Acclaimed Music Top 25 Albums from 1986 poll

So

This one is so tough. Either Metallica, Slayer, or Run-DMC.

King of America

Contenders:

Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill
Peter Gabriel - So
Prince and The Revolution - Parade
Anita Baker - Rapture
Janet Jackson - Control
R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant
Sonic Youth - EVOL
The Costello Show - King of America
The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
Paul Simon - Graceland

A shame Pet Shop Boys' Please didn't make the cut.

I voted So.

some albums just missing the Top 25 include: 26 The Go-Betweens - Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express, 27 Madonna - True Blue, 28 The Triffids - Born Sandy Devotional, 29 The The - Infected, 30 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Your Funeral... My Trial, 31 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Kicking Against the Pricks, 33 Crowded House - Crowded House, 34 New Order - Brotherhood, 35 Pet Shop Boys - Please, 41 Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?, 42 Public Image Ltd. - Album/Compact Disc/Cassette, 46 Throwing Muses - Throwing Muses, 47 The Feelies - The Good Earth, 57 James - Stutter and 61 The Fall - Bend Sinister.

Came in here all ready to vote for I Against I, but got sidetracked by Janet

Tough call between Skylarking, Parade and The Colour of Spring.

Sad not to see Word Up by Cameo on the list, probably my favourite album from 86.

"Black Celebration"

Still listen to it nonstop... "Fly on the Windscreen," "But Not Tonight," "Here Is the House." They're all classics

Would have much preferred to vote for The The or PIL. Went with REM as that's my fave from them and I'm more inclined to play it today than the others.

Astor Piazolla and Talk Talk are the two that I still listen to.

surprised myself by voting REM

Atomizer, easily.

EVOL is one of my favorite albums ever

My favourite Prince album beats my second favourite Depeche Mode album.

control

went with Sonic Youth, although I love the Prince, Beasties, and Run-DMC

Queen is Dead by a mile

These polls are interesting to me. I never realized that I liked the mid-80s so much.

I sometimes think EVOL is my all-time favourite album so it will be hard to beat. I love these though:

28 The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
3 157 Metallica - Master of Puppets
7 288 Slayer - Reign in Blood
13 703 R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant

like this:
17 810 Bon Jovi - Slippery when Wet

and have not listened these in their entirety but expect that I might like them:

2 76 Paul Simon - Graceland
4 178 Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell
5 207 Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill
6 214 Peter Gabriel - So
8 476 XTC - Skylarking
9 607 Prince and The Revolution - Parade
12 698 Janet Jackson - Control
18 849 Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring
20 888 Hüsker Dü - Candy Apple Grey
21 900 Big Black - Atomizer
25 1242 Astor Piazzolla - Tango: Zero Hour / Nuevo Tango: Hora Zero

Skylarking, a perfect album.

no New Order or Pet Shop Boys is weak. but i could vote Raising Hell, Queen is Dead or EVOL and still live w/myself

Master of puppets I'm pulling your strings
Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams.

jesus christ this is difficult

1 28 The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
4 178 Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell
5 207 Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill
6 214 Peter Gabriel - So
9 607 Prince and The Revolution - Parade
11 669 Anita Baker - Rapture
12 698 Janet Jackson - Control
16 787 Bad Brains - I Against I
21 900 Big Black - Atomizer
24 1161 Depeche Mode - Black Celebration

I have a compelling argument for voting for any of these, if Madonna, PSB, PiL and The The had made it as well I'd just sit here crying

Would've voted for:
The Church - Heyday
David Sylvian - Gone to Earth
Blow Monkeys - Animal Magic (soooooo underrated)

Voting for:
Talk Talk

Lots of great stuff there though!

Graceland, So, and Skylarking are the 3 here that I love, but I gotta pick Graceland here.

could be any of about 10 things, but i voted for bad brains

Hard for me to pick anything over Licensed to Ill

slayer

i dont know guys, Skylarking is really the only great album here

out of the half or so of these I've heard that is

piffle

Licensed To Ill vs Queen Is Dead

XTC, followed by REM.

1 28 The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
2 76 Paul Simon - Graceland
3 157 Metallica - Master of Puppets
4 178 Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell
6 214 Peter Gabriel - So
7 288 Slayer - Reign in Blood
9 607 Prince and The Revolution - Parade
12 698 Janet Jackson - Control
13 703 R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant
16 787 Bad Brains - I Against I
21 900 Big Black - Atomizer
24 1161 Depeche Mode - Black Celebration
25 1242 Astor Piazzolla - Tango: Zero Hour / Nuevo Tango: Hora Zero

i could easily vote for any of these. wtf man

after thinking about this, going to vote for The Queen Is Dead which surprises me a bit. this will be the second time because i also voted for Hatful of Hollow.

I should have included Graceland on my list in retrospect, I always think I admire that album more than I like it but really no, I think it's fucking awesome I just never listen to it

There are a few albums on that list where I'd probably still like about half; ditto for True Blue, maybe ditto for Please. Prefer The Good Earth to all of them, though.

so i'm only going through 1989, seems to be a good idea as these thread don't have as much going for them as they once did. they do generate votes but not talk however.

well because we'll agree that So is awesome.

