husker du zen arcade
sonic youth daydream nation
pixies doolittle
talk talk spirit of eden
kraftwerk computer world
black flag damaged
prince sign o the times
de la soul 3 feet high and rising.
metallica master of puppets
minutemen double nickels on the dime
the smiths the queen is dead
public enemy it takes a nation of millions
echo and the bunnymen ocean rain
kate bush hounds of love

The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
Joy Division - closer
Talking Heads - Remain in light
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
Prince - Purple Rain
Mission of Burma - Vs.
X - Los Angeles
Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses
The Cure - The Head on The Door...

just to name a few

Queen is Dead is a monster, of course, but I find myself listening to Strangeways a lot too.

Is Head on the Door a more poppy Cure album? The line's from "Close to Me", one of my favorite Cure songs. I adore poppy Cure (hence why I'm really digging "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart" from this year) but gloomy Cure is... well... a little too melodramatic.

I love most of the classic 80s records listed but three I absolutely love that I don't think get quite enough love: Galaxie 500's "On Fire," Television Personalities' "And Don't the Kids Just Love It," and Talk Talk's "Spirit of Eden."

Yeah The Head on the Door is pop as hell, I enjoy that one plenty. Actually the only other Cure I've heard is Disintegration, which I can't really get into. What are their other good albums?

Has anyone even mentioned Rush in this entire thread? C'mon guys!

Though most of their best stuff was in the 70s, Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures were both great records released in the early 80s.

quote:

Originally posted by thefanste:
Yeah The Head on the Door is pop as hell, I enjoy that one plenty. Actually the only other Cure I've heard is Disintegration, which I can't really get into. What are their other good albums?

The Cure went through a lot of different phases, so it really depends on what you're into.

They started out as a post-punk band, turned into an atmospheric goth band, and then turned into a pop band.

If you like The Head on the Door, I'd probably say you might also enjoy Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, since it treads on familiar ground, however, there's a lot more fat on that album. I read once that Kiss Me was released when the CD format was just coming out, and Robert Smith tried to make use of the extra space available by cramming as many songs as possible onto the disc.

Boys Don't Cry is a pretty excellent release covering their post-punk era.

And for the goth stuff, Seventeen Seconds is where it's at.

Intriguing. Will get at it soon.

I would recommend Boys don't Cry as well.

Yeah, Boys Don't Cry is good, especially because it has the early singles on it. "Jumping Someone Else's Train" is top notch stuff.

The Head on the Door remains a favorite, however, because it's pretty much near perfect from beginning to end. And it's not as dark as some of their other albums. That said, I love 'Pornography' and 'Seventeen Seconds' too. You can't really go wrong with any of their 80s albums.

My Fave 80s Albums. Not the best, just my favorites. Grouped, not numbered. For what it's worth, the 80s were my 20s. Formative years, musically. So these are what I liked best then AND still return to all these years later.
------
REM - Murmur
X - Los Angeles
Pixies - Surfer Rosa
Talking Heads - The Name of This Band is Talking Heads
Galaxie 500 - On Fire
------
X - Wild Gift
The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms
Pixies - Come On Pilgrim
The Cure - Boys Don't Cry (more late 70s really, but its US release was 1980)
The Psychedelic Furs - The Psychedelic Furs
Mekons - The Mekons Rock n Roll
Lloyd Cole & the Commotions - Rattlesnakes
Cowboy Junkies - Trinity Sessions
Pixies - Doolittle
Rolling Stones - Tattoo You
Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones
Gang of Four - Solid Gold
Rickie Lee Jones - Pirates
Tom Verlaine - Dreamtime
Dire Straits - Making Movies
New Order - Power Corruption & Lies
The Feelies - It's Only Life
The Jam - The Gift
Roxy Music - Avalon
XTC - Black Sea
Joe Jackson - Night & Day
Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Imperial Bedroom
Jim Carroll Band - Catholic Boy
Pretenders - Pretenders
David Bowie - Scary Monsters
Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band - Doc At The Radar Station
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
Roseanne Cash - Seven Year Ache
Lou Reed - The Blue Mask
Kate Bush - The Hounds of Love
The Psychedelic Furs - Forever Now
John Cale - Music for a New Society
The Feelies - The Good Earth
Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man
Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy
Joy Division - Closer
-----------
Talking Heads - Remain in Light
Brian Eno & David Byrne – My Life In the Bush of Ghosts
Randy Newman - Trouble in Paradise
John Hiatt - Bring the Family
Lou Reed - New York
Bob Dylan - Oh Mercy
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes
The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy & The Lash
REM - Reckoning
Richard & Linda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights
The Clash - Sandinista!
Aztec Camera - High Land, Hard Rain
AC/DC - Back in Black
Boomtown Rats - The Fine Art of Surfacing
Black Uhuru - Red
Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands
Paul Simon - Graceland
Tonio K. - Amerika
Public Image, Ltd. - Metal Box
Gang of Four - Songs of the Free
REM - Document

This message has been edited. Last edited by: joesmithreally,

Diggin' the new Cracker album that just came out "Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey"
Check out the videos Turn On Tune In Drop Out Yalla Yalla

1. Prince - Sign O The Times
2. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
3. Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
4. The Cure - Disintegration
5. The Replacements - Let It Be
6. Pixies - Surfer Rosa
7. Pixies - Doolittle
8. Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones
9. This Heat - Deceit
10. The Smiths - Queen Is Dead

I love the 80s. My favourite is a predictable one, but I have to say Murmur. "Talk About The Passion" and "Perfect Circle" are two of my favourite songs, ever. Also predictable, but Bowie's Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (1980) is a favourite.

