List by @riffiter
Best albums of the 1980s
Twenty albums that defined the 1980s — pop's imperial phase, hip-hop's arrival, and the underground that built the next decade.
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- 1
Back in BlackAC/DC · 19801980 · the hard rock juggernaut
- 2
Remain in LightTalking Heads · 19801980 · afrobeat circuitry meets art rock
- 3
ThrillerMichael Jackson · 19831982 · the biggest album ever made, and it earns it
- 4
Power, Corruption & LiesNew Order · 19831983 · grief transmuted into dance music
- 5
Purple RainPrince · 19841984 · rock, funk and pop fused by one performer
- 6
Hounds of LoveKate Bush · 19851985 · art pop's high-water mark
- 7
The Queen Is DeadThe Smiths · 19861986 · British indie's defining statement
- 8
Master of PuppetsMetallica · 19861986 · thrash reaches symphonic scale
- 9
Reign in BloodSlayer · 19861986 · 29 minutes of total velocity
- 10
GracelandPaul Simon · 19861986 · songwriting meets South African groove
- 11
Appetite for DestructionGuns N' Roses · 19871987 · the last great dangerous rock debut
- 12
The Joshua TreeU2 · 19871987 · stadium rock with a searching soul
- 13
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us BackPublic Enemy · 19881988 · hip-hop as political alarm
- 14
Daydream NationSonic Youth · 19881988 · the American underground's masterpiece
- 15
Straight Outta ComptonN.W.A · 19881988 · gangsta rap's ground zero
- 16
DoolittlePixies · 19891989 · quiet-loud dynamics the 90s ran on
- 17
3 Feet High and RisingDe La Soul · 19891989 · sampling as playground
- 18
Paul's BoutiqueBeastie Boys · 19891989 · the densest sample collage ever cleared
- 19
Like a PrayerMadonna · 19891989 · pop stardom with something at stake
- 20
DisintegrationThe Cure · 19891989 · gloom at cathedral scale