Ranking All 13 Madonna Studio Albums From Worst To Best
8. Bedtime Stories (1994)
Following on from her sexuality focused Erotica album, Bedtime Stories was Madonna's effort to soften her image after the backlash following the album and its companion book Sex.
Also managing to comment on relationships and romance, this album seems a perfect follow-on thematically, but with a more commercial appeal.
The album plays very well as a whole, keeping the themes at the forefront of each song, and creating an exploration of everything Madonna had to say about love and sorrow.
The openness of this album, with self-reflective lyrics, makes it feel deeply personal and warm. Production wise, it's a great example of how well Madonna can incorporate popular music and transform her image and performance around it, perfectly mixing R&B in to the album's songs.
Singles such as 'Bedtime Story' and 'Secret' being must-listens for fans of the pop music icon. There is an alluring quality to her vocals in 'Bedtime Story', sounding almost like a siren's call, and hypnotising the listener.
Despite the previous album's backlash, Madonna doesn't feel like she has taken a step backwards to save her image here, and creates an enjoyable musical experience.