50) Weird Al Yankovic- In 3-D
Absolutely a landmark moment by its own metrics alone, the breakthrough sophomore album of Weird Al Yankovic did indeed launch its own version of a musical superstar, and revealed the surprising scope of the mainstream appetite that did indeed exist for musical parody. It’s packed with classic Weird Al moments like “Eat It”, “I Lost On Jeopardy”, a healthy batch of clever originals, and his first of many polka epics, “Polkas on 45”. It also launched a beloved album template that Yancovic would repeatedly delight a rabid not-so-cult audience with again and again, all the while scoring a gold record and a Grammy Award along the way. Few musical comedians enjoyed anything resembling longevity; Al on the other hand can look back forty years later with the satisfaction of a fourteen-album catalog, millions in both record and live ticket sales, and a successful biopic film based on his career. To say he got the last laugh is most certainly an understatement.
49) Bon Jovi– Bon Jovi
Debut albums like that of Bon Jovi’s are more retrospectively fascinating than they are necessarily great on their own musical or artistic merit, with their significance mostly arising from what is to come afterward, rather than on the record itself. Nevertheless, the self-titled bow from the future Jersey superstars is an enjoyably scrappy and quaint outing of 80s glam-rock. Those aren’t adjectives that usually go together, but they do in context of the band’s eventual story. This record finds the band doing the best to resemble the stylistic trends of the moment, with the ingredients they would eventually use to help transform and transcend the sub-genre by the end of the 80s still very much in gestation mode. The egg is barely fertilized here, though Jon Bon Jovi’s undeniable charisma and sex appeal still shines through on the vocals, and early bangers like “Runaway” and “Roulette” remain irresistible.
48) Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton- Once Upon A Christmas
Released at the height of country music’s Urban Cowboy movement, Once Upon A Christmas is a bona-fide stocking stuffer spilling over with down-home camp, cheese, and country novelty. And all of this equates to one of the most, honest-to-goodness beloved Christmas albums of all time, thanks to the sparkling chemistry between Rogers and Parton, and both of their individual gifts in elevating all of those qualities into something indisputably great. Together, those gifts combine to craft a record that most certainly matches its legendary album cover in terms of infectious joy and Holiday fun, all the while maximizing the crossover pay-dirt of the previous year’s smash duet, “Islands in the Stream”. And even in this setting, Parton masterfully sneaks in a devastating career standard with the downbeat hit, “Hard Candy Christmas”.
47) Kool & the Gang- Emergency
The final runaway victory lap in an impressive decade of smash singles and soaring record sales, Emergency would actually culminate Kool & the Gang’s hit streak on its peak in terms of pure album sales. Much of that double-platinum certification would be credited to the syrupy power ballad and future wedding staple, “Cherish”, but the album’s true appeal lies in funky, beat-driven bangers like the title track, “Fresh”, “Misled”, and “Surrender”. It’s in those tracks that we’re reminded of the pivoted role played by the Gang in terms of navigating the R&B universe through the 1970s sounds of funk and disco, into the 80s evolution towards New Wave and electropop influences. At a brisk seven tracks, the album zips on by (even with the slogging pace of “Cherish” smack dab in the middle), and still makes for a breezy and fun trip through the R&B and urban-pop sounds of the day.
46) Steve Perry- Street Talk
As the frontman of Journey, there’s absolutely no denying Steve Perry’s indelible icon status in the annals of rock music. Is the music mawkishly melodramatic, saccharine, and datedly trapped in its time? Absolutely! Are these all reasons that it remains a staggering pillar of nostalgia for its era of music? Right again! Street Talk would be Perry’s first solo effort, and with its chronology occurring in the midst of Journey’s impressive chart run, it’s no surprise that casual fans often mistake the music contained here, especially monster-hit “Oh Sherrie”, for part of the band’s own canon. However subtle they may be though, there are various nuanced choices throughout the record that do shine through as indicators of Perry’s own singular inclinations. Bottom line: Perry was one of the most dynamically flamboyant and powerful vocal stylists of the era, and his singing remains the centerpiece in any setting that he’s performing. This record remains a dark-horse soft-rock pleasure.
