experimental music 80s

10 Essential ’80s Industrial Tracks

Industrial music only makes sense during the darkest, coldest, eeriest times of the year. That doesn’t mean you can’t listen to it at any other time—in fact, if you need to cast a heavy shadow over your immediate surroundings, spinning some Nurse With Wound or Throbbing Gristle will do just that. But now that it’s fall, the abrasive pulse of industrial beckons us, in particular the experimental golden age of the 1980s. That’s when the genre evolved from Throbbing Gristles performance-art noise (“Industrial music for industrial people”) toward something resembling pop music—dark, abrasive, fucked up pop music. Yet most of industrial’s most notable bands were all very different from one another. Einsturzende Neubauten made metal shop into a machine choir. Ministry evolved from a kind of new romantic darkwave toward the punishing industrial metal we know today. And Cabaret Voltaire—well, depending on what month you were listening, they could have been up to something entirely different. A few years ago, we ran a list of the 10 most essential industrial albums , but that’s not exactly what we’re up to here. This is a window into the vast and varied creative explosions during the genre’s most important decade. Check out our list of 10 Essential ’80s industrial tracks.

One of the most accessible tracks by one of music’s—not just industrial’s—most inaccessible, disturbing bands, “Adrenalin” could pass for a darker-than-average Depeche Mode outtake. It’s really goddamn danceable, and the refrain of “ Paper-thin adrenaline ,” oddly talk-sung by vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Genesis P-Orridge, makes for a decent hook. Lest you forget who you’re listening to, the proto-house pulse and jaunty synth lines are frequently offset by flashes of machinelike noise that at times sounds like muffled, distorted screams, which sound more in line with the band’s regular output. If you’re intrigued, by all means dive further into Throbbing Gristle’s discography. But if you come upon “Slug Bait,” listen to it and then wish desperately that you could un-hear it, don’t say I didn’t warn you. I can’t overstate this. – LG

Sheffield’s Cabaret Voltaire changed styles from release to release, thus making their form of industrial a highly versatile and changeable one. It took shape in the late ’70s as a mangled minimal synth buzz with “Nag Nag Nag,” and later morphed into dancefloor EBM with “Sensoria.” In between, however, the group’s experimental tendencies took them to a fascinating, almost no wave aesthetic on 1982’s 2×45—named as such because the album comprised two 45 RPM records. Its leadoff track, “Breathe Deep,” is a noisy and seething orgy of dancepunk shrieks and growls. It’s funkier than most of the band’s other tracks, but still retains the sinister atmosphere that made Cabaret Voltaire one of the industrial era’s most innovative and compelling bands. It’s fun, yet eerie, as all great industrial should be. – JT

Australian synth-industrial outfit Severed Heads covered a lot of ground early on in their career, from noisy minimal synth a la Cabaret Voltaire to more abstract treatments in the vein of Nurse With Wound. Yet 1983’s “Dead Eyes Opened” remains their greatest moment, if for no other reason than that it’s their most immediate. No doubt inspired by industrial progenitors Throbbing Gristle, Severed Heads took that group’s two greatest songs—”Hamburger Lady” and “Hot on the Heels of Love”—and mashed up their central concepts, namely grotesque narrative and gorgeously minimal synth-disco. As a fluttering array of synths creates a mesmerizing hook atop a pulsing beat, a man narrates a story of a lightning storm reanimating a severed head. It’s wondrously macabre, and with a fiendish noise solo just to cap the whole sinister affair. – JT

In and of itself, Frank Tovey’s Fad Gadget wasn’t exclusively an industrial band, though early tracks like the darkly humorous social commentary of “Lady Shave” certainly danced along the borderline between industrial and new wave. “Collapsing New People,” however, can pretty safely be called an industrial track (even proto-EBM) for one important reason: The track prominently featured the instrumental and percussive talents of German experimentalists Einsturzende Neubauten. In fact, that band’s name translates to “Collapsing new buildings,” hence the title reference. Fascinatingly, though its personnel comprises an avant garde house band, it’s among Fad Gadget’s catchiest songs, its clanging glass-bottle percussion and buzzsaw synths adding up to a harmonic convergence that’s best heard on the dance floor—collapsing, concrete-sealed or otherwise. – JT

Some (including me, for a long time) simply perceive Einsturzende Neubauten as That Other Band Blixa Bargeld Was In aside from the Bad Seeds. In truth, they’re one of the seminal industrial bands, as important as Ministry, Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle. “Halber Mensch” (“half-man” in German), the opening track of the album that shares its name, is not a typical example of the band’s post-punk-derived, chaotically percussive racket. It’s nothing but the band’s chanting voices and some ambient noise. What it does do, however, is stretch the boundaries of what industrial could do with less predictable means of noisemaking, evoking the relentless menace of the genre through whispers every bit as effective as screams. – LG

Taken as a whole, Coil’s 1986 album Horse Rotorvator is, to borrow a phrase from Nosferatu, a “symphony of horror.” But broken up into its individual tracks, it’s—if you can believe it—even more harrowing. Leadoff track “The Anal Staircase” is relatively accessible compared to the unsettling laughter of “Circles of Mania” or the atonal horror flick shrieks of “Blood from the Air,” but this is all relative. It is, after all, a pounding industrial number called “The Anal Staircase,” the imagery of which creates its own horror. It’s catchy in its own way, like Depeche Mode gone evil, but Jhon Balance’s manic delivery, coupled with metallic percussive clinks and disembodied voices, turns it into a breathtaking piece of macabre party music. Watch your step. – JT

The Canadian industrialists finally ventured into singles territory with this track from deep inside their third LP. It widened the audience for Cevin Key’s kitchen-sink arrangements of aggressive electronics and frightening samples, as well as Nivek Ogre’s all-encompassing lyrics of despair, his death-metal vocabulary seemingly raging against multiple worldly ills simultaneously. If the song’s video and the refrain “ Execute economic slave ” are in any way meaningful, we’re probably listening to a screed against the corporate state. Everything about this cut is high-frequency, drenched in treble: the clattering percussion, the wheedling synths above the chorus, even the processing on Ogre’s vocals. Teetering on both accessibility and danceability, “Dig It” is as close to a dog whistle as music can get. – AB

Throbbing Gristle may have named their classic 1979 album 20 Jazz Funk Greats , but if there’s any act who can lay claim to actually including those titular genres in their brand of industrial, it’s this crew out of Swindon, England. Even more distinctive is that after work like “God O.D.” got released on labels on Wax Trax! and Sweat Box, MBM’s “industrial” label turned out to be a pigeonhole and misnomer, with later albums more obviously embracing house and dub. Even so, this cut playfully twisted industrial music’s foundations: brutal yet squirrelly beats that sounded like they were played live in the studio, leftfield sampledelica that included looped trumpet, and yelled vocals that turned down the distortion and turned up the rap. – AB

This is the cleaned-up, hefty album version from the Belgian group’s third album, Front by Front , but its long remix history helped set up “Headhunter” as Front 242’s biggest hit and one of the genre’s greatest anthems. With its relentless rhythm, instrumental bursts (of staccato keyboard, of synthesized bass strings, of triggered guitar), and growled melody, “Headhunter” is pretty much the epicenter of electronic body music, industrial music’s offshoot targeted for the dance floor. There’s not much bang-on-a-can experimentation or found sound going on here, so the song’s rebellious nature comes from its lyrical theme, positioning the daily grind as a sanitized version of Surviving the Game —contract as weapon, office as hunting ground, workers as prey and trophies. – AB

This opening track of Ministry’s cult classic fourth album The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste was a true gateway drug to listeners of both industrial at large and the band in particular during the 1990s. Al Jourgensen’s rebel yell against political chicanery (“ Which side are they? Which side are they? Which side of their mouth do you suppose? ”) was propelled by rock sounds made mammoth by technology. His and Paul Barker’s guitars were processed to the speed of lit strings of firecrackers, while Bill Rieflin’s drums hit eardrums like gun hammers hit bullets. Drills became riffs; dialogue from The War at Home and Full Metal Jacket became part of the Greek chorus. Here was the popular tipping point for when industrial dance became industrial metal. You can’t do a gothy, jackbooted version of the white man’s shuffle to this song, but you can sure as shit mosh to it. Psalm 69 would appear three years later, and if you were lucky enough to know “Thieves” then you were prepared. – AB

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The 200+ Best Experimental Bands & Musicians, Ranked

Unlike other musical genres, anything that experimental bands do is unpredictable. Whether that's by nature, by training or just something they enjoy doing, experimental artists know how to push the envelope on what their fans consume sonically and their songs generally challenge the convention of even what loyal fans can predict will happen. The bands on this list are generally of the pop and rock music variety. Many of the experimental bands and experimental artists are on here for their willingness to change song structure, fuse genres and use instruments and sounds that weren't well known or even thought of in the same way.

So, what are the best experimental bands and experimental artists? You've probably heard of the experimental music artists that are in the top half of this list. David Bowie, Bjork, Animal Collective, Frank Zappa and Peter Murphy are names associated with experimental music. These artists have all challenged their listeners by releasing music that isn't conventional and thus, have actually become more beloved by their fans.

That said, it's up to you to determine what are the best experimental bands. If you notice that a band isn't on this list and should be, feel free to add them. This list answers the questions "who are the best experimental music bands of all time?" and "who is the greatest experimental music musician ever?"

David Bowie

The Velvet Underground

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

Death Grips

50 Unfashionable But Brilliant 80s Bands That Time Cruelly Forgot

1 trouble funk.

We’ve sifted through the cultural residue of the Noughties and 90s, so now it’s time to jog memories of the 80s, starting with hugely influential Washington Go Go crew Trouble Funk . Their 1982 track ‘Pump Me Up’ that really lives on, sampled by M/A/R/R/S, Public Enemy, George Clinton, EPMD, Kurtis Blow, Squarepusher, Run-DMC, Will Smith, Vanilla Ice…

2 The Woodentops

The Woodentops . Named after a 1950s TV puppet series, The Woodentops were (indeed still are) a London ramshackle rock band with a sliver of potential. They were championed by Morrissey and looked the band most likely to, but it never came off. “We’ve always been optimistic,” singer Rolo McGinty told NME nevertheless. “We’ve never been but wholly optimistic, crazily optimistic.”

3 The Replacements

The Replacements . Totally not forgotten but somehow utterly excised from the cultural narrative (man), unless you’re American. They were semi-huge in America, always popping up in Rolling Stone polls and looking for all the world like rivals for REM, but none of that gave The Replacements any kind of profile over here. Now they’re back! Back! BACK! and you still don’t know.

4 The Trash Can Sinatras

The Trash Can Sinatras . To give them their due, Scotland’s Trash Can Sinatras were forgotten in both the 80s and the 90s – and are still around, knocking about under the radar today. Signed to Go! Discs in 1987, they went for chirpy, post-Housemartins indie-pop and resolutely failed to match their forebears’ success. Here’s to you, Ol’ Blue Eyeses.

5 James Taylor Quartet

James Taylor Quartet . And where’s acid jazz now? Washed away with the goatee shavings of history. James Taylor (not the hokey Laurel Canyon crooner of the 1970s) and the other three (and often more) are still hauling their version of ‘Starsky And Hutch’ around, but it’s all strictly for the heads. Presumably. Someone must be going.

6 The Men They Couldn’t Hang

The Men They Couldn’t Hang . The Men They Couldn’t Hang are still here. Their heyday though was in 1985 when their raucous folk-punk went all the way to No.3 in John Peel’s Festive 50 with first single ‘The Green Fields Of France’, and Sean O’Hagan in NME described them as “blissfully anarchic”.

7 Rip Rig + Panic

Rip Rig + Panic . “We feel we’re totally happening just now,” guitarist Gareth Sager told NME in 1982. “We can lay it down harder than the rest.” Bristol post-punk-fun-jazzateers Rip Rig + Panic had to settle in the long-run for being one of those names to drop and not much else, but singer Neneh Cherry survived to forge a decent career. You’ll have heard of her.

8 The Sound

The Sound . Fronted by the “brilliant, troubled” (according to Uncut) Adrian Borland, The Sound emerged from South London in 1979 toting the kind of widescreen rock taken into the mainstream by contemporaries like U2 and Echo & The Bunnymen, but never received their due. Borland committed suicide in 1999, 11 years after the band split.

Tackhead . Not entirely defunct yet, Tackhead’s fame was still pretty much confined to the 80s, when US rhythm kings Skip McDonald, Doug Wimbish and Keith Leblanc hooked up with London mixmaster Adrian Sherwood to create a fearsome soundsystem. There was a flash of commercial success at the turn of the 90s but Tackhead have retreated behind shuddering beats.

10 Smith & Mighty

Smith & Mighty . Rob Smith and Ray Mighty are rarely mentioned catalysts of the Bristol trip-hop scene that wormed its tendrils everywhere in the 90s. They’d got going earlier, releasing ‘Anyone…’ (a cover of Dionne Warwick’s ‘Anyone Who Had A Heart’) in 1988 and producing Massive Attack’s first single ‘Any Love’ into the bargain.

11 Spear Of Destiny

Spear Of Destiny . A former Blitz kid and member of Theatre Of Hate, Kirk Brandon found his own vehicle in Spear Of Destiny but he never quite got to grips with the pop thing. “It’s just a diversion for young people, isn’t it? It’s just cannon fodder,” Brandon told Melody Maker in 1984. Still, the chest-beating ‘Never Take Me Alive’ was a bona fide hit in 1987.

12 The Pale Fountains

The Pale Fountains . The brilliant thing about including the Pale Fountains here is the fact they pretty much appeared in our 90s list in their Shack guise. Brothers Mick and John Head are the doyens of unjust obscurity and they honed their skills with the Fountains’ soulful, weathered pop alongside producer Ian Broudie – a Lightning Seed in the making.

13 Martin Stephenson & The Daintees

Martin Stephenson & The Daintees . Kitchenware labelmates of Prefab Sprout – not included here; everyone remembers Prefab Sprout, especially Destroyer – Sunderland’s Martin Stephenson & The Daintees peddled a pure but sophisticated folk-rock on treasured albums like ‘Boat To Bolivia’ and ‘Gladsome, Humour & Blue’ and Stephenson still wheels out the “hits” on the road today.

14 Lisa Lisa, Cult Jam & Full Force

Lisa Lisa, Cult Jam & Full Force . Readers of a certain age may find titles like ‘Let The Beat Hit ‘Em’ and ‘I Wonder If I Take You Home’ ring a bell, because 80s hipsters managed to nudge this freestyle/hip-hop amalgam of a band into the charts. In the States though, they were huge. Actual No.1 singles and platinum albums. Bet they don’t remember them either though.

Win . Formed from the embers of DIY legends The Fire Engines and later to morph into T. Rex/Television fanboys The Nectarine No.9, Scotland’s Win released two lurid but wonderful bubblegum pop albums, ‘Uh! Tears Baby (A Trash Icon)’ and ‘Freaky Trigger’, and punted out unspeakably catchy single ‘You’ve Got The Power’ about a dozen times to criminally little effect.

16 23 Skidoo

23 Skidoo . If anyone’s thinking about industrial funk crew 23 Skidoo these days, it’s because their ‘Coup’ was sampled by The Chemical Brothers for 1997 No.1 ‘Block Rockin’ Beats’. Even that’s ancient now. “It would be hard to come up with something commercially feasible,” they told NME in 1982, but in a way they did.

17 Gene Loves Jezebel

Gene Loves Jezebel . If you picked up any of the inkies around 1986, you’d have been guaranteed to see luscious, pouting twin brothers Jay and Michael Aston staring back at you. The indie-goths never quite made it (best known song ‘Sweetest Thing’ made No.75) but they’ve carried on, now split into two versions, each led by a twin.

18 Front 242

Front 242 . Sometimes you can influence everyone under the sun, change the course of a continent’s music, and still no one knows who the blazes you are. Belgian electro-industrialists Front 242 have been working their uncompromising niche since 1981, just out of scope, a profound presence in the music of Nine Inch Nails, the Prodigy and other hard-edged technicians.

19 We’ve Got A Fuzzbox And We’re Gonna Use It!!

We’ve Got A Fuzzbox And We’re Gonna Use It!! . It’s OK, they shortened their name to Fuzzbox when commercial success came beckoning. Yet another 80s band that’s reappeared recently to milk those nostalgia quids, the Brummie ladies were a (vaguely) slick precursor to Riot Grrrl and enjoyed four whole top 40 hits.

20 Les Negresses Vertes

Les Negresses Vertes . French pop in the 1980s wasn’t all Johnny Hallyday and inexplicably long stays at the top of the charts for Supertramp. No, there was room too for crazy baroque rockers Les Negresses Vertes, one of the few Gallic exports at the time to make any kind of impact over here. Debut album ‘Mlah’ flirted with the top 100 before we lost interest again.

21 The Frank Chickens

The Frank Chickens . Music press and John Peel Festive 50 mainstays in the mid-80s, Japanese duo The Frank Chickens (Kazuko Hohki and Kazumi Taguchi) actually had some sort of mainstream breakthrough at the end of the decade when they hosted short-lived karaoke show Kazuko’s Karaoke Klub on Channel 4. Of course you remember it.

22 Diesel Park West

Diesel Park West . Another band who’ve somehow contrived to carry on in the face of nigh-on zero interest, Leicester’s Diesel Park West can still be pegged to 1989, when debut album ‘Shakespeare Alabama’ was released. A robust collection of heartfelt Big Music that also drew heavily on The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield, it disappeared beneath the Madchester wave.

Linx . The apparently immortal David Grant – who now spends his time trying to teach everyone to sing on the BBC – first cropped up as frontman of Brit funk duo Linx, taking a pioneering sound right into the UK top 10 with ‘Intuition’ in 1981. The lure of a drab solo career turned Grant’s head but for a while he was at the fearless vanguard of British black music.

24 Colourbox

Colourbox . Electro bros Martyn and Steve Young were better known when they went off-piste. There was ‘The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme’ – the totally unofficial theme to Mexico ’86 – and then of course there was ‘Pump Up The Volume’. Martyn and Steve were the M and S of M/A/R/R/S with A.R. Kane. Massive hit, but the ensuing legal scrap put the mockers on any more Colourbox records.

25 Dolly Mixture

Dolly Mixture . Cambridge indie-poppers Dolly Mixture had big ambitions. “We just wanna write classic songs,” singer Debsey Wykes told Sounds in 1981 and although the jury’s out on whether they succeeded, they did sing backing vocals on, um, Captain Sensible’s ‘Wot’ and Wykes later duetted with Sarah Cracknell on Saint Etienne’s ‘Who Do You Think You Are’.

26 The Blue Aeroplanes

The Blue Aeroplanes . Bristol’s answer to REM. You can imagine REM endured a long, lonely wait for that. The Blue Aeroplanes, led, perennially, by Gerard Langley made a scuzzed-up but robust rock, in hock to 60s ancestors like The Velvet Underground but attuned like their Atlanta peers to the late 80s. Still around, it’s never quite slotted together.

27 Wee Papa Girl Rappers

Wee Papa Girl Rappers . London’s answer to the Cookie Crew were twin sisters Sandra and Samantha Lawrence, who started out as backing singers to ex-Undertones warbler (and future UK live music tsar) Feargal Sharkey before shaping a short, appealing career with hip-pop gems like ‘Wee Rule’ in 1988.

28 The Railway Children

The Railway Children . Not Jenny Agutter, no, but the equally dreamy Gary Newby and fellow trainspotters. They reached for the moon, this lot, starting off as a sweet jangly proposition on Factory then going for the Virgin Records big bucks and enjoying brief success with ‘Every Beat Of The Heart’ before being inevitably dropped. A tale as old as the hills.

29 The Sandkings

The Sandkings . You might not be hugely familiar with the Wolverhampton grebo-psychers, but you’ll have indelible memories of lead singer Jas Mann who left in the early 90s to pull stupid acid casualty faces as Babylon Zoo. The Sandkings’ loss was truly our pain.

30 Working Week

Working Week . The 1980s were wedged with hepcats – soul boys and jazzateers with nothing to do but flick their hair, slip on moccasins and wear trousers at half-mast. Working Week, like Swing Out Sister and, to an extent, Paul Weller’s Style Council were in this mould, sipping capuccinos and keeping it nice, particularly with ‘Venceremos’.

31 The Shop Assistants

The Shop Assistants . Edinburgh’s Shop Assistants were one of this publication’s C86 bands with a less than representative track – ‘It’s Up To You’ – that didn’t quite capture their shambling semi-aesthetic. Heavily entwined with Scots indie godfathers The Pastels, their debut single was produced by Stephen Pastel and Assistant David Keegan eventually joined his band.

32 The Three Johns

The Three Johns . No indie chart of the mid-80s was complete without a track from left-wing Leeds icons The Three Johns. Jon Langford, John Hyatt and Phillip “John” (you guessed it) Brennan were “probably the best band in the world right now” according to, um, them. “The social workers of rock.”

33 The Nightingales

The Nightingales . Post-punk purists The Nightingales were formed from the wreckage of The Prefects at the fag-end of the 70s, with Robert Lloyd (who would go on to form the excellently named Robert Lloyd And The New Four Seasons) as lead man and main constant over a stop-start 35-year career. They’re back now. Obviously.

34 The Jeremy Days

The Jeremy Days . The German Lloyd Cole & The Commotions. Presumably there was a need for one of those. Their self-titled 1988 debut album was actually produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, the men in the chair for the Commotions’ 1985 set ‘Easy Pieces’, and picked up coverage over here – if not any genuine sales.

35 The Brilliant Corners

The Brilliant Corners . The Brilliant Corners took their name from a Thelonious Monk album and put in respectable hours in the indie charts without taking their off-kilter pop to the big time. A late foray into shoegaze put the kybosh on any lingering hopes and they split in 1993.

36 The Adventures

The Adventures . They coulda been contenders. Or, at least, they coulda been The Feeling. Belfast’s Adventures specialised in grand, sweeping pop, their 1988 single ‘Broken Land’ becoming a hit all over the world without ever quite breaking them. Trouble was, they sounded more like the end of an era than a new beginning.

Stump Microdisney founder members Rob McKahey and Mick Lynch slipped off when the band moved to London and formed Stump, a dazzling opportunity to release some truly ridiculous records. ‘Quirk Out’ is the indie chart legend but ‘Charlton Heston’ featured the line “Charlton Heston put his vest on” which is inspired pop gold.

38 Roman Holiday

Roman Holiday . Spurred by a minor trad rock’n’roll revival in the early 80s, Roman Holiday went all the way and brought back swing. With about a thousand members, all in diddy sailor caps, they managed a top 20 summer belter in 1983 with ‘Don’t Try To Stop It’, but within three years singer Steve Lambert was playing guitar for Page 3 model Sam Fox.

39 Pale Saints

Pale Saints . Sneaking in at the tail end of the decade, Leeds’ Pale Saints lit up the indie charts with 1989 EP ‘Barging Into The Presence Of God’, their fuzzy dream-pop sitting comfortably alongside fare from Cocteau Twins and A.R. Kane, two (at least occasional) 4AD stablemates. Singer Ian Masters left in 1993, ringing the death knell for the band.

40 The Monochrome Set

The Monochrome Set . Oh for the heady days when ubiquitous indie faves The Monochrome Set climbed to the dizzy heights of No.62 in the album chart with their debut ‘Strange Boutique’. The arty Hornsey fourpiece have stuck around in various formations (with the odd 10-year gap) ever since, but never troubled the scorers again.

41 Microdisney

Microdisney . The cruelly undersung brainchild of Cathal Coughlan and Sean O’Hagan. They called out South African “bastards” and Russian despots to the sound of sweet rhythm ‘n’ blues, and ended up brilliantly wasting thousands of Virgin Records pounds.

Hipsway . Despite having matinee idol Grahame “Skin” Skinner on vocals and alt-pop mastermind Johnny McElhone (once of Altered Images, later the driving force behind Texas) on bass, Hipsway never quite exceeded the sum of their promising parts. Still, ‘The Honeythief’ – a clipped slice of Scots disco funk – made the UK top 20 and, well, that’s about it.

43 Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie

Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie . Impassioned Scots rockers Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie are “famous” for two things: minor hit ‘The Rattler’ that sounds so much bigger than it ever was, and being the launchpad for Garbage singer Shirley Manson. They’ve never reformed since their 1995 split. Maybe Manson has better things to do.

44 Crazyhead

Crazyhead . We could fill this list with grebo bands alone, but there are pretty firm Health and Safety regulations around that so let’s settle on another Leicester band who made the No.65 position in the singles chart their own, wallowed in classic names like Vom, Fast Dick and Porkbeast and watched The Wonder Stuff claim all the “glory”.

45 Eyeless In Gaza

Eyeless In Gaza . Nuneaton’s finest, Eyeless In Gaza were named after an Aldous Huxley novel that was named after a John Milton line, because that’s what people did in the early 80s. Occupying the more experimental end of the indie spectrum, they drew on influences like Berlin-era Bowie and Kraftwerk to really nail down that slot on the John Peel Show.

