My love/hate relationship with the 1980s is really more of a tolerate/loathe relationship, though there was indeed some '80s music that I liked.
But this list wasn't really about that. This was an abortive attempt to identify the albums that collectively defined the decade, for well or ill. It was intended as a possible sequel to my 1994 Goldmine article on the 200 definitive albums of the 1970s, and/or my Unfinished And Abandoned idea for a book to be called Rock And Roll All Nite: The 500 Definitive Albums Of The 1970s. I never got very far with that book, and I have no real intention of pursuing this '80s idea, either. For now, we preserve and present the skimpy surviving notes for this abandoned '80s project.
(Why didn't I like the '80s? Read The Road To Goldmine for that story.)
NOTE: I abandoned this project pretty early in the process, so I suspect there are many 1980s LPs I would have added to the list if I continued with it. Got a suggestion of an album I missed? I wouldn't mind hearing about it.
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AC/DC--Back In Black
BRYAN ADAMS--Cuts Like A Knife
AEROSMITH--Permanent Vacation
AEROSMITH--Pump
ADAM AND THE ANTS--Kings Of The Wild Frontier
ADAM ANT--Friend Or Foe
ANY TROUBLE--Where Are All The Nice Girls?
JOAN ARMATRADING--Walk Under Ladders
ARTIST UNITED AGAINST APARTHEID--Sun City
THE B-52's--Cosmic Thing
THE BANGLES--All Over The Place
THE BANGLES--Different Light
THE BARRACUDAS--Drop Out With The Barracudas
THE BEASTIE BOYS--Licensed To Ill
PAT BENATAR--Crimes Of Passion
BLOTTO--Combo Akimbo
THE BODEANS--Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams
BON JOVI--Slippery When Wet
THE BONGOS--Drums Along The Hudson
DAVID BOWIE--Let's Dance
CANDY--Whatever Happened To Fun....
THE CHEEPSKATES--Run Better Run
NENEH CHERRY--Raw Like Sushi
CHICAGO: Chicago 17
PHIL COLLINS--No Jacket Required
TOMMY CONWELL AND THE YOUNG RUMBLERS--Rumble
ELVIS COSTELLO--Imperial Bedroom
THE CRAMPS--Songs The Lord Taught Us
MARSHALL CRENSHAW--Marshall Crenshaw
CROWDED HOUSE--Crowded House
THE CUCUMBERS--Who Betrays Me...And Other Happier Songs
THE CULT--Love
CULTURE CLUB--Kissing To Be Clever
TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY--The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby
THE dB's--Stands For deciBels
THE dB's--Like This
THE DEAD KENNEDYS--Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables
THE DEAD MILKMEN--Big Lizard In My Back Yard
DEF LEPPARD--Pyromania
THE DEL FUEGOS--The Longest Day
THE DEL-LORDS--Frontier Days
DIRE STRAITS--Brothers In Arms
DURAN DURAN--Rio
THE ENGLISH BEAT--I Just Can't Stop It
EURYTHMICS--Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
THE FLESHTONES--Roman Gods
JOHN FOGERTY--Centerfield
FOOLS FACE--Tell America
GENESIS--Invisible Touch
THE GO-GO'S--Beauty And The Beat
GRANDMASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS FIVE: The Message
EDDY GRANT--Electric Avenue
THE GRATEFUL DEAD--In The Dark
GUNS 'N ROSES--Appetite For Destruction
HALL & OATES--H2O
GEORGE HARRISON--Cloud Nine
DON HENLEY--Building The Perfect Beast
WHITNEY HOUSTON--Whitney Houston
HUMAN LEAGUE--Dare
HUSKER DU--Warehouse: Songs And Stories
INXS: Shabooh Shoobah
MICHAEL JACKSON--Thriller
RICK JAMES--Street Songs
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS--I Love Rock 'n' Roll
BILLY JOEL--An Innocent Man
JUDAS PRIEST--Point Of Entry
KID CREOLE AND THE COCONUTS--Fresh Fruit In Foreign Places
THE KINKS--Give The People What They Want
THE KINKS--State Of Confusion
CYNDI LAUPER--She's So Unusual
JOHN LENNON/YOKO ONO--Double Fantasy
HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS--Sports
LITTLE STEVEN AND THE DISCIPLES OF SOUL--Men Without Women
LIVING COLOUR--Vivid
LL COOL J--Radio
LOS LOBOS--Will The Wolf Survive?
THE LYRES--On Fyre
MADONNA--Like A Virgin
PAUL McCARTNEY--Tug Of War
PAUL McCARTNEY--Flowers In The Dirt
MEN AT WORK--Business As Usual
MILLI VANILLI--Girl You Know It's True
STEVIE NICKS: Bella Donna
TOM PETTY--Full Moon Fever
TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: Hard Promises
THE PIXIES--Dolittle
THE PLIMSOULS--Everywhere At Once
THE POINTER SISTERS--Break Out
POISON--Open Up And Say...Ahh!
THE PRETENDERS--Learning To Crawl
PRINCE--1999
PRINCE--Purple Rain
PRINCE--Around The World In A Day
PUBLIC ENEMY--It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
QUEEN--The Game
RATT--Out Of The Cellar
R.E.M.--Fables Of The Reconstruction
R.E.M.--Murmur
R.E.M.--Document
THE REPLACEMENTS--Let It Be
THE REPLACEMENTS--Pleased To Meet Me
LIONEL RICHIE--Can't Slow Down
THE ROLLING STONES--Tattoo You
THE ROMANTICS--The Romantics
ROXY MUSIC--Avalon
RUN DMC--Raising Hell
SADE--A Diamond Life
PAUL SIMON--Graceland
THE SMITHEREENS--Especially For You
THE SMITHEREENS--Smithereens 11
THE SMITHS--Meat Is Murder
THE SOFT BOYS--Underwater Moonlight
SPLIT ENZ--True Colours
THE SPONGETONES--Beat Music
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN--Born In The U.S.A.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN--Tunnel Of Love
SQUEEZE--Argybargy
SQUEEZE--East Side Story
THE STRAY CATS--Built For Speed
TALKING HEADS--Remain In Light
TRANSLATOR--Heartbeats And Triggers
THE TRAVELING WILBURYS--Volume One
TINA TURNER--Private Dancer
TWISTED SISTER--Stay Hungry
U2--Boy
U2--The Unforgettable Fire
U2--Rattle And Hum
ULTRAVOX--Vienna
VAN HALEN--1984
WHAM!--Make It Big
WHITESNAKE--Whitesnake
BRIAN WILSON--Brian Wilson
X--More Fun In The New World
YES--90125
ZZ TOP--Eliminator
(If I weren't at least trying to be objective, I would have removed a few albums I despise--lookin' at you, Chicago 17--and included great stuff like Rhythm n' Booze by 1.4.5. and Voxx by The Rollers.)
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