Best AOR Albums Of All Time POLL

Obviously, RUMOURS.

happy now?

Jeez, I've only heard four of these as *albums*. I'll go with Boston, mainly 'cause I'm sick of voting for FM in every other damn poll.

Also: what, no Steely Dan???

King Boy Pato will be along shortly to vote for Jimmy Barnes

Seems to me the ultimate AOR record would be the fourth album, entitled "IV" by a band named after a geographic proper noun. Foreigner 4 comes the closest on this list. How did Kansas and REO Speedwagon get left out? Did they seem more lame to 1988 Kerrang readers than anyone else on this list?

Fuck knows how they decided but sadly there's no writers poll. I'm sure that may have been quite different.

Michael Bolton sure was popular although. Scary times the 1980s.

I've never heard of loads of those bands. Should start looking for clips on youtube.

Guiffria, from album "guiffria". I've heard of these b/c it was greg guiffria from Angel's '80's band. It's pretty bad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQmFDS7Xwyo&NR=1

This Angel?
Angel - The Tower
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n07qiAo1lM

Journey "don't stop believin'" from "Escape":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNB1EUJg1-w&feature=related

yes, that angel.

"some will win/some will lose/some were born to play the blues"

Michael Bolton "everybody's crazy":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy2XMYh99js

can't find a clip of icon

"No Videos found for 'native sons strangeways'"

Journey "Raised on Radio"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Sedt9PyRSg

When I was a kid at school, all the metal fans dug journey. I never understood the appeal, I must admit.

Journey clip has a keytar.

White sister:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CFpw4wIvPU

I don't think I can hack this, someone else can take over if they want to. I always hated this music when I was at school b/c it was false metal or something like that, I can't remember. I still don't like it much though.

The right answer is Boston. Honestly how could it be anything else?

Not even Boston?
x-post

This, now, is how it should be done:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB17uWuBrL0

100% unfuckable with classic. Boston "more than a feeling" similarly excellent. I kind of suspect that 80's digital recording tech/synth tech was not kind to this style of music. all the clips above sound kind of thin and anemic.

Magnum weren't really AOR, but I love On a Storyteller's Night. If you had Asia's first instead of Alpha I'd be very tempted to vote for that. I like a lot of singles on these albums but I don't know which album I'd want if I could only have one.

yeah I was kind of WTF-ing about "Alpha" instead of the s/t Asia album.

Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" doesn't really fit in with any of these other bands, does it? Like, in any way at all whatsoever.

Agreed, Rumours does not belong on there, from a stylistic perspective. My vote goes to Boston.

Strangely enough, the runner-up for me would be Asia's Alpha. It's weird that they don't have the debut Asia album on there, which was way more successful, but I like Alpha more anyway.

Oops! Didn't read Pash's post above re: Asia. It is weird, isn't it?

"'Cuz I can see that black horizon looming ever-close in view,
It's over now it's not my fault see how this feels for you,
The smile
has left
your eyes...."

:-)

dokken is metal not AOR

No GTR, no credibility.

I can't vote here- Give me one track from each of these (with the exception of Michael Bolton WHO SHOULD BE KILLED NOW) and I will give you a blistering double CD, but I don't think any one album stands out.

Having said that, Rumours is the obvious choice.

Oh and Pah OTM with Kansas and Caryy On Wayward Son. Absolutely fucking brilliant.

That's Pash, obviously.

I didn't see the bit about Kerrang! readers voting for the list. It makes a bit more sense.

haha I know 9 of these albums and own 7. I seriously think Pride is a really good album as this stuff goes. ("When the Children Cry" is not a highlight.) The best would be Rumours or maybe Boston but "Crazy On You" is easily my favourite song from any of these.

