Like a Prayer — Madonna (1989)

Like a Prayer is Madonna's most artistically ambitious album, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and selling over 15 million copies worldwide. The title track hit No. 1 on the Hot 100, blending dance-pop with gospel choirs and confessional lyrics. Its controversial music video solidified Madonna's role as a cultural provocateur. While it falls below Reputation in total chart-topping weeks (6 vs. 10), Like a Prayer's Metacritic score of 94 surpasses Swift's 85, making it a higher-ranked benchmark for artistic risk-taking in pop.