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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: bosk1 on October 28, 2014, 03:54:05 PM
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So what are THE top 12 albums that you feel defined music for the '80s? To me, these are albums that are "must have" albums in the collection, and ones that I listened to endlessly (and still want to hear). Top 12 rather than top 10 because: (1) the metric system is stupid, (2) 12 is more, and (3) I couldn't narrow my list to 10.
1. Journey - Escape: To me, this album really captures the '80s. So many classics that EVERYBODY knows.
2. Def Leppard - Pyromania: My gateway to "rock." Such a good album. They had figured out how to write hits, but still had that hunger and edge to their sound. This, to me, is when the band was at their absolute best.
3. U2 - The Joshua Tree: If I could only have one U2 album, this would be it, and I would be satisfied.
4. Tears for Fears - Songs from the Big Chair: This album was the reason I started this thread. I heard Everybody Wants To Rule The World this morning and had to stop and ask myself why this album is not currently in my collection. This whole album has such a great sound.
5. Queensryche - Operation:Mindcrime: This album may actually rank higher on my "favorites" list, but in terms of defining the '80s, I had to put it a bit lower because it is somewhat of an oddball in terms of '80s sound.
6. Y&T - In Rock We Trust: Although Black Tiger is their true "classic" album, this is the one where they finally had some commercial success in the U.S., and this was my gateway album into the band. Plus, all in all, I feel it is perhaps their most consistent album from start to finish.
7. Michael Jackson - Thriller: Shame this album is ranked so low, given how many hits are on it.
8. Def Leppard - Hysteria: Yeah, they get two albums on my list. Hysteria was that good. I am still intrigued by how obssessed they were with equaling Thriller that they took so long to write this...and by the fact that, in terms of writing an entire album of "hits," they succeeded.
9. Whitesnake - s/t: Like a lot of bands on this list, to me, this album represents the band at their highest point. Even though there are some retreads of older songs on this one, that nasty Sykes guitar tone on this album took them to another level. Start to finish, a great hard rock album.
10. Journey - Frontiers: The only other band to have multiple albums on my list. But this one was so. good. Some of the highs may be higher than Frontiers (Separate Ways, Faithfully), but it is a slightly less consistent album.
11. Cinderella - Long, Cold Winter: Perhaps an unlikely choice. But this is the album that took them from "good band" to having a unique identity and really showed off that Keiffer had a knack for just writing really good songs.
12. Metallica - Ride the Lightning: Yeah, most people might go with Puppets or AJFA. But THIS is the true classic to me.
Runner up/honorable mention: Corey Hart - Boy in the Box: This one was SO close to making it. Never Surrender still remains one of my all-time favorite songs to this day.
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In before TAC posts a list with an MSG album on it.
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Man, this would take some time to do. The inclusion of Songs From the Big Chair makes me happy, that would probably make my list too.
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No Duran Duran? Madonna?
Interesting list. I think there's one list for 80's music, but there's another for 80's rock. I think if you retitled the thread to your "personal" most important 80's albums, that would make more sense. I just need guidance on how to proceed. :lol
In before TAC posts a list with an MSG album on it.
I'd go with MSG (his second album 1981) ;D
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I think if you retitled the thread to your "personal" most important 80's albums, that would make more sense.
I hear you, but I don't think I want to be any more specific. I will leave it a bit soft so people can kinda go either direction.
And I hear you on the "music list" vs. "rock list" thing. I thought about that. But, again, I think I want it to be this way. Makes it a bit more interesting.
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Gonna sleep on it. But Michael Jackson will NOT be on it! :)
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I think if you retitled the thread to your "personal" most important 80's albums, that would make more sense.
I hear you, but I don't think I want to be any more specific. I will leave it a bit soft so people can kinda go either direction.
And I hear you on the "music list" vs. "rock list" thing. I thought about that. But, again, I think I want it to be this way. Makes it a bit more interesting.
Yeah go with this. It makes you think how really important non rock and metal albums are to you. Anyone could list their fav metal albums and forgot the obscure ones, that really would deserve to be on any list.
