Music: What are your Top 10 Eighties Albums?

[Acadmus]

I personally have London Calling as a December 79 release cause my brother got it for xmas that year in Vancouver

I think it's fair to consider it either 70s or 80s...released technically in '79, but so late that all its charting singles hit the charts in 1980.

 

[Burnoutboi]

Glass Houses - Billy Joel
Oh No It’s Devo - Devo
License To Ill - Beastie Boys
Crowded House - Crowded House
Doolittle - Pixies
Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D’arby
Private Eyes - Hall and Oates
Stand In the Fire - Warren Zevon

 

[Ceremony]

Technique - New Order
Power, Corruption & Lies - New Order
Low-life - New Order
Movement - New Order
Brotherhood - New Order
Closer - Joy Division

 

[Puck]

Off the top of my head

Paul Simon - Graceland
U-2 - Joshua Tree
Steve Windwood - Talking back to the Night
Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
Phil Collins - Face Value (others I can't remember right now)
Don Henley - I can't stand still
Michael MacDonald - If that's what it takes
Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman
Eric Clapton - Another Ticket
John Fogerty - Centerfield
Suzanne Vega - Suzanne Vega


Honorable mentions to Crowded House, Genesis, The Clash, Robbie Robertson, Robert Cray, Grover Washington Jr., Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Hornsby, more....(can't remember album titles)

 

[The Nuge]

Tentative list. The 80s have imo, the best rap album of all time, and the best rock album of all time. I flipped back and forth a few times, but went NWA based on the impact the album had. Metallica was also a tough choice. You can’t really pick the wrong one. They’re all good.

Straight Outta Compton - NWA
Appetite For Destruction - Guns N Roses
Thriller - Michael Jackson
Licensed to Ill- Beastie Boys
Back in Black - AC/DC
Ride the Lightning - Metallica
Joshua Tree - U2
Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying? - Megadeth
Raising Hell - Run-DMC
Eazy-Duz-It - Eazy-E

 

[chaos4]

Guns n Roses Appetite for Destruction
Stevie Ray Vaughn Texas Flood
Metallica And Justice for All
In Living Color Vivid
Dio Holy Diver
Run DMC Raising Hell
Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA
Iron Maiden Number of the Beast
Triumph Allied Forces
AC DC Back in Black

 

[Ben Grimm]

Murmur, Shoot out the Lights, Tracy Chapman, and Get Happy are my final 4.

 

[Ralph Spoilsport]

in roughly chronological order...

Linton Kwesi Johnson--Bass Culture
Talking Heads--Remain In Light
Broooce--The River
George Clinton--Computer Games
Prince & The Revolution--1999
Marshall Crenshaw--Field Day
The Clash--Combat Rock
REM--Lifes Rich Pageant
The Pogues--Rum, Sodomy & The Lash
Beastie Boys--Paul's Boutique

 

[peate]

Guess I'll give it a shot.

In no particular order.

The Pretenders debut album
Thriller - MJ
Hounds of love - Kate Bush
John and Yoko - Double fantasy
Texas flood - SRV and DT
90125 - Yes
Traveling Wilburys Vol.1
Dr. Feelgood - Motley Crue
Brothers in arms - Dire Straits
Purple rain - Prince

 

[Smelling Salt]

No order, kept it one album per band for some variety.

Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
Def Leppard - Hysteria
GnR - Appetite For Destruction
Honeymoon Suite - The Big Prize
Duran Duran - Rio
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Huey Lewis & The News - Sports
Bryan Adams - Reckless
Journey - Escape
Extreme - Extreme

 

[Mimsy]

No order, kept it one album per band for some variety.

Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
Def Leppard - Hysteria
GnR - Appetite For Destruction
Honeymoon Suite - The Big Prize
Duran Duran - Rio
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Huey Lewis & The News - Sports
Bryan Adams - Reckless
Journey - Escape
Extreme - Extreme

I liked most of these albums, too. I had forgotten to give Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet" and "New Jersey" at least an honorable mention. Both were solid 80s albums (I didn't make it to the 90s with their music). I listened to a lot of Honeymoon Suite's music, too. They sort of remind me of a less polished Bon Jovi. Platinum Blonde was another Canadian 80s band I enjoyed.

