Treble's Best Albums of the '80s

by Treble Staff; photo by Candice Eley

09.11.2006





This week begins the second half of our list of our Best Albums of the '80s. The second half will span from 1985 to 1989, but to access the first half of our epic list, click here.

1985

10. Mekons — Fear and Whiskey (Sin)

It wasn't cool to be listening to country music in the '80s, particularly if you were part of the punk rock underground in the UK. Always ones to cause trouble, the Mekons said "balls to that" with Fear and Whiskey, a raucous, dizzying blend of punk rock's fuck-all abandon and country music's tradition of storytelling and barroom singalongs. That the first true alt-country album was released by a group of Brits may seem unlikely, even somewhat ironic, makes it all the more compelling. – Jeff Terich

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9. The Pogues — Rum, Sodomy and the Lash (Stiff - MCA)

Rum, Sodomy and the Lash is filled with songs which are poetic and visceral, some both simultaneously. They are filled with vivid characterization and the hazy recollections of memories, which have aged like ancient photographs. Mostly, Rum, Sodomy and the Lash reminds one again and again of the very real talent possessed by Shane MacGowan, both as a writer of songs utterly his own, beautiful and ragged, and an uncannily evocative singer. He is able to write a character of mythical proportion, Cuchuliann, into a riotous stomp which takes place everywhere, full of characters drawn from everywhere; able to color Ewan McCall's "Dirty Old Town" with a vibrancy and brilliance all his own. – Tyler Parks

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8. Husker Du — New Day Rising (SST)

New Day Rising is the best pop record a hardcore band has ever made. An odd statement considering the almost vitriolic power behind hardcore. But that's what makes New Day Rising, and Hόsker Dό in general, so utterly exciting. That a band could be fueled by this almost punishing power, yet still have a strong melodic backbone to their songs, even if said melodic backbone is draped in fuzz and pushed by an intangible force. – Molly B. Eichel

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7. New Order — Low Life (Factory - Qwest)

Low-Life is a testament to the ability of the remaining members of Joy Divison to pick themselves up off the floor and begin in a different direction, while having recognized their starting point. It's probably fair to say that if I hadn't heard "The Perfect Kiss," and thus Low-Life, I would not be listening to all of the music I listen to today, and for that, I owe the album a debt of gratitude. – Terrance Terich

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6. The Fall — This Nation's Saving Grace (Beggars Banquet)

For a band that switches lineups as frequently as The Fall does, it's astounding that they released essentially an album a year in the '80s, peaking with their seventh, This Nation's Saving Grace. Eschewing the schizophrenic sloppiness of early records for a more streamlined post-punk sound, Grace was a sort of new and improved Fall, not the least of the factors involved being new guitarist Brix Smith (Mark E's then wife). Mark E. Smith would later tear her to shreds in a song titled "Sing Harpy!" `Tis a shame, this was their finest hour. – Jeff Terich

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5. The Replacements — Tim (Sire)

After the critical acclaim of their 1984 album, Let it Be, the band had two options at that point in their career: succeed and take their place in the pantheon of rock gods or fail and head back to Minnesota to wallow in obscurity. "Time for decisions to be made. / Crack up in the sun, lose it in the shade," Paul Westerberg sings on opening track "Hold My Life." It's the fear of both paths that allows the `Mats to churn out some of the strongest songs of their storied career. – Molly B. Eichel

(Read Review)



4. The Cure — The Head on the Door (Fiction - Elektra)

After Pornography, things got weird for The Cure. Performing as a duo, recording with musicians for hire and releasing the most bizarre album of their career while Smith performed with Siouxsie and the Banshees, it took three years before they would be a full-fledged band again. Revamped and brimming with energy, The Head on the Door would find the band returning as a five-piece and with a solid set of songs that would rank among their best. And with melodies as bright and sunny as "Close to Me" or "Six Different Ways," you can almost imagine Robert Smith smiling. Almost. – Jeff Terich

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3.The Smiths — Meat is Murder (Rough Trade - Sire)

