Today, it would be:
My Bloody Valentine - Isn’t Anything
Bauhaus - Mask
The Cure - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
This Mortal Coil - Filigree and Shadow
Various Artists - C86
Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands
Sugarcubes - Life’s Too Good
Swans - Children of God
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Tender Prey
Shelleyan Orphan - Century Flower
I’ve cheated outrageously - by including a couple of double albums, one not-really-a-group and one compilation (but C86 is seminal and can not be ignored!) - and tomorrow the list would look very different in specifics (but the gist would be the same)
Good lord - I wouldn’t know where to begin. I like a lot of what I see in the thread so far, but I’d definitely include Prince’s Sign O’ the Times, which I haven’t seen mentioned yet.
I hated the 80’s’musically @ the time, but in hindsight I stand corrected. I don’t have 10 that weren’t repeated but I would like to add.
Joe Satriani-Not of this earth
Pogues-Rum Sodomy & the Lash
Ministry-A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste
Cowboy Junkies-The Trinity Sessions
Prince-Sign O’The Times
Yaz(oo)-Upstairs At Erics
XTC-Skylarking
Fugazi-13 Songs
Pixies-Doolittle
Jane’s Addiction-Nothings Shocking
Operation Ivy-Energy
This one would definitely be in my list if it counts. I believe it was released early 1980 in the US, but 1979 in the UK. I was going to add it on as a footnote, as its one of my favorite rock albums, period.
[ol]
[li]Parade - Music from the Motion Picture Under the Cherry Moon - Prince and the Revolution[/li][li]It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - Public Enemy[/li][li]Skylarking - XTC[/li][li]Synchronicity - The Police[/li][li]Master of Puppets - Metallica[/li][li]Appetite for Destruction - Guns N’ Roses[/li][li]The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths[/li][li]License to Ill - Beastie Boys[/li][li]Murmur - R.E.M.[/li][li]Nothing’s Shocking - Jane’s Addiction[/li][/ol]
U2 - The Joshua Tree
Pet Shop Boys - Actually
Pete Townshend - White City
Don Henley - The End of the Innocence
The Pretenders - Pretenders
George Michael - Faith
R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant
Roxy Music - Avalon
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Bruce Springsteen - Born In the USA
Robbie Robertson - Robbie Robertson
The Smiths – The Queen is Dead
Tom Waits – Rain Dogs
Nine Inch Nails – Pretty Hate Machine
Joy Division – Closer
Depeche Mode – Black Celebration
The Cure – Disintegration
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Tender Prey
Morrissey – Viva Hate
The Clash – Combat Rock
Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique
Yes, I’m definitely hanging my hat on the US release date for this one, since it’s “my” top 10, and January, 1980 was the earliest I could have bought (and did buy!) the album.
Disintegration – The Cure The Joshua Tree – U2 Thriller – Michael Jackson 1999 – Prince 101 – Depeche Mode Appetite for Destruction – Guns n’ Roses Back in Black – AC/DC Stop Making Sense – Talking Heads Synchronicity – The Police Brothers in Arms – Dire Straits
Obviously, there are tons of albums I hated leaving off. And I have plenty at home from all of your lists; these are just the ten that came to mind. Disintegration and The Joshua Tree, (and, O.k.: Thriller) are the only ones that absolutely have to be on my list.
The Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll
The Cure - Disintegration
Dead Can Dance - Spleen and Ideal
Depeche Mode - Black Celebration
Stevie Nicks - Belladonna
The Psychedelic Furs - Forever Now
The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
U2 - War OR The Unforgettable Fire OR The Joshua Tree
XTC - Oranges & Lemons
Picking the Smiths’ best album was really hard because they’re all diamonds. Stevie Nicks - torn between Belladonna and The Other Side of the Mirror. The Psychedelic Furs - torn between Forever Now and Talk Talk Talk. Picking the best U2 album of the 1980s is just plain impossible for me.
BTW, The Cure’s Disintegration was the first album (cassette) I ever bought, at age 10, and that album STILL is one of my all-time favorites. I want to go back in time and shake my little hand for having such good taste so young.
The Clash - London Calling (Released in the USA in 1980!)
Prince - Purple Rain
Descendents - Milo Goes To College
Metallica - Master of Puppets (Just barely edges out Ride The Lightning)
U2 - The Joshua Tree
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead (I’d rather pick one of their singles compilations, but that’s cheating…)
The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
Celtic Frost - Into The Pandemonium
Fugazi - Fugazi
The Pixies - Doolittle
Then it’s no surprise! Always good to discuss music.
gallows fodder - I have a story: a few years ago, there was an attempt to establish a Surround Sound/5.1 remix as a new format. Some Classic albums were getting 5.1 remixes. My friend the Producer spoke with Robert Smith about doing one for Disintegration. So my friend received the masters of the album - to do a track or two which, I believe, never played out as the format never got traction. But I got to hear a bit of it when I visited my friend’s studio. Isolating tracks on Pictures of You was very, very cool.
So far, here are the (kind of) totals for albums with 2 or more picks (I left in re-thinks, and counted “The Unforgettable Fire” as the album from whoever had a multiple choice for U2, to get it up to 2):
Michael Jackson - Thriller (7)
The Police - Synchronicity (6)
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms (5)
Guns ‘n’ Roses - Appetite for Destruction (5)
Prince & The Revolution - Purple Rain (5)
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love (4)
Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever (4)
R.E.M. - Murmur (4)
The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead (4)
U2 - The Joshua Tree (4)
XTC - Skylarking (4)
The Clash - London Calling (3)
The Cure - Disintegration (3)
Pixies - Doolittle (3)
The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy & The Lash (3)
Roxy Music - Avalon (3)
Paul Simon - Graceland (3)
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs (3)
AC/DC - Back in Black (2)
Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill (2)
Beastie Boys - Paul’s Boutique (2)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Tender Prey (2)
Depeche Mode - Black Celebration (2)
Peter Gabriel - So (2)
Joe Jackson - Night and Day (2)
Jane’s Addiction - Nothing’s Shocking (2)
Joy Division - Closer (2)
Metallica - Master of Puppets (2)
Pretenders - Pretenders (2)
Prince - Sign O The Times (2)
Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back (2)
R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant (2)
The Replacements - Let It Be (2)
Rush - Moving Pictures (2)
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation (2)
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska (2)
The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses (2)
Talking Heads - Remain in Light (2)
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense (2)
U2 - Under A Blood Red Sky (2)
U2 - The Unforgettable Fire (2)
Obviously, as would be true of anyone, there are some on here I’d consider garbage, but overall a surprisingly strong list. Didn’t mean to step on the OP’s toes here - just needed to look like I was working on something at the office.
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