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I'll have to think about this. Albums that defined the 80s for me - pretty much the soundtrack to my youth then and no crappy pop music - it just didn't exist for me :biggrin:. :metal but 12 isn't anywhere near enough...
In no particular order:
Operation: mindcrime - with I&W my most played album. Perfection.
Iron Maiden - Killers - Maiden ruled the 80s and this was the first album I heard by them. Still their best for me.
Bon Jovi - New Jersey - Slippery was obviously huge but this follow up was better in every way. There is a confidence on this album they hadn't had up until then, the confidence that comes with selling a shitload of albums and touring to millions.
Vinnie Moore - Mind's Eye - My most played shred album, but it's much more than that. With the likes of Satch and Vai instrumental guitar became mainstream. Pretty unthinkable these days :omg:
Vinnie Vincent - Invasion - if the 80s were over the top then this album summed that up. Everything is OTT but the guitars even more so. vinnie saved KISS, was fired, came out with his own band that was signed with a huge advance, was fired from his own band...
Dokken - Back For The Attack - a great melodic rock album with George Lynch at his best.
Yngwie J Malmsteen's Rising Force - S/T. This is one of those albums that changed the course of my listening and made me a huge fan of the guitar and even nudged me towards listening to some classical music. The main reason I became such a fan of instrumental guitar. Mike Varney should have sent me a personal thank you for keeping his Shrapnel label going.
Y&T - Mean Streak - Just a great 80s rock album. I played the crap out of this.
WASP - S/T - another album that couldn' t have come from any other decade.
Keel - 1987 - not a well-known or particularly well regarded album but it did it for me. Big guitars, big vocals, big choruses and big hair. The 80s :biggrin:
Whitesnake - 1987 - another album that was everywhere back in the day.
Dream Theater - WDADU - Another one of those standout moments where I knew I was hearing something special.
There were hundreds of others that were huge for me - Rush, Marillion, Magnum, Tesla, Cinderella, Winger, Europe, G'n'R before I went off them, Gary Moore, T-Mac, Jason Becker, Steve Vai, Scorpions, Vain, Vicious rumors, KISS (still great after the make up came off), Judas Priest, Poison, Alice Cooper, Saxon, Motorhead, AC/DC, Def Leppard (some of us were there from the 1st album), David Lee Roth and VH, Giant, Motley Crue, Ratt, so many.
Ahh they were the days.
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1: Prince - Purple Rain
2: Rush - Moving Pictures
3: Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
4: Van Halen - 1984
5: Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance
6: Metallica - Master of Puppets
7: Michael Jackson - Bad
8: Genesis - Invisible Touch
9: Marillion - Misplaced Childhood
10: Winger - S/T
11: Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet
12: Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation
More rock than pop oriented, but I'd say these albums were really influential for my current tastes.
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12. Metallica - Ride the Lightning: Yeah, most people might go with Puppets or AJFA. But THIS is the true classic to me.
Holy crap we agree on something. Hell is an icy tundra right now.
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Bon Jovi - New Jersey - Slippery was obviously huge but this follow up was better in every way. There is a confidence on this album they hadn't had up until then, the confidence that comes with selling a shitload of albums and touring to millions.
It doesn't make my list, but I comlpetely agree with everything you said about it.
Dokken - Back For The Attack - a great melodic rock album with George Lynch at his best.
My favorite album of theirs. Mr. Scary remains one of my favorite rock guitar instrumental tracks of all time.
Y&T - Mean Streak - Just a great 80s rock album. I played the crap out of this.
And OF COURSE I have a soft spot for this album for very obvious reasons. :biggrin:
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12. Metallica - Ride the Lightning: Yeah, most people might go with Puppets or AJFA. But THIS is the true classic to me.
Holy crap we agree on something. Hell is an icy tundra right now.
We agree on a lot of things. I just don't normally admit it out loud.
But if you want me to ruin the moment, I could just point out that I consider my Metallica collection to be complete with only having Lightning, Puppets, AJFA, and the Black album, and nothing else. I love all four of those albums, and don't care about any of the others before or after.
1: Prince - Purple Rain
Oooooooooooo, good call. I had forgotten that one. It still wouldn't quite make my list, but definitely belongs in the conversation.