Whereas Morrissey is a fan of dark poetry, nihilism, and has a philosophical viewpoint supporting his loneliness, his fans, including me, were sad and lonely for different reasons. We were teenagers. As Bart Simpson said, "Making teenagers depressed is like shooting fish in a barrel." If there is one similarity, it is this: like Morrissey, most of the teenagers who listened to him wanted to be alone. I craved solitude, lived in my own head, and colored the world accordingly. Morrissey seemed to really understand the mind of the depressed teenager. He understood those suicidal thoughts, whether serious or for dramatic purposes. – Terrance Terich

(Read Review)



2. The Jesus and Mary Chain — Psychocandy (Blanco Y Negro)

Inspired by acts as diverse as the Velvet Underground, the late '60s girl group The Shangri-Las and Phil Spector's sonic walls of sound, the Scottish-born brothers William and Jim Reid (the core duo behind The Jesus and Mary Chain) blended anarchic feedback with pretty, fledgling shoegazer on their debut album, appropriately named Psychocandy. The title perfectly captures the sugary hooks, the semi-goth gloom and the shrieking guitars that epitomize The Jesus and Mary Chain's trademark brand of noise pop. – Hubert Vigilla

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1.Tom Waits — Rain Dogs (Island)

Rain Dogs is a patchwork theme album. Listening to it, one can become immersed in shady, rain dripping alleyways, seeing staggering drunks passing you by in dim lights, smelling the rum on their breath, and then emerging onto the cobblestoned 17th century pirate-infested streets of New Orleans. No one else would do such a thing and I'm not sure anyone else actually could. – Terrance Terich

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Personal Best

The Waterboys - This is the Sea (Chrysalis)

This is the Sea was all about themes. Love, spirituality, politics, and an overall theme of change stretch throughout the album. Mike Scott writes at length about the massive undertaking that went into This is the Sea in the liner notes for the deluxe edition reissue, including the fact that three artists heavily influenced the result, the Velvet Underground, Van Morrison and Steve Reich. Each one taught him specific things about music that he incorporated into the final product, and each one can be picked out at specific times, but This is the Sea is Mike Scott's, and one of the defining moments of his life. – Terrance Terich

(Read Review)



Scritti Politti - Cupid & Psyche 85 (Warner Bros.)

This album was a breakthrough at the time, but can also still be played today without any anachronistic dangers. Every song still holds up today as one of the best pop records ever produced. Green, as he is simply credited in the liner notes, has a voice that one critic has stated is "eternally 14 years old." Green's childlike feminine voice is a wonder to behold, and coming from a guy who's 6'6", it's even more amazing. Add to that some of the first sampling ever to be used in popular music, and you've got a recipe for an innovative record. – Terrance Terich

(Read Review)

1986

10. New Order — Brotherhood (Factory - Qwest)

Brotherhood was a natural progression from Low-Life in that it still had the imperfect vocal styles of Bernard Sumner, the easily recognizable bassline from Peter Hook, the jangly guitars and danceable keyboards, but it took everything a step farther. Layered vocals abounded for one, and the textures more closely mimicked bands like Echo & the Bunnymen and Aztec Camera rather than those of, say the Human League or the Pet Shop Boys. In most songs, the guitar is much more of a presence than the synthesizer, leaving the dance floor, for the most part, behind for a more traditional `band' sound. – Terrance Terich

(Read Review)



9. Run-DMC — Raising Hell (Profile)

Run-DMC weren't the first, or the biggest selling, or even the most legendary hip-hop act in history. They were merely the best at what they did, and for that, made rap into a million selling genre. Crossover rock singles, lyrical product placement, goofball joke raps, hardcore beats—all of these can be found on Raising Hell, the band's best of a handful of great albums, a concept that still hadn't quite been put into practice on a large scale by most of their peers. It's hard to find a phenomenon in hip-hop music today that doesn't at some point intersect with Raising Hell, and that most certainly includes bling. – Jeff Terich

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8. Billy Bragg — Talking With the Taxman About Poetry (Go! Discs)

Now, the record would be a more than deserving entry on a number of lists – Best Albums to Listen to in a Pub, Best Album to Piss Off Your Parents With, Album You Listen to That Is Most Likely to Hurt Your Chances of Getting Elected to the House of Commons – and it also certainly warrants a prominent spot on the Best Albums of the '80s list. Bragg chose to use more ornate productions for Taxman than before, enlisting horns, the layered guitars of Johnny Marr, and the voice of Kirsty MacColl; but, of course, no percussion. – Tyler Agnew

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7. R.E.M. — Life's Rich Pageant (I.R.S.)

