Retro Albums of the Year 2010's: 2020

[wolfking]

We're on 1986, and only one mention of Reign in Blood?!   

I can't stand Slayer....

Me too.  It seems that the majority of people on DTF either don't care or don't like them.
When it comes to more brutal thrash metal I'd much rather listen Schizophrenia-Arise era Sepultura.

I think people not liking Slayer is understandable but RIB is something special.  I would think even non fans would fine things in that album that can be appreciated.

[jingle.boy]

@ Kade... wtf man (to me)?  I did a search on the page for those albums, and didn't get a hit.  Maybe I typo'd and searched "Mcalpine"?? 

[wolfking]

@ Kade... wtf man (to me)?  I did a search on the page for those albums, and didn't get a hit.  Maybe I typo'd and searched "Mcalpine"??

 

And I didn't edit afterwards I swear.  Definitely one of my highlights of the year.  One of my top all time fav shred albums.  So melodic.

[TAC]

I was way too tired last night to make my list, I'll do it tonight, but Reign In Blood will definitely be on my list. However Reign In Blood was NOT on my radar in 1986. In fact, Reign In Blood was an affirmation of some of my musical choices in the mid (84-86) 80's. I need to type THAT all out at some point.

Anyway, I really jumped on the Slayer train with South Of Heaven.

[TAC]

I graduated high school in 1986..

1986

1. Tesla-Mechanical Resonance
2. Accept-Russian Roulette
3. Waysted-Save Your Prayers
4. Iron Maiden-Somewhere In Time
5. Metallica-Master Of Puppets
6. Alice Cooper-Constrictor
7. Flotsam & Jetsam-Doomsday For The Deceiver
8. Motorhead-Orgasmatron
9. Queensryche-Rage For Order
10. Megadeth-Peace Sells


Paul DiAnno's Battlezone-Fighting Back
WASP-Inside The Electric Circus
David Lee Roth-Eat 'Em And Smile
Black Sabbath-Seventh Star
Bon Jovi-Slippery When Wet
Lizzy Borden-The Murderous Metal Roadshow
Fates Warning-Awaken The Guardian
Sword-Metallized
Van Halen-5150
Vinnie Vincent Invasion-s/t
Slayer-Reign In Blood
Vinnie Moore-Mind's Eye
Fifth Angel-s/t
Heir Apparent-Graceful Inheritance
Metal Church-The Dark
Nuclear Assault-Game Over




My concerts in 1986:

1986..3/18..Aerosmith, Ted Nugent.. Providence Civic Center
1986..6/4..Judas Priest, Dokken.. Providence Civic Center
1986..6/14..UFO..The Living Room, Providence
1986..6/18..Dio, Accept.. Providence Civic Center
1986..8/22..Van Halen, Bachman Turner Overdrive.. Providence Civic Center
1986..9/14..Emerson Lake and Powell..Providence Performing Arts Center
1986..9/19..AC/DC, Loudness.. Providence Civic Center
1986..11/19..Alice Cooper, Vinnie Vincent Invasion..Worcester Centrum

[wolfking]

I should have included Save Your Prayers on my list, that would actually already be very high on the list if I were ranking them.

[ReaperKK]

That's an awesome concert list Tac!

[TAC]

That's an awesome concert list Tac!

Thank you!

Two notes.. The ELPowell show was originally set for the Providence Civic Center with Yngwie Malmsteen opening. I bought tix in the second row. Unfortunately sales weren't great, so they moved it to the much smaller Performance Arts Center, and Yngwie didn't end up touring with them after all.

And the list is missing Ozzy/Metallica. They played two shows in my area. Worcester and Providence. I had some friends from school going to the show in Worcester, and my friends out of school were going to Providence, and I was going with them. Well, the Worcester show was a couple days before Providence. They played Worcester but postponed Providence. I was pissed. They moved it to September, which meant that Metallica was no longer opening.. It would be Queensryche. Well, I had just started college, I didn't like The Ultimate Sin Ozzy, and I was not into Rage For Order or the band's new look, so I sold my ticket.

[King Postwhore]

That Worcester show was the one some asshole pulled Jake E. Lee into the crowd by his head stock.  Jake was pointing his guitar down to the fans and that dude yanked him right in.  He threw the guitar across the stage because the wireless wasn't working, (His white Strat) and was pointing at the asshole who pulled him in.