Meh its only so-so

The No Comprendo. Such a classic in franco-pop it appears in an anglo list.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

you know Fastnbulbous's top 500 albums list is one of things that gets tabulated into this. In fact, he's probably singlehandedly responsible for Junior Murvin's Police and Thieves getting into their top 3000 (good work)

Steve Earle

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

haha ILM never change

ugh

Can we forcefully convert Smiths fans to Anita Baker fans or have them slaughtered for heresy? I feel like an Inquisition is needed.

Love the top 4 albums.

Who else voted for Les Rita Mitsouko?

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2013/08/05/vote-for-best-albums-of-1986/

The Church, ‘Heyday’
Clan of Xymox, ‘Medusa’
Love and Rockets, ‘Express’
The Lucy Show, ‘Mania’
Gene Loves Jezebel, ‘Discover’
The Mighty Lemon Drops, ‘Happy Head’
New Model Army, ‘The Ghost of Cain’
New Order, ‘Brotherhood’
The Smiths, ‘The Queen is Dead’
Spacemen 3, ‘Sound of Confusion’
This Mortal Coil, ‘Filigree & Shadow’

Results:

1. The Smiths, The Queen Is Dead
BACKSTORY: The band’s third album is seen as its masterwork by many fans, managing to balance the silly (“Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others”) with the sublime (“There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”).
SINGLES: “The Boy With the Thorn In His Side,” “Bigmouth Strikes Again”
BAND: Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke, Mike Joyce
PRODUCER: Morrissey and Johnny Marr

2. Depeche Mode, Black Celebration
BACKSTORY: With their fifth album, Depeche Mode continued to darken their sound (most noticeably on the title track) while still churning out classic singles and offering Martin Gore an unusual four lead vocals.
SINGLES: “Stripped,” “A Question of Lust,” “A Question of Time”
BAND: Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher, Alan Wilder
PRODUCER: Depeche Mode, Daniel Miller and Gareth Jones

3. R.E.M., Lifes Rich Pageant
BACKSTORY: On their fourth album, R.E.M. bulked up with a more muscular rock sound, and began touching on more overt environmental themes in songs like the classic single “Fall On Me” and “Cuyahoga.”
SINGLES: “Fall On Me,” “Superman”
BAND: Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe
PRODUCER: Don Gehman

4. New Order, Brotherhood
BACKSTORY: New Order, with this, their fourth studio album, continued to mix post-punk instrumentation with increasing electronics, the latter of which resulted in a breakout U.S. hit in “Bizarre Love Triangle.”
SINGLES: “State of the Nation,” “Bizarre Love Triangle”
BAND: Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Gillian Gilbert
PRODUCER: New Order

5. Love and Rockets, Express
BACKSTORY: On their sophomore effort, the former Bauhaus members delved further into psychedelia-fueled glam. The U.S. release of the album had the single “Ball of Confusion” shoehorned onto Side A.
SINGLES: “Kundalini Express,” “Yin and Yang (The Flowerpot Man)”
BAND: Daniel Ash, David J, Kevin Haskins
PRODUCER: John A. Rivers and Love and Rockets

6. Peter Gabriel, So
BACKSTORY: On his fifth studio album, the former Genesis frontman re-teamed with Daniel Lanois and moved firmly into pop, resulting in a global smash record and a string of hit singles and videos.
SINGLES: “Sledgehammer,” “Don’t Give Up,” “Big Time,” “In Your Eyes,” “Red Rain”
BAND: Peter Gabriel, Tony Levin, David Rhodes, Jarry Marotta, Manu Katche
PRODUCER: Daniel Lanois and Peter Gabriel

7. XTC, Skylarking
BACKSTORY: XTC’s ninth album became a fluke hit in the U.S. after the success of B-side “Dear God,” which, after garnering airplay, was added to later pressings of the album and released as a proper single.
SINGLES: “Grass,” “The Meeting Place,” “Dear God”
BAND: Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, Dave Gregory
PRODUCER: Todd Rundgren

8. Siouxsie and the Banshees, Tinderbox
BACKSTORY: With their seventh album, the Banshees introduced new guitarist John Valentine Carruthers, and scored their best-performing U.S. single to date with modern-rock classic “Cities in Dust.”
SINGLES: “Cities in Dust,” “Candyman”
BAND: Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, Budgie, John Valentine Carruthers
PRODUCER: Siouxsie and the Banshees

9. Pet Shop Boys, Please
BACKSTORY: The 11-track debut from Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe was a hit-filled affair, a synthpop favorite that spun off four now-classic singles that helped send the record to No. 3 in the U.K.
SINGLES: “West End Girls,” “Love Comes Quickly,” “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money),” “Suburbia”
BAND: Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe
PRODUCER: Stephen Hague

10. Hüsker Dü, Candy Apple Grey
BACKSTORY: The Huskers made the jump to a major label on their fifth album, a 10-song collection that also found the band firmly moving past its hardcore roots to a more palatable college-rock sound.
SINGLES: “Don’t Want To Know if You Are Lonely,” “Sorry Somehow”
BAND: Bob Mould, Grant Hart, Greg Norton
PRODUCER: Bob Mould and Grant Hart