As far as history, there were always whispers of the atrocities perpetrated on Native Americans, the fact that no one really `discovers' another country with indigenous people, and the various conspiracy theories revolving around nearly ever aspect of American history, but it was never taught. R.E.M.'s Life's Rich Pageant was the social studies book I always wanted, political, historical and rocking. – Terrance Terich

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6. Depeche Mode — Black Celebration (Mute - Sire)

They say that the only certainties in life are death and taxes, and hopefully some sex here and there. On Depeche Mode's Black Celebration, the band covers two of the three things in life outlined above, though it tends more toward the shadowy aspects of said topics. For all the love and sex out there, there's that desperation for connection; and for all those reminders of how alive you feel, there's that cold reminder that nothing's going to last and that death is everywhere. With all its questions of lust and time, the dozen songs on Black Celebration are the dark clouds that overtake the silver lining. – Hubert Vigilla

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5. Beastie Boys — Licensed to Ill (Def Jam)

Four and three and two and one (What up!)/ And when I'm on the mic/the suckers run (Word!)/ Down with Ad Rock and Mike D. and you ain't/ And I got more juice than Picasso got paint/ Got rhymes that are rough and rhymes that are slick/ I'm not surprised you're on my dick / I got money in the bank/I can still get high/ That's why your girlfriend thinks that I'm so fly/ I've got money and juice/twin sisters in my bed/ Their father had envy so I shot him in the head/ Girls with boyfriends are the kind I like/ I'll steal your honey like I stole your bike/ Walking down the block with the fresh fly threads /Beastie Boys fly the biggest heads

I think that says it all. – Anna Gazdowicz

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4. Paul Simon — Graceland (Warner Bros.)

As principal songwriter, Simon had no trouble reaching success in a solo career. But it wasn't until 1985, the same year he took part in the USA for Africa project, that Simon became aware of African music. Given an album called Gumboots, Simon was introduced to the street music of South Africa. Further exploration led him to various other African rhythms, bands and styles, inspiring him in a way he had never been before. Using these acts, particularly Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Youssou N'Dour, and the Boyoyo Boys Band, among others, Simon created Graceland, a world pop album that both entertained and educated. – Terrance Terich

(Read Review)



3.Sonic Youth — EVOL (Blast First - SST)

On my first listen to this, well, I listened to various songs from the album over a two year period, trying to con myself into "appreciation" of the thing, but still more desperate to listen to whatever killer tune from "average" major-indie record I'd heard this week…quite probably "Teen Age Riot." Suffice to say, as Sonic Youth starting points go, you're best to plump for Daydream Nation, not least to indulge in aforementioned activity (feel used…there's daylight outside). This is a brilliant record though, the sort that surreptitiously creeps through the ear hole disguised as a transcendental moment. By then, the problem will be finding schedule time to relax with EVOL. – Thomas Lee

(Read Review)



2. XTC — Skylarking (Geffen)

With this album, XTC pushed their creative boundaries while harking back to traditional subject material – the appreciation of greenery and seasonal change, and the richness of life when it's appreciated in the context of beauteous surroundings. Musically it's a pageant of fully employed synths and percussion, of contemporary-sounding rock and classical melody, fused to give this album a timeless feel. – Chris Griffiths

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1.The Smiths — The Queen is Dead (Rough Trade - Sire)

With three albums under their belts, a worldwide following, cult status, and money flowing in, the Smiths could have easily just phoned in the next album. Instead, they recorded and released The Queen is Dead. I remember hearing my local radio station talking about the fact that they had the new single to play, "Bigmouth Strikes Again". Thank goodness I didn't actually hear the song on the radio first. – Terrance Terich

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Personal Best

Peter Gabriel - So (Geffen)

