Best album of the 80s?
 

I'll probably post one of these for each decade as the weeks progress.

My vote: 'Technique' by New Order.

I'll qualify my selection later on but let's get this thread rolling!

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

'Doolittle' by Pixies

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Napalm Death - Scum

First time a friend gave me this on tape I was like: "You got to be fucking kidding me, what kind of stupid joke is this" I was actually offended and it and it was an original pro tape that was given to me for free (obviously cause the owner could not stand it). Anyway, it is genius.

This is not my favorite album form the 80s really, in fact i rarely listen to it, but if I was to pick a favorite it is completely impossible for me to narrow down my favorite albums of the decade to only 1. I cant even mention a favorite band, let a alone a favorite album. But this is the first record I heard that completely chagellend any ideas I might have on what is music.

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

"A Secret Wish" - Propaganda

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Definitely in my top five.

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

OMG. How can I possibly choose just one?

My immediate thought was Welcome to the Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

When they appeared on the scene, with their risque lyrics and their political agenda, they seemed to take over where punk had left off, but bringing a deep dance beat to their particular brand of anarchy.

They were a phenomenon, a zeitgeist. Being banned from the Beeb not because of an executive decision, but because the DJ Mike Reid personally found them offensive. The Katherine Hamnett "Frankie Says..." t-shirts. The whole anti-cold-war ethos.

Unless you were around in that era (and old enough to understand), there is little I can do to describe the frisson of seeing the Two Tribes video at the height of the cold war, when programmes like Threads were being broadcast, and Poland was being militarised by the USSR. Gorbachev and Reagan knocking seven bells out of each other in a boxing ring was way too serious to be laughed at.

Love it. Always will. :D

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Impossible to pick just one. Even per genre.

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Yeah it is impossible. A decade is way too big for 1 album. But I need to namedrop a few more:
Gang of Four - Entertaiment
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation (and others)
Something by The Fall (cant pick)
All Wire records.
Krafwerk - Computer World
A lot of early death metal
A lot of early hip hop
PUBLIC ENEMY!
Michael Jackson - Thriller. I used to listen to this about 800 a day.

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

What an impossible question to answer. A few of my favs would have to include:
Pretty Hate Machine- Nine Inch Nails
The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste-Ministry
The Top/Disintigration-The Cure (tie)
Tougher Than Leather-Run DMC
Nothing's Shocking-Jane's Addiction
13 Songs-Fugazi
Paul's Beautique-Beastie Boys
Rabies-Skinny Puppy

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

for me, i would probably choose london calling by the clash, I love every song on it and have enjoyed it for more than a decade which is pretty good since i was about 12 when i got into it...

nothing else comes to mind in that way.

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Hell yes, I love this record.
And I need to add The Clash - s/t to my list, i thought it was there already.

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Best all around album from the 80's for me - off the top of my head, I'd have to say U2's Joshua Tree. Every track on there is fantastic, it had that 80's feel, and yet it still holds up today.

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Having been born in 1984 you may find my answers to the question dubious, however without too much pondering my quick answer is 'Paul's Boutique' - Beastie Boys.

I'm also thinking 'Remain in Light' - Talking Heads, 'Technique' - NO, 'The Queen is Dead' - The Smiths, 'Please' - Pet Shop Boys.

EDIT: Forgot 'Disintegration' - The Cure

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

i grew up on Tears For Fears : The Hurting

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

tough one, for sure

New Order - Substance (unless compilations don't count)
David Bowie - Scary Monsters
Talking Heads - Remain in Light
the Clash - London Calling
U2 - War

...and I'm probably forgetting something

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

My two personal 80s faves are the Gunners' Appetite for Destruction and U2's Joshua Tree. Oh and Strangeways Here We Come by The Smiths.

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

for me:

paul's boutique beastie boys - brothers gonna work it out

on fire galaxie 500 - this album holds so many treasured memories for me

psychocandy jesus & marychain

queen is dead the smiths - their best album

nation of millions... public enemy

the stone roses the stone roses - surprised no-one's mentioned this yet

the perfect prescription spacemen 3 - jason spiritualized/sonic boom perfection, although playing with fire was ace too

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Easy, Black Celebration - Depeche Mode

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Tough one but I'm going with the early 80s. The Police's Zenyatta Mondatta released late in 1980. Big influence at the time.

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Public Enemy - Nation of Millions

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

hrm, first thought that came to mind was:
Pixies - Surfer Rosa

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

! Good call!

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

By virtue of the fact that I still listen to it: Throwing Muses (untitled), from 86. It's the reason I still have a cassette walkman.