Similar tastes.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Spirit of Eden is better anyways

1. Closer by Joy Division
2. The Ascension by Glenn Branca
3. Fourth World Vol. 2: Dream Theory in Malaya by Jon Hassell
4. Ambient 4: On Land by Brian Eno
5. Fourth World Vol. 1: Possible Musics by Jon Hassell
6. Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk
7. E2-E4 by Manuel Gottsching
8. Remain in Light by Talking Heads
9. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy
10. Treasure by Cocteau Twins

Didn't know you liked Cocteau Twins. Treasure has really grown on me recently. Aloysius and Lorelei are just such perfect songs. I used to prefer Heaven or Las Vegas but I think Treasure is the stronger work now. Funnily enough, the band doesn't seem to hold it in high regard and have major reservations about it. Cool to see you responded really well to Spirit of Eden. I remember you saying you struggled with Hollis vocals.

 

[Shareefruck]

Didn't know you liked Cocteau Twins. Treasure has really grown on me recently. Aloysius and Lorelei are just such perfect songs. I used to prefer Heaven or Las Vegas but I think Treasure is the stronger work now. Funnily enough, the band doesn't seem to hold it in high regard and have major reservations about it. Cool to see you responded really well to Spirit of Eden. I remember you saying you struggled with Hollis vocals.

Yeah, Cocteau Twins are great. Can't think of a better female-centric band, really.

Hollis vocals do still hold the band back a bit for me (gives me similar reservations to Thom Yorke's wail-y falsetto voice, but less so), but I don't like them nearly as much as the instrumentation/sound. It's becoming less and less of a deal-breaker, not that I ever thought they were outright bad or anything. I've always thought they were a great band, but not to the same degree as my favorites, mostly for that reason.

 

[Smelling Salt]

I liked most of these albums, too. I had forgotten to give Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet" and "New Jersey" at least an honorable mention. Both were solid 80s albums (I didn't make it to the 90s with their music). I listened to a lot of Honeymoon Suite's music, too. They sort of remind me of a less polished Bon Jovi. Platinum Blonde was another Canadian 80s band I enjoyed.

Similar tastes.

New Jersey would be on my list if I allowed more than one album per artist.

Regarding Honeymoon Suite, Jon Bon Jovi wanted Bruce Fairbairn and Bob Rock for Slippery after hearing their work on The Big Prize so there will definitely be some similarities because of that. The Big Prize, to me, is basically the Canadian equivalent of Slippery. It may not have the mega hits of Livin on a Prayer, Wanted and Bad Name, but the quality and sound is there and I think it has a stronger second half.

 

[tacogeoff]

Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill
Metallica - And Justice for All
GnR - Appetite for Destruction
NWA - Straight Outta Compton
Bon Jovi - New Jersey
Motley Crue - Dr. Feel Good
ACDC - Back in Black

 

[Mimsy]

New Jersey would be on my list if I allowed more than one album per artist.

Regarding Honeymoon Suite, Jon Bon Jovi wanted Bruce Fairbairn and Bob Rock for Slippery after hearing their work on The Big Prize so there will definitely be some similarities because of that. The Big Prize, to me, is basically the Canadian equivalent of Slippery. It may not have the mega hits of Livin on a Prayer, Wanted and Bad Name, but the quality and sound is there and I think it has a stronger second half.

Well that connects a few dots. Bob Rock was a huge name in the 80s, but I never made the producer connection between the two bands. My first foray into Honeymoon Suite was buying a 45 single of "New Girl Now". It was an added bonus to check the b-side several months later and realize that "Wave Babies" was the extra track (I assume the band hadn't anticipated releasing the song as a summer single). I next heard "Feel It Again" from the sophomore album and bought my first Honeymoon Suite record (actually, I made the regrettable decision to buy it in cassette form).

Thanks for the information!

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Yeah, Cocteau Twins are great. Can't think of a better female-centric band, really.

