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Ray of Light
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== Legacy == ''Ray of Light'' has been credited for bringing electronica music into global pop culture. The ''Los Angeles Times'' noted that "aside from occasional breakthroughs such as [[Fatboy Slim]], electronica wasn't totally mainstream fare when Madonna released ''Ray of Light''."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/lat-madonna6_evmr0mgy20080424112140,0,2759342.photo|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421090736/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/lat-madonna6_evmr0mgy20080424112140,0,2759342.photo|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 21, 2014|title=Madonna, Ray of Light|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=July 30, 2014}}</ref> Until the album brought the genre to the top of music charts, according to author [[J. Randy Taraborrelli]], "techno and electronica had, for years, been the music played at so-called [[Rave|raves]], hugely popular, illegal underground parties taking place in abandoned warehouse and deserted areas on the outskirts of town all around the world."<ref>{{harvnb|Taraborrelli|2002|p=301}}</ref> AllMusic editor Liana Jonas stated that the album's title track has "brought mainstream attention to electronica music, which ascended from its underground status to wild popularity in the early 21st century."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/ray-of-light-mt0003907536|title=Ray of Light β Madonna|publisher=AllMusic. Macrovision Company|first=Liana|last=Jonas|access-date=July 30, 2014|archive-date=November 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120174739/http://www.allmusic.com/song/ray-of-light-mt0003907536|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[The Observer]]''{{'}}s writer Daryl Deino called ''Ray of Light'' "a risk-taking album that helped define mainstream [[electronic dance music]]."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://observer.com/2017/07/best-albums-of-the-1990s/|title=10 Albums That Defined the 1990s|first=Daryl|last=Deino|newspaper=[[The Observer]]|date=July 17, 2017|access-date=December 12, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213091054/http://observer.com/2017/07/best-albums-of-the-1990s/|url-status=live}}</ref> Elliott H. Powell in an [[American studies|American Studies]] study for [[New York University]] observed that ''Ray of Light'' made [[South Asian]] culture accessible to the American public in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Powell|first1=Elliott H.|title=I Don't Really Know What She's Sayin': (Anti)Orientalism and Hop Hop's Sampling of South Asian Music|url=https://www.english.upenn.edu/sites/www.english.upenn.edu/files/intersections-powell-i_dont_really_know_what_shes_saying.pdf|agency=[[University of Pennsylvania]]|access-date=March 19, 2017|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304100820/https://www.english.upenn.edu/sites/www.english.upenn.edu/files/intersections-powell-i_dont_really_know_what_shes_saying.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Rhonda Hammer and [[Douglas Kellner]] in their book ''Media/Cultural Studies: Critical Approaches'' recalled that "the phenomenon of South Asian-inspired femininity as a Western media trend can be traced to February 1998, when pop icon Madonna released her video 'Frozen'." They explained that "although Madonna did not initiate the fashion for Indian beauty accessories [...] she did propel it into the public eye by attracting the attention of the worldwide media."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSpmn22SqD0C&pg=PA502 |title=Media/cultural Studies: Critical Approaches β Google Books |isbn=978-0-8204-9526-2 |access-date=August 22, 2014 |last1=Hammer |first1=Rhonda |last2=Kellner |first2=Douglas |year=2009 |publisher=Peter Lang |archive-date=March 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305233455/https://books.google.com/books?id=LSpmn22SqD0C&pg=PA502 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Taraborrelli, the album has been hailed as bold and refreshing in music of the late 1990s, which was dominated by [[boyband]]s and [[teen pop|teenage artists]] such as the [[Backstreet Boys]], [[NSYNC]], [[Britney Spears]] and [[Christina Aguilera]].<ref>{{harvnb|Taraborrelli|2002|p=327}}</ref> [[Larry Flick]] from ''Billboard'' said that the album "not only provided the chameleon-like artist with her first universally applauded critical success, it has also proved that she remains a vital figure amongst woefully fickle young audiences."