11. The Mission, Gods Own Medicine
12. The The, Infected
13. Public Image Ltd., Album
14. Crowded House, Crowded House
15. Cocteau Twins, Victorialand
16. Duran Duran, Notorious
17. The Housemartins, London 0 Hull 4
18. They Might Be Giants, They Might Be Giants
19. Talk Talk, The Colour of Spring
20. Erasure, Wonderland

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/the-chameleons.jpg

21. The Chameleons, Strange Times
22. The Church, Heyday
23. Taking Heads, True Stories
24. Sonic Youth, Evol
25. Ministry, Twitch
26. Billy Bragg, Talking with the Taxman about Poetry
27. a-ha, Scoundrel Days
28. The Smithereens, Especially For You
29. Book of Love, Book of Love
30. Concrete Blonde, Concrete Blonde

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/this-mortal-coil.jpg

31. This Mortal Coil, Filigree & Shadow
32. Kraftwerk, Electric Café (aka Techno Pop)
33. Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Blood & Chocolate
34. Peter Murphy, Should the World Fail to Fall Apart
35. Clan of Xymox, Medusa
36. Elvis Costello (aka The Costello Show), King of America
37. Big Audio Dynamite, No. 10, Upping St.
38. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Your Funeral… My Trial
39. Bad Brains, I Against I
40. Skinny Puppy, Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/eurythmics.jpg

41. Eurythmics, Revenge
42. Dead Kennedys, Bedtime for Democracy
43. Throwing Muses, Throwing Muses
44. Killing Joke, Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
45. New Model Army, The Ghost of Cain
46. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, The Pacific Age
47. Billy Idol, Whiplash Smile
48. Violent Femmes, The Blind Leading the Naked
49. The B-52s, Bouncing off the Satellites
50. Gene Loves Jezebel, Discover

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/david-sylvian.jpg

51. David Sylvian, Gone to Earth
52. The Feelies, The Good Earth
53. The Cramps, A Date With Elvis
54. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Kicking Against the Pricks
55. Big Black, Atomizer
56. Iggy Pop, Blah Blah Blah (TIE)
56. World Party, Private Revolution (TIE)
58. Big Country, The Seer
59. Camper Van Beethoven, Camper Van Beethoven (TIE)
59. The Mighty Lemon Drops, Happy Head (TIE)

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/sisterhood.jpg

61. The Sisterhood, Gift
62. The Fall, Bend Sinister
63. Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians, Element of Light
64. The Damned, Anything
65. The Bangles, Different Light
66. The Go-Betweens, Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express
67. Spacemen 3, Sound of Confusion
68. Revolting Cocks, Big Sexy Land
69. fIREHOSE, Ragin’, Full On
70. Let’s Active, Big Plans For Everybody

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/howard-jones.jpg

71. Howard Jones, One to One (TIE)
71. Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Flaunt It (TIE)
73. The Bolshoi, Friends
74. The Call, Reconciled
75. Harold Budd, Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie & Simon Raymonde, The Moon and the Melodies (TIE)
75. The Human League, Crash (TIE)
77. The Dead Milkmen, Eat Your Paisley!
78. The Pretenders, Get Close
79. Art of Noise, In Visible Silence (TIE)
79. BoDeans, Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams (TIE)

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/ramones.jpg

81. Ramones, Animal Boy
82. Butthole Surfers, Rembrandt Pussyhorse
83. Stan Ridgway, The Big Heat
84. James, Stutter
85. Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Liverpool
86. Alphaville, Afternoons in Utopia
87. Coil, Horse Rotorvator
88. Communards, Communards
89. Everything But the Girl, Baby, the Stars Shine Bright
90. Game Theory, Big Shot Chronicles

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/that-petrol-emotion.jpg

91. That Petrol Emotion, Manic Pop Thrill
92. Shriekback, Big Night Music
93. The Triffids, Born Sandy Devotional
94. The Woodentops, Giant
95. The Fixx, Walkabout
96. Dumptruck, Positively Dumptruck
97. Fishbone, In Your Face
98. Icehouse, Measure for Measure (TIE)
98. Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, Paint Your Wagon (TIE)
100. Guadalcanal Diary, Jamboree

My list

01 The Chameleons – Strange Times [21]
02 The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead [1]
03 The Feelies – The Good Earth [52]
04 Bad Brains – I Against I [39]
05 And Also The Trees – Virus Meadow [--]
06 XTC – Skylarking [7]
07 The Woodentops – Giant [94]
08 Screaming Blue Messiahs – Gun Shy [--]
09 Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Your Funeral . . . My Trial [38]
10 New Model Army - The Ghost Of Cain [45]

New Model Army is a recent add for me as for years I only had their first two. Woodentops and Screaming Blue Messiahs were freakin DISSED. I can understand how And Also The Trees are under the radar as I hadn't heard about them until last year! Also missing are Died Pretty, Lowlife (the band not the New Order album), Scratch Acid, Hunters & Collectors, Melvins, Wipers.