I get the feeling this is a minority opinion, though. I've been playing BTW a lot over the last few days and I think it's an amazingly strong, cohesive album. I feel like it tells a story and is more personal than TF. I like that it is deeper and darker. It's an album I have to play all the way through every time because I love every track and it works for me so well as a whole piece. I connect so strongly with this album, and I love the BTW title track because I feel it's empowering whether you're gay or straight.

Does anyone else think the album didn't get enough credit compared to TF? I feel like it's kind of been brushed aside already in a way and that makes me sad.

Me too.

I'm a casual fan and didn't buy The Fame/The Fame Monster until it was £4 on Play for both CDs, and I got Born This Way a few months after release. The Fame, I found, was packed with filler songs, examples being Summerboy, Disco Heaven and Starstruck. The Fame Monster had brilliant songs, which meant that the average So Happy I Could Die and Teeth got ignored (often). However, with Born This Way there is only one song that I dislike (Electric Chapel) and the rest I like and some I absolutely love.

For me it goes Born This Way -> The Fame Monster -> The Fame. I think people tend to overlook Born This Way as an album because of the whole Madonna/Express Yourself problem and the constant hype it got from Gaga and her fans.

Nevertheless, it's far from a bad album.

I think it's a really good solid album. It's a lot darker than TF/M were though. Only song I don't really like on BTW is You & I. I wish that had never been released as a single.

I enjoy it more as an album, like as a "piece".

However I would say most of my favourite songs are from TF/TFM (Boys Boys Boys, Dance In The Dark, So Happy I Could Die)

But overall, start to finished, I'd rather listen to BTW

Its her worst yet TBH.

For me it's:-

TFM
TF
BTW

For me BTW is the album that really made me a fan, it's messy and a bit all over the place but I enjoy nearly all the songs on it. TFM is ok but I personally never got the hype for Bad Romance it's good but not that good. TF is basically three or four good songs and a lot of filler so for me it goes - BTW, TFM, TF

Incase anyone's interested, Born This Way is HMV's deal of the day online today for £2.99

I think it's much better than the other two. I love every song on TFM, but it's far easier for each song to be a stand-out on an album with only 8 tracks. As a piece, BTW is easily the best for me. TF is weak - I'd say Paparazzi is the only song from it that I listen to on a regular basis.
I know it's all down to personal opinion, but I genuinely don't see how people think the production and lyrical quality of The Fame is better than that of Born This Way. If she goes back to that sort of thing with the 4th album, I'll be really disappointed.

Same.

I like them all. I prefer BTW and TFM to TF. TF is just so "samey". All these empty lollipop tunes (Bar a couple). TFM is such an amazing piece because of the darker edge on the "Cracks of Fame" theme with all the underlying self-loathing and insecurity hidden within a catchy track.

As for BTW. It is like a piece of art as opposed to an album. I could play it through start to finish happily because it flows. There is a story and some beautiful visuals within the songs. But I do see it as a sort of kiss for the fans. You need to understand the themes of the album before you really enjoy it. Hope that makes sense

its artistically her best work yet.

Overall it has stronger themes but it hasn't one specific sound which can work but here it didn't its just a melting pot of non melding songs that don't blend and i swear down girl needs to stop preaching at me every 3 minutes.

Overall her best album is TFM as it has a great idea fully backed by great pop songs and a great image.

The fame already sounds dated and is a little to light and Valley Girl try hard i suppose she was trying to be ironic and subversive but it is a great pop album.

the fame monster is her best reviewed album yet

I think BTW is a brilliant album, and I probably do prefer it to TFM when all is said and done.

I don't think it gets the credit it deserves, tbh. Seems like non-musical factors contribute to the negativity a lot of the time. They certainly often get mentioned alongside the criticism of the album.

Oh well. The fans largely seemed to love it, so job done I guess.

Well she shot her own self in her own foot the album is good and slightly exciting but its to over the place with not many instant radio hits like Poker Face Alejandro etc

I agree to an extent, but at the end of the day it's irrelevant to the music. Either you like it or you don't, what she said or did shouldn't influence anyone's opinion on the album itself.

I don't agree that it's all over the place.

I'd say The Edge of Glory and Born This Way are very instant radio hits, just a bit less conventional, and the success of both singles imply that. It wasn't a very commercial album though, which is fine. Not everything she does needs to be.

I HATE the born this way era, im just going to continue to listen to the fame / the fame monster untill she brings her new album out, which will hopefully be a good one!

the fame is her best selling album to date

There was no sense of cohesion though from Judas to Americano to Bloody Mary all similar sounds just in the wrong order it was merely a collection of songs and with such an easy concept could have been implemented better.

And BTW and TEG most radio friendly bbad promo and release etc

I think 'Born This Way' is better than 'The Fame' which had the typical pop formula of a few great singles lumped in with a load of filler. However, I don't think either album comes close to 'The Fame Monster', which for me is great start to finish and sounds much more cohesive and consistent than 'Born This Way'. I think the whole 'be yourself' message of the album was well-intentioned but becomes a bit tiresome and a bit patronising in places, while the title track is my least favourite of her singles. I think there are some great tracks on 'BTW', 'Scheisse', 'The Edge of Glory', 'Heavy Metal Lover' to name a few are some of my favourite Gaga tracks, but for every great song on the album there is a weak link like the overblown 'Highway Unicorn', forgettable 'Electric Chapel' or the slightly cringeworthy 'Hair'.

Don't get what you're saying there.

I disagree. I found the album flowed quite well considering she tackled pretty diverse themes and styles. It wasn't jarring nor samey for me, it kept my interest with something different each time but without feeling like there was just no cohesion.

Gaga just went in an artistic direction that's why they ain't radio friendly

Love Born This Way whilst I quite like The Fame.

Disagree about Disco Heaven being filler, it's one of my faves.

LOL!

It's still quite radio friendly.