45) Elvis Costello & the Attractions- Goodbye Cruel World
Sometimes the messiest and most heavily dismissed records become “great” in their own way, not necessarily from a quality standpoint, but due to the fascinating stories, conflict, and lore surrounding them. Goodbye Cruel World definitely qualifies in this regard. It’s not even one of those albums that has grown in acclaim through retrospective reappraisal; it’s still widely panned by Costello himself and critics alike. And yes, its production is lacking overall, and you can hear the personal and professional drama plaguing both Costello and the band bubbling underneath the performances captured. But these elements provide their own brand of intrigue, and certainly prevent the album from being either boring of void of entertainment. Besides, these songs are indeed solid on their own merits, particularly “Inch By Inch”, “Sour Milk Cow Blues”, and “Peace In Our Time”.
44) Diana Ross- Swept Away
The final true triumph of Diana Ross’ career, from a purely commercial standpoint, Swept Away finds the legendary diva navigating the changing sonic landscape of the pop scene while balancing those forces with the steadfast soul and R&B anchors that were the consistent bedrock of her legacy. The opening hit single, “Missing You” was a heartwarming tribute she had penned with Lionel Richie to the very recently passed Marvin Gaye. That moment is classic Diana, overflowing with heartfelt emotion and bittersweet adoration. She bestows these and her many other iconic signifiers, from flirty fun to passionate romance, throughout the collection. She covers “Rescue Me” and “Forever Young” one moment, and duets with Julio Iglesias or goes full-on New Wave with Nile Rodgers the next on “It’s Your Move”. It’s not the most balanced album, and its production is dated in the most classic 80s way, but its truly her most solid 80s effort this side of her final true classic, Diana.
43) Willie Nelson- City of New Orleans
The thirty-first (give-or-take) album from the Red Headed Stranger is one that is a mostly forgotten set in his enormous lexicon, with the exception of the Steve Goodman title track, which proved to be a perfect match for Nelson’s fabled nasal-twang and tremendous gut-string licks. Dig deeper however and you’ll find a mini-trove of other stellar covers from one of the greatest interpretive singers of all time: from the Danny O’Keefe cult favorite, “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues” and the early Michael Jackson single “She’s Out of My Life”, to modern pop and country standards “Cry” and “Please Come to Boston”, and even a reading of “The Wind Beneath My Wings”. Stringent musical gatekeepers will always throw Willie some periodic shade for having such far-reaching musical tastes and boundaries, but those that hadn’t learned by then have certainly discovered by now what a contributing factor that has been to his overall legacy. And besides, the singing and musicianship here are in absolute peak-form.
42) Pat Benatar- Tropico
On Tropico, we found one of rock music’s greatest female dynamos turning her interests to a more tempered and graceful tapestry of pop balladry, and given her undeniable vocal gift, it was no surprise that it was a transition that Pat Benatar handled with aplomb. It resulted in bold and beautiful moments like the universal smash, “We Belong”, and additional hidden gems like “Painted Desert”, “Love In the Ice Age”, “The Outlaw Blues”, and “Suburban Kings”. It’s a vibrant and thoughtfully assembled project that may have slowed her momentum as a pure rock star, but only grew her reputation as one of the most stunning vocalists of her generation, and a stylistically diverse one at that. It’s a legitimate sleeper in Benatar’s overall catalog, and one in the entire 80s music space as well.
41) Ray Charles- Friendship
Two decades after his groundbreaking Modern Sounds In Country & Western pair of albums, the Genius returned to the country music sphere that he loved, but this time under rather different circumstances. While those sixties classics found Charles reinventing country standards as soul and R&B performances, Charles’ work in the 1980s found him releasing music purely grounded in the sounds of straight-forward country. This duets record was the unmitigated highlight of that dalliance. The songs and production are spot-on, and both Charles and his impressive roster of guests are all still in their primes vocally, while the sheer joy they’re clearly experiencing collaborating is beautifully palpable. Aptly titled, the record does illicit the same kind of warmth and joy one finds in the very best friendships.