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12. Metallica - Ride the Lightning: Yeah, most people might go with Puppets or AJFA. But THIS is the true classic to me.
Holy crap we agree on something. Hell is an icy tundra right now.
We agree on a lot of things. I just don't normally admit it out loud.
But if you want me to ruin the moment, I could just point out that I consider my Metallica collection to be complete with only having Lightning, Puppets, AJFA, and the Black album, and nothing else. I love all four of those albums, and don't care about any of the others before or after.
I own Kill 'em All, but don't hold it that highly. Otherwise, my collection stops at The Black Album as well. Your move.
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12. Metallica - Ride the Lightning: Yeah, most people might go with Puppets or AJFA. But THIS is the true classic to me.
Holy crap we agree on something. Hell is an icy tundra right now.
We agree on a lot of things. I just don't normally admit it out loud.
But if you want me to ruin the moment, I could just point out that I consider my Metallica collection to be complete with only having Lightning, Puppets, AJFA, and the Black album, and nothing else. I love all four of those albums, and don't care about any of the others before or after.
I own Kill 'em All, but don't hold it that highly. Otherwise, my collection stops at The Black Album as well. Your move.
Uh...marry me?
Your move.
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12. Metallica - Ride the Lightning: Yeah, most people might go with Puppets or AJFA. But THIS is the true classic to me.
Holy crap we agree on something. Hell is an icy tundra right now.
We agree on a lot of things. I just don't normally admit it out loud.
But if you want me to ruin the moment, I could just point out that I consider my Metallica collection to be complete with only having Lightning, Puppets, AJFA, and the Black album, and nothing else. I love all four of those albums, and don't care about any of the others before or after.
I own Kill 'em All, but don't hold it that highly. Otherwise, my collection stops at The Black Album as well. Your move.
Uh...marry me?
Your move.
(https://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k34/Zook85/peoplerunsmonster.gif)
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Dude, you're a single parent. You need a baby daddy with a stable income and lifestyle. And since I love AJFA and don't currently own a copy, I need you to complete my Metallica collection. It's a pretty near perfect arrangement.
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Dude, you're a single parent. You need a baby daddy with a stable income and lifestyle. And since I love AJFA and don't currently own a copy, I need you to complete my Metallica collection. It's a pretty near perfect arrangement.
God dammit, my girlfriend is real! I'm not referring to my hand, you a-hole!
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But, Zook...she's the sort who can't know anyone intimately, least of all a man. She doesn't know what a man is. She wants you for a possession, something to look at, like a painting or an ivory box. Something to own and to display. She doesn't want you to be real, or to think, or to live. She doesn't love you. But I love you. I want you to have your own thoughts and ideas and feelings, even when I hold you in my arms...it's our last chance.
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In Houston they say that?
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That's okay. I'll just smile and I'll learn to pretend.
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Albums i would have to think a bit but, if talking artists or bands, these are the first that came to mind:
The Smiths
The Cure
Metallica
Iron Maiden
Michael Jackson
R.E.M.
Prince
Joy Division/New Order
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Man, this thread got derailed real quick lol.
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12. Metallica - Ride the Lightning: Yeah, most people might go with Puppets or AJFA. But THIS is the true classic to me.
While it didn't make my list, RTL would be my favorite Metallica, by far. I chose Puppets because it was one of my first metal albums and dominated my CD player for years.
Oooooooooooo, good call. I had forgotten that one. It still wouldn't quite make my list, but definitely belongs in the conversation.
If I had to choose one 80s pop album, this would be it. Perfection on every level, I even prefer it to Thriller.
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I used to think of the 80s as The Decade That Taste Forgot. Austin Powers shared a similar sentiment, though he extended it to the 70s too. My own listening habits have only occasionally coincided with anything from the entire decade.
Michael Jackson and U2 are obviously unmissable. Stevie Ray Vaughan is more or less on the same level.
I won’t bother going into detail on thrash, other than that I prefer Lightning and Justice over Puppets, and Anthrax are vastly underrated. Spreading the Disease and Among the Living are great albums.