After seventeen years of fronting prog rock heroes Genesis and releasing four self-titled solo albums, Peter Gabriel started Real World, a label and entity that would explore the combinations of world music and evolving technology. The first project that Gabriel completed after Real World's formation would end up to be his signature work, So. The album would end up to be the perfect conglomeration; slow burning love songs alongside busy pop tracks, African drums alongside modern synthesizers, traditional songwriting to go along with state of the art videos. Although his first four albums would yield spectacular songs and a few hits, it would take So and its legacy to make Peter Gabriel a superstar. – Terrance Terich

(Read Review)

1987

10. Big Black — Songs About Fucking (Touch and Go)

Songs About Fucking is loud, it's abrasive, it's unattractive in the extreme. It's a collection of sordid tales and odder oddities, a parade of grotesques born from the minds of Chicago-area natives with ugly, wrinkly brains sloshing around in their misshapen noggins in a broth that is equal parts brilliance and bile. So really, it's everything that made Big Black so great in the first place. – Hubert Vigilla

(Read Review)



9. Guns `n Roses — Appetite for Destruction (Geffen)

With 1987's Appetite for Destruction Guns N' Roses took the sunset strip metal scene of LA by storm. The package of glam metal itself was wrapped in a look of big hair and neon spandex and delivered by stiletto heels snapping lipstick-stained bubble gum from the stage to the public. Bluntly, the scene was too pretty for its own good and the only chance at salvation would be to destroy and rebuild. And that's exactly what GNR did. – Kevin Falahee

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8. The Jesus and Mary Chain — Darklands (Blanco Y Negro)

Post-Gillespie, post-Psychocandy, Jim and William Reid reduced the sugar and fuzz, letting macabre stiffen the melody. Darklands is the densest beast in the JAMC discography. Completely automated drums and a preoccupation with the dismal side to life cast it in contrast to the debut's hazing Wilson fuzz box, or Stoned and Dethroned's knowing tranquillity. Confinement imagery looms large, particularly that which life springs on the individual, rather than an angst of fashion or pre-determinism. The themes of rain, self-demolition and heartbreak in the most vindictive sense clutter the mindset of these songs. This time the girl is in league with the world against our protagonist, and the manic confusion that made all OK won't push the buttons any more. The party is over. – Thomas Lee

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7. Depeche Mode — Music for the Masses (Sire)

One thing that DM tried to change was the use of guitars. Known mainly as a band that used a variety of keyboards and synthesizers, songwriter Martin Gore tried to give the new album something different. The band described their new music as electronic metal, wore leather (always), sometimes with studs, and really played up the goth-metal imagery. But rather than wallow in misery, Depeche Mode became somewhat of a joyous band to its fans, and Music for the Masses would ironically become exactly what the title jokingly intended. – Terrance Terich

(Read Review)



6. The Pixies — Come On Pilgrim (4AD)

Hands down, the best demo tape ever commercially released. I mean, I don't know how many demo tapes were actually released. Maybe Nebraska counts, or any Guided by Voices album. Either way, The Pixies wins for not actually trying to make one of the greatest albums of the decade, and somehow pulling it off. Yeah, sure, their next two would be even more mind-blowing, but they had Albini and Gil Norton on their side. This was a damn demo. Didn't I make that clear? – Jeff Terich

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5. R.E.M. — Document (IRS)

Set aside the fact that R.E.M. shot rapidly downward in quality, and cast your mind back to a time when they wrote meaningful songs and Michael Stipe had just learnt to sing properly. Document is the other, shocking side of the 80s: Reagan, Nicaragua, the Contra scandal, Grenada ...and MTV. – Chris Griffiths

(Read Review)





4. Sonic Youth — Sister (SST)

Sister is Sonic Youth's seventh album and some have considered it a transition album from the band's early experimental indie label albums to Daydream Nation and Dirty, moving to a grander scale in terms of sound. Transitional shmansitional. Yeah, it differed from EVOL and Bad Moon Rising, but was Sonic Youth a band that ever went down a linear path? The charm of Sonic Youth was that their songs seemed to capture that spark of initial creativity, making everything sound fresh and new. – Jackie Im

(Read Review)



3. The Smiths — Strangeways, Here We Come (Rough Trade - Sire)

In September of 1987, The Smiths were officially kaput. What the Britons left behind is a polished, some accuse over-produced, offering that boasts the well-crafted songwriting expected from such glum, pale fellows. Thus Strangeways comes brimming with melancholy tales of love gone, Marr's musicianship and Morrissey's swoony vocals. – Hubert Vigilla

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2. Dinosaur Jr. — You're Living All Over Me (Warner Bros.)

