Another banner year (IMO) - the holy trinity of American alternative rock for me in high school - Hüsker Dü, The Replacements and R.E.M. - all make the list again; there are some great roots rock albums; XTC makes the top 15 for the first time. My one quibble this year is the Robbie Robertson album placing so high - it wasn’t a great album, and the man’s definitely no singer; The Smiths (or even Sinéad O’Connor’s debut) would have been better choices (both made the list, just not the top 15). At least 8 of these albums could have been my pick, but in the end I agreed with the critics and voted for the #1 slot.
Hüsker Dü’s finest hour, two full wall-of-sound albums with plaintive songs and positive songs and fat guitar and driving drums and everything. Everything!
Lots of good albums here, and Sister does have “Schizophrenia” calling my name, but I’m happy with my choice.
Yeah, at 17, that Hüsker Dü album was like a self-help book to me, though nowhere near as cheesy as an actual self-help book.
I voted for Robbie Robertson, but only because there’s nothing else on here I’m that passionate about, and I’m sure I’ll be the only one casting my vote that way. Showdown at Big Sky, Broken Arrow, and Somewhere down the Lazy River are standouts on the album. But yeah, my vote was a sympathy vote. 
I’ll cast my vote that way. I still listen to that record. He has a sexy, sexy voice.
Prince superfan though I most certainly - and proudly - am, even I can’t deny the absolute kaleidoscopic brilliance of XTC’s (with a not insignificant assist from Todd Rundgren) Skylarking. So, yes, for the record: I voted for XTC over Prince.
Anyway, my choice came down to three: Skylarking, Sign o’ the Times, and Robbie Robertson’s eponymous debut. But as I said, there really wasn’t a choice other than Andy Partridge & Co.
Sonic Youth - just an awesome album that was somewhat revelatory for me at the time in not sounding much like what had come before. It sits very near Daydream Nation in my mind, the two together are to me kind of the pinnacle of the band.
Second choice would probably be the The Replacements again. Their last really great album IMHO. Of the Hüsker Dü albums I honestly always preferred Zen Arcade and New Day Rising. And to this day for some reason I’ve never listened much to XTC - something I should correct at some point.
I think Prince’s Sign o’ the Times is his best CD, and he is one of my favorite artists, so really easy for me.
Easy U2, it is their magnum opus, though maybe not their #1 best .
U2 ahead of Tom Waits.
Came down to XTC vs. Tom Waits. The U2 album is good, too. (I’m a big R.E.M. fan, but Document is mostly crappy.)
Went with XTC.
ETA: Ornette Coleman? Again? What, was his mother on the VV board of directors or something?
Definitely XTC for me, too.
Tough choice this year - The Joshua Tree is arguably U2’s best, and for me it’s a slamdunk that The Lonesome Jubilee is Mellencamp’s best. And in a lot of other years, Robbie Robertson would take it, but not this year.
IRL 1987 sucked for me, but at least it had a great soundtrack.
I’m going with Mellencamp.
I was really hoping for Starfish to make the cut here. <sigh…>
Joshua Tree is a worthwhile consolation prize…
Well, it did. “Starfish and Coffee”, one of the very best tracks off of Prince’s Sign o’ the Times.
Oh, I see …
Starfish and Coffee - maple syrup and jam
Butterscotch Cloud, tangerine, side order of ham…
Love that song. And the Ballad of Dorothy Parker. And It. And Housequake…and…
Sister for me, without a doubt. Even though the drums sound like cardboard boxes, it’s an awesome record. Similar to Tamerlane, I think along with EVOL,Bad Moon Rising, and Daydream Nation, it’s a great period for Sonic Youth. I wouldn’t have any problem recommending any of those records.
Genuine LOL at the cardboard boxes. It’s the laughter of realisation 
It’s a great album though, and unlike Daydream Nation it doesn’t outstay its welcome.
I had to make a choice between husker du and the Cure, Kiss me x3. My choice changed my life. Couldn’t afford both. Glad I chose minneapolis.
Skylarking was almost like a lost Beatles album. Especially before it was yanked back and one of the songs was replaced with the overly earnest “Dear God”.
Second choice would be Sister.