One of my life’s greatest regrets was having been born in a piss-poor decade for music, an era marked by appalling overproduction, empty soundscapes filled with badly-played synthesizers and wide sound fields designed to imbue significance to insignificant music. With a few notable exceptions, rock during this period was particularly weak, dominated by the superficial sounds of arena rock. However, there were a few bright spots and plenty of seeds planted that would bear fruit in the 90’s.

Featured Artists:

• Jethro Tull
• Richard Thompson
• Pink Floyd
• The Clash
• XTC

Collections and Series with 80s Albums or Compilations:

• Great Broads
• Singer-Songwriter
• Soul/R&B
• UK Folk
• US Folk and Country

80’s Albums Not Covered Above:

• Billy Idol – Greatest Hits
• Bob Marley and The Wailers – Legend
• Devo – Freedom of Choice
• Dolly Mixture – Demonstration Tapes
• Joan Jett and The Blackhearts – I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll
• Michael Jackson – Thriller
• Pat Benatar – Crimes of Passion
• Paul Simon – Graceland
• Pixies – Doolittle
• Pixies – Surfer Rosa
• Pretenders – Learning to Crawl
• Pretenders – Pretenders
• Prince – Purple Rain
• Robert Palmer – Clues
• Sinéad O’Connor – The Lion and the Cobra
• Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation
• The B-52’s – Cosmic Thing
• The Cure – Disintegration
• The Go-Go’s – Beauty and the Beat
• The Jam – Sound Affects
• The Police – Every Breath You Take (The Singles)
• The Replacements – Let It Be
• The Replacements – Pleased to Meet Me
• The Replacements – Tim
• The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
• Tom Petty – Full Moon Fever
• Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers – Long After Dark