Madonna’s ‘True Blue’: All 9 Songs Ranked

Casual Madonna fans might be surprised to learn that her biggest selling album of all time globally isn’t her acclaimed 1989 blockbuster Like a Prayer, her 1998 magnum opus Ray of Light or her return-to-form 2006 comeback Confessions on a Dance Floor, but the 1986 LP which — as shown by its classic Herb Ritts-shot cover — best harnessed her blonde ambition: True Blue. 

Indeed, despite hosting three U.S. Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits (and a further two top five hits), spending five weeks atop the Billboard 200 and being certified platinum seven times over by the RIAA in less than a decade, the Queen of Pop’s third album seems strangely underappreciated compared to the rest of her iconic oeuvre.     

True Blue was also a pivotal record for Madonna the artiste. She delved deeper into her personal life than ever before, driven by her tabloid-friendly marriage to Sean Penn, the Hollywood bad boy she’d soon star alongside in box-office flop Shanghai Surprise. And she also assumed more creative control, serving as cowriter and coproducer on all nine tracks.  

It was here where she also forged long-running partnerships with producer Patrick Leonard and backing vocalist Donna DeLory. “It was different, and to her credit, she took some chances that I don’t know most people would have,” Leonard explained to USA Today in 2021 on how the album cemented Madonna’s place in the pantheon of ’80s pop greats. “There were things in there that weren’t normal in pop music at the time.”

To celebrate the deceptively huge album’s 40th anniversary on Tuesday (June 30), we’ve ranked all nine songs on True Blue below.