Other albums that come to mind:
Rush - Moving Pictures
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Pixies - Surfer Rosa
Diamond Head - Lightning to the Nations
Faith No More - The Real Thing
Bob Dylan - No Mercy
Other than that, I like New Order, but not enough to go beyond a Best Of, and a handful of REM songs. And that’s about it.
The Smiths, The Swans, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Dire Straits, The Stone Roses and Talk Talk are on my radar to check out.
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I used to think of the 80s as The Decade That Taste Forgot.
That's just crazy talk. The '80s is generally considered to be the most universally beloved decade in the history of humanity.
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Thumbs up on Invisible Touch.
Also:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums_by_year_in_the_United_States#1980s
Funny that no one in this thread mentions Back In Black. It's the 5th most sold album in the world, of all time.
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Funny that no one in this thread mentions Back In Black. It's the 5th most sold album in the world, of all time.
Good call. I don't care for it, but yeah, good call.
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Michael Jackson - Thriller
U2 - The Joshua Tree
The Police - Synchronicity
Price and the Revolution - Purple Rain
Def Leppard - Hysteria
Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
INXS - Kick
AC/DC - Back in Black
Rush - Moving Pictures (homer pick :biggrin:)
Van Halen - 1984
Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (overrated as hell, but its impact cannot be denied)
Huey Lewis and the News - Sports
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Wow, Kev, my list is very similar. No order to this other than by year:
AC/DC - Back in Black
Rush - Moving Pictures
Toto - Toto IV
Van Halen - 1984
Chicago - 17
Guns and Roses - Appetite For Destruction
U2 - The Joshua Tree
Def Leppard - Hysteria
Metallica - . . . And Justice For All (although I like MOP more, this feels more like an "80s" album to me while MOP is more timeless if that makes sense)
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
Sports, Synchronicity, and Slippery just missed.
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That's better guys...............Van Halen making a couple of appearances. Just for fun I'll try and get an album from each year in there . Some of these didn't make my top 50 , so as per the thread title we're talking influential/definitive rather than favourite these days.
1980: AC/DC : Back In Black
Ozzy : Blizzard of Ozz
1981: Foreigner : 4
1982: KISS: Creatures of the Night
1983: Def leppard: Pyromania
Journey: Frontiers (if you add in the 2 tracks cut for movie soundtracks I think it's better than Escape)
1984: Van Halen : 1984
1985: Yngwie: Marching Out
1986: Europe: The Final Countdown
1987: Whitesnake : 1987
1988" Queensryche : Operation Mindcrime
1989: Savatage : Gutter Ballet
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Alright, I'll have a crack. I sorta have mixed essential 80's albums with my favs. This is no in particular order;
Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Iron Maiden - Powerslave
Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith
King Diamond - Abigail
Joe Satriani - Surfing with the Alien
Yngwie Malmsteen - Odyssey
Savatage - Gutter Ballet
WASP - WASP
Tears for Fears - Songs From the Big Chair
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Michael Jackson - Thriller
U2 - The Joshua Tree
The Police - Synchronicity
Price and the Revolution - Purple Rain
Def Leppard - Hysteria
Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
INXS - Kick
AC/DC - Back in Black
Rush - Moving Pictures (homer pick :biggrin:)
Van Halen - 1984
Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (overrated as hell, but its impact cannot be denied)
Huey Lewis and the News - Sports
As far as the Rock (not pop, and not metal) genre goes, this is as close to 'spot on' as this thread is going to get. Perhaps I'd swap Kick and Sports for something else. Contenders would be:
Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA
Europe - The Final Countdown
Honorable mentions
Maiden - The Number of the Beast (ok, Metal, but it crossed into Rock genre radio stations)
Various Artists - The Dirty Dancing Soundtrack (soft rock... emphasis on the soft)
Triumph - Allied Forces (honestly, in 1980, it was as big - perhaps bigger - than Moving Pictures... at least up here)
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I need to think about this before I post. Very interesting topic.
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Not really one for thinking too much about what would "define" the 80s, but I'll post my top 12 of the 80s. I suppose in some ways this list does do a good job of defining the 80s for me, as it includes some pretty great albums in genres that were very prominent in the 80s such as metal, hard rock and pop, plus the early stages of prog metal and American punk rock.
