# The album/CD of the 80's **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 29, 2000, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677 "2000-12-29T17:09:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Scarred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@Scarred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarred)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2001, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/41 "2001-01-02T19:18:20Z")
The 80’s CD that means the most to me is _Black Sea_ by XTC. They’d shed almost all of their rapidfire new-wave influences at this point. It still affects me to this day. I can’t say they defined the 80’s, tho. I think that title would go to _Synchronicity_. The Police opened up the ska world for a lot of people. It always takes a tame popularized version of something to lure people in. To me, _Joshua Tree_ was a bit uneven. I much prefer _Achtung Baby_, which was released in '89 or '90, so it could go on a list for either decade. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/42 "2001-01-03T00:50:14Z")
There’s a lot of good stuff above. Here’s a few of my picks below: **NEW WAVE** **The Hurting** by _Tears for Fears_ **Let’s Dance** by _David Bowie_ **RIO** by _Duran Duran_ (Cheeseball, but revolutionized music videos) **Aural Sculpture** by _The Stranglers_ (yeah, i know, it defined _nothing_ but it beats the f\*\*k outta Duran Duran) **PUNK/ALTERNATIVE** (back when it really _was_ alternative) **Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables** by _Dead Kennedys_ (_The_ defining example of hardcore) **Frankenchrist** by _Dead Kennedys_ (the album’s mediocre but the **H.R. Giger** painting _Penis Landscape_ stirred up all that Tipper Gore PMRC censoriousness that lasted the latter half of the decade) **Zen Arcade** by _Husker Du_ (Turned hardcore into art) **Violent Femmes** by _The Violent Femmes_ (Loved that hyper crunchy acoustic guitar) **ROCK** **Tim** by _The Replacements_ (Best rock record nobody’s heard) **Life’s Rich Pageant** by _REM_ (Their commercial breakthrough & still my favourite) **Synchronicity** by _The Police_ (Man, I loathe Sting’s solo stuff) **Slippery When Wet** by _Bon Jovi_ (_ **WRETCHED!!** _ Can’t deny it’s baffling popularity tho’) **Appetite For Destruction** by _Guns’n’Roses_ (best hairspray metal album of the 80’s) **RAP** **RUN-DMC** by _RUN-DMC_ (Hugely influential) **Licenced to Ill** by _Beastie Boys_ (White Boys can _RAP_!?) Cheers, Hodge [Edited by slythe on 01-03-2001 at 12:26 AM] ---
**Author:** ![absoul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@absoul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/absoul)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/43 "2001-01-03T05:05:32Z")
My personal prefs- [ul] [li]Guns N’ Roses / _Appetite for Destruction_[/li][li]Jane’s Addiction / _Nothing’s Shocking_[/li][li]Husker Du / _Zen Arcade_[/li][li]Mettalica / _Master of Puppets_[/li][li]Trip Shakespere / _Are You Shakespearienced?_[/li][li]Van Halen / _1984_[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Dragon\_Phoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/44 "2001-01-03T06:04:25Z")
Kate Bush - The hounds of love Brilliant album and the inspiration for a generation of female songwriters like Tori Amos a decade later. Other candidates: Paul Simon - Graceland Peter Gabriel - So Japan - Tin drum U2 - Joshua tree Martha and the Muffins - This is the ice-age ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/45 "2001-01-03T08:11:21Z")
Since just about everything’s been mentioned by now, all I can do is second albums previously mentioned. My picks: **Punk/alternative** : Husker Du - **Zen Arcade** - it was the most groundbreaking album of the time, though in my old age I prefer **Warehouse: Songs And Stories** (which took me about 10 years to appreciate) R.E.M. - **Murmur** - though I’d have to add **Chronic Town** , even though it was just an EP. The Replacements - **Let It Be** - broke them out of the hardcore gutter and showcased Paul Westerberg’s genius songwriting talents (really, everything they did through **Pleased To Meet Me** was great) Gang Of Four - **Entertainment!** - Post-punk agitpop/funk, never really duplicated (this is where **the Edge** learned his guitar tricks) The Clash - **London Calling** - their most diverse, if not their best, it gave “punk” bands their first taste of Establishment credibility. The Smiths - **Louder Than Bombs** - The blueprint for 90s Britpop. Public Enemy - **It Takes A Nation Of Millions to Hold Us Back** - revolutionary in sound and rhetoric; the first rap record that appealed to both bohemians and the people on “the street”. **Mainstream rock/pop** : New Order - **Substance** - Disco you could be proud of. Prince - **Sign ‘O’ The Times** - Better cut for cut than **Purple Rain** or **Dirty Mind** , and a double album in the bargain. U2 - **The Joshua Tree** - See above. Bruce Springsteen - **Nebraska** - in my opinion, his best-realized set, with none of the bombast that undercut the messages of many **Born in the U.S.A.** tracks. Michael Jackson - **Thriller** - just for the sheer spectacle and media overkill that came to typify much 80s product. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/46 "2001-01-03T09:14:29Z")
Not a album but Run DMC and AeroSmith doing _Walk this Way_ certainly had a huge effect on the music industry and the listening public in general. Gotta go with Thriller for the OP question even though I hate MJ. ---
