I recently listened to an episode of The Rewatchables focused on Karate Kid Part II, which was released in the summer of 1986.
It’s a hilarious and fun podcast, highly recommended. The episode also helped make me nostalgic for some of the fabulously 1980s movies that came out that year, including Aliens, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Back to School (a flick that both my mom and I continue to love to this day).
It’s not shocking then that when we look at the 14 1986 albums that made the cut for the best 1,000 albums ever – a five-year project that catalogs and celebrates the music that has meant the most to me – great soundtracks for two fun summer popcorn movies (both fighter jet-centric action flicks!) made the cut: Top Gun and Iron Eagle.
More broadly, it’s exciting to see a bunch of enduring classics in this collection from the likes of the Beastie Boys, R.E.M., Metallica, Bon Jovi, and others.
Here they are, the best 14 albums from 1986 ever, with a quote pulled from each associated best 1,000 albums piece for each.
1) Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill (#41 of best 1,000 albums ever)
Licensed to Ill is one of those albums for me that’s weirdly less about the music itself in some ways and more about a fundamental thing – a musical artifact, I guess you could say – that has both been with me, or maybe more accurately part of me, for my entire life. And then it has also played a larger role at specific and significant moments.
2) R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant (#43)
“Fall On Me” might just be the perfect R.E.M. amalgamation of beautiful pop song and jangle pop rocker in one single song. And then it’s also one of the most striking and poignant alarm bells about the coming climate change calamity – produced during the mid-‘80s when no one really took this stuff seriously – ever recorded.
3) Metallica – Master of Puppets (#114)
During the research phase of this long and fun journey through the best 1,000 albums ever, I jotted down the following about Master of Puppets:
Extremely impressive, head thrashing, meticulous, fully kick ass speed metal.
4) Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet (#202)
Two stories come to mind from different times in my life when I think about Bon Jovi’s smash hit of a hair metal-meets-pop album from 1986.
The first dates back to when I was a sleepaway camp counselor between my sophomore and junior years of college. I had never gone to camps of any kind as a kid growing up, really, and was (and remain) not much of an outdoorsy person. I also had zero experience with kids (including the fact that I’m the youngest of three children in the household I was raised in).
So what was I thinking, taking on a fairly large group of 11-year-old boys with one other co-counselor? That’s the question I asked often during that long summer in the mountains north of New York City.
5) Run-D.M.C. – Raising Hell (#235)
I have two childhood memories involving Run-D.M.C. that bring me great joy.
In the first one, I’m around ten years old and sitting in the backseat of my parents’ car. We’re going someplace kind of “far,” far enough away that I was smart (brilliant?) enough to take a cassette tape player and headphones along for the ride.
6) Misfits – Collection (#249)
One of the reasons that I’m an even bigger fan of the Misfits versus Danzig the band is the former’s lean into punk rock versus metal. Collection, as the album title implies, aggregates a ludicrous number of short, punchy, and sublimely satisfying Misfits smashers, and many of its tracks have made their way onto workout and punk rocking playlists of mine over the years.
7) The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead (#381)
There’s something insanely catchy about “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others.” I puzzled over its lyrics –based on the oddball song title and the phrase’s repetition throughout the song – and couldn’t make much sense of it. But what does make sense to me is that the song again reflects a perfect blend of energy, catchiness, and a moody sensibility that gives “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others” a weight (that may or, likely, may not have anything to do with the bigness of some girls versus others).
8) Europe – The Final Countdown (#459)
Europe’s “The Final Countdown” is iconic 1980s arena rock. It’s not complicated, it’s not subtle. It’s loud and it’s hair sprayed, heavy metal with lipstick. It’s putting your hands in the air (and definitely not caring) with rock out hand signs pointed right at the stage. In short…
IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN.
9) Paul Simon – Graceland (#518)
Some albums conjure more memories and thoughts than others, and Graceland is quite a conjuror on that score.
10) Iron Eagle soundtrack (#567)
If you were around during the 1980s or are interested in that decade’s output of music, it’s fun sometimes to play a game called “What qualifies as the true Maximum 1980s song of them all?”
11) Peter Gabriel – So (#631)
So… So is an album jam packed with monster hit songs. Monster hit songs.
12) Top Gun soundtrack (#673)
If there’s one defining song from this iconic 1986 blockbuster, it’s Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone.” It’s so Maximum 1980s that I’ll admit that it’s a wee bit cheesy, but it quickly blasts through being confined within that box through its bombastic force of will. Much like many aspects of 1980s pop culture.
13) Pet Shop Boys – Please (#774)
The Pet Shop Boys have been prolific since forming in the 1980s. By my count, as of this writing they’ve produced 19 studio albums. More importantly, their output has been surprisingly consistent. Pet Shop Boys are the kind of musical outfit where nearly everything they put out is at least pretty good, and almost never not good, if you can dig.
14) The Bangles – Different Light (#782)
It’s interesting to compare “Walk Like an Egyptian” with the other smash hit on Different Light, “Manic Monday.” The latter holds up extremely well, and a close listen reveals really lovely layered in background vocals. It’s as catchy as “Walk Like an Egyptian,” but shows off a slightly different side of the band. And who can’t relate to wanting to rewind Monday and get back to one’s fun day?