Best 80s albums list?

Since we’re already discussing The Replacements, I had to dig up this shot of them from '77. There isn't a hint of punk in sight here—just pure, classic pub rock vibes—and honestly, Clive Gregson is sporting a surprisingly impressive amount of hair 🙂

http://www.btinternet.com/~digger.ba...ouble_1977.jpg

Alright, here’s the list (I can't even deal)—honestly, calling this a list feels wrong; it's more like a massive hashtag collection:

husker du - zen arcade
rip rig & panic - god
talking heads - remain in light
tom waits - rain dogs
gang of four - solid gold
triffids - in the pines
fall - hex enduction hour
dead kennedys - plastic surgery disasters
jam - sound affects
giant sand - long stem rant
tom verlaine - dreamtime
pop group - how much longer do we tolerate mass murder?
ninahagen - nunsexmonkrock
elvis costello - get happy
richard hell - destiny street
the band of blacky ranchete - istoimeni
pogues - if i should fall from grace with god
ramones - pleasant dreams
mark stewart - learning to cope with cowardice
blood on the saddle - fresh blood
new order - low life
bad brains - rock for light
sonic youth - sister
butthole surfers - rembrandt pussyhorse
meat puppets - meat puppets II
siouxie and the banshees - ju ju
b52s - wild planet
cramps - songgs the lord taught us
bauhaus - the sky's gonna out
pigbag - dr. heckle & mr. jive
beasts of bourbon - the axeman jazz
scientists - heading for a trauma
gun club - fire of love
pretenders - pretenders
minutemen - double nickles
swans - the burning world
neil young - re-a-ctor
green on red - gas food lodgin
REM - fables of reconstruction
mano negra - puta's fever
au pairs - playing with the different sex
black flag - damaged
specials - more specials
cpt beefheart & the magic band - doc at the radar station
X - under the big black sun
birthday party - junkyard
magazine - magic, murder and the weather
james blood ulmer - black rock
nick cave & the bad seeds - your funeral . . . my trial
laurie anderson - mr heartbreak
violent femmes - the violent femmes
go-betweens - before hollywood
teardrop explodes - kilimanjaro
stranglers - la folie
tragic mulatto - hot man pussy
dexys midnight runners - too-rye-ay
japan - tin drum
josef k - the only fun in town

I originally set out to put together a list focused strictly on guitar-driven rock albums from the 80s. Then, during a chat with Zab, Public Enemy popped up, followed by Front 242. I actually feel a bit bad that the early de la Soul stuff didn't make the cut—they're still my absolute favorites from that "old school" era. As for Rakim, maybe he deserves a spot, but probably only once I tackle a Top 100 list. Those German-American friends (DAF) would definitely find a home on an expanded version, but since every list is subjective, I decided to stick with Front 242. Personally, I regret leaving out The Blue Nil, a Certain Ratio, and a few others...
Regarding the Feelies, I included them because they had such a massive influence on the NYC scene, and by extension, SY. When I listen to them, I hear a song structure very similar to what SY does. Not to mention how The Strokes, the Walkmen, and so many other newer NYC bands sound so much like them...
Don't you dare touch the Minutemen! 🙂 I even toyed with the idea of adding “what makes a man start fires,” but that’s definitely more of a Top 100 contender.
Echo & the Bunnymen made the list (alongside Crocodiles), but at the very last second, they got bumped. I feel a little bad about it now, but I honestly find Terdrops more interesting...
For me, Sister and Evol are better (Bad Moon isn't quite my thing), which is why Sister sits ahead of Daydream. But since EVOL feels so similar in mood to Sister, I ultimately decided to go with Daydream Nation instead; it had such a monumental impact and that epic sound that meant everything to most teenagers (and even some older folks) among all the SY albums.
Zen Arcade was ranked pretty high, but it ended up falling off due to constant shuffling at the end. If this were a Top 100, there would definitely be at least three more Husker albums higher up there.
We already covered our bases regarding Rank and file. And Black Flag too.
I'm not really into Soundgarden; I'd rather have put Screaming Trees on the list, but again—it's hard to break through such heavy competition.
Butthole Surfers were high up there too. I know I was torn between Loscust and Hairway; I initially picked Hairway, but then they got dropped. That's a bummer for me too.
Squirrel Bait is good, just not enough for this list, but I love Slint and Rodan. Spiderland would surely be on here if we were talking about the 90s, but Tweez just isn't strong enough...
Bad Brains were on there (but got cut). No offense intended, but since they feel like a bit of a Minutemen “rip-off,” I left them out, even though Wrong is an incredible album. I would have loved to include Sex Mad, purely for the song Dad, which I truly love.
There was a Fugazi E.P., but I didn't want to include E.P.s, so I ended up cutting them. Did Fugazi actually release a full album in the 80s?
Josef K is a great band, but I completely blanked on them. I haven't listened to Orange Juice much, so I couldn't really factor them into my thoughts.
Spacemen 3 were also on the list, specifically Playing with Fire. But they aren't quite interesting enough for my taste (too much gospel for me) to crack the Top 50. They'd definitely be in the Top 100, though!