46 Floy Joy

Floy Joy . Everyone knows Floy Joy, of course. Classic Supremes single. But what about the sweet Sheffield soul sounds of the band of the same name? Nada. And that’s no shock – the trio couldn’t buy a hit. Then along comes Alison Moyet, swipes their signature song ‘Weak In The Presence Of Beauty’ and takes it into the Top 10.

47 Close Lobsters

Close Lobsters . Paisley shamblers Close Lobsters never quite threatened a-ha’s mid-80s chart hegemony, but their crisp psychedelia found common ground with other Byrdsian acolytes of the age and there was enough residual affection for the band to justify a reunion 25 years on.

Chakk . There was a lot of this stuff about at the start of the 80s. Cold, industrial funk played by skinny white boys, in the mould of Manchester’s A Certain Ratio. Chakk got together in Sheffield, pulled there by The Human League and Cabaret Voltaire, and ground themselves to dust trying to make an album for MCA. Mark Brydon resurfaced a few years later, forming Moloko with Roisin Murphy.

49 Band Of Susans

Band Of Susans . “We’re trying to focus on very specific things,” singer Robert Poss told Melody Maker’s Simon Reynolds. “It’s the difference between intelligence and cleverness.” It’s the “intelligent” tag that stuck with New York’s Band Of Susans even as they carved audiences up with sheer noise power over 10 clever years.

50 Age Of Chance

Age Of Chance . Long before – OK, two years before – Tom Jones bellowed all over the top of it, Leeds agit-poppers Age Of Chance were putting their own electro spin on Prince’s ‘Kiss’. That minor 1986 hit was the highpoint of a promising career. By 1988, singer Steven-E was out the door and the rest of the band were blowing their potential on sludgy R&B.

The 80s Part I: experimentation, cutting edge tech and breaking into the mainstream

by Max Mahood

May 31, 2019

Peter Gabriel
Phil Collins
Talking Heads
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If the 1970s was the decade that began the revolution of electronic music, the 1980s was the decade that improved it. The 80s also added new cultural and technological features of its own.

If the ’70s paved the way, the early ’80s took music tech to a whole new level. At the crossroads of digital and analog technology, the sky was the limit.

The winds of change.

The early ’80s was a transitional period for music, featuring genres which found their roots in the ’70s. New wave music took inspiration from punk, but also combined elements of disco music to create something punchy but danceable, as demonstrated by bands such as The B-52s , Talking Heads and New Order .

Disco meanwhile had returned to the underground, and found a new, non-commercial direction thanks to the actions of DJs like Larry Levan. From there it evolved through the hands of Frankie Knuckles and Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley, moving the scene westwards to Chicago to create house music, no doubt helped by the ’70s invention of the 12-inch dance single.

Both new wave and house relied on the early ‘80s penchant for technology, specifically synthesis and effects. While technology such as delay effects, synthesisers and samplers were pioneered in the previous decade (the AMS delay and Moog synths spring to mind), they came into their own in the early part of the decade.

Bringing in the Heavies

Despite the expense of heavyweight samplers like the Fairlight , they were already being used on tracks such as Kate Bush ’s Babooshka ; where the glass shattering effect you can hear was included thanks to the CMI and Peter Gabriel . Gabriel also made use of the Fairlight CMI for its synthesis effects on his album Melt .

The orchestra hit was one of the backbones of 1980s music, sampled from a copy of Igor Stravinsky’s ‘Firebird Suite’ and used enthusiastically – along with the Technics SL1200 – by a new musical genre which also started in the late ’70s: hip hop.

New Era, New Style

While hip hop began on the streets of New York City in the ‘70s, it exploded early in the following decade with the introduction of the Roland TR-808 drum machine . While it was initially unsuccessful, repeated price slashing by the Japanese electronics company enabled people to pick it up and start experimenting.

One of the first new tracks to come out of this new electronic paradigm was Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force’s Planet Rock . Released in 1981 on Tommy Boy Records, it was one of the first big hits within the in. The 808 and the ORCH 2 sounds of the Fairlight are present within the first few seconds, and the whole track was built out of electronic sounds.

Tommy Boy records’ chairman, Tom Silverman, explained in an interview that when Planet Rock was being recorded at Intergalactic Studio “…for $35 an hour, we had access to a Neve board , a Fairlight, a Memorymoog and a Roland TR-808. That was pretty much all we used…these giant orchestra hits (referring to ORCH 2), we played them in polyphony to make them sound even bigger.”

Planet Rock’s oft-sampled style (the tinny hi hats of the 808, versus the violent staccato of the Fairlight’s orchestra hit) is the result of two big developments in electronic music. And while they were priced at either end of the spectrum, both the use of the 808 and the Fairlight in Planet Rock typifies the sound of ’80s electronica that has provided decades of inspiration.

As for developments in contemporary rock and pop music, there was a lot of electronic cross-pollination occurring at the time. The Clash were one of 1970s punk’s biggest outfits – but in a nod to hip hop, produced the first track of that genre from a white group: The Magnificent Seven from the group’s Sandinista! album – beating Blondie’s Rapture by six weeks.

Happy Accidents

In terms of pop music, one of the biggest changes that came to define the whole decade came courtesy of Peter Gabriel’s Genesis bandmate, Phil Collins and his long time producer, Hugh Padgham.

While Padgham was recording Peter Gabriel’s Melt , Phil Collins was recruited to play drums on the record at Townhouse Studios, West London. While one studio space was more or less conventional, the complex also featured the “Stone Room”, with stone walls that created a highly reflective acoustic environment.

Like many innovations, the archetypal drum sound of this era came about by accident. The control room for the “Stone Room” was equipped with an SSL B Series mixing console and its talkback function was hooked up to an STC 4021 “ball and biscuit” microphone.

The fluke came about from Padgham leaning on the B Series’ talkback button, but because this function was only wired to talk and not record, Padgham asked the studio engineers to reroute the signal, so that it was possible to record from the talkback circuit.

The sound was such a success, Peter Gabriel wrote his opening track to Melt , Intruder , around the punchy sound. “I switched in a noise gate…that’s where the cut-off sound came from”, according to an interview Padgham gave about the sound’s discovery. This technique was later classified as ‘gated reverb.’

The most famous example of the technique is from Collins’ 1981 debut album Face Value , and the track In The Air Tonight – a song that is now synonymous with that epoch.

Back in the Club

As previously mentioned, electronic sounds were the dominant force in the sound of the early ’80s. Nowhere was this more prominent than in club music. While the 808 drum machine was heavily used in hip hop circles, it also found a home in other recordings such as Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing . But club music itself had changed by the early ’80s, after the anti-disco backlash of 1979.

Now labelled post-disco, it eschewed the strings and horn sections favoured in the ’70s in favour of a colder electronic sound, creating a hard hitting groove. Post disco was formed in the New York underground club scene, as the retreat from the Saturday Night Fever produced new sounds.

The biggest creative force behind this change was Paradise Garage DJ, Larry Levan, who started the club in 1978. Much like David Mancuso’s The Loft in the ’70s, the ’80s and the Paradise Garage centred on the sound system, which in turn influenced the music that was played on it.

The sound systems, whose centrepiece was named the “Levan Horns”, were built into wooden cabinets designed by Richard Long and Associates (RLA), with up to 1000 watts of power emanating from a cone-shaped driver enclosure.

More Space to Experiment

The physical medium of the musical product also came into play. Consider the 12 inch single, a creation specifically marketed towards DJs. Created by producer Tom Moulton as a way to extend and remix popular songs with the same dynamic range as a 7 inch record, the format was initially developed in the ’70s for use in nightclubs.

In 1983, with the electronic revolution in full swing, the release of New Order ’s Blue Monday was a watershed moment. Aside from being the first deliberate 12 inch record , it also incorporated the nascent practice of sampling by reinterpreting Kraftwerk’s Uranium . Within post disco, the use of the 12 inch as a promotional tool exploded, and was a common feature in clubs by that year.

Labels (West End Records, Prelude Records etc) and artists (Class Action, Unlimited Touch, and Jocelyn Brown etc) used the literal extra space a 12 inch record offered to explore the electronic forms of post disco.

For example, a typical A-side of a record would feature a song that could almost be considered radio friendly (save for the length; typically more than four minutes), a post-disco B-side is usually more experimental, giving songs a minimalist sound reminiscent of dub reggae (no accident that many post disco B-sides were marked as a “dub” version).

Hitting the Mainstream

By 1984, the electronic influence in music was being felt. From experimental tracks such as Beat Box by the Art of Noise and Mambo by Wally Badarou, to Axel F by Harold Faltermeyer (from the Beverly Hills Cop s oundtrack), music had embraced the versatility of electronic production and sampling techniques, as well as incorporating the clipped sounds of gated reverb mentioned earlier. These techniques, along with gear like Yamaha DX-7 , Roland Jupiter 8 and Ensoniq Mirage, had fully infected mainstream pop.

In terms of electronic music, 1984 was a pivotal year, as not only did the aforementioned tracks appear on the scene, but the first stirrings of an entirely new genre was forged from the combination of accessible electronic music production, and building on the club music of the late 70s and the decade so far: House music.

This style took its name from its association with The Warehouse nightclub in Chicago – was built on remixing established ideas of what dance music is. One of, if not the earliest released record was On and On by Jesse Saunders, and features synthesised bass and the familiar click-clack of the Roland 808.

Taking some cues from the previous decade, the early ’80s was also an era when genre defining artists made their own mark, with some going on to be enthusiastically embraced by the mainstream. But onwards we march, for the next five years saw its own critical innovations that help us understand our own place in the timeline of music production.

The Spiritual Machines find glitter among the chaos on new album 'Lockhearted'

Best songs from the 80s to party to

Daryl Hall is suing long time partner John Oates and we can not go for that

The Best Experimental Rock Albums of the 1980s

Alternative Rock
Heavy Metal
Singer-Songwriter
Thrash Metal
Western Classical Music

1 . The Residents - God In Three Persons

2 . Tom Waits - Rain Dogs

3 . Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones

4 . Swell Maps - ....in "Jane from Occupied Europe"

5 . This Heat - Deceit

6 . Glenn Branca - The Ascension

7 . Ox Bow - Fuckfest

8 . Phew - Phew

9 . Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band - Doc at the Radar Station

10 . Swans - Holy Money

11 . Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band - Ice Cream For Crow

12 . Tuxedomoon - Half-Mute

13 . Last Exit - Last Exit

14 . Sergey Kuryokhin & Henry Kaiser - Popular Science

15 . Glenn Branca - Symphony No. 1 (Tonal Plexus)

16 . Ludus - The Seduction

17 . Rhys Chatham - Die Donnergötter (The Thundergods)

18 . Yello - Stella

19 . Rip Rig + Panic - God

20 . Steve Vai - Flex-Able

21 . Dome - Dome 3

22 . Einstürzende Neubauten - Fünf auf der nach oben offenen Richterskala

23 . Virgin Prunes - ...If I Die, I Die

24 . Scraping Foetus off the Wheel - Nail

25 . Boredoms - Soul Discharge

Slicing Up Eyeballs’ Best of the 1980s: The Top 100 albums from 1980-1989

And it all comes down to this: After 1o months of voting in our year-by-year Best of the ’80s polls to determine the best albums of each year of the 1980s, we wrap it all up with the grandaddy of them all, the big all-decade poll designed to crown, once and for all, Slicing Up Eyeballs’ readers overall favorite records of the entire 1980s.

For this last albums poll, we got an expected spike in voting, with more than 120,000 votes cast, in large part because participants could pick 25 albums, up from the usual 10.

As you can see below, The Cure’s Disintegration — winner of the 1989 poll — came out on top. But it just barely edged out The Smiths’ The Queen is Dead, winning by a mere 9 votes (out of a combined 4,375 cast for the two records). Robert Smith and Co., perhaps not surprisingly, dominated, with four entries landing in the Top 10, and three more elsewhere in the poll.

If you’re interested, for comparison’s sake, we’ve also ranked the Top 100 albums based on the total number of votes each received in the individual year-by-year polls , but there are some important caveats.

Also, a reminder: This ballot was comprised of the Top 50 results from each of the year-by-year polls.

So, once again, thank you all for voting and sharing your thoughts. Take a look at the Top 100 list below — and feel free to offer your own take on the results, good or bad, in the comments below.

And yes, as promised, the polls will continue, first with EPs and compilations, although probably not before February. And we’re open to suggestions, too, on what kinds of polls you’d like to vote in this year.

PAST RESULTS: 1980 , 1981 , 1982 , 1983 , 1984 , 1985 , 1986 , 1987 , 1988 , 1989

READERS POLL: TOP 100 ALBUMS OF THE 1980s

1. the cure, disintegration.

BACKSTORY: On their eighth album, Robert Smith and Co. sank back into darkness, delivering a moody, textured and largely pop-free record that remains the band’s commercial and artistic peak. YEAR OF RELEASE: 1989 SINGLES: “Fascination Street,” “Lullaby,” “Lovesong,” “Pictures of You” BAND: Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Porl Thompson, Boris Williams, Roger O’Donnell, Lol Tolhurst PRODUCER: David M. Allen, Robert Smith BUY IT: Amazon.com ( CD, digital, vinyl ), iTunes ( Digital )

2. 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”). YEAR OF RELEASE: 1986 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 BUY IT: Amazon.com ( CD, digital, vinyl ), iTunes ( Digital )

3. Pixies, Doolittle

BACKSTORY: With their second full-length, the Pixies perfected their loud-quiet-loud pop blast, offering up a key blueprint for Nirvana’s looming commercial breakthrough Nevermind . YEAR OF RELEASE: 1989 SINGLES: “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” “Here Comes Your Man” BAND: Black Francis, Kim Deal, Joey Santiago, David Lovering PRODUCER: Gil Norton BUY IT: Amazon.com ( CD, digital, vinyl ), iTunes ( Digital )

4. Joy Division, Closer

BACKSTORY: The second and final Joy Division studio album, released two months to the day after the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. The band recruited Gillian Gilbert and continued on as New Order. YEAR OF RELEASE: 1980 SINGLES: None BAND: Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris PRODUCER: Martin Hannett BUY IT: Amazon.com ( CD, digital, vinyl ), iTunes ( Digital )

5. Depeche Mode, Music For the Masses

BACKSTORY: Depeche Mode’s sixth album helped cement the band’s breakthrough popularity in the U.S., with three charting singles and a huge tour that peaked with the famous ‘101’ concert at the Rose Bowl. YEAR OF RELEASE: 1987 SINGLES: “Strangelove,” “Never Let Me Down Again,” “Behind the Wheel,” “Little 15” BAND: Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher, Alan Wilder PRODUCER: Depeche Mode and David Bascombe BUY IT: Amazon.com ( CD, digital, vinyl ), iTunes ( Digital )

6. The Cure, The Head on the Door

BACKSTORY: On the band’s sixth album, Robert Smith delivered one of his more diverse sets of songs, ranging from pop hits (“Close To Me”) to darker, more brooding cuts like “A Night Like This” and “Sinking.” YEAR OF RELEASE: 1985 SINGLES: “Inbetween Days,” “Close To Me” BAND: Robert Smith, Lol Tolhurst, Porl Thompson, Simon Gallup, Boris Williams PRODUCER: Robert Smith and David M. Allen BUY IT: Amazon.com ( CD, digital, vinyl ), iTunes ( Digital )

7. The Cure, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me

BACKSTORY: With their seventh studio album, Robert Smith and Co. cracked the American Top 40 with a sprawling double album that dabbled in both pure pop and dark, goth-flavored soundscapes. YEAR OF RELEASE: 1987 SINGLES: “Why Can’t I Be You?,” “Catch,” “Just Like Heaven,” “Hot Hot Hot!!!” BAND: Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Porl Thompson, Lol Tolhurst, Boris Williams PRODUCER: David M. Allen and Robert Smith BUY IT: Amazon.com ( CD, digital, vinyl ), iTunes ( Digital )

8. U2, The Joshua Tree

BACKSTORY: Fueled by three huge singles and a massive stadium tour, U2’s fifth album cemented the Irish rockers’ ascent to the status of being the biggest band in the world. YEAR OF RELEASE: 1987 SINGLES: “With or Without You,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “In God’s Country” BAND: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr. PRODUCER: Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno BUY IT: Amazon.com ( CD, digital, vinyl ), iTunes ( Digital )

9. 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. YEAR OF RELEASE: 1986 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 BUY IT: Amazon.com ( CD, digital, vinyl ), iTunes ( Digital )

10. The Cure, Pornography

BACKSTORY: The fourth album from Robert Smith and Co. ends the band’s early dark phase, and later would be declared part of a trilogy with 1989’s Disintegration and 2000’s Bloodflowers . YEAR OF RELEASE: 1982 SINGLES: “The Hanging Garden” BAND: Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Lol Tolhurst PRODUCER: Phil Thornalley and The Cure BUY IT: Amazon.com ( CD, digital, vinyl ), iTunes ( Digital )

11. New Order, Power, Corruption & Lies 12. R.E.M., Murmur 13. Pixies, Surfer Rosa 14. The Smiths, Meat is Murder 15. The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses 16. The Jesus and Mary Chain, Psychocandy 17. Nine Inch Nails, Pretty Hate Machine 18. Duran Duran, Rio 19. The Smiths, Strangeways, Here We Come 20. Violent Femmes, Violent Femmes

21. echo & the bunnymen, ocean rain 22. peter gabriel, so 23. the smiths, the smiths 24. morrissey, viva hate 25. jane’s addiction, nothing’s shocking 26. r.e.m., lifes rich pageant 27. new order, low-life 28. inxs, kick 29. the replacements, let it be 30. sonic youth, daydream nation, 31. u2, the unforgettable fire 32. r.e.m., document 33. the police, synchronicity 34. the cure, seventeen seconds 35. the cure, faith 36. beastie boys, paul’s boutique 37. the cult, love 38. the clash, combat rock (tie) 38. talking heads, remain in light (tie) 40. kate bush, hounds of love, 41. new order, technique 42. guns n’ roses, appetite for destruction 43. the church, starfish 44. u2, war 45. r.e.m., green 46. the replacements, tim 47. tears for fears, songs from the big chair 48. the replacements, pleased to meet me 49. r.e.m., reckoning 50. roxy music, avalon, 51. tears for fears, the hurting 52. the sisters of mercy, floodland 53. david bowie, scary monsters (and super creeps) 54. pretenders, pretenders 55. depeche mode, some great reward 56. the clash, sandinista 57. yazoo, upstairs at eric’s 58. the jesus and mary chain, darklands 59. david bowie, let’s dance 60. the human league, dare, 61. sinead o’connor, the lion and the cobra 62. peter murphy, deep 63. duran duran, duran duran (tie) 63. r.e.m., fables of the reconstruction (tie) 65. cocteau twins, treasure 66. dead kennedys, fresh fruit for rotting vegetables 67. public enemy, it takes a nation of millions to hold us back 68. new order, brotherhood 69. the sisters of mercy, first and last and always 70. the cure, the top, 71. bauhaus, in the flat field (tie) 71. new order, movement (tie) 71. xtc, skylarking (tie) 74. my bloody valentine, isn’t anything (tie) 74. prince, sign o the times (tie) 76. simple minds, new gold dream (81-82-83-84) 77. love and rockets, express 78. hüsker dü, zen arcade 79. siouxsie and the banshees, juju 80. echo & the bunnymen, echo & the bunnymen, 81. midnight oil, diesel and dust 82. cocteau twins, blue bell knoll (tie) 82. the cult, electric (tie) 84. kraftwerk, computer world (tie) 84. nirvana, bleach (tie) 84. u2, boy (tie) 87. tom waits, rain dogs 88. minutemen, double nickels on the dime 89. the the, soul mining 90. the pogues, rum sodomy & the lash, 91. talking heads, speaking in tongues 92. lloyd cole and the commotions, rattlesnakes (tie) 92. x, los angeles (tie) 94. hüsker dü, new day rising 95. siouxsie and the banshees, peepshow 96. abc, the lexicon of love 97. inxs, listen like thieves (tie) 97. the jesus and mary chain, automatic (tie) 99. echo & the bunnymen, crocodiles 100. the b-52s, cosmic thing.

PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS

Top 100 Albums of 1980: Slicing Up Eyeballs’ Best of the ’80s — Part 1
Top 100 Albums of 1981: Slicing Up Eyeballs’ Best of the ’80s — Part 2
Top 100 Albums of 1982: Slicing Up Eyeballs’ Best of the ’80s — Part 3
Top 100 Albums of 1983: Slicing Up Eyeballs’ Best of the ’80s — Part 4
Top 100 Albums of 1984: Slicing Up Eyeballs’ Best of the ’80s — Part 5
Top 100 Albums of 1985: Slicing Up Eyeballs’ Best of the ’80s — Part 6
Top 100 Albums of 1986: Slicing Up Eyeballs’ Best of the ’80s — Part 7
Top 100 Albums of 1987: Slicing Up Eyeballs’ Best of the ’80s — Part 8
Top 100 Albums of 1988: Slicing Up Eyeballs’ Best of the ’80s — Part 9
Top 100 Albums of 1989: Slicing Up Eyeballs’ Best of the ’80s — Part 10

459 Comments

The Cure and The Smiths-very appropriate for the #1 and 2 spots.

However, I think Closer shouldve been #3

Dead wrong on every score.

Nah, he nailed it. Smiths, Cure, and Joy Division had to be the Top 3. What e a toy was he wrong about?

I wont argue Disintegration at #1… I happen to agree but think Metallica’s ‘Master of Puppets’ or G+R’s ‘ Appetite for Destruction’ should be hovering near the top. This, otherwise, is the ‘Best 80s New Wave List’…less the Pixies

You do realize that this website covers alternative music.

#37 SHOULD BE #1 CURE JUNKIES….

Awesome list. Brings back memories of high school in the 80’s when music defined a decade and the kids in it. Unlike today where the music is made to order for the kids.

I can’t believe FOUR Cure albums are in the top ten. They do not deserve to be there.

Amen, brother! For crying out loud, no REM in the top 10? Replacements Let It Be & Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation in place 29 & 30? Violent Femmes in place 20? NO Hüsker Dü OR Dinosaur J? Just so no one thinks I’m being snobbish, leave Head in The Door Where it is, but how the fudge did Pornography and MftM make it in the top 10? What the hell is wrong with you people???

Take these out of 11-20: 15. The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses 17. Nine Inch Nails, Pretty Hate Machine 18. Duran Duran, Rio 19. The Smiths, Strangeways, Here We Come

…and add the aforementioned; there’s your top 10!

i could see REM squeezing in to the top 10 (the singles for every album after Green really tarnished their alternative imagem unfortunately) and MAYBE the Violent Femmes… but when most record stores never even carried a HUSKER DU album, and maybe not even a Dinosaur Jr album, why would you even think they’d make it into the Top 10? that’s just silly- i love the old Delerium albums that were put out in the late 80s, but they never even came out in the States. To this day, fans of the band don’t even know they exist, since they got really big in the mid ’90s with a different sound. so nobody knows their stuff… therefore they sure as heck don’t make the top 100, let alone the top 10!

I must agree. I love the Cure but this list is a little too Cure heavy. No band should have more than 1 album in the top 10, except on RARE occasions, and it’s unbelievable that not 1 REM album made the cut. WTF??? This is why I’m not a fan of lists.

P.S. All of my comments are in reference to the top 10.

absolutely agreed.

I’ve been down with these polls for a while, but this one–with FOUR Cure albums in the Top 10–is just plain crazy. No REM in the top 10? And The Joshua Tree sandwiched between Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me and Black Celebration? And The Pixies at #3? It’s all too much.

guys–it’s MATH. if people vote for their albums more than other albums, then they get ranked higher. and (re: the comment above this) how do the cure–the greatest band in the history of alternative-rock music–“not deserve to be there”?

Amen to that.

I wonder how this list would have looked like without the Cure trolls on here. Don’t get me wrong, I am a Cure fan, but to dominate like this is quite slanted. All the while leaving well deserved gems out of the top 20-30. I guess this is why it’s an opinion poll…Overall, the top 100 itself was pretty good.

I was just noting on the Facebook page, but I’m not at all surprised by the four Cure albums in the Top 10. And it’s not about “trolls.” Believe me, traffic patterns on this site show, over and over again, that the majority of readers are big Cure fans. Nothing consistently get as much traffic as posts about The Cure. If I was just trying to generate as much web traffic as possible, I’d only write about The Cure. And some Smiths, too. (I’m actually surprised there wasn’t another Smiths album or two in the Top 10).

hmmmm that’s easy enough to do, just take the 7 albums off the list and shift everything else up! i think they only had 4 in the top 30, so it wouldn’t make a huge difference in the top 20-30 really…

Or let’s go further:

Why not post the poll results showing only the top-finishing record by every band (i.e. no band appears more than once), moving others up and adding in those that didn’t crack the Top 100 because they were crowded out by the acts that currently hold multiple slots. That would give a much more representative look at the decade (and shouldn’t be too much work for the pollster).