And, yeah, the choices are mind-blowing. Were Kansas, Rush, and Supertramp (but not Styx) considered too prog or something? And no REO or ELO but all these bands I've never heard of:

Night Of The Crime - Icon
Native Sons - Strangeways
White Sister - White Sister
Fashion By Passion - White Sister
In For The Count - Balance
Only Child - Only Child
Freight Train Heart - Jimmy Barnes
A Matter Of Attitude - Fate
Spys - Spys
Heartbreak - Sabu
Hughes Thrall - Hughes Thrall
Excess All Areas - Shy
Touch - Touch
Aviator - Aviator
Silk+Steel - Giuffria
So Fired Up - LeRoux
Wired Up - Jeff Paris
On A Storyteller's Night - Magnum
Fireworks - Bonfire
Ignition - John Waite
Giuffria - Giuffria
Shaft Of Light - Airrace

Rush would definitely be too prog. Magnum are kind of AOProg tho. Can't see ELO being voted for by many Kerrang! readers. A lot of those albums were released in the mid-80s so were current when the vote was taken.

Were you an eighties Kerrang reader?

Oh yes.

No wonder there are a lot of albums here that are hair metal rather than AOR.

"Boston" it is though.

Grrr...I had a few points to make - good ones! - regarding this thread earlier today; yet the invisible cyberspace gremlins within the servers at the office somehow detected PR0N and wouldn't allow me to proceed. Frustrating for sure, but the points I wanted to make (the utter soul-destroying sub-worthlessness of Michael Bolton; the excellence of Rumours; and the fact that neither of them capture even the merest speck of the essence of AOR = THEY DON'T BELONG HERE) have already been covered upthread, so all's well that ends well.

Not sure I agree re. Bolton. He has always gotten love from the aor folks, ever since his Blackjack days. Says glory-daze, my fave aor site, "For the period this is truly essential, and comes off as a far more powerful Pablo Cruise." I love when they say things like that. Incidentally, they have reviews of just about all the records up there (though, yeah, not Fleetwood Mac).

Here they are a Bolton solo album:

Following the failure of Blackjack's two albums ('Blackjack' - 1979 and 'World's Apart' - 1980), Michael Bolton decided to resurrect his career by recording his first solo album since 1976's 'Everyday Of My Life'. Since Blackjack had taken a melodic turn unlike his earlier albums, Bolton continued on in this direction and enlisted a crack assortment of AOR veterans. Among them were members of Balance (Bob Kulick, Burgi and Katsaros), as well as heavyweights Aldo Nova and Mark Mangold (Touch). Easily, Bolton has created an AOR masterpiece, though with the talent on board that should have been expected. I recall the first time I heard this album. Derek Oliver had praised it in his Encyclopedia, so I gave it a spin before I bought it. Once I heard the intro to 'She Did The Same Thing' I broke all speed limits to get home and hear it all. I didn't emerge from my room for weeks. This is the album which sold me on AOR.

>>comes off as a far more powerful Pablo Cruise

Not much of a recommendation. The Blackjack records are, at best, only OK. The first one was produced by Tom Dowd, inappropriately for the style. A perfect mismatch. The second was produced by Eddie Offord who was absentee. It gets into the general area of Billy Squier's Tale of the Tape, except without the songs.

>>How did Kansas and REO Speedwagon get left out?

Kerrang went big for second, third and fourth tier American AOR. Covered a lot of the bases but featured idiosyncratic holes. How'd they leave out Precious Metal or the Poison Dollys or Envy or 1994?

Or Storm or New England or Face Dancer or Roadmaster or Susan or Yipes...

Jimmy Barnes might have got more votes if he hadn't got his nipple out for his new album cover.

yeah Rumours is misplaced; I didn't even see it there until after I'd voted for "Hysteria".

Icon: On Your Feet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvCWNspATjY

How did Kansas and REO Speedwagon get left out?

I'm a little tempted to vote Escape. There are one or two weak tracks but it really seems to possess the soul of this kind of thing, as seems to be defined by the list.

I voted Escape! There's a good reason Journey were bigger than Balance, Spys or Aviator.

Lurkers will still vote Fleetwood Mac , maybe I should have left them off the list.

Unless lurkers don't think Fleetwood Mac are AOR.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Album-oriented_rock

Do you personally call AOR - Album or Adult Orientated Rock?