Boy, what a fucking mess. There's distortion all over the place, sloppy guitar solos, lo-fi recording quality, some kind of screwed up cover of a Cure song. And that stoned warble, what is that? Oh, right, that's You're Living All Over Me, the first great indie record for guitar geeks. J. Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph made a mighty racket on their sophomore release, and said racket was among the best of their career. It would take seven years before they finally got around to making that funny-as-hell golf video, but an album this rocking can get by without the rooftop putting. – Jeff Terich

(Read Review)



1.U2 — The Joshua Tree (Island)

While past albums explored injustices with confidence, religious themes with absolute faith and love with sincerity, The Joshua Tree found Bono, the Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton tinged with doubt and insecurity. That's not what most people tend to remember about the album, however, as so many of its songs became recognizable stadium anthems, but that's what they're about. "Where the Streets Have No Name," with its haunted, rising organ lines and the Edge's echoed arpeggio guitar seem to exude self-assurance, yet the lyrics belie that swagger. The opening lyrics say it all when Bono grits, "I want to run / I want to hide." – Terrance Terich

(Read Review)

Personal Best

Echo & The Bunnymen - Echo & The Bunnymen (Sire)

Echo purists will rain on the grey album's parade due to its accessibility, but it remains a work finding the band at their creative peak. Oddly, it's the third album I've reviewed from the year 1987 that featured photography from Anton Corbijn (the other two being U2's The Joshua Tree and Depeche Mode's Music for the Masses), proving he had great taste in music. Just as Echo would trot out a bunch of covers to find inspiration, so too did Coldplay on their tour in support of A Rush of Blood to the Head, as they covered "Lips Like Sugar." Their tour posters were all done in the style of the cover photo of the grey album as well. "God's one miracle, lost in circles," indeed. – Terrance Terich

(Read Review)


Robbie Robertson - Robbie Robertson (Geffen)

I previously wrote two reviews covering the first major production works from Daniel Lanois, and Robbie Robertson is somewhat the fourth in a quadrilogy of albums featuring his blend of arena rock meets world music. U2's The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree, bookending Peter Gabriel's So, were the initial trilogy, and each of those artists appear on Robertson's album. Each of the four albums are steeped in a kind of sepia-toned grainy Americana, which is odd considering U2 is Irish, Gabriel British, and Robertson Canadian. But being that Robertson's mother was Mohawk and he grew up in and around the culture, he seemingly had the most inside perspective. – Terrance Terich

(Read Review)



The Silencers - A Letter From St. Paul (RCA)

I ended up buying the cassette at the Tower Records in San Diego across from the Sports Arena. It is one of the few albums I can remember exactly when and where I purchased it, that's the effect this album had on me. The cover struck me first, all white with the band placed in the lower right in front of their gear, Jimmie holding his guitar and wearing a jaunty cap, the band's name in huge gray letters at the top. In its simplicity, it still remains one of my favorite album covers of all time. I already knew the song "Painted Moon," but other songs on the album would win me over on further listens. – Terrance Terich

(Read Review)

1988

10. Jane's Addiction — Nothing's Shocking (Warner Bros.)

If you get me to start talking about music, it's inevitable that I'll mention my older sister. She was coming of age during the late '80s and early '90s and her listening habits formed my tastes in music. It's no coincidence that bands that I heard coming out of her room are some of my favorite bands today: The Replacements, Nirvana, Violent Femmes, Hόsker Dό, etc. One album that she played frequently was Jane's Addiction's Nothing's Shocking. I remember looking at the album cover and being, for lack of a better word, shocked by the bare breasts and thinking "this is so weird." Looking at the cover now, I think that Perry Farrell couldn't have designed a better cover for this album. It's attention grabbing, daring, audacious, raw and just a little overblown and pretentious, all which you could say about the album itself. – Jackie Im

