Rolling Stone's list of the 10 best albums of the 80s - how many do you have?

[LynneSin]

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/rolling-stone-readers-pick-the-10-best-albums-of-the-eighties-20110324/9-the-cure-disintegration-0484776

1. U2 - The Joshua Tree
   
2. Guns & Roses - Appetite for Destruction
   
3. Michael Jackson - Thriller
   
4. Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA
   
5. Prince - Purple Rain
   
6. AC/DC - Back in Black
   
7. The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
   
8. The Clash - London Calling (technically it was released in 1979 in the UK but didn't hit the usa until 1980)
   
9. The Cure - Disintegration
   
10. Metallica - Master of the Puppet
    

Geez outside of #10 this is like the soundtrack of my youth. I have all of them (except #10) in both vinyl and CD.

Crazy!

[Richardo]

1. Zero.

My 80s albums were mostly Police and Dire Straits and Eurythmics and Talking Heads and Roxy Music and Oingo Boingo and Pretenders oriented.

[LynneSin]

2. You don't have any Clash in your music collection

:wow:

[Richardo]

3. I liked them, I just never bought the album.

:shrug:

[Throd]

22. God , I never got the Clash's appeal

[bluesbassman]

4. #4, # 6, & #8.

Never really cared enough for the music the others listed made to make me buy their albums, although I respect what they did and do enjoy a tune or two.

[some guy]

5. Their lists are for shit.

Here's a different one - "500 greatest of all time."


http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/london-calling-the-clash-19691231

London Calling is # 8 there as well, but none of the albums rated higher for the 80s is as high for "all time"

Apparently the 80s sucked in the larger scheme of things. Except The Clash.

[Arugula Latte]

6. Love the Smiths, the Clash, the Cure, Prince and early U2

I have many songs from these albums in my collection on my iPod, but can't say I have any complete "albums," except maybe Joshua Tree.

[Tikki]

7. That Clash album in vinyl....

Tikki

[pitohui]

8. london calling is the only one i have

like the other guy said, i don't have pop music, in those days i pretty much only have the talking heads when it comes to published music

nothing against the other people in yr list but they're pop music (think britney spears of that day) & i don't have to pay money to hear them

[Initech]

9. No Iron Maiden = fail

[Iggo]

15. That's the fact, Jack. (n/t)

[gratuitous]

10. Humans is not on there?

Bo-oh-oh-ohhhhh-gus!

[MadBadger]

11. Not surprising, but The River and NEbraska are far superior to Born in the USA

[Broken_Hero]

12. 7 of them, missing

The Cure-Disintegration

The Clash-London Calling

The Smiths-The Queen is dead(never heard of this band).

[driver8]

13. I have six of them, and have London Calling as an album, cassette and CD! n/t

[Iggo]

14. Surprised I have 5 of 'em.

Me and Rolling Stone don't agree on much.

(BTW: 1, 2, 6, 8, and 10.)

[bluedigger]

16. 1, 4, & 8.

Not a big fan of the 80's...

[MrScorpio]

17. It's not as if The Rolling Stones caters to my particular taste in music...

Just Purple Rain.

[Joe Fields]

18. I advise you to go back two decades.

You will find much more great music to add to the soundtrack of your life.

BTW, I have only three of the albums you mentioned.

1,2, &6.

IMO, the 80's really sucked musically.

[OmahaBlueDog]

19. I know I own Purple Rain. I may have Back in Black lurking among my tapes

Somehow, I've gone through life without ever owning "Thriller" or "Born In the USA"

I'd have selected "Sandanista" over "London Calling"

Nothing else is doing much for me on that list.

I would assert that, having been released at the end of November of 1979, "The Wall" is an 80's album for all practical purposes, and belongs on the list.

Ummm...where's "Graceland"


I'll take my shot -- in no particular order:

Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms"
Paul Simon "Graceland"
Phil Collins "No Jacket Required"
The Police "Syncronicity"
Madonna "Madonna"
Peter Gabriel "So"
...and I'll stipulate to "Thriller", "Back in Black", "Purple Rain" and "Born in the USA"

[LynneSin]

32. I never owned "Thriller" until about 5 years ago I bought the vinyl used for a dollar

I never liked the album back then (thought Synchronicity should have won the Grammy's) but today I do recognize it was an amazing album. I have it on my Ipod too.

[Arugula Latte]

46. I never got the massive appeal of Thriller.

Yes, there were a couple somewhat catchy songs, but that was about it, as far as I could tell ... :shrug:

[bluedigger]

40. I like your list better... 5/6

No Madonna...:shrug:

[OmahaBlueDog]

41. I figured I'd hear that: Here's my argument for Madonna (and my admission of a GLARING error)

First - I'm glad you liked the list :)

Second, I figured I'd catch Hell over Phil Collins & Madonna. Here's why I listed them.

Madonna's first album launched her to stardom. Some people argie that "Like a Virgin" is the album that belongs here, but I assert that without "Holiday" and "Borderline" becoming major hits, her future superstardom doesn't happen.

Phil Collins dominated the charts and FM airplay in the mid-80s, and almost every song on "No Jacket Required" becomes a hit. I'll grant that his biggest solo hit, "In the Air Tonight" was on "Face Value" in '81, but nothing else on that album does much. "No Jacket Required" wins the Grammy for Album of the Year, Male Pop Vocal Performance, and Producer of the Year (Non Classical).