Hollis vocals do still hold the band back a bit for me (gives me similar reservations to Thom Yorke's wail-y falsetto voice, but less so), but I don't like them nearly as much as the instrumentation/sound. It's becoming less and less of a deal-breaker, not that I ever thought they were outright bad or anything. I've always thought they were a great band, but not to the same degree as my favorites, mostly for that reason.

Agreed on both accounts. I think Elizabeth Fraser is - by a gargantuan gap - the greatest female vocalist of all-time and Cocteau Twins are my go-to example in regards to lyricism being mostly an after-thought in music and that vocals should serve instrumental composition above all else. I think Hollis' vocals has an overtly sentimental quality as well but I can't think of a better fit in regards to Talk Talk's later works, where the orchestration is far more melancholic.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

In no order....

Metallica - Ride The Lightning
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Slayer - Hell Awaits
Slayer - Reign In Blood
Death - Leprosy
Black Flag - My War
Autopsy - Severed Survival
Mayhem - Deathcrush
Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying??
Obituary - Slowly We Rot

 

[Ouroboros]

Giacinto Scelsi - Œuvre Intégrale Pour Chœur Et Orchestre Symphonique [Wyttenbach]
Slayer - Hell Awaits
Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
Dead Can Dance - Spleen And Ideal
Jeff Greinke - Cities In Fog
Morton Feldman - Triadic Memories [Aki Takahashi]
Discharge - Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing
Per Nørgård - Expanding Space
Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness
Necrovore - Divus De Mortuus

Tougher than I thought. Had to leave a lot of good stuff off.

 

[The Macho King]

Iron Maiden - Powerslave (I'm going to limit it to one Maiden album since otherwise my list would be like all Maiden)
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
Prince - Purple Rain
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Judas Priest - British Steel
Megadeth - Peace Sells
Beastie Boys - License to Ill
Rush - Moving Pictures
NWA - Straight Outta Compton

 

[Osprey]

In chronological order:

Back in Black - AC/DC
Thriller - Michael Jackson
Sports - Huey Lewis and the News
Born in the U.S.A. - Bruce Springsteen
True Blue - Madonna
Slippery When Wet - Bon Jovi
The Joshua Tree - U2
Appetite for Destruction - Guns N' Roses
Hysteria - Def Leppard
Bad - Michael Jackson

I went with a combination of sales, impact on culture, variety and my personal taste. All but Sports are in the top 20 of the best-selling albums of the decade. If I were just going with my personal favorites, I'd replace several with other albums (for example, True Blue with New Jersey), but I didn't want to leave out some influential artists that represented the 80s.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

U2…The Unforgettable Fire
Journey…Escape
Jimmy Buffett…Floriday’s
Cinderella….Long Cold Winter
Tesla…Mechanical Resonance
Scorpions….Love at First Sting
Ozzy Ozbourne…Bark at the Moon
Skid Row…Skid Row
Vangelis…Soundtrack from Blade Runner
Multiple artists….The 2 Miami Vice Soundtracks. The music was on point and solid gold for the time.

 

[Eisen]

Metallica - Master of puppets
New Model Army - Thunder and Consolation
Neurotic Arseholes - Angst
Die Toten Hosen - Ein kleines bisschen Horrorshow
Iron Maiden - Powerslave
Descendents - Milo goes to college
Fields of the Nephilim - The Nephilim
Dio - The last in line
Iron Maiden - Somewhere in time
Pixies - Doolittle

 

[Nalens Oga]

Y'all listened to the wrong genre from the 80s in Australia. Instead of those Aussie metal bands completely lacking subtlety, should've listened to jangle pop like The Church and Go-Betweens or all those Kiwi Dunedin sound bands.

 

[Sleemans]

I am going to limit this to one LP per artist, or my entire list will be The Police, R.E.M. and U2

Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman
The Cure - Disintegration
David & David - Boomtown
Peter Gabriel - So
Indigo Girls - Indigo Girls
The Police - Ghost In The Machine
R.E.M.- Life’s Rich Pageant
Paul Simon - Graceland
U2 - War