Top 50 Albums Of The '80s, Part 5 (1-10)

Editor's note: Thank God It's Friday! This wraps up the series and I will now begin the same undertaking for the '90s. I hope you enjoyed reading and listening as much as I did bringing it to you. I also hope it may have led you to purchase one of the albums on the list you might not have already had, or had at one point and are now revisiting.



1. The Joshua Tree - U2

Little needs to be said about U2's crowning musical achievement, but it is worth noting how savvy a decision it was for an Irish new wave band (which is what they were considered by many to be up to that point) to make a gospel record, for lack of a better term. From that point on, there would be no more confusing U2 with the likes of Echo & The Bunnymen and Big Country. [Listen to a live version of "With Or Without You" from their current tour.]



2. Born In The USA - Bruce Springsteen

The Boss needed to make a "big record" after the lo-fi/acoustic Nebraska left the suits at his label wondering if he'd ever live up to his potential, sales-wise. That he had this kind of a record in him surprised everyone. Upon hearing "Dancing In The Dark", I remember asking a friend (a huge Boss fan) if he'd heard "the new Bruce Springsteen single with all the synthesizers" a mere moment before ducking his punch. Much like U2 had done with The Joshua Tree, Bruce had challenged himself and his fans with an album that showed a willingness to venture very much outside his (and their) comfort zone. The end result was an album that appealed to more than just "Brooce" fans while ultimately retaining much of his hardcore fan base. [Listen to "Cover Me".]



3. Life's Rich Pageant - R.E.M.

While Document may be the better album, in our opinion, Life's Rich Pageant is most notable because it made the band more than mere critical darlings. They'd seen how far indie mystique could get them and wanted to go further…much further. On this album, the boys from Athens made a quite intentional statement that they weren't just a little band making albums for indie geeks and rock critics anymore. From the opening chord of "Begin The Begin", this is not your older brother's R.E.M. - this is a band capable of sharing the world stage with the likes of Bon Jovi, and god bless them for giving the world an alternative at a time when there were few, if any.

4. Bad English - Bad English
(just kidding)…



4. Double Fantasy - John Lennon/Yoko Ono

If John had lived, we'd like to think this album would still be as wonderful and, thus, would still occupy the #4 position on our list. Considering half of the album is devoted to Yoko's work, it's still a great artistic statement from someone who'd already given so much of himself. Songs like "Starting Over" and "Woman" are kitschy, sure, but their sentiments ring so true that even the most hardened cynic can relate. One can't listen to the album, of course, without feeling the genuine sense of loss and wondering if we humans are so flawed that we can't not kill that which exceeds our understanding. [Listen to "Watching The Wheels".]



5. Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A.

Never has there been an opening salvo as devastatingly perfect as this one. The idea of a West Coast rap "super group" (whose members nobody outside of L.A. had actually heard of yet) seems laughable, but damn if this gang of genius misfits didn't pull off the impossible. However groundbreaking "The Message" had been, it was a pebble in the pond compared to the depth charge impact of N.W.A's debut. The rap world was turned upside down virtually overnight, with every crew on the planet now emulating N.W.A's gritty street life serenades. In one fell swoop, they'd gone from complete unknowns to a band that single-handedly redefined an entire genre. All of that aside, this is an album that's incredibly listenable from a musical and melodic angle, as well, demonstrating Dr. Dre's immense production and song crafting talents. [Listen to "Fuck Tha Police".]



6. Appetite For Destruction - Guns 'n' Roses

Much as N.W.A. had done for rap, GNR did for Sunset Strip hair metal. By dispensing with the glitz & gloss and painting hauntingly poetic portraits of life on the mean streets, they killed off the crap and forced the competition to either follow or hang it up altogether. Upon its arrival, neither the album nor the band made much of a splash, but when the video for the ballad "Sweet Child o' Mine" hit the MTV airwaves a few months later, life was never quite the same for us, or the band. Unlike most other metal acts who scored a hit with a ballad, then realized that couldn't get anywhere near the charts with their harder stuff, GNR wasn't at all pigeonholed by the song's success. In fact, those who dug the single bought the album and made anthems of songs like "Welcome To The Jungle" and "Paradise City". This was a band that arrived fully formed, it seemed, giving the world the best Aerosmith album Aerosmith had never recorded. Whereas Aerosmith had very much lived the life of which GNR spoke, they'd never been brave enough - or savvy enough - to write about it. Aerosmith, of course, lived to rock another day and, in fact, are still together. GNR did not (and, no, we do not consider the current version of the Axl Rose Sideshow to be GNR). [Listen to "Rocket Queen".]