1. Metallica - ...And Justice for All
2. Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason
3. The Alan Parsons Project - Eye in the Sky
4. Rush - Permanent Waves
5. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
6. Metallica - Master of Puppets
7. R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant
8. Queensr˙che - Operation: Mindcrime
9. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
10. Michael Jackson - Thriller
11. Bad Religion - Suffer
12. Guns n' Roses - Appetite for Destruction
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This would take some time, but any such list must include Thriller or it is invalid.
Equally, any such list must NOT include Y&T.
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This would take some time, but any such list must include Thriller or it is invalid.
I couldn't write a definitive list, but this much is a certainty.
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Gonna sleep on it. But Michael Jackson will NOT be on it! :)
Winger will be, though.
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This would take some time, but any such list must include Thriller or it is invalid.
Equally, any such list must NOT include Y&T.
So worst of all is surely any list that places Y&T above Thriller..?
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This would take some time, but any such list must include Thriller or it is invalid.
Equally, any such list must NOT include Y&T.
So worst of all is surely any list that places Y&T above Thriller..?
Indeed. But surely such a list doesn't exist.
*looks back at OP*
Dear Lord in Heaven.
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Gonna sleep on it. But Michael Jackson will NOT be on it! :)
Winger will be, though.
Well if the list was the 12 mostdisappointingsuckassfuckingqueerwsteoftalentuselesspieceofshit albums of the 80's, then yes, it would be.
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Gonna sleep on it. But Michael Jackson will NOT be on it! :)
Winger will be, though.
Well if the list was the 12 mostdisappointingsuckassfuckingqueerwsteoftalentuselesspieceofshit albums of the 80's, then yes, it would be.
Point to where Kip touched you Tim. :rollin
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:lol
What are you implying, TAC? ;D
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Gonna sleep on it. But Michael Jackson will NOT be on it! :)
Winger will be, though.
Well if the list was the 12 mostdisappointingsuckassfuckingqueerwsteoftalentuselesspieceofshit albums of the 80's, then yes, it would be.
Point to where Kip touched you Tim. :rollin
And he was only seventeen!
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Without mentioning Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms this thread so far is invalid. :yarr
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One thing that is hard for me is using albums to define the 80s in the first place. While there is no doubt in my mind that some of the greatest albums of all time were released during this time, I normally think of singles when I think of the 80s, not albums.
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Well, Money for Nothing was kind of a hit single, if I recall correctly. And anyway, Brothers in Arms sold a hell lot of copies, so yep, needs to be in the list for sure.
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Gonna sleep on it. But Michael Jackson will NOT be on it! :)
Winger will be, though.
Well if the list was the 12 mostdisappointingsuckassfuckingqueerwsteoftalentuselesspieceofshit albums of the 80's, then yes, it would be.
Point to where Kip touched you Tim. :rollin
:rollin :rollin :rollin
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I still haven't got that answer from Tim. :lol
Get him an Alice Cooper doll to help!
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Without mentioning Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms this thread so far is invalid. :yarr
Very narrowly missed out on my list.
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Without mentioning Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms this thread so far is invalid. :yarr
Very narrowly missed out on my list.
Ditto.
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Duran Duran RIO!!! If y'all still haven't recognized the greatness that is John Taylor, then you're missing out.
Fear Of A Black Planet? That was 1990. Do you mean Nation Of Millions?
Bugs Bunny ani! :tup
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Duran Duran RIO!!! If y'all still haven't recognized the greatness that is John Taylor, then you're missing out.
Fear Of A Black Planet? That was 1990. Do you mean Nation Of Millions?
Bugs Bunny ani! :tup
Rio was a bass masterpiece of an album. John Taylor is a killer bass player.