[Zoom E]

1986

Queensryche - Rage for Order
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Crimson Glory - Crimson Glory
Fifth Angel - Fifth Angel
Megadeth - Peace Sells
Metal Church - The Dark
Stryper - To Hell With the Devil
Yngwie Malmsteen - Trilogy
Black Sabbath - Seventh Star
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time

[Dream Team]

1986

Queensryche - Rage for Order
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Crimson Glory - Crimson Glory
Fifth Angel - Fifth Angel
Megadeth - Peace Sells
Metal Church - The Dark
Stryper - To Hell With the Devil
Yngwie Malmsteen - Trilogy
Black Sabbath - Seventh Star
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time

Great list. I would remove Crimson Glory, Fifth Angel, Ynqwie and Sabbath and add:

Dark Angel - Darkness Descends
Kreator - Pleasure to Kill
Loudness - Lightning Strikes

Amazing year for thrash, there are several other contenders.

[SoundscapeMN]

1987

1987, a year I chose out of curiousity per Marillion, Rush and Giraffe had albums. Plus 1 of the 3 best U2 records in The Joshua Tree came out that year.

But in looking at the depth of the year, it's a pretty barren, thin year. Some of the 80's pop and Metal was okay (Helloween, Savatage). Prince, George Michael, Michael Jackson. Sting, REM, INXS. Some iconic names with some of their better records of course.

However on the grand scale of my taste, 1987 was also Top Heavy and I suppose somewhat nostalgia laden. Although I am wondering and suspicious the 1980's were a lot like this year. The most memorable and go-to's end up being a few at the top. Which supports my feeling about the 1980's strength largely being in Singles rather than Albums. Other decades though seem to have a larger chunk of albums, often underground albeit, but for many good reasons.

I do find it interesting though to have to choose between a Marillion album and a Kevin Gilbert album, which happens in other years as well. And Clutching takes this one, as it's my favorite Fish-period Marillion record, and 1 of 5 5-star albums from the band.

1. Marillion - Clutching at Straws
2. Giraffe - The Power of Suggestion
3. Rush - Hold Your Fire
4. U2 - The Joshua Tree
5. Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason
6. George Michael - Faith
7. Pat Metheny - Still Life (Talking)
8. Jane's Addiction - Jane's Addiction
9. Michael Jackson - Bad
10. INXS - Kick
11. Prince - Sign "☮" the Times
12. Sting - ...Nothing Like the Sun
13  Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys Part. 1
14. Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King
15. The Dukes of Stratosphear - Psonic Psunspot
16. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Live at Winterland
17. Def Leppard - Hysteria
18. Guns N Roses - Appetite for Destruction
19. Jethro Tull - Krest of a Knave
20. Joe Satriani - Surfing with the Alien
21. Faith No More - Introduce Yourself
22. Bruce Spingsteen - Tunnel of Love
23. R.E.M. - Document
24. Roger Waters - Radio K.A.O.S.
25. Yes - Big Generator
26. TNT - Tell No Tales

[HOF]

1987 is a surprisingly deep year for me. Top heavy, and maybe not as strong throughout as the two before it.

1. Marillion - Clutching at Straws
2. U2 - The Joshua Tree
3. How We Live - Dry Land
4. R.E.M. - Document
5. Def Leppard - Hysteria
6. Rush - Hold Your Fire
7. Steve Hackett - Momentum
8. Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason
9. Yes - Big Generator
10. David Torn - Cloud About Mercury
11. Jethro Tull - Crest of a Knave
12. Joe Satriani - Surfing with the Alien

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I'm a little surprised how many 4* or higher albums are on my 1987 list.... 20 of them!

1. Marillion - Clutching At Straws
2. Rush - Hold Your Fire
3. Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. 1
4. Michael Jackson - Bad
5. Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses
6. Candlemass - Nightfall
7. Whitesnake - Whitesnake
8. Def Leppard - Hysteria
9. Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King
10. The Cult - Electric
11. Prince - Sign "☮︎" the Times
12. Manilla Road - Mystification
13. Testament - The Legacy
14. Dinosaur - You're Living All Over Me
15. Running Wild - Under the Jolly Roger
16. The Cure - Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
17. Sonic Youth - Sister
18. Voivod - Killing Technology
19. Dark Quarterer - Dark Quarterer
20. Coroner - R.I.P.
21. Triumph - Surveillance
22. Blind Idiot God - Blind Idiot God
23. Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason
24. Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction
25. Celtic Frost - Into the Pandemonium
26. Heart - Bad Animals
27. George Michael - Faith
28. Yes - Big Generator
29. Swans - Children of God

[MirrorMask]

My 1987...

1. HELLOWEEN - Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1

No contest here, legendary album!

