Rock and Reel

100 Favorite Albums of the 1980s: The Top 20

Previous: 40-21

20. N.W.A- Straight Outta Compton

Paste: excluded

Slant: +4

19. Prince- Sign O’ the Times

Paste: -5

Slant: +10

18. Run-D.M.C.- Raising Hell

Paste: -27

Slant: -26

17. Eric B. and Rakim- Follow the Leader

Paste and Slant: excluded

16. Pixies- Surfer Rosa

Paste: -2

Slant: -13

15. Bruce Springsteen- Nebraska

Paste: two-album rule exclusion by Paste

Slant: -26

14. Talking Heads- Remain in Light

Paste: +7

Slant: +9

13. Tom Waits- Swordfishtrombones

Paste: excluded

Slant: -8

12. Bruce Springsteen- Born in the U.S.A.

Paste: +8

Slant: -16

11. R.E.M.- Lifes Rich Pageant

Paste: +6

Slant: -27

10. U2- The Joshua Tree

Paste: +2

Slant: -10

9. Pixies- Doolittle

Paste: +8

Slant: -18

8. The Replacements- Let It Be

Paste: -5

Slant: -24

7. The Replacements- Tim

Paste: two-album rule exclusion by Paste

Slant: -38

6. Joy Division- Closer

Paste: -22

Slant: tie

5. Public Enemy- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

Paste: -6

Slant: +2

4. Beastie Boys- Paul’s Boutique

Paste: -8

Slant: tie

3. Sonic Youth- Daydream Nation

Paste: -7

Slant: -22

2. R.E.M.- Murmur

Paste: -25

Slant: -9

1. The Smiths- The Queen is Dead

Paste: -1

Slant: -13

100 Favorite Albums of the 1980s: 40-21

Previous: 60-41

40. De La Soul- 3 Feet High and Rising

Paste: +22

Slant: +32

39. U2- War

Paste: two-album rule exclusion by Paste

Slant: -20

38. Husker Du- New Day Rising

Paste: +6

Slant: excluded

37. The Jesus and Mary Chain- Psychocandy

Paste: +4

Slant: +6

36. Tom Waits- Rain Dogs

Paste: +21

Slant: +24

35. My Bloody Valentine- Isn’t Anything

Paste: -13

Slant: -23

34. AC/DC- Back in Black

Paste: +14

Slant: excluded

33. Richard & Linda Thompson- Shoot Out the Lights

Paste: +10

Slant: excluded

32. Violent Femmes- Violent Femmes

Paste: +15

Slant: +13

31. Run-D.M.C.- Run-D.M.C.

Paste and Slant: excluded

30. Metallica- Master of Puppets

Paste: excluded

Slant: -26

29. Sonic Youth- EVOL

Paste: excluded

Slant: -25

28. R.E.M.- Reckoning

Paste: two-album rule exclusion by me and Paste

Slant: -25

27. Husker Du- Zen Arcade

Paste: excluded

Slant: -23

26. Prince- Purple Rain

Paste: +17

Slant: +24

25. Ramones- End of the Century

Paste and Slant: excluded

24. Elvis Costello- Get Happy!!

Paste: excluded

Slant: -23

23. Elvis Costello- Trust

Paste: tie

Slant: excluded

22. Eric B. and Rakim- Paid in Full

Paste: -27

Slant: -4

21. Leonard Cohen- I’m Your Man

Paste: -29

Slant: -3

Next: The Top 20

100 Favorite Albums of the 1980s: 100-81

About a month ago, Paste (which still exists online) posted its “80 Best Albums of the 1980s.” I enjoyed the list but forget about it soon thereafter.

This past week, Slant published its “Best Albums of the 1980s.” It was odd that these two sites both decided to do the same amusing but otherwise random list. Naturally, I played along and also ranked my top 100 albums of popular music’s most underrated decade.

I recently ranked my top 10 albums for each year from 1965 to 2007 (linked below). I have been updating these lists from time to time, so I used these as guidelines. This top 100 should be consistent with the top 10s lists from the 80s.

Also, I decided to quantify the differences between my list and those of the two online magazines. Being a compulsive geek, I controlled for albums I have not heard (and took into consideration Paste’s two-album limit). This resulted in 51 albums I had heard on Paste’s lists and 61 on Slant’s. A “+” indicates the album was higher on their list, and a “-“ indicates the album was higher on mine. I only used my top 51 and my top 61 to compare with the respective lists, but I posted all of my picks anyway.

And lastly, I did not consider the Clash’s London Calling, which landed on both of the other lists. It might be the greatest rock album ever made, but in my mind, it is a 1970s release because of its U.K. drop date.