7. Synchronicity - The Police

Sure, the Police had already tasted success. They'd hit the Top 10 with a song called "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da", for crying out loud. But, still, Sting wanted more and he knew the only way to get more was to smooth out the rough edges. See, much as we may love songs like "Roxanne" and "Message In A Bottle", one cannot ignore the fact that the band's idiosyncratic sound sometimes got in the way. Sting singing at the top of his register, Stewart knocking out off-kilter reggae-tinged rhythms, and Andy bathing the songs in layers of angular synthesized guitar had gotten them as far as they could go. What could they accomplish, Sting must have wondered, if they played it straight? The answer to that question, of course, was quickly answered by entry of "Every Breath You Take" into the #1 spot in just about every pop chart on the planet. Marrying palatable pop songs to lush videos (a welcome change from the otherwise DIY-style videos the band had knocked out in the past), the Police were now "playing ball" and soon standing alone at the top of the pop world. Well, more accurately, it was Sting alone at the top of the pop world, with his two band mates relegated to unofficial "best-paid sidemen in the world" status. Sting, of course, went on to enjoy a very successful and lucrative solo career, but his music was never as accessible and focused as on this album. [Listen to "Tea In The Sahara".]



8. Purple Rain - Prince

He'd had his first real taste of success with "1999", but he'd not yet established himself as Purple One. With the release of his first major motion picture and the accompanying soundtrack, however, he went from "up-and-coming" to star of stage and screen, not to mention the pop charts. "When Doves Cry" is both a masterful artistic achievement and sensational pop hit (making us wonder why these days the trains no longer meet - you're either an artist or a pop star). The rest of the album beautifully vacillates between the two as the artist wrestles within about which side of the fence he wishes to reside. Much like Sting's post "Synchronicity" work, Prince never fired on all cylinders as consistently as when he recorded "Purple Rain"



9. Thriller - Michael Jackson

Any list of this particular decade's greatest albums would be suspect without mentioning this album in the Top 10. Strangely enough, while "Double Fantasy" is probably an album's whose placement at #4 on our list may necessitate an explanation as to how it could be placed so high, our placement of "Thriller" at the lowly #9 spot probably also begs explanation. Truth be told, when the album was enjoying its groundbreaking chart run (selling one million copies a week at one point and spawning seven Top 10 hit singles) and one could not turn on the radio or the television without being bombarded with the sight or sound of Michael Jackson, we at He's A Whore were more annoyed than mesmerized by the Gloved One. As his music became over-saturated and his bizarre real-life antics began to overshadow his artistic talent, it became harder and harder to separate the music from the odd spectacle. Thus, while we can certainly appreciate the greatness of songs such as "Beat It" and, ahem, "The Girl Is Mine", it is impossible to attribute much of the credit to Jackson when you consider how reliant he has been upon third-rate producers (two words: Rodney Yerkins - okay, one more word: hack) for recent projects. Quincy Jones doesn't get nearly the credit he deserves for his part in the building of the hit machine that was Michael Jackson.



10. Back In Black - AC/DC

One must think long and hard to come up with the name of another band that overcame such seemingly insurmountable odds to create what, in hindsight, is their career-defining moment as did AC/DC. That they managed to do so within eight months of the death of singer Bon Scott makes this album all the more impressive. Most would have taken that long to mourn. Add another eight months to decide their next move. Not AC/DC. They not only hired a new singer within two months of Scott's death, but where neck-deep in recording sessions mere days after that. Of course, the band had already practically finished recording the music for this album when Bon died. He had, in fact, been waiting for them to wrap things up so that he could begin working on his vocals at the time of his death. So, new singer Brian Johnson and the band weren't technically starting from scratch when sessions resumed. Johnson, of course, was under considerable pressure to do the songs justice, both lyrically and vocally and, truth be told, he did so with flying colors. With songs such as "Hells Bells", "Let Me Put My Love Into You", "You Shook Me All Night Long" and the title track, Johnson tackled each song with the libidinous gusto of a teenager and seemed so comfortable in his new role that one could be forgiven for thinking he'd been there all along The album has gone on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide and is just as popular today as it was then. Sonically speaking, it's still a throat-slasher of a record.