(Read Review)



9. R.E.M. — Green (Warner Bros.)

On Green, long gone are Michael Stipe's mumblings from the days of Murmur. Stipe's vocals leap to the foreground, leading the way for Peter Buck, who had since honed the jangle of his Byrds-inspired guitar work. Besides spawning two massive singles, the anthemic "Stand" and the infectious "Orange Crush," Green also allowed the band to experiment with Buck's mandolin in the delicate "You Are The Everything" and "Hairshirt" (leading eventually to the hugely successful mandolin-led "Losing My Religion" from Out Of Time). – Mars Simpson

(Read Review)



8. Talk Talk — Spirit of Eden (EMI)

The first time I encountered Spirit of Eden I was 19. I got a battered copy from a public library and was a little baffled. The noise sounded warm but didn't grab me. Frankly, it sounded like a lot of contemporary bands I'd already heard with no immediacy to force my index finger away. I hadn't the heart to think bad thoughts, and something in my head (gut/same thing?) was telling me that it should be me with the inferiority complex. This was some slightly alien tasteful kitchenware, rather than a progressive vegetable. Nonetheless, I went back to ill-harboured revenge fantasies about customers. – Thomas Lee

(Read Review)



7. Dinosaur Jr. — Bug (SST)

The last vestiges of the dinosaurs are all but extinct, a few creatures here and there showing obvious evolutionary adaptations from the originals, the last few signs of a remarkable age. One can learn quite a lot studying the Dinosaurs, and one would have thought, considering their unique abilities, that they would have roamed the earth forever, but as Yeats said, Things fall apart; the center cannot hold. And thus, Bug came to be the Dinosaur's last album from the original trio. Well, what did you think I was talking about? – Terrance Terich

(Read Review)



6. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds — Tender Prey (Mute)

Tender Prey seems like a story or chronicle in some way and from the beginning of the album a dark storm cloud begins to brew, but it is isn't until the fifth track, "Mercy" to where it begins to drizzle with Blixa Bargeld's shivery slide guitar and Wolf's backing vocals. From numbers like the Blind Willie Johnson inspired "City of Refuge" onward, a state of a bleak Western hamlet cut from the cloth of Ennio Morricone is put forth most notably with all the gooey organ licks making Tender Prey tantamount to a sonically ingested drug which can numb even the most crippling of emotional pain. – Chris Pacifico

(Read Review)



5.The Sugarcubes — Life's Too Good (Elektra)

Without being attracted to bright, catchy colors, I might have never discovered the Sugarcubes during their time together. The cover art to Life's Too Good with its bright neon green colors, and black and hot pink lettering was what drew me in. I was only 11 at the time, and listening to this band that I had never heard of before was strange, especially after hearing the song, "Fucking In Rhythm & Sorrow." I have never heard such wild and catchy lyrics as "thread worms on a string/keeps spiders in her pocket/collects fly wings in a jar/scrubs horse flies/and pinches them on a line." I was mesmerized by the song "Birthday" and "Cowboy" and would listen to them frequently. I loved the lyrics even if I didn't understand them fully. And even now, I will listen to the lyrics, and visualize happy, strange images in my head. – Ayn Averett



4. My Bloody Valentine — Isn't Anything (Sire)

The first pairing of Bilinda Butcher's airy vocals and Kevin Shields' meticulous and bittersweet songwriting, Isn't Anything is a brilliant breakthrough made of equal parts noise and amorphous light. On their second album, My Bloody Valentine severed ties with its more goth-tinged earlier work and began its first steps into shoegazer, a territory that the band would eventually conquer and, arguably, remain untouched. – Hubert Vigilla

(Read Review)



