Too many to choose from but I would add:
Gaucho. Steely Dan.
Darn. Three of my favourite albums (Violator, Listen without prejudice, and Elizium) all released in 1990. So I'll have to go for Duran Duran - Rio
If I had to pick only one album from the 80's and could never listen to anything else from the decade then it would be Fables of the Reconstruction
So funny how many of these are actually 90s releases. Needs another thread.
I say Run-DMC. 1984.
Strange Times by The Chameleons.
Xmas pressie from auntie Irene and uncle George!
Some really amazing albums in my formative decade but I'm sticking to the rule of one.
At the time, as a youngster, I listened to Velveteen by Transition Vamp more than anything else. Wendy James had a lot to answer for!
Now, as an older chap, the 80s album I listen to more than anything else is New Day Rising by Hüsker Dü.
Tough choices,so many to choose from and maybe the last decade before the end of concept albums crept in. A lot of my favs already posted,but the first one that sprang to mind was Ocean Rain, the 80s was such a Echo and the Bunneymen era.
Obviously Back in Black by AC/DC, first album released after the death of Bon Scott, a afterpiece of Rock delivered by Brian "Beano" Johnson.
I might be wrong but I think one of the best selling albums of all time, not just the 80's
Phil Collin's But Seriously, Roxette's Look Sharp is a close second in terms of how often I played them.
Got a handful of others mentioned already, but they didn't get as much attention.
Side 1 is great, side 2 is epic…
Sides....how quaint ;o)
Forgot to add....One Eyed Jacks, Spear of Destiny
Loads of good stuff already listed. But just had a quick look at my records and one jumped out.
Tracy Chapman.
Tomorrow it would be something else 🤷♂️
Blue lines was 91.
Dare or the orchestral version ftw.
Sure early James sneaks in.
Rocktastic!!!
And this still sound great now, despite being extremely odd in places
There are a pile of vinyls next to the record player, flicking through the first five from the 80s are:
Rita Mitsouko - No Comprendo
Madonna - Like a Virgin
Lio - Pop Model
Jean-Jacques Goldman - En Publique
Tanita Tikarum - Ancient Heart
The nice thing about the 80s was the diversity of sounds.
Some great memories in here.
Glad to see The The getting so many mentions. I used to drink in Matt Johnson’s dad’s pub.
Personal fave : Kilimanjaro- the Teardrop Explodes
Others that still get lots of airtime in our house :-
Rattlesnakes - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
Soul Mining - The The
Non Stop Erotic Cabaret - Soft Cell
The House of Love - The House of Love
Penthouse and Pavement- Heaven 17
London 0 Hull 4 - the Housemartins
Tracy Chapman.
Definitely.
Can't really choose.
Slayer Reign in Blood
ACDC Back in black
Iron maiden Number of the Beast
Metallica Ride the
The tapes of those four wore out during the eighties.
Gipsy Kings.
Got about 10 above named albums on CD and a few more digital, you've all obvs got good taste. It'd probably be one of Colour of Spring / Pagan Place / Soul Mining for me. Though The Storm by Moving Hearts has always been one of my faves
Metallica Ride the
I dropped the Lightening on the floor.
I want my go again...maybe a bit obscure and just scrapes in coming out in '89 (I think), but still love Shakespeare Alabama by Diesel Park West.
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Shoot out the lights - Richard and Linda Thompson.
The Storm by Moving Hearts has always been one of my faves
And mine.
Double Nickels on the Dime
At the time and still one of my all time favourites was the joshua tree by U2.
Now one of my go-to albums from the 80s is Hunting High and Low by a-ha.
Wouldn't have gone near it at the time but, listening now the recording and music is very good.
This was listened to a lot at the time
I have many favourites, yet even if I stopped listening to them after the ZooTV Tour, I would be hard-pressed to think of a more monumental album than U2's The Joshua Tree.
Regardless of what you think of U2, it has to be up there as one of the most - if not the most - pivotal of the decade.
i have just spentfive hours out on the bike, listened to nothing but 80's the whole way round the ride.
white lines. grandmaster flash was played numerous times.
Its like shooting fish in a barrel
Simple Minds- New Gold Dream
Human League- Dare
Heaven Seventeen- The Luxury Gap
Tears for Fears- The Hurting
Grace Jones- Any of her 80s albums but I'll go for Living My Life
Dire Straits- Making Movies
David Bowie- Lets Dance
New Order- either Republic or Technique
Eurythmics- Touch
The OP's question was "The Greatest", i.e. one album, not a list.
