Keep on rockin’ in the free world.
Tag: 1980s albums
The Pretenders – Learning to Crawl: #501 of best 1,000 albums ever!
The middle of the road is trying to find me. I’m standing in the middle of life with my plans behind me.
Van Halen – 1984: #511 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Ah, can’t you see me standing here? I got my back against the record machine. I ain’t the worst that you’ve seen, ah can’t you see what I mean?
Descendents – I Don’t Want To Grow Up: #513 of best 1,000 albums ever!
If growing up means being like you, then I don’t want to be like you.
Lenny Kravitz – Let Love Rule: #516 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Love is gentle as a rose, and love can conquer any war. It’s time to take a stand, brothers and sisters join hands.
Soft Cell – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret: #525 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Sometimes I feel I’ve got to run away. I’ve got to get away from the pain you drive into the heart of me.
Diana Ross – Diana: #529 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Upside you’re turning me, you’re giving love instinctively. Around and round you’re turning me, I say to thee respectfully.
Bad Religion – How Could Hell Be Any Worse?: #554 of best 1,000 albums ever!
In this world today, there ain’t nobody to thank. Just blame it on the kids and toss ‘em in the tank.
Roxette – Look Sharp!: #563 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Walking like a man, hitting like a hammer, she’s a juvenile scam. Never was a quitter, tasty like a raindrop, she’s got the look.
Various Artists – Iron Eagle: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: #567 of best 1,000 albums ever!
So give me your hands, your hearts, I’m ready! There’s only one direction.
Minor Threat – First Two Seven Inches: #570 of best 1,000 albums ever!
I don’t want to hear it – all you do is talk about you. I don’t want to hear it, ‘cause I know that none of it’s true.
Guns N’ Roses – G N’ R Lies: #572 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Said woman take it slow, and it’ll work itself out fine. All we need is just a little patience.
Mötley Crüe – Dr. Feelgood: #587 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Skydive naked from an aeroplane, or a lady with a body from outer space.
Mötley Crüe – Girls, Girls, Girls: #596 of best 1,000 albums ever!
This love that I tell now feels lonely as hell from this padded prison cell.
Tom Waits – Rain Dogs: #598 of best 1,000 albums ever!
We sail tonight for Singapore. Don’t fall asleep while you’re ashore. Cross your heart and hope to die, when you hear the children cry.
Journey – Frontiers: #607 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Someday love will find you, true love won’t desert you. You know that I still love you, though we touched and went our separate ways.
Billy Idol – Rebel Yell: #614 of best 1,000 albums ever!
When you hear the music, you make a dip into someone else’s pocket and then make a slip.
Adam Ant – Friend or Foe: #616 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Don’t drink, don’t smoke, what do you do? Subtle innuendos follow – there must be something inside.
The Cult – Love: #618 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Like a desert sun that burns my skin, I’ve been waiting for her for so long.
Black Flag – Damaged: #620 of best 1,000 albums ever!
We are tired of your excuse. Try to stop us – it’s no use!
Danzig – Danzig: #622 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Warning is come upon your heels – feel your dreams slip away.
George Michael – Faith: #625 of best 1,000 albums ever!
But I gotta think twice before I give my heart away. And I know all the games you play because I played them, too.
Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back: #627 of best 1,000 albums ever!
My posse come quick, because my posse got velocity.
Whitesnake – Whitesnake: #629 of best 1,000 albums ever!
I don’t know where I’m going, but I sure know where I’ve been.
Peter Gabriel – So: #631 of best 1,000 albums ever!
You could have a bumper car, bumping. The amusement never ends.
The Traveling Wilburys – The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1: #635 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Well, it’s all right – we’re going to the end of the line.
R.E.M. – Fables of the Reconstruction: #638 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Maybe these maps and legends have been misunderstood.
Duran Duran – Seven and the Ragged Tiger: #650 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Every little thing the reflex does leaves you answered with a question mark.
Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl: #661 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Straight up, this album is catchy on a cellular level.
Billy Joel – The Nylon Curtain: #665 of best 1,000 albums ever!
You have no scars on your face and you cannot handle pressure.
Prince – Dirty Mind: #667 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Raw, grimy, funked up danceable R&B pop. Also: fun.
Cowboy Junkies – The Trinity Session: #671 of best 1,000 albums ever!
An album with a specific, intimate, and special energy to it.
Various Artists – Top Gun – Motion Picture Soundtrack: #673 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Revvin’ up your engine, listen to her howlin’ roar.
Huey Lewis & The News – Sports: #677 of best 1,000 albums ever!
The heart of rock and roll is still beating.
Electric Light Orchestra & Olivia-Newton John – Xanadu: #679 of best 1,000 albums ever!
You have to believe we are magic, nothing can stand in our way.
Prince – Purple Rain: #685 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Dearly beloved: let’s go crazy. Let’s get nuts.
Brian Wilson – Brian Wilson: #689 of best 1,000 albums ever!
The genius behind The Beach Boys finds his powers fully intact on his first solo album.
Devo – Oh No! It’s Devo: #695 of best 1,000 albums ever!
From the catchy, fun, and a little strange to the truly avantgarde weirdo deep cut treasure chest.
Prince – 1999: #701 of best 1,000 albums ever!
I was dreaming when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray.
Skid Row – Skid Row: #713 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Don’t wait for 18 and life to check this one out.
Bad Religion – Suffer: #715 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Don’t suffer the fools who refuse to get enough-er of this construct of musical performances.
Minutemen – Double Nickels on the Dime: #723 of best 1,000 albums ever!
A sprawl of 43 eclectic gems add up to a greater whole, and that price is right on.
The Clash – Sandinista! #731 of best 1,000 albums ever!