2. SAVATAGE - Hall of the Mountain King
3. DIO - Dream Evil

4. MANOWAR - Fighting the World
5. ALICE COOPER - Raise your Fist and Yell

[Stadler]

I was trying to come up with a nice way of saying that year-over-year we've been on a downward slide since 1984, but 1987 just doesn't play along.   Clutching is a top five ALL TIME album for me (and by far my favorite Marillion - a band I LOVE - album), and The Joshua Tree is a top ten album (and my entry into U2, a band I've followed since and seen I think five times).   Heart's Bad Animals has my favorite Ann Wilson (one of my favorite singers of all time) moment - "Wait For An Answer" - and Yes' Big Penetrator is probably my favorite of the Rabin albums (all of which I like A LOT).

[ReaperKK]

Looking through your lists there area a lot of albums this year that I've heard about but never really gave a listen, gotta fix that soon.

Onto my list, 1987:

1. Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse Of Reason - 5/5 - One of the first albums I remember hearing as a kid, still love it to this day
2. Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction - 3.5/5
3. Rush - Hold Your Fire - 3.5/5
4. Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien - 3.5/5 - I really like this record, one of the first that really got me into playing guitar

[ariich]

Between being really busy and then being away on holiday, it seems I feel way behind on this thread, so here's a bit of catching up.

1983: Not a great year for me, compared with the few before it.

1. Pink Floyd - The Final Cut
2. Dio - Holy Diver
3. Yes - 90125
4. Jaco Pastorius - Invitation
5. Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
6. Metallica - Kill 'Em All
7. Marillion - Script for a Jester's Tear


1984: I was born and music was better!

1. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
2. Metallica - Ride the Lightning
3. King Crimson - Three of a Perfect Pair
4. Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward
5. The Alan Parsons Project - Ammonia Avenue
6. Toto - Isolation
7. Dio - The Last in Line
8. Talk Talk - It's My Life
9. Scott Walker - Climate of Hunter
10. Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers

A couple of others ranging from ok to good:
Queen - The Works
Rush - Grace Under Pressure


1985: Hmm, a bit of a so-so year.

1. Loreena McKennitt - Elemental
2. Rush - Power Windows
3. Marillion - Misplaced Childhood
4. Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
5. Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
6. Gowan - Strange Animal
7. Megadeth - Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!
8. Fates Warning - The Spectre Within
9. Virgin Steele - Noble Savage


1986: Another improvement.

1. Metallica - Master of Puppets
2. Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring
3. Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time
4. Depeche Mode - Black Celebration
5. Queensrÿche - Rage for Order
6. R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant
7. Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
8. Toto - Fahrenheit
9. Fates Warning - Awaken the Guardian
10. Queen - A Kind of Magic

Also decent:
Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell


1987: Another solid year.

1. Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason
2. Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses
3. Loreena McKennitt - To Drive the Cold Winter Away
4. Guns n' Roses - Appetite for Destruction
5. The Alan Parsons Project - Gaudi
6. George Harrison - Cloud Nine
7. Sting - ...Nothing Like the Sun
8. R.E.M. - Document
9. Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I
10. Michael Jackson - Bad

Also decent:
Rush - Hold Your Fire

[WildRanger]

My top 10 from 1987:

1. Guns N' Roses - Appetite
2. Prince - Sign o the Times
3. Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I
4. Candlemass - Nightfall
5. Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses
6. Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King
7. Whitesnake - 1987
8. The Cult - Electric
9. Overkill - Taking Over
10. Sepultura - Schizophrenia

[jingle.boy]

Not yet listed:

Dirty Dancing Soundtrack
Gowan - Great Dirty World
Kiss - Crazy Nights
Motley Crue - Girls, Girls Girls
Pretty Maids - Future World
Tony Macalpine - Maximum Security
White Lion - Pride

[nick_z]

1987 - top albums for me (in no particular order, except the first  ):

GNR - Appetite for Destruction
Marillion - Clutching at Straws
Dead Can Dance - Within the Realms of a Dying Sun
Rush - Hold Your Fire
Savatage - Hall of the Mountaing King
Testament - The Legacy
Anthrax - Among the Living
Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation
U2 - The Joshua Tree

Some other goodies:

Candlemass - Nightfall
Celtic Frost - Into the Pandemonium
Coroner - RIP
Def Leppard - Hysteria
Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses
Helloween - Keeper I
King Diamond - Abigail
Joe Satriani - Surfing with the Alien
Sepultura - Schizophrenia
Sisters of Mercy - Floodland
Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel of Love
Triumph - Surveillance
Voivod - Killing Technology
Whitesnake - 1987


Then a nostalgia-filled list...loved them then (I was 10-11 years old when I first heard these)...still love them now, actually:

Belinda Carlisle - Heaven on Earth
INXS - Kick
George Michael - Faith
Fleetwood Mac - Tango in the Night
Richard Marx - S/T
Heart - Bad Animals
VV.AA - Dirty Dancing Soundtrack (yes, indeed!)