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

omg - this is a toughie...

so mr 80's is here to clear this up...

we could go for albums that are pure class, and often a bit obvious, and Technique is my most favourite album of all time, but i kinda don't consider it real 80's gem, as it was more of a transdecade crossing album - an end of decade, start of new decade monolith of an album... so i won't consider it here... ;p

but being very keen on the 80's (no way!) there are many many decent and quality albums of pure pop genius that a lot of people have overlooked here in favour of 'albums' that are a bit untypical of the 80's really... and more dare i say it trying to hard...

the main trouble is that the 80's can really be split into at least three disticnt eras, new romantic, pop, and indie dance...

and what to choose from any of them...

well its so tough this that i'll just list some classic 80's albums that i think deserve a mention, beacuse when you see the list - you won't be able to really choose, because you have all overlooked some classics here:

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Welcome to The Pleasuredome
Eurythmics - Touch
Howard Jones- Humans Lib
The Thompson Twins - Into The Gap
Tear For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair
Simple Minds - New Gold Dream
ABC - Lexicon of Love
Duran Duran - Rio
The Smiths - Hatful of Hollow
The Smiths - Meat is Murder
Duran Duran - 7 & The Ragged Tiger
Pet Shop Boys - Please
Kate Bush - House of Love
Pet Shop Boys - Disco
Erasure - The Innocents
OMD - Arcitecture & Morality
Soft Cell - Non Stop Electric Caberet
The Human League - Dare
Heaven 17 - Penthouse and Pavement
Madonna - Like A Virgin
Paul Simon - Graceland
The Cure - The Head on The Door
Joy Division - Closer
Peter Gabriel - So
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Nik Kershaw - Human Racing

honourable mention to: Now Thats What I call Music Volumes 1-6

i don't really want to list any end of the era albums that bordered on dance music because for me people don't remember that part of the 80's as real 80's... although arguably it was the time for the more decerning listeners period for music... and to be honest i couldlist so many more...

the 80's was a great era for music, don't forget the early 80's classics, i know a lot of you arenot old enough but dig deep and revist the albums released before 1988 eh?...

the 80's will never die...

Matt

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Ya'll are cheaters. Pick an album. Singular.

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

I'll throw a handful out there. I tried to pick a few that I remember hearing so much while in grade school. It's not as groundbreaking of a list as Matt's.

Peter Gabriel -- So
U2 -- The Joshua Tree
The Police -- Synchronicity
Prince and The Revolution -- Purple Rain OST
Van Halen -- 1984 (hope I don't get flamed for this one)

Now that I've gone back and bought more '80s CDs than I know what to do with, I'd like to include:

Depeche Mode -- Black Celebration
Prince -- Sign 'O' the Times (in my opinion his best album)


--Jason

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Yep!

I could have given a list of 20 or so and made it easy for me! :p ;)

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

shit - how did i miss synchronicity??? and Prince - my personal fav is Around the World in a Day...

and another one i shoudl mention which i loved was London 0 Hull 4 by the Housemartins....

and Van Halen is a good(ish) album...

there were some monster albums in the 80's, Dire Straits, Meatloaf, of which probably don't deserve mentioning as 'great' - but they were very very popular... and lest not forget some big Queen albums... the 80's was the era for mammoth album releases...

we could also honorably mention some decent 80's soundtracks, but probably the best one, is one that never materialised, the soundtrack to 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'... OH Yeah!

80's FTW!!!

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

and then there's everything Sade and her boys did.

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

XTC - Skylarking for me!

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

i'm a stickler for rules on these important topics, and as good as London Calling is, it was originally released in (very late) 1979, and hence is an album from the 70's... :p

i know it has the early 80's feel about it, but it is clearly dated 1979 (and was obviously recorded during '79,

it's kinda like the Stone Roses album which was released in 1989, but has more of an 1990's feel to it... when we do the 90's thread, on this - i'm sure some people will list that in there too...

its a difficult question because anything released in 1979 obviously lasted beyond the one year and was played during the 80's, but technically the Clash are a band from the 70's, who went on into the 80's...

picky i know, but hey its the 80's baby and well its just gotta be right...

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Best album of the 80s? That's really too difficult... (if not impossible!!!). Even if I agree with most of those BSS named just above, these are probably the ones I've played the most... back in times... when we were... erm... younger :

Yello - You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess
Talking Heads - Remain In Light
Simple Minds - New Gold Dream
New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies
Japan - Quiet Life

bonus album : Freur - Doot Doot :D


ps : Yello being, imho, one of the most underrated band of all time...

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

I keep forgetting, it was the reason I didn't originally list them, and then I forgot they are from the 70s again...:p

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Two of my all-time favorites:

Violent Femmes - S/T
Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets II

I bet most of the fratboy meatheads at all of those let's-pretend-we're-still-in-college bars doing the "clap-clap, clap-clap" part to 'Blister in the Sun' don't realize that the song is older than they are.

In fact, it's a little weird to think that music from 80's is now pushing a quarter of a century in age.

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Ah, the 80's.
A glorious era for music.

Absolute Favorites:

Joy Division - Closer
Simple Minds - New Gold Dream 81,82,83,84
Bauhaus - The Sky's Gone Out
The Chameleons - Script of the Bridge / What Does Anything Mean, Basically?
The Comsat Angels - Fiction
The Blue Nile - A Walk Across the Rooftops
The Wake - Here Comes Everybody
New Order - Low-Life
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
Killing Joke - Night Time
Scritti Politti - Cupid & Psyche 85
Love and Rockets - Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven
Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden
The Wild Swans - Bringing Home the Ashes
Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
The Cure - Disintegration
NIN - Pretty Hate Machine

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

my bloody valentine - isn't anything

or

sonic youth - daydream nation

Re: Best album of the 80s?
 

Van Halen - 1984
Thriller?
Purple Rain?