I left off one album that should rightfully be on any "Best 80s Album" list -- "Avalon" by Roxy Musin. Mea Maxima Culpa!

[bluedigger]

48. I have Avalon, too!

:fistbump:

[wysimdnwyg]

20. I have 6 of 10

1-4, 6 and 8 are all in my collection. I'd like to have Purple Rain, but haven't got around to buying it. Don't want the other three.

[Throd]

21. Slayer: Reign in Blood

Master of the Puppet? Sounds like a Ukranian children's party record with wicked accordian licks.

[chollybocker]

23. I bought...

London Calling, Purple Rain and Joshua Tree on the day of release, on vinyl. I bought Queen Is Dead and Disintegration on cassette tape, when boom-boxes were big.

So 5/10.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

24. 7

U2 - The Joshua Tree
Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA
Prince - Purple Rain
AC/DC - Back in Black
The Clash - London Calling
The Cure - Disintegration
Metallica - Master of Puppets

[MilesColtrane]

25. The only one I had was Back in Black...on tape.

But, I did have albums by The Pretenders, Talking Heads, Police, Bob Marley, Peter Gabriel, Donald Fagen, and Paul Simon that I liked.

[sakabatou]

26. Back in Black and Master of the Puppet

I only have them in MP3 format.

[6000eliot]

27. 5, 6, and 8

But I like early U2 and Springsteen.

[pepperbear]

28. for me, it was squeeze, kate bush, costello, joe jackson, laurie anderson, paul simon, and japan.

[hifiguy]

36. I knew there had to be someone else out there who liked

Laurie Anderson and Japan.

Saw Laurie during the summer of 1984. What a summer for music that was in MSP: June brought REM, who were just breaking out at the time, July brought Laurie and August brought King Crimson. All in small halls. Those were indeed the days.

[hobbit709]

29. None

Out of 60 gigs of mp3 files, none of the above

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

30. None of them. I guess I missed the '80's

I hate it when whole decades go missing.

Were any of those albums good?

Are these things still called "albums"?

I'm still slowly copying old vinyl albums to digital format.

:hi:

[Ishoutandscream2]

37. Didn't miss anything. The 80's were the nadir of popular music

A horrible, horrible decade.

[provis99]

45. really? All I hear on the radio now is 80's music.

You can't possibly believe the folk rock dreck of the 90s, or the Brittany Spears inspired crap of the 2000's was better....

[OmahaBlueDog]

51. Oh yes you can

...and the reason that most of the stations now are playing 80's and 90's music is that it's the music that female office workers 18-40 grew up with. The numbers aren't exactly right, but it's a key advertising demographic. It has nothing to do with the quality of the music.

The 80s wasn't all bad, but IMO the music of the 70s was infinitely better, and the music of the 90s had more character.

[CBGLuthier]

31. None. I spent the 80's exploring electronic music

I recognize the value of a few of these although Metallica will always be a silly joke to me.

[suninvited]

33. Dire Straights

Brothers in Arms should be on that list, in my opinion.

I only had one of those albums. Michael Jackson's Thriller.

[dawg]

34. I have 4 out of 10.

I should probably get The Queen is Dead and Disintegration.

[hifiguy]

35. 2/10

The Clash (on British vinyl which I still have - it a stunning sounding LP!!) and Metallica.

Like U2, The Cure, some of the Smiths and especially Broooooooce, but I was a cash-poor student back in the '80s and didn't buy a lot of music until I finished law school in '88. Can't stand most of the rest. I did get into the Dead in the '80s, though, and not just because of "Touch of Grey." I went straight to the classic Dead of the 1970s.

[ohiosmith]

38. One: Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA

[cemaphonic]

39. #1, #5, #8

Have a hard time arguing with #2, #6, and #10, even though I don't like any of those bands.

Disagree with #3, and #4. Yeah they were huge monster hits, but neither have aged very well IMO.

[Hayabusa]

42. Well...

Joshua Tree
Appetite
Born in the USA
Master of Puppets

I own a lot of Cure albums, but surprisingly not Disintegration. BTW, where the hell is Meat Puppets II?!

[Kat45]

43. I only have 3: G'N'R, Bruce and AC/DC. I have different albums for others

I have the Clash's Combat Rock and I have one or two U2 albums but don't remember which one(s). Though I don't have the Purple Rain album, I think I have the purple vinyl single of that song. Didn't like the other bands listed.

[pscot]

44. Does it count

if you remember seeing the vidoe on MTV? Cause otherwise I'm sol.

[rbnyc]

47. 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. (nt)

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

49. Interesting that they include the Cure

considering RS editors like Wenner refuse to nominate or induct the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (they've been eligible for almost 10 years now)

[old mark]

50. Only one is Back in Black...the rest suck...

;)

mark

[Forkboy]

52. I still have Purple Rain, London Calling and Pastor of Muppets.

I did have U2 and AC/DC at one point, but those were sold long ago.

[pokerfan]

53. 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 but it wasn't the soundtrack of my youth

and London Calling was released in 1979, BTW.

The soundtrack of my youth: Aerosmith, Foghat, ZZ Top, Nazareth, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Sabbath, AC~DC, Dire Straits.

[applegrove]

54. I had born in the usa. Never heard the others.