3. Public Enemy — It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Def Jam)

The cast was the same, Chuck D as the "Messenger of Prophecy," Flav as the "Cold Lamper," X as the "Assault Technician" and Professor Griff as the "Minister of Information" along with the Nation of Islam following dance team, the Security of the First World, or the S1W. The message was somewhat different. PE used its sheer lyrical power to educate its listeners, but knew that every message had to be balanced with entertainment value. Flavor Flav was the court jester who usually filled that role, the hype man to Chuck's political machine, but so too did Terminator X, with beats and samples taken from jazz and rock with equal flair. – Terrance Terich

(Read Review)



2. Sonic Youth — Daydream Nation (Blast First – Enigma)

Few people can come to an agreement over which of Sonic Youth's albums are the best. Some prefer the abrasive melodies of Goo and Dirty, others like the spacious experimentalism of A Thousand Leaves, and others still prefer the freeform compositions of their SYR output. One thing never changes, though—we all can collectively agree that Daydream Nation is an unparalleled masterpiece in brave new sonic worlds, and it may be directly or indirectly responsible for hundreds, maybe thousands of bands. Hell, DGC wouldn't have had half their roster without Sonic Youth jumping from the indies, and seeing as this was their last great independent release, well, that pretty much says it all right there, doesn't it? – Jeff Terich

(Read Review)



1.The Pixies — Surfer Rosa (4AD)

Frank Black didn't do a whole lot of what you could call singing back in the early days. He yelped, shouted, moaned, screamed and hollered his way through the band's first proper full-length, the Steve Albini engineered Surfer Rosa with a frightening ferocity, and a dark, dark sense of humor. His lyrics were such that only the most fearsome and aggressive melodies could possibly back them, so in that regard, this album is a complete success. For a band that liked it so raw, both lyrically and musically, it's a wonder that Surfer Rosa is so much fun. But it only makes sense; you can only have this good of a time when being completely uninhibited. – Jeff Terich

(Read Review)

1989

10. N.W.A. — Straight Outta Compton (Priority)

In reality, punk was not thoroughly realized until it took the form of gangsta rap. In the late '80s, abject poverty led to anger and with anger comes a need for reform. On the east coast, Public Enemy served as the megaphone for change, releasing albums preaching unity and equality and forcing the public to remove the blinders from their eyes as the urban poor bled before them. On the west coast you had NWA, a group with no need for metaphors or allegories, a group who had been spawned from the bullet sprawled streets of one LA's most brutal neighborhoods. They were a group whose name said it all and whose debut album is a milestone of punk genius. – Kevin Falahee

(Read Review)



9. They Might Be Giants — Lincoln (Bar/None)

For those who haven't heard the story, here's the short version. The two Johns grew up in Lincoln, MA. They shared a love of music and eventually started writing songs together. They struggled in rock clubs for a while until they were invited to play some of the avant-garde performance art clubs in the East Village of New York City. Back then it was just one guy with a guitar and another with an accordion, with various other instruments thrown in, and a tape recorder. In order to have more people, other than their friends, hear their music, they put an ad in the Village Voice, in the personals no less, for their Dial-A-Song, a simple answering machine on which they would record short snippets of songs. A demo tape they made was reviewed by a writer from People magazine and the rest is history. – Terrance Terich

(Read Review)



8. Nirvana — Bleach (Sub Pop)

It's dark, it's slightly neurotic with plenty of self-loathing and it was the inauspicious start to the career of one of the most legendary bands of the '90s. Admittedly, we'd be doing Nirvana a disservice to judge them by this, their debut album, but it's an exciting time-capsule of the Seattle grunge scene as well as an album that contained flashes of brilliance. If they could do this with a few instruments and $600 dollars, it's no wonder that they went on to be, for many, the definitive American band of the next decade. – Chris Griffiths

(Read Review)



7. The Jesus and Mary Chain — Automatic (Blanco Y Negro-Warner Bros.)

From the moment I had begun listening to The Jesus & Mary Chain's 1989 record Automatic, I was able to look at rock `n' roll in a different light. My first experience listening to this album, an album that epitomized the rock `n' roll spirit, was a pivotal moment in shaping how I heard music. – Ayn Averett

(Read Review)



