Moka's 50 Favorite Albums of the 80's - Pick the Best One.

I know they have very little in common but they fill the same purpose for me.

Double Nickels

But that would actually be one of the lowest ranked albums in my top 50.

Yeah, even though I really like it, I'd agree with that hahaha!

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Threw a bone to Colossal Youth. Great record, never gets enough love.

In the Flat Field might not be the best but deserves a vote here.

No slick rick no credibility

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

Talking Heads - Remain in Light (1980) 10 - total classic
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love (1985) 9 - total classic
The Cure - Pornography (1982) 7 - probably classic, not familiar enough
The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses (1989) 7 - total classic, sorry
Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime (1984) 7 - not my thing
Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth (1980) 7 - pretty good, not as nuts about it as i once was
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (1989) 6 - never heard it (ban me)
Pixies - Doolittle (1989) 4 - not a fan
Arthur Russell - World of Echo (1986) 4 - not a fan, just made bank selling an OG vinyl copy
Kraftwerk - Computerwelt (1981) 4 - fucking classic
David Sylvian - Secrets of the Beehive (1987) 4 - really good
Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club (1981) 3 - hell no
Galaxie 500 - On Fire (1989) 3 - nah
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy (1985) 3 - fucking classic
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska (1982) 3 - not crazy about this one
Paul Simon - Graceland (1986) 3 - ehhh
The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour (1982) 3 - some great jams on this one
King Sunny Adé and His African Beats - Juju Music (1982) 2 - never heard it
Television Personalities - They Could Have Been Bigger Than The Beatles (1982) 2 - not a fan
Manuel Göttsching - E2-E4 (1984) 2 - fucking classic
Bauhaus - In the Flat Field (1980) 2 - i'll get there one of these days
This Heat - Deceit (1981) 2 - i'm not evolved enough for this
Aqsak Maboul - Un peu de l'âme des bandits (1980) 2 - a glorious racket
Ry Cooder - Paris, Texas (1985) 1 - recommended to me by cool old dude at the cafe i used to work out, he was really into richard thompson and stuff
Ultramagnetic MC's - Critical Beatdown (1988) 1 - haven't listened in a long time but yeah this is great. one of the first rap albums i bought
Meredith Monk - Dolmen Music (1981) 1 - don't think i've heard this one but meredith monk is out of this world, a real artist
Virgo - Virgo (1989) 1 - really good
Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones (1983) 1 - not a fan
Laurie Anderson - Big Science (1982) 1 - not a fan
Dolly Mixture - Demonstration Tapes (1983) 1 - never heard of em
The Gun Club - Fire of Love (1981) 1 - these guys seem cool, haven't heard
De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (1989) 1 - super classic
Glenn Branca - The Ascension (1981) 1 - eh
The Cramps - Songs the Lord Taught Us (1980) 0 - hell yeah
Ben Watt - North Marine Drive (1983) 0 - super curious to hear this! EBTG is a blind spot for me in general
Alvin Curran - Canti illuminati (1982) 0 - haven't heard, this guy rules, though
Beat Happening - Beat Happening (1985) 0 - hah i do like this
Astor Piazzolla and The New Tango Quintet - Tango: Zero Hour / Nuevo Tango: Hora Zero (1986) 0 - haven't heard, i'm too lame to be interested in this
Antena - Camino del sol (1982) 0 - title track is "all time", not sure about the rest
Alvin Lucier - I Am Sitting in a Room (1981) 0 - another real artist fucking with my mind
Wipers - Youth of America (1981) 0 - s'ok
Deux filles - Silence & Wisdom (1982) 0 - YES, THIS ALBUM RULES!!
Scientist - Scientist Meets the Space Invaders (1981) 0 - not a fan
Richard & Linda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights (1982) 0 - respect, but not my thing as of 2016
Pylon - Gyrate (1980) 0 - not familiar
The Honeymoon Killers - Les tueurs de la lune de miel (1982) 0 - not familiar
暗黒大陸じゃがたら 〈Ankoku Tairiku Jagatara〉- 南蛮渡来 (1982) 0 - not familiar
Monoton - Monotonprodukt 07 (1982) 0 - first track is awesome, the rest is good too
Mariah - うたかたの日々 [Utakata no Hibi] (1983) 0 - really interesting album, not really my bag, though
808 State - Newbuild (1988) - haven't heard. does this have pacific on it?

Mileage may vary depending on how much you like 80's twee and jangle rock but Dolly Mixture are one of the best 'unknown' bands of the decade for me and it feels almost unjust their obscurity because they made some very charming music imho, another place, another time they would've been bigger and have at least another two albums.

Anyhoo... they're not on spotify but most of their songs are on youtube. Here's Demonstration Tapes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wjqbC5UzYg

Also recommend hearing their singles and EPs there's not much but whatever there is, is pretty cool:

Baby it's you (cover) - not as good as the Smith one but a good update.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns43vDbey2Y

Everything and More:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uogX4qtizaE

Honky Honda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87OOYIlaBjk

I don't know there's honestly so much good songs from them that I can't pick one. Find this and give it one listen:

https://www.discogs.com/Dolly-Mixture-Everything-And-More/release/2359220?ev=rr

Mariah - うたかたの日々 [Utakata no Hibi] (1983) 0 - really interesting album, not really my bag, though.

I have the Mariah 2016 reissue on vinyl and some tracks sound even better played at 33 1/3! You really need to listen to it... I'd been looking for almost 8 years for a copy so I'm very happy it got reissued.
I obviously don't know enough japanese new wave to call it the best album of the genre but it might as well be.

Shinzo No Tobira is the obvious highlight because it sounds as a youtube comment puts it 'japanese grimes before grimes existed' ... Metro Area's Miura (which ended up being the best song of the 00's of ResidentAdvisor) also seems to rip off that bouncy bass... no idea if its accidental--- my point is that it sounds decades ahead of its time... song could be released anytime in the past 20 years and it would still be an obvious highlight of the year. Start with that one as its the most pop one and it will sort of unravel the goodness in the whole album eventually.

I actually uploaded the Shinzo No Tobira track to youtube in 2010 before the new label bought the rights to it... I don't make money off of it obviously, I just got a message from the label telling me that any money from ads would go to them and they preferred using my video with 300,000 views and 6 years online than taking it down and putting up a new one... of course I complied and I'm happy to help bring any bit of attention I can to this album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRgLhEGEetc

Btw if you find music like this from Japan mildly intriguing, this list called 'Fourth World Japan' has several albums like this one:

https://rateyourmusic.com/list/hovering/fourth-world-japan/

I particular like 清水靖晃 [Yasuaki Shimizu] - Kakashi [案山子] ... not actively but as a concept of how strange and ahead of its time it sounds, I definitely recommend giving that one a curious peek. Also it has a wicked album cover with a cat on it.

Mileage may vary depending on how much you like 80's twee and jangle rock but Dolly Mixture are one of the best 'unknown' bands of the decade

As a big Heavenly fan, this is right up my alley - thanks so much for this recommendation!

I want to leave a footnote for future me to add Gwen Guthrie to this list and kill… the honeymoon killers probably.

Huh, so this is where I first heard about Dolly Mixture?!

Apparently lol

Great album but I’d predictably say I love it already.

Hey Dolly Mixture album is finally on spotify! Yay! Thanks for reminding me about them.

There’s a singles compilation in there too that’s eyeing me right now. I know what I’m listening to tonight.