Personally i would have sectioned it all off into ACTUAL eras of ehr career.

such as -

The First Album/Virgin Era (1982 - 85)

True Blue/Whos That girl/You Can Dance Era (1986 - 88)

Like A Prayer/Im Breathless/Blonde Ambition (1989 - 1991)

Erotica/SEX/The girlie Show (1992 - 93)

Bedtime Stories/Something To Remember/Evita (1994 - 97)

Ray Of Light/Music/Drowned World Tour (1998 - 2001)

American Life/Re-Invention Tour (2003 - 04)

Confessions On A Dance Floor/Confessions Tour (2005 - 6)

Hard Candy/Sticky & Sweet/Celebration (2008 - 2010)

perfect!

That's good, I would choose the 2nd one in that case.

I would still be stuck....first or third or fourth or sixth or eighth! AAH!

I was about to say the same thing!!!

I voted the 1980s, it was a tough call between that and the 1990s. Her material post 2000 has been far too inconsistent.

You can't beat 80s Madonna. I love the first two albums especially. I love Holiday, Burning Up, Into the Groove, Like a Virgin. Her image from this era was her best too imo.

I apologise for being one year off. It was recorded in 1997 though ...

Mistake aside, my aim was to make it records only - no tours, films, books or any other projects. And to allow for natural breaks. This is not for the hardcore aficionados so most people would be able to recognise the eras.

I'd say that Ray Of Light should be the start of the category including music, it was her big reinvention really, criticts were saying her career was dead and she had got boring and predicable. With Ray Of Light she made a new era and came up with a completely new sound and big anthem, whenever she does a big anthem I feel that's when she has started a new era!
Also she kind of kept the same look more than less until Confessions was released.

Then when Hung Up was released I'd say that was another re-invention, with a big new song that brought attention back onto her from everyone, she kind of starts a new era then runs down a bit before kickstarting a new one with a massive dance anthem! I feel she could do it again some time soon

So I'd say that it should be:

- Madonna - Like A Prayer era (1983-1989)
- Erotica - Something To Remember/Evita (1992 - 1996)
- Ray Of Light - American Life (1998 - 2003)
- Confessions On A Dance Floor - MDNA (2005 - 2012)

That is an interesting way of looking at the entire thing really and how to divide eras up.

But also you could go further really and say Madonna - True Blue was her first era. Like A Prayer really shook the world up as critics thought with the underwhelming success of singles in 1987 and lack of her presence in 88, her much spread divorce from Penn that she wouldnt regain those heights again. and then WHAM! she got even bigger in 1989...like as you say Like A Prayer was one of "those" massive anthem/transformations!

and yeah MDNA seems to really stay in focus with that kinda confessional/dance/dark experimental style like a mini trilogy like ROL/Music/AL were. That is an interesting take on it too.