I’m not quibbling with THESE poll results, because they show what they show: a handful of prolific bands were really, really popular amongst those polled. But I would love to see the results where slots 1-100 are all held by different bands, the best-finishing album of each. That would really show how many great and varied bands and records we enjoyed during this most excellent decade of music.

How about it, SUE?

I appreciate your efforts but this is a pretty poor list overall. Just like you know what, everyone has an opinion but this list is far too skewed to British “synth-rock” bands.

Probably an impossible task to get a list everyone will agree upon but this is more a popularity poll than a rock critic’s assessment of the best albums of the 1980s.

Oh wow, this is “slicingupcureballs”. I love the polls issued on this website usually, but this… this Top 10 is nothing but a big joke. And again, I don’t put the blame on the owner on the website, but on the voters. Should have limited the poll to one disc per artist, though.

Jim…this IS a poll…it doesn’t pretend to be anything else. And what is so “poor” about the list? This is 100 AMAZING records as voted by visitors to this site. Given the choices we were provided with to select from, I don’t see how this is skewed to British synth-rock bands at all…you need to remember the genres being covered in the definition…for the most part, British bands were the dominant proponents of music in these genres.

Way too many people complaining about the results here…

The Cure’s Disintegration the best album of the 80’s? Not even close. Not at all.

you’re wrong.

Sorry, but four cure records and two depeche mode records in the top 10? If that were actually the case, it would have been a weak decade, which it was not. Cure fans should pick what think is the best cure record and then move on to other bands. The cure was a fine band, but they weren’t (and are not) the Beatles for God’s sake! They aren’t even the Smiths for that matter — sorry, that was petty, but I could not resist.

Agree with Brian

That’s exactly how I voted, my favorite album from each band (if they had multiple entries) in hopes of seeing a more diverse list.

they’re basically the equivalent of the beatles in the alternative rock pantheon.

I would think many people would disagree.

you would think wrong.

qotita knows the best, nobody’s opinion matter

You are exactly right! There were the equivalent of the Beatles in Alternate Rock!

This is complete bullshit. In same sentence The Beatles & The Cure. Good joke.

In same sentence The Beatles & The Cure. Good joke.

There is no equivalent to The Beatles…in any pantheon. Well, maybe XTC (the most critically acclaimed band since).

xtc it more heavily INFLUENCED by the beatles, but that wasn’t what i was getting at at all. and plenty of bands have been as acclaimed or more than xtc was–radiohead, r.e.m., sonic youth (who i hate), etc..

If the Beatles made music today, it would be a lot like OASIS! NO band not even ones listed here could ever come close to the greatness of the Beatles. The music they made changed the world.

Dude, the Beatles are good but they’re not that great that you can’t compare them to other bands. They’re not even my favorite 60s band. Get off the hype wagon and see that plenty of other bands are as good or better than the Beatles and don’t need the massive commercialism that they had.

Exactly. Anyone who thinks that was simply not exposed to many other bands during the 80’s or was reluctant to accept other material by a myriad of bands simply cause they weren’t The Cure or Depeche Mode. One album per band with a couple of close runner-up albums listed by the same band would’ve been more than enough. This list gives a very lopsided, favored, narrow and misleading representation of an ENTIRE decade’s worth of music.

i like TONS of bands, TONS of albums. i compiled a top 200 of all time list a few years ago, and it barely scratched the surface of everything i like..and yet, the cure have 4 albums in my top 80 or so, and i’m not going to prune out a few albums just to make my list look cooler and more eclectic than it already is. and how is the list “favored”? people voted for the cure this many times, so they got ranked high. that’s it. it’s math.

and “myriad” is an adjective. you say “myriad bands”, not “a myriad OF bands.”

“Myriad” is also a noun. “Myriad of bands” is correct usage.

ok. i wasn’t taught it that way–everyone i knew assumed it was a noun and then we were instructed that it was an adjective–but now i read that it can be both, and that the noun predates the adjectival form. i’m ok with being wrong when i’m wrong.

Wow, resorting to childish nitpicking of my comment. I’d love to exchange points-of-view and all but, to do so with someone who thinks The Cure is “the greatest band in the history of alternative-rock music” is well… pointless. Get off your high-horse.

P.S. Feel free to nitpick on anything within this reply. Whatever makes you feel superior… Have at it.

The Cure fans definitely made themselves known. All the albums listed are very good, but I would’ve had them in a different order.

No R.E.M. in the top ten and 3 Cure albums?! I mean I love the Cure (Disintegration deserves to be there) but Kiss Me and Pornography don’t hold a torch to Murmur or Document. How did Daydream Nation fall so low on the list? Makes me wonder if people found a way to vote multiple times and just voted for everything the Cure EVER put out.

R.E.M. is an overrated band and always has been. I would have been pissed if any album of their would have been in the top 10.

Amen to that, Ed! They have always been a folk-leaning band in my opinion. I had a cousin back in 85 who tried and tried to get me to listen to REM, and I just couldn’t do it (U2, as well.) Then in 86, another cousin turned me on to Ministry and the Jesus And Mary Chain, and *that’s* where my heart has been since! #plugin

Yeah, can’t believe anything by R.E.M made it to the Top 20 on the list but there is absolutely no mention of The Chameleons or The Psychedelic Furs anywhere on this entire list. Something TOTALLY WRONG with that…

the 4 cure albums in the top 10 are all immortal records. those 2 r.e.m albums can’t hold robert smith’s balls (and i like r.e.m. a lot).

sonic youth sucks.

The Head On The Door Sucks! ….and Daydream Nation should’ve replaced it.

the cure are my 2nd favorite band of all time. i’ve seen them 8 times, from 1989 to 2011. i own virtually every piece of vinyl they’ve released.

i voted for disintegration, kiss me kiss me kiss me, and the head on the door. didn’t put any of their other (mostly very good but not amazing) four 80s albums, nor did i vote more than once.

Who’s your number 1 fave Qotita (just out of idle curiosity :-) )?

the smashing pumpkins.

What an awful band qotita. You call yourself musicologist and your favourite band is Smashing Pumpkins.

Good point, Marko, but qotita still knows better than anyone on this page :))))

well its a democracy. if you wanted r.e.m. to place you should have voted for them, maybe got the fan club in on it. anyway, this isn’t the olympics its just a blog. everyone relax. anyways, disintegration is a masterpiece. i love r.e.m. truly. grew up w them. but disintegration is better than murmur in my opinion. just for the sheer epic & emotional ambition of it.

No Psychedelic Furs ranking at all! I’d have at least thought that maybe ‘Talk Talk Talk’, ‘Forever Now’ or ‘Mirror Moves’ would have made the cut.

mirror moves was a great disc.

Agreed. That was their best, and my fave PF album.

I have always been surprised at their lack of recognition, even among those who listened to this genre of music. It was less true in the 80s, but they have been strangely forgotten. They still tour quite a bit and I see them when I can. They are great live and still give 100%.

Couldn’t agree more. Even more surprising is the lack of recognition and overlooking of another great and excellent band (despite the fact they call Manchester home just like Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, The Fall, The Stone Roses etc. etc…) that is – THE CHAMELEONS, who in my opinion EASILY rival and even surpass MANY well known acts on this list.

saw them twice in 2012 and they were fucking terrific both times.

why did you see them the second time if they were so terrific?

it’s time for you to shut the fuck up.

Mick, I’m assuming you do know what the word “terrific” means or did I miss some kind of obtuse joke?

qotita, you’re completely out of control. This is only just music, we all have different opinions, we all listen different bands and we all love 80’s music all genres. This is just a poll and this words to Mick is not appropriate. I love you qotita and I love a few songs from ‘The Cure’, but you must choose your words.

The vast majority of those deserve their places IMO – I’m genuinely surprised Telekon didn’t make it though (No 1 every time for me)!

Both of the Hüsker Dü records should have been rated WAY higher IMO.

That’s what I’m sayin’!!!

I’d be really curious to see/know how many people who actually lived through the 1980s actually voted in these polls? It just seems that a lot of that albums that got a lot of love here are still played on retro or “modern rock” stations today.

It’s a tough job (and very sublective) selecting what was “alternative/college/modern” rock and no one will ever agree but bands like Duran Duran or artists like David Bowie were not considered as such by a lot of people who actually listened/worked/played etc in that genre in the 1980s.

Agreed – it’s very subjective. And I’m certain a lot of it is regional as well. Certain bands were almost never played on my alternative station, whereas I could tell from reading alt music magazines that they were in heavy rotation in other parts of the country. On the other hand – David Bowie and Duran Duran DID get airplay on my alternative station (but yeah, doubt they were in heavy rotation on the college stations).

And yes, I lived through the 80’s and listened to this music for most of the decade. :) For the record, I’m not surprised by the outcome; but I do wish it was a bit more diverse.

I too lived through the 80s and believe it was an incredibly strong decade for music (strongest IMO). I write only to agree that no one where I lived (Los Angeles) considered Duran Duran a true alternative band — they were, maybe unfairly, considered a poster-band for teenage girls, although they did produce some good songs and Rio is a solid disc (and I love New Moon on Monday from the 7&Ragged).

As for Bowie, that is more complicated. He was THE alternative guy up until Let’s Dance (Ashes to Ashes, This Is Not AMerica, I am the DJ, Fashion, Putting out the Fire with GAsoline? – not to mention everything from the 70s), and he got a pass for some time after the more commercial sounding Let’s Dance (again, a fine record, but not one of my favs). Anyway, I could not let the idea of Bowie and Simon LeBon&Co. being grouped into the same category. I’m anticipating some heated replies from DD fans. But come on — this is BOWIE we are talking about!!!

Yet you have no complaints about Guns N Roses? If Duran Duran was the posterband for the teenage girl market then GNR were for posterband for the Led Zeppelin 70s leftover market. What makes them anymore worthy of this list than Van Halen or Motley Crue? I understand Duran Duran being on the list: they were musically classified as ‘New Wave’ and they make the rounds on current “retro alternative” formats all the time. I still don’t understand what the factor is for GNR.

Well,I didn’t mention Guns and Roses because the post to which I was responding did not mention them, and I was only responding to that post. I would, however, say that Guns and Roses played a unique role in the evolution of music. They were, in my opinion, the first hit to glam metal (warrant, def lep, quiet riot . . .). True, they were not necessarily an alternative band, although alternative radio — namely, KROQ in Los Angles — broke them and played them early on in pretty heavy rotation. But putting that aside, they paved the way for the breakthrough of Jane’s Addiction’s second studio album (and partially their first – at least the harder edge studff), which in turn paved the way for Nirvana (a band of which I am not particularly fond). That said, I would not care if they were left off the this list.

And besides: “Anyway, I could not let the idea of Bowie and Simon LeBon&Co. being grouped into the same category.”

Yet this is a list that groups Tears for Fears with Minutemen and Beastie Boys with Cocteau Twins, plus some Tom Waits. The complaint of “Alternative” being a musical umbrella title applied with seemingly little rhyme or reason is very old, going back to the 80s themselves. Don’t tell me YOU’RE just noticing. Duran Duran alongside Bowie should be one of the less weird looking things (not only because DD were obviously huge Bowie nuts).

I’m not sure that you are understanding the point of the initial post. That point (according to the guy who posted it) was this: “bands like Duran Duran or artists like David Bowie were not considered as [alternative] by a lot of people who actually listened/worked/played etc in that genre in the 1980.”

My response is simply this – yes, people where I lived did not consider DD to be an alternative band. Fairly or not, they were considered a pop, heart-throb band. I also mentioned that I liked some of their stuff. My other point was that Bowie is arguably the most creative, cutting edge artist in the rock and roll era. If anyone fit the definition of alternative (up until Let’s Dance), it was him. That being the case, I don’t think that DD and Bowie should be grouped in the same category.

As for the other bands you mention, they were all pretty much considered alternative artists. The only exception would possibly be the Beastie Boys, but they were huge on alternative radio (paul revere, cookie puss, no sleep till brooklyn). And while I would agree that you could make the argument that their first album was the equivalent of jock rock (fight for you right), their second disc — Paul’s Boutique — is considered by many as a masterpiece, and it certainly did things as far as sampling that had never been done before.

Two last points – I meant to say that I don’t think DD and Bowie should not be placed in the category in terms of not being considered alternative as the time (the time being the 80s). I have no strong opinion of whether DD should now be considered alternative, although I have no problem with it. I would say that Tears for Fears was a much more interesting band in terms of producing music outside of the mainstream than was DD (I’m thinking Pale Shelter, Mad World, Mother’s Talk . . .), so i don’t agree with your point that they are basically equivalents.

Final point — DD’s main influence was not Bowie. It was Roxy Music, which served as a blueprint for DD. Just thought I would point that out for what it’s worth.

Yeah I listened to Live 105 (SF) at the time and they did play Duran Duran on fair occasion. I do remember being somewhat surprised by that (but I guess that proves your point, eh?).

And agreed both re: the Rio album as well as “New Moon on Monday.” That was the song that introduced me to Duran Duran, and I still love it. As I do Roxy Music (who were also played pretty regularly on Live 105).

PS My memories of visiting LA and checking out KROQ were that they played one Cure song per hour, and that they’d have certain songs they’d play just about every time I turned on the station. I remember (on separate trips) hearing “American Music” and “Always on the Run” oh, say, 100 times. :)

Rambling response, but there you have it. Thanks for the discussion. :)

This is very subjective and more a popularity contest like most polls. j&mc have stood up to time IMHO and a listen to them a lot more than the Cure . The Church as well. it all depends how the music touches you on a emotional level.

yes–the cure are “popular” among alternative music fans. that’s how a poll works. what’s “subjective” about it? the albums that got the most votes were ranked the highest. again–poll.

What?! No Modern English “After the Snow” or Clan of Xymox “Medusa”???!!! And I’m very surprised that Tears for Fears and Simple Minds placed so low. Cool list, though! :)

I agree with Jim regarding the subjectivity of defining “alternative/college/modern” rock. I have only been visiting this site to follow these polls and now probably will only check in sporadically. Sorry, but I am a guitar rock man. This artsy-fartsy music that most people on this site idolize just makes me laugh. To each their own. Adios My Friends.

Don’t spend too much on t-shirts at the TRIUMPH reunion tour.

“Artsy-fartsy”???? Are you for real?

My preferred description would have been very politically incorrect so I opted for artsy-fartsy.

Haha, what were you even doing here? Wasn’t it made clear that this site is about? Your self-description makes you sound like one of those long-haired types who prefers your music with complicated solos, the type who tends to be ANTI-80s pretty much. It’s simple man, if you prefer “guitar rock” then you visit a “guitar rock” website, not an 80s Alternative/Indie website. Lol.

No, I went to college in the 80’s. Believe it or not there were a lot of bands that were guitar oriented in the 80’s, I won’t list them but they are out there. What was I doing here? I told you in my post. I was interested in seeing what the result of these polls were. Just because I don’t agree with them doesn’t mean you have to be a dick about it.

The Cult and Love and Rockets are two, just to name a few. Love them both! They were considered “alternative”, at least in San Diego back then… Not sure how the rest of the country saw them.

i would have like to have seen orchestral maneuvers on this list: genetic engineering is still beautiful. also, not a lot of love for skinny puppy or industrial in general but i guess everyone grows out of that phase. kind of funny, really.

i think his point was that 80s alternative music was really born out of a reaction to 70s arena rock–a more girl-friendly/gay-friendly, more sensitive “alternative” to muscular, somewhat shallow guitar bands like foreigner, boston, kansas, styx etc. (though i liked some stuff from all of these bands, too)..the music that really dominated the ascent of modern rock in the 80s was this more dreamy, atmospheric, jangly, fairly keyboard-heavy fare–the cure, the bunnymen, the furs, tears for fears, howard jones, depeche mode, u2 etc. yes, there are oodles of great college rock bands who were more straightforwardly guitar bands (r.e.m.. u2, midnight oil, the smiths, the church, the replacements, soul asylum), but they were more of the underground, indie side of it all, not the part that constituted the crux of what alternative radio came to be in the late 80s. both sectors were hugely important and influential, but the moodier, dreamier stuff appealed to a wider audience.

What’s up with all the complaints? These are the poll results; they are what they are. It was an online poll and therefore, prone to ‘unfair’ voting measures which will skew the results one way or another. If you are looking for a statistically reliable ranking of something as subjective as music amongst a massive fanbase, you’re not going to find it because it can’t be done. Frankie says relax!

LOL. Yes! I prefer to call my comments “observations” not “complaints”. HA.

I tried not to look at this as a competition as much as a celebration of all great records that shaped my youth. Thanks for running these polls every month, and reminding me to dig out my old Camper Van Beethoven and Ocean Blue records.

I think the top ten are a testament to The Cure’s influence over music. All of the top ten albums were groundbreaking in some regard and the sounds live on in bands that followed them. The Smiths, Depeche Mode and The Cure are definitely in my personal top ten.

I agree. I think the cure haters on here refuse to acknowledge how influential and how great the songwriting from the band was in the 80s. my personal shock is how the heck did siouxsie & the banshees first appear all the way back at #79? Personally I think Black Celebration is a cheesy atrocity, but I have to acknowledge how it solidified depeche mode’s popularity and set them up for music for the masses, 101 and violator. Sure, I’d love to see New Order in the top 10, or Echo & the Bunnymen. It’s all about perspective however. The cure has/had a diverse appeal for goth, rock, etheriel, pop, experimental, etc. when you have that kind of diversity, it’s going to rank with more votes than say, Psychocandy.

Not sure why Siouxsie & the Banshees’ Tinderbox didn’t make it. It’s in my top ten along side The Queen is Dead, NIN, Kiss Me… etc. if you don’t know it check it out

Totally agree…a vastly under-rated album in my opinion…it is even under-rated by Banshees fans! I love it.

My favorite album by The Banshees. Siouxsie pushes the full gamut of vocal ranges, Severin’s bass lines are just as memorable as Carruther’s elegantly dancing guitar riffs. As for Budgie, I think he even surpasses anything William’s did on The Cure’s “Disintegration”. In my opinion, their masterpiece.

Psychocandy not in the top 10? Shameful.

I’m sure anyone looking at the final list can find something to disagree with, but really?…two INXS albums and Kick is highest ranked (their most commercial and IMHO, least inspiring album)? So many other good choices. Surprising also to see Yazoo’s Upstairs and Eric’s ranking so low. Such an important album in 80s history.

Surprised that I did not see any Pet Shop Boys or Erasure higher in there, but I will say that the records that did chart are great CD. I can say I own half of them and will try to get the other half. This poll has been a blast and also lead me to some band I did hear in the 80ths, so thanks slicing up eyeballs.

Any chance we will do a 90’s poll?

Agreed on Erasure. “The Innocents” deserves a Top 100 spot.

Erasure deserves “a little respect”. :-P

Obviously this site is fan page of The Cure. Three albums from The Cure in top 10. I don’t think so. Some essential release like Simple Minds – New Gold Dream at 76, Human League – Dare at only 60, New Order – Technique at 41, Tears For Fears at 51. This list is completely ridiculous and not relevant.

Dry your eyes man, it’s a POLL for crying out loud. The Cure are HUGELY popular (or at least their 80’s output is) and HUGELY influential. The albums from their first ten years is near-untouchable in terms of quality, impact and influence. I am not surprised to see them rate so highly. This is an opinion poll from the thousands of visitors to this site. There is no bias, no hidden agendas, no fidgy-widgy, no skullduggery, no jiggery-pokery, so stop whining about the list being “ridiculous”…it is what it is.

I don’t mean to offend Cure fans here. But I have to ask: how are they all that influential? I agree that they were popular and I like a lot of their music. But can you really compare them to, say, REM’s murmur in terms of influence on subsequent music? REM redefined college music and brought about indi rock. The Stone Roses influenced everything out of England that came in their wake for the next 15 years. The Smiths birthed a resurgence of guitar driven melodies. The Jesus and Mary Chain pushed the outer limits of music (and Loveless by MBV is enough of a legacy in and of itself). I don’t mean to bad-mouth the Cure, but what is their impact? Or to be more to the point: what good music resulted from them?

I was getting ready to attempt to write the same thing but you said it far better than I ever could. Spot on.

i don’t think the Cure were influential for a lot of bands that made it big, as far as musical direction. part of that is their wide variety of songs, pop and dirge, gloom and sunshine. i think both new order/joy division were an infulence on THEM, and vice versa, and maybe some bands like Xymox, but really the style of music those bands play is gone. people don’t like music with long melodic instrumental bits so much anymore. it’s sad.

you may not like all of these bands, and they took influences in a variety of ways, some more obvious than others, but:

the smashing pumpkins, the sugarcubes (at least the first record), jane’s addiction, dinosaur jr., a perfect circle, radiohead, jimmy eat world, jeff buckley, deftones, nine inch nails, death cab for cutie, my chemical romance, most dreampop/shoegaze bands (i.e. lush, early cocteaus, chapterhouse, cranes) the killers, mogwai, beach house, the shins, low, the rapture, placebo, interpol..

I agree with some of the bands you have listed here, but disagree with a quite few. I don’t see the Cure’s influence of Jane’s. Heavy guitar driven solos, wild frontman, and tribal drumming – that’s not really anything I associate with the sure. As for shoegaze/dreampop, I think the main influence there would be the Jesus and Mary Chain (and echo and the cocteaus, who, IMO, were too contempory with the cure to be influenced by the cure). Interpol and the like may have a touch of the cure, but I think we can all agree that the main influence there was Joy Division – for god’s sake interpol and she wants revenge are just flat out trying to by Ian from Joy DIvision. I guess my overall point with the cure is that they did not really change much, whereas bands like REM, Jane’s, JAMC, New order/joy division, and the Roses did. With those bands (like Nirvana but to a lesser extent), you can see a direct before and after effect of the band. With the cure, that doesn’t seem to be the case. I would suppose their legacy would be emo, but that’s not something to be too proud of. But, hey, at least it’s something.

jane’s addiction had a major cure influence, along with some jd and bauhaus. you can hear it on summertime rolls, i would for you, then she did, etc. it’s not a direct “spot the riff/style” thing, but it’s definitely there in the sensibility. perry would say as much if you asked him.

http://wxrt.cbslocal.com/2013/08/03/perry-farrell-cries-in-rio-for-the-cure-explains-why-lollapalooza-is-like-no-other-fest-listen/

Well, Perry clearly liked the Cure. But I don’t hear it in his music. Nor do I hear Joy Division, although he is/was clearly a fan. Summertime Rolls is maybe my favorite Jane’s song, and I have never really made a connection to the cure. I guess we will just have to leave it as a matter of interpretation.

As we all have opinions.. Yeh , I lived the brit pop stuff.. The Cure, Duran Duran, Thomas Dolby, Howard jones etc… As a muso, Ive liked all styles of music.. except that one, American country, not all country, (love Denver ect) but that Red neck country Drawl….. Im not going to go into specifics… But literally everything from ZTT was , well EVERYTHING… As for growing up in OZ, I swear, I promise, I guarantee, you missed some of the BEST RAW ROCK ever… Midnight oil, rose tattoo, ACDC, the Radiators…. The lost goes on…

…as an aside, I do agree that Dare, Technique and The Hurting are all brilliant and I was surprised not to see them rate higher. Also surprised that the Banshees didn’t make a better showing. But I’m not going to cry about it.

Totally agree on the No 1 – but seriously, Dare only at No 60 is a bit of a joke, considering it was one of the groundbreaking albums of the decade. Shame about those fans of certain bands that are not able to judge other bands as well. being a massive Cure fan myself, I quite often had the ‘fun’ moment talking with some other fans, who really believe that everything The Cure have released (and yes, that includes the overdull Screw on Head On The Door amongst others) is better than any other band’s stuff. Enough said.

Agree with Dennis. Also, I have respect for The Cure (3 album in top 10), The Smiths (1 album in top 10) and Depeche Mode (2 album in top 10) and love all of them, but on this list there is plenty of albums that are groundbreaking and much better than top 10 in this list. Forgot in previous post to mention: ABC at 96, Kate Bush at 40, Yazoo at 57, Roxy Music 50, Duran Rio at 18…This is definitely not relevant list.

All of the Cure backlash is pretty funny. The reason they got so much love is because we could pick 25 albums and a lot of people like them. I grew up in the ’80s and The Cure were my favorite band. So I picked three Cure records: Disintegration, Head on the Door, and Seventeen Seconds. If we could have only picked 10 records, I probably would have only included the first two. (I have to say though that Pornography is totes overrated.)

agreed on pornography–some brilliant moments, but in general a bit cartoonishly dark. 17 seconds is the best of the “dark trilogy”, i’d say..and disintegration, kmkmkm, wish and hotd are their best.

Where is the PSB ‘Please’ or ‘Actually’?????? Is it really David Bowie deserves with Let’s Dance to be in top 100. I don’t think so.

Laughable result, the CURE!!! Obviously a hijacked poll with no credabilty. And don’t even get me started on the Joshua Tree. What a joke…a waste of time and effort from the organiser and the participants. THe CURE number 1…Laugh out loud. A mediacre LP which had negligible impact. Cure fans are obviously the 1 Directioners of the middle aged alternative rock fan.

