** Official NWO Top Albums Results **

[FreeWave]

Full list I'll add here. But I'm going to show results slowly (in reverse) [}:)][:D]

Lists are from here http://www.nwoutpost.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6366

[FreeWave]

I'll start with the post 149 (points are number after)


150. Kate Bush - The Dreaming 8
151. Knack - Get The Knack 8
152. New Order - Technique 8
153. Omd - Architecture And Morality 8
154. Adam Ant - Kings Of The Wild Frontier 8
155. Blondie - Eat To The Beat 8
156. Clash - The Clash 8
157. Dead Or Alive - Youthquake 8
158. New Musik - From A To B 8
159. Simple Minds - Sons And Fascination 8
160. Siouxsie & Banshees - Ju Ju 8
161. Thompson Twins - Into The Gap 8
162. Vitamin Z - Rites Of Passage 8
163. A Drop In Gray - Certain Sculptures 8
164. Bananarama - Deep Sea Skiving 8
165. Chameleons - What Does Anything Mean? Basically 8
166. Cocteau Twins - Victorialand 8
167. Lene Lovich - Flex 8
168. Naked Eyes - Burning Bridges 8
169. Patti Smith - Easter 8
170. Psychedelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk 8
171. Simple Minds - Sparkle In The Rain 8
172. Soft Cell - The Art Of Falling Apart 8
173. Split Enz - Waiata 8
174. U2 - October 8
175. X - Under The Big Black Sun 8
176. Jesus And Mary Chain - Darklands 7.5
177. Bronski Beat - Age Of Consent 7
178. Lene Lovich - Stateless 7
179. Talking Heads - Remain In Light 7
180. Church - Of Skins And Hearts 7
181. Culture Club - Kissing To Be Clever 7
182. Depeche Mode - Construction Time Again 7
183. Elvis Costello - Armed Forces 7
184. Fixx - Reach The Beach 7
185. Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Welcome To The Pleasuredome 7
186. Inxs - Kick 7
187. Jam - Sound Affects 7
188. Rem - Reckoning 7
189. Rockpile - Seconds Of Pleasure 7
190. Shriekback - Oil And Gold 7
191. Wire - 154 7
192. B-52's - Bouncing Off The Satellites 7
193. Bauhaus - Mask 7
194. China Crisis - Flaunt The Imperfection 7
195. Flesh for Lulu - Plastic Fantastic 7
196. Husker Du - Metal Circus 7
197. Ian McCulloch - Candleland 7
198. Jim Carroll - Catholic Boy 7
199. Killing Joke - Night Time 7
200. Lords Of New Church - The Lords Of The New Church 7
201. Nick Lowe - Labour of Lust 7
202. Omd - Dazzle Ships 7
203. Psychedelic Furs - Forever Now 7
204. Split Enz - Time And Tide 7
205. Talk Talk - Colour Of Spring 7
206. Thomas Dolby - The Flat Earth 7
207. Thought - The Thought 7
208. Xtc - English Settlement 7
209. Echo & Bunnymen - Heaven Up Here 6.5
210. John Foxx - Metamatic 6.5
211. New Order - Movement 6.5
212. Motels - All Four One 6
213. Rem - Life's Rich Pageant 6
214. B-52's - Wild Planet 6
215. Billy Idol - Billy Idol 6
216. David Sylvian - Gone To Earth 6
217. Duran Duran - Seven And The Ragged Tiger 6
218. Heaven 17 - Heaven 17 6
219. Love & Rockets - Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven 6
220. Pale Fountains - Pacific Street 6
221. Romantics - The Romantics 6
222. Siouxsie & Banshees - The Scream 6
223. Stranglers - No More Heroes 6
224. Talking Heads - True Stories 6
225. Wire - Pink Flag 6
226. A-Ha - Scoundrel Days 6
227. Boomtown Rats - A Tonic For The Troops 6
228. Dead Can Dance - The Serpent's Egg 6
229. Erasure - The Innocents 6
230. Eurythmics - 1984 (For The Love Of Big Brother) 6
231. Eurythmics - Savage 6
232. Eurythmics - Touch 6
233. Fay Ray - Contact You 6
234. Flash And Pan - Flash And The Pan 6
235. General Public - All The Rage 6
236. Icehouse - Primitive Man 6
237. Inxs - Shabooh Shabah 6
238. Killing Joke - What's This For 6
239. Kim Wilde - Kim Wilde 6
240. Kraftwerk - The Man Machine 6
241. New Musik - Warp 6
242. Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine 6
243. Payolas - No Stranger To Danger 6
244. Police - Regatta De Blanc 6
245. Prince - Purple Rain 6
246. Ssq - Playback 6
247. Sundays - Reading, Writing And Arithmetic 6
248. Talk Talk - The Party's Over 6
249. Til Tuesday - Voices Carry 6
250. Trees - Sleep Convention 6
251. Ultravox - Quartet 6
252. Fine Young Cannibals - Fine Young Cannibals 5.5
253. Cult - Love 5
254. Peter Gabriel - So 5
255. Talk Talk - It's My Life 5
256. Go-Go's - Beauty & The Beat 5
257. Human Sexual Response - Figure 14 5
258. Plimsouls - Everywhere At Once 5
259. Police - Ghost In The Machine 5
260. Railway Children - Reunion Wilderness 5
261. Rem - Document 5
262. Simple Minds - Once Upon A Time 5
263. X - Los Angeles 5
264. Altered Images - Pinky Blue 5
265. Buzzcocks - Another Music In A Different Kitchen 5
266. Cure - The Top 5
267. Grace Jones - Nightclubbing 5
268. Guns 'N Roses - Appetite For Destruction 5
269. Hazel O'Connor - Breaking Glass 5
270. Human League - Fascination 5
271. Jam - All Mod Cons 5
272. Journey - Escape 5
273. Peter Gabriel - 3 5
274. Proclaimers - Sunshine On Leith 5
275. Sisters Of Mercy - Floodland 5
276. Sorrows - Love Too Late 5
277. Spoons - Arias & Symphonies 5
278. Stray Cats - Rant 'n Rave 5
279. Styx - Paradise Theater 5
280. Talking Heads - Speaking In Tongues 5
281. Telex - Neurovision 5
282. Waitresses - Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful? 5
283. 808 State - Utd State 5
284. Alison Moyet - Alf 5
285. Barracudas - Drop Out with the Barracudas 5
286. Bauhaus - Burning From The Inside 5
287. Beastie Boys - Liscence To Ill 5
288. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique 5
