Butterfly is her best album. If you think you like it sonically, get INTO it lyrically!! Look at how well-written songs like 'The Roof', 'Breakdown', 'Fourth of July' and 'Outside' are! Such a songwriter
And, when you're done with
Butterfly, I suggest moving onto
Daydream. The second cut, 'Underneath the Stars' is very similar to 'Fourth of July' from
Butterfly, so you'll probably like that one immediately. That one is also very well-written, and is a certified fan-favorite, as well as one of Mariah's favorites. Listen to 'Fantasy' and 'Melt Away' from
Daydream. The other songs from that album are also very good.
When you're done with
Daydream, I suggest you move onto
Emotions or
The Emancipation of Mimi. There are a lot of great songs on the latter, including 'Shake It Off', 'Circles', 'Mine Again', 'Stay the Night', 'We Belong Together' and 'It's Like That'. If you appreciate raw vocal finesse and want to be blown away, you should go for
Emotions. This album has a lot of great songs. 'Can't Let Go', 'If It's Over' and 'Make It Happen' are my favorites. Other cute songs are 'And You Don't Remember', 'Emotions', 'Till The End of Time' and, if you like a little jazzy style, 'The Wind'. Getting to know this album is very fun, because she has so many great live performances from this era, making the discovery of this album more exciting. Her Grammy performance from 1992 is probably one of her most praised ones.
When you're done with
Emotions, I'd listen to her debut album. 'Vision of Love' and 'Vanishing' are my favorites off that album. If you did not enjoy
Emotions, and would like something more urban-sounding, you should definitely check out
Rainbow. 'Heartbreaker' and 'Bliss' are my favorites off that album. After all of these albums, you could practically check out any of her others. I don't think one is able to really enjoy
Charmbracelet without REALLY "knowing" Mariah. So, you should save that one till you've gotten to know her a little and, definitely, read the story behind the album, what happened prior to it, the divorce, the label mess, the so-called breakdown, everything. Also, E=MC2 is also very good.
Summary:
1.
Butterfly - Breakdown, The Roof, Outside, Fourth of July, Honey, etc. Practically the whole album.
2.
Daydream - Underneath the Stars, Fantasy (+ Fantasy remix), Melt Away, etc.
3.
The Emancipation of Mimi or
Emotions.
4. If you like
Emotions, move onto her debut album. Take your time with these two eras. There are a lot of great live performances you should check out! If you dislike
Emotions, move onto
Rainbow, here you'll find a lot of urban gems.
5. After her first two albums, you should check out Music Box. The best songs off this one, in my opinion, are 'Dreamlover', 'Anytime You Need A Friend' and 'Without You'. I enjoyed a lot of the uptempo tracks from this album for a while, but sadly, I don't find any joy listening to them any more.
6. When you're done with all of these albums, you could move onto E=MC2 or Charmbracelet. After that, it's time for Glitter, and lastly you should check out Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.
You should save her Christmas albums for next Christmas, if you haven't listened to them already. I found out about them in February last year, but didn't want to ruin it for me, so I waited for 8 months, and it was worth it. Her first Christmas album is just like Emotions - RAW VOCAL FINESSE, GOSPEL SOUND, ah, giving me so much life.
Also, check out her remixes. You can split her remixes into two categories:
1. DANCE. You HAVE TO, HAVE TO check out 'Dreamlover' and 'I Still Believe'.
2. URBAN. 'Always Be My Baby', 'Heartbreaker', 'Fantasy', etc. She's done a lot of remixes.
She released an album dedicated to these remixes. You should check that one out also.
Okay, this turned out to be a long-ass essay. Sorry!!
1. Butterfly
2. Daydream (CHECK OUT LIVE PERFORMANCES FROM 96. Some of her all-time best!!)
3. The Emancipation of Mimi --> Rainbow
or
4. Emotions --> Mariah Carey --> Music Box
5. E=MC2, and rest
6. Remixes
7. Christmas albums
But, if this is too complicated, you could also just start from the very first album and move your way up. Following the evolution of Mariah Carey is very interesting!
This might seem like a lot of work and very time-consuming, but it really is FUN when you've gotten started!! I MISS MY DAYS AS A NEW LAMBIE
Discovering Mariah is really one of the greatest musical experiences of my life, really!!
The Wind makes me so depressed.