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Deleted
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My personal "defined the 80's for me" list has elements of albums I grew up on and albums that defined it for me after the 80's were over and I got more heavily into music:
1. Whitesnake – s/t
1. GnR – Appetite
2. Poison – Look What the Cat Dragged In
3. Quiet Riot – Metal Health
4. Van Halen – 1984
5. Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet
6. Metallica – Master of Puppets
7. Kiss – Animalize
8. Dokken – Under Lock and Key
9. Enuff z'Nuff – Enuff z'Nuff
10. Prince – Purple Rain soundtrack
11. Def Leppard – Hysteria
12. David Lee Roth – Eat Em and Smile
Whitesnake s/t and Appetite for Destruction will always tie for number 1. Others include the Miami Vice Soundtrack, the Top Gun Soundtrack, and albums from AC/DC, Cheap Trick, Warrant, Night Ranger, the Cult, Mr. Big, Joe Satriani, and countless others.
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Buckner & Garcia - Pac-Man Fever. My first album.
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Funny thing about the way my mind works. I graduated HS in '88 and then went off into the military. Seems like a LOT of good '80s music came out in '89 while I was overseas in Okinawa. But since my life had changed so drastically since high school and was in such a different phase, I subconsciously often do not attribute that music to the '80s even though it was.
Buckner & Garcia - Pac-Man Fever. My first album.
:lol
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Don't know how qualified I am to talk about this, but my favourite 80s album is The Seeds of Love by Tears for Fears. But I can't really say it "defined" the 80s as it only came out in 1989. Which, as it happens, was the year I was born.
Also, the opening exchange between Zook and Bosk has me in stitches. :lol :lol :lol :clap:
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Don't really see the point of commending a hard rock band for being as intentionally commercial as they possibly can (speaking of Hysteria). I liked DL up til that point.
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Not sure I understand the criticism.
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Michael Jackson - Thriller
U2 - The Joshua Tree
The Police - Synchronicity
Price and the Revolution - Purple Rain
Def Leppard - Hysteria
Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
INXS - Kick
AC/DC - Back in Black
Rush - Moving Pictures (homer pick :biggrin:)
Van Halen - 1984
Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (overrated as hell, but its impact cannot be denied)
Huey Lewis and the News - Sports
As far as the Rock (not pop, and not metal) genre goes, this is as close to 'spot on' as this thread is going to get. Perhaps I'd swap Kick and Sports for something else. Contenders would be:
Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA
Dang, I forgot about Born in the U.S.A. That'd have to be in there somewhere.
This would take some time, but any such list must include Thriller or it is invalid.
Equally, any such list must NOT include Y&T.
QFT.
Thriller is the most popular album ever, and, personal opinion aside, anyone who doesn't think it defined the 80s is smoking something really good stuff...or bad stuff. :lol :lol
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Fear Of A Black Planet? That was 1990. Do you mean Nation Of Millions?
ahhh could've sworn that was 1989. Replace that with Appetite then.
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Thriller is the most popular album ever, and, personal opinion aside, anyone who doesn't think it defined the 80s is smoking something really good stuff...or bad stuff. :lol :lol
I think a number of us have listed a few albums that defined the 80's for us ..............but yes , if I were to list albums that defined the times for me regardless of whether I liked the music or not it might include stuff like Pet Shop Boys, Rick Astley and all sorts of shite. I did own Thriller but I bought it mostly because EVH played on Beat It ;D
As noted above by more than one , Brothers In Arms would be very close to a mention in my list.
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This would take some time, but any such list must include Thriller or it is invalid.
Equally, any such list must NOT include Y&T.
QFT.
Thriller is the most popular album ever, and, personal opinion aside, anyone who doesn't think it defined the 80s is smoking something really good stuff...or bad stuff. :lol :lol
Re-read his statement Kev - Hef is saying that the list MUST include Thriller, and giving the gears to Bosk for including Y&T over it.
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Metallica - Ride The Lightning - the heaviest album I'd ever heard crushing riffs and so fast
Black Sabbath - Live Evil - my introduction to Sabbath
Motley Crue - Shout At The Devil - I bought this LP shared it around at school, though they were chicks for a while
Manowar - Battle Hymns - someone taped this for me, had no idea about the songs titles or the image
Kiss - Unmasked introduced me to Kiss, a kid in my block was a massive fan and soon after I heard them so was I
Rush - Grace Under Pressure - bought this on cassette, no lyric sheet, so I went to the record store and stole the lyrics from inside the LP
Dream Theater - When Dream and Day Unite - a real game changer, never quite heard anything else like it
Def Leppard - Hysteria - this was all over TV and radio, I couldn't escape them, it was perfect pop hard rock
Vinne Moore - Mind's Eye - I'd just started playing guitar and this album for me defined the great shredders of the era
Helloween - Keeper of the & Keys I & II - 'speed' metal as it was that became power metal at it's finest, nothing comes close to these albums
Bon Jovi - 7800 Degrees Fahrenheit - before Slippery made them huge, this one went under the radar and for me it just as good
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Helloween - Keeper of the & Keys I & II - 'speed' metal as it was that became power metal at it's finest, nothing comes close to these albums
Amen, brother!