289. Bill Nelson - The Love That Whirls (Diary Of A Thinking Heart) 5
290. Bolshoi - Friends 5
291. Cabaret Voltaire - The Covenant, The Sword & The Arm Of The Lord 5
292. Cee Farrow - Red and Blue 5
293. Chameleons - The Chameleons 5
294. Cherry Vanilla - Venus D'Vinyl 5
295. Church - The Blurred Crusade 5
296. Cock Robin - Cock Robin 5
297. David Sylvian - Secrets Of The Beehive 5
298. Dead Can Dance - Spleen And Ideal 5
299. Device - 22B3 5
300. Devo - Shout 5
301. Divinyls - Desperate 5
302. Durutti Column - Another Setting 5
303. Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) 5
304. Exude - Play With The Boys 5
305. Fabulous Poodles - Mirror Star 5
306. Fad Gadget - Fireside Favourite 5
307. Fixx - Phantoms 5
308. Fools - Sold Out 5
309. Hoodoo Gurus - Stoneage Romeos 5
310. Human Drama - Feel 5
311. Kaja - Crazy Peoples Right to Speak 5
312. Kajagoogoo - Islands 5
313. Kirsty Maccoll - Desperate Character 5
314. Masami Tsuchiya - Rice Music 5
315. Mike Batt - Zero Zero 5
316. Motels - Careful 5
317. New Order - Brotherhood 5
318. Nick Heyward - North Of A Miracle 5
319. Original Mirrors - Original Mirrors 5
320. Peter Schilling - Error In The System 5
321. Private Lives - Prejudice and Pride 5
322. Rachel Sweet - Protect The Innocent 5
323. Rachel Sweet - Then He Kissed Me 5
324. Shoes - Present Tense 5
325. Siouxsie & Banshees - Peepshow 5
326. Story Structure - The Other Side of Life 5
327. Talking Heads - Stop making Sense 5
328. The-The - Mind Bomb 5
329. Toyah - Anthem 5
330. Virginia Astley - Hope In A Darkened Heart 5
331. Warren Zevon - Envoy 5
332. Wham - Make It Big 5
333. Wild Swans - Bringing Home the Ashes 5
334. Wire Train - In a Chamber 5
335. Yellow Magic Orchestra - Public Pressure 5
336. Aztec Camera - Knife 4.5
337. Colourfield - Virgins And Philistines 4.5
338. Crowded House - Crowded House 4.5
339. Omd - Junk Culture 4.5
340. Sinéad O'Connor - The Lion And The Cobra 4.5
341. That Petrol Emotion - Babble 4.5
342. Culture Club - Colour By Numbers 4
343. Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual 4
344. Depeche Mode - Speak & Spell 4
345. Echo & Bunnymen - Crocodiles 4
346. Housemartins - London 0 Hull 4 4
347. 10,000 Maniacs - In My Tribe 4
348. Alarm - Declaration 4
349. Any Trouble - Where Are All The Nice Girls? 4
350. Black Flag - Damaged 4
351. Bow Wow Wow - See Jungle! See Jungle! 4
352. Def Leppard - Hysteria 4
353. Front 242 - Front By Front 4
354. Gary Numan - I, Assassin 4
355. Howard Jones - Dream Into Action 4
356. Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxygene 4
357. Laurie Anderson - Big Science 4
358. Lotus Eaters - No Sense Of Sin 4
359. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation 4
360. Squeeze - East Side Story 4
361. Sugarcubes - Life's Too Good 4
362. This Mortal Coil - Filigree And Shadow 4
363. Thompson Twins - Quick Step & Side Kicks 4
364. Yello - Stella 4
365. 20/20 - 20/20 4
366. Act - Too Late at 20 4
367. Associates - Fourth Drawer Down 4
368. Big Country - Wonderland (Ep) 4
369. Brigitte Fontaine - French Corazon 4
370. Buzzcocks - A Different Kind of Tension 4
371. Church - Seance 4
372. Clan Of Xymox - Subsequent Pleasures E 4
373. Data - Elegant Machinery 4
374. Dbs - Like This 4
375. Durutti Column - The Return Of The Durutti Column 4
376. Echo & The Bunnymen - Ocean Rain 4
377. Expression - The Expression 4
378. Falco - Falco 3 4
379. Flash And Pan - Lights in the Night 4
380. Frazier Chorus - Sue 4
381. Fun Boy Three - Fun Boy Three 4
382. Gary Numan - Dance 4
383. Gary Numan - Telekon 4
384. Go Betweens - 16 Lovers Lane 4
385. Heats/Heaters - Have an Idea 4
386. Heaven 17 - Penthouse & Pavement 4
387. Iggy Pop - The Idiot 4
388. Ignatius Jones - Ignatius Jones EP 4
389. Jam - Setting Sons 4
390. Kid Creole & Coconuts - Fresh Fruit In Foreign Places 4
391. Killing Joke - Fire Dances 4
392. Korgis - The Korgis 4
393. Liaisons Dangereuses - Liaisons Dangereuses 4
394. Logic System - Venus 4
395. Marc Almond - Enchanted 4
396. Martini Ranch - Holy Cow 4
397. Nine Ways To Win - Nine Ways To Win 4
398. Patti Smith - Horses 4
399. Peter Gabriel - Security 4
400. Prefab Sprout - Swoon 4
401. Pretenders - Learning To Crawl 4
402. Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation To Hold Us Back 4
403. Quick - Mondo Deco 4
404. Ramones - Brain Drain 4
405. Rational Youth - Cold War Night Life 4
406. Replacements - Pleased To Meet Me 4
407. Romeos - Rock And Roll And Love And Death 4
408. Saga - Worlds Apart 4
409. Saints - Eternally Yours 4
410. Shandi - Shandi 4
411. Siouxsie & Banshees - Kiss In The Dreamhouse 4
412. Sparks - Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat 4
413. Specials - Specials 4
414. Specials - The Specials 4
415. Stiff Little Fingers - Nobody's Heroes 4
416. They Might Be Giants - Lincoln 4
417. This Mortal Coil - It'll End In Tears 4
418. Ultravox - Rage In Eden 4
419. Wolfgang Press - Standing Up Straight 4
420. Xtc - Oranges And Lemons 4
421. Yellow Magic Orchestra - BGM 4
422. Yukihiro Takahashi - Neuromantic 4
423. Beranek - Sound Of Danger 3.5
424. Billy Bragg - Life's A Riot 3.5
425. Blancmange - Belive You Me 3.5
426. David Bowie - Low 3.5
427. Fra Lippo Lippi - Songs 3.5
428. Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Liverpool 3.5
429. Ian Dury - New Boots And Panties 3.5
430. Nick Cave & Bad Seeds - Tender Prey 3.5

