Ray of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 3, 1998 by Maverick Records. After giving birth to her daughter Lourdes, Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard and William Orbit in developing the album. After failed sessions with other producers, Madonna pursued a new musical direction with Orbit and incorporated his extensive usage of trance and electronic music in her songs. The recording took place over four months, but experienced problems with the Pro Tools arrangement by Orbit as well as the absence of live bands.
However, upon release, the album was lauded by contemporary critics as a music masterpiece of the decade. Reviewers complimented the album for its mature, restrained nature as well as commending Madonna's musical direction, calling it her "most adventurous" record. Commercially, the album was a success on the world charts, peaking at number one in numerous countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and mainland Europe. On the US Billboard 200, the album debuted and peaked at number two. In 1999, Ray of Light won four Grammy Award from a total of six nominations. Rolling Stone magazine listed the album as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. With the global sales of 20 million copies, Ray of Light became one of the most commercially successful albums of the 1990s.
Five singles were released from the album. The first single "Frozen" was an international success, as was the second one, "Ray of Light", which won a number of awards for its music video. Madonna has performed songs from the album on all of her world tours since its release.
美国歌手Madonna（麦当娜）于1998年推出的一张音乐专辑，这张专辑的制作人是William Orbit（威廉姆·奥比特）。他将电子音乐与流行舞曲进行了非常成功的结合，并融合了当时流行的音乐元素，如Trip-Hop、Bass等，营造一种科技与未来的迷幻空间。其中歌曲《Little Star（星光）》是Madonna写给女儿萝迪丝的。
专辑在美国取得400万销量，欧洲销量超过700万。成为Madonna继《Like A Prayer（宛若祈祷者）》之后最畅销的专辑，不仅改变了Madonna的公众形象，拓宽了她的音乐空间，也为她赢得3项GRAMMY（葛莱美）奖。单曲方面，主打歌《Ray Of Light（光芒万丈）》轻快流行，被Microsoft选为Windows XP的商业宣传歌曲。
本专辑在《Rolling Stone（滚石）》杂志评出的500张历代最强专辑中排名第363位。
