Well. I was a top 40 listener at the time, and I like MJ too, so I bought it.
My musical tastes changed pretty significantly toward alternative music once I started working a few years later. I was introduced to the Violent Femmes by some of the older fellow employees, and that changed me forever.
I think back to that time and my musical tastes, and it's just so different from where I've been for the last few decades.