[nick_z]

Forgot:

U2 - The Joshua Tree

Definitely in the top albums

[nick_z]

I was trying to come up with a nice way of saying that year-over-year we've been on a downward slide since 1984, but 1987 just doesn't play along.   Clutching is a top five ALL TIME album for me (and by far my favorite Marillion - a band I LOVE - album), and The Joshua Tree is a top ten album (and my entry into U2, a band I've followed since and seen I think five times).   Heart's Bad Animals has my favorite Ann Wilson (one of my favorite singers of all time) moment - "Wait For An Answer"

Very much YES to all of this.

Speaking of Heart - I love the classic, early stuff, but I also have a soft spot for the Heart-Bad Animals-Brigade run. Bad Animals is probably my favorite of the three, overall. And Wait For An Answer is fantastic. Written by Lisa Dalbello, by the way, of "Gonna Get Close to You" fame (She sings it herself on one of her albums). They have another collaboration of sorts on Desire Walks On, with the song "Black on Black II" (another pretty powerful Ann Wilson moment)

[TAC]

So instead of posting a bunch of albums I thought I would post this, because my musical life changed forever in the summer of 1987.

I've wrote about this, but I was a freshman in high school 82-83. I was already a huge hard rock fan, already owning The Number Of The Beast, Blackout, Heaven & Hell, Restless Breed, among other albums.
That year in school WHJY in Providence started a Metal Hour on Saturday nights. I used to record them. It was on this radio program that I first Hit The Lights, Queen Of The Reich, Stand Up And Shout, Show No Mercy. It was an off the grid show and it went way beyond the easy hard rock bands to pick.

I bought Kill 'Em All and loved it. My brother went to school with a kid and I borrowed and taped his Fistful Of Metal, Tank, and Merciful Fate albums. But at this age, I really grew weary of the real metal scene, and by that I mean, the vocals, the lyrics, the message.. It just felt a bit dirty. I would spend the rest of my high school years basking in UFO, Waysted, Iron Maiden, Dio, Van Halen, Yngwie, Gary Moore.
I had metal friends and even Ride The Lightning just did not have the same magic or innocence that Kill 'Em All did. I even borrowed my buddy's Master Of Puppets after I bought concert tix for Ozzy/Metallica and it just did not click.

But then two things happened.

I was at one of my friends house in the summer of 1987 and I saw this magazine:




I read the article on Helloween. It talked about the album being speedy and melodic with great vocals, and they even spun a positive attitude in the article. They looked pretty clean, as opposed the the dirty images I had of real heavy metal.

I made a blind purchase of Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt.1. I remember buying it an put it in as I left the store. When I first heard I'm Alive, I stopped dead in my tracks. I literally pulled into a nearby park and listened to the whole thing. It was all it was said it was. Speedy, melodic. It touched off something inside me.



Also, later that summer, I saw that Metallica had a new EP coming out. I knew that Cliff was killed and they had a new bass player. Then I saw the cover..



There was something about it that seemed fun. It wasn't all serious or dark. So I bought this and loved it. I really loved it.

I was reopened to accepting the two Metallica albums I jumped over. That fall when I got back to school (college soph year) I got into South Of Heaven, Megadeth, Flotsam. I was changed!

[wolfking]

Great story Tim!

[Zoom E]

1987

Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1
U2 - The Joshua Tree
Anthrax - Among the Living
Leatherwolf - Leatherwolf
Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King
TNT - Tell No Tales
Candlemass - Nightfall
Lizzy Borden - Visual Lies
Whitesnake - 1987
Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason
Warlock - Triumph and Agony
Guns N Roses - Appetite for Destruction
Def Leppard - Hysteria
Joe Satriani - Surfing With the Alien
Manowar - Fighting the World

[Zoom E]

So instead of posting a bunch of albums I thought I would post this, because my musical life changed forever in the summer of 1987.

I've wrote about this, but I was a freshman in high school 82-83. I was already a huge hard rock fan, already owning The Number Of The Beast, Blackout, Heaven & Hell, Restless Breed, among other albums.
That year in school WHJY in Providence started a Metal Hour on Saturday nights. I used to record them. It was on this radio program that I first Hit The Lights, Queen Of The Reich, Stand Up And Shout, Show No Mercy. It was an off the grid show and it went way beyond the easy hard rock bands to pick.

