Thorneys Top Albums of the 80s - 1986-1988 complete

[TheThorne]

My favourite albums of 1986

rateyourmusic.com/list/THORNEYONE/my-favourite-albums-of-1986/

rateyourmusic.com/list/THORNEYONE/my-favourite-albums-of-1987/

rateyourmusic.com/list/THORNEYONE/my-favourite-albums-of-1988/

Can't believe I have got to 1986 already, we are literally doing a year a month. Here are the 10 that just miss, and they are all good.

All 3.5/5s

110  Nu Shooz - Poolside

Dance-Pop, Freestyle

109 Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell

East Coast Hip Hop

108 Luther Vandross - Give Me the Reason

Smooth Soul, Contemporary R&B

107 The Chameleons - Strange Times

Post-Punk

106 Robert Tepper - No Easy Way Out

AOR

105 James - Stutter

Indie Pop, Jangle Pop

104 The Fixx - Walkabout

New Wave, Pop Rock

103 Boston - Third Stage

AOR, Hard Rock

102 The Blow Monkeys - Animal Magic

Sophisti-Pop

And just missing a band that I have meant, since ever, to check out as they were so revered in the indie scene

101 Felt - Forever Breathes the Lonely Word


Since these are all 3.5s, some ok to good records that might have made the top 100 in other years are not even on this list now.

[Whitneyfan]

O, Give me the reason would probably be in my top 20 albums of all-time!

[TheThorne]

May 22, 2023 14:09:40 GMT 1 Whitneyfan said:

O, Give me the reason would probably be in my top 20 albums of all-time!

Top 20 in that genre for me, this was his best record but he was always great

[TheThorne]

100 Sonic Youth - EVOL



Kicking off with an indie rock album, Sonic Youth are never the easiest band to listen to, but they are getting more and more to my liking. One of the clubs I used to go to Edinburgh was called EVOL and their music was very much part of my first two years at Uni anyway. This was their third album and it did not chart.

3.5/5

[TheThorne]

99 Nik Kershaw - Radio Musicola



When I first started buying music with my own money, I bought some very random  singles, think it was a lot of John Menzies, remember them Scottish readers, bargain bin stuff. One of those random 7" was 'Nobody Knows' from this album. I think it was a great song but by only his 3rd album Nik Kershaw was already irrelevant, how fickle fans were then. The whole album is pretty good and did not deserve to flop although  "Radio Musicola" itself, is a weak single and bad first track. The record only reached #47 in the UK.

3.5/5

[TheThorne]

98 Kim Wilde - Another Step



I did say she would probably make it back in but only just as this is a stacked year. Her fifth album and a return to form with a record a bit more geared to the US market. Featuring her all conquering cover of "You Keep Me Hangin' On"  US #1 and UK #2 and a fun duet with Junior called 'Another Step', on in all a fine album but I think her next will be better still. The record reached just #73 in the UK and #40 in the US.

3.5/5

[TheThorne]

97 Timbuk 3 - Greetings From Timbuk 3



One hit wonder time and I had hopes that there would be more to them than just "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" and there is. This was their debut album and if you haven't heard them imagine They Might Be Giants but less annoying meets country rock and blues. Obviously I think they have lived off the royalties from that single, but the album did ok as well reaching #50 in the US and #51 in the UK.

3.5/5

[TheThorne]

96 Throwing Muses - Throwing Muses



Their debut album I never knew they went back this far, I would not discover them until their indie hit 'Dizzy' in 1989. This though isn't the Throwing Muses of that song, it is way more stripped back and atmospheric similar to Kristin Hersh's solo stuff although maybe not even that accessible, she did write all but one song. I would need to spend more time with it, I actually did play it twice. Quite odd reading that The Pixies were signed because of Throwing Muses and this album is produced by Gil Norton, funny how things go. The album did not chart.

3.5/5

[TheThorne]

95 Spandau Ballet - Through the Barricades



Their fifth album and it's not bad at all, just as I say it's a stacked year. Yes it is not as strong as their previous records but it does feature one of their all-time best songs "Through the Barricades" which is one Spandau song I will never tire off. "How Many Lies" is a good single as well but c'mon have to admit  "Fight for Ourselves" was not a good song and poor choice for first single. Unlike some of their contemporaries, their star has not fallen yet, the record reached #7 in the UK.

3.5/5

[TheThorne]

94 UB40 - Rat in the Kitchen



I have only bought 2 UB40 songs in my life, one was the 808 State remix of "One In Ten" which is class and the other was the title track of this album, I did say I bought random stuff in this era. So I have a special attachment to this time period of teh band and I think this is one of their better albums, the other two singles "All I Want to Do" and "Sing Our Own Song" are both good as well but not as memorable as the novelty of "Rat in Mi Kitchen". The album peaked at #8 in the UK and #53 in the US.

