For this week's Ranked!, we went back in time thirty years and ranked the twenty best albums released in 1982. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!
Here are Numbers 1-5:
5. The Clash, Combat Rock
For as much as the cool kids gave me crap about the type of music I listened to, ironically they never said a word when The Clash was on. It was universally understood that these songs rocked, regardless if they understood the lyrics. Of course, if they'd known more from the album than "Rock The Casbah" and "Should I Stay Or Should I Go," this should have been a prime time to mess with the mod kids about their weird, political music. They didn't get it, and that's just fine. Sometimes you want to keep secrets to yourself, and the depth and awareness of the Combat Rock album was one of the them.--The Weirdgirl
4. Violent Femmes, Violent Femmes
Even though Violent Femmes wasn't a big hit at the time of its release, you cannot deny its place in popular culture. It is partially responsible for the acceptance of "alternative" or "college" music. And I don't care when you attended, you can't tell me Violent Femmes wasn't the official soundtrack to one or two of your favorite college memories.And how could it not? Pound for pound, Violent Femmes is the most solid disc on this list. There's no filler at all on this album. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to name an album that has a stronger four-track start than the Violent Femmes' "Blister In The Sun," "Kiss Off," "Please Do Not Go," and "Add It Up."--Chris
3. Michael Jackson, Thriller
I could go on and on for hours about how this is the greatest pop album of all time. The long and short of it is this: Thriller made Michael Jackson the king of pop. It's a groundbreaking album that continues to set the standard for pop albums and its influences can be heard on the radio today.--Archphoenix
2. Prince, 1999
This is the album that put Prince on the map. Sure, he had reached #11 back in 1979 with "I Wanna Be Your Lover," but he had yet to taste the success that 1999 brought: this was his first Top 10 album and it yielded two Top 10 singles and one Top 20 single.1999 was a double album; its eleven songs ran for over seventy minutes, with six of its tracks coming in at six minutes or longer. And while everyone knows and loves the three major hits from the album--"1999," "Little Red Corvette," and "Delirious"--it's the sexy dirty ditty "Let's Pretend We're Married" that always stood out for me. And despite its racy subject matter and the fact that it was over seven minutes long, the song still reached #52 on the charts, a true testament to Prince's greatness.--Chris
1. Duran Duran, Rio
Duran Duran exploded in 1982 in an inferno of raw sexuality, androgyny, eye makeup, and some pretty impressive pop masterpieces. The band embraced pop music as an art form unto itself, not just as a commercially viable product. "Rio" and "Hungry Like The Wolf" are some of the most memorable and universally-regarded singles from the eighties, and it's physiologically impossible not to appreciate the energy and production. Despite lead singer Simon Le Bon's high visibility, keyboardist Nick Rhodes was the main creator of the sound, and also realized the importance of putting time into music videos, thus making Duran Duran an essential part of the success of MTV. To this day, I still can't watch the video for "Hungry Like The Wolf" without getting a little hot under the collar.--Robin| << Nos. 6-10 |