**Author:** ![McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19adc/32.png) [@McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/47 "2001-01-03T11:00:58Z")
Put down another vote for murmur ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/48 "2001-01-03T11:50:19Z")
Lots of great albums mentioned, but I’m surprised no one has brought up Speaking In Tongues by Talking Heads. Released in '83, Burning Down The House and This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) were all over the airwaves. It’s far from being my favorite Heads release, but it was certainly their breakthrough, and was followed with the very popular movie and soundtrack Stop Making Sense in '84. ---
**Author:** ![Biffer\_Spice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Biffer\_Spice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffer_Spice)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/49 "2001-01-03T12:47:41Z")
The The - Infected ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/50 "2001-01-03T13:30:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by panzermanpanzerman \* > **The Genesis song “The World We Live In” with all those puppets in the video.** You’re thinking of _Land of Confusion_, off of the **Invisible Touch** album. Lovely thread! Nothing to add though. Well… a few. [ul][li] **Simple Minds** - _Alive and Kicking_[/li][li] **Talk Talk** - _It’s my Life_[/li][li] **Frankie Goes To Hollywood** - _Welcome to the Pleasuredome_[/ul][/li] Coldfire [sub] **Bill** , call **Mandy**![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![PharmBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/74df32/32.png) [@PharmBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PharmBoy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/51 "2001-01-03T15:01:59Z")
Reading these posts reminds once again how badly 80’s music sucks. What a horrible decade for rock (worse than the 70’s). ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/52 "2001-01-03T16:47:37Z")
as opposed to when? ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/53 "2001-01-03T17:51:43Z")
Music from the '80’s was the first music that felt like **MY** music. The first albums that came to my mind were: U2 - **Joshua Tree** Madonna - **Madonna** Prince - **Purple Rain** A couple that no one has mentioned so far: John Cougar Mellencamp - **American Fool** The Cure - **Kiss Me, Kiss Me** Simply hearing the word “album” makes me feel nostalgic! They don’t call them albums anymore…! Heck, I remember when we used to call them LP’s. Anyone remember what **LP** means? ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/54 "2001-01-03T18:03:56Z")
Long Play. ---
**Author:** ![PharmBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/74df32/32.png) [@PharmBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PharmBoy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/55 "2001-01-03T22:36:02Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by mouthbreather \* \*\*as opposed to when? \*\*[/QU OTE] As opposed to the 30’s-50’s when songs were musical, played by real human beings and not programmed. Call me old-fashioned, but I love music from the Big Band era. Popular music has been on a slow downward slide ever since. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/56 "2001-01-04T02:32:15Z")
As far as quality, better than Murmur, IMHO, is Life’s Rich Pageant. And better than Zen Arcade was Warehouse Songs, or Candyapple Gray. As far as The Album, for sheer Zeitgeist-degree, Kraftwerk’s Computerworld, Duran Duran’s Seven and the Ragged Tiger, or the Beastie Boys. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/57 "2001-01-04T03:09:20Z")
Album of the 80s? Def Leppard’s Hysteria. The perfect mix of hard rock and heavy metal. Reminds me of how good the 80s ended and the 90s began: Def Leppard, Guns n Roses, Nirvana, Sound Garden, Metallica etc. Then came rap… And it never went away. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/58 "2001-01-04T06:12:06Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by PharmBoy \* \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mouthbreather \* > \*\*as opposed to when? \*\*[/QU > OTE] > > As opposed to the 30’s-50’s when songs were musical, played by real human beings and not programmed. \*\* Yeah, I hate all that programmed 60s music. It sure is a shame that no real human beings play musical songs anymore. Damn technocrats, ruining all our art. ---
**Author:** ![L714](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dec6dc/32.png) [@L714](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/L714)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/59 "2001-01-05T03:58:57Z")
Pump by Aerosmith. It made a great soundtrack for heavy drinking and all the other crap going in my life at the time. When the Pump tour hit NYC, many female fans showed up wearing silk teddys. Well hello Mr. Tyler. ---
**Author:** ![chief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@chief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chief)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677/60 "2001-01-05T22:10:53Z")
for rock at least, I would say that definitely goes to: Guns N’ Roses - Appetite for Destruction I don’t really need to explain this one, and if you don’t know you should listen to it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-album-cd-of-the-80s/47677.md?page=2)