3.5/5

[TheThorne]

93 Tina Turner - Break Every Rule



Her sixth solo album and folowup to her comeback record "Private Dancer". It walks a similar path musically, but the songs are just not close to the quality of that record. There is nothing bad and all the singles are good, but nothing that is a classic or particularly remembered. They still did well, though "Typical Male" reached #2 in the US for example. The record itself went to #2 in the UK and #4 in the US but sold just 32 million worldwide a lot less.

3.5/5




And on the sane day I post this, we have news that Tina has died, RIP, I still have one of her albums to play as I am nowhere near 1989 yet.

[TheThorne]

92 Furniture - The Wrong People



Sometimes a band arrives on the scene, that you think are going to change everything and they just have one hit and fade away. Furniture are one of the ultimate examples of that. "Brilliant Mind" is one of the songs of the year. I am not even sure how you would describe it I guess it has that same new wave meets indie sound of Modern English "I Melt With You" but with a hint of goth and C86. Sadly the rest of the record has nothing as magical, it's good but quite samey and sad that they didn't have any other songs close to their hit. So a one hit wonder but I would give this album a spin, you might get more out of it. What didn't help was their record label collapse, so it only had a limited release and it never charted.

3.5/5

[TheThorne]

91 The Call - Reconciled



This was the second album from the Californian rock band, I missed their debut, which actually had a US hit on it. This though was their most successful album with so many great guests on it, the most well known song is "I Still Believe (Great Design)" which you will recognise from the cover of it on the "Lost Boys" OST. The record reached #82 in the US, not their highest placing but biggest seller for reasons I will go into in 1989.

3.5/5

[TheThorne]

90 Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill



Their debut album, and 15-year-old me, would probably have this in the top 40, but too much of this was skippable. "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" is still class, just in my opinion, a lot of it just doesn't hold up. This was as high as I could push it. A very important album of course and it reached #1 in the US and #7 in the UK selling over 10 million in the US alone.

3.5/5

[TheThorne]

89 It's Immaterial - Life's Hard and Then You Die



Another debut album and another one hit wonder. "Driving Away from Home (Jim's Tune)" was another of those slightly alternative but catchy songs that would crop up quite often in 1986. The album is very varied, and I enjoyed listening to it, but I would have to come back to it again to really judge it. The record reached #62 in the UK.

3.5/5

[TheThorne]

88 Cameo - Word Up!



Cameo have been around for quite a long time, having hit albums in the US since 1977 with a couple of hit singles here as well. Things majorly changed for the funk band with this their 12th album. The title track was a worldwide hit thanks to its catchiness, crossover appeal it almost felt like a rock record and it's 'eye catching' video. The higher profile provided more hits which were great as well and a #6 album in the US and #7 in the UK. Cameo were not like anything I had ever heard before in 1986.

3.5/5

[TheThorne]

87 Erasure - Wonderland



Their debut album and usually whatever Vince Clarke touches turns to gold but this album was not the hit it was expected to be. Crazy to think the band having been going 37 years now! But you have to be fair, the songs are just not there and it is all the more crazy to think, how Erasure turned that round for their next 3 records at least. Saying all that, it is a perfectly serviceable album and if you like Erasure, you will like this, but just don't expect banger after banger. The album only reached #71 in the UK.

3.5/5

[TheThorne]

86 Steve Earle - Guitar Town



The debut album for the country rock singer which I had never heard before. He is probably my favourite country singer but this album is not his best for me. It has hints of the sound that he will create for himself but most of it is not that different from other 80s Country singers. That grit and accent do help him stand out from the pack though. Side A is much stronger than Side B as well. The record reached #89 in the US.

3.5/5

[TheThorne]

85 Poison - Look What the Cat Dragged In



Another band that I probably liked more at the time. This was their debut album and they certainly made an impression. I am really not sure how to judge this today, it is better than I was expecting and some of these songs are quite special to me, in a weird nostalgia way. Is it good or will I listen to it again, probably not. They are a great band though underrated as musicians, just they are very corny. The glam-metal went to #3 in the US with this and sold over 3 million copies.

3.5/5

[TheThorne]

84 World Party - Private Revolution



The 80s was quite a weird time, I remember from this band and another we will here from in 1989, things that were said about them which you just wouldn't do now. I remember the media Smash Hits and Radio 1 both saying that this band would not be successful as Karl Wallinger is too ugly. Must admit, I was shocked at the time. I realise now that what the media were saying, not that he was ugly but he was not pretty enough for teenagers to buy his record, so it will fail. Well 'Ship Of Fools' did fail just  reaching #42 even though it was a gorgeous song but World Party would become more successful with hit singles with later albums, so there! I think it is a really good album and should have deserved more attention, it actually did better in the US reaching #39 and #56 here

3.5/5