40) Ricky Skaggs- Country Boy
If ever there was a less likely era in the annals of mainstream country for bluegrass to emerge from the shadows and soar the top of the charts, it was the early and mid 1980s. Which made the superstar ascension of Ricky Skaggs all the more impressive. By the arrival of Country Boy, Skaggs had become a bona-fide country hitmaker, but this superb album officially took him, and the burgeoning traditionalist movement that also included stars like George Strait, Reba McEntire, and The Judds, across the finish-line, culminating in his 1985 capturing of the CMA Entertainer of the Year trophy. In almost every way imaginable, the success of New Traditionalism and the eventual 90s country boom traces its way back to roots inroads that Skaggs made with rich and honest musical performances like those stacked across albums like Country Boy.
39) Billy Ocean- Suddenly
What an alluring feast for the ears this record remains all these decades later. From the moment the glittering strings and smooth-jazz sax licks emanate from your speakers, it commands your attention. Then Ocean’s silky R&B croon arrives, and you’re officially entranced. And though the opening smash, “Caribbean Queen” could have easily been one of those lightning-in-a-bottle bops that shamelessly dominates an LP out of the gate, only for the rest of the album’s material to falter, Ocean stylishly avoids that common 80s pitfall throughout Suddenly. And though the track-list may seem slight at only nine tracks, this album packs an enormously generous helping of vocal magic and fetchingly funky post-disco R&B, from infectiously rabid anthems like “Loverboy” and “Dancefloor” to show-stopping ballad showcases like the title track and his vibrant interpretation of “The Long & Winding Road”.
38) Red Hot Chili Peppers- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Like the earlier Bon Jovi record, Red Hot Chili Peppers is one of those underperforming debuts that becomes legendary not for its quality or specific body of work, but for its place as the opening chapter to a story for which its eventual heights were not yet apparent. That’s not to say that Peppers is not an entertaining listen on its own merits; it’s a wildly intriguing, forward-looking stew of funk, rap, and hard-rock. It’s just that the water is just barely beginning to simmer here, and not all the ingredients have been added to the pot as of yet. Their iconic alt-sound that would eventually conquer the music landscape in the 90s and beyond would become more cohesively formed with the later arrivals of guitarist Hillel Slovak, drummer Jack Irons, and producers like Michael Beinhorn and Rick Rubin on subsequent albums. That all said, the legendary rapturous charisma of vocalist Anthony Kiedis and superpowers of bassist Flea are clearly evident, and uniquely fascinating to behold in this primitive stage.
37) Frank Sinatra- L.A. Is My Lady
Although his discography would extend into the 1990s with his big-selling duets albums, L.A. Is My Lady would prove to be the final proper, solo release of Frank Sinatra’s career. It found him reuniting with producer Quincy Jones, with whom he had collaborated with twenty years earlier, and who was at the peak of his own career at the time after producing Thriller. Those contemporary influences did indeed creep into these proceedings, with the sole appearance of synthesizers in Sinatra’s catalog, and the slick 80s R&B sheen that defined Jackson’s own ballads certainly present. Those choices don’t technically work 100% of the time here, but it’s consistently intriguing throughout to hear Sinatra’s voice residing in the evolved pop sounds of the latter day. Overall however, L.A. finds Sinatra doing what he’s always done best; his iconic voice is still pristine, his traditional pop and swinging jazz stylings are ever-timeless, his song-selection astute, and the orchestra is of the highest order. It’s a dazzling swan song for the solo/original chapter of his peerless career.
36) Merle Haggard- It’s All in the Game
The staggering legacy of Merle Haggard will always be most commonly defined by the sensational run of classic albums he issued from the mid-sixties through the early-seventies; after all it’s unequivocally regarded as one of the most consistently great and prolific streak of records in any genre or era. But his 1980s renaissance should not be slept on, and It’s All in the Game is one of those jewels awaiting listeners who choose to revisit this era of Merle. His singing, songwriting, taste in outside material, and stylistic inclinations all remain on their legendary par throughout this album. Sure, there are a few signifiers of the glossy country influences of the time here and there, from the presence of Urban Cowboy chanteuse Janie Fricke on duet vocals, to his cover of Willie and Julio’s “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before”. Nevertheless, this record is richly traditional in its country fabric, and features the kind of elegantly soft-spoken C&W sounds that he was just as masterfully versed in as he was his more bawdy, Outlaw-leaning material. While the genre was still waiting for the New Traditionalist movement to really kick into high-gear, Merle Haggard was faithfully keeping country music honest and substantive.
