Top Ten Madonna Songs That Were Ahead of Their Time

She may not have been the first artist to make music like this, but what she did was bring a relatively underground music scene to the spotlight. By combining postmodern electronic arrangements with more conventional pop and rock music elements, Madonna made a massive dance hit that still sounds ahead of current music in 2015.

I'm pretty confident in saying that Madonna pretty much invented the genre we call "Dance-Pop". She took the bones of disco music and revitalized what was a very dead genre. She basically resurrected dance music from the dead and gave it a more poppy synthesized arrangement creating a sound that still remains popular today. That's pretty much her entire first album, but I chose "Holiday" because it's the best example of this.

The very first "house" song to become a chart topper. Again, she takes the foundation of disco music (incorporating samples too) and gives it a futuristic upgrade. Only here, she aimed to create a less poppy and more underground production resulting in the house music phenomenon of the early 90's.

Now, I can't really give Madonna credit for this one since she only wrote parts of lyrics, but this song was a bigger risk than "Like a Prayer" and still resulted in another chart topper. There really were no songs like this before it and the power of Madonna made it an instant hit.
Where I can credit Madonna for this song is the music video. As if it wasn't risky to begin with, she practically made a 5 minute porno teaser and when MTV wouldn't play it, she took the power right back and issued it on VHS.

This song is B.A.D.A.S.S. to the bone! At the age of 53, Madonna didn't care about creating something would be off-putting to anyone. She was pissed off and wanted explore the violent side of humanity, and people's obsession with it. That's what the purpose of this song was. And, the music is exhilarating. The only thing that sounded kind of forced was the dubstep breakdown although it does accurately portray the mood of the lyrics there, the rough gritty vibe.

There's nothing really outstanding about the musical arrangement of this song except for the choir, but my reason for inclusion is the lyrics. Double entendre has existed as long as written language, but no other example has ever hit me as poignantly as "Like a Prayer".
"I'm down on my knees / I wanna take you there". I had listened to the song prior to realizing the double entendre, and when it hit me it was like a Mack truck.
I really can't think of any pop singer before her making such a bold move in their lyrical content. Religion was just one of those things that perfect little pop stars weren't supposed to reference but Madonna threw caution to the wind and became a rock star for it.

Whether you're a fan of Madonna's 21st century material or not, you've got to admit that she and Mirwais Ahmadzaï made some pretty groundbreaking music together. Madonna's pop, rock and folk music instincts paired up with his futuristic techno and electroclash synthesizers make for a pretty unique and progressive sound. They were good for each other for the time they spent collaborating from 2000-2004/5. I chose this song because it's my favorite that they made together.

This was the other song from MDNA that stood out to me as being ahead of the trends. It sounds like a glittery, glamorous, ecstasy-fueled rave banger complete with a laser show, glowsticks, and non-stop energetic dancing. This is what Madonna has always been known for looking beyond the music of the day and reaching for what's next. Innovative and very well made.

It's a house song, but it manages to avoid the cliché overproduced electro-house music that dominates dance music today. This kind of took from 90's deep house, techno, progressive house and electro-house but with a modern twist by using a minimalist strategy on the breakdowns and it's better for it.

Damn it, I hate this song! Who put it here?!?!