The Essential Michael Jackson

The Essential Michael Jackson
Greatest hits album by
Michael Jackson
ReleasedJuly 19, 2005 (2005-07-19)
Recorded1969–2003
Length
  • 78:56 (North American disc 1)
  • 78:50 (North American disc 2)
  • 33:07 (3.0 disc)
  • 77:42 (International disc 1)
  • 77:24 (International disc 2)
Label
Producer
  • Michael Jackson
  • various
Michael Jackson chronology
The Ultimate Collection
(2004) 		The Essential Michael Jackson
(2005) 		Visionary: The Video Singles
(2006)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Pitchfork(8.7/10)[2]

The Essential Michael Jackson is a greatest hits compilation album by American singer Michael Jackson. It was released on July 19, 2005, by Sony Music's catalog division Legacy Recordings as part of The Essential series. The two-disc compilation features thirty-eight hit songs by Michael Jackson, from his days at Motown Records with The Jackson 5 in the late 1960s and early 1970s to his 2001 hit "You Rock My World".

On August 26, 2008, The Essential Michael Jackson 3.0 was released in the United States as a limited edition containing an additional disc of seven songs performed by Jackson.[3] A re-titled release in the United Kingdom was planned on July 6, 2009, as The Hits, but was cancelled upon Jackson's death. As of 2021, the album was certified 5× platinum in the United States for over 2.5 million copies sold. Worldwide, the compilation has sold an estimated 6 million copies.[4]

  1. ^ AllMusic review
  2. ^ "Michael Jackson: The Essential Michael Jackson". Pitchfork.
  3. ^ "The Essential 3.0 Michael Jackson". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  4. ^ Sullivan, Randall (2012). Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson. Atlantic Books. ISBN 978-1611859935. Retrieved July 29, 2022.