March 3 marks the 25th anniversary of Madonna’s seventh studio album, Ray of Light.

Ray of Light was released to critical acclaim and massive commercial success following a four year break from commercial music and became in many people’s opinions, Madonna’s Greatest album and one of the best albums of the 90s.

The secret to Ray of Light’s success and acclaim was due in part to the “scandals” Madonna went through in the early 90s, the birth of her first child, and her role in Evita.

In 1990, riding on the success of her single “Vogue” and her 80s breakthrough, Madonna released “Justify My Love,” an openly erotic track, with an even more so music video.

If this wasn’t enough to condemn her, she then released her fifth studio album in 1992, Erotica, paired with quite the racy picture book, titled S.E.X, and from that moment until the mid 90s, Madonna’s public image was crushed, and the future of her career was called into question.

Those who so adamantly idolized her in the 80s now brushed her to the side.

In the coming years, Madonna tried to tone down her carefree attitude and push a more mature image via her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories (1994), and a compilation album of slow ballads.

Bedtime Stories did not back down on her stances on society she attacked so aggressively in previous years, though it was clear she was trying to tone down her persona. In addition, the album’s title track included elements of electronic music in the production and credited Icelandic artist Bjork with writing credits.

Despite a tamer public image, her success was dwindling.

Then, Madonna booked the role of her career, Eva Perone, in the movie Evita based on the musical of the same name.

The role required stronger vocals and steadier singing than Madonna had ever actually sung, and so she underwent rigorous vocal training.

And throughout the production she was pregnant with her first child, Lourdes.

Finally in 1996, Evita was released in theaters, and Lourdes was born. Madonna, though more respected than in recent years, was viewed as a relic from the past by many people.

Over the next two years, Madonna retreated from the Hollywood life more than ever before to be a hands-on mother, and also begin her next studio album which became the longest period in her career without releasing a new body of work.

And on top of that, Madonna was nearing 40, and in the 90s, 40 was almost archaic.

Finally, we get to Ray of Light.

With Madonna’s public image mostly healed, most people still did not expect anything from the new mother, or were even hoping for it, yet January 23, 1998, Madonna released her first single, “Frozen”—and it was a massive success.

“Frozen” was like nothing the singer had ever put out before. The vocals, the production, and the imagery were a striking departure from her previous releases. At 6:07 minutes in length, the song was a described downtempo electronica ballad, not something an artist in the mainstream had previously attempted. Produced by William Orbit, the producer behind much of Bjork’s early catolog, specifically her 1997 release, Homogenic, Madonna’s intent on delving into techno and the alternative was clear.

The video specifically was some of the darkest imagery of her career. It featured her in black dress, black hair, and black nails with washed-out eyes standing in the middle of a barren desert performing ritualistic dance moves that are almost discomforting to watch, before transforming into a black hound.

It was a much more mature look for the much more mature woman—and the public was hooked.

Not everything about Ray of Light was so gloomy though which one would hope based on the title. The album’s second single and title track really threw Madonna’s new sound into the public's faces.

“Ray of Light” (the song) was the second single of the release cycle and is one of Madonna’s most innovative songs.

The song is almost opposite to “Frozen” in every thematic way, beginning with soft guitar and uplifting strings, before introducing a heavy electronic bass beat as Madonna sings “Zephyr in the sky at night, I wonder Do my tears of morning sink beneath the sun?” in an optimistic tone that was very much missing from Frozen.

She even showcased her improved vocal abilities by belting throughout the song and outright screaming towards the end of the track as her voice was enveloped by the heavy electronic production.

The song was another hit, and proved to the public that Madonna was here to stay.

The album was met with critical acclaim and enormous commercial success. At 40, Madonna was competing on the charts with the newer pop girls in their 20s like Mariah Carey and Britney Spears, and winning.

The themes throughout Ray of Light were some of the most personal of her career, featuring songs dedicated to her late mother and new daughter, while also being heavily influenced by her adoption of the Kabbalah philosophy, a jewish mysticism that believed heavily in ideas of spiritualism and divinity in all things.

The last track on the album, “Mer Girl,” depicts visiting her mother’s grave at a young age, and cited her darkest lyrics to date: “And I smelled her burning flesh, Her rotting bones, Her decay, I ran and I ran, I'm still running away,” in the album’s final lyrics.

Although Ray of Light is certainly amazing music, it’s not entirely why this album is so important. Madonna’s dive into the electronic genre had simply not been done before in the mainstream, and Ray of Light was cited as a major influence on the music industry’s direction in the next few years. It wasn’t the first time Madonna had done this, though doing it at 40? That was a first.

If Ray of Light never was released, would we still be talking about her now? Would she go on to release a top-ten hit with Justin Timberlake at age 50? Would she be heading the Super Bowl halftime show at 55? Would she even be going on tour at 64? Or what would our modern music would even sound like?