# Talk:Bad (album)

Bad was considered somewhat of a letdown after the phenomenal success of Thriller. The recent changes to the article are too praiseworthy in my opinion. Sources should be cited that talk about the disappointment. Paul Grein supplies this kind of narrative in a citation which is already in the article. 
I know personally that boxes of Bad albums were stacked in the back rooms of Tower Records locations for months without being sold. The higher shipping quantity gave Billboard a big number to report. But there's more to the story here; the consumer was not as eager as expected. I don't think we should be so breathlessly positive about Bad sales. The context of not being able to match Thriller should be clearly stated in the lead and in the article body.
Pinging Slowvans321. Binksternet (talk) 18:03, 16 November 2025 (UTC)

I agree. It's way too biased. Yes, the album became very popular but it fell completely short of Michael's own goals of surpassing Thriller (he had a similar letdown with Dangerous). BrothaTimothy (talk · contribs) 19:01, 16 November 2025 (UTC) BrothaTimothy (talk · contribs) 19:01, 16 November 2025 (UTC)
I have made these tweaks to the lead now. I agree that the sales emphasis was exaggerating considering it didn't get close to Thriller. Slowvans321 (talk) 11:22, 17 November 2025 (UTC)

There appears to be a bit of a dispute over whether or not "of all time" should remain in the article. I added it back in because I feel it adds important context and makes the sentence seem more complete, but I am opening this discussion up to prevent edit warring. With "of all time" being the WP:STATUSQUO in this article, I ask that it please not be changed unless consensus has moved in favor of "of all time" being removed. Pinging @Popcornfud: and @Binksternet:, in case either of you two would like to discuss this at all. JeffSpaceman (talk) 03:34, 17 November 2025 (UTC)

Binksternet, please discuss here to come to a consensus rather than edit warring. JeffSpaceman (talk) 03:38, 17 November 2025 (UTC)
Perhaps you can explain why the phrase "of all time" is warranted. WP:ONUS asks you to make the argument for keeping disputed material. Binksternet (talk) 04:05, 17 November 2025 (UTC)
In most cases, as in here, "of all time" doesn't add clarity. The temptation to include it comes from the fact that it's a cliche or set phrase. Popcornfud (talk) 04:18, 17 November 2025 (UTC)


### Hyperbole
Over the years, a number of our Wikipedia colleagues have said that the phrase "of all time" should not be used because it represents exaggeration, or hyperbole, or puffery. Here are some of those discussions:

2006: Talk:Raising_the_Flag_on_Iwo_Jima#"possibly_the_most_reproduced_photograph_of_all_time"
2006: Talk:List_of_Go_players#WP:WEASEL_and_WP:PEACOCK
2007: Talk:Whitney_Houston/Archive_2#article_definitly_needs_more_editing
2007: Talk:Michael_Jordan/Archive_3#Round_two..._Still_awaiting_a_valid_reason
2009: Talk:Jascha_Heifetz#Weasel_phrase?
2010: Talk:Elena_Obraztsova#Hyperbole
2013: Talk:Elvis_Presley/Archive_30#Elvis_is_considered_the_greatest_recording_artist_of_all_time
2015: Talk:All_About_That_Bass/Archive_2#Gushing,_non-POV_wording_and_other_stuff
2015 Talk:Gazi Mazharul Anwar#A brief explanation of the significant clean-up I'm doing on this article.
2017: Talk:Manny_Pacquiao/Archives/2017#"Pacquiao_is_considered_by_many_to_be_one_of_the_greatest_professional_boxers_of_all_time."_removed.
2019 Talk:Oliver_Mtukudzi#I_think_this_is_ridiculous
2021: Talk:Mariah_Carey/Archive_19#regarded_as_one_of_the_greatest_female_singers_of_all_time
2021: Talk:Robot_Odyssey#lead_description
2022: Talk:Michael_Schumacher/Archive_9#Why_removed_he_is_the_greatest_of_all_time
2024: Talk:Appetite_for_Destruction/Archive_1#Opinion_not_substantiated
2025: Talk:Martha_Argerich#Weasel_descriptor
Some online writing advice pages give "of all time" as an example of hyperbole which makes for bad writing.

E Reading Worksheets – Hyperbole Examples
Writer's Digest – Hyperbole, Wolves, and a Brief Foray into Poetry
Vocabulary Word of the Day – Hyperbole
Fictionary – 100+ Hyperbole Examples + Writing Tips 
I don't think the phrase is encyclopedic, which is why I have removed a few hundred instances of it, basically every time I notice it. Of course, the phrase should not be removed from direct quotes or from source citations. Binksternet (talk) 05:49, 17 November 2025 (UTC)

Thank you for all this. I will go ahead and remove it from the article, per what you have provided above. I'm sorry for any inconvenience, and I appreciate you being willing to point me towards all of this. Once again, thank you. JeffSpaceman (talk) 12:12, 17 November 2025 (UTC)