[markl]

I don't often agree with www.pitchforkmedia.com's reviews (they love to skewer good records/bands just to show how "clever" they are), but their list of the top 100 albums of the '80's is pretty much dead-on. I can dispute the order in which they are listed, but it's hard to dispute the content. This looks just like my CD collection from that time.

As a survivor of the '80's and someone who came of age during this period, I have to give thumbs up to this list. Not all 80's music was garbage-- just like now, you had to dig a little deeper to find the good stuff. This list a great way to get aquainted with the best music of that decade.

http://pitchforkmedia.com/top/80s/index.shtml

Mark

 

[CarterFan41]

Pitchfork is awesome. I've never been "stung" by a review; I frequently buy albums based on their opinion alone, without previously hearing the music, and an consistently satisfied with the purchase. Without Pitchfork, I'd be listening to three bands... Dave Matthews Band, Radiohead, and Modest Mouse. Post-PFork, I'm listening to Beck, The Flaming Lips, Pavement, Guided by Voices, DJ Shadow, Squarepusher, the list goes on. Their best of the 90s and 80s lists are great, very reliable.

RL

 

[royboy2k]

I agree, seems like a great mixture of 80s music. I look forward to hearing some of those records that I've never seen before, because I was only just born in the middle of the decade. Digging that Feelies album right now.

 

[markl]

roy,
Do you mean "Crazy Rhythms"? That album RULES. I've posted here about it previously.

Mark

 

[DarkAngel]

That list is OK, but too many multiple listings for lesser groups and important artists totally MIA like:

Bauhaus 0
Blondie 0
Cars 0
Cult 0
Depeche Mode 0
Dire Straits 0
Echo & Bunnymen 0
Iron Maiden 0
Judas Priest 0
Madonna 0
Metallica 0
Ministry 0
Tom Petty 0 (this is glaring ommission)
Sisters of Mercy 0
Siouxsie & banshees 0
Tears for Fears 0
Throwing Muses 0
Ultravox 0

etc, etc, etc

I say back to the drawing board and redo the list.

 

[markl]

DA,
I surely can't dispute:

Echo & the Bunnymen
The Cult
Depeche Mode
Tears for Fears
Tom Petty
Dire Straits

Otherwise, this is a great list... no?

Mark

 

[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally posted by markl DA, I surely can't dispute: Echo & the Bunnymen The Cult Depeche Mode Tears for Fears Tom Petty Dire Straits Otherwise, this is a great list... no? Mark

I find 75% of the list very good and within the bounds of personal subjectivity but any top 100 list of 1980's rock/alt that makes no mention at all of these groups is incomplete:

Tom Petty - Hard Promises 1981, Full Moon fever 1989
Cult - Love 1985, Electric 1987
Dire straits - Making Movies 1980, Brother in Arms 1985
Ultravox - Vienna 1980
Depeche Mode - Black Celebration 1986, Music for Masses 1987
Echo & Bunnyman - Crocodiles 1980, Ocean Rain 1984
Simple Minds - New Gold Dream 1982
Pretenders - Pretenders I 1980
Tears for Fears - The Hurting 1983
Iron Maiden - Number of Beast 1982, Piece of Mind 1983
Metallica - Ride Lightning 1984, Master of Puppets 1986
Ministry - Land of Rape & Honey 1988
Bauhaus - Mask 1981, Burning From The Inside 1983
Soiuxsie & Banshees - Kaleidoscope 1980, Juju 1981
Psychedelic Furs - PF1 1980, Talk Talk 1981
Mission UK - God's Own Medicine 1986
Love & Rockets - Express 1986
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams 1983, Touch 1983
Roxy Music - Avalon 1982
Soft Cell - Non Stop Erotic Cabaret 1981
Human Leagure - Dare 1981
Madonna - Madonna 1983, Like a Virgin 1984


Anyway you get the picture, it would take too long to list all these,
I don't see why these groups are completely omitted and Elivis Costello & Sonic Youth get three listings each for instance........hmmmmm Also why do very important groups like U2 and New Order get only 1 pick each.

