Album of the Week: 'Good Girl Gone Bad' by Rihanna

The debate is usually Good Girl Gone Bad vs Rated R in reference to which Rihanna album serves as her greatest.

I'm going to tell you why Good Girl Gone Bad is better.

Rihanna has a tendency to put out really fun albums that are fantastic in the moment because they are made to cause meltdowns on Billboard. Her labels choose producers that are going to not only blend in with the current Top 40 sound, but top everyone else who's doing it. It's genius marketing, really... the only problem with that is, her albums usually become a bit stale for me after a month or two. 

That's where comparing the two mentioned albums usually takes a turn in most favoring Good Girl Gone Bad. It was the last Rihanna release before she became content with being a singles artists. Rated R, Loud and Talk That Talk are all fantastic in their own right, I just don't listen to them anymore. 

Still, at least once a month I'm blasting tracks from Good Girl Gone Bad like the album just came out. This album, I believe, really shaped her as an artist and paved the way for her to become the megastar she is today. It was edgy and witty, it had depth and a lot of female R&B artists were shaking in their boots. After all, Rihanna pretty much went from being as big as Amerie to being as big as Beyoncé over the course of one career defining first single, "Umbrella."

The first single wasn't the only power anthem. The album was basically built from the ground up with hit after hit after hit. She could have potentially released any song on the album for a Top 20 hit, just like all 6 singles did in the US, including the chart topper "Take A Bow" and "Don't Stop The Music" which bowed at #3. Let's pause for a second and take a moment of silence to remember the synth-bass Euro club insanity that is "Don't Stop the Music." 

My favorite single is still "Shut Up and Drive." The way the over-processed guitars are layered to give the effect of a racing convertible in the summertime really makes my heart throb. 

I don't like to get too into singles, because we've all heard them. If you push the singles aside and jump into the actual album, tracks like "Lemme Get That" and "Breaking Dishes" you'll hear former big forehead cutie with fun pop island songs return and shine in higher quality productions more grown-up lyrics than say "Pon de Replay."

The one track I don't like on this album is "Say It." ... and that's only because her voice is paper thin. It's like she took two steps back here.

Another classic album to mark off the list! I can't imagine anyone who uses this blog having not heard this true pop masterpiece.

Buy It Here!