Absolute Essentials - Pop Albums - 1980s
Submitted by lbangs on Fri, 08/19/2005 - 06:02
Tags:
- AC/DC - Back in Black (1980)
- Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Get Happy!! (1980)
- The English Beat - I Just Can’t Stop It (1980)
- The Jam - Sound Affects (1980)
- Joy Division - Closer (1980)
- The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta (1980)
- Pretenders - Pretenders (1980)
- Prince - Dirty Mind (1980)
- Public Image Ltd. - Second Edition (1980)
- The Soft Boys - Underwater Moonlight (1980)
- Bruce Springsteen - The River (1980)
- Squeeze - Argybargy (1980)
- Talking Heads - Remain in Light (1980)
- X - Los Angeles (1980)
- Black Uhuru - Red (1981)
- Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Trust (1981)
- Motörhead - No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith (1981)
- X - Wild Gift (1981)
- King Sunny Ade - Juju Music (1982)
- Bad Brains - Bad Brains (1982)
- Marshall Crenshaw - Marshall Crenshaw (1982)
- Duran Duran - Rio (1982)
- Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)
- Richard & Linda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights (1982)
- Prince - 1999 (1983)
- R.E.M. - Murmur (1983)
- U2 - War (1983)
- Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones (1983)
- Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade (1984)
- Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime (1984)
- The Pretenders - Learning to Crawl (1984)
- Prince & the Revolution - Purple Rain (1984)
- Run-D.M.C. - Run-D.M.C. (1984)
- Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A. (1984)
- Van Halen - 1984 (1984)
- Hüsker Dü - New Day Rising (1985)
- Hüsker Dü - Flip Your Wig (1985)
- The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy (1985)
- Mekons - Fear and Whiskey (1985)
- Tom Waits - Rain Dogs (1985)
- Bad Brains - I Against I (1986)
- Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill (1986)
- Elvis Costello - King of America (1986)
- Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)
- Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell (1986)
- Paul Simon - Graceland (1986)
- The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead (1986)
- XTC - Skylarking (1986)
- Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded (1987)
- Eric B & Rakim - Paid in Full (1987)
- Guns N’ Roses - Appetite for Destruction (1987)
- Prince - Sign ‘O’ the Times (1987)
- R.E.M. - Document (1987)
- Sonic Youth - Sister (1987)
- U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987)
- Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary (1988)
- Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman (1988)
- EPMD - Strictly Business (1988)
- Eric B & Rakim - Follow the Leader (1988)
- The Pixies - Surfer Rosa (1988)
- Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
- Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation (1988)
- Ultramagnetic MC’s - Critical Beatdown (1988)
- Lucinda Williams - Lucinda Williams (1988)
- 3rd Bass - The Cactus Album (1989)
- Beastie Boys - Paul’s Boutique (1989)
- De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)
- N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton (1989)
- The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses (1989)
Author Comments:
For pop, read rock, pop, rap, R&B, hip-hop, and soul, including any music from other genres that played a huge influence on the development of the other styles listed. The rules are pretty simple. An album must be in print (as defined by being available new from Amazon at the time this list was created), and it must be an actual album, not a compilation (there is another list for those).
Yay for Paul's Boutique, most underrated album ever, Beastie's best.
I love that album - it also appears on my top 100 album list - but I was unaware it was under-rated. Most critical sources I consult give it a perfect rating.
Either way, it is a fantastic album!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
So how awsome is that ultramagnetic mc's album i've always wanted it.
One of the milestones of old school. It is well worth the moolah you'd have to throw down or the time you'd spend obtaining it through other means...
Have you heard any of Kool Keith's Doc Oc material? Imagine that a little more tied to the streets, and you aren't too far off.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs