Janet Jackson’s The Velvet Rope is one of the most underrated, but influential, albums of the 1990s. The album shows one of the most famous woman in music of the time unravelling and revealing herself unlike ever before.
...Critics have also compared pop star Rihanna’s album Rated R to The Velvet Rope, due to the dark imagery, discussions of sex, domestic abuse, critical acclaim and revealing of personality, (although Rihanna had much more writers and less input). Jackson’s The Velvet Rope will remain a classic album of the nineties full of personal depth, textured and eclectic production, and timeless songs feeling fresh still today.
Quote:
In response to circumstances beyond [Rihanna's] control, the pop star many had preemptively compared to the likes of Janet Jackson finally pockets her own private Velvet Rope. Both albums radiate an unmistakably, nakedly autobiographical vibe, but in the end, both leave you with more questions than answers. They're cagey, teasing, taciturn confessionals. The elisions within both records exist because that which would fill in those blanks already overshadows anything content that would surround them. The difference is that Janet's album was a stab at self-fulfillment; Rihanna's is coded like an interlude of self-abnegation.
I actually do slightly prefer Rated R to TVR? I mean, Rated R has "Stupid in Love," which is the nadir of Rihanna's career and worse than anything on TVR - but Rated R DOESN'T have truly unnecessary interludes, and doesn't go on five tracks too long.
I'm sorry!
The worst song on the album imo is The Last Song, but I still even love that.
The Last Song ***** on your life. 