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LgoEAAAAMBAJ&q=Madonna+Ray+of+Light+MTV+Europe&pg=RA1-PA87|title=Awards Ceremony To Feature A Circus Theme|date=December 5, 1998|page=87|magazine=Billboard|volume=131|access-date=December 3, 2020|archive-date=May 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503175518/https://books.google.com/books?id=LgoEAAAAMBAJ&q=Madonna+Ray+of+Light+MTV+Europe&pg=RA1-PA87|url-status=live}}</ref> Journalists have discussed how the album affected Madonna's career and public perception. According to ''Billboard''<nowiki/>'s Kristen S. HΓ©, ''Ray of Light'' remains the singer's most critically acclaimed album, as of 2020.<ref name=":0" /> Music critic [[Lucy O'Brien]] commented: "1998's ''Ray of Light'' certainly rehabilitated Madonna's image. Up to that point she had still been written off as an average pop glamour girl who got lucky, but with this record she reached a whole new audience, proving that she was a good songwriter with an intensely productive talent."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZ4L0Pv7QwUC&pg=PA487 |title=She Bop II: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul|author-link=Lucy O'Brien |date=October 16, 2003 |isbn=978-0-8264-3529-3 |access-date=August 22, 2014 |last1=O'Brien |first1=Lucy |publisher=A&C Black |archive-date=March 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305225809/https://books.google.com/books?id=AZ4L0Pv7QwUC&pg=PA487 |url-status=live }}</ref> Mary von Aue from ''[[Stereogum]]'' stated that "''Ray of Light'' reestablished Madonna as a groundbreaking artist",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1786960/madonna-albums-from-worst-to-best/franchises/counting-down/attachment/rayoflight/|title=Madonna Albums From Worst To Best|date=March 11, 2015|access-date=November 6, 2015|publisher=[[Stereogum]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430093421/http://www.stereogum.com/1786960/madonna-albums-from-worst-to-best/franchises/counting-down/attachment/rayoflight/|archive-date=April 30, 2015}}</ref> and Nick Levine of ''[[Dazed]]'' said the ''Ray of Light'' era "won Madonna the kind of critical acclaim sheβd never enjoyed in the past".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Levine |first=Nick C |title=Revisiting Ray of Light, Madonna's most forward-thinking album, 20 years on |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/39140/1/madonna-ray-of-light-20-anniversary |access-date=February 4, 2025 |work=[[Dazed]]}}</ref> For ''[[PopMatters]]'', Peter Piatkowski observed that the album effectively divided Madonna's career into two distinct eras: "those who followed her career from the beginning in 1982 ... would find themselves choosing one camp over the other: the music before ''Ray of Light'' was arguably more accessible and radio-friendly", whereas her subsequent works would contain at least some elements of the experimental electronic dance music she had embraced on ''Ray of Light''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Piatkowski |first=Peter |date=March 1, 2023 |title=Madonna Unveiled Her Pop Masterpiece 'Ray of Light' 25 Years Ago |url=https://www.popmatters.com/madonna-ray-of-light-atr25 |access-date=March 4, 2025 |work=[[PopMatters]]}}</ref> ''Ray of Light'' has been featured on numerous critics' lists of greatest albums of all time. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine placed the album at number 367 on the list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/ray-of-light-madonna-19691231| title= 500 Greatest Albums: Ray of Light β Madonna|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=February 23, 2014| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101220144803/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/ray-of-light-madonna-19691231|archive-date=December 20, 2010}}</ref> In September 2020, an updated edition of the Rolling Stone list was published, showing the album rising 145 spots, at number 222.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/madonna-ray-of-light-4-1063011/|title=500 Greatest Albums: Ray of Light β Madonna (2020 edition)|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=September 22, 2020|access-date=September 25, 2020|archive-date=October 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021172719/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/madonna-ray-of-light-4-1063011/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2001, a quarter of a million music fans on [[VH1]] voted ''Ray of Light'' as the 10th of "100 Best Albums of All Time".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/nov/22/taniabranigan|title=U2 crush Beatles in top album poll|work=The Guardian|first=Tania|last=Branigan|date=November 22, 2001|access-date=July 29, 2012|location=London|archive-date=November 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102123345/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/nov/22/taniabranigan|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2003, ''Ray of Light'' was allocated at number 17 on ''Q'' magazine readers' list of "100 Greatest Albums Ever".