Go cry upstairs. it’s a poll. if everyone thought like you the result would be different. they don’t and you’re not special. get over it.

Only tears of laughter at you sad middle aged 1 directioneers ! Why not get on Fakebook and start a campaign to make Robert Smith the next President, I mean its not like you people have got anything else better to do.

Well, if you had any credibility, you’d know how to spell that word.

Wow picking up on typos, ( I also mispelled mediocre). Hit a nerve haven’t I.

Agree with salford. Pretty boring results. Always Cure, U2, The Smiths,Depeche Mode. Maybe we can cover top 100 with complete discographies of these four bands. Also, I hate ‘Joshua Tree’. For me, this is one of the weakest record of the 80’s.

How can a public poll be “hijacked”? And how can you say “Disintegration” had no impact? Have you ever read any reviews, articles, critical appraisals or anything about the album at all? It is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most influential albums of all time…and that isn’t my opinion…it is out there in the public’s consciousness. And what pray tell was your favourite album from the 80’s? Given that you seem to struggle to spell or articulate yourself, I’m guessing you favour some kind of yob rock. Am I right?

“It is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most influential albums of all time” !!!!

Beyond hilarious ( I think you’ll find that superlative has now been passed on to the latest 1 Direction LP), the only conclusion I can come to is that The Cure are the group that people who THINK they like alternative music cite as their favourite band. A bit like those people who claim to love reggae because they own a copy of Bob Marley’s greatest hits.

Sounds to me that you have an obsession with 1 Direction.

you’re a moron.

I think that salford is genius. There is bit true what salford said about Bob Marley. Reggae music is not just about Bob Marley, rock music is not just about Stones, Hendrix, Floyd, Bowie and at the end 80’s music is not just about The Cure, The Smiths & Depeche Mode.

You love the cure, same difference.

No, I don’t like The Cure. I respect them. Some songs are decent, but I don’t like them a lot. On my list of 500 albums of the 80’s there is no place for any of The Cure album.

Sorry, Marko. I was replying to the “you’re a moron” quote from above your message. I commend You on your reason/sanity. I agree, wholeheartedly, the Cure had some decent songs only. Cheers.

wow, that list must suck balls.

When will you ever learn? When you call someone a moron on a website, you only show how moronic you are. Have I taught you nothing?

disintegration is not mediocre. neither is the joshua tree. you can dislike those bands all you want but those are amazing records that show that a lot of work and time and thought and get this: soul went into the music.

Where is Heaven Up Here and Porcupine? The Bunnymens finest. Also Appetite for Destruction should have been higher. Regardless of what GNR later became, that album is a rock masterpiece.

Preach. Less Cure, more Bunnymen!

Why should Appetite for Destruction rank anywhere on an Alternative music list, let alone higher than it already is?

Oh no, we have a guitar oriented band on the poll. Go back to the post above Jan 6 10:56 AM that I originally responded to and then was chastised because apparently YOUR definition of alternative is the correct one. What a total DB you are.

Predictable and disappointing. XTC at #71? Husker Du at #78??? I love The Cure but obviously not as much as the rest of you.

thanks for all the effort in putting on these polls. has been fun remembering, learning new things, and seeing the reactions from the readers. take this top 100, jumble it up and put it on random play and you have a great collection of music. dont get so broken up on what place what was. look at the full list. i do like the idea of another final pole where you can only vote for one album per artist in your top 10. any chance of seeing how that shakes out?? how many other great albums were just outside the 100 spot that would surface. (like the chameleons)

oh and how many top 10 final lists were submitted?

Ridiculously Cure biased. And it’s kind of strange that the Banshees did so well on these polls by year but then didn’t even make the top 50 here.

(sigh) AGAIN..when you have a POLL, and people VOTE for a certain entry more than they vote for any OTHER entry, that isn’t “bias”–it’s simply the mathematical, empirical RESULT of the poll–’cause that’s how polls work–people vote, and then whatever gets the most votes WINS. holy shit.

Especially when qotita votes several times in a row.

Marko, you are being a berk. Do you really think people have nothing better to do than multi-vote The Cure into a list on the internet? Seriously, you need to just realise that the Cure are/were hugely popular and made some epic, spine-chilling and utterly inspirational albums. You are being very childish indeed.

Another interesting poll. I would agree that the Top 10/20 could use some diversity. Top entries seem to skew towards the second half of the 80s.

As for suggested polls, I would like to see a ‘Favorite Remix’ poll. Remixes made an impact in the 80s both in clubs and on alternative radio and many classic alternative artists put them out. The 80s mixes also retained much of the original tracks unlike what the 90s brought. Would be interesting to see people nominate contenders for the poll.

more of your spotify playlists from this poll results too. :P

Four The Cure albums in Top 10??? This is’nt at all an 80’s greatest album chart… Why is’nt Duran Duran “Rio”, U2 “The Unforgettable Fire”, Guns n’ Roses “Appetite for Destruction, Roxy Music “Avalon” or The Human League “Dare” in Top 10…? I can’t believe it. It just not a greatest album chart at all…

except it factually IS a greatest album (in alternative rock music, of the 80s) chart HERE–because that’s how people HERE voted. HERE.

qotita is probably voted more than once and we have those results. 4 ‘The Cure’ albums in top 10. He represents people HERE and HERE.

you might need to take a break. that’s an order, by the way.

Not surprised by the top album, and I love that “The Head on the Door” (my favorite album by one of my favorite bands) also made the Top 10. However… man, The Chameleons don’t get the love they deserve! They didn’t appear on the Top 100 AT ALL!

(But I was very glad to see Sisters of Mercy’s “First and Last and Always”!)

I was a teenager in the 80’s… And this “so called” Top 10 list just is’nt relevant at all. The Cure fans have done a good job for The Cure, but four albums i a Top 10 list…

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!

New Order? They didn’t release so many albums ;)

I’m choosing to ignore the actual rankings and appreciating the list as a whole, nearly all of which are still in heavy rotation on my iPod. There are a few I think have no place even being included in the pool, like MTv fixtures (at the time) like U2, Beastie Boys, Prince. You could turn on Mtv after school any day of the week and hear these bands…This is the music that ‘alternative’ was supposed to be the ‘alternative’ to! At least that’s how I always saw it. Anyway, look forward to other polls

I would be curious to see ##101-200. This list was what I expected, but I bet the next 100 would provide some more interesting choices

That might be a better list (half kidding).

No New Order in the top 10 and no industrial albums (except for NIN). WOW. Power, Corruption, & Lies & should be in the top 10. Killing Joke should be on this list!!!

4 of the top 10 are the Cure? No Mats or Huskers in the top 25? The Church’s ‘Starfish’ is the only one on the list? Not ‘Heyday’ or ‘The Blurred Crusade’?? XTC ‘Skylarking’ but Not ‘Black Sea’? No Hoodoo Gurus, Dead Milkmen, Let’s Active or Game Theory?

Agreed, The Big Shot Chronicles & Lolita Nation – alone to acknowledge Scott Miller’s passing – definitely deserve a place at the table. Will have to revise my list to 12 with English Settlement, as well.

Yes! The Cure! The best of the 80’s!

It’s a poll list. Many of my favorites (close lobsters, Ocean Blue) didn’t make the list but so what? Doesn’t mean I love them any less. It’s music people…get some perspective.

Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me is a terrible record. I’m a big Cure fan, but that (double?!) record has five decent songs and the rest is unlistenable. Just makes me wonder…

we’ve had this conversation. out of 18 songs, at least 7 are amazing. it’s a little long for a double–there are probably 5 things i would have cut–but then again, there are 5 b-sides that could be swapped in that are all terrific.

Stop crying about KMKMKM being too long/terrible album, it’s a good album, only The Top is way better!!!!

And those B-sides are not terrible, they are brilliant.

um. that’s what i said.

Wouldn’t be that harsh, but have to agree,the album would have made a good 10-12 track collection, but as a double album it is way too much and has quite a few weak songs (Fight, Shiver & Shake, …). Some b-sides are way better than the album material of that era. Kind of the same as with Wish later. 4 Cure albums in the Top 10 I would have said Disintegration, Faith, Pornography + 17 Seconds.

Yes, you are right about omitting Head on the Door. And substitute pornography with The Top!!!!

that’s just insane. the top is their worst record easily, and head on the door is one of their best.

You’re wrong about The Top.

Here we are, qotita attacks ‘The Cure’ fans.

great: the kiss, catch, if only tonight we could sleep, just like heaven, one more time, like cockatoos, the perfect girl, a thousand hours

good: why can’t i be you?, how beautiful you are, hey you!!!, hot hot hot!!!, icing sugar

ok: torture, fight

not so hot: the snakepit, all i want, shiver and shake

b-sides that are better than most of the last 3 categories: a chain of flowers, to the sky, breathe, sugar girl, snow in summer, a japanese dream (i.e. all of them)

4 cure records in the top ten,but husker du and the replacements don’t make the top 10.what an absolute disgrace……

Count me as disappointed by the decade wrap up poll. I get that The Cure got a lot of votes, but I really believe there was a lot of revisionist voting and frankly, a lot of younger voters that just was not exposed to as much 80’s music as they claim. As for the poll itself, I feel that it suffered from too much choice. The top 50 from each year really should have been the top 25 from each year. You would still have a number of Cure albums, as well as The Smiths, Depeche Mode, etc., but with a more narrow set of choices, you would get a better result. I mean if the top 50 were eligible, why not open it up to *every* album that finish in the top 100 of their year? It was overwhelming the amount of albums one had to choose from, so the poll (as most do) fall back to a popularity contest between factions of each band’s fans. I’ve been really excited by this series of polls overallup , but this one just soured it for me.

So going by a summary of recommendations for Matt to deploy (based on all the dissenting voices airing their views) the next version of this poll should:

a. Be limited to those over 35 years of age b. Be limited to one album per artist (but only artists that I like) c. Include Guns & Roses d. Prove that the Cure aren’t as popular as this poll suggests e. Remove the propensity for “revisionist” voting (despite the fact that this is a list of 80s albums).

Seriously, these polls have been such fun and so incredibly interesting…I just can’t understand all the negativity.

OF COURSE I am not advocating an age limit for voters. That’s ridiculous. However…it does bring up a point that hasn’t been made yet (I don’t know…I haven’t read ALL the comments yet). With terrestrial or satellite radio of *any* genre, there is going to be a limited playlist. When all you hear is The Cure, The Smiths, Depeche Mode and the like, you begin to get a skewed view that they must have been the dominant artists of the day. But with Alternative music, it’s all about exploring and discovering new and different artists. Those *ahem* older readers were exposed to more of these artists…because they were experiencing their music in real time, as these albums were being released. Add to the fact that some artist’s albums are no longer in print. Take The Thompson Twins. Now I am not saying their albums are great, but honestly…what music of theirs have most younger people heard besides “Hold Me Now”, “If You Were Here” or “Lies”? If you don’t have access to the music, then you don’t get exposed to it. Even with all the online music services, you just don’t explore, because your listening habits now include everything since then. It’s like asking someone of my age (I’m 48) to rank the best albums of the ’60s. Naturally, I’d include the artists that get played the most, when everybody knows there are some incredible albums that don’t get the exposure they deserve, save for that band’s diehard fans. I know I’m being long-winded, but I had to get that out there for everybody

i’m 41, and i wouldn’t list primarily mainstream artists for a 60s poll–i’d have the zombies, arthur lee’s love, the animals, joni mitchell, nick drake, fairport convention, chicago transit authority, syd barrett etc. and the idea that the cure, the smiths and depeche mode were the dominant artists of the day back them in terms of alt-rock is not a “skewed” view–it’s a totally accurate one.

qotita – 3 year old child – musicologist

wouldn’t limiting it to 25 a year and not 50 make it MORE homogeneous?

my point is for those people who see such a large list, some want to spread out their choices. If they have fewer choices, it will concentrate their thought process. There is a chance it becomes homogeneous, true, but I believe that opening it up to the top 50 of each year opened up the list to include more of the favorites of voters, making them want to vote for them, and not the more “worthy” higher-ranked albums. Once again, I would have limited it to the top 25 (or even 20) from each year. and hey…this makes sense in *my* head! :)

Count me as disappointed by the decade wrap up poll. I get that The Cure got a lot of votes, but I really believe there was a lot of revisionist voting and frankly, a lot of younger voters that just was not exposed to as much 80’s music as they claim. As for the poll itself, I feel that it suffered from too much choice. The top 50 from each year really should have been the top 25 from each year. You would still have a number of Cure albums, as well as The Smiths, Depeche Mode, etc., but with a more narrow set of choices, you would get a better result. I mean if the top 50 were eligible, why not open it up to *every* album that finish in the top 100 of their year? It was overwhelming the amount of albums one had to choose from, so the poll (as most sadly do) fell back to a popularity contest between factions of each band’s fans. I’ve been really excited by this series of polls overall up to now, but this one just leaves a bad taste for me…

sorry for the double post.

For God’s Sakes Charlie, stop posting! Just walk away!

So choose 1 Cure album for the top 10 (they deserve to be there- for me it would be HOTD) 1 DM Album (BC for me) – remove U2 (too commercial), and replace those 5 entries with Ocean Rain, Murmur, New Order (any album – Brotherhood for me), The Hurting, and the Femmes – to me thats a better representation of 80’s alternative

I like your thinking, although DM would not make my list and, of course, the stone roses and replacements would. But spot on for ocean rain, murmur, New Order (i go power lies corrup)), and the Femmes.

“Disintegration” is a perfect number one. “Pornography” deserved to be in the top five.

What a shit list. I love the Cure, but 4 of top 10 and 7 of top 70?

F the pixies

Appreciate you, Matt, for this massive undertaking. Of course there are several albums I thought would place higher (power, corruption & lies, the hurting, love, soul mining) but I think overall it’s a great snapshot of a decade. It is a poll conducted in hindsight, so it’s all about the legacy of these bands and albums. The Cure & Depeche Mode still sell out venues today.. naturally they’re going to dominate a popularity contest. Just be thankful that the music we love continues to be recognized and celebrated for its influence and imagination.

The Pixies are the one good thing about that top 10. (Well, also Joy Division, and the Smiths best album.) F the Cure. WAAAAYY too much by such an overrated band.

you reversed “the cure” and “the pixies.”

No, he wrote: The Pixies are the one good thing about that top 10 & F the Cure.

yep. and that’s ass-backwards, because the cure are brilliant, and the pixies are shit.

qotita, you must learn to respect other people’s music taste. You behave like a little child, probably 3 years old.

I’m a huge Cure fan and I was a little disappointed to see Kiss Me in the top 10. It was good and it’s commercial success is what keeps it in the forefront in people’s minds. Pornography, Seventeen Seconds, Faith and Disintegration are more to my liking. This may sound like sacrilege but Joy Division’s Closer is awesome, but not top ten. Unknown Pleasures was their masterpiece but it dropped in 1979.

How do Guns N’Roses make a college rock top 100 but The Chameleons, The Psychedelic Furs, The Jam, Camper Van Beethoven, Talk Talk (and many others) not? I must have been out of the room every time my college stations played GNR.

But wasn’t the best of the Jam from the 70s? They are in the same situation as the Clash. Among the best ever, but guilty of bad timing in terms of this poll. That said, where is Sandinista?!?!?! Surely, that was better than combat rock — and nearly everything else.

My bad – I guess — Sandinista is #56. There is no justice!!!

Wow I see the smart people voted on this one. Finally R.E.M. never made it to the top 10!!! Nice work people, although #12 is still too high!

fun, thank you

As someone who must be older than many of you reading these results I have to tell you Disintegration isn’t the best album of the ’80s. In fact, it isn’t even close to the best Cure album. Disintegration is the Cure’s Let’s Dance. Just because the masses took to it doesn’t mean it’s good. Bowie peaked before his biggest hit too. The Cure peaked sometime around The Head on the Door… maybe even earlier. I knew the Cure was done when the jock/bully in my neighborhood was singing along to new Cure while working on his muscle car in ’89. Let’s Dance is No. 59 on this poll. That’s about where Disintegration should be.

The poll results suggest otherwise.

Absolutely correct,

I really agree with brian2. And, in my view, the poll results confirm this. It was a commercial move and, as such, is the most popular cure album. People are entitled to their opinion, but I have often found that what is the most popular generally is not the best. Instead, the most popular often reveals a lowest common denominator effect. The cure’s earlier work was far more cutting edge and riskier than Disintegration. In my mind, that’s what made the earlier work so much more appealing. As I remember it, Disintegration was to the cure what Out of Time was to REM (or what Joshua Tree was to U2). It was with those records that the fans of Madonna, Whitney Houston, George Michael . . . starting liking the cure, REM, and U2. I guess I could be wrong, but that’s how I remember it, although the commercial path for the cure was laid with Just Like Heaven — probably the most popular cure song, but one which, I imagine, few dedicated cure fans would choose to play. And for U2 fans, how many of you want to hear with or without again — ever? Same question for REM fans with Losing My Religion.

Like I said, most popular is usually not the best.

“Disintegration” commercial? Definitely not.

Pictures of you? Lovesong? I always thought that they were pretty commercial.

nope. just because a song happens to strike a chord–no pun intended–and achieves popularity, doesn’t mean it’s inherently “commercial.”

On the other hand, those singles sold very well and when music is sold pretty good i think we can call it commercial.

I understand that you seem to have a mission to defend all things related to the cure, but are you really saying that Pictures of You is not a commercial song? And Lovesong? They are not exactly “a forest,” is it? It seems pretty obvious that they were calculated attempts to breakthrough to commercial radio (Fascination Street as well). I pass no judgment on that, but it’s pretty clear. As for me, I love the Smiths. But I have no problem admitting Girlfriend in a Coma was a blatantly commercial song – it’s also, in my opinion, one of the Smiths’ weakest songs. A bit of objectivity can go a long way.

no, there weren’t any madonna and whitney fans listening to “the same deep water as you.” nope.

and to brian, below–no, i do not defend “all things” ANYONE. i know good music from bad. i think bloodflowers, the top and most of wild mood swings sucked.

but no..pictures of you–a 7 and a half minute song about loss that has no chorus, about 7 verse, and over 2 minutes with no vocals–wasn’t a “calculated attempt to break through to commercial radio”–and it peaked at about number 75 on the charts. maybe it seems more straightforward NOW, but then it was not in any way mainstream. and lovesong was a wedding present for his wife. it’s a somewhat catchy song, albeit darkly so. EVERY alternative band of note has catchy songs–the lips like sugars, the killing jars, the pretty in pinks, the enjoy the silences, the end of the world as we know its, the senses working overtimes, the veronicas. most of these artists were great songwriters with a keen melodic sense beneath their quirks. just because a song isn’t a forest doesn’t mean it’s a sellout–and more than half of the disintegration record is MORE dark and gloomy and droning than a forest–just executed with a bit more polish. what band doesn’t refine their sound with time and maturity?

Here’s the thing. The album version may have been 7 minutes, but the single (which was played to death on KROQ [that’s not a compliment]) is 4 and a half minutes (see link below)). It was clearly an attempt to reach a larger radio audience. In LA, it was played on KIIS FM (which was the home of Whitney, Madonna . . and is the home of Katy Perry). Same with Lovesong. Nothing wrong with that. The Cure had every right to make some money. I don’t think it is a sellout, but I’m sure that the cure wanted to break through beyond alternative radio (the proof for that would be the next move — Friday, I’m in Love?). I’m sorry to disagree with you, but, where I lived (Los Angeles), those songs (talking about pictures of you and lovesong) were most definitely picked up by people into VERY mainstream music. And, as I was around at the time, I feel confident in saying that no one I knew who was into alternative music (and the cure more specifically) felt that either song was anything other than mainstream.

I have to note that while I disagree that a lot of the songs you cite are comparable in terms of being mainstream, I just have to say that Senses Working Overtime was anything but mainstream when it was released.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictures_of_You_(The_Cure_song)

i’ll say it again–just because a song becomes a hit doesn’t mean that the artist was calculated in trying to craft it as such. catchy music with hummable hooks and clever lyrics is a style. it’s not a crass commercial pursuit. one can make catchy, poppy rock music that’s very shallow and meaningless, or they can make catchy, poppy music that’s got a soul to it. pictures of you is a simple composition with a simple, bright, poppy melody, but it has a deeply romantic, forlorn heart. it was written as a part of a very epic song cycle dealing with the destruction and falling apart of human relationships. i highly doubt robert smith wrote it with the intent of tailoring it to radio airplay; it just so happened that it got some (and, again, not a lot–on alternative radio, yes, but not on pop radio..and alternative radio was still a fringe thing in 1989)..yes, they released a single edit (which was still a fairly unwieldy 4:45 or so), but lots of longer songs get cut short for radio play, and just about any supposedly “alternative”, artsy, edgy, challenging artist you can name released songs here and there which had pop appeal despite their originality. the chili peppers’ under the bridge, depeche mode’s personal jesus, pearl jam’s jeremy, ben folds’ brick, nirvana’s heart shaped box, suzanne vega’s luka–these are all songs which involved suject matter that was decidedly NOT contrived for mass appeal and soccer-mom playlists..yet they all garnered massive airplay because, for whatever unpredictable reason, they struck a chord and got to a lot of people in a special way. peter gabriel’s in your eyes is one of the most sublime love songs ever put to tape; i am pretty confident saying that he didn’t consciously compose it in such a way that it would still be played frequently almost 30 years later–he just wrote what stirred inside him. and yes, friday i’m in love is a very silly, poppy song–but why does that have to inherently make it dismissible? isn’t there something to be said for indulging your lighthearted, blissful, childlike side sometimes, especially when it’s done in the context of/contrast to lots of other songs that are quite dark and brooding?

and one last point–bands don’t decide what songs get played on the radio.

you’re a blithering idiot. you’re rewriting history. disintegration sold a couple million in spite of what it was not because of it. there were no “jock/bullies” with muscle cars singing along with anything on it except MAYBE “lovesong”–that kind of guy would have–nay, WAS (as i was there) been appalled by things like “closedown”, “the same deep water as you” and “prayers for rain.” it’s not remotely a pop album, it wasn’t commercial in any logical sense, and it had nothing in common with the ACTUAL music of choice for tools back then, e.g. winger, warrant and poison. a band like the cult–who ultimately had a lot more in common with poison than with the cure–couldn’t even sell records to that musclehead. the cure certainly weren’t. i saw them at giants stadium with about 70,000 other fans, and none of them looked like that cliche you describe.

and it’s their best album, and it’s not close.

I lived thru the 80’s….barely…the Cure? They were not as nearly as good as people seem to be remembering them.

How is Script of the Bridge by The Chameleons not on this list somewhere? Talk about a brilliant record! And Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret by Soft Cell? That’s just wrong.

There are a lot of complaints about this list. And while it doesn’t reflect how I voted either, it is a readers poll. There’s very little objectivity. People voted for their favorite bands, not the best albums. You shouldn’t be upset because the poll results didn’t turn out the way you voted.

We all know that in a readers poll it’s a popularity contest. The votes are going to favor bands with the widest market appeal and penalize lesser known albums that were critically acclaimed (See “From the Lions Mouth,” “Heaven Up Here” or “Los Angeles”). The lone surprise in the top ten was “Closer.” At the end of the day it’s an opinion poll. No need to take it so personally.

why couldn’t it be that people DID vote for the albums they liked best? i did. i did not vote for every cure album; i voted for the three i think are brilliant.

Did i see any Big Country, the Crossing ?

I think that this says a lot more about the age of the voters than anything. Four Cure albums? possibly, but these ones? Never and Crocodiles at 99 and Heaven Up Here, arguably the best album ever, not to be seen? Hhmmm…?!?

No best of the 80’s could be complete without The The’s Soul Mining in my opinion. Still…a fun (if Cure heavy list). I love The Cure but Kiss Me in the Top 10? Nope. It always was a curate’s egg.

it’s obvious that this site’s followers are of the cure/depeche mode/smiths-type 80s music fans – which is cool (and rather cliche). But of course there are other cliques such as the madchesters, the alt/college rockers, the synth and pop lovers etc etc. i just wanted to out point that i still adore how this site covers the whole umbrella of anything related to 80s alternative music – I’ve come across so much concerning shows and re-releases plus been exposed and checked out shit i would not have heard of elsewhere! i constantly get asked at gigs how someone under 30 knows about the music playing and i owe much of it to slicingupeyeballs :)

Yes, the list is Cure biased. Who cares? People were polled, and their stuff happened to show up a lot on people’s lists… The running order is quite strange but use the list as a primer of stuff to pick up and/or show to other people to check out. Polls are a popularity contest…. not a scientific study. The same thing would happen if you polled peeps on 70’s rock music. Led Zeppelin would be 6 or 7 strong in the top 20. The Who would be in there with some of their more mediocre efforts right along side ” Who’s Next”, just like Siouxsie and Echo on this list. Peepshow wouldn’t make my top 200 let alone be in in the top 100.