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Mind's Eye is awesome.
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Without mentioning Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms this thread so far is invalid. :yarr
I think I read once that this was the first album to sell a million CDs.
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In Alphabetical Order:
1) Black Sabbath-Heaven and Hell
2) Blue Oyster Cult-Cultorsaurus Erectus
3) Dio-Holy Diver
4) Genesis-Duke
5) Iron Maiden-Piece of Mind
6) Kansas-In the Spirit of Things
7) Metallica-...And Justice for All
8) Alan Parsons Project-Eye in the Sky
9) Pink Floyd-Momentary Lapse of Reason
10) Queensryche-Operation:MindCrime
11) Rush-Moving Pictures
12) Yes-90125
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Guess it's easy to misread the post as "Top 58 albums that defined the 80s".
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Guess it's easy to misread the post as "Top 58 albums that defined the 80s".
Guess it's easy to misread the entire thread as "Top Rock albums that defined the 80s" :P
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Not really one for thinking too much about what would "define" the 80s, but I'll post my top 12 of the 80s. I suppose in some ways this list does do a good job of defining the 80s for me, as it includes some pretty great albums in genres that were very prominent in the 80s such as metal, hard rock and pop, plus the early stages of prog metal and American punk rock.
1. Metallica - ...And Justice for All
2. Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason
3. The Alan Parsons Project - Eye in the Sky
4. Rush - Permanent Waves
5. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
6. Metallica - Master of Puppets
7. R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant
8. Queensr˙che - Operation: Mindcrime
9. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
10. Michael Jackson - Thriller
11. Bad Religion - Suffer
12. Guns n' Roses - Appetite for Destruction
So riddle me this, if an album, like Permanent Waves, was made in late 1979 and released on the 1st official day of 1980, how does it counts as an 80s album, just to clarify?
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In no order,
1. Yes -- 90125. Did any album in 1983 sound like this one? Prog that was accessible? The real winner was Trevor Horn. This cemented him as a legit producer. This album still sounds ahead of it's time today.
2. AC/DC -- Back in Black -- This album to this day makes me want to crack a beer open and get 20 buds together to drunkenly sing to every song on this album. What a way to redefine themselves after losing their lead singer.
3. Rush -- Power Windows -- Bright, uplifting, passionate and a perfect mix of sound and instruments. Producer Peter Collins told Neil Peart he could make his drums sound 100% better. Neil scoffed but not after he heard the final result They aimed high and hit a bullseye.
4. U2 -- The Joshua Tree --- A band on the brink of superstardom mixes Americana in their album to have so many songs played on the radio and on so many different radio formats. With Or Without You was the first single. When that became a hit on a song that is not your normal lead single, fireworks could and did happen.
5. Police -- Synchronicity -- A band on the verge of self destructing pulls out their most polished album that was a new direction for a band on the verge of moving to stadiums. Never releasing another studio album, they left us wanting more.
6. Journey -- Escape -- A change of a main writer and keyboard player, Journey went on to write their best album that again transcended radio formats at the time to have all the girls melt with the lyrics and the guys liking that they could still rock.
7. Peter Gabriel -- So -- How does a musician put out music, with traditional world music and technically so advanced and intricate that is transcends to sell 5 times platinum?! Gabriel influenced so many with his music and his videos that in the 80's worked like peanut butter and jelly.
8. Bryan Adams -- Reckless -- 12 million copies wordwide should say enough. Straight forward rock, catchy choruses and rock anthems that put Bryan Addams in another hemisphere.