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage2.html#Jan%202003 |title=Rocklist.net...Q Magazine Lists |publisher=Rocklistmusic.co.uk |access-date=August 22, 2014 |archive-date=October 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017152207/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage2.html#Jan%202003 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> The album is also included in the book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.1001beforeyoudie.com |title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die |publisher=Quintessence Editions Ltd |year=2003 |access-date=November 25, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101119080055/http://1001beforeyoudie.com/ |archive-date=November 19, 2010}}</ref> ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' magazine also listed ''Ray of Light'' at number 29 on "100 Modern Classics: The Greatest Albums of Our Lifetime".<ref>{{cite magazine|title=100 Modern Classics|date=May 2006|page=64|magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|issn=1351-0193}}</ref> In 2013, the album was also included at number 241 on ''[[NME]]'' magazine's list of "[[NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2013/10/the-top-500-albums-of-all-time-according-to-nme/|title=The Top 500 Albums of All Time, according to NME|publisher=[[Consequence of Sound]]|first=Ben|last=Kaye|date=October 25, 2013|access-date=July 30, 2014|archive-date=November 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151130010513/https://consequence.net/2013/10/the-top-500-albums-of-all-time-according-to-nme/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' ranked ''Ray of Light'' as the 55th best album of the 1990s, "Madonna's trying, with all her might, to evoke the blackest depths and most euphoric joys of the human heart. The album's title track sounds like it was forged inside a meteor; the surreal, pitch-black poem 'Mer Girl' is as still as death itself."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-best-albums-of-the-1990s/|title=The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s|publisher=Pitchfork|date=September 28, 2022|access-date=September 30, 2022}}</ref> ''Ray of Light'' has also been influential on other artists' work. Canadian singer [[Nelly Furtado]] stated that she used it as a template for her album ''[[Loose (Nelly Furtado album)|Loose]]'' (2006).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thefader.com/2016/11/23/nelly-furtado-timbaland-loose-interview|title=The Magical Story Of How Nelly Furtado And Timbaland Made Loose|last=Mistry|first=Anupa|work=[[The Fader]]|date=November 23, 2016|access-date=February 24, 2021|archive-date=March 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328074740/https://www.thefader.com/2016/11/23/nelly-furtado-timbaland-loose-interview|url-status=live}}</ref> Moreover, English singer [[Adele]] named the record as "one of the chief inspirations" for her third studio album, ''[[25 (Adele album)|25]]'' (2015).<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/adele-inside-her-private-life-and-triumphant-return-20151103?page=2|title=Adele: Inside Her Private Life and Triumphant Return|first=Brian|last=Hiatt|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=November 3, 2015|access-date=November 4, 2015|page=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921164401/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/adele-inside-her-private-life-and-triumphant-return-20151103?page=2|archive-date=September 21, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Madonna herself has considered ''Ray of Light'' the most fulfilling evolution of her career, with her referencing it as the "quintessential Madonna album" in a 2013 [[Reddit]] [[R/IAmA|AMA]].<ref>{{cite news |date=April 5, 2012 |title=Madonna Back on Twitter |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/04/madonna-back-on-twitter/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621122638/http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/04/madonna-back-on-twitter/ |archive-date=June 21, 2012 |access-date=July 17, 2012 |agency=ABC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=September 16, 2013|author=Madonna|title=AMAA - Ask Madonna Almost Anything |url=http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1mj1yl/amaa_ask_madonna_almost_anything/cc9q0us/ |access-date=March 17, 2023|agency=[[Reddit]] |quote=yes. ray of light}}</ref>
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