It is a testament to how much people liked the Cure back in the day and still do. They made great albums and they stand the test of time. IMHO The list shows how much appreciation the Cure has… I can go to a record store and find a vinyl copy of Murmur or The Hurting or The Jam tomorrow, but it could take me weeks to find a copy of Kiss Me, or Head on the Door, or an original Disentegation in LP form. It doesnt mean the REM, TFF, or Jam record suck… it just means the Cure is more popular and people aren’t getting rid of their Cure vinyl and the records that do show up can’t be kept in stock. The kids know where it’s at. But like it or not the Cure is one of the most influential bands of our time… Even Adele covers them for God’s sake,

It is fascinating who’s getting left out of history… A lot of great indie rock left off the list and off the top of my head In a perfect world the list needed to have such classics as Microphonies, Script on the Bridge, Heaven Up Here, Zenyatta Mondatta, English Settlement, Mirror Moves, Nation’s Saving Grace, Ideal Copy, Victorialand, Seventh Dream…, Spleen and Ideal, or simply anything from the Minutemen, the Cramps, Birthday Party, or Black Flag. (wow). Yeah, The Replacements deserved to be higher… and it would have been cool to see Lonely is An Eyesore on the list but alas, it is a POLL. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

But a great job done by all… Thanks for the massive undertaking and collating the votes… All of these lists are good examples to show to naysayers who complain about 80’s music and write the decade out of history… To any complainers – next time Slicing Up Eyeballs does another poll, make sure to vote. Perhaps we will see some Triumph, Poison, or Testament on the next list since this one is obviously too “artsy fartsy.” Thanks for the hard work though, it’s greatly appreciated!

I’m bothered that no female performer or band shows up till #54. Really?!

Oooops…just spotted Soul Mining. Still…should have been much higher. Its my favourite and my opinion is obviously much more important than anyone else’s. That’s a joke by the way. I like the way that these polls cause heated debate. Its because we are passionate about music.

Now a Cure cassette was always near by (so I am not hating on the Robert!) but Mr. Smith must have been busy making up fake names and email address just so he could vote for himself. If I remember correctly Disintegration was a “Newbie Fan” or “Wanna Be Poser Fan” LP. You know the kind of fan I am talking about…the “Fan” that wore Bennetton and Treetorn’s before Christmas break but when they got back to school two weeks later…they had black hair (left over from Halloween “Temporary Black-In-A-Box” dye kit), Black Cons Chuck Taylors (with “The Cure” poorly writing in Liquid Paper on them), their dad’s old beaten jean jacket and a Cure t-shirt (purchased at the “Mall Record Store” (same day they got the Cons at the mall)). This was the end of the 80’s and things were changing for those that expressed their rebellion and individualism. Being the “Freak” was not just some costume you put on in the morning before you walked out the door. You lived and breathed the fact that you were different and wanted to be that way. So many years of dance clubs and crashing school dances. Issue after issue of NME and Smash Hits torn and cut apart just so you could fill every empty space on you bedroom wall. And battle after battle…with your parents, with teachers and with Johnny Jock and Preppy Paula. This is what made us stand out…this is what made our neighbours scared of us…this is what gave us the courage to be different, to be a true “Freak”. NO, we didn’t do it because our best friend did. No, we didn’t do it because we were trying to catch the attention of a member of the opposite sex. And a BIG NO, we didn’t buy look from the mall. Disintegration…not a #1 LP (Head On The Door was a much better listen!)

PS. To those that voted for #100…I feel sorry for you!

Although I am not as invested in this as much as you are, I agree that Disintegration was the album where the tag-alongs jumped on the cure band wagon. I made this point in an earlier post (take a look). That said, I was one of the people plastering pages from NME and Smash Hits (and to a lesser extent Spin back in the day) on my bedroom walls.

Cutting out pix from Smash Hits magazine – YUP! In a small town, that was the best I could find. Thanks for the memory!

uhhhh-huh. you bought YOUR cons and eyeliner from some guy on the street in a trenchcoat, right? fuck outta here. me and my friends were well entrenched alt-rock-whatever fans by 1989 and we were as hardcore as you and your elitist bullshit. i got fucked with big-time for wearing chucks (which are now worn by the types who fucked with us over it); a guy in eyeliner in high school in 1988-89 was a BIG fucking deal, even here in ny, but that was me..i grinded/slamdanced with some chick with a nosering at a chili peppers show at a little place in brooklyn in october ’89, and a girl with a nosering then was also a BIG fucking deal–now popstars have them. you’re talking out of your ass. we were there on the “frontline” of having the balls to be a “freak” (exactly what we were called), and disintegration was, and is, an amazing fucking album. i knew it the minute i listened to it the first time.

So basically this is where everyone complains that there are people who have different opinions from their own. I could do through here and point out albums that I personally think are crap but ranked high on this list, but why bother? People like what people like, and obviously more people who came here to vote liked those albums more than others. Why the whining?

And to those who claim that this is a show of poor taste, who do you think you are? Wow. Who has the right to dismiss anyone else’s personal preferences? No one. There are so many bands on this list that I could never be bothered with but that doesn’t mean anything other than that *I* don’t like them. The rest of the world can like whatever they want.

Sure, people should respect other people’s opinion. But it is also fun to have a lively debate about what is the best and why. As long as people aren’t attacking each other and, instead, arguing the merits, I say have it. That’s what it’s all about. And, I think there is a lot of merit to the argument that the cure did not produce four of the top ten albums of the 80s. Let’s debate the point. If not, why are we on this site?

I say discuss, debate, have a good time. But when it turns to flat out insults and questioning whether the voters have any taste at all? That is unnecessary. As is belittling the bands listed above. It’s the people who are having childish little tantrums over it that bother me.

(Sorry about the typos, I hadn’t had enough coffee when I typed this!)

Whooaaa, I’ve got 82 of these….. I will never understand the fascination with The Cure, The Smiths and Depeche Mode. Take them all off the list and it becomes much better.

Take them off the list and it becomes a poor excuse for an 80s Alternative list. It’s like having a 70s hard rock/metal list without Sabbath, Zeppelin and Queen. You can’t leave out the icons. Feel free to make your own list if you hate it.

Tempted to agree but, in the end, I can’t. Those bands do have their place in this list. It wouldn’t be complete without them. What they should’ve done is limit 1 album per band. That way, a much better and accurately diverse list could’ve been compiled.

I just read some comments about The The’s album Soul Mining. It was a wonderful album by a great group of artists. I heard the song Uncertain Smile last week for the first time after not hearing it for years and I can tell you it gave me goose bumps, especially the piano work towards the end. Picking albums off of the list that Slicing Up provided was like picking a date from the Miss America line-up! All good and pleasantly different in their own unique way.

You didn’t have to be Jeane Dixon to see that the Cure/Smith branch of the ’80s alt-rock tree was going to win, place and show. While I’m disappointed that some of my underdogs like XTC and The Feelies didn’t fare better, that only endears those bands to me more.

As for my more popular favorites, it does make me nostalgic for those arguments I had with friends and classmates during that blurry decade which would usually conclude with me screaming that Murmur and Let It Be are the best albums ever, then stomping out of the room. Guess things haven’t changed much.

Fun exercise, even if the lack of ANY Costello counterfeits the whole thing!!!

I know it’s a poll, vox populi, whatever. I’m just sad that there is no Elvis Costello, and no Eurythmics. And the Pretenders’ first album didn’t even crack the Top 50? Sigh.

I was prepared for no Ocean Blue or Blue Nile on the list. Same with Cyndi Lauper and Culture Club, both of whom I had to write in. And it’s heartening to see Lloyd Cole’s Rattlesnakes actually make the list. Oh well.

I’m sorry for flooding out this comment section (with a bunch of posts I do hope get approved). I just have a lot of enthusiasm for the topic, and I guess it shows. At any rate though, I just had to ask if The Cars and Billy Idol were eligible for this list?

For the most part, I’m unsurprised at the top 100, and believe that most of them would poll where they do, but it’s interesting to see. I think people need to remember this was an opinion poll and takes nothing away from their own opinions. Thanks for doing this poll and website! Love it! It would be interesting to see the top 100 artists of the 80s, though, and judging from these comments would make your readers happier :)

No Prefab Sprout in a ’80s poll ? I don’t understand. “Steve McQueen” is my favourite ’80s record and one of my ten favourite records of all time.

There is a lots of ‘The Cure’ fans on this poll to notice Prefab Sprout pop masterpiece. Probably they don’t understand songs like ‘When Love Breaks Down’ & ‘Bonnie’. And that’s a real shame for this list.

cool. but only about 10 people agree with you.

qotita, as usual you’re complete moron.

dude. when you learn to speak English, then you can contradict me.

yes, the cure “disintegration” the best of the best

I’d love to see a poll of favorite 80’salbum covers. Without a doubt it’s “OCEAN RAIN” from Echo & The Bunnymen!

Don’t know what my favorite album cover would be. Probably New Order’s “Power, Corruption, and Lies” or something on 4AD.

The 80’s are so hard to talk about because there really were 2 different periods. When most people think of 80’s music, fashion, hairstyles etc., they’re thinking of the early 80’s. Something like Surfer Rosa had no musical connection to what was happening in say 1981′ so it’s hard to compare the 2 halves of the decade. In my humble opinion, the early half was much more interesting. Maybe because of that I never got the awe for Disintegration. I feel that every Cure album before it with the exception of the Top (which is brutal), and Kiss Me x3, are better. Disintegration is just way too Cocteau Twins influenced for me. It’s seems like by that point in his career Robert forgot how to write a 3 minute song.

I listened to “Disintegration” a few weeks ago for the first time in many years. It’s even more uneventful than I remember. Dirge after dirge after dirge and at 72 minutes it’s also super indulgent. It perks up here and there and occasionally a melody emerges from the abyss. Even it’s best song (“Fascination Street”) gets tiresome with that repeating bass line over and over.

“Untitled” is indeed beautiful but by that point, the cd has collapsed under its’ own weight. There is simply nothing there that compares with their best work (“A Forest,” “Jumping Someone Else’s Train,” “Let’s Go To Bed,” “Sinking,” “The Kiss,” “End” and many more).

it’s all quite melodic. it may not be HOOKY, but it’s melodic. yes, prayers for rain and same deep water as you and the title track are long and repetitive and droning. they’re SUPPOSED to be. it wasn’t an accident or anything owing to songwriting limitations..he was trying to make that kind of record. it’s kind of like complaining that dark side of the moon doesn’t have enough catchy hit singles.

you are right, though, that sinking and end are amazing.

The difference being “Dark Side Of The Moon” works on every level and “Disintegration” rarely gets there. I am not looking for catchy hit singles and I understand what Smith was trying to do, I just don’t think he pulled it off. Certainly not to the extent that he did on the songs we agree on. Would any songs from “Disintegration” make your Cure top 5?

disintegration itself might, pictures of you would. fascination street is pretty high on my list, as are closedown and untitled. but again, it’s not a singles album, it’s a record to be listened to as a whole.

Yep, sure would…loads of ’em, particularly “The Same Deep Water as You”.

Can’t believe the most unique and beautiful recording of the 80’s, Talk Talk SPIRIT OF EDEN, did not even rank…

…though I know it wasn’t a big-seller, I just had hope that SUE readers would have investigated music more under-the-radar since the 80’s.

Amen. Spirit of Eden is spectacular, mind-blowing art.

“Amen” is an appropriate response. Spirit Of Eden is a sublime religious experience.

I think that people who votes on this poll probably not even heard for Talk Talk. Such a shame.

That ain’t me, babe

PretTy decent list overall. I was shocked to see Guns N Roses on it (the opposite of what I think of as “alternative”), and there are some albums I believed deserved a much better showing…and of course some artists who didn’t get any showing but I think should have (Psych Furs, Chameleons UK, Jam, Squeeze, Modern English, Killing Joke). But by and large, it’s a list of great music and muh of which I do own.

Maybe I’ll continue coming to this site and commenting just to harass you.

you’ll have to get through me, sir.

Maybe we should have the Best of [The Most Obscure] Alternative Top Ten, for those who are more alternative than alternative. The real organic ethereal alt. music. I kid.

Wait no Puppy? C’mon now. At least Ministry’s With Sympathy could’ve broken in there between 98-100. Al hates it. I dig it.

Big Pig’s Bonk…..if seven or eight drummers isn’t alternative I don’t know what is.

The poll results don’t bother me. It’s a decent and fairly predictable group….and it’s not the end of the world if your band didn’t make it…just feel that you are even hipper and more authentically obscure to your Top 40 alt. brethren. Besides has anyone ever got satisfaction outta voting anyhow or their desired result?

For everyone asking where’s this album or where’s that album, let me remind you that the ballot for this particular poll was comprised of the Top 50 finishers from each of the previous year-by-year polls. So the album you’re asking about most likely aren’t here because they didn’t get enough votes the first time around. Or, to put it more bluntly, people don’t like those records as much as you do.

And, believe me, there are plenty of records that I think should have been on that final ballot, let alone this list. But that’s how it shook out.

Hope you are not regretting holding this poll; some of the comments are pretty disrespectful. I don’t love the Cure but many do and they voted how they felt, and that is that. I’m not bothered that other people don’t precisely share my musical tastes – I learned not to worry about it BACK IN THE EIGHTIES!

Looking forward to the live/complilation/rarities poll.

I find it amusing how even today we’re arguing about who among us is “really” alternative and what bands are sell outs. High school never dies.

lol….so true oldwaver. In my case it was actually college which I attended in ’83-’87. Our college radio station (WCHC-Holy Cross) was “very alternative” when it came to rock. Much of this list here would not have even been considered “college rock” including entries by the Cure (post 1985), U2 (post 1984), even REM (post Fables) etc…basically any band that “gone commercial/sold out.”

This poll was obviously voted upon by fans of “British synth rock” by and large and there’s nothing wrong with that. I was (and continue to be a fan of many of those groups.)

The genre that was largely overlooked (in the final poll anyway) was more American guitar-driven rock “college rock” like The Feelies, Mission of Burma, Yo Lo Tengo, 11th Dream Day etc.

Another slice of 80s college rockt hat was largely overlooked in these polls (again, in my opinion) were a lot of the bands that came out of Aussie (Go-Betweens specifically) and a lot of NZ “Flying Nun label” bands.

Basically my point is, “If you think 7 Cure albums were in the top 100 of the 80’s….chances are you weren’t listening to college rock in the 80s.”

I wanted to take a moment to thank the organizer(s) of SUE for putting in the work all year for the polls, finishing w/ the greatest of the 80’s. While I find it disappointing that some feel the need to discredit rather than just disagree, it has been a real joy to revisit some fantastic albums and the life-memories that coincide with them. It reminded me of my first purchase of alternative music @ Murmur record store in Orlando, FL: The Queen is Dead, Head on the Door, Document and Music for the Masses. I remember being plugged in to my Walkman 24/7, walking to and from school (dreading both school and home) and escaping for awhile. I grew to love many of the albums on the top 100 listed here, and many more that didn’t make the list. Regardless, it has been a fantastic trip down memory-lane, and keep up the great work in 2014! Thanks!

Oh- and I, too, agree w/ oldwaver.

I think the sentiment felt here is a bit of confusion as to whether or not this is a “100 Best Albums of the 80’s” in non-mainstream music or a “100 Best etc..)” in “non-mainstream” music as compiled by a trendy (and tired) magazine like “Rolling Stone”.

It seems like the majority of people who voted on this poll were mostly teenagers who inherited their older siblings record/tape/cd collections, which were compiled mostly by following the “What’s Hot in Alternative!” lists on flyers found at the local Sam Goody or “Up and coming” lists seen in “SPIN” and “Rolling Stone” magazines back in the late 80’s.

The fact that there are bands on here that have no business being on this list is just as baffling. In that case, they should’ve included every other typical spotlight hoarding “rock” band found in these types of lists on the 80’s Billboard “rock” charts.

It should’ve been limited the best album (only 1) from each band. Giving more room to include bands that SHOULD’VE been a given on this list. People were probably expecting a “real” list where not only the popular bands were represented but also the truly great-yet-underrated-and-overlooked bands were finally given their moment in the spotlight.

To have no mention of The Chameleons, The Psychedelic Furs, A Flock Of Seagulls, Gary Numan, Clan Of Xymox, Killing Joke, Icehouse, Kitchens Of Distinction and MANY, MANY more makes this list a painful misrepresentation of the tons of awesome non-mainstream music to come out of that inimitable and original decade.

even though i didn’t vote for any Cure od DM albums (i knew they’d get enough votes) i didn’t expect to vote in Medusa, by Xymox, or Sleeps with the Fishes by Pieter Nooten and Michael Brook- Xymox made it to the preliminaries, but this WAS a popularity contest, after all. maybe i did vote for Xymox, not sure if they made the voting list or not. :-P saying that 2 Cure or 2 Depeche Mode albums shouldn’t be able to be voted as part of your Top 25 is a bit silly though, they were/are many people’s favorite alternative bands. a lot of people voted for every album each band had, then added in whatever else they could.

It’s not silly at all. Having one album per band was more than enough since they could’ve listed a couple “runner-up” albums for each band with multiple entries. Having multiple albums seems pointless. They could’ve reached the same result with one main album per band on the list. All it did was narrow the list space and give a very restricted and limited view on an ENTIRE decade’s worth of music. Makes it seem like the only music worth to cents from the 80’s came only from a handful of bands, which is completely lopsided and misleading.

*two cents…

I love charts, so I thought I would share some of tidbits for other dorks like me: 1980 – 11 albums 1981 – 6 1982 -7 1983 – 9 1984 – 11 1985 – 14 1986 – 7 1987 – 15 1988 – 10 1989 – 10

The only years that the full top 10 made this list were 1985, 1987, and 1989

The highest charting album of any given year not to make this list: Depeche Mode – A Broken Frame at #3 in 1982

The lowest charting album of any given year to make this list: Prince – Sign of the Times (which was #24 in 1987)

Thanks SUE for this awesome poll! (even though I’m sad no Eurythmics or Skinny Puppy made the decade list)

interesting stats… i’m sure if they did this exact poll all over again you’d get a lot of differences in the order. people vote, then debate the voting, which is a bit backwards, but that’s how it is…

“A Broken Frame” didn’t make it! I’m outraged!

Egads. My younger, music-snob self would have been appalled by this list back in the 1980s. SUE is interesting, because it usually reflects the very diverse music real people were listening to then. By this best-of-the-decade list just squeezed out most stuff outside of top-10 pop.

I don’t really disagree with the list, there’s a few I would have substituted. I’m not a Pixie fan – by any stretch (can’t stand them in fact) and would have the Jesus and Mary Chain in the top 10 and I’m not a huge fan of he Cure’s “Pornography” and would have substituted “Faith” instead but that’s just me.

I will say this though, The Cure has impacted me. They were the soundtrack of my youth and I love them – always have – always will! I will never apologize for loving them. Even if some pretentious hipster thinks they’re not appropriately obscure enough *eye roll*

^This last sentence – can’t agree more.

Ditto! Very well put!

But is anyone arguing that the Cure were not appropriately obscure enough? It seems that the main argument is that they did not produce four of the top ten albums of the decade. I like the cure, and I don’t think anyone doubts their bona fides as an alternative band. But four albums? To me, that illustrates a somewhat myopic view of 80s music (or music from any decade). For example, I loved the Smiths – every album — and I love the first five REM albums. But when push came to shove, I picked the Queen is Dead and Murmur only in the top 25 because there are so many other good bands that deserve recognition. Can you really argue with the proposition that the results of the poll would have been more interesting if the Cure fans had not simply voted in nearly every cure record into their top 25?

“But is anyone arguing that the Cure were not appropriately obscure enough”

Actually a few people had that complaint about ‘Disintegration’. They called it a “newbie album” or complained that “normal” people listened to it. What a joke. Still playing the old game of , “Oh, they’re popular now? Well, they used to be cool.” If that band were friends of yours, would you wish them a life of obscurity and poverty, or would you celebrate them making the charts?

Brian, The Cure fans listen only The Cure albums. They don’t listen other artists.

hear, hear!

A little boy heavy for my tastes. Although I do own most of the albums listed. :-) Off the top of my head, where is Flowers “Icehouse,” Devo’s “New Traditionalists,” Throwing Muses, “Throwing Muses,” Lydia Lunch’s, “Queen of Siam,” Til Tuesday’s, “Welcome Home,” Squeeze’s “East Side Story.” anything by Elvis Costello or Crowded House? But the omission that made me weep was Kate Bush’s, “The Dreaming.” Thanks for the list though.

This is the dumbest list with the worst results that I’ve ever seen.

Well be off with you then…shoo shoo.

Very debateable list……. 5 Cure records in the top 10??!! Maybe a couple of those could make way for the Dead Kennedy’s FFFRV which is stranded adrift at #66, or the Stone Roses debut, in my opinion the best album of the 80’s both musically, influentially, and revolutionarily. Also, much as I love him, there is an alarming number of Bowie LPs on that list, when the 80’s provided a whole host of e could really do without.

Paul Simon’s Graceland should be in here and it isn’t. I know it wasn’t alternative, really, and that it had the poppiest Paul Simon song ever in Call Me Al, it’s still one of the better albums recorded from that decade, and one that I find I still enjoy more than 25 years later. There’s no way that four Cure albums belong in the top ten and Graceland isn’t even in the top 100.

Sorry Al…you’ve come to the wrong place!

And that’ not all. ‘Graceland’ is a great album, but other great artist are also missing (Simply Red, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince…). For example, some of ‘Prince’ albums are here on this poll, and for example ‘Purple Rain’ is missing. How is that possible?

Marko, does that question even need to be answered? Do you understand the definition of the genres covered by this site? I know definition are loose and very subjective, but some parameters exist for a reason…such as keeping dross like Michael Jackson and Simply Red out of polls such as this one. I mean, come on, Simply Red?? Christ on a bike.

gotta admit, i like simply red.

All good and well, but I’m sure you’d agree that they don’t really “belong” in terms of the scope of this site.

I won’t wax philosophical about where to draw the lines of alternative music, but I cannot think of any place in this plane of existence that would classify Public Enemy or Guns N Roses as alternative bands.

Agreed. Add Simply Red, Michael Jackson and bloody Paul Simon to that too.

The top ten. Seriously? Give me a bucket to puke in… 4 albums by any one artist would still be wrong..

I’m a huge fan of 80s music and I love most of the albums on this list. But I still have a hard time understanding why The Hoodoo Gurus are so overlooked by alternative music fans from the era. Maybe because, being from the Boston area, they got a lot of airplay here and there was a time when I put them in the same sentence as the other heavyweights – R.E.M., U2, The Replacements, INXS, etc. So sad that they’re not represented here.

I agree. Stoneage Romeos is in my all time favorite top 10.

All this arguing…post your own personal lists of favorite 80s albums!

It’s quite ironic watching these comments. People bitching that the top 10 is not skewed towards what they like, therefore the list is garbage.

Sorry if you don’t like the Cure, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are arguably the most important alternative rock band of all time, with the credentials to back that up. Disintegration is widely considered a masterpiece of pop music.

“I can’t believe the Cure has 4 albums in the top ten!! What about Husker Du or the Violent Femmes??”

REALLY? Those two bands are just blips on the college radio radar, nothing more, nothing less. This is a popular opinion poll, so there is nothing to argue.

Husker Du, R.E.M., and the Pixies were THE most influential bands on the upcoming early 90’s alternative explosion. Absolutely. Ask Nirvana. Husker Du alone paved the way for punk/pop. Dave Grohl- “no Husker Du, no Foo Fighters,” and countless others.

the whole “the pixies begat nirvana” deal is ridiculous. kurt may have dug them, but nirvana sounded NOTHING like them. nirvana, you know, SOUNDED good, whereas the pixies are noise. husker du was a damn good band and very important, but again, the foos sound a lot better and i’d much rather listen to them.

Where do you think Nirvana got their LOUD/quiet/LOUD formula? “Teen Spirit” is straight Pixies. They’ve admitted it. Cobain-“I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies. I connected with that band so heavily I should have been in that band-or at least in a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics.” Straight from the horses mouth. No arguments needed.

Now think about all the bands influenced by Nirvana. It all comes back to the Pixies.

Pretty sure Smells Like Teen Spirit is nicked from the Pixies. Not much proof other than this:

“I was trying to write the ultimate pop song. I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it (smiles). When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily I should have been in that band – or at least in a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard.”

Kurt Cobain about how he wrote “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, from a Rolling Stone interview by David Fricke, 01-27-94

Kurt more than dug them. He wanted to BE them.

Guys, I think that qotita knows better then Kurt Cobain. Qotita is a musicologist.

i’m well aware of all of this. read it years ago. i just don’t hear it. yeah, loud/soft. everything else about the two bands–vocal tonality, approach in terms of how hard they rocked, lyrics/themes, melodic/harmonic approach, atmosphere–is completely dissimilar.

Yeeeeah.. Can’t say I really care who the biggest influence on Nirvana was.