35) Bob Marley and the Wailers- Legend
I’m not usually inclined to include Greatest Hits albums or any form of compilation set on lists like this, but Legend long ago made the argument for an exception. Released three years following Marley’s death, this collection became not only the crown jewel in his and the Wailers’ respective crown, but that in the entire history of reggae music as well. This would be reflected not only in its monumental commercial achievements (it remains second-only to The Dark Side of the Moon in terms of weeks logged on the Billboard album charts), but by the widespread cultural adoration that he would achieve both during his lifetime, and in the decades after his passing. The vibrant, resonant performances throughout Legend represent the unique creative and cultural impacts that Marley made both as a musical hero, and in the great echelon of international society as a whole.
34) Depeche Mode- Some Great Reward
Depeche Mode’s fourth studio album proved to be fittingly titled, with Some Great Reward becoming the creative and commercial breakthrough that elevated the band from the more underground ranks of the Second British Invasion to becoming one of the most pivotal noisemakers of the 80s rock scene, and ultimately, one of the foundational groups for the alt-rock revolution of the 1990s. Spearheaded by the iconic international hit, “People Are People”, the album boldly expanded their industrial influences on the overall sound of sub-genres like synth-rock and electropop, and the wider popular music scene as a whole. Meanwhile, Dave Gahan’s and Martin L. Gore’s other-worldly vocals were reaching rich and haunting new heights, while the social awareness of the band’s lyrics had reached a profound and rarified level in pop music, where the message is powerfully and provocatively resonant, but never trite or overblown.
33) Rush- Grace Under Pressure
For so many rock acts that enjoyed commercial success before, during, and after the 80s, it’s mighty easy to cast this period in their catalog as their “sell-out” era, as artists tried to adapt to the rapidly changing sounds and visuals of the times. An album like Rush’s Grace Under Pressure would be severly miscast in this sense however. Now yes, the synthesizers have dramatically relegated the guitars to the background, and yes that’s a bitter pill to swallow for lovers of a group of virtuosic musicians like Rush. Nevertheless, this is not a body of work that is succumbing to mainstream trends by any means. The music throughout remains complex, provocative, and performed with all of the same conviction and passion that defined their albums with previous producer, Terry Brown. They’d eventually come full-circle, but there is plenty of rewards to find in this transitional period.
32) David Allan Coe- Just Divorced
To merely define David Allan Coe by the controversial (at best) and downright despicable (if not worse) statements and antics he’s committed through the decades would be to overlook what a truly complicated artistic genius the man he is. Just Divorced may not be immediately hailed when asked what Coe’s definitive albums may be, but to my ears, few records so joyously and thoroughly demonstrate the depth of his artistic narrative. A concept album in the classic country sense, the two sides of this LP explore the contradicting stages of a divorce, i.e. the Down Side and then the Up Side. Like all the very best country Outlaws, it illustrates that Coe is just as capable at sensitive, devastating ballads as he was on bawdy, rambunctious rave-ups. His singing is excellent throughout, both tender and tempestuous, while the music itself is just as delightfully varied but cohesive, ranging from dusty Western Swing and boozy honky-tonk to brassy Dixieland jazz and slow-burning soul. Low-key one of the 80s’ very best country records.
31) Hall & Oates- Big Bam Boom
While Big Bam Boom may have ultimately represented the grand finale in Hall & Oates‘ dominant string of pop smashes, the duo most certainly went out with an album that lived up to its titling. With a box-office recording budget still behind them, they experimented and employed many of the most advanced and burgeoning studio tools in the industry at the time, making Big Bang Boom one of the most expensive records to date. This also made it one of the group’s most over-produced, equating to quintessential mid-80s fare, in-turn laying the production groundwork for the hits that would eventually nudge them off the radio in the years ahead. As for the songs and performances themselves, it’s still the prime H&O fare that they were beloved for: loaded with deliciously charismatic vocals, big and funky pop hooks, fiery instrumentation, and a soul-tinged undercurrent consistently lingering underneath.
