The Best Album of Every Year Part 2: 1981-1991

Part 2 of the feature I spent way too much time on: the best albums of every year. Here's 1981-1991:

1981

Elvis Costello's Trust

Why it’s the best: Because Elvis Costello started out his career on fire, just like Led Zeppelin. Five great albums in five years—few artists can boast such a claim, but Elvis Costello can, and even more incredibly, they were the first five albums of his career.

Other candidates: The Clash’s Sandinista!,
Quality of year (out of 10): 1

1982

Michael Jackson's Thriller

Why it’s the best: Because it’s the best that pop has ever been, and possibly the best it ever will be. Thriller remains unsurpassed as a pop album, the modern definition of which usually consists of multiple radio hit singles and some filler to make it an album-length. Not so with Thriller, which is basically an entire album's worth of hit singles; all these songs still get regular radio play today, and with good reason.

Other candidates: The Clash’s Combat Rock, Elvis Costello's Imperial Bedroom
Quality of year: 4

1983

David Bowie's Let's Dance

Why it’s the best: This may not be Bowie's best, but anything he does has the opportunity to be the best album of its year. This also isn't the most popular Bowie album among fans; many at the time saw it as a bit of a sell-out. In reality it's not that, while it's also not quite up to the standards of his '70s work. And if you're OK with that, this is a worthwhile Bowie album that features several of his very best songs.

Other candidates: The Police's Synchronicity, New Order's Power Corruption and Lies

Quality of year: 7

1984

Metallica's Ride the Lightning

Why it’s the best: Because the genre of metal we know today wouldn’t exist without it—and it’s still better than almost anything being put out by current bands. Metallica aren’t simply an influence on metal bands; they remain the band that every metal band is still trying to match.

Other candidates: U2's The Unforgettable Fire, The Replacements' Let It Be

Quality of year: 3

1985

Tears for Fears's Songs from the Big Chair

Why it’s the best: Because it sums up the ‘80s in a way no other album can. With some of the best tracks of the entire decade ("Head over Heels," "Everybody Wants to Rule the World")

Other candidates: The Smiths’ Meat Is Murder, The Cure's The Head on the Door

Quality of year: 6

1986

The Smiths' The Queen Is Dead

Why it’s the best: Because a Smiths album had to get on here at some point; they were just that good. In spite of their overly '80s production, the Smiths are in my opinion the best band of the '80s, and either this or Meat Is Murder is their best work. This one features Morrisey's lyrics at their most complex, and while it lacks that one classic song in the vein of "How Soon Is Now?" it's the most complete Smiths album.

Other candidates: Metallica's Master of Puppets, Paul Simon's Graceland

Quality of year: 6

1987

U2's The Joshua Tree

Why it’s the best: Because this is the one where it all clicked for U2. This album manages to be grand in the best possible ways, without sounding pretentious like some of their later work. Love them or hate them (and there are many on both sides of that argument) you can't deny that intro to "Where the Streets Have No Name."

Other candidates: REM's Document, New Order's Brotherhood

Quality of year: 8

1988

Michael Jackson's Bad

Why it’s the best: Because Michael's arguably the best pop singer ever, meaning Thriller isn't all he has to offer. Bad features "The Way You Make Me Feel" and other classic songs, and while it's not quite Thriller, nothing really is.

Other candidates: Metallica's ...And Justice for All

Quality of year: 2

1989

Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever

Why it’s the best: Because of "Free Fallin," "I Won't Back Down," and "Running Down a Dream." There are other reasons, but shouldn't that be enough?

Other candidates: Nirvana's Bleach, The Cure's Disintegration

Quality of year: 2

1990

Pixies' Bossanova

Why it’s the best: Because while 1990 was an especially weak year for music--coming in the middle of the transition of the '80s and '90s--but the Pixies were the most important band of that time period, and Bossanova is very representative of their sound. 

Other candidates: Neil Young’s Ragged Glory, AC/DC's The Razor's Edge

Quality of year: 1

1991

Nirvana's Nevermind

Why it’s the best: Because the rest of the ‘90s couldn’t have happened without it. As much as I wanted to pick Pearl Jam's Ten for this spot, I couldn’t choose anything other than Nevermind for 1991. It just wouldn’t be right. Besides, I've already given Pearl Jam too many spots in part 3 (coming later this week!)

Other candidates: Ten, REM's Out of Time
Quality of year: 9

The Best Album of Every Year Part 1: 1970-1980

My last album review, Spoon’s They Want My Soul, got me thinking of a larger project. I think They Want My Soul is the best album of the year so far, and it got me thinking about the best album of each year going back. This idea snowballed, and here we are: my list of the best album of every year.