I bought Kill 'Em All and loved it. My brother went to school with a kid and I borrowed and taped his Fistful Of Metal, Tank, and Merciful Fate albums. But at this age, I really grew weary of the real metal scene, and by that I mean, the vocals, the lyrics, the message.. It just felt a bit dirty. I would spend the rest of my high school years basking in UFO, Waysted, Iron Maiden, Dio, Van Halen, Yngwie, Gary Moore.
I had metal friends and even Ride The Lightning just did not have the same magic or innocence that Kill 'Em All did. I even borrowed my buddy's Master Of Puppets after I bought concert tix for Ozzy/Metallica and it just did not click.

But then two things happened.

I was at one of my friends house in the summer of 1987 and I saw this magazine:




I read the article on Helloween. It talked about the album being speedy and melodic with great vocals, and they even spun a positive attitude in the article. They looked pretty clean, as opposed the the dirty images I had of real heavy metal.

I made a blind purchase of Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt.1. I remember buying it an put it in as I left the store. When I first heard I'm Alive, I stopped dead in my tracks. I literally pulled into a nearby park and listened to the whole thing. It was all it was said it was. Speedy, melodic. It touched off something inside me.



Also, later that summer, I saw that Metallica had a new EP coming out. I knew that Cliff was killed and they had a new bass player. Then I saw the cover..



There was something about it that seemed fun. It wasn't all serious or dark. So I bought this and loved it. I really loved it.

I was reopened to accepting the two Metallica albums I jumped over. That fall when I got back to school (college soph year) I got into South Of Heaven, Megadeth, Flotsam. I was changed!

Very cool

I remember reading a rave review of Keys Pt 1 in Kerrang!  I already owned Walls of Jericho. i loved it musically but did not care for Kai’s vocals, so when I read that Helloween had an amazing new vocalist I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Keys Pt 1. And it absolutely lived up to the hype.

[wolfking]

Here's mine;

King Diamond - Abigail
Black Sabbath - The Eternal Idol
Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King
Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt 1
Gary Moore - Wild Frontier
Joe Satriani - Surfing with the Alien
Whitesnake - 1987
Ozzy Osbourne - Tribute
Tony Macalpine - Maximum Security
Cacophony - Speed Metal Symphony
Vinnie Moore - Mind's Eye
Dio - Dream Evil
Rush - Hold Your Fire
Racer X - Second Heat
Testament - The Legacy
Y&T - Contagious
Michael Jackson - Bad

[Zoom E]

Ooh, I forgot about The Eternal Idol. That should be on my list too. 

[Lowdz]

Made this a few years ago for a Facebook thing. Probably a cute.

I’ve always thought of 87 as my favourite year for music. I bought my first CD player that year, had started work so had proper money for the first time ever. When I did some memory sticks based on years, 84 & 85 were up there, but I was having great fun at this time. I was 19 and I hadn’t started sucking at life at this point 😁

[ReaperKK]

Awesome write-up TAC and great collage Lowdz!

[Lowdz]

Awesome write-up TAC and great collage Lowdz!

Cheers. I missed the discussion of the last few years. Bugger.

[TAC]

I remember reading a rave review of Keys Pt 1 in Kerrang!  I already owned Walls of Jericho. i loved it musically but did not care for Kai’s vocals, so when I read that Helloween had an amazing new vocalist I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Keys Pt 1. And it absolutely lived up to the hype.

Wow, how did you hear of Walls Of Jericho in the first place? I hadn't heard of it, but I got it on short order after I got Keeper. Not sure I would've been open to it if I had heard that when it came out, as I explained.

[Stadler]

I LOVED Kerrang! magazine.  I got it from a local record store and would look forward to it.

TAC, I get you.  It was different bands for me, but the idea was really the same.   It was weird to live through that, watching the bands evolve, and what was "shocking!" in '81 was cheeze in '86 and how bands reacted to that.  That's kind of why I liked Maiden so much; they responded to all that by elevating their game; 13 minute epic poems set to music!  Metal concept records!   I even lost some interest in Kiss at this point; their lyrics were always sort of cheesy - Christine Sixteen - but Paul sort of embraced that image a little much - his stage raps from this period are in my opinion over the line vulgar.   

[Zoom E]

I remember reading a rave review of Keys Pt 1 in Kerrang!  I already owned Walls of Jericho. i loved it musically but did not care for Kai’s vocals, so when I read that Helloween had an amazing new vocalist I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Keys Pt 1. And it absolutely lived up to the hype.

Wow, how did you hear of Walls Of Jericho in the first place? I hadn't heard of it, but I got it on short order after I got Keeper. Not sure I would've been open to it if I had heard that when it came out, as I explained.

I must have read about Walls of Jericho in Kerrang! I read it religiously in the 80s.