“Sorry if you don’t like the Cure, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are arguably the most important alternative rock band of all time, with the credentials to back that up.”

No offense but, THE MOST important alternative rock band of all time? Are you serious? Yes, they were a great band. With many great songs and albums BUT, they are just ONE of a myriad of bands that shaped, paved and created the face of alternative music. To say that implies that either:

A. One is blinding oneself to the contributions made by a whole gamut of bands from the same time period OR…

B. One has NO CLUE of the contributions made by a whole gamut of bands from the same time period.

Just because some bands never achieved the levels of stardom that ONE band did, makes them no less relevant and important.

And no one ever said that, but thanks for putting words in my post.

Oh sorry. I thought the implication came through loud and clear since I copied the quote directly from your post. Hmm.

so, um..because one band is, of course, only ONE band among many, that means they’re not the greatest/most influential/most important? SOMEONE has to be, right? your logic is strange here.

What I’m saying is that we’re talking about an ENTIRE decade here. Not a few months or a few years. Don’t know why that’s so hard to comprehend for you. If you re-read my comment, at no time do I imply that anyone HAS to be the “greatest”. But, I’ll play along. The 80’s did not revolve around The Cure or a couple other bands. For someone who claims to love TONS of bands and albums (BUT who also thinks The Cure is “the greatest band in the history of alternative rock music, go figure), I would’ve thought you’d have a much more open view on the subject. Stating that MY logic is strange is perfect example of the pot calling the kettle “Black”. Again, get over yourself. If you could scale over the monumental wall that is your arrogance, you’d probably understand my logic. Then again, you’d then be faced with the highest and toughest climb of all, which dwarfs everything else… your ego.

We now know the ultimate troll bait of the interwebs: trick a bunch Cure fans to debate what is the best album…

The best thing about these comments is the nostalgia I feel remembering the debates I had with jocks back in the 80s when they said “god, how can you listen to that crap?!”

If anything, this shows how important and how PERSONAL the music was for us back then. It defined us. We used it building blocks of our identity. It was our “baseball and apple pie”.

Personally, I still demand that Starfish be recognized as the best album of the 80s.

The Cure is my favorite band, they have been for a long time and always will be. I voted for all 7 of their albums for my top 25 of the 80s and if their Boys Don’t Cry and Japanese Whispers compilations were eligible for this poll I would have voted for those as well. I also voted for all 5 of Skinny Puppy’s albums, and all of Dead Can Dance’s albums. Those bands changed my life and that is how I voted, this music isn’t the best of the 80s to me, it is the best music of all time. The Cure’s Pornography is highly influential, especially to the Gothic music scene. It deserves it’s place in the top 10 for sure.

You have limited taste on three bands. 80’s music is much more than three bands and 7 albums of ‘The Cure’.

Totally agree with Marko. It’s your choice to think of 3 bands and their music (which I like as well, don’t get me wrong) as the best of “all-time” but, you are certainly missing out on a veritable goldmine of cool bands and albums from the same or similar genres. Like a person eating hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza almost exclusively when there are SO MANY other excellent choices out there to add to one’s palette.

If you love 80’s new wave (of course you do, you read this awesome blog), you’ll know that 2013 was an incredible year for music.

All these electropop bands grew up in the 80’s and loved The Cure, Smiths, Depeche Mode…and are now building upon those sounds. Bands like Young Galaxy, St. Lucia, Charli XCX, Lorde, AlunaGeorge, CHVRCHES etc.

Check out my Top 40 Electropop Albums from 2013 and hopefully find awesome new tunes.

http://www.betterfunner.com/2013/12/top-40-electropop-albums-2013/

4 Albuns of The Cure and 2 of Depeche Mode in the top 10? It’s a decade. 10 years. Pop/Rock music has more diversity than that.

Agree with Pedro.

Why do people keep on blaming voters’ age for their dislike on this list? Is it wrong to be young?

I looove the Cure… I really do, but thre’s too much Cure for the top ten. AnD U2’s Boy deserved a much higher place, but, again, it’s a list based on polls [Though I’ve always thought The Cure is very underrated by critics anyway.]

AnD also Bowie’s and SATB’s should’ve been higher… I think…

This here’s a poll; it’s not the result of any single critic overloading his choices for ‘best 80’s albums’ with his personal favorite bands. The Cure and The Smiths are arguably (?) the most beloved ‘alternative’ bands of the era, with several great records between them. Is it any surprise really that their contributions take up so much space in the top 10? My favorite Cure album happens to be ‘Pornography’, but I also love ‘Disintegration’, ‘Head on the Door’, etc., and am not at all surprised the majority of folks voted for these over their dour little masterpiece. I personally would’ve made room in the top 10 for other deserving artists. I personally would’ve tossed all the U2, Duran Duran, and Police records for Skinny Puppy’s nightmarish sonic classic (and still ahead of it’s time) ‘VIVIsectVI’, The Birthday Party’s ‘Mutiny’, Big Black’s ‘The Hammer Party’, The Cramps ‘Bad Music For Bad People’…but this clearly isn’t my list, or yours. Overall I think it’s a pretty great list, with very few albums I’d break in half, or burn, in a decade that had an awful lot of truly horrible music.

How in the world are people upset about the results of the poll? People voted and these are the results. I’m a Cure fan for sure but no way do I think so many of their albums belong in the top 10. But they are. So what? I know what my top 10 would look like. It’s neither right or wrong. Just my opinion.

I do love so many of the albums on this list. But as one who came of age during the Eighties, no list is complete without a high ranking of The Fall’s 1982’s “Hex Induction Hour”. Truly epic. “But what does it sound like, you may ask? Well, it sounds like the Fall. It sounds like a group of five talented musicians trying to play as brilliantly stupid as possible, while a sixth fellow from the docks hops on stage, grabs the mike, and fights his way through the morass scorched-earth style. It sounds like the primordial ooze that birthed touchstones like the Stooges and the Velvet Underground come to life, nursing a bitch of a hangover and a vendetta. It’s something you’re born with, not something you learn. And, as on most Fall records, but especially this one, it’s something to behold.” http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/2979-hex-enduction-hour/

Hex Enduction Hour isn’t even the best Fall record, more or less one of the best albums of the entire decade.

i posted a general rational over-arching comment early but now i’m gonna give my two millions cents personal opinion: where the eff is ‘the damned’, where the eff is ‘pil’ and where the eff is ‘happy mondays’???! that’s just me but is there anyone else on my side?!

Yeah, I would have loved to see “Strawberries” or “Phantasmagoria” racking up more votes!

How about top 10 bands slighted by this list. 1.The Chameleons UK 2.Talk Talk 3.Prefab Sprout 4.Psychedelic Furs 5.Mission Of Burma 6.The Jam 7.Camper Van Beethoven 8.Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians 9.Elvis Costello 10.The dB’s

On this list there is no The Cure. How is that possible? Where is a musicologist ‘qotita’ to change that list?

Sometimes Marko makes me laugh.

dude, you really need to knock it the fuck off very soon.

To mention another band that was completely overlooked. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Organisation,Architecture & Morality,Dazzle Ships, Junk Culture. Erasure’s The Innocents was overlooked as well, If youre going to give Depeche Mode and Yazoo so much credit then why not them as well?

I liked OMD at the time – but now I really appreciate how good they are and how innovative their early albums were. If you compare their early stuff with, say, Depeche Mode’s — it’s no contest who had the better stuff at the beginning. (I even count “A Broken Frame” in that comparison, even though I have a strong personal connection with that album.)

I agree with you about OMD. They were the first alternative band that I got into my freshman year in college. A friend of mine fron high school met some guy that had done some college radio and turned him on to it. It was totally unlike the stuff I was hearing on the radio. Us and another friend from hs finally got to see them in Chicago about three years ago. I also got into A Broken Frame talking to a girl I knew in the hallway of our dorm. Her boyfriend was into the music scene from Chicago and she was familiar with it we I heard it down the hall. She told me who it was I went out and bought it that day, after only hearing it for a few minutes. Both groups got me into finding music off the beaten path.

I have to admit that my top albums were not just based on the quality of the music but the memories I had when I was listening to them. When you are a teenager music is interwoven into the the most exciting times of your life. I distinctly remember seeing ABC on good morning America and then riding my bike 10 miles to Wherehouse records to get lexicon of love. I listened to that tape over and over on my yellow Walkman going back and forth to junior high. Will never forget it or hearing all this great music thanks to 91x in San Diego. Wasn’t college rock, but was new wave and alternative. Great memories listening OMD’s Crush with my girlfriend. That was our album. Is it better than the Cure? Because of the memories that come back to me now when I hear a song from that album yes. When I hear the Cure I think of all the Goths at Stratus dance club smoking their cloves and hearing them overplayed on 91x. Like them, but because my friends and I were more into other bands they didn’t make my list. Curious if people voted based strictly on the musical genius or if because most of us were teenagers selected albums that provided the best memories? And to all the bashers of bands like Duran2 and U2 you all sound like teenagers and think it is uncool to like them because they are popular. They were popular because they had some good music. You didn’t like them then or now because you and your friends wanted to be different like many teenagers.

look im a cure fan too, and pornography deserves to be there…the kids who discovered the cure with disintigration had thier say (its good, but not the best)…same with the smiths, queen is dead was a critic darling but frankly mr shankly (theres a crap song) it wasnt nearly as good as what came before..but thats when BOTH these bands peaked commercially..id asy to those who voted for more than one album by one band in thier top ten…give the rest of the list a chance…there were some great records out there and they didnt all come from one band

Pretty much agree with everything you say, although I love Frankly Mr. Shankly (some girls are bigger than others was, imo, the throw away track on Queen is Dead). The main disagreement is with the statement that Queen is Dead was the Smiths’ commercial peak. I’d have to say that point came with Strangeways and with the made for easy-listening hit, Girlfriend in a Coma. Another great Smiths disc (they all were great), but never liked that song.

“Some Girls..” contains some of Marr’s most beautiful guitar arpeggios. A lovely tapestry of notes. Lyrically, yes a throwaway, but musically as pretty as anything he ever played (I think Morrisey sabotaged this track).

Good point.

What about Michael Jackson’s Thriller? Prince’s Purple Rain? Pet Shop Boy’s? Culture Club?? There are also other groups like Metallica’s Master of Puppets or even Kill em all… Mötley Crüe… This whole list was pretty dominated by British eyeliner.

Miggz, seriously, you need to acknowledge what this site is all about. There’s no room for sodding Motley Crue here at all (or any other blokey hair-rock bollocks for that mater).

I wonder what Guns N Roses, Public Enemy and Beastie Boys are doing here then. And if Prince IS going to be on the list, it makes no sense whatsoever for his “Sign O’ The Times” album to be represented here but yet, there’s no mention of “Purple Rain” which was a MASSIVE album in the mid 80’s and for many like myself, his best work ever in that decade.

Completely agree witm M6.

Yeah I thought this mega-poll was gonna inspire some intense comment, good stuff. Have enjoyed catching up withn many of these classic records. Growing up in NZ in the 80’s, the Flying Nun label was enormously influencial. My faves: Skeptics – Skeptics III, Bailter Space – Tanker, The Gordons – S/T, Straitjacket Fits – Hail, with many other great FN releases E.P’s only.

A list of the top 100 college rock LPs of the 1980s that does not include “Vs.” by Mission of Burma is thematically, artistically and culturally invalid.

The top heavy representation of The Cure in this list implies a certain amount of ballot box stuffing.

‘Vs.’ barely even made the ballot for this. It came in at No. 50 in the 1982 poll. The ballot was comprised of the Top 50 results of each individual year’s voting.

On this ballot, it came in at No. 246.

Very important record? Absolutely. But obviously not as well liked as many others. This was, after all, a readers poll, not a critical list.

SUE, you don’t have to defend yourself! (‘Vs’ is amazing though).

I think that after this comments we start this poll over again. From 1980-1989. Year by year. That’s fair. Some great artist are missing in this poll, some great albums are also missing, and at the end 4 ‘The Cure’ albums in top 10 of the decade. That’s too much for me.

We already did year-by-year voting. Results are linked at the top and bottom of the post itself.

Yes, I know that. But this is completely unfair list. Especially this one. There is lots of complaints about this list. As Albin said on his comment: limited the poll to one disc per artist.

That is a stupid idea…this is to rate the most popular ALBUMS based on a subset of the year-by-year choices. I don’t understand this perpetual complaining and whinging…it is a POLL…it’s like complaining about the fact that more people like white bread than brown. It is what it is. And yes, I am a huge Cure fan and I’m delighted to see them rate so well…but to be honest, I wouldn’t necessarily agree with how the rest of the top 10 fell out (would have liked to see the Banshees, Cocteaus, and Dead Can Dance rate better) but it doesn’t matter…it’s just a poll…get over it…it’s just FUN.

And as for the people complaining about particular albums being “left out”; Matt has been very explicit about the methodology here and it’s perfectly legitimate. As noted, there is NO jiggery-pokery going on just to make you feel insecure about your tastes. The albums that received more votes ranked higher and that’s all there is to it.

No, it’s not just a fun to see some band with 4 albums in top 10. I think it’s not fair and because of that it’s not fun at all. Also, I don’t want to see my favourite artist with 4 albums in top 10, either. This is very selfish from The Cure fans. Disintegration in new poll will be again winner, but results from this poll said something about people who visit this website. 1. 80’s music fans are very passionate about their favourite artist and that’s good (especially The Cure) 2. those fans (not just ‘The Cure’) are pretty selfish and have problem with other peoples who listen different 80’s genres. That’s bad and selfish.

“I disagree with this list, therefore it is wrong!” lol.

Now who’s putting words in other’s posts?

Great list. I agree so much. Very sad to see how many masterpieces were released in those years. Where is the good music now? Just crap…

Great list…but Purple Rain(Prince)is top ten.

Not for this site, J. Maybe this site change their address from http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com to http://www.thecure-qotita.com

Not for this site, J. Maybe this site change their address from slicingupeyeballs.com to thecure-qotita.com

please, marko, ease up–you’re hurting my balls.

Cure discography’s in eighties is amazing,like Beatles in 60s.Prince and The smiths spectacular too.

Nice to see “Alternative” kids suffer from the same need to conform to popularity as everyone else with their predictable choices. Did any of you own an album by Magazine, to name but one ridiculous omission? And “Hounds Of Love” not making the top 10 is criminal. Now resume your purchase of Joy Division t-shirts at Hot Topic and congratulate yourself on being cool.

I don’t believe this list has anything to do with popularity contests. It’s about music. People voted anonymously on what they liked. When I was a teenager, being a Cure fan wasn’t very popular.

i have no need to conform. i just like good music. magazine isn’t good music to me. the cure is.

qotita, don’t forget your favourite The Smashing Pumpkins. This band have very appropriate title for their greatest hits collection – rotten apples.

guys, it was made with the help of a poll people voted on so, this is pretty much your fault that you didn’t vote or etc because the list depended on people’s votes so don’t be angry with it

Considering how each of yearly polls played out, I’m not that surprised with these results. Although it’s odd that Siouxsie and the Banshees consistently made top 10, but couldn’t make it above 79 here.

I found slicing up by listening to Stuck in the 80s podcast. I voted in every poll. I love seeing you guys fight and I don’t agree with all 100 top choices either. But I am so thankful that this list was done. I used each poll result to try out bands I didn’t listen to or to go further into bands I knew something about. I didn’t understand the high ranking for the church starfish. I knew the milky way song but thats really as far as I went. So I listened to it all the way through and I gotta say Im grateful for the heads up on it. Its a great album. Very much a time capsule. My favorite 80s album is Murmur by REM. Because it changed the entire direction of my musical interests. That doesn’t mean its the greatest album ever. Just my favorite. Thanks to qotita for all the hard work. I have many artists to revisit.

Murmur is a special album.

It’s not “fighting” per say. It’s more frustration at how this list tries to imply that the 80’s were dominated and revolved around a handful of bands and their albums. Sure those bands have their rightful place in the list but, as it stands, this list gives a ridiculously narrow impression of just how vast the music scene in the 80’s really was. The ENTIRE decade had tons and tons of really cool bands. Unfortunately (and apparently) even now, so-called listeners of Alternative, Post-Punk, Post-Modern (or whatever you want to call it) music have the same tendencies exhibited by the mainstream music community. In an effort to distance themselves from the mainstream, they happily gravitate towards something different. Then, instead of going further and discovering even more new treasures, they become stagnant, complacent. Sticking with the same old bands and thinking they’re so on the “cutting edge”, when there are tons and tons of cool bands they would most surely like given the chance but, it never happens. If those people would’ve taken a chance to just listen to new suggestions and musical proposals, this list would REALLY represent what the 80’s were all about and the myriad of bands that provided awesome music throughout those 10 years. This is like those who claim to be SO into Metal, then if asked to name 100 major albums by bands during an entire decade, can’t respond with anything but albums by “Metallica” and “Megadeth”…

totally agree!

Totally agree with M6 and his comment on this poll.

There were two people posting as J. I have the scooter pic. I didnt pick prince purple rain. I love reading slang from cultures different than my own. jiggery-pokery…awesome… and they brilliant point that if you divide the decade by two that the 80s had two halves… brilliant indeed. Robert Smith would feel very satisfied reading all the comments. we raise him up and rip him down again. Im listening to mission of Burma vs. very good stuff. thanks for that…

Lot of Cure fans out there but 3 Echo and The Bunnymen albums listed as the greatest of the 80’s? LOL.

In terms of a recommendation for future polls how about best song? I liked the best album cover idea as well.

Where are THE SMITHS???

…wait, nevermind, I see them.

Wait…I’m sorry but no mention of the Alarm, Til Tuesday or the Stray Cats. This list is dopey

Disappointed that I did not see ” Drive” the 1984 album by the Cars on the list. Wonderful album and definitely in my top 10 from the 80s.

Think you mean “Heartbeat City” by The Cars. “Drive” was a song on that album.

All this whining is ridiculous, and frankly, petulant and ungrateful. Somebody has spent A LOT of their time putting these polls together, and I am nothing but thankful for all the fun it has provided. Are the results what I would have liked them to be? Nope. Siouxsie and the Banshees “Peepshow” is the greatest album of all time, imho, but it ended up at #95. Outrage? No, it’s a poll. It’s not a list of MY favorite albums (trust me, that list looks pretty different), it’s a POLL. And the results are fascinating. If you are having trouble with the concept of a poll, do some research or take a basic statistics class or something. But please stop with all the bellyaching. It’s immature and it’s embarrassing. Why on earth are you arguing with people about what they like?

And I absolutely disagree that votes should be limited to one album per artist. Each album stands on its own as an autonomous work of art. My favorite band in the world is Siouxsie and the Banshees and I chose two SatB albums among my 25 votes. Why? Because those two albums are truly among my top 25. Why not all of them? Because the others aren’t in my top 25. Limiting votes to one album per artist sacrifices honesty for variety, and I’d rather have the former.

Finally, a million thanks to the person who put these polls together. Revisiting these albums all year, having to think about the music I really love the most, and getting to see the results every month (as much as they differ from my own choices!) has been an absolute blast. Thank you thank you thank you thank you for all that you’ve done. I wouldn’t change a thing about how you’ve run this whole thing. Kudos.

PS – If you’re really that outraged by the results of a legitimate poll, why don’t you put your list up on a webpage elsewhere, post the link, and then we can all go marvel at how super incredibly awesomely exceptionally superior you and your list are.

You are the greatest! Beautifully put and agree 150%. There are some right nobheads posting here.

Totally missing the point. People are giving their opinions cause they can. It’s a public page. People do it everyday, all across the world on and off the internet. If everyone just went along with everything they were given “no questions asked”, how boring would that be? It’s funny how you criticise people for voicing their opinions, then go right on to voice your own. See how every coin has two sides? Make sure you look at both next time. What I and a few others are arguing is that this list is extremely narrow in it’s scope when representing an entire decade’s worth of music. Simple as that. Take what you wish from that. Before getting high and mighty, giving a chastising “lecture” on this and that, make sure you don’t wind up including yourself amongst the group you’re so desperate to scold.

I think that all the bile and negativity being hurled at the webmaster has gotten to the point of being disrespectful and unfair. You’re free to voice your opinion and I’m free to voice my opinion that it’s disrespectful. See how wonderfully that coin works? No human rights of expression have been infringed upon.

With regard to the list’s scope, the poll never pretended to be a comprehensive encyclopedia that represented the full spectrum of alternative ’80s music. It’s not intended to be a comprehensive review of music; it’s a poll. The top 100, by definition, are supposed to be a very tiny, select subset of all eligible albums.

To those who complain that this was a popularity contest… yes, exactly! That’s what a poll is.

“But please stop with all the bellyaching. It’s immature and it’s embarrassing. Why on earth are you arguing with people about what they like?”…

No need to backpedal now. People expressed their opinions. That’s it. When you allow people to freely post on your public page, eventually you will get responses, opinions and the like which you may or not agree with. Some will be tactful, others scathing.

As for the list, whether or not it was meant to be comprehensive or not, everybody has the right to post their opinions or not, just like you did. To sit there and complain about all the complaints is rather hypocritical, no? Again, whether on the internet or not, people will eventually challenge your opinions once you make them heard. If one can’t handle the “heat”, then one needs to “stay out of the kitchen”. Simple as that.

P.S. Nobody ever said this list was supposed to be an encyclopedia of bands from the 80’s. It was a “Top 100” list, not a “Most popular” list. Keep in mind, representing an ENTIRE decade as well. Yes, some popular entries can be considered as some of the best from the 80’s but, so can others that weren’t as popular. Being the best and being popular are two very different things.

Actually M6, it is you that is completely missing the point. Healthy debate about the merits or flaws of particular albums and other lively discussion and intelligent opinion regarding the results is very welcome…what is not welcome is scathing nastiness about how “stupid”, how “irrelevant”, what “a waste of time” or how “shit” the list is (after a massive amount of effort by this site’s operator) or how “idiotic” or “laughable” some people are for liking certain bands or artists. What is also unwelcome is claims that the poll results have been “hijacked”, “fixed” or otherwise “biased” when that is clearly not the case.

Not saying you are behaving like a dick, just saying there has been a lot of dick-like comments flung around here. Iceblink Luck is absolutely spot on with his/her observations.

I get what you both are saying and in a perfect world, your arguments WOULD be “spot on”. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world. We don’t live in a world where people are going to be respectful (or even neutral) in return all the time. Yes, there have been some people here who find it necessary to insult others with a difference of opinion. It happens. Is it annoying? You bet. Is it immature? Of course. Is it welcome? Not at all. Should we expect it? Most definitely…

I may not agree with what some have said to me or the manner in which they said it BUT, to censure or condemn someone for doing so? It’s pointless to wave one’s finger in the face of others, condemning them for expressing themselves, then turning around and doing so yourself. My point is, we all have to deal with those who don’t know the meaning of the word “tact” or with little or no respect for others, on or off the net. It’s up to us to deal with them in a mature manner and to not lower ourselves to their level. The answer is not to reprimand, forbid or censor. It’s learning how to deal with those people and situations under any circumstances, despite our own views.

well said iceblink luck!!! very disappointing to see siouxsie’s stuff so far down on this list considering all of her albums make each top 10 list 5 times between ’80-’89. thanks again SUE for putting this altogether.

How Simple Minds “New Gold Dream” could score so low is beyond me. Not only is it the band’s best work, it is truly a Great album. It is a definitive 80’s staple in the Alternative/ New Wave genre, and deserving of no less the a top 20 placement….in my opinion.

For me, the best album of the 80’s and all time. Masterpiece. New Gold Dream combines all the styles in one: new wave, alternative, new romantics, synth pop, pop rock… It’s very atmospheric, sophisticated & sublime piece of art. Completely agree with Pags that New Gold Dream deserves to be in top 20. Definitely my #1 forever.

This list was not put together by a bunch of critics so, what’s there to disagree or agree about? Obviously Cure fans came to the polls in numbers. As a Cure fan I found out that I am not alone in my love for Head on the Door and Disintegration.

If I were to compile a list of my favorite albums from the 80’s it would be a diverse mix of simple nostalgia and albums that I still consider fresh. (the Depeche Mode would be nostalgia) and I would include albums that I only recently have listened to.

Reading the polls has been fun..maybe do it again in a couple of years and see how the results change.

“The Mission” is one the best bands tom ’80, “The First Chapter” (1986) must be contained in this list!!!

I agree that their 80’s output was amazing, but “The First Chapter” was a compilation, not a studio album (and it came out in 1987, their first studio album “God’s Own Medicine” came out in 1986).

no Cramps? Gun Club? Dream Syndicate? Triffids?

Qotota –

Anyone that feels the need to list his “freak” resume ain’t no freak. Wipe the cheese doodle dust off those sausage fingers of yours. You are the very definition of “poseur”. Just because you once danced with some chick with a nose ring while wearing eyeliner doesn’t make you the authority. It makes you a sad little man.

