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Justin Timberlake’s ‘Everything I Thought It Was’: All 18 Tracks Ranked

Every track on Justin Timberlake's 'Everything I Thought It Was' album, ranked from worst to best.

Timberlake is absolutely in his master-of-ceremonies zone here, flaring up on the chorus, letting the starry-eyed synths work their magic, including the listeners on the breakdown and puffing his chest on the outro; he knows that “My Favorite Drug” exists in his pop superstar sweet spot and maximizes every inch of it. Although *NSYNC officially returned last year with “Better Place,” their first single in over two decades, from the Trolls Band Together soundtrack, this new reunion track “Paradise” contains more personality, understands the quintet’s vocal dynamic more succinctly and is simply a more successful song. When Timberlake talks about using Everything I Thought It Was as an artistic palette cleanser that returns his sound back to what fans want from him (and what he wants for himself), it’s hard not to think of a song like “Drown,” which combines some of JT’s strongest talents — lip-smacking rhythmic pop hooks, crestfallen metaphors, vulnerability curdling into a yearning falsetto — in a new, absorbing package.

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