Since the '60s were dominated by singles, with very few acts making great full-length albums until the very end of the decade, this list will start with 1970. The criteria considered are as follows: how the album was received and its popularity at that time; its influence for future music (which obviously won't apply for the most recent years); how well the album holds up today; and of course, my own personal taste, because that can't be avoided. It should be noted also that these albums will almost exclusively fall in the rock/alternative genres, because that is what this blog covers. I've also rated the overall strength of each year on a scale of 10 (10 being the highest), because not all years deliver the same amount of great albums. Yeah, I spent way too much time on this. On to the list...

1970

Black Sabbath, Paranoid

Why it’s the best: Because it’s the album that basically invented metal. Before Ozzy rode the Crazy Train and started eating bats and writing controversy-generating songs about the “suicide solution,” he was a key member of a pioneering group. Every metal band today has these guys, and this album, to thank for its existence.

Other candidates: Led Zeppelin III, Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush
Strength of year: (out of 10) 6

1971

Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV

Why it’s the best: Because it’s hard to top perfection. While no album is perfect, is there anything more you could really ask from Led Zeppelin IV? You might think there is, but if that happens, just put on "Black Dog." And know that it couldn't possibly be any better.

Other candidates: Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers

Strength of year: 10

1972

David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

Why it’s the best: Because convoluted storylines don’t matter when the writing is as good as this. Other than an ill-advised cover of the Kinks’ “It Ain’t Easy,” this album is nearly flawless; it hits all the right notes, from the all-time great key change in “Soul Love” to the singalong ending of “Starman” to the undeniable “Suffragette City,” this album is the best the ‘70s had to offer.

Other candidates: The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street, Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book

Strength of year: 8

1973

Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy

Why it’s the best: Because Led Zeppelin were in the middle of one of the greatest runs of albums ever. Houses of the Holy was simply the latest in a long line of incredible albums from this band. And though Robert Plant’s voice had started to falter a bit by now (he sounds like a shell of himself on opening track “The Song Remains the Same,”) at other points he sounds like vintage Plant, like on “Over the Hills and Far Away.” This album is sort of a transition for Zeppelin; it’s the first sign of the ideas that would eventually derail them (as seen here on “The Crunge”), but also one of the last vestiges of greatness from a band that, at its peak, was better than any other.

Other candidates: Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Iggy and the Stooges’ Raw Power

Strength of year: 6

1974

Aerosmith, Get Your Wings

Why it’s the best: Because it was the best Rolling Stones album released in 1974. The Stones’ albums in the early ‘70s spawned a lot of imitators, none of whom became as successful as Aerosmith. This album doesn't really have any of their hits, but it's the best from back to front, highlighted by "Same Old Song and Dance" and "Seasons of Wither."

Other candidates: David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs, Rush's self-titled debut

Strength of year: 2

1975

Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run

Why it’s the best: Because it’s the greatest epic album in history. The songs of Born to Run are true epics, telling stories of ordinary Americans in typical Springsteen style, but the instrumentation makes each story sound like the most important thing in the world.

Other candidates: Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled album, Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti

Strength of year: 7

1976

Boston, Boston

Why it’s the best: Because it’s the best of what made classic rock great. Still one of the best debut albums ever released, Boston was the product of years of studio tinkering by their talented guitarist and mastermind Tom Schultz. But what really put Boston over the top is Brad Delp’s voice, which reaches heights impossible for nearly everyone.

Other candidates: Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak, The Ramones’ self-titled album

Strength of year: 5

1977

Fleetwood Mac, Rumours

Why it’s the best: Because it’s the best product a terrible relationship’s end has ever produced. Rumours goes from one classic song to the next like few albums can. Ask anyone from the era--they don't just remember "Go Your Own Way;" they know "Never Going Back Again," "You Make Loving Fun," and "Gold Dust Woman" just as well.

Other candidates: Elvis Costello’s My Aim Is True, Television’s Marquee Moon

Strength of year: 10

1978

Blondie, Parallel Lines

Why it’s the best: Because it’s a great pop record, from back when that sort of thing could actually exist. A band that made its name at CBGB could only record a song like "Heart of Glass" and get away with it if it was this good. But that's hardly all Parallel Lines has to offer; from the guitar-driven "One Way or Another" to the dreamy "Fade Away and Radiate" to the fast-paced "Just Go Away," this album is great from first to last.

Other candidates: Elvis Costello’s This Year’s Model, Bruce Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town

Strength of year: 7

1979

Elvis Costello, Armed Forces

Why it’s the best: Because Elvis Costello is seriously terrific, and any of his albums from this era could be the album of the year. While My Aim Is True might be his best, it sounds like the '50s, while Armed Forces is the one where he really developed his signature style.

Other candidates: Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures, Blondie's Eat to the Beat

Strength of year: 8

1980

Joy Division, Closer

Why it’s the best: Because Joy Division was the band that ushered in the ‘80s. Often mimicked but never really replicated, the minimalist sound of this band is impressive and yes, sad, and “Isolation” showed what would happen if you combined punk with synthesizers.

Other candidates: Talking Heads’ Remain in Light, The Clash’s London Calling
Strength of year: 7