The 50 Greatest Albums of the 80s
66Featuring Potholes in My Lawn, Buddy, The Magic Number, Jenifa, Eye Know, Ghetto Thang, D.A.I.S.Y. Age, and of course Me Myself & I
THE TOP TEN!
The decade of the 80s was not just about Cabbage Patch Dolls and Ronald Reagan. It was a time when anybody, and I mean anybody could make it to number one if they had a good enough song. Ask Falco, or Tracy Chapman or De La Soul what they thought their chances were? Same as everybody else.
- 1~ synchronicity ~ the Police ('83)
- 2~ thriller ~ Michael Jackson ('82)
- 3~ legend ~ Bob Marley & the Wailers ('84)
- 4~ paul's boutique ~ Beastie Boys ('89)
- 5~ purple rain ~ Prince & the Revolution ('84)
- 6~ appetite for destruction ~ Guns N' Roses ('87)
- 7~ the joshua tree ~ U2 ('87)
- 8~ london calling ~ The Clash ('80)
- 9~ the wall ~ Pink Floyd ('80)
- 10~ 3 feet high and rising ~ De La Soul ('89)
Featuring Rudie Can't Fail, Lost In The Supermarket, London Calling, The Guns of Brixton & the famous one Train In Vain
11~ something to believe in ~ APB ('85)
12~ kick - INXS ('87)
13~ mother's milk ~ Red Hot Chili Peppers ('89)
14~ it takes a nation of millions to hold us back ~ Public Enemy ('88)
15~ pyromania ~ Def Leppard ('83)
16~ sign o the times ~ Prince ('87)
17~ licensed to ill ~ Beastie Boys ('85)
18~ nothing's shocking ~ Jane's Addiction ('88)
19~ glass houses ~ Billy Joel ('80)
20~ born in the u.s.a. ~ Bruce Springsteen ('84)
Featuring Don't Believe The Hype, Bring The Noise, Rebel Without a Pause & the classic revolutionary Black Steel In The Hour of Chaos
21~ singles 45 and under ~ Squeeze ('82)
22~ paid in full ~ Eric B. & Rakim ('87)
23~ let love rule ~ Lenny Kravitz ('89)
24~ shout at the devil ~ Motley Crue ('83)
25~ graceland ~ Paul Simon ('86)
26~ songs from the big chair ~ Tears for Fears ('85)
27~ full moon fever ~ Tom Petty ('89)
28~ back in black ~ AC/DC ('80)
29~ catching up with ~ Depeche Mode ('85)
30~ master of puppets ~ Metallica ('86)
Featuring Rosemary, Mr. Cab Driver, Flower Child (aka Lisa Bonet), Freedom Train and his own hippie anthem LET LOVE RULE
31~ straight outta compton ~ N.W.A. ('88)
32~ the dream of the blue turtles ~ Sting ('85)
33~ 1984 ~ Van Halen ('84)
34~ 1999 ~ Prince ('82)
35~ tracy chapman ~ Tracy Chapman ('88)
36~ building the perfect beast ~ Don Henley ('84)
37~ critical beatdown - Ultramagnetic MC's ('88)
38~ disintegration ~ the Cure ('89)
39~ raising hell ~ Run DMC ('86)
40~ scarecrow ~ john cougar mellencamp ('85)
Featuring Baby Can I Hold You, Talkin' Bout A Revolution & Fast Car
41~ diamond life ~ Sade ('84)
42~ ghost in the machine ~ The Police ('81)
43~ criminal minded ~ Boogie Down Productions ('87)
44~ so ~ Peter Gabriel ('86)
45~ don't say no ~ Billy Squier ('81)
46~ little creatures ~ Talking Heads ('85)
47~ listen like theives ~ INXS ('85)
48~ combat rock ~ The Clash ('83)
49~ the pretenders ~ the Pretenders ('80)
50~ tattoo you ~ the Rolling Stones ('81)
Okay, you're filled nostalgia and emotion, now write. Tell me my friends. Tell about about the albums you broke out your weed on and shook it til the seeds all fell
LAST GREAT ALBUMS for 2 of the Greatest Bands ever!
CommentsLoading...
Thank You so much Blogger Mom! Welcome. I love your photo btw.
Any albums in particular make you wanna pick up a Rubik's Cube?