Also, I take "album" to mean a collection that is put together meaningfully, so the whole is greater than the parts. "The Best of The Beatles" is not The Beatles best album because it's not an album, it's just a collection of good songs. Same with "Stop Making Sense" by Talking Heads, which was probably the most influential musical experience of my teen years, I went to the movie and it was like nothing I had ever experienced before or since, like seeing a different world. But it wasn't an album, just a greatest hits collection.
So, when people ask me about albums that are bigger than the sum of their parts, I think of Springsteen's "Born to Run" (1970s) and Nick Caves "The Boatman's Call" (1990s), but I can't think of anything quite the same from the 80s. Lots of great music, but can't think of albums that were really more than just a collection of great songs. The two that stand out for me now, decades later, are ones that I didn't really think much of at the time, "Thriller" and "Back in Black".
So, my final choice is "Back In Black". Except it was released in 1980, which was technically part of the 1970s. So, if you're a math pedant, "Thriller."
Discipline- King Crimson
What I love about these threads is how they lead me to discover new stuff. Even though my musically formative years were in the 80s, there are so many bands I hadn't heard of before today.
What I love about these threads is how they lead me to discover new stuff.
Yep. Also, I overlooked at the time how impressive Madonna was, plus haven't listened to "Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash" in years.
The OP’s question was “The Greatest”, i.e. one album, not a list.
Well the OP can pick one from my list
Can't argue with statistics. (no idea who It was by though 😉 )
Except it was released in 1980, which was technically part of the 1970s. So, if you’re a math pedant, “Thriller.”
1980 was the final year of the 8th decade, but the OP referred to "1980s" which we might reasonably assumes to the ten years starting with 198x, irrespective of which decade they're technically in.
Same with “Stop Making Sense” by Talking Heads, which was probably the most influential musical experience of my teen years, I went to the movie and it was like nothing I had ever experienced before or since, like seeing a different world. But it wasn’t an album, just a greatest hits collection.
Hmmmmm it’s more than a collection of songs tho isn’t it? As a film and an album the songs are chosen and arranged (my daughter would say curated) to build up and impact on you as a whole. Or something like that.
Appetite for destruction - Guns'n'Roses
Joshua Tree - U2
Born in the USA - Springsteen
Sign o'the times - Prince
Hmmmmm it’s more than a collection of songs tho isn’t it?
So is "Best of the Beatles".
It's too difficult. I've been half thinking about this all afternoon and, amongst the bullshit pop garbage, there are gems, like "It takes a nation of millions to hold us back" by Public Enemy and "Tour de France" by Kraftwerk.
But, how do you define "greatest"? Most sales? Most awards? on sales alone (UK only) the following are the top 10:
Madonna: True Blue
U2: The Joshua Tree
Phil Collins: No Jacket Required
Fleetwood Mac: Tango in the Night
Whitney Houston: Whitney
Kylie Minogue: Kylie
Queen: Greatest Hits
Michael Jackson: Thriller
Michael Jackson: Bad
Dire Straits: Brothers in Arms
Are any of those great? I mean, really? Popular sure, but not greatest.
Queen: Greatest Hits
FFS. A greatest hits compilation is not an album.
Also, a list is not a vote on the best album.
Also, the 1980s began on 1st January, 1981. 1980 belongs to the 1970s.
I'm going to throw the cat right in with the pigeons...
Now That's What I Call Music 2
The original may have been a new thing, but 2 has the best tracks. i still love just about every one of them.
You need some serious sources to back up that Hols2 because every source I've checked says the 1980s started on 1/1/1980 and greatest hits albums are albums.
On a thread limited to one album I wouldn't post because I don't think there is one greaters album but many great albums to suit varying tastes, moods, settings, audiences etc..
FFS. A greatest hits compilation is not an album.
If it's a collection of songs committed to a record/cd/cassette/8 track/ sequenced collection...then it's an album. And Queen Greatest Hits is a fantastic album.
And Queen Greatest Hits is a fantastic album.
That's a matter of opinion, as is my opinion that compilations don't count.
What's a fact is that most of the songs on that "album" were released in the 1970s.
