Established Artists who survived the 80s....

You would?

I'd argue that art direction hit the Stones the hardest in the '80s. "Steel Wheels" is the ugliest cover ever in the history of covers, at least until "Bridges to Babylon" (and "No Security" -- for godsake) came along.

I certainly agree with Tom that loads of good records came out in the 80's (more so at the beginning and end of the decade than in the middle 'though I reckon); but I think there was a tendency for certain producers (step forward Trevor Horn!) at the time to be anxious to push themselves and their signature sound forward - sometimes at the expense of the artists.

As far as [exposing] the limitations of most people who'd been around for a while is concerned, I think most of them had already done that before the decade started, by their reaction to; and failure to adapt to; punk.

• Late 70s- ace!!!!!
• Early 80s- ace!!!
• Mid-to-late 80s - not-so-ace!!!!
• Early 90s- much better!!!!
• Late 90s-now - ace!!!!

I love 'my baby' off 'Get Close', esp. that bit where she sings, "It's like I'm walking onstage" and the music drops out for this blast of stadium ambience, and then the 12string riff starts wriggling back in again... mmmm!

I can't believe I didn't think of Michael Jackson!

Tom makes a good point and I agree to a certain extent. Of course there was plenty of good music made in the 80s and using 80s production techniques, but most of those folks didn't have established careers before that time. And it's not just production, though. Look at the thread on Neil Young's 80s-era Geffen output and a number of folks will argue that the songwriting just wasn't there either.

Y'know, I'd probably put Kraftwerk in here, too, Computer World is still a favorite of mine.

And more of course...

he did some really corny stuff, too, but i'd say he survived pretty damn well.

Oh my gosh. I may be the only other ILXor (actually maybe one of the only people period) who's a fan of American Life, but even I wouldn't go that far. But I admire your moxie, kid.

And folks like Madonna don't count in my book because she was effectively no-one before the 80s -- did she even record a demo or anything before '81? They've got to be established before the 80s. So, for instance, where would one put the Talking Heads? Their 80s output was quite fine and they started in '77ish...but do they qualify as "establshed"? It's my question, but I don't know the answer to that one.

also, for what it's worth, like a prayer was released in '89

Hmm, and other recieved opinion nonsense.

(Immaculate Collection: great track listing marred by some icky shitty versions. I'm Breathless is actually pretty good. And yes, Like A Prayer helped make 1989 a golden year for music. Forgive the '86 typo)

I'm sticking with what I said though.