I've been a fan since the 80s and personally I preferred BAD to THRILLER. For all those who were not born or can't remember the Michaelmania of the 80s I can guarantee you that Michael Jackson's BAD was a huge thing in those times. Everybody went crazy and I clearly remember that the album BAD actually had much more impact and success than THRILLER. I am not talking bout charts, but simply about a drastic difference in number of people who increasingly became fans or loved to see or listen to Michael Jackson. He was the best. That kind of fever I hadn't known during THRILLER era even if it also had a huge success. Dangerous and History era, tough successful, were nothing compared to BAD era.
HOWEVER!!! It is impossible to compare THRILLER and BAD! They are COMPLEMENTARY. Every fan from the 80s knows that Michael Jackson without THRILLER wouln't have that success solely with BAD, and vice versa, if there were no BAD album, THRILLER would be forgotten simply because there were only three videos from that album, whereas BAD generated 9 videos out of 11 songs!!!!!, without taking into account Moonwalker's Speed Demon and MOONWALKER itself + a WORLD TOUR!!! That was a huge promotion for Michael Jackson that he previously never had with THRILLER or any other album.
By the way, someone in this forum said that LADY IN MY LIFE was not a good song. When I first listened to it, I didn't like it either, nevertheless when you put aside all the fame and Michael Jackson fever, you realize that LADY IN MY LIFE is another piece of art, if not actually the best song on the album THRILLER - soft, jazzy, with perfect chorus, time after time difficult to sing, but when he says to the LADY that he loves her in a powerful, yet pleasant to hear voice, you can actually hear how sincerely it is said, shouted and sung.
