Despite being one of the most famous artists of all time, Michael Jackson still has quite a few hidden masterpieces within his prolific, and iconic, discography. As such a veteran of the music industry, having started at such a young age with The Jackson 5, Jackson spent years perfecting his craft, until every aspect of it was quite literally second nature - songwriting, choreography and performance, his "short film" music videos, and even innovation itself. That's how he was able to churn out 10 unique solo studio albums in his lifetime, 5 of which all hit #1 in the US.

These albums don't even include those he released with The Jackson 5 and The Jacksons, in addition to other remix albums containing original content, movie soundtracks, and more. All in all, there's such a high volume of music in Jackson's discography that it's easy to understand how some wonderful songs have managed to go under the radar, even for someone as successful and legendary as Jackson. This is especially true of his later albums, in addition to any songs that weren't released as singles.

The following list contains 10 of Jackson's most underrated songs that you probably don't know, unless you're either a music guru or a fan of Jackson and his music. While some of Jackson's unreleased songs have surfaced and have even been remixed and released over the years, this list is only comprised of songs that Jackson officially released as a solo artist in his adult life, beginning with 1979's Off The Wall. With that being said, here are 10 underrated Jackson songs you're very likely to hear for the first time, listed in release order.

10 I Can't Help It

Album: Off The Wall (1979)

While Off The Wall, the first collaboration between producer Quincy Jones and Jackson following their work together on The Wiz, is now considered a huge success for Jackson, several of its tracks remain hidden gems. Singles such as "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You" have become incredibly iconic, and are still widely played and revered to this day. "I Can't Help It," however, is a non-single track that has been hidden beneath the layers of the album's heavy disco and funk influences.

Perhaps best described as soft (and sensual) R&B, "I Can't Help It" is an incredibly smooth tune that sees Jackson professing that he just can't help but love the person he's singing to. Jackson describes them as "an angel in disguise" while his iconic, high-pitched voice sings over a glittering and nearly hypnotizing instrumental. For an album that is otherwise filled with big sounds, impressive vocal displays, and more that are, as its title states, off the wall, "I Can't Help It" is a stunning break from all the noise, and certainly one of Jackson's most underrated masterpieces.

9 Baby Be Mine

Album: Thriller (1982)

As the best-selling album of all time, it's hard to imagine that any song on Thriller could possibly go under the radar - but it's also not too hard to imagine exactly how that could have happened. Sandwiched between massive hits like "Billie Jean," "Beat It," "Thriller," and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," there simply wasn't much room for many other songs to have their moment. It's still impressive that most other tracks on this album did, from Paul McCartney's feature "The Girl Is Mine" to "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)," but "Baby Be Mine" never quite got this.

Acting as something like the energetic cousin to "I Can't Help It," "Baby Be Mine" sees Jackson singing over horns, a cowbell, and, of course, heavy synths that create an upbeat yet heavenly sound. Jackson is yet again professing how ionately he feels about his lover, to the point where his vocals reflect this desperation in beautifully executed vocal cracks, such as on the line "Lady can't you see that heaven's just begun." It's a unique addition to the overall sound of Thriller, and certainly the most underrated part of the highly acclaimed album.

8 Liberian Girl

Album: Bad (1987)

As the direct follow-up to Thriller, Jackson had set a high bar for himself, and he certainly met it with Bad - the first album to ever generate five #1 singles. Jackson actually released nine different singles from Bad, which ultimately led to juggernaut hits like "Man in the Mirror," "The Way You Make Me Feel," the title track "Bad," and more. Even most of the singles that didn't hit #1 were huge hits, such as "Smooth Criminal." As was the case for Thriller, however, even Bad had its quiet masterpieces, including its final single, "Liberian Girl."

