It was difficult enough coming up with 50 albums that I even listen to, much less could recommend. To tell you the truth, I threw in a couple of albums based more on reputation than anything; while I do subscribe to the theory of "Kill Yr Idols", I'm willing to concede that some albums have value even if I'm not intimately familiar with them. However, once I came up with my 50, I found it pretty difficult to put them in the appropriate order. If I was given another couple of days to do this, I would probably come up with a more satisfying order, but we here at WDR are not about thinking things through.
The rules: only studio albums from 1981-1990 are considered, which means no compilations or live albums, and multiple albums from the same artist are included. I'm counting backwards from 50-26 today, and printing 25-1 tomorrow.
50. L.L. Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out:Because why the fuck not?
If I was doing the list based on personal preference, I would have put Soundgarden's Louder Than Love on the list here, because it's a big, dumb, stupid rock album
in an era of big dumb stupid rock albums. But even I have my limits.
49. The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses: The definition of unfulfilled promise. There's a reason why this album was so huge, but there's also a reason why no one really pays attention to these guys any more.
48. The Smiths – The Smiths: Because that sad fey kid deserves an album on the list somewhere
47. Fugazi – 13 Songs: This album is so good, it made straight-edge seem like a not-completely terrible idea...at least for five minutes after listening to the album.
46. R.E.M. – Murmur: Why so low? Mainly because I'm not the biggest R.E.M. fan, but I still recognize its quality.
45. Green River – Dry as a Bone/Rehab Doll The forerunner of all Grunge bands, this album was the bridge between punk, metal, and garage rock. "Swallow My Pride" is a classic, and the cover of "Ain't Nothing To Do" is worth listening to as well.
44. U2 - War: This was where U2 as we know it began to take form. Filled with classics, it's the hallmark of U2's early work.
43. King Missile – Mystical Shit and Fluting on the Hump: Jesus was way cool--He could have baked the most delicious cake in the world. He could have scored more goals than Wayne Gretsky. Enough said.
42. Metallica - …And Justice for All: While featuring some of the best songs of Metallica's career, I can't put this album any higher because the guys were such assholes that they cut out newcomer Jason Newsted's bass from the mix.
41. Mother Love Bone – Stardog Champion: The first instance where I bend the rules, considering the album was actually released in 1992; however, all the material came from the 80's, SO I'M GONNA ALLOW IT. While from the outside it looks simply like a bad version of Sunset Strip Glam Rock, I'd argue that it took the trashiness of that style and infused a sense of looseness and fun into that genre. You can't deny the fun of "Holy Roller" and "Half-Ass Monkeyboy". And they were balanced by great ballads, like "Stargazer" and "Man of Golden Words". Everything comes together with the climax, "Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns"--an 8 minute exploration of a broken man moving on.
40. Mudhoney – Superfuzz Big Muff: One of the descendants of Green River, this band showed that you can rock out and still reject all the shit that came with 80s hair metal. Downright dirty.
39. Flaming Lips – In A Priest Driven Ambulance: The best of the Flaming Lips early work, but still a far cry from their middle and late periods. Of course, if you were listening to the Lips during the 80's, you'd be amazed that we would be talking about a band that had a middle and late period.
38. Dead Kennedys – Plastic Surgery Disasters & In God We Trust: DK at their most intense, songs like "Terminal Preppie", "I am the Owl", and "Moon Over Marin" still shock people today. It doesn't get much more brutal and to-the-point than "Nazi Punks Fuck Off".
37. Alice in Chains – Facelift: The singles were huge ("Sea of Sorrow", "Bleed the Freak", and of course "Man In The Box"), but the album as a whole was consistent, even when veering into Chili Peppers territory ("I Know Somethin' ('Bout You)"). AiC got their first shot in before Nirvana, et al. did, and I believe this marked a turning point between 80's and 90's rock.
36. Sonic Youth – Sister: A transformative album for Sonic Youth, going beyond the wild noise experiments of their early work, and a signal of what was to come in Daydream Nation. "Schizophrenia" is still one of their best songs.
35. Minutemen – Double Nickels On the Dime: An insane mix of punk, funk, jazz, and who knows what else. Some of the best bass-playing you'll hear (and the guitar isn't bad either), with lyrics that will have you cracking up and having a good time.
34. The Replacements – Pleased to Meet Me: This album has some of the 'Mats best work, including "Can't Hardly Wait" and "Alex Chilton". At this point, the band has settled into a comfortable groove of just churning out some of the best rock of the 80's.
33. Peter Gabriel – So: An amazingly creative work, even going beyond simple pop album standards. Plus, we got this as a result.
32. Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique: A lot of purer rap fans think this is the Beastie's best album, but it's never the one that I feel like grabbing. A milestone in sampling, the Dust Brothers became legends after this one.
31. Run D.M.C. – Raising Hell and 30. Run D.M.C. – King of Rock: Both amazing albums that legitimized hip-hop as an art form in the mainstream. Not much more I can add to the discussion, beyond the fact that I too find it tricky to rock a rhyme that's right on time.
29. Black Flag – Damaged: Legitimized SoCal punk, and produced seminal classics like "TV Party" and "Six Pack". Also gave us Henry Rollins, for better and for worse.
28. N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton: I can't write about this album without coming across as completely white, so I'm just going to shut up.
27. Husker Du – Zen Arcade: Holy shit, this album is a trip. A dozen musical styles, and they do them all well.
26. Metallica – Master of Puppets : Knowing that I'm pissing off Joe Reefer once again for including these assholes, I can't deny the fact that this album is pretty much the gold standard in metal. Eight songs long, with every single one a classic, Metallica is able to expertly blend classical guitar lines with moment of pure technical shredding. Even during its soft moments, it's still menacing. And listening to this shit will make you want to run through a goddamn brick wall, to borrow a phrase.
That's the end of Part I, the top 25 will be posted soon enough.
