Ending the '80s on a high note - a lot of really strong albums; much as I’d love to give a vote to De La Soul, The Mekons, The Pixies or Bob Mould, this year I’m going to have to go with the Beastie Boys for their best (IMO) album.
ETA: Great Lou Reed album, too.
Tom Petty is a breath of pure rock and roll in this list.
Oh, wow, another tough year to choose from. I was going to save my Beastie Boys vote for this year, but I really can’t pass up “Doolittle.” And “3 Feet High and Rising” might also have had it beat, but it’s neck-and-neck between those three for me. And maybe “Straight Outta Compton” should be in the mix, too. I really could go for any of those four.
I cast my vote for Fine Young Cannibals, with Soul il Soul coming in second place. De La Soul and NWA finish off.
Pixies. I might normally vote for Paul’s Boutique, but a comment a on this board a little while back got me to break out all my old Pixies and Breeders albums and Doolittle probably really is the band’s peak. I was listening to it just yesterday :).
Torn between Doolittle and Mekons, went with Mekons. Amazing album. Spike also got some consideration. One of Costello’s better works.
Tom Petty: Full Moon Fever
Pretty much the perfect pop-rock album IMHO. Plus, I discovered it when I was an exchange student in Canada that summer. Great times.
I keep promising to go back and listen and decide to like the Pixies ;). I have ended up doing that with so many other bands I wanted to dig into more, but I have yet to have that happen with them.
Doesn’t matter anyway - I kinda hafta to vote for Neneh Cherry ;). As I have mentioned in prior threads, the person who produced Buffalo Stance is a friend and former bandmate.
With the benefit of hindsight, we now know that “Straight Outta Compton” would prove to be one of the most influential albums of the era, not least because it put Dr. Dre on the map - and on his way to becoming one of the most important producers in music history. Plus, no one has yet voted for it! So my vote goes to N.W.A.
How in the HELL am I supposed to decide between Paul’s Boutique and Doolittle? This is making my head hurt.
I’m voting for a crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube.
Throw Lou Reed in the mix, and that’s my problem. I’m going to have to think about this one.
I’m not familiar with that whole De La Soul LP, but I’m pretty sure it comes closer to anything else on this list to capturing one of the best scenes (for me) going on at that time, so I voted for it (I also considered Tom Petty, and NWA).
Pixies for me…