As a single, "Liberian Girl" received a short film (as Jackson called his music videos), much in part due to the fact that Bad was an extremely visual album - acting somewhat as the companion piece to Jackson's 1988 movie Moonwalker. What elevates "Liberian Girl," however, is not its star-studded short film. It's a combination of many other factors, but most pointedly the breathtaking reverence with which Jackson highlights Black women and their beauty in the lyrics. It's a stunning tribute that certainly deserved better, but was ultimately lost in the success of other Bad singles.

7 She Drives Me Wild

Album: Dangerous (1991)

Following Bad was Dangerous, Jackson's first album in over a decade that wasn't produced by Quincy Jones and thus saw him embracing many of the newest sounds in the early 1990s. As a result, Dangerous is something of a genre bender in many of its tracks, jumping from Jackson's classic pop sound to hip-hop/rap and even rock. While Dangerous earned success with memorable songs such as "Black or White" and " the Time," many of its songs, particularly its non-singles, have largely gone under the radar over the years - including "She Drives Me Wild."

The sound of a car's horn can be heard in the beginning, which then becomes a part of the song's actual instrumental, along with what sounds like a car door being shut.

"She Drives Me Wild" is a fascinating production, heavily inspired by a single word in the title: "drives." The sound of a car's horn can be heard in the beginning, which then becomes a part of the song's actual instrumental, along with what sounds like a car door being shut. This ambitious, experimental sound is unlike anything else, easily making this one of Jackson's most unique tracks on Dangerous. The vocals also reflect this, seeing a more gruff version of Jackson than what he was known for at the time - though he would lean into this in future projects.

6 Who Is It

Album: Dangerous (1991)

Another hidden gem on Dangerous is "Who Is It," an incredibly raw and vulnerable song that immediately follows up "Black or White" on Dangerous' track listing. Opening with nothing but a chorus of voices, "Who Is It" shocks listeners by dropping a beat that's difficult not to be entranced by, especially as the choral voices continue with string accompaniment. It's a surprising blend between Jackson's typical percussion-heavy production and a softer, classical sound, all of which embody the story Jackson tells within its lyrics.

This incredibly vulnerable tale sees Jackson lamenting the disappearance of a lover who had previously promised herself to him. He embraces his loneliness and gets transparent about how these events have affected him, even once likening himself to "the agony inside the dying head." Jackson fully its that "I cry alone at night" as he wrestles with trying to figure out who it was that his lover left him for - at one point suspecting his own brother, of which Jackson had many. From its production to its vulnerability, "Who Is It" is certainly a hidden masterpiece.

5 Give In To Me

Album: Dangerous (1991)

Hilariously enough, "Give In To Me" directly follows "Who Is It" on the track list of Dangerous, though it stands leagues away from what "Who Is It" is. "Give In To Me" was a collaboration between Jackson and guitarist Slash on Dangerous, who was long thought to have played on "Black or White" as well. This heavy influence from Slash's guitar talents sees Jackson leaning into rock with this particular track, oscillating between a light, almost tentative percussive beat in the verses to an intense, guitar-led sound in the choruses.

In of its story, "Give In To Me" is exactly what its title track suggests: Jackson's attempt at convincing, borderline demanding, someone to give in to his affections for them. Though the lyrics stand as controversial today, particularly for lines such as "Quench my desire / Give it when I want it / Takin' me higher," its instrumental still stands apart as wonderfully unique from anything else Jackson had ever done up until that point. Slash's participation on guitar also makes this song even more notable, though surprisingly, still far too underrated.

4 Stranger In Moscow

Album: HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995)

After Dangerous in Jackson's discography was HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, which generated hits such as the long-anticipated collaboration "Scream" with his sister Janet Jackson, "You Are Not Alone," "Earth Song," and "They Don't Care ." As is the case even with many of these singles, HIStory was a project that saw Jackson fully embracing his vulnerability in a multitude of ways. It mostly manifested as anger that he directed at tabloids, the public, and even the government, but in the hidden gem "Stranger in Moscow," it was a heavy show of sadness.