So nice this list, delightful <3

Number albums by Band…

The Cure: 7 albums (7 of 7 80’s albums made Top 100) REM: 6 albums (6 of 6 albums) New Order: 5 albums (5 of 5) The Smiths: 4 albums (4 of 4) U2: 4 albums (4 of 5) Depeche Mode: 3 albums (3 of 6) The Replacements: 3 albums (3 of 6) Jesus & Mary Chain: 3 albums (3 of 3) Echo & the Bunnymen: 3 albums (3 of 5) The Cult: 2 albums (2 of 4) Husker Du: 2 albums (2 of 6) David Bowie: 2 albums (2 of 4) The Pixies: 2 albums (2 of 3) Duran Duran: 2 albums (2 of 5) Talking Heads: 2 albums (2 of 5) Tears for Fears: 2 albums (2 of 3) Cocteau Twins 2 albums (2 of 6) Sisters of Mercy: 2 albums (2 of 2) INXS: 2 albums (2 of 6) Siouxsie: 2 albums (2 of 7)

The Cure — Ridiculous that “The Top” made the Top 100. Other 6 were great records, although I would have limited it to the Disintegration, Head on the Door, Kiss Me, and Faith.

Echo & the Bunnymen — Ocean Rain and Crocodiles were the best. The eponymous 5th album doesn’t hold up. Would have made room for Porcupine.

Tears for Fears — Seeds of Love is their best album, sorry folks.

The The — Mind Bomb and Infected should have made Top 100.

Depeche Mode — Surprise only 3 of 6 albums made Top 100, given all the DM love. But only those 3 deserved to make the Top 100, so we got it right.

The Replacements — Got it right. Best 3. Others didn’t deserve it.

REM — Would have left off Green, kept the others.

U2 — Got it right, 4 out of 5.

Mr. Slicing Eyeballs:

Given that this is a decade list, with thousands of albums to choose from, can you publish the results for 101 to 200?

I enjoy the Cure, but WAY to top heavy. RIO was a top album in the 80s, go low at 18. Yes a lot of Brittish synth acts on this list but it was the 80’s… Other than Michael and Madonna not much else, leave G&R off this list, they would prefer it that way lol

I think Technique and Dare! should be MUCH higher, and I would have liked to have seen something by Erasure crack the top 100.

I’m not surprised that The Joshua Tree is in the top 10, but to me, it’s got 4 really, really, awesome songs, but the rest of the album is pretty weak. Nothing’s Shocking is way too high, also. I’m a little surprised that The Cure and R.E.M. were the top 2 bands, though I guess I shouldn’t be.

what about TRACY CHAPMAN(TRACY CHAPMAN)/ THE LION AND THE COBRA (SINEAD OCONNER)/ TRUSTWORTHY LITTLE SWEETHEARTS (VINCE JONES)/ STARFISH(THE CHURCH)/ RAPTURE(ANITA BAKER)/

OH! AND SONIC YOUTH DAYDREAM NATION

I did not notice this in any of the 413 earlier comments for the Best of the Decade list nor in any of the Best of 1980 list and I did not come across any comment from the moderators either. Because of the point I am about to make, I specifically note when critics, writers, etc. release their “best of” annual lists each year and they invariably appear in the middle of December of each calendar year. Hence my contention that the omission or supposed “ineligibility” of “London Calling” from the Clash, released in the U.K. on December 14, 1979 and in the U.S. on January 5, 1980 in your decade list or 1980 list is an epic fail.

I’m a huge fan of many of the bands on this list but it is beyond my ability to grip how Adam and the Ants or even just Adam Ant is not on this list at all…wtf kids….Husker Du should have been much higher, Dead Kennedys rank higher in my book and where the fuck are the Sex Pistols? cmon now we are talking about the 80’s

This is just plain sad. U2’s The Joshua Tree easily should be number one. What that album did for the band and the music industry is nothing short but speechless. They made the cover of Time Magazine! Only Springsteen at the time had done it before. The Smiths…good choice but R.E.M.’s Murmur is top 5. SAD.

Wow really, three fucking The Cure albums in the top 10? No mention of Mission of Burma in the whole list? Only one Sonic Youth album (and not even EVOL or Sister)? And where are The Feelies?!

2/10 terrible list would not read again.

The lack of Mission of Burma and Throwing Muses makes this entire list invalid.

Echo&B’s Ocean Rain and REM’s Murmur need to be in the top 10, imo.

Surprised to see MBV so low here. Oh, and I can’t stand Joshua Tree.

This speaks volumes as to the readership. One man’s “alt” is another’s _______.

The Cure is a band whose formula jaded many people’s minds and everybody now takes for granted but in fact they really deserve all the praise they have here. Up until the self-titled album everyone was really proud of being a fan shouting it out loud, now it’s all Smiths and Joy Division who get all the respect. I’m a fan of that trilogy of bands, but there’s nothing wrong in them being so recognized in this list. The only complain I might have is Siouxsie and The Police being so up in the list,being the behemots of the ’80s and rock overall they are, but then again, is safe to make grandiose statements about ’80s bands after we made The Cure the flag nobody dared to turn their backs to.

Ew, Combat Rock but no Pogues on here at all. Gross.

I agree that the Cure is the best band of the 80’s and Desintegration is also my first choice. I mainly like all the albuns on this list. I just find ridiculous, (considering de dimention of the metal movement in this decade) that albuns Like “The Number of the Beast” or “Master of Puppets” etc, are not in this list.

How can You’re Living All Over Me not even be on the list?

No Soft Cell? Seriously?!

No Sugarcubes?!?!? Tsk, tsk.

It’s really bizarre that ‘Music For The Masses’ outranked ‘Black Celebration’. And Erasure’s ‘The Innocents’ and Thompson Twins’ ‘Into The Gap’ deserved to at least be in the top 100. Somehow I missed this poll…I thought the site was doing one on the songs of the ’80s soon.

No Psychedelic Furs? Or did I miss something?

I cant’t believe this is a top 100 of the 1980’s without a single Orchestral Manoueveres in the Dark album? Their first 3 albums were incredible, and are more pivotal than a band like ABC. And how on earth can you put “Sign of the times” by Prince on here and not “Purple Rain”?

Don’t agree with it, needs The Gun Club, Sonic Youth, Swans, and Husker Du in top 10 and I would put Galaxie 500 and Cocteau Twins above a lot of those as well. As much as I loved the Cure, can’t say it aged well at all(except Pornography) and had a great effect on me as much as the bands I listed. I would put Pornography over Disintegration too if I were to pick one since it’s at least truly goth :p But hey, this is a reader poll and The Cure is massively popular and nostalgic so I expected it.

Forgot about Big Black too…that’s a must!

Cade o UB-40.

where this UB 40 labour of love?

There are things here I agree with, and things I disagree with. The problem with a list like this is it’s size. Things can go in any direction when you need to fill the list with a hundred items out of thousands. I think a top 20, or better yet, a top 10 would tighten things up, and make the arguments a hell of a lot more fun.

i won’t argue the Top 3 spots, but i disagree with the majority of this list. you can tell the poll was only filled out by noobs. the Cure SHOULD NOT occupy so much of the Top10. this is a list for radioheads who weren’t even that far left of the dial. make a poll for the people who were actually there or in the very least have a age checkbox option, then we’ll see just how deep this list will get!

People may argue with the rankings but there’s no denying that this is a fantastic list of albums by a great group of artists!

Only one Police album? And it’s Synchronicity?

Green better than Reckoning?

No Black Flag?

We’re any of y’all even alive during the 80s?

Double Nickels on the Dime should be about 80 places higher. Also, Closer should be #1.

not even ONE entry from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds…weird.

Went looking for ’80s music and came across this list. Saw there were 7 Cure albums in the top 10 and all the R.E.M crap. They weren’t my eighties. Bye.

Is there a downloadable/printable version of this list?

Glad to see “Let It Be” was kinda sorta up there, but must all of the top spots be taken by The Cure? By the way, does anyone hear a vocal similarity between Robert Smith and “Lost In Space” villain Dr Smith? “Will!!!! I’m scared! Will!!!”

No They Might Be Giants? The Pretenders? Sonic Youth?

Found this list by accident.

I was going to criticize the fact genres like heavy metal, punk, pop, minimalism, fusion jazz, experimental and electronic music were absent from the list, until I realised this website covers alternative / college rock. Fair enough!

With that in mind, I have to say I mostly agree with the Top 10, The Cure, Pixies, Joy Division, Depeche Mode, and The Smiths encapsulated most of what 1980’s popular music was about, let alone indie and alternative rock. #1 to #5 spots are well deserved and dead on. “Disintegration” is a masterpiece that always feels like a haunting closing chapter for the 1980s in more ways than one. I am sure we would also find this album on the top 10 of generalist top 100 list covering all genres.

PS – having said that, I also think the list is missing some important artists like Sugarcubes and Psychedelic Furs, and there are way too many Cure albums in the first places.

My personal Top 10 of the 80s:

1. Gun Club – ‘Fire of Love’ (1981)

http://www.furious.com/perfect/gunclubfireoflove.html

http://www.popmatters.com/review/184617-the-gun-club-fire-of-love/

2. Madness – The Rise & Fall (1982)

http://reggae-steady-ska.com/madness-the-rise-and-fall/

3. Violent Femmes – same (1983)

4. Giant Sand – Valley of Rain (1985)

http://thequietus.com/articles/04676-strange-frightening-world-of-giant-sand-howe-gelb

5. Green on Red – Gravity Talks (1983)

6. The Dream Syndicate – Medicine Show (1984)

7. Hüsker Dü – Zen Arcade (1984)

8. Minutemen – Double Nickels on a Dime (1984)

9. Black Flag – Damaged (1981)

10. Birthday Party – Prayers on Fire (1981)

Hey how are you?

Are you a group of people giving out opinions of your favourite albums or just one person giving out opinions of his/her fave albums? Peace!

Please disregard that last comment. My excuse? I’m drunk. Sorry. Still… Peace!

On a lighter note? My TOP 10 Albums of The 1980’s? MY TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE 1980’s 1: MICHAEL JACKSON Thriller 2: U2 The Joshua Tree 3: PUBLIC ENEMY It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back 4: GUNS N’ ROSES Appetite For Destruction 5: PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION Purple Rain 6: AC/DC Back In Black 7: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Born In The U.S.A. 8: PRINCE Sign ‘O’ The Times 9: RUN-D.M.C. Raising Hell 10: TALKING HEADS Remain In Light Well there you have it. Peace!

UPSTAIRS AT ERICS SHOULD BE WAY HIGHER AND NOT ONE ERASURE ALBUM MADE IT. THE INNOCENTS AND THE CIRCUS SHOULD HAD MADE IT.

MY TOP ALBUMS OF 80S 1. TECHNIQUE- MEW ORDER 2. UPSTAIRS AT ERICS- YAZOO3 3. MADONNA- MADONNA 4. MUSIC FOR THE MASSES- DEPECHE MODE 6. THEINNOCENTS- ERASURE 7. DARE- HUMAN LEAGUE

CONTINUED FROM ABOVE 8. CLOSER – JOY DIVISION 9. COMBAT ROCK- THE CLASH 10. GREEN- REM 11. STANDING ON THE BEACH- THE CURE 12 BLACK CELEBRATION- DEPECHE MODE 13. SPRING SESSION M- MISSING PERSONS 14. NON STOP EROTIC CABERET- SOFT CELL 15. THE COMMUNARDS- THE COMMUNARDS 16. LICENSED TO ILL- BEASTIE BOYS 17. HEARTBEAT CITY- THE CARS 18. ALF- ALISON MOYET 19. LISTEN LIKE THIEVES- INXS 20 DEAD MANS PARTY- OINGO BOING 21. THE QUEEN IS DEAD- THE SMITHS 22. MOVEMENT- NEW ORDER 23. CONTROL- JANET JACKSON 24 BOOK OF LOVE- BOOK OF LOVE 25. VIVA HATE- MORRISSEY 26. INFORMATION SOCIETY- INFORMATION SOCIETY 27. PURPLE RAIN- PRINCE 28. LIKE A PRAYER- MADONNA 29. DISINTEGRATION- THE CURE 30. YOU AND ME BOTH– YAZOO

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100 rock and metal songs that built the 80s

In honour of metal's greatest decade, we've compiled ten landmark tracks from every single year of the 1980s to create the ultimate era-defining playlist

Rock and metal songs that defined the 80s: 1980-1984
Rock and metal songs that defined the 80s: 1985-1989

The 80s was the decade in which modern metal was born. Sure, the titans of the 70s drew up the rules of engagement, but virtually every scene that exists today can trace its origins back to those 10 seismic years.

The world beyond the gates of the metal scene was convulsing. The Cold War loomed large, pitting east against west and instilling paranoia, fear and delirium in the population until the Berlin Wall fell at the end of the decade.

Yuppies with brick-sized mobile phones gave themselves a licence to print money. Technological leaps shrank vast computers and put them in the homes of people who could afford them. The advent of the CD changed the way we listened to music. Hey, don’t laugh…

Metal reacted by getting bigger, brasher, faster, harder, more colourful or just crazier. New music burned bright, from the broiling thunderhead of NWOBHM and thrash’s amphetamine fury to genre-disrupting mavericks such as Faith No More , Voivod and Nine Inch Nails , and even hair metal’s last-days-of-Rome abandon. Genres were forged in the white heat of the tape-trading underground: black metal , death metal , industrial , grindcore . It felt like anything was possible. And it was.

The launch of MTV in 1981 was a real revolution, beaming an endless stream of music into living rooms across the planet, producing an army of bands who rapidly became superstars: Iron Maiden , Def Leppard , Guns N’ Roses , Metallica … Today, they all stand as metal’s eternals, the benchmark to which successive generations aspire.

Not every band would get their own chapters in the history books. There were less-celebrated heroes, too: doom visionaries Trouble and Candlemass , boundary-pushing thrashers Holy Moses , extreme metal pioneers Bathory and Hellhammer… the list is endless.

It was also the decade where metal established itself as a true outsider culture, with its own look, clubs, pubs and language. Even when it did intersect with the mainstream – whether that was via hit movies such as Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure or MTV’s Headbangers Ball show – it felt like the mainstream didn’t really understand what it was all about. And neither should it.

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Thirty years after it ended, it’s easy to look back on the 1980s with rosy nostalgia, but that doesn’t capture just how innovative, thrilling and important it was. A bomb was detonated, and we’re still feeling the aftershocks now.

AC/DC - Back In Black The death of talismanic singer Bon Scott should have finished AC/DC. Instead, they signed up gravel-throated Geordie Brian Johnson and exploded back with the immense title track to the biggest- selling rock album ever.

Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell Exit Ozzy , enter Ronnie James Dio – and a new lease of life for heavy metal’s forefathers. The magnificent title track of their first album of the new decade set a new benchmark for them and everyone else.

Diamond Head - Am I Evil? Seven minutes and 43 seconds of monstrous riffage from the greatest NWOBHM band never to become superstars, Am I Evil? is a towering monument to the era – as James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich can testify.

Girlschool - Emergency Call the cops! Sarf London hellcats Girlschool booted down the door of the NWOBHM sausage factory with their classic debut album, Demolition . This punk- infused banger is one of that scene’s great overlooked classics.

Iron Maiden - Sanctuary Iron Maiden were pegged as punks with long hair, to Steve Harris’s annoyance. But their snarling second single suggested it wasn’t that wide of the mark – not least in singer Paul Di’Anno’s football hooligan bellow.

Judas Priest - Breaking The Law Judas Priest did the hard yards in the 70s to help put British heavy metal on the map. The success of this immortal leather- clad metal anthem and genius-level parent album British Steel was their much- deserved payback.

Killing Joke - Wardance Punk and metal were warring tribes back then, but Wardance ’s convulsing rhythms and Jaz Coleman ’s distorted bark-at- the-moon howl united both sides. The mohawked masses and the longhairs got it.

Misfits - Last Caress Devil-locked New Jersey brats with embalming fluid in their veins and B-movies on the brain, Misfits were the original and greatest horror punks – and this gleefully nihilistic romp would become their calling card.

Motorhead - Ace Of Spades The heavy metal classic your granny knows, with Lemmy playing the eternal gambler rolling snake eyes every time and not giving a fuck. All three men who played on it are gone, but Ace Of Spades will live forever.

Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train Nobody would’ve put money on a washed- up Ozzy becoming the biggest metal star of the decade. But with hotshot guitarist Randy Rhoads beside him, he hit the rails hard with this lunatic anthem and never looked back.

AC/DC - For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) Angus and co. serve up one of the greatest salutes to guitar music on the title track to their second Brian Johnson-fronted album. Cannons have never been better deployed. Stunning.

Anti-Nowhere League - So What? This masterclass in swearing landed its creators in bother with the Met’s Obscene Publications Squad. Originally an obscure B-side, it was left to Metallica to reveal its potty- mouthed genius to the world.

Black Flag - Rise Above Every hardcore band that followed owed a debt to Black Flag . Not least this testosterone-charged call-to-arms, which finds iconic singer Henry Rollins in full vein-bulging mode. Often imitated, but never bettered.

Joan Jett - Bad Reputation As a founder of LA punk wildcats The Runaways , immortality was hers anyway. But the take-no-shit title track of Joan’s debut solo album positioned her as the great female rock’n’roll icon of the 80s. Lzzy Hale , for one, was paying attention.

Minor Threat - I Don’t Wanna Hear It Washington, DC straight-edge OGs Minor Threat were arguably the most influential hardcore band in history, and this flamethrower blast of a song remains the pinnacle of anti-authoritarian truculence.

Motley Crue - Live Wire Eighties hair metal was born here, in an explosion of glitter and attitude. Hard to believe now after all the sex’n’drugs soap operas and cash-grab reunions, but the Crüe were dangerous – and never more so than on their debut single.

Motorhead/Girlschool - Please Don’t Touch Johnny Kidd And The Pirates’ 60s rock’n’roll classic gets the beauty and the beast treatment courtesy of Lemmy and Girlschool’s Kelly Johnson. Result: a bone-shaking classic and the greatest duet in heavy metal history.

Ozzy Osbourne - Over The Mountain Diary Of A Madman was Ozzy’s second stone-cold classic album on the bounce, and this soaring opener showed that his resurrection was no fluke. Just a tragedy that Randy Rhoads wasn’t around longer to enjoy the success.

Saxon - Denim And Leather The celebratory anthem that the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal deserved, by one of the bands that helped build it. Nothing else sums up the euphoria of being in a metal band – or being a metal fan. It brought us all together.

Venom - In League With Satan The Geordie bovver boys rampaged out of the north east with their Newky Brown’n’ Hammer Horror- fuelled debut single. The critics hated it, but Cronos and co. had the last laugh – Venom would go on to inspire hundreds of bands.

Accept - Fast As A Shark Faster, meaner and uglier than countrymen the Scorpions , Accept’s heart-racing Euro-metal helped usher in the imminent thrash scene – and never more so than on this jagged slab of Teutonic mayhem.

Anvil - Metal On Metal Decades before they became documentary stars, the larger-than- life Canadians were the headbangingest band on the block, and their pounding signature song was one of the great heavy metal anthems about playing heavy metal.

Bad Brains - Attitude Washington, DC Rasta-punks with a hotline to Jah, Bad Brains mixed speed- of-lightning hardcore with bursts of spliffed- out reggae. This was the former: a 100mph blast of righteous ire as unique as the band who made it.

Discharge - Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing The bastard offspring of the Sex Pistols and Motörhead , Discharge bottled all their punk- metal fury in their debut album’s title track. Everyone from Metallica to Napalm Death took note.

Iron Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name With new boy Bruce Dickinson on board, Maiden jumped up several gears on The Number Of The Beast . Its titanic closing track sounded like nothing they had written before and pointed towards a world- beating future.

Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance Ear-shattering, pedal- to-the-metal brilliance that showed these elder statesmen could mix it up with the new kids without breaking a sweat. Rob Halford’s ear-rupturing opening scream remains unmatched by man, woman or beast.

Kiss - I Love It Loud America’s most OTT rock’n’roll band of the 70s finally unfurled their heavy metal flag with this love letter to sheer volume. Gene Simmons waggled his tongue and uttered the immortal line: ‘Whiplash, heavy metal accident.’

Manowar - Battle Hymn The closer of the Kings Of Metal’s debut album sounds like the soundtrack to the greatest Game Of Thrones episode never made: seven minutes of grandiosity that soars from tranquillity to mace-wielding power. Into glory ride!

Mercyful Fate - A Corpse Without A Soul The Danish diabolists announced their arrival with this slice of hellbound occult metal, with shrieker- in-chief King Diamond ramping up the theatricality to lunatic levels. If Carlsberg did metal bands, they’d sound nothing like this.

Twisted Sister - Under The Blade Like powerlifting barbarians back from a raid on the Boots make-up counter, Dee Snider and co. took Kiss’s panto-rock and bulked it up on steroids and attitude – never more so than on the snarling title track of their debut album.

Def Leppard - Photograph The pinnacle of early 80s pop-metal and the song that turned the Sheffield oiks into the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal’s first global superstars, with a little help from MTV. They haven’t looked back since.

Dio - Holy Diver He’d fronted up stone-cold classic albums with Rainbow and Black Sabbath , but now it was Ronnie’s turn to step into the spotlight. And with the grand-standing title track of his lofty debut album, he did just that.

Hellhammer - Messiah Proto-black metal so primitive it made Venom sound like the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The press ridiculed them, and Tom G Warrior spent years disowning it, but its caveman wallop would prove insanely influential.

Iron Maiden - The Trooper Among the first, and greatest, of Maiden’s Boy’s Own war anthems – close your eyes and you can hear the galloping hooves and waving banners. If the British Army ever need to do a recruitment drive, this is still the perfect soundtrack.

Metallica - Hit The Lights The song that kicked off the debut album that launched an entire movement: Hit The Lights is four minutes and 16 snarling seconds of vodka-fuelled street rat fury. Like a punch in the face to the entire decade.

Motley Crue - Shout At The Devil Swaggering like stack-heeled drag queens, the Crüe turned everything up to 666 on the fiendishly catchy title track of their second album. Middle America bought into it in their droves, and the Sunset Strip had its new kings.

Quiet Riot - Metal Health (Bang Your Head) Quiet Who ? Easy to say now, but this spandex ’n’ studded wristband pounder helped propel the Metal Health album to No.1 in the US – the very first metal record to achieve that elevated position.

Slayer - Die By The Sword If Metallica had the speed, Slayer had the malevolence, as the highpoint of debut album Show No Mercy proved. With the King-Hanneman tag-team screeching like their mortal souls depended on it, all the pieces were already in place.

Suicidal Tendencies - Institutionalized Gabbled spoken-word psychodrama meets breathless teenage fury on landmark skatecore classic courtesy of Venice Beach hardcore brats. Suddenly every suburban malcontent had an anthem to trash their bedroom to.

ZZ Top - Sharp Dressed Man The weirdest success story of the decade: three grizzled Texan bluesmen – two with beards as long as the Rio Grande – discover synths and forge boogie-rock gold. Any dancefloor, any time, this will get you dancing.

Anthrax - Metal Thrashing Mad They might have been late out of the gate, but this early Anthrax classic signalled their intent. Original singer Neil Turbin would soon be gone, but not before a subgenre had its unofficial national anthem.

Celtic Frost - Into The Crypts Of Rays Tom G. Warrior took the bestial template he’d laid down with Hellhammer and refined it with his next band. Inspired by 15th-century childkiller Gilles de Rais, Into The Crypts Of Rays remains a touchstone for psychopathic brutality.

Iron Maiden - Rime Of The Ancient Mariner Powerslave was Iron Maiden’s grandest album yet, and this saga of doomed sailors was its audacious capstone. Their first prog-metal epic, and a pointer to the band they are today.

Killing Joke - Eighties Swivel-eyed post-punk shaman Jaz Coleman cast his apocalyptic glare over the decade before it was even halfway done and embraced the chaos he saw. Nirvana loved its cavernous pulse so much they ripped it off for Come As You Are .

Metallica - Fade To Black Having invented thrash, Metallica fucked with their own formula and served up a bleak suicide ballad that built from acoustic atmospherics into a heartrending crescendo. They had streaked ahead of the pack, and stayed there.

Scorpions - Rock You Like A Hurricane Like Judas Priest, the Scorpions were 70s holdovers who easily adapted to the new decade. The Germans’ most enduring anthem balanced euro-metal cheese with gleeful, fist-banging mania.

Trouble - The Tempter If Sabbath invented doom metal in the 70s, then righteous Illinois preachermen Trouble led it down darker paths in the 80s. The opening track of their mighty self-titled debut album raged with Old Testament fire and brimstone.

Twisted Sister - We’re Not Gonna Take It Dee Snider played the shock-haired Pied Piper leading The Kids in revolt against their parents, teachers and anyone else who got in the way on his band’s monstrous breakout single. Chest-beating metal bravado, with a killer video to boot.

Van Halen - Jump Eddie Van Halen swapped six-string wizardry for synths on his band’s crossover pop hit (and vocalist Dave Lee Roth ’s final fling). Within seconds of that keyboard fanfare firing up, any dancefloor will be full. We guarantee it.