6. New Order — Technique (Factory - Qwest)

New Order's sixth and final album of the 1980s and their last album with the now-obsolete Factory Records is unique, gifted, contemporary, and emotional, making it yet another respectable example of the group's talent. While still remaining true to their roots, Technique incorporates Balearic and acid house in order to remain innovative after a decade of success. The relatively short length of the record allows for a concentrated and consistent sound, probably the most focused of New Order albums to date. And, in true New Order style, the album cover is really cool. – Anna Gazdowicz

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5.De La Soul — 3 Feet High and Rising (Tommy Boy)

Copyright has potentially killed more creativity than it's helped protect, and nothing is a better example of such a hypothesis than the death of the short-lived "sample tapestry" trend weaved on two records in particular in 1989: the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique and De La Soul's 3 Feet High & Rising. While the Beasties' effort was a much needed statement of distinct maturity and unironic brilliance that saved the group from forever being tagged as a novelty act, 3 Feet High was the debut showcase for a young hip-hop trio rewriting just how hip-hop could be approached, both in terms of sonics and wordplay. – Paul Haney

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4. Beastie Boys — Paul's Boutique (Capitol)

If ever there was an album to showcase the kaleidoscopic possibilities of early hip-hop, then Paul's Boutique is pretty much it. The fact that Mike D, Ad-Rock and MCA started as a thrashy garage punk band is no more evident than on this record – the riffs are colossal throughout and seethe as much as the often-hilarious lyrics. The typically punk tendency to experiment with as many different genres is explored in many facets of Paul's Boutique, a timely reminder that the Beasties would frequently create their own instrumental music as well as the controversial melee of samples that one would never find on a rap record today. – Daniel Ross

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3. The Stone Roses — The Stone Roses (Silvertone)

The `Madchester' scene of the late 80's and early 90's, practically invented by the Stone Roses, had its fair share of success stories, unfulfilled promise, tragic endings and manic behavior in excess and no band exhibited all of these aspects like the aforementioned band did. The Stone Roses combined the 60's styled psychedelic pop of their predecessors, such as Echo & the Bunnymen and the Jesus & Mary Chain, with the dance and rave culture of the time. Their landmark debut album, unlike anything of its time, spawned an entire generation plus of imitators and followers, making it somewhat the `godfather' of Britpop. – Terrance Terich

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2. The Cure — Disintegration (Fiction-Elektra)

Disintegration, if you can excuse such a geeky point of reference, is The Empire Strikes Back of Smith's Cure trilogy; a middle section of a triptych flanked by 1982's Pornography and 2000's Bloodflowers. Okay, so maybe comparing Disintegration to The Empire Strikes Back is a stretch, but given that Disintegration is considered by so many to be the best of the trilogy, the Empire comparison isn't so far-fetched. Given, the darkness of Empire would probably better align it with the dark themes of Pornography, but regardless, those three Cure albums are the ones that Smith believes best epitomizes the band he's helmed for some 30 years. – Hubert Vigilla

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1.The Pixies — Doolittle (4AD-Elektra)

Given how many Pixies-influenced bands are out there today, it's easy to forget just how revolutionary the Pixies were around the time they released Doolittle. While fans may split on which is the more monumental album, it or its predecessor, Surfer Rosa, the pairing of aggressive post-punk and surf pop, with hints of Latin influences, made the dominance of Doolittle difficult to argue with. By 1989, the Boston band had garnered a bevy of cult fans, but their sophomore album had broken them somewhat into the mainstream, at least of alternative rock. – Terrance Terich

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Personal Best

Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine (TVT)

Anyone who has ever suffered pain, heartbreak, anger, loss, pity or hopelessness can somehow relate to Reznor's tales of woe. In a way, Pretty Hate Machine is the first blues / industrial hybrid. To be honest, in a way I was jealous of my friend. Up to that point, I had never felt anything as strongly as he had felt at that time, and so Pretty Hate Machine became my vicarious journey into the realm of the intensely emotional, opening doors that had never been opened before, ones that I wasn't quite sure I wanted open. I can't say that Trent Reznor wrote an album that changed my life because of my ability to relate, but I can say that the album changed my life because of my inability to relate. It was like nothing I had ever heard before, yet wanted to hear again and again. – Terrance Terich

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