“Alright, the list needs to hit 100 entries. Follow the instructions accordingly!”

Who knows, maybe if I can find enough time. Though, honestly, I'd rather put together a Top 50 list of 70s albums. There are just so many gems from that era...

Frank Howard79 said:Oh, right... considering how much Hardcore branched out into all those different styles (trash metal, speed, crust, death...) once it started crossing over with metal, you'd probably have to include some early pioneer records from Napalm Death, Sepultura, Slipknot by Black Flag, or maybe S.O.D.'s Speak English or Die.

I wouldn't count Napalm Death though. Sepultura's Arise was a solid album, but that came out in the early 90s. I haven't really dug into their earlier stuff.
S.O.D. might make the cut, though my absolute favorites when it comes to that crossover era are Judge and Sick of It All—both released their debut albums back in 1989. And we can't forget the first Suicidal Tendencies record!

Zelazny said:P.S. Do you honestly believe you can convince the younger generation that Metallica is irrelevant? 😉

You can see we're really trying here 😉

Honestly, this lineup beats those typical "Best of the 80s" lists I usually see.
Of course, we’ll never agree on the ranking, but when it comes to including the local legends, you have to be careful how you weigh them.
Kudos to The Clash, but if we're talking about the most defining records from that era, an all-inclusive package is likely the gold standard, and The Beatles - Abbey Road should probably be sitting right there too. If memory serves, those guys were getting massive respect from international critics back then—especially with Defense and...

Regarding Metallica, their objectively best album prior to "Chaos A.D." is likely "Beneath the Remains," released back in 1989. "Arise" is just as strong—personally, I might even prefer it for subjective reasons—but it didn't really break any new ground compared to its predecessor.

Napalm Death's "Scum" absolutely had to be on this list if extreme metal is being considered. It's easily the most original and influential metal record of the late eighties...

Congrats to the colleague above on an excellent selection of Ramones albums for the eighties (I’d personally be torn between "Pleasant Dreams" and "Brain Drain," though "Pleasant Dreams" probably takes it). I wasn't complaining about the Ramones, because I've already accepted that nobody appreciates their records after "Rocket to Russia" (or maybe "Road to Ruin"). I am well aware they dropped a mountain of fantastic albums afterward ("End of the Century", "Pleasant Dreams", "Subterranean Jungle", "Too Tough to Die", "Brain Drain", "Mondo Bizarro", "Adios Amigos!" — all of them perfect), but I've made peace with the fact that I'll never convince anyone else of that. It doesn't bother me much, but I still get a bit cynical when some indie-than-thou types try to lecture me that the Hanson Brothers are better than anything the Ramones recorded after "Road to Ruin" (burn, AllMusic, burn!).

np Anal Cunt - Everyone in the Underground Music scene is Dumb 🙏

p.s. If Nomeansno really is just a copy of Minutemen, then I'm going out to buy every single one of those other bands' albums. But I assume they aren't, right?

Kevin Chavez3 said:p.s. If Nomeansno really are just a Minutemen clone, then I'm heading out to buy all those other albums. But I'm guessing they aren't quite like that, right?

They are, though the Minutemen definitely have the edge. Anyway, good luck hunting down those records. It hasn't been easy finding them here in the States lately...

banderas said:Kudos to Paraf, but honestly, the most significant record from the old US era is probably "Paket aranžman," and "Idol - Obrana i poslednji dani" should definitely be on this list too.