W.A.S.P. - Animal (Fuck Like A Beast) Sado-masochistic sex anthem from the moral majority’s metal bogeyman. W.A.S.P. ’s label wouldn’t release it, and it partly inspired the foundation of infamous censorship cabal the PMRC.

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Dave Everley has been writing about and occasionally humming along to music since the early 90s. During that time, he has been Deputy Editor on Kerrang! and Classic Rock , Associate Editor on Q magazine and staff writer/tea boy on Raw , not necessarily in that order. He has written for Metal Hammer, Louder, Prog, the Observer, Select, Mojo , the Evening Standard and the totally legendary Ultrakill . He is still waiting for Billy Gibbons to send him a bottle of hot sauce he was promised several years ago.

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Japanese Innovators: Pioneers in Experimental Sounds

Tokyo-based journalist Ian F Martin looks back through the decades to see who was responsible for the genre-defining music emerging from the Japanese underground scenes over the past 40 years.

Browse season

Artwork: Aleesha Nandhra

Despite J-Pop’s almost subliminal infiltration into the international pop cultural consciousness over recent years, and despite the occasional novelty hit or surge of viral attention, the West’s exposure to Japanese music over the years has for the most part been with various incarnations of its underground.

The story of Japanese underground music, however, is not a linear narrative so much as an endlessly intersecting garden of forking paths.

The post-war music laboratory of the 1950s and ’60s

One of its beginnings lies in the fading days of the U.S. post-war occupation and the subsequent period of ambiguous, semi-colonised democracy, when experimental artists from a variety of disciplines began exploring their newfound cocktail of freedom and American cultural influence.

Formed in 1951, the Jikken Kobo artists’s workshop positioned themselves as a distinct break from the Japanese artistic tradition, with a self-taught, exploratory approach that drew influences from contemporary and pre-war European and American art.

Credit: Shinchosha Publishing Co, Ltd.

Among Jikken Kobo’s fourteen members were a number of musicians, including composer Toru Takemitsu, who made early experiments in musique concréte . Takemitsu was also profoundly influenced by John Cage, upon being introduced to his work by fellow experimental composer Toshi Ichiyanagi, briefly jettisoning musical scores for circular diagrams designed to be interpreted by the performers. More profoundly, Takemitsu was fascinated by Cage’s incorporation of rhythms, timbres and silences influenced by his studies of Zen Buddhism, crediting Cage with reigniting his interest in traditional Japanese music.

Trailer for 'The Woman in the Dunes (Suna No Onna)', 1964 - Toru Takemitsu

Cage’s influence loomed large over the post-war Japanese underground, and his work, along with that of Minimalism and drone pioneer LaMonte Young, is audible in the work of sound art collective, Group Ongaku.

Formed in 1960 by composer Mieko Shiomi, Group Ongaku incorporated elements of musique concréte and the noises of furniture and domestic appliances into their performances, not to mention playing traditional musical instruments in any way they could think of but the conventional one. One factor linking this generation of musicians is that they functioned in many ways as the Japanese branch of an international scene. Composers like Ichiyanagi and Shiomi spent time studying and making music in America, while the influence of composers like Cage and Young was profound on those who remained in Japan. Thanks in part to the influence of Yoko Ono (who was married to Ichiyanagi for a time), connections between Group Ongaku and the international Fluxus collective flourished, with Shiomi herself becoming a member, along with fellow Group Ongaku members Takehisa Kosugi and Yasunao Tone. And in this way the Japanese 1960s avant-garde generation was able to return the influence, albeit in a less dramatic fashion.

Rock gets dangerous: the origins of the 1970s underground

At the same time John Cage was having such an extraordinary influence on Japanese avant-garde composers, there were big changes happening in Japanese jazz and theatre, alongside the gradual emergence of rock music. Jazz had been perhaps the key point of contact with American music for Japanese people in the immediate post-war period, and had formed the basis for the development of the pop music industry through the 1950s and early ‘60s. However, as the ‘60s wore on, artists like pianist Yosuke Yamashita embraced free jazz and in the process blew the horizons of Japanese jazz wide open.

Yosuke Yamashita, 'Burning Piano 2008,' March 8, 2008 at Noto Resort Area Masuhogaura, Shika-machi, Ishikawa, Japan

Despite Yamashita’s uncompromising avant-garde approach (he famously performed on a burning piano as part of a 1973 art piece), Yamashita combined international acclaim with a status as a household name in Japan. At the same time, musicians like bassist Motoharu Yoshizawa, guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi and saxophonist Kaoru Abe continued pushing jazz beyond the limits of genre, eventually forming links with the experimental fringes of the emerging Japanese rock scene.

'Musicians continued pushing jazz beyond the limits of genre, forming links with the experimental fringes of the emerging Japanese rock scene...'

Rock music, meanwhile, had finally begun to emerge as a distinct and powerful creative force after about a decade or more of successive faddish obsessions with first rockabilly, then Ventures-influenced instrumental surf guitar music, and finally the Beatlemania-driven ‘Group Sounds’ movement. The swirling, Doors-y psychedelic balladry of The Jacks foreshadowed the emergence of a new generation of loud, dirty, heavy and mysterious rock music influenced by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the emerging Western progressive rock movement. Perhaps the most influential figure in this ‘New Rock’ scene was high school dropout, Yuya Uchida, who had ridden each successive Western rock’n’roll wave in search of his sound before retreating into an impresario role behind the legendary Flower Travellin’ Band. Buoyed by Uchida’s overseas connections, most notably his friendship with John Lennon, Flower Travellin’ Band were able to tour internationally to some degree of acclaim, and recorded their 1971 masterpiece album, Satori in Canada.

Album cover for Flower Travellin' Band's 'Satori' (1971)

Parallel with the birth of free jazz and rock in Japan was the growing intersection of music and theatre. Playwright and film director Shuji Terayama worked closely with musicians in both his stage and filmed works, with composer and frequent Terayama collaborator J. A. Seazer (real name Takaaki Terahara) combining psychedelia with Japanese folk and traditional theatre music on many of Terayama’s soundtracks – most notably on Sho o Suteyo Machi e Deyō (‘Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets’) and Den’en ni Shisu (‘Death in the Country’).

J. A. Seazer - Kodomo Bosatsu (from 'Den’en ni Shisu)

Consciously or not, what nearly all these artists were engaged in was an attempt to fuse foreign influences into a distinctively Japanese kind of new music, and in the process they helped lay foundations that would endure for decades to come. However, the distinctly anti-establishment or countercultural nature of many of the artists also helped ensure that, while internationally or academically respected artists like Yosuke Yamashita or Toshi Ichiyanagi could rake in awards and acclaim domestically for their experimentation with musical form, a lot of the most forward-looking music of the ’70s was locked out of polite discourse and ghettoised as ‘underground’ music.

While Yuya Uchida and Flower Travellin’ Band were courting overseas attention, back in Japan more sonically out-there bands like former Fluxus/Group Ongaku member Takehisa Kosugi’s drone rock collective Taj Mahal Travellers and noise-rock pioneers Hadaka no Rallizes (Les Rallizes Dénudés) emerged from out of the late ‘60s/early ’70s commune scene.

Despite rarely addressing politics directly, Rallizes in particular were dogged by associations with radical left organisations such as the Red Army Faction and its successor groups – a source of much public anxiety and police attention after a series of high profile terrorist incidents such as the Asama-Sanso hostage incident.

Les Rallizes Denudes - 'Night of the Assassin'

Partly as a consequence of this, and perhaps partly as a simple result of sole consistent member Takashi Mizutani’s reclusive personality, Les Rallizes Dénudés developed a reputation as a band shrouded in mystery and secrecy, their releases initially confined to ultra-lo-fi live bootlegs, soaked in banshee wails of feedback. More broadly, mainstream suspicion towards underground music in the 1970s may have contributed to an environment where progressive rock was never able to reach the pomp and sonic excess of its British contemporaries. Instead, a distinctive Japanese underground musical tradition was formed where artists who emerged from the psychedelic rock scene like Lost Aaraaf vocalist Keiji Haino could collaborate freely with artists from diverse backgrounds such as folk singer (and occasional Shuji Terayama associate) Kan Mikami and improvisational jazz bassist Motoharu Yoshizawa.

'All these artists were engaged in an attempt to fuse foreign influences into a distinctively Japanese kind of new music...'

Creative listening: the influence of punk and new-wave

The underground nature of much of the experimental music from 1970s Japan also perhaps explains why there is no clear cut-off dividing 1970s rock from punk in the way there was in the UK. Bassist Reck and sax player Chico Hige of ’70s underground band 3/3 were among the key players who helped kick off Japanese punk after a period living in New York, where they played with and absorbed the influence of no-wave pioneers Lydia Lunch and James Chance. Returning to Japan, they renamed themselves Friction and helped produce the Tokyo Rockers compilation, which was a critical album in defining the first generation of Japanese punk.

' Listening sessions of overseas free jazz, experimental music and progressive rock crossed the line into performance'

It was west of Tokyo in the Kansai area, around Kyoto and Osaka, that punk really found its experimental footing though. The ‘free space’ Drugstore in Kyoto provided a creative environment where listening sessions of overseas free jazz, experimental music and progressive rock often crossed the line into performance. Starting out with madcap ideas like creating sounds by adding items to a Japanese-style nabe hotpot, the freeform performances at Drugstore eventually began to coalesce into structured ‘noise’ performances.

Frequenting Drugstore from the ‘70s to the ‘80s were people like Hide ‘Bidé’ Fujiwara and Yoshiyuki ’Jojo’ Hiroshige of early Kyoto punk band Ultra Bidé. Hiroshige went on to form the noise act Hijokaidan and start the Alchemy Records label, which helped document legendary noise acts from the Kansai area and beyond like Masonna, Incapacitants and Merzbow, bringing them to international attention via a small but dedicated mail order tape audience around the globe, and in North America in particular.

Merzbow - 'Woodpecker No.1'

This shift from the ’70s underground into the experimental ’80s wasn’t just confined to the nascent punk generation though: punk’s more cheerfully ironic, synth-bothering cousin new wave also made a similar transition.

Susumu Hirasawa from progressive rock band Mandrake absorbed the influence of The Sex Pistols and proto-electro French punks Métal Urbain and refashioned his band as the Devo-esque P-Model. Meanwhile one-time Tokyo Kid Brothers member Koichi Makigami gradually found his way from theatre into new wave and avant-pop, partly under the oblique influence of overseas encounters with The Ramones and British avant-rock band, Henry Cow.

Merzbow. Photo: James Hadfield

Koichi Makigami

Parallel to these roots in the ’70s underground, however, was a thread of influence from more mainstream sources.

One of the most important bands in helping to define Japanese mainstream rock music was folk-rock band Happy End, led by Haruomi Hosono. In 1978, Hosono teamed up with Yukihiro Takahashi of somewhat respectable glam/prog rockers Sadistic Mika Band and producer/composer Ryuichi Sakamoto to embrace electronic and synthesiser-based pop with Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO).

Ryuichi Sakamoto - 'Disintegration'

Despite coming from a thoroughly mainstream background, the members of YMO – in particular Hosono and Sakamoto – would go on to play a key role in the emerging punk and new qave movement, with Sakamoto producing Friction’s first album Atsureki as well as some early material by Osaka experimental musician Phew (real name Hiromi Moritani), formerly of atonal art-punk band, Aunt Sally.

Phew. Photo: James Hadfield

Hosono’s career as a producer, meanwhile, helped forge a new kind of synth-based Japanese avant-pop out of the new wave era. Through her work with Hosono, pop singer Miharu Koshi made a swift transition from inoffensive 1970s-style pop into sparse, icy, synth-led deadpan experimental pop. Hosono also produced Pizzicato Five’s 1985 debut Audrey Hepburn Complex and In Action EPs, which helped bridge the transition from new wave to the next generation of experimental pop, influenced by French pop, British indie-pop and 1960s movie soundtracks, which in the 1990s became known as Shibuya-kei.

Haruomi Hosono. Courtesy of Mike Nogami

' Suddenly pop was a legitimate arena for artists to play with experimental ideas in...'

While Sakamoto in particular gained huge acclaim as an experimental and ambient composer, YMO were never really considered either underground or truly avant-garde. What they did do, however, was open up a space in mainstream Japanese culture for leftfield musical ideas to filter through for the first time since the late ’60s.

Suddenly pop was a legitimate arena for artists to play with experimental ideas in, and the experimentation incubated in the 1970s underground began to manifest in a flood of playful, oddball releases skirting the fringes of pop, by artists such as The Plastics, Chakra, Mariah, Wha Ha Ha, Jun Togawa and more.

Some met with success at the time and others less so, but years later it provided a fertile ground for revival by crate-digging vinyl fanatics.

Musical collisions at high speed: the 1990s onwards

The Japanese experimental music that emerged from the 1970s and ’80s, provides most of the core building blocks for the underground scene of the 1990s and beyond.

It was really those ’90s children of the underground and avant-garde who formed the image of Japanese music that came to dominate the West’s imagination.Some artists who emerged from the ’70s underground like Keiji Haino are still active, prolific and evolving, while the ever-shifting line ups of Acid Mothers Temple continue the lineage of heavy Psychedelia pioneered by the likes of Flower Travellin’ Band and Les Rallizes Dénudés.

Keiji Haino. Photo: Kazuyuki Funaki

However, if there is one factor that unifies much of the post-’80s Japanese underground, it is an omnivorous approach to musical styles that in many ways reflects and expands upon the Drugstore mode of creative listening, taking delight in hurling together eclectic sounds or rhythms, whether to dissonant or complementary effect.

Makoto Kawabata (Acid Mothers Temple). Photo: James Hadfield

Melt-Banana

Beginning his career with the improv band Ground Zero in the early ’90s, Yoshihide Otomo’s career has seen him take on almost every genre imaginable to awe-inspiring and influential effect.

Less well-known in their home country than overseas, Tokyo’s Melt-Banana have roots in punk but augment that with blast beats derived from grindcore acts like Napalm Death and a cosmic array of guitar textures, all within an increasingly electronic compositional framework. Meanwhile, Ruins combine almost Queen-like prog rock operatics with complex, tightly-controlled rhythmical structures. The Kansai scene in particular became notorious for energetic, wild and musically skittish new acts.

Boredoms emerged out of the blood, sweat and chaos of 1980s Osaka, creating a paranoid, impatient, hyperkinetic mashup of The Ramones, Jimi Hendrix, Captain Beefheart, no wave noise-rock and short stabs of bubblegum that ran from their 1988 debut Osorezan no Stooges Kyo to 1994’s Chocolate Synthesizer, before taking a cosmic turn into blissful, drawn-out cosmic jams, and eventually the ecstatic, tribal multi-drummer excess they later became notorious for.

Boredoms - '111 Boadrum'

Meanwhile, Boredoms drummer Yoshimi’s own project OOIOO refuses to be pinned down to a consistent sound, veering from expansive to minimal, from complex rhythms to ambient soundscapes. Post-millennial acts from the region like Afrirampo have continued this free-roaming, noisy-yet-eclectic approach.Less confrontationally, the distinctly poppy Shibuya-kei scene that Pizzicato Five helped foster combined French pop, British ’80s indie guitar music, sampling influenced by De La Soul, Bossa Nova, and much more. Just as the Drugstore crowd in ’80s Kyoto built noise out of a kind of creative listening in a shared ‘free space’, Shibuya-kei artists like Keigo ‘Cornelius’ Oyamada built a new kind of pop out of a kind of creative listening drawn from crate-digging.

And like the music that grew under the influence of YMO, the Shibuya-kei boom allowed a rare and brief flirtation between avant-garde ideas and the pop culture mainstream.

' They’re there, more than ever, and making a noise...'

Nowadays, experimental music is firmly back in the underground, but nearly all these kinds of music co-exist, overlapping in time and space in tiny live venues, cafés and rehearsal rooms in all major Japanese cities from Sapporo in the northeast to Fukuoka in the southwest.

Artists small in audience, with careers which are more often than not short in lifespan, but they’re there, more than ever, and making a noise.

In a three part mini-series, we take a look into the record collections of three Japanese music enthusiasts, taking a journey of sonic discovery from 1970-2000, exploring the diverse tapestry sounds that have emerged from the country. Featuring interviews with Japan Blues' Howard Williams, Light in the Attic Records’s Yosuke Kitazawa and Ian F Martin.

Subscribe to our Contemporary Music podcast on iTunes , Acast and Spotify .

20 Jun-30 Sep A series of gigs featuring artists from Japanese underground scenes responsible for genre-defining music over the past 40 years. Book tickets

Listen to our Japanese Innovators playlist on Spotify

About Ian F Martin

Author of Quit Your Band! Musical Notes from the Japanese Underground , Ian F Martin is a Tokyo-based journalist, having relocated there from the UK several years ago. His blog, Clear and Refreshing and his Japan Times column document the local music scene. He also runs the indie/post-punk label, Call and Response Records and promotes gigs and parties throughout Japan.

Illustrations by Aleesha Nandhra

Experimental Radio Stations

We have 11 radio stations playing Experimental .

.pls .m3u	Genres: experimental	34 Listeners 128 Kbps
.pls .m3u	Genres: experimental fine art	8 Listeners 0 Kbps
.pls .m3u	Genres: experimental	6 Listeners 256 Kbps
.pls .m3u	Genres: hiphop experimental	4 Listeners 128 Kbps
.pls .m3u	Genres: prog rock experimental	3 Listeners 128 Kbps
.pls .m3u	Genres: experimental	3 Listeners 128 Kbps
.pls .m3u	Genres: experimental alien	2 Listeners 64 Kbps
.pls .m3u	Genres: experimental soundscape acoustic experiman tal	1 Listeners 128 Kbps
.pls .m3u	Genres: experimental	1 Listeners 128 Kbps
.pls .m3u	Genres: experimental	1 Listeners 128 Kbps
.pls .m3u	Genres: algorave experimental	0 Listeners 0 Kbps

About Experimental Music

Experimental music is a term often used for music that goes against the stylistic definitions and traditional boundaries within certain genres. Experimental music incorporates new and unconventional sounds, production techniques and rhythms. Its history can be traced back to the early 20th century when classically trained musicians began to experiment with instrumentation and their approach to composition.

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The Best Experimental Albums of the 1980s
22. Coil - Gold is the Metal (With the Broadest Shoulders) 23. Evan Parker & George Lewis - From Saxophone & Trombone. 24. Michihiro Sato & John Zorn - Ganryu Island. 25. The Residents - Mark of The Mole. The Best Experimental Albums of the 1980s.
The Best Experimental Albums of All Time
The Best Experimental Albums of All Time. View reviews, ratings, news & more regarding your favorite band. ... Music. Spotify. 2. Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children. April 20, 1998. ... 80. 13 reviews. Amazon. Music. 25. Oren Ambarchi / Keiji Haino / Jim O'Rourke - いみくずし (Imikuzushi) February 28, 2012.
Best Experimental albums of the 1980s
Minimalism. 3.72 / 925 3. Lady of the Mirrors. Anthony Davis. December 1980. Avant-Garde Jazz Modern Creative. Free Jazz Modern Classical. 3.72 / 733 12. Island: Eine Sinfonie in 10 Sätzen.
The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s
The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s. Kate Bush, N.W.A., Brian Eno, Madonna, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Sade, Sonic Youth, Janet Jackson, and the other icons who defined a decade. Sometimes it feels ...
Best Experimental Rock albums of the 1980s
Art Zoyd. 1980. Rock in Opposition Avant-Prog. Chamber Music Modern Classical. 3.65 / 656 8. Cheap at Half the Price. Fred Frith. 1983. Experimental Rock Art Pop Zolo.
10 Essential '80s Industrial Tracks
Check out our list of 10 Essential '80s industrial tracks. One of the most accessible tracks by one of music's—not just industrial's—most inaccessible, disturbing bands, "Adrenalin" could pass for a darker-than-average Depeche Mode outtake. It's really goddamn danceable, and the refrain of "," oddly talk-sung by vocalist ...
Experimental music from the 1980s
Kalashnikov. Various. Rough Trade Compilation No. 4. Various. Songs From The Broadway Production Of "The Catherine Wheel". David Byrne. Classics In The Air 2. Paul Mauriat. Pyrolator's Wunderland.
The Best Experimental Rock Bands/Artists
Described by the critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s," the group helped to pioneer new wave music by integrating elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with avant-garde sensibilities and an anxious, clean-cut image.Former art school students who became involved in the 1970s New ...
The Best Experimental Rock Albums of All Time
Melt-Banana - Fetch. 24. Congotronics International - Where's The One. 25. Melt-Banana - 3 + 5. ... The Best Experimental Rock Albums of All Time. View reviews, ratings, news & more regarding your favorite band.
The Best Experimental Rock Albums of the 1980s by User Score
A look at the The Best Experimental Rock Albums of the 1980s by User Score. Rate your favorite albums to have your say in this list of the top user rated albums. ... Music. Spotify. 3. Glenn Branca - The Ascension. November 0th, 1981. No Wave, Noise Rock, Totalism, Post-Rock. ... 80. 181 ratings. Amazon. Music. Spotify. 19. Begnagrad ...
80s experimental music
Find 80s experimental tracks, artists, and albums. Find the latest in 80s experimental music at Last.fm.
Experimental rock
Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music [2] that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique [11] or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. [12] Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with some of the genre's distinguishing characteristics being improvisational performances, avant-garde influences, odd instrumentation ...
The 200+ Best Experimental Bands & Musicians, Ranked
Fact-checked by: Coley Reed. Lists that rank the best bands and musicians in every genre. Over 800 music fans have voted on the 200+ Best Experimental Bands & Musicians, Ranked. Current Top 3: David Bowie, Björk, The Velvet Underground.
80's old school industrial/experimental/avant-garde
Contains all old school industrial and experimental bands from the 80's, which I know/was able to find. I tried not to put much EBM (some essential bands only), also no post-industrial, dark ambient influenced by industrial, electro-industrial, power noise, death industrial or industrial rock/metal - just a few classics like [Artist5077]. Power electronics minimalised to main representatives ...
50 Unfashionable But Brilliant 80s Bands That Time Cruelly Forgot
Music press and John Peel Festive 50 mainstays in the mid-80s, Japanese duo The Frank Chickens (Kazuko Hohki and Kazumi Taguchi) actually had some sort of mainstream breakthrough at the end of the ...
The 80s Part I: experimentation, cutting edge tech and breaking into
MM. If the 1970s was the decade that began the revolution of electronic music, the 1980s was the decade that improved it. The 80s also added new cultural and technological features of its own. It was a decade of two halves - the experimentation of studio techniques and continuation of the '70s music culture dominated the first half, while ...
The Best Experimental Rock Albums of the 1980s
23. Scraping Foetus off the Wheel - Nail. 24. Boredoms - Soul Discharge. 25. DNA - A Taste of DNA. ... The Best Experimental Rock Albums of the 1980s. View reviews, ratings, news & more regarding your favorite band.
Slicing Up Eyeballs' Best of the 1980s: The Top 100 albums from 1980-1989
READERS POLL: TOP 100 ALBUMS OF THE 1980s. 1. The Cure, Disintegration. BACKSTORY: On their eighth album, Robert Smith and Co. sank back into darkness, delivering a moody, textured and largely pop-free record that remains the band's commercial and artistic peak. YEAR OF RELEASE: 1989.
List of experimental musicians
The Dillinger Escape Plan - experimental metal, mathcore. Arnold Dreyblatt - just intonation. Kevin Drumm - guitarist. Iancu Dumitrescu - composer, founder of Hyperion group dedicated to experimental music. Judy Dunaway. Kyle Bobby Dunn - composer, arranger, experimental guitarist. Trevor Dunn - bassist.
100 rock and metal songs that built the 80s
Judas Priest - Breaking The Law Judas Priest did the hard yards in the 70s to help put British heavy metal on the map. The success of this immortal leather- clad metal anthem and genius-level parent album British Steel was their much- deserved payback.. Killing Joke - Wardance Punk and metal were warring tribes back then, but Wardance's convulsing rhythms and Jaz Coleman's distorted bark ...
Japanese Innovators: Pioneers in Experimental Sounds
The Japanese experimental music that emerged from the 1970s and '80s, provides most of the core building blocks for the underground scene of the 1990s and beyond. ... British '80s indie guitar music, sampling influenced by De La Soul, Bossa Nova, and much more. Just as the Drugstore crowd in '80s Kyoto built noise out of a kind of ...
80s Music Hits
Enjoy the best 80s music playlist on YouTube, featuring Madonna, Prince, Queen and more. Add this playlist to your library and relive the golden era of pop.
Experimental Radio Stations
Listen to 11 Experimental Radio Stations. Experimental music is a term often used for music that goes against the stylistic definitions and traditional boundaries within certain genres. Experimental music incorporates new and unconventional sounds, production techniques and rhythms. Its history can be traced back to the early 20th century when classically trained musicians began to experiment ...