The Best Albums of the 1980s
Great Music from the Greatest Decade
It’s time to venture into that always controversial territory of Top Ten lists with a totally subjective, possibly anger-inducing list of the Top Ten Albums of the glorious 1980s, the last decade in which vinyl was the norm rather than simply retro-cool. A few disclaimers at the outset: this list is in no particular order, and if I did this list again in a month it might look totally different. That type of change doesn’t happen often with our favorite films or books, but it does with music. “Born to Run,” both the album and the single, will always be my all-time Number One, but that’s the only certainty. Since it came out in 1975, it sadly doesn’t make this list. But enough of the preamble; on to the Top Ten Albums of the ‘80s (there will be a Spotify playlist for you at the end).
The River by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (1980). There is no question about this album, for me and millions of others. Though many still know Bruce best for Born in the USA, a record that is barely in my Top Five Springsteen albums, the long-time fans all know that The River was the album on which Bruce and the Band were firing on all cylinders on every song. From the frat-rock “Sherry Darling” to the starkly autobiographical “Independence Day” and title track, this double album marks the transition of Springsteen into adulthood, and the E Street Band into the finest band ever assembled.
In My Tribe by 10,000 Maniacs (1987). Natalie Merchant has one of those instantly recognizable voices, and how she never achieved mega-stardom is something I’ll never understand. On this album, which has not one single throwaway song (how many records can you say that about?), she and the band tackle everything from child abuse on “What’s the Matter Here?” to the military on “Gun Shy” to illiteracy on “Cherry Tree” to corporate greed on “A Campfire Song;” amazingly every one of these is a tune you can dance to. This is easily the most underrated album of the decade and beyond.
London Calling by The Clash (1980). Volumes have been written about this album because it literally saved rock and roll following the dreadful days of disco and the sappy singer-songwriter era of the late 1970s. It also inspired a generation of bands in a way no other Punk album ever did, and with good reason. It is an amazing album, and the title track still gets your blood pumping from the opening chords more than 40 years later.
Back in Black by AC/DC (1980). AC/DC’s first album after the tragic death of lead singer Bon Scott was no sure thing, but new lead Brian Johnson not only filled Scott’s shoes admirably, he defined the sound of the band for the next four decades. From the title track to the use of “Shoot to Thrill” to open Iron Man 2, to the fact that DJs played “You Shook Me All Night Long” both at my Catholic high school dances in 1980 and at my daughter’s junior high dances 30 years later (with school administrators clearly oblivious to the meaning of the lyrics), the album is something few records are: timeless.
West Textures by Robert Earl Keen (1989). For most, this one will certainly be the biggest surprise on the list. It’s the only semi-Country album on the list, and I say semi because it’s far more Western than Country. Keen’s gift for telling compelling stories in his songs is fully on display on this album. “The Road Goes on Forever” and “Sonora’s Death Row” are both songs that stay with you long after the final chords, which few songs, either in the 80s or today, are able to do.
Tim by The Replacements (1985). Longtime Replacements fans will protest that 1984’s Let It Be was a better album, and they’re entitled to their opinion. But on Tim, these pioneers of alternative rock produced that rarest of albums, in the 1980s or otherwise: one you’ll listen to repeatedly without skipping a track. From the balls-to-the-wall “Little Mascara” and “Left of the Dial,” to the melancholy “Here Comes a Regular,” this is a nearly forgotten 80s album that deserves renewed attention.
The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths (1986). I was tempted to put their 1987 release Louder Than Bombs in this spot, but as it’s a compilation album I chose not to. Also, as good as it is, Louder Than Bombs amazingly leaves off “There Is a Light that Never Goes Out,” the best song on the stellar The Queen Is Dead and one of the best Smiths songs ever. From “The Boy With the Thorn in His Side” to “Bigmouth Strikes Again” to “Frankly Mr. Shankly,” their third album shows The Smiths in top form, and confirms that the pairing of Morrissey & Marr is on a par with Lennon & McCartney and Keith & Mick. You can feel free to fight me on that.
The Joshua Tree by U2 (1987). As conventional as this choice is, it’s impossible to leave The Joshua Tree off this list. The number of songs on this album that qualify as classics more than 30 years later is staggering. Bands have gone entire careers and never written a song like “Where the Streets Have No Name” or “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” or “With or Without You” or “Bullet the Blue Sky;” on The Joshua Tree those are just the first four songs. In a lot of ways this album truly does define the 1980s as well as any.
Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses (1987). First, how is it 34 years since this one came out? For whatever reason, maybe because of the massive 1991 to 1993 Use Your Illusion tour, I tend to think of G N’ R as a 90s band, but no, this album came out the same year as Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love, and like The Clash’s London Calling reminded us all that rock was not dead. From Axl’s signature vocals to Slash’s mastery on guitar to a vastly underrated Duff McKagan on bass, the tracks on their debut (yes, debut!) album have entered the halls of rock Valhalla. “Sweet Child O’ Mine” is the most rockin’ love song ever, the opening strains of “Welcome to the Jungle” will make an octogenarian a headbanger, and “Rocket Queen”…well, go read the story of that one if you don’t know it already.
Beauty and the Beat by The Go-Go’s (1981). I said earlier that The Joshua Tree defined the 1980s, but that’s not totally true. It summed up the mid to late-80s; nothing, however, summed up the sheer exuberance of the dawn of the new decade like The Go-Go’s awesome debut album. The album as a whole is often overshadowed by its two best-known tracks, “We Got the Beat” and “Our Lips Are Sealed;” the entire thing is a Post-Punk New Wave masterpiece. It is one of the best-selling debut albums of all time, and when it hit Number One in the US it marked the first time an all-female band writing their own songs and playing their own instruments had done so. For me, the best song on the album is “Lust to Love,” and Gina Schock may be the most underrated drummer ever.
I realize some heavy hitters did not make the list, including Metallica’s Master of Puppets, Rush’s Moving Pictures, N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton, and Prince’s Purple Rain. That’s the nature of lists like this; let the debate begin. In any case, check out the playlist below.