DJ Funktual...As usual we're not too far off. I'd like to see this list broken down further, though, such as pop, new wave, R&B, metal, reggae, etc., as the 80's was one of the best decades for music since the caveman....just 50 albums, (no matter what your order preference is) doesn't do the era justice.
Love your hubs, man! I'm a fan.
Well,
with a first name like rockin you must know your stuff. Which of these albums moved you?
Too many albums to list with too many reasons to list them. Tears, laughter, love found, love lost, death, life, a new start, etc. ...Love your lists. Lots of memories tucked away in those songs.
Just one question....I'm sure you have your reasons, but, wtf is Huey Lewis in there for?
OMG rockinjoe. LOL!!! I left that and Bryan Adams there to see who would call me out on it first. YOU REALLY ARE THAT FREAKIN rockin'
Why am I surprised?
I fixed it. now it's for real. Sorry for my ruse.
THAT ROCKS! That's too funny. Here I am thinking, wtf is this guy, (who obviously knows his stuff and passionate about his work), putting Huey in there for? I knew you were funny, but I didn't realize just how funny. 100 points-and a set of steak knives.
Next hub idea for you.
If music had a Death Penalty, who would get the chair?
What do you think?
Huey Lewis would be Public Enemy #1
Bryan Adams
Celine
etc....
I promise if you write this it will go to the top of Hubpages and possibly Digg.
Go get em'!
I can't even list all of my favs - thriller, police, joshua tree, inxs, nothing's shocking (one of the best of all time), slippery when wet, appetite...I played appetite on my walkman all the time!
Again, great list!
I'll write the Death penalty thing tomorrow
but I still don't know what a digg is.
Half the time I feel sorry for you guys b/c I can't give you links to this stuff & I still don't know how to do videos and audio clips yet. A DJ who provides no ambiance? ...eeessh. I'll try to work on that.
OMG DJ, the 80's, what an era.....that was my decade...graduation...moving out on my own...the birth of a child, who by the way grew up listening to it and now knows all of it by heart. I can't believe your list, it's awesome. So many memories.
Thanx changemaker. Welcome.
Anybody else out there like the 80s
Nice list, but you need to check out Midnight Oil's 'Diesel and Dust'
thx Mad Dog! I have Beds Are Bruning and The Dead Heart on 45 but do not have that album.
I JUST POSTED ALL NEW PHOTOS FOR THIS HUB! sorry for the delay......dj funktual
Everybody like the renovation?
Love the remodel.
singles 45 and under ~ Squeeze ('82) That brings back so many memories of my "back in the day" days. One of my all time favorite albums.
Yeah man, in college I did a crossword puzzle to this album it must have played 12 staright times before I turned it off.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE "Up The Junction"
Great stuff. In my opinion, the 80s was the best decade for music, followed closely by the 60s
Hard to believe some of these albums are as old as they are. (Hey, I still refer to "Born in the USA" as Springsteen's "new" stuff.
What a great era for music!
where are the smiths???????
No She's so Unusual?
Pixies:Doolittle,Surfer Rosa
Stone Roses????
Dear "Rolling Stone" editors:
There's this band called The Fall. You should check them out.
hmm btw i think you meant to right 'one' instead of 'six' in front of appetite for destruction...
Where is ZZ Top??? :S
Where's Iron Maiden? Can't you at least put Number of the Beast in there?
where is "the queen is dead" by the smiths
for me one the best of this decade if it's not THE best
Where is Kate Bush?
To not have Doolittle by the Pixies on this list shows how completely incompetent it is.
It's incredible that you've managed to leave Dire Straits of this list, considering they turned two hugely successful albums, Brothers In Arms and Making Movies, Brothers In Arms selling, oh, something like 30 million copies.
Also missing are:
The Queen is Dead- The Smiths
Somewhere in Time- Iron Maiden
Heaven & Hell- Black Sabbath
On Fire- Galaxie 500
Also I have no idea why Little Creatures makes your list but not Remain In light. A pretty ridiculous choice, honestly.
Legend, Thriller, Synchronicity??? Really? Can you get any more boring and middle of the road? Why you would ever listen to Legend when there are 15 great Bob Marley albums out there is beyond comprehension....Do me a favor and go listen to some Sonic Youth and the Pixies and then come back make a list. X?
Michael Jackson's Bad should most definitely be on here.
Blogger Mom 4 years ago
I didn't realize how much I loved 80s music until your list brought back some great memories. Thanks for this.