9. Def Leppard -- Pyromania -- Taking it to the next level with great writing, production and videos to match these rocking, anthemic tunes, Def Leppard took storm of America waving their British underwear and songs for all to see.
10. Bon Jovi -- Slippery When Wet -- A touch of Desmond Child co writing with this great duo of Jon Bon Jovi and Ritchie Sambora and you get foot stomping, hard rocking anthems that, to this day I get caught singing and playing air drums and air guitar in my car.
11. Paul Simon -- Graceland -- After So, this album again opened our eyes (and ears) to world music. Simon put his balls on the line recording in South Africa during Apartheid and during a cultural boycott with African musicians and came up with gold or maybe Platinum.....5 times over.
12. Duran Duran -- Rio -- Boy band? Maybe, Damn good musicians? You bet. This album and videos blew open their way to stardom. This lead the way for the New Romanticism music scene into America. Thank you MTV for exposing us to this great album.
Just missed the list,
VH -- 5150
Queenryche -- OM
Asia -- Asia
INXS -- Kick
Iron Maiden -- Piece Of Mind
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Unfortunately, I could never make a list like this. My listening was pretty close minded. I could not include anything that was not rock or metal.
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Well If I was to do my favorite albums from the 80's list it would be different.
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Not really one for thinking too much about what would "define" the 80s, but I'll post my top 12 of the 80s. I suppose in some ways this list does do a good job of defining the 80s for me, as it includes some pretty great albums in genres that were very prominent in the 80s such as metal, hard rock and pop, plus the early stages of prog metal and American punk rock.
1. Metallica - ...And Justice for All
2. Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason
3. The Alan Parsons Project - Eye in the Sky
4. Rush - Permanent Waves
5. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
6. Metallica - Master of Puppets
7. R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant
8. Queensr˙che - Operation: Mindcrime
9. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
10. Michael Jackson - Thriller
11. Bad Religion - Suffer
12. Guns n' Roses - Appetite for Destruction
So riddle me this, if an album, like Permanent Waves, was made in late 1979 and released on the 1st official day of 1980, how does it counts as an 80s album, just to clarify?
I'm going by release year, as I have no idea exactly when or over how long different albums were written and recorded.
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Not really one for thinking too much about what would "define" the 80s, but I'll post my top 12 of the 80s. I suppose in some ways this list does do a good job of defining the 80s for me, as it includes some pretty great albums in genres that were very prominent in the 80s such as metal, hard rock and pop, plus the early stages of prog metal and American punk rock.
1. Metallica - ...And Justice for All
2. Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason
3. The Alan Parsons Project - Eye in the Sky
4. Rush - Permanent Waves
5. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
6. Metallica - Master of Puppets
7. R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant
8. Queensr˙che - Operation: Mindcrime
9. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
10. Michael Jackson - Thriller
11. Bad Religion - Suffer
12. Guns n' Roses - Appetite for Destruction
So riddle me this, if an album, like Permanent Waves, was made in late 1979 and released on the 1st official day of 1980, how does it counts as an 80s album, just to clarify?
I'm going by release year, as I have no idea exactly when or over how long different albums were written and recorded.
Exactly... it was released in the 1980s, so it's an 80s album. What's so hard to grasp?
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Unfortunately, I could never make a list like this. My listening was pretty close minded. I could not include anything that was not rock or metal.
That's fine. I would love to see a list from your perspective.
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In my opinion, the 12 most important albums of 80's ROCK AND METAL are:
Chronologically:
AC/DC-Back In Black
Judas Priest-British Steel
Ozzy Osbourne-Blizzard Of Ozz
Rush-Moving Pictures
Iron Maiden-The Number Of The Beast
Metallica- Kill 'Em All
Def Leppard-Pyromania
Slayer-Reign In Blood
Bon Jovi-Slippery When Wet
Guns n Roses-Appetite For Destruction
Helloween-Keeper Of The Seven Keys
Queensryche-Operation:Mindcrime
Not all of these are my favorites, but I feel all were vitally important to their own particular metal genres. Obviously the early 80's albums are bunched up.
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Guess it's easy to misread the post as "Top 58 albums that defined the 80s".
lol