The thing is, "Paket aranžman" is just a compilation, not a studio album.
As for the Idol stuff, I actually prefer Punkrt, Discipline Kitschme, Luna, La Strada, and Azra... yet none of them made the cut here either.

Forgive me if I’m skeptical; all I’ve ever heard scattered around is that NMN sounds "a bit like" Minutemen, but never that they were a carbon copy of anyone—God forbid they were, considering how much I love that band. We'll see, though. I'll dig up some info online...

Frank Howard79 said:Paket aranžman is a compilation, not a studio album.
Personally, I prefer bands like Pankrt, Discipline Kicme, Luna, La Strada, or Azra over Idol, yet none of them even made the list.

Look, Paket aranžman introduced a whole new way of making music; you could argue it was the first true New Wave album in the old US. It launched three new bands with a completely fresh sound. I don't get why it isn't being considered for this list. It’s not some "Greatest Hits" style compilation...

This isn't about whether Idol is better than your taste or mine (I actually dig them quite a bit too), it’s about that specific record. That album was hailed as one of the greatest American albums ever, and it’s one of the rare ones—maybe the only one—that actually pulled massive reviews abroad, especially in Britain when the scene there was absolutely flooded with great bands.
If American albums are being included in this ranking at all, those two should be sitting at the top for a dozen different reasons.
What kind of criteria are we even using for this list?

banderas said:What was the actual criteria used for this list anyway?

Man, I just love questions like this!!!

What do you think?

I’ve already said my piece about these lists in general—basically, there's no point getting worked up over them since they're just someone's personal whim (which is why I was fine with that disclaimer before the all-time top 100 in Nomad recently).

But hey, I might as well throw in a few more comments.

Any "Best of the 80s" list that doesn't include an album by The Cramps isn't even worth looking at. And honestly, The Gories could've easily made the cut too (just look at The White Stripes—that whole new garage scene in Detroit).
The same goes for Femme; I'm glad to see them on there.

As for desert rock, say what you want, but Thin White Rope absolutely blows Green on Red and Puppets, and even those "untouchable" Giant Sand out of the water. IMHO Exploring the Axis is better, more interesting, and way more "desert" than any album from those other bands.

And yeah, that comment about Tom Waits—about how he could have been the greatest poet, but chose to be a hero instead... whatever.

That was the issue—based on your comment about how you prefer Azra and Pankrt over Idol, it makes sense why they aren't on here either. Besides, I realized this is a list of albums, not bands, so there’s really no need to go off on a tangent about your emotional connection to specific groups.

I finally see why dustyridge12 was right about why Paraf made the cut 😁 😁

Yeah, my bad, I totally blanked on that,

Anyone else here into Cowboy Junkies?

Thin White Rope really could have made the cut. When I refer to someone like Tom Waits, I call him a songwriter rather than a poet—and when I say songwriter, I mean the kind of craftsman you see in someone like Jackson Browne. To me, the fact that Waits took that sharp turn toward theatricality essentially meant he left that specific circle behind for good.

Do you know who else is missing? The Butthole Surfers, the Dead Milkmen... but I can't possibly include everyone...

Regarding the seventies, I honestly think putting together a definitive list is going to be an uphill battle. There are so many albums out there that people swear by, yet they remain incredibly elusive to find. If we're talking about pure, quality rock 'n' roll, the seventies were perhaps even more diverse than the eighties. Frank Howard79, good luck with this, but my advice would be to recruit at least ten different people to help you narrow down that era.

dustyridge12 said:Frank Howard79, good luck, but I’d suggest grabbing at least ten people to help you out during that stretch.

I really don't see myself putting together a list like that anytime in the next year...😉

Roger Jones5 said:Oh, right, I totally forgot,

Cowboy Junkies, anyone?

Nope, nobody 😁

I think. Considering how much stuff didn't make it onto the list...

Roger Jones5 said:Look, any "Top 80s" list that doesn't include The Cramps is a joke in my book. Honestly, they could've even tossed in The Gories (just a little hint—think about the whole new Detroit garage rock scene, like The White Stripes)

Actually, The Gories are from the 90s (which honestly would've put them right at the top for me), and sadly, so are The White Stripes...

Man, now that I think about it, House of Pain came out in '89, so that definitely belongs at the top of the list...