Should I collaborate or should I do it alone?

Think about the song man in the mirror by Michael Jackson. It was a #1 song. People listened to it and said “Michael Jackson is great, I want to buy his cd/go see him in concert.” Meanwhile, look at the credits:

Written and composed by Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard
Produced by Quincy Jones
Co-Produced by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson: Solo & background vocals
- Featuring Siedah Garrett, The Winans and The Andrae Crouch Choir
Ollie E. Brown: Clap
Dann Huff: Guitar
Greg Phillinganes: Keyboards
Glen Ballard, Randy Kerber: Synthesizers
Siedah Garrett: Background vocals
The Winans: Carvin, Marvin, Michael and Ronald Winans
- Andrae Crouch and his Choir: Sandra Crouch, Maxi Anderson, Rose Banks, Geary Faggett, Vonciele Faggett, Andrew Gouche, Linda Green, Pattie Howard, Jean Johnson, Perry Morgan, Alfie Silas, Roberto Noriega
Rhythm arrangement by Glen Ballard and Quincy Jones
Synthesizer arrangement by Glen Ballard, Quincy Jones and Jerry Hey
Vocal arrangement by Andrae Crouch

Michael Jackson only sang on it and co-produced it yet the average listener hears it and will give all the credit to him. Of course it's not their fault, the radio DJ will only say "That was Human Nature by Michael Jackson." Spotify will only say "Human Nature by Michael Jackson." There are some of the worlds greatest musicians/producers listed above but people are used to giving all credit to the person whose name is on the album. Because of this, most people who hear your music for the first time won't know or care who played what. They'll only be deciding if they like it or not. That's why you have to hit them with the best possible product. If you can get someone to play bass (or any other instrument) who is been devoting their whole life to be great at that instrument and it sounds even 1% better than you playing the part yourself then it may be worth using that person.