Design Of A Decade 1986 To 1996

Overall score:- 10/10

The two new songs from this album soon became singles and "Runaway" being a Top 10 hit in the UK, whilst a Top 5 hit in the US. "That's The Way Love Goes" is Janet's biggest single from this album as it saw itself in at #2 in the UK (Janet's biggest UK Charting single) and it spent eight weeks at the top of the US Charts. "Design Of A Decade" was a #2 album in the UK. The singles came from the albums (all #1s in the US) "Control" (UK #8), "Rhythm Nation 1814" (UK #4), "Janet" (UK #1), also Janet's only #1 album in the UK and "The Best Things In Life Are Free" was new to this album. Obmissions include: "Again", "You Want This", "Any Time, Any Place" and "If". Possibly, "What'll I Do" and "Throb" are also obmissions. Overall though, a very good first decade for Janet, enough to make me buy this album. Pick it up now!


Rhythm Icon   May 9, 2004
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Design of a Decade: 1986-1996 is a misleading title. The bulk of Janet Jackson's greatest-hits collection concentrates on Control and Rhythm Nation 1814, simply by contractual necessity. That is far from a fatal flaw. The hits from those two albums were state-of-the-art dance-pop productions at the time of their release, filled with bottomless beats and memorable, catchy hooks. None of the songs has lost any of its impact, from the funk of "Miss You Much" and "What Have You Done for Me Lately," to the ballads "Let's Wait Awhile" and "Come Back to Me." In addition to all 13 Top 40 hits from Control and Rhythm Nation - all but one went into the Top Five - Design of a Decade includes the biggest and best hit from janet., the sultry "That's the Way Love Goes," and two new songs, "Runaway" and "Twenty Foreplay." It's a credit to Janet that the two new numbers feel like genuine hits, not tacked-on filler, and help make the album a compulsively listenable greatest-hits collection.


Should include more songs   November 27, 2003
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Janet, if you released a "best of" album in the same year your brother did, at least you should have made it a double album just like his. :) I think a "best of" album should include songs from all of the artist's previous albums. Her first two albums were completely (and the fifth was almost completely) ignored when she recorded "Design of a Decade", although there were pretty good songs on those albums. I also miss "Scream", the duet with her brother, it is really a cool song.
After the self-consciousness and freedom expressed by "Control", the social sensibility of "Rhythm Nation 1814" and the sexy spirit of "janet." this album seems like "a little bit of this, a little bit of that". But "Design of a Decade" is still worth buying, not only because the two bonus songs "Runaway" and "Twenty Foreplay", and the duet with Luther Vandross, "Best Things In Life Are Free" (this is the only Janet album which includes this song) but also because all the songs are slightly different versions than the ones on "Control" and "Rhythm Nation 1814" - most of them were only shortened, but "Alright", "Black Cat" and "Come Back To Me" were also remixed, and they're cool. Also includes a booklet in which you can learn more about the beginning of Janet's career.


Brilliant ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !   January 1, 2002
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

This is a fantastic Greatest Hits CD from Janet Jackson and is up there with Madonna's The Immaculate Collection as one of the best Greatest Hits albums of the 90s. It boasts a fantastic collection of hits from 1986's Nasty and Control to 1996's Runaway and Twenty Foreplay. This Greatest Hits got to No.2 in the UK Charts. Janet's only UK No.1 album to date is Janet (1993). Albums such as All For You (UK No.2), Control (UK No.8) and Rhythm Nation (UK No.4) should have all made No.1, like they did in the US.
The album kicks off with a brand new track (or brand new at the time) Runaway (UK No.6). We then go all the way back to two of her first hits What Have You Done For Me Lately (UK No.3) and Nasty (underrated UK No.19). This is followed by When I Think Of You (UK No.10), Escapade (UK No.17) and Miss You Much (UK No.22). This is followed up by Whoops Now (UK No.9) from the Janet album. Following this is Love Will Never Do (Without You) (UK No.34!) released in 1990 from the Rhythm Nation album. Alright (UK No.20) is a fantastic track and is the best track on the album to dance to. The Best Things In Life Are Free, (UK No.2) a duet with Luther Vandross proved to be Janet's biggest hit in the UK to date. Control (UK No.42) is the only song from this Greatest Hits album to not make the UK Top 40. It was one of Janet's first ever singles back in 1986. This is followed by The Pleasure Principle (UK No.24) and Black Cat (UK No.15). The best track on the album Rhythm Nation (UK No.23) is a fantastic slice of dance, R'n'B and pop with the cool "woo!" every 4 seconds. That's The Way Love Goes proved to be Janet's biggest hit in the US. It was No.1 in the US for 8 weeks and was one of her 10 No.1s in America. The most recent been All For You (10 weeks at US No.1). This will probably be one of her 11 No.1s as Son of A Gun will probably go to No.1 too! That's The Way Love Goes (UK No.2) is without a doubt the best Janet ballad ever and is one of her biggest hits along with The Best Things In Life Are Free. Come Back To Me (UK No.20) and Let's Wait Awhile (UK No.3) come before the albums' final track, the new (in 1995) Twenty Foreplay (UK No.22).
This album only features 7 UK Top 10 singles but every track on the album made the Top 10 in America. Janet Jackson is a fantastic artist, actress, dancer, writer and producer and in my opinion is better than her brother. Most of the tracks on this album are dance tracks with 4 ballads. The songs after this album are from the Velvet Rope and All For You albums such as Together Again (UK No.4), All For You (UK No.3) and Doesn't Really Matter (UK No.5). It's hard to believe that Janet's never had a UK No.1 single, but I think her time will come...