30) Judas Priest- Defenders of the Faith
A heavy metal marvel from one of the true pioneering giants in that field, Defenders of the Faith was precisely the high-octane sequel that 1982’s Screaming for Vengeance demanded, and it further extended the band’s influence not only in the hard-rock universe, but across the mainstream musical spectrum as well. Rob Halford’s rapid-fire, guttural vocals, the turbo-guitar licks of KK Downing and Glenn Tipton, and the intense lyrical messages (when you’re able to catch them); they all set your speakers ablaze. It’s one of the essential albums in its artform, proving that heavy metal and its adjacent sub-genres were not all mere bluster and noise. At it’s very best, it was anchored by intense and legitimate musical talent as well. The record is one thrillingly exhausting adrenaline rush. You might be gasping for air by the finale, but give yourself a moment to catch your breath and you’ll happily flip it back over and spin it again.
29) Linda Ronstadt- Lush Life
The second volume in her trilogy of orchestral jazz albums with Nelson Riddle that curated the Great American Songbook, Lush Life proved to be every bit the gorgeous gem that its predecessor, What’s New was the year prior. Everything about this record is magical. Ronstadt’s singing, Riddle’s arrangements, the musicians’ performances, and the selection of timeless songs themselves. They were all destined to come together to craft this stunning body of music. Of course there were plenty longing for Ronstadt to still be the rock starlet she was in the 70s. But, to any well-rounded music fan who loves the simple magic of a great singer paired with a great song, the trade-off provided by these albums and her other 80s adventures were certainly worth it. It sounded magnificent in 1984, and would have in 1944, and certainly still does in 2024.
28) David Bowie- Tonight
I’ve said it elsewhere on the blog before, and this is perhaps the greatest example of the statement: if you’re an artist that records enough albums, you’re likely to release a head-scratcher here and there, no matter who you are. Even if you’re David freaking Bowie. However, these records aren’t always bad per se, and often-times as in the case of Tonight, they’re downright fascinating. The opening track, “Loving the Alien” is a deliciously weird cosmic epic, nodding its head to previous classics like “Starman”, “Space Odyssey”, and “Life On Mars”, and then fades into a gorgeous concoction of psychedelia and reggae on “Don’t Look Down”. Elsewhere, he dabbles in three Iggy Pop covers, including a duet with Tina Turner, and then delivers an outright bizarre reading of The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows”, possibly the most jaw-droppingly polarizing moment of his entire career. And that’s a pretty suitable way to sum up the album itself. The audacious production and its effort to duplicate the heights of Let’s Dance results in a mixed bag of results, but one that is always intriguing.
27) Bryan Adams- Reckless
The mere image of the Reckless cover art is one that is forever etched into the fabric of pop-culture, which only scratches the surface of the impact achieved by the actual music and Adams’ instantly recognizable pop-rock rasp that brought it all to life. Spawning six smash singles, and moving over twelve-million copies, this record was a certifiable juggernaut, and the surging anthems (“Run to You”, “Summer of ’69”) and ballads (“Heaven”) alike are now essential parts of the cultural soundtrack. Adams parlayed the success by inserting a cleanse of more pop-friendly overtures into the Heartland Rock recipe previously curated by rising rock-icons like Springsteen and Mellencamp. The result is one of the rare albums on this list that may infinitely define the era we’re covering, but yet doesn’t sound trapped in that time-capsule either. This is an effortlessly entertaining set of pop-rock that remains durably contagious and enticing in any era.
26) The Pretenders- Learning to Crawl
The third Pretenders record proved to be a necessary reset after a whirlwind of personal highs and lows, including the birth of Chrissie Hynde’s daughter and half of their line-up succumbing to drug-induced deaths. Learning to Crawl finds the band reassembled as a new quartet, and completely rejuvenated in every imaginable way: musically, philosophically, and emotionally. While one cannot completely argue that Hynde and company never allowed the sonic trends of the day to make any entry into their work, much of the Pretenders’ legacy can be attributed to the fact that they stayed steadfast in their pure rock sound throughout their career, making them heroes to roots rock lovers everywhere. Crawl is certainly indicative of this, providing a slew of indelible melodies, memorable lyrics, and electrifying rock riffs that have permeated the public consciousness ever since, with Hynde fearlessly leading the way through her uncanny balance of badass rock attitude and subtle sentimentality.
Next: Part II: #25-1
The 706 