There’s no way this song couldn’t make the cut. By far the standout on Madonna’s debut album, “Holiday” is effortlessly joyous, with a chantlike refrain that never once feels cringey. It’s pure light.“Into the Grove” may have been our first glimpse into the music Madonna would come to be known for: grimy club delights with just enough froth to make Top-40 radio. The song sounds very much of its era, but make no mistake: It can still move a room of even the most unbothered millennials.
If “move to the music” sums up Madonna’s discography, then “Like a Prayer” sums up her entire career. It was, and always will be, her sonic, artistic, and cultural climax, which is no shade to the albums that followed it. But there’s something undeniably special about “Like a Prayer.” Not only is the song a pop gem of the highest degree, the video—with its sexual and religious themes—set the stage for what Madonna would do in the next two decades.
Worst? According to whom? Who has the authority to qualify the only queen of pop?