''Madonna is a great package. But in her case, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,'' Bahler said. ``Michael was one of the best singers I've ever heard. He was possibly the best dancer I've ever seen. And he was such an indomitable spirit when he stepped on a stage. I don't know who else is bigger. He was the most iconic. And you become even more iconic when you die before your time. Look at Elvis.''

But Elvis and his blue suede shoes belonged to an earlier time. Michael and his zippered jackets, his single sequinned glove, his crotch-grabbing penchant and fierce dance moves belonged to a new generation.

It is the generation that went batty for the Walkman long before it could fathom an iPod. The generation that sat enthralled in front of that new phenomenon called MTV, which debuted in 1981, just as Jackson's solo career was skyrocketing.

MTV and the superstar whose eye-popping music videos kept upping the ante on what a music video could be (It's close to midnight and something evil's lurkin' in the dark . . .) were inextricably tied from the start, feeding off each other as they grabbed the imagination of the youth market.

Visit Youtube today and you'll see signs of Jacksonmania. Search the terms ''Michael Jackson'' and ''Thriller'' and ''wedding'' to check out the growing fad of wedding parties breaking into the Thriller dance. Sign onto Facebook to find most of your friends talking about one thing: MJ. Michael. Jacko.

''I just pulled his music off the shelf and will spend the day revisiting it,'' said Miami resident and longtime Broadway producer Richard Jay-Alexander, who posted an image on Facebook of the day that Jackson went to see a revival of Oliver! in 1984 and then went backstage to greet the cast.

''It was a thrill. He was really at the height of his fame,'' said Jay-Alexander, who was stage manager and dance captain of the show. 'Years later, I got a call from the FBI. I remember I was on tour with Bette Midler and I told her, `My housekeeper keeps calling saying the FBI is looking for me.' I finally went in and they asked if Michael had tried to arrange any 'dates' with the kids in the cast of Oliver! I just burst into laughter. Of course nothing like that had happened.''

The Jackson obsession faded over time for many hardcore fans who simply grew up -- or were turned off by his increasingly strange ways. But Friday was a day to put that aside and focus on Jackson's brilliant contributions to popular culture.

TRACKS SOLD OUT

At Sing A Song Karaoke Store in Hollywood, co-owner Barbara Lambert said she sold out of about one dozen Jackson tracks by Friday morning.

She ticked off the song titles: Man in the Mirror, Thriller, Billy Jean, Beat It.

''I'm placing another order,'' she said.

Dese'Rae Stage, 26, grew up in Kendall, roller skating to Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough at the now-defunct Hot Wheels rink.

''Hot Wheels and Michael Jackson went hand in hand. He was something everyone had in common,'' said Stage, who lives in Manhattan and visited the Apollo Theater in Harlem on Thursday night to pay tribute to Jackson.

''There were so many people there, people from every walk of life,'' she said. ``There were people with boom boxes dancing, and there were onlookers, but mostly it seemed like a celebration of someone who meant a lot to many different people.''

Miami Herald staff writer Daniel Chang contributed to this report.

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