The high highs make it well worthy of being in the magnificent seven… hundreds on the best 1,000 albums ever list.
Fishbone – Truth & Soul: #734 of best 1,000 albums ever!
It might not be for ma nor pa, but this Fishbone dish is sizzling.
Pretenders – Pretenders: #736 of best 1,000 albums ever!
A self-assured, unique, and uniquely good debut album from Chrissie Hynde and crew.
Jane’s Addiction – Nothing’s Shocking: #739 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Nothing’s shocking, indeed, yet consistently surprising.
Wipers – Over the Edge: #748 of best 1,000 albums ever!
An early ‘80s gem with a super unique sound from the gloom of the Pacific Northwest.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five – The Message: #751 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Don’t push me, ‘cause I’m close to the edge.
Various Artists – Say Anything: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: #759 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Amazing soundtrack from an amazing movie… almost too amazing? Nah.
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Through the Looking Glass: #762 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Not your typical album of cover songs. Just ask Alice, I think she’ll know…
Hüsker Dü – New Day Rising: #771 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Listen to this on a battered cassette player for maximum effect.
Pet Shop Boys – Please: #774 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Chic, posh, and pulsing synth pop are tops for the lads of the furry, fluffy, feathered and/or aquatic creature shop.
The Replacements – Let It Be: #780 of best 1,000 albums ever!
From jangle pop to post-punk to quiet ballads, this one has great range (and each range is great).
The Bangles – Different Light: #782 of best 1,000 albums ever!
I mean, just ask any police officer who happens to be at a local fried carbohydrate treat market.
Chuck Berry – The Great Twenty-Eight: #793 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Endlessly timeless, infinitely rock n’ roll.
Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms: #803 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Now that IS workin’, that’s the way you do it.
The Pointer Sisters – Break Out: #804 of best 1,000 albums ever!
You might just say that I’m so excited and yet I’m encountering a great deal of difficulty with regard to the prevention of obfuscating that emotional state.
Bad Brains – Rock for Light: #808 of best 1,000 albums ever!
You (and you) might be able to survive without this album, but why (and why)?
Men at Work – Business as Usual: #810 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Who can it be now? Why, it’s the band from down under, of course.
James Horner – Glory: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: #814 of best 1,000 albums ever!
It’s a time machine to a little study lounge near the back of Johnson Hall at Binghamton University.
Elton John – Too Low for Zero: #815 of best 1,000 albums ever!
If you’re already standing, you might just remain so after listening to this one.
Rush – Moving Pictures: #831 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Great hard rock with just the right touch of prog rock-y flair.
Led Zeppelin – Coda: #849 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Just because it’s the end, there’s still plenty of reasons to get the led out.
U2 – Boy: #850 of best 1,000 albums ever!
The first U2 album sounds as fresh and energetic and urgent as ever.
Scorpions – Love At First Sting: #859 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Well-crafted hair metal. You might say it’ll rock you like… a powerful force of nature.
Kirsty MacColl – Kite: #862 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Pop gems from a UK-based singer-songwriter with a flat-out gorgeous voice.
Survivor – Eye of the Tiger: #870 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Curl up your smile and take your time, take your chances.
The Pogues: If I Should Fall from Grace with God – #871 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Meshes traditional Irish sounds with a propulsive punk sensibility. In short, a bottle of smoke.
The Power Station – The Power Station: #887 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Robert Palmer and members of Duran Duran and Chic combo for some super group action, 1980s style.
Lucinda Williams – Lucinda Williams: #891 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Whether this is country or rock or blues or whatever, it’ll make you say, “Hell yeah.”
Berlin – Pleasure Victim: #893 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Slinky, mysterious, and sexy synth pop that’s very early ‘80s in the best way.
Judas Priest – British Steel: #898 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Not including it would be akin to, say… breaking the law, for example?
The Human League – Dare!: #910 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Don’t you want me to tell you? Read on.
Indigo Girls – Indigo Girls: #911 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Folk rock that bridges the gap from the 1960s for the Lilith Fair generation.
The J. Geils Band – Freeze Frame: #913 of best 1,000 albums ever!
A delicious hamburger of fun early ‘80s rock ‘n roll.
Enya – Watermark: #919 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Celtic and new age-y, at turns gentle and pleasant or moving and beautiful.
The Jam – Sound Affects: #920 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Driving energy and pop hooks that helps to carry the initial British punk music wave forward.
Nine Inch Nails – Pretty Hate Machine: #921 of best 1,000 albums ever!
You’d have to have a head like a hole not to.
Europe – The Final Countdown: #928 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Do I need to finally say it? Do I need to count it down?
Various Artists – Wanna Buy A Bridge? #935 of best 1,000 albums ever!
A stunning collection of post-punk (but mostly leaning into the punk side, and thankfully so) artists out of the UK.
Hüsker Dü – Zen Arcade: #947 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Variety and range, from hardcore punk to an acoustic jam that you could almost imagine being on a 1980s era Midnight Oil record.
Human Switchboard – Who’s Landing in My Hangar? #961 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Early ‘80s new wave-meets-garage rock with fantastic keyboards.
Mission of Burma – Signals, Calls and Marches: #987 of best 1,000 albums ever!
Smart, catchy, arty new wave-y punk that gets under skin in the best kind of way.
The Sugarhill Gang – 8th Wonder: #997 of best 1,000 albums ever!
It’s a fun (very) old school hip hop party album, and/but “Apache” is the towering achievement here that merits best 1,000 album list consideration.
Agent Orange – Living in Darkness: #1,000 of best 1,000 albums ever!
It’s fresh, indie, passionate, and punk, all the more remarkable for an album produced some four decades ago