on multiple greatest hits and compilation albums by Jackson since the song's release, including the first disc of Jackson's two-disc compilation album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I in 1995, Jackson's greatest hits album Number Ones in 2003, and the This Is It compilation album in 2009. Musically, "The Way You Make Me Feel" is a pop and R&B song composed of blues harmonies. Jackson's vocal range on the recording spans from B3 to A5. The song is played in the key of E major. Critical reception "The Way You Make Me Feel" generally received positive reviews from contemporary music critics. AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine listed the song alongside the album's title track, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", and "Man in the Mirror" as being "track picks" from Bad. Erlewine commented that out of all of Bads songs, "only three can stand alongside album tracks from its predecessor", which were "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", and "I Just Can't Stop Loving You". Jon Pareles, a writer for The New York Times, commented that Jackson's songs, "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "say nothing more personalized than their titles". Richard Cromelin, from the Los Angeles Times, described "The Way You Make Me Feel" as being a "loping shuffle". Rolling Stone David Sigerson commented that "The Way You Make Me Feel" was "nearly as good" as being the third best song on Bad. Greg Quill, writing for the Toronto Star, commented that "the notion of individual as opposed to institutionalized self-improvement", a recurring theme for the singer, was present "to a lesser extent in the love songs 'The Way You Make Me Feel' and 'Liberian Girl', which deal more with surrender than conquest or self-gratification." The Washington Posts Rickard Harrington commented that on songs like "The Way You Make Me Feel", Jackson "sings the way he dances". Cash Box called it a "brilliantly crafted upbeat pop number" with "memorable lyrics" and "a playful musical backdrop." "The Way You Make Me Feel" tied at number 22 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop critics' poll of 1987. Chart performance "The Way You Make Me Feel" generally charted within the top ten and top twenty positions on music charts worldwide. The song climbed to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 on the chart's issue date of December 26, 1987. After charting