Same rules apply as the 1970s list: one album per artist unless it cannot be avoided, and of course, all selections are strictly opinion. Now, the list:
10. AC/DC: Back in Black
AC/DC is famous as a band that really only has one trick up its sleeve. Well here was where that trick was at its best. After the death of Bon Scott, few would have expected the band to rebound in such a way. Brian Johnson's voice was fresh on Back in Black, and hadn't yet devolved into the frightening-sounding caricature it would later become.
Essential tracks: ''Hell's Bells, " "Shoot to Thrill."
9. Metallica: Ride the Lightning
In the decade in which metal as we know it was largely invented, it seems necessary to give a spot to the decade's most influential, and best, metal band. And though many prefer Master of Puppets, I believe Ride the Lightning was the band's best achievement; their sound was never fresher, or heavier, than it was here.
Essential tracks: "Fade to Black," "For Whom the Ben Tolls."
8. David Bowie: Let's Dance
This is far from Bowie's best--he was on an all-time roll in the mid-'70s--but when Bowie decided to try his hand at Nile Rogers-produced dance music, there was no way it couldn't work. And while Let's Dance has some clunkers, it's also home to some of Bowie's best-ever songs, which is really saying something.
Essential tracks: "Let's Dance," "Modern Love."
7. REM: Document
REM's fifth album was the first one that set them on the path to greatness; everything that people love about this band today--the lyrics, the jangly guitars, the band's songwriting prowess--can first be traced back to this album.
Essential tracks: "The One I Love," "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)."
6. Tears for Fears: Songs from the Big Chair
The most '80s-sounding album ever is also one of the decade's best efforts. if it weren't for the fact that it really only has six worthwhile songs--subtracting "Broken," which is one minute long, and "Listen," which is an eight-minute sound collage--this album would rank much higher. No other album captured so perfectly the sound of a decade, and Big Chair also contained some of its best songs, while perfectly capturing the excesses and flaws of the '80s as well: just look at that album cover.
Essential tracks: "Head over Heels," "Everybody Wants to Rule the World."
5. Michael Jackson: Thriller
Come on. There's no way a top '80s albums list could leave this one off. The album that basically invented modern pop music as we know it, Thriller catapulted Michael Jackson, who was still probably best known as the 5-year-old singer from the Jackson 5, to a level of superstardom that no one in music has matched since. Quincy Jones' production is excellent here too.
Essential tracks: "Billie Jean," "P.Y.T."
4. U2: The Joshua Tree
This was before Bono really became Bono, and before a million Coldplays and Travises started mimicking U2's style, making it ubiquitous and bland. This was when U2 was writing killer songs like "With or Without You," and aided by Brian Eno's production, became the rock stars we know them as today. U2 wouldn't be able to charge $300 a ticket in 2014 without an album as good as this in their past; after all, it's not like people go to their shows to hear "Vertigo."
Essential tracks: "With or Without You," "Where the Streets Have No Name."
3. Joy Division: Closer
After a crucial member of a band dies early, that band's last album becomes overrated in retrospect in many cases. This is not one of those cases. Closer is a brooding, dreary masterpiece, as well as the most depressing album ever to make such heavy use of synths. But when the remaining members of Joy Division formed New Order after Ian Curtis' death, it wasn't the songwriting that was missing; it was his lyrics, which become even more haunting knowing now what was soon to happen to him.
Essential tracks: "Isolation," "Heart and Soul."
2. The Clash: London Calling
OK, OK, so maybe this is cheating a little bit. After all, London Calling was actually released in the UK in late December of 1979. But it was released in the US in 1980, and most people heard and enjoyed it in the '80s, so I decided to include it here. (And hey, it's not that easy to find top albums from the '80s. I needed this). The Clash were one of the earliest punk bands, and yet many will argue that London Calling isn't a punk album at all. And you know what? They'd be right. But here's the thing: it's better for it. After all, the mid-'70s incarnation of The Clash never wrote a song as good as "Train in Vain." Or "London Calling," which has survived being included in seemingly every movie or TV show where a character goes to London. The Clash needed to move beyond punk to string together an album as good as this extra-long masterpiece.
Essential tracks: "Train in Vain," "London Calling."
1. The Smiths: Meat Is Murder
It's my belief that no band sums up the '80s quite as well as The Smiths. The songwriting was incredible, but the production decisions would only have occurred in the '80s, and really bring some of the songs down. (Really, does there need to be a mandolin in "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want?" Really?). But that's all OK, because a vocalist like Morrissey only comes along once in a decade. Ditto for a pair of songwriters like Morrissey and Johnny Marr. And this album, which kicks off with their best song, is their high point, and consequently, the high point of the decade.
Essential tracks: "The Headmaster Ritual," "How Soon Is Now?"
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