There's a brand-new Michael Jackson album hitting store shelves today, but December 14 is another big day in the history of the King of Pop. On this day in 1991, Jackson hit the top of the charts with Dangerous, his high-profile solo album that represented another evolutionary step in Jackson's musical development.

Dangerous was a long time (and millions of dollars) in the making. Jackson spent 16 months working on the album with producer Teddy Riley, who lent Jackson a boatload of his New Jack Swing beats. Jackson also threw the doors open for a handful of new collaborators, marking Dangerous as his first forays into hip-hop and more modern R&B. Drop-ins by Heavy D, Wreckx-n-Effect and Slash lent the album some depth that was missing from his previous album Bad. The result was Jackson's most forward-thinking collection yet, signaling that his transition from '80s superstar to '90s hit-maker would start off right.

Though the album was a much bolder, tougher set of songs for Jackson, it didn't stop it from completely taking over the world, as Dangerous spent four weeks at the top of the charts and ultimately moved 32 million copies worldwide. It spawned a total of nine singles, including the instant-classics "Black or White" and "Heal the World." Dangerous also spawned some of Jackson's most eye-popping videos, including the star-studded "Remember the Time" (featuring guest appearances by Eddie Murphy and Magic Johnson), the moody "In the Closet" and the punchy "Jam" (which features a special appearance by Michael Jordan -- Jackson was apparently a huge NBA fan).

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