Presumably written while Jackson was in Moscow during his Dangerous World Tour, Jackson sings over a simple beat meant to emulate raindrops whilst telling a story of loneliness. Even as one of the most famous people in the world, Jackson often talked about the profound loneliness he felt, never being able to truly get close with anyone - as he was often taken advantage of. This distrust multiplied with the allegations brought against him in 1993, and "Stranger in Moscow" is a result of how difficult grappling with that reality was for Jackson, making for a tragically beautiful track.

3 Money

Album: HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995)

A powerful song that also flies under the radar on HIStory, "Money" is certainly a manifestation of anger for Jackson, and at a point in his life where he had essentially nothing else left to lose, he wasn't afraid to call people out on it. Under yet another one of Jackson's iconic percussive-heavy beats, with sounds that resemble loose change jiggling in someone's pocket, Jackson introduces the song by half-singing and half-proclaiming "Lie for it / Spy for it / Kill for it / Die for it." Jackson's anger comes across in the verses that are essentially more spoken word than actual singing.

If you show me the man, then I will sell him

If you ask me to lie, then I will tell him

If it's dealing with God, then you will hell Him

You would do anything for money

In the choruses, Jackson returns to singing, though his anger remains as he speaks of money-hungry individuals selling their souls for money. Jackson blatantly calls out many of these people by name in the final chorus, including Vanderbilt, Morgan, Trump, Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Getty. This was, of course, a massively risky move for Jackson to take, though he would only continue to be just as outspoken moving forward in his life and his career. "Money," however, is a great hallmark of how it all began, and it's done on an extremely well-produced and crafted track.

2 Blood On The Dance Floor

Album: Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix (1997)

Though noticeably released on one of Jackson's remix albums, "Blood on the Dance Floor" was one of five original songs Jackson added to this HIStory remix collection - a factor that has alone caused this song to become extremely underrated. "Blood on the Dance Floor" contains sounds that are quite similar to the aforementioned "She Drives Me Wild," with a driving percussive beat that paves the way for all kinds of beats that make any listener want to at least bob their heads to its contagious rhythm. Its storytelling only elevates its production even further.

"Blood on the Dance Floor" was a collaboration between producer Teddy Riley and Jackson originally recorded for Dangerous, and was later reworked without Riley for this album.

In the lyrics, Jackson tells the cautionary tale of a man letting a mysterious woman seduce him, thus resulting in his murder that leaves blood spilling on the dance floor. Jackson even goes so far as to describe the murder weapon: a knife with a seven-inch blade. The name of this mysterious woman is "Susie," a name that Jackson often uses throughout the HIStory saga - notably in the songs "Little Susie" and "Superfly Sister." Complete with a short film and performances on the HIStory World Tour, somehow, "Blood on the Dance Floor" remains an underrated masterpiece.

1 Heartbreaker

Album: Invincible (2001)

Closing out this list is a track from Jackson's 2001 album Invincible, the last he would officially release before his death in 2009. Because of both an ongoing battle between Jackson and Sony at the time and the 9/11 terrorist attacks that occurred just a month before its release, Invincible as a whole was much more underrated than any other Jackson album - despite still hitting #1 in most countries. Apart from "You Rock My World," Invincible didn't generate many massive hits, and even a sizable portion of its track listing is simply weaker than Jackson's previous work.

Another underrated track from Invincible, "Heaven Can Wait," has since received some newfound fame in recent years on TikTok.

"Heartbreaker," however, is certainly a track that deserves better. "Heartbreaker" embraces the 2000s sound that hadn't even fully developed by the time Jackson had released Invincible, and proved just how ahead of his time Jackson often was. With a story that's actually quite reminiscent of Nelly Furtado's "Maneater," Jackson sings about his titular heartbreaker, a woman who seduces him and then leaves him behind. Complete with a rap verse from MC Fats, "Heartbreaker" is Michael Jackson's take on an iconic sound that we all wish he could have explored more.