100. The Smiths- The Smiths

Paste: #39 on adjusted list

Slant: #37 on adjusted list

99. U2- Unforgettable Fire

Paste: #34 on adjusted list

98. Elvis Costello- Spike

97. The Police- Zenyatta Mondatta

96. U2- Boy

95. The Replacements- Hootenanny

94. Metallica- Kill ‘em All

93. R.E.M.- Fables of the Reconstruction

92. Elvis Costello- Almost Blue

91. The Cure- Disintegration

Paste: #15 on adjusted list

Slant: #13 on adjusted list

90. Guns ‘N Roses- Appetite for Destruction

Paste: #21 on adjusted list

Slant: #30 on adjusted list

89. The Clash- Combat Rock

Slant: #52 on adjusted list

88. Prince- 1999

Slant: #7 on adjusted list

87. Elvis Costello- Imperial Bedroom

Slant: #42 on adjusted list

86. Iron Maiden- The Number of the Beast

85. Captain Beefheart- Doc at Radar Station

84. David Bowie- Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

Paste: #40 on adjusted list

Slant: #22 on adjusted list

83. Boogie Down Productions- Criminal Minded

82. Meat Puppets- Meat Puppets II

Slant: #57 on adjusted list

81. Motorhead- Ace of Spades

Next: 80-61

100 Favorite Songs: 40-31

40. The Velvet Underground- Sister Ray

39. The Jesus and Mary Chain- Just Like Honey

38. Broken Social Scene- 7/4 (Shoreline)

37. Pavement- Silent Kit

36. Aretha Franklin- A Change is Gonna Come

35. Radiohead- Let Down

34. Roxy Music- Love is the Drug

33. U2- Wake Up Dead Man

32. Beastie Boys- Sabotage

31. Bob Dylan- Brownsville Girl

See 30-21

See 20-11

See Also: My 100 Favorite Songs of All Time (2 years ago), My 100 Favorite Songs of the Decade (2 years ago), Top 10 Songs Of Each Hall of Fame Inductee Class: 1986-Present (2 years ago)

Top 10 Albums of 2004

1. Arcade Fire- Funeral

Listen: “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)”

2. Kanye West- The College Dropout

Listen: “Never Let Me Down”

3. The Trash Can Sinatras- Weightlifting

Listen: “Leave Me Alone”

4. Iron & Wine- Our Endless Numbered Days

Listen: “Naked As We Come”

5. Sufjan Stevens- Seven Swans

Listen: “Abraham”

6. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds- Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus

Listen: “Get Ready for Love”

7. Brian Wilson- Smile

Listen: “Roll Plymouth Rock”

8. Wilco- A Ghost is Born

Listen: “At Least That’s What You Said”

9. Franz Ferdinand- Franz Ferdinand

Listen: “Take Me Out”

10. Morrissey- You Are the Quarry

Listen: “First of the Gang to Die”

Archival Highlight: Bob Dylan- The Bootleg Series Volume 6: Live 1964 - Concert at Philharmonic Hall

Listen: “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)”

Honorable Mention: Annie’s Anniemal; The Black Keys’ Rubber Factory; Prince’s Musicology; TV on the Radio’s Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes; U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb; Tom Waits’ Real Gone; The Walkmen’s Bows + Arrows

Updated: April 5, 2012

Top 10 Albums of 2000

1. Radiohead- Kid A

Listen: “Idioteque”

2. Eminem- The Marshall Mathers LP

Listen: “Kill You”

3. OutKast- Stankonia

Listen: “B.O.B.”

4. Ryan Adams- Heartbreaker

Listen: “Come Pick Me Up”

5. The Avalanches- Since I Left You

Listen: “Frontier Psychiatrist”

6. Ghostface Killah- Supreme Clientele

Listen: “Apollo Kids”

7. The White Stripes- De Stijl

Listen: “You’re Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)”

8. U2- All That You Can’t Leave Behind

Listen: “In a Little While”

9. The Hives- Veni Vidi Vicious

Listen: “Supply and Demand”

10. The New Pornographers- Mass Romantic

Listen: “Letter from an Occupant”

Honorable Mention: Clinic’s Internal Wrangler, Modest Mouse’s The Moon & Antarctica, Rage Against the Machine’s Renegades

Updated: April 22, 2012

Top 10 Albums of 1993

1. Nirvana- In Utero

Listen: “Heart Shaped Box”

2. Wu-Tang Clan- Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

Listen: “C.R.E.A.M.”

3. A Tribe Called Quest- Midnight Marauders

Listen: “Award Tour”

4. PJ Harvey- Rid of Me

Listen: “Rid of Me”

5. Snoop Dogg- Doggystyle

Listen: “Gin and Juice”

6. U2- Zooropa

Listen: “Stay (Faraway, So Close!)” [Non-Album Live Version]

7. Liz Phair- Exile in Guyville

Listen: “Never Said”

8. The Smashing Pumpkins- Siamese Dream

Listen: “Disarm”

9. Uncle Tupelo- Anodyne

Listen: “The Long Cut”

10. Neil Young- Unplugged

Listen: “Mr. Soul”

Honorable Mention: Bjork’s Debut; Counting Crows’ August and Everything After; Rich Mullins’ A Liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band; Rod Stewart’s Unplugged…and Seated; Teenage Fanclub’s Thirteen

Updated: April 28, 2012