Strobo

Oh no we're so pressed that the last top 40 hit our fav got in the UK was 5 years ago, 33 years into her career. Truly a tragedy. Let's see Gaga do the same.

It's sad that her section is gone but we don't have an album yet and there's only so much we can say about wine and "she's in the studio!"

COADF outsold for a reason

It can't age poorly if it was already going for a sound from three decades ago. Plus, overplaying something and getting tired isn't the same as something just not hitting the same after a length of time.

It costs nothing to cancel it this year and actually plan out a good VMAs for once

Some of y'all are missing the point talking about vocal ability. OP pretty much asked which of your favs albums have so much of their personality in them that it couldn't possibly have been done by someone else. Anyways prime Madonna and Janet feel very uniquely them, which you kind of have to be to have been someone in the 80s. So many throwaway sounds and artists doing the same thing from that decade. Madonna has more than a few albums anyone could do though, some lyrical content aside. I love Hard Candy but Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake really claimed those sounds. MDNA could've been a Britney album. Rebel Heart feels the result of EVERY artist she's influenced and kind of is a mess for that. Madame X is very much hers tho. And Janet... If her Superbowl performance didn't kill her momentum, that mid 00s streak definitely did some gems aside. We also don't know her first two albums.

For Madonna it would probably be Lucky Star, it's a great song but if all she released were those instead of the discography she has? Deserved. Like a Virgin would've been a lot of more controversial and she'd be remembered for that too. Like a Prayer as well. Vogue also. It's hard to pick which song would fit this best but, but a part of me would find it funny if it were Hung Up. Imagine being in the game for 23 years and only just then getting a hit after doing controversial shit that just flopped Prince would be completely unbothered because When Doves Cry was a serve and even without the other singles doing well Purple Rain would've been successful. Not only that, but he was a generous legend serving hits for the less fortunate, sometimes under an ALIAS. Not everyone has that. Janet... I love her but maybe it's because of a post Superbowl world, but she would be so forgotten... I guess it's That's The Way Love Goes. Imagine if Janet flopped and became a bg dancer for J Lo Poor Kylie is worst off. The US already treats her like a one hit (well, two, but the 80s one is EXTRA forgotten) so yeah, Locomotion or CGYOMH. If it's the rest of the world it would probably be Spinning Around though?

They're serviceable pop songs sure but she has absolutely no identity of her own, that's where the issue comes from. Hardly anyone comes into the scene with a masterpiece, but they DO come with a reason to follow them. As far as I can tell, she doesn't really have that.

I'd say Britney has those two performances be really iconic for completely opposite reasons, but I would hardly say it's the most. The most iconic moment from the VMAs ever was the Like a Virgin/Hollywood thing she did with Christina and Madonna. And if you want to credit Britney for that too, sure but it also means you need to give Madonna credit which we all know you won't so

I GOT SO EXCITED THINKING THIS WAS A WHOLE ASS ALBUM COMING OUT I'M TIRED GIVE US B7 ALREADY ((it's a cute concept though I guess))

There's only a few there where I could say most people aren't fond of their tone but Bey, Xtina and P!nk were stretches

I would say they're probably equal with Rihanna taking the edge. Britney had an explosive prime and was constantly the most googled person for YEARS and has one of the biggest selling albums ever, the most iconic fall from grace ever, comeback from that, still be in high demand for tours, was able to get a top 20 without even trying, etc Rihanna has stayed pretty damn consistent since 2007, and only continues to grow because she's bigger than just a pop star at this point. She's still a lot more current despite also not having dropped music as long as Britney has. Britney is more or less associated with an era, while Rihanna is for better or for worse depending on who you ask, this generation's equivalent of Madonna. She sets the trends.

I forgot about her cursive singing ass

I don't understand this "tone is really pleasant for pop music" argument... Is that not the point of pretty much all pop artists? I can't really think of anyone notoriously known for having a bad tone tbh

I haven't really listened to her outside of a few songs, but nothing really drew me in to listen. Tbh I didn't even know she had stans, she seems so... Uninteresting? Like, what is HER thing? Maybe I should give Rare a spin