downloaded “Billie Jean” at some point.
Like it but the SO (black woman 26) makes me turn any MJ off.
Got Thriller on vinyl for my birthday in 1984. Can’t say it’s a favourite of mine these days, but it’s a classic and great for nostalgia.
I was in college when it came out. Never bought it, couldn’t stand it. I am still genuinely surprised that it became as popular as it did, and even more surprised at how many people thought MJ invented that tired old mime gag. And after reading the album credits, it was clear that even if I had liked it, it was mostly the work of Quincy Jones (and Eddie Van Halen on Beat It).
Only on Laserdisc.