I don't think critics care to appreciate the albums after Thriller. There's a shift in content beginning with Bad. For the most part, up until Bad, Mike's music was relationship/love stuff. I think this was mainly because he was getting songs from others rather than expressing himself. (Between OTW and Thriller, he only wrote 7 or 8 songs I think)
Beginning with Bad, when he was more 'in charge' there began to be the global awareness songs that people (at least in America) think are corny are way to idealistic(MITM, APOM). The disdain with the media also began on the Bad album (Leave Me Alone).
I personally think Dangerous may be his best album. Its diverse, but somehow its still cohesive. The lyrics to some of the songs are absolutely incredible and the song structures always keep you guessing. There are a variety of vocal deliveries also. Front to back, Dangerous is a lot to digest. There are the global awareness songs, love songs, memorial songs, race relation song, rock, hip hop, R&B, a ballad, singing, semi-rapping, high notes, deep voiced vocals, cliched-mouth vocals, full voice vocals (see my point). Most of the songs are at least five minutes. Its a lot. I don't think people gave it a chance since its so much. Nearly 20 years later, I'm still discovering subtle nuances on the album.
I feel like HIStory is a good representation of Mike's mind state at the time. I kind of see it as a period piece. There are a few timeless songs (Earth Song, TDCAU, Stranger in Moscow) but for the most part, its him venting his frustrations from the previous 4 years. Similar to Dangerous, its a lot to digest but its way more disjointed. I've always felt that album sequencing plays a large part of how an album is perceived. While there are some incredibly strong songs on that album, the sequencing isn't very good in my opinion. In all honesty, I wouldn't expect media types to give the album any praise considering he talks about them more than a few times on the album. The very stuff he's talking about on the album is the type of shit that the reviews for this album begin with. Pairing the album with the Greatest hits seemed to show a shift in his personality and song style. Dude was MAD. Rightfully so. I love the album by the way because I feel its his most personal, but with the media bashing songs, its no surprise that the media wouldn't like it.
I think BOTDF was bashed by the U.S. media because of all of the dance/house remixes. That wasn't hot here at the time (which shows he was ahead of his time). The fact that its the biggest selling remix album ever shows that he knew what he was doing. I've always treated BOTDF as an EP with the first five songs. I only have those tracks on my iPod because that's how Mike wanted it (and thats how I listened to it before I even knew that's how he wanted it). Those five songs are a diverse collection as well. There is some magic on those five songs. I think they are as strong as anything he's released. The remixes threw me off then and still do. Its kind of funny because many artists are releasing EPs now and they wouldn't let him do it in 1997. Again, it shows MJ was a waaaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of his time.
By the time Invincible came out, I don't think he had a chance. His name had been tarnished, by who? The media. He could've dropped *kanye voice* the greatest album of all time, but by then, it wasn't about the music for the media. It was about the eccentricities. There are some gems on this album as well, but I don't think its a strong album in all. I also think its his most inconsistent as far as the highs and lows. I actually think that the last 3 tracks on disc four of the "The Ultimate Collection" box set trumps many of the songs on the Invincible album. With all that being said, a lot of the reviews I've read were way too harsh. Its my least favorite MJ album, but there are some incredible songs. I've even read interviews that didn't give the vocal brilliance of 'Butterflies' its props.
With all this said, I do think the media are a bunch of haters Post-Thriller. I bet when this new album comes out, they are gonna posture like "its amazing that these songs didn't make his earlier albums" and all that shit. smh