✅ Slant (USA): Best Albums of the '80s

[JR]

Slant has started its look at the Best of the 80s. Yay.

http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/feat ... he-80s/308

81. R.E.M., Reckoning
82. Sonic Youth, EVOL
83. Brian Eno and David Byrne, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
84. Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force, Planet Rock: The Album
85. The Clash, Sandinista!
86. The Human League, Dare!
87. Tom Tom Club, Tom Tom Club
88. Pet Shop Boys, Actually
89. Talking Heads, Speaking in Tongues
90. Metallica, Master of Puppet
91. Meat Puppets, Meat Puppets II
92. My Bloody Valentine, Isn't Anything
93. The Fall, This Nation's Saving Grace
94. U2, War
95. Tears for Fears, Songs from the Big Chair
96. Talk Talk, The Colour of Spring
97. George Clinton, Computer Games
98. X, Los Angeles
99. Slick Rick, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
100. Soul II Soul, Club Classics Vol. One

[JR]

61. Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense
62. George Michael, Faith
63. Tina Turner, Private Dancer
64. Pretenders, Pretenders
65. Run-D.M.C., Raising Hell.
66. The Replacements, Tim
67. XTC, Skylarking
68. Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Get Happy!!
69. The Smiths, Strangeways, Here We Come
70. Lou Reed, New York
71. Kate Bush, The Dreaming
72. Sonic Youth, Sister
73. Hüsker Dü, Zen Arcade
74. Cocteau Twins, Treasure
75. Depeche Mode, Music for the Masses
76. Art of Noise, Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise?
77. Minutemen, Double Nickels on the Dime
78. The Bangles, Different Light
79. The Cure, Pornography
80. The Clash, Combat Rock

[HRS]

The list has been morphing into very interesting territory. It just feels good to see some of the prime suspects and others, underrated ones, like The Dreaming, making a list again!

So, let's get to business JR! Hounds of Love vs. Like a Prayer: who takes the best placement when it comes to an album by a solo female artist?

[JR]

The gloves are off now, HRS!

Hounds of Love has the edge here at Acclaimed Music, but Slant loves it some Madonna, so it may be a close call on those two. I just wonder if she will have another entry- maybe the debut album. Like a Virgin and True Blue have some great, impactful singles, but the couple of lesser album tracks on each may work against them.

As for Kate- will The Sensual World make the cut?

[Henrik]

This must feel like Christmas, JR! Your present(s) are saved to the end...?

Am I right that the list so far is slightly more rock-ish than usual for Slant? Does every US critic feel stupid if they don't include Hüsker Dü?

[JR]

We shall see if it's Christmas came late, Henrik- or would it be very early? The songs list may feel even more like Christmas.

I liked Slant's 00s and 90s lists (the 90s Albums one to be added to the site in a future update). I guess we may get 70s, 60s and 50s lists in 2013, 2014 and 2015. hehe

What I like about Slant's lists is the balance between the lesser-known, yet-still-recognizable names, and the strong mainstream/pop acts. There are so many lists that focus mostly or solely on indie acts, where I don't even recognize many of the names.

[JR]

41. Peter Gabriel, So
42. New Order, Movement
43. Janet Jackson, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814
44. Laurie Anderson, Big Science
45. Roxy Music, Avalon
46. Sinéad O'Connor, The Lion and the Cobra
47. Eurythmics, Touch
48. Michael Jackson, Bad
49. Tracy Chapman, Tracy Chapman
50. Nine Inch Nails, Pretty Hate Machine
51. The Smiths, The Smiths
52. R.E.M., Lifes Rich Pageant
53. Prince, Dirty Mind
54. 808 State, 90
55. Kate Bush, The Sensual World
56. Talk Talk, Spirit of Eden
57. Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska
58. Echo & the Bunnymen, Ocean Rain
59. Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Imperial Bedroom
60. Madonna, True Blue

[JR]

21. Violent Femmes, Violent Femmes
22. Cyndi Lauper, She's So Unusual
23. New Order, Power, Corruption & Lies
24. U2, The Joshua Tree
25. Kraftwerk, Computer World
26. Tom Waits, Swordfishbones
27. David Bowie, Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
28. The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses
29. Leonard Cohen, I'm Your Man
30. Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation
31. Janet Jackson, Control
32. Eric B. & Rakim, Paid in Full
33. Madonna, Madonna
34. Pixies, Doolittle
35. Bruce Springsteen, Born in the U.S.A
36. Pixies, Surfer Rosa
37. Guns N' Roses, Appetite for Destruction
38. The Jesus and Mary Chain, Psychocandy
39. The Replacements, Let It Be
40. Grace Jones, Nightclubbing

[JR]

HRS- Kate Bush won out for the highest-ranked solo-female album.

The songs list will be coming later in the year, per Slant.

1. Michael Jackson, Thriller
2. Prince and the Revolution, Purple Rain
3. Public Enemy, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
4. The Clash, London Calling
5. Beastie Boys, Paul's Boutique
6. Talking Heads, Remain in Light
7. Joy Division, Closer
8. Prince, 1999
9. De La Soul, 3 Feet High & Rising
10. Kate Bush, Hounds of Love.
11. Prince, Sign o' the Times
12. Beastie Boys, Licensed to Ill
13. R.E.M., Murmur
14. Tom Waits, Rain Dogs
15. The Cure, Disintegration
16. The Smiths, The Queen Is Dead
17. R.E.M., Document
18. N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton
19. Paul Simon, Graceland
20. Madonna, Like a Prayer

[HRS]

Didn't expected at all! I thought Like a Prayer would be ranked higher because in other Slant lists Madonna albums usually are placed in the same range, and this time we had one in the 60s, another in the 30s and Like a Prayer. I guess vote-split was a reality to some acts (Pixies, Janet Jackson, Sonic Youth) and others actually managed to get away with it (Beastie Boys, Prince, R.E.M.). And of course there are those in-between artists that managed to score their magnum opus inside the top 20, regardless of other albums in the list. I know that Slant is more pop-forward than other websites, but never imagined to see Thriller topping their list of best albums of the 80s; I was really expecting to see Prince and even Madonna taking the top spot. This actually looks like a pretty accurate best of the 80s list. It shows diversity among the acts and albums chosen - there's even Laurie Anderson - that many 80s list lack. I don't believe that there's a lack of rock records on the list - and most of the acknowledged as seminal ones are there - and it's good to see a list that looks and sounds like the 80s, instead of the whole overly alternative/indie albums that happens to overtake so much space in others out there. If only they had included the forgotten Pirates by Rickie Lee Jones or The Lexicon of Love by ABC and other minor new wave/post-punk early 80s releases, this would get an Easy A straight from the 80s.