I think Adult suits better as rarely do any of the tracks played not be the big hit singles. Maybe that was different in the early 70s but surely not by the 1980s.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

It was so it didn't finish during the holidays

Inarguably Boston, you craphounds.

a 2 horse race for sure

Despite pashmina's best efforts I think we might have a record amount of 0 votes for a lot of albums.
Or was that the intention? ;-)

Gotta vote for the Slippery here. Bon Jovi gets absolutely zero ILM love.

Mr Snrub have you seen Poll : Best Bon Jovi Album ? ?

bump

I'm sure I've seen some ILM love for early 70s Heart before. It's pretty different to the 80s hits isn't it?

Boston s/t kicks all sorts of ass. gets my vote easy.

Yes, HGN, but the best songs are the radio hits.

Early stuff is more folk influenced isn't it? At least Led Zep III type folk.

Taking Sides: 1970s Heart vs. 1980s Heart

Ahh that's the thread I was thinking of, knew I'd read it recently.

(the 70s radio hits, obv)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

shock result

and nearly 100 votes.

I was expecting Jimmy Barnes to win. Curious.

EL OH EL

I was expecting Jimmy Barnes to win. Curious.

So you were the 1 vote?

Disappointing showing for Journey there. Who the hell voted for Hughes-Thrall?

So you were the 1 vote?

-- The Ghost Of Dave Ling,

Dave, you are spooky.

Disappointing showing for Journey there.

95 fans of AOR on ILX? It's lucky for them the lex has quit.

I'm sure stephen will be happy to carry the torch.

If Steely Dan had been in this would they have won?

2nd side of 1st boston album blows

No way, "Rock & Roll Band" and "Smokin'" = classiX0r.

Steely Dan probably would have won, but they weren't really AOR.

Surely they were played on AOR stations

You could say they are close, but I wouldn't really consider them AOR. Maybe the first couple of albums.

What more, the would never have gotten into a Kerrang list, as Steely Dan were obviously not the kind of AOR that Kerrang readers would be into.

Geir accuses Kerrang readers of being narrow-minded shockah.

You were a Kerrang reader back then jim.

Steely Dan were obviously not the kind of AOR that Kerrang readers would be into.

Were Fleetwood Mac?? (Not being sarcastic; I would've figured they weren't Kerrangish either, but they're up there.)

Kerr they had Prince on the cover when I was a Kerrang reader. They also launched a quarterly spin-off mag to discuss non Metal stuff, it was the first place I read about Nick Drake.

Nowadays they have to have a spin off mag to discuss metal :P

U2 were on a kerrang cover too , no?

Kate Bush?

Or maybe that was RAW

To be fair the Prince cover was some serious trolling. But I'm sure a readership that could vote for Mr Mister or Magnum or the Mac wouldn't have minds blown by Steely Dan.

U2 prolly, Duran Duran possibly, don't remember Kate Bush.

running up that hill era would fit in maybe

Steely Dan's early stuff I'm sure may have had some fans at kerrang who were into aor. Amongst the writers anyway.

I just remembered that "Hitch a Ride" is on side 2 of Boston. That's one of the best songs on the record.

wow, a poll Fleetwood Mac didn't win on ILM!

They should have done. As much as I like that first Boston LP, Rumours is the superior record.

nah

The Real 100 Greatest Albums of the 80s
http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-12-23/the-real-100-greatest-records-of-the-1980s

Classic Rock magazine has been exhumed from the dead! And what a better way to come back than a follow-up to last year’s bats**t crazy bonkers list, “The Real 100 Greatest Albums of the 70s.” What they really mean is what are the second or even fourth best albums of that decade by their favorite artists.