Also this IMO Tom Waits makes me laugh/sick when I see him listed (2) on any top 100 list........give me a break!

These are fun to discuss as long as no one takes it personally.

 

[DarkAngel]

I took a quick look at 100 greatest albums of the 1990's and just to annoy me again they list two Tom Waits albums (gag me) and have 0 Oasis entries........yeah right.

At least they have the sense to know MBV is a great group, I have to give they some credit for not being afraid to say an album sucks (even if their musical sense is questionable) on the 1-10 scale they rate many albums under 5.

 

[kpfeifle]

Nice to hear there are some fans of Tears for Fears "The Hurting". I have long considered this one of the better albums from the 80's.

 

[zoboomofo]

I love the closing remark on the Rio blurb.

Quote:

Praising this album might be like giving the nod to N'Sync ten years from now, but until then, MY NAME IS RIO AND I'M DANCING ON THE ****ING SAND. --Rob Mitchum

 

[royboy2k]

Quote:

Do you mean "Crazy Rhythms"? That album RULES. I've posted here about it previously.

YES! I must've missed it when you posted, because I was thinking of starting a thread of my own... but I did a search and sure enough, your thread! I like your taste in music.

 

[elipsis]

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkAngel Cult 0 Depeche Mode 0 Dire Straits 0 Iron Maiden 0 Judas Priest 0 Madonna 0 Metallica 0 Sisters of Mercy 0 Tears for Fears 0 Ultravox 0

You are 100% on these counts, even taking into account the problematic nature of "best of" lists.

I was pleased to see Minor Threat in there, that was quite the surprise.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkAngel That list is OK, but too many multiple listings for lesser groups and important artists totally MIA like: Bauhaus 0 Blondie 0 Cars 0 Cult 0 Depeche Mode 0 Dire Straits 0 Echo & Bunnymen 0 Iron Maiden 0 Judas Priest 0 Madonna 0 Metallica 0 Ministry 0 Tom Petty 0 (this is glaring ommission) Sisters of Mercy 0 Siouxsie & banshees 0 Tears for Fears 0 Throwing Muses 0 Ultravox 0 etc, etc, etc I say back to the drawing board and redo the list.

Well said, DA!

Although as someone with probably 1200+ CDs, and a huge chunk, if not a majority, of them released in the 80s, I did find the list interesting

Quote:

Originally posted by kpfeifle Nice to hear there are some fans of Tears for Fears "The Hurting". I have long considered this one of the better albums from the 80's.

I love Tears for Fears, and despite the horrible sound quality, I think The Hurting is a GREAT album.

 

[wasifazim]

Quote:

Originally posted by MacDEF I love Tears for Fears, and despite the horrible sound quality, I think The Hurting is a GREAT album.

Funny you should say that..just last week, I was browsing through a local record store's collection and came across a Tears For Fears "Best Of" compilation that was released in 2000 as part of Universal Music's "20th Century Masters: The Millenium Collection"...here's the kicker: it's remastered, and ..err..masterfully remastered at that. Simply put, this is how Tears for Fears (easily one of the finest pop music craftsmen in history) should be heard. My copy of "The Hurting" is in an old shoe box 'o cassettes so I haven't heard it in ages, but I've also got a CD version of "Tears Roll Down", a previous "best of" compilation (circa '92)..the difference between it and this remastered one is glaringly obvious..the latter is much crisper, with a perceptibly deeper soundstage and absence of background hiss. Here's a track listing:

1. Everybody Wants to Rule the World
2. Shout
3. Sowing the Seeds of Love
4. Head Over Heels
5. Woman in Chains
6. Break it Down Again ('Fears sans Curt Smith)
7. Mothers Talk - U.S. Remix
8. I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)..this one's live.
9. Advice For the Young At Hear - Single Version
10. Change - Extended Version
11. Pharoahs (Everybody Wants to Rule the World B-side)

- Wasif

 

[radrd]

So, did I miss a couple of albums, or was AC/DC Back in Black (80) and Guns n Roses Appetite For Destruction (87) missing from that list.