The original 1982 vinyl and CD pressings are widely considered the "holy grail" for audio fidelity. They have a high dynamic range (the difference between the quietest and loudest parts of a song).
The 2009 release (often referred to as the "post-passing" reissue) features the 25th Anniversary tracklist, which includes the original nine tracks plus several "2008" remixes and unreleased material. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" "Baby Be Mine" "The Girl Is Mine" (with Paul McCartney) "Thriller" "Billie Jean" "Human Nature" "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" "The Lady in My Life" Bonus Content (25th Anniversary / 2009): "The Girl Is Mine 2008" (with will.i.am) "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 2008" (with will.i.am) "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" (with Akon) "Beat It 2008" (with Fergie) "Billie Jean 2008" (Kanye West Mix) michael jackson thriller 1982 remastered 2009 flac hot
Assuming you have legally acquired a CD copy of the 2009 Thriller (or the This Is It 2-CD set), here is how to get the "hot" FLAC onto your device. The original 1982 vinyl and CD pressings are
A true 2009 FLAC of "Billie Jean" shows a clean frequency response up to 20.5kHz with no "brick wall" filtering. The bass is centered around 60-80Hz with a steep roll-off below 30Hz (protecting cheap speakers of the era). The "hot" aspect is visible in the waveform: it is a solid block of sound, but unlike modern brickwalled pop, you can still see the difference between the verse (quieter) and chorus (louder). "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" "Baby Be Mine" "The