I appreciate the list, because it’s fun to rediscover albums I hadn’t thought about in a few decades, thought I hated but now am vaguely nostalgic for, and albums where the singles were so overplayed and horrible, I refused to listen to them until recently, like the entries from The Cars, Foreigner, Dire Straits and Journey (I like the non-single Cars cuts, but the Foreigner is terrible).
The only problem I see with the list is that there are also some pretty standard critical favorites that seem out of place on this list, like Bauhaus, PiL, Pogues, Dead Kennedys, Pixies, Bob Mould, Big Country, Green On Red, Gun Club, Killing Joke, Siouxsie, The Cure, JAMC, Talking Heads, Roxy Music, Pretenders, Elvis Costello, R.E.M., Lou Reed, The Replacements, NIN, Peter Gabriel, The Clash, Jane’s Addiction, Squeeze, Metallica, Bowie. Also some predictable choices from Tom Petty, Springsteen, Mellencamp, U2, Police, etc. I think they should have just followed through full-on with the cheese and stuck with the likes of Asia, John Waite, Survivor, REO Speedwagon, Eddie Money, Mr. Mister, Mike & the Mechanics, Bryan Adams, Aldo Nova, Saga and The Fixx.

I’m digging the Night Ranger album right now, and Billy Squier has been on heavy rotation on my playlists for the past decade. I’m mostly unfamiliar with the albums from 1988-89 (Europe, Gun, Sea Hags, DL Roth, Robert Plant, Bad English, Enuff Z’Nuff, King’s X), as at the time I was in college and not exposed to radio other than friends’ shows.

97) Agent Provocateur - Foreigner (1984)
95) Dawn Patrol - Night Ranger (1982)
94) MSG - The Michael Schenker Group (1981)
92) Emotions In Motion - Billy Squier (1982)
87) Out Of This World - Europe (1988)
86) Street Talk - Steve Perry (1984)
84) Everybody’s Crazy - Michael Bolton (1985)
82) Battle Hymns - Manowar (1982)
80) Taking On The World - Gun (1989)
78) Sea Hags - Sea Hags (1989)
75) Brian Wilson - Brian Wilson (1988)
73) Copperhead Road - Steve Earle (1988)
72) Slam - Dan Reed Network (1989)
71) Long Cold Winter - Cinderella (1988)
69) Unmasked - Kiss (1980)
63) Earthshaker - Y&T (1981)
62) Welcome To Hell - Venom (1981)
60) Deface The Music - Utopia (1980)
59) Mirage - Fleetwood Mac (1982)
58) Rebel Yell - Billy Idol (1983)
57) Rage For Order - Queensrÿche (1986)
56) The Last In Line - Dio (1984)
55) Corridors Of Power - Gary Moore (1982)
53) Bad English - Bad English (1989)
52) Enuff Z’Nuff - Enuff Z’Nuff (1989)
51) Two Steps From The Move - Hanoi Rocks (1984)
50) Empty Glass - Pete Townshend (1980)
49) Blackout - Scorpions (1982)
47) Heartbeat City - The Cars (1984)
44) Point Of Entry - Judas Priest (1981)
43) Dead Ringer - Meat Loaf
40) Discipline - King Crimson (1981)
39) Frontiers - Journey (1983)
36) Surfing With The Alien - Joe Satriani (1987)
34) Duke - Genesis (1980)
32) Drama - Yes (1980)
30) The Works - Queen (1984)
28) Love Junk - The Pursuit Of Happiness (1988)
27) Orgasmatron - Motörhead (1986)
25) Signals - Rush (1982)
24) Piece Of Mind - Iron Maiden (1983)
22) Out Of The Silent Planet - King’s X (1988)
21) Skid Row - Skid Row (1989)
20) Skyscraper - David Lee Roth (1988)
17) Clutching At Straws - Marillion (1987)
16) Imaginos - Blue Öyster Cult (1988)
14) For Those About To Rock We Salute You - AC/DC (1981)
8) Now And Zen - Robert Plant (1988)
6) Live… In The Heart Of The City - Whitesnake (1980)
5) Done With Mirrors - Aerosmith (1985)
3) High ‘N’ Dry - Def Leppard (1981)
2) Women And Children First - Van Halen (1980)
1) Heaven And Hell - Black Sabbath (1980)

Why is so much of the list missing?

Noodle Vague is making me listen to Magnum