Here are some picks from me!

1 Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones
2 De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising
3 Mission of Burma - Vs.
4 Black Flag - Damaged
5 Pixies - Doolittle
6 The Psychedelic Furs - The Psychedelic Furs
7 Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
8 Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
9 Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back
10 X - Los Angeles
11 Roxy Music - Avalon
12 Husker Du - Zen Arcade
13 Talking Heads - The Name of This Band is Talking Heads
14 Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden
15 Prince - Purple Rain
16 Kate Bush - Hounds of love
17 NWA - Straight out of Compton
18 XTC - Skylarking
19 Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me
20 The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy

3 Feet High And Rising (1989) was definitely the first hip hop album I really liked (and listened to over and over). It Takes A Nation Of Millions... (1988) was totally awesome, and I had a cassette of it, but De La Soul were much more 'likeable' than Public Enemy. De La Soul and a bit later A Tribe Called Quest's début in 1990 really formed my interest in hip hop. Which I suppose is kind of a cliché but I think it's more because the early Tribe and DLS albums were awesome, not so much because they were 'safe' (unlike the likes of Public Enemy or N.W.A.)

quote:

Originally posted by Apocalypse:
Here are some picks from me!

1 Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones
2 De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising

5 Pixies - Doolittle

9 Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back

13 Talking Heads - The Name of This Band is Talking Heads

20 The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy

Ditto for me re the ones extracted above - especially #13 - what an incredible live album - one of the best.

Hard for me to put them in order, but a top eleven for me would probably look something like this:

Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
The DB's - Stands for Decibels
The Pogues - Rum Sodomy & the lash
XTC - English Settlement
Elvis Costello - Imperial Bedroom
the Smiths - The Queen is Dead
Television Personalities - And don't the Kids Just Love it
The Soft Boys - Underwater Moonlight
The Dukes of Stratosphear - Psonic Psunspot
REM - Reckoning
Beat Happening - Black Candy or Jamboree

This message has been edited. Last edited by: WarmerCorners,

Top 20 albums of the 80's

1.The Queen Is Dead-The Smiths
2.The Smiths-The Smiths
3.Doolittle-Pixies
4.Red Roses For Me-The Pogues
5.Rum, Soddomy & The Lash-The Pogues
6.Closer-Joy Division
7.Computer World-Kraftwerk
8.If I Should Fall From Grace With God-The Pogues
9.Hounds Of Love-Kate Bush
10.Sandinista-The Clash
11.Talking To The Taxman About Poetry-Billy Bragg
12.Surfer Rosa-Pixies
13.Meat Is Murder-The Smiths
14.Strangeways Here We Come-The Smiths
15.Workers Playtime-Billy Bragg
16.Back In The DHSS-Half Man Half Biscuit
17.Remain In Light-Talking Heads
18.Fisherman's Blues-The Waterboys
19.Apollo Atmosphere's & Soundtracks-Brian Eno
20.Disintergration-The Cure

1. George Michael - Faith
I think in a lot of decades, it's not the super popular records that are the best. But for some reason, the 80's are different for me. The two best records were among the two most popular. Faith is, in my opinion, a completely overlooked album because George Michael released it. But top to bottom, it's a flawless record. It's got great ballads, amazing dance songs.

2. Michael Jackson - Thriller
Much like Faith by George Michael, it's another album that sold a shit load and is flawless (minus that AWFUL duet McCartney that neither should be proud of).

3. Soft Cell - Nonstop Erotic Cabaret. I once heard Soft Cell described as a guilty pleasure. What's guilty about liking Erotic Cabaret? Sex Dwarf is such a fucking wonderful track - brooding and maniacal in the vocal delivery with a perfect industrial-before-industrial drum machine beat backing it up. Tainted Love has come to embody the 80's and the band, but it's their other songs like Frustration and Seedy Films that really define the sleaze these two seem to love.


4. The Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables. I always have a soft spot in my heart for punk and hardcore. And I've always been captivated by the Dead Kennedys - out of all the famous punk icons, I can relate to him the most. He's sarcastic, and nasty, and over the top. And that's how I'd characterize the Dead Kennedys. There other output doesn't reach the level of Fresh Fruit, but they are a fine punk band nonetheless.

5. Pet Shop Boys - Actually. The Pet Shop Boys are the ideal pop act - they make you laugh, they make you dance, they make you weep. They have so many great singles scattered between a few amazing albums and mostly average albums. Actually is the opposite though, as it's a great album from top to bottom and is in my opinion, the definitive Pet Shop Boys album.


6. N.W.A - Straight Outta Compton
7. The Human League - Dare
8. Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
9. Madonna - Like A Prayer
10. Kraftwerk - Computer World
11. Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill
12. Black Flag - Damaged
13. The Clash - Combat Rock
14. Grace Jones - Nightclubbing
15. R.E.M - Murmur