[FreeWave]

51.     Ministry - With Sympathy 15
52.     English Beat - I Just Can't Stop It 15
53.     Fixx - Shuttered Room 15
54.     Police - Zenyatta Mondatta 15
55.     B-52's - The B-52's 15
56.     Police - Outlandos D'lamour 15
57.     Siouxsie & Banshees - Hyaena 15
58.     U2 - The Joshua Tree 15
59.     Naked Eyes - Naked Eyes 15
60.     Pet Shop Boys - Please 14
61.     Howard Jones - Human's Lib 14
62.     Midnight Oil - Diesel And Dust 14
63.     Gary Numan/Tubeway Army - Replicas 14
64.     Rem - Murmur 14
65.     Berlin - Love Life 14
66.     Billy Idol - Rebel Yell 14
67.     Echo & Bunnymen - Porcupine 14
68.     Psychedelic Furs - Mirror Moves 14
69.     Real Life - Heartland 14
70.     Buggles - The Age Of Plastic 14
71.     Madonna - Madonna 14
72.     Chameleons - Strange Times 14
73.     U2 - The Unforgettable Fire 13.5
74.     Devo - Freedom Of Choice 13
75.     Madness - One Step Beyond 13
76.     New Order - Power Corruption & Lies 13
77.     Cars - Heartbeat City 13
78.     Inxs - The Swing 13
79.     Spandau Ballet - True 13
80.     Depeche Mode - A Broken Frame 13
81.     Re-Flex - The Politics Of Dancing 13
82.     Scritti Politti - Cupid & Psyche 85 13
83.     Xtc - Drums And Wires 13
84.     The-The - Soul Mining 12
85.     A-Ha - Hunting High And Low 12
86.     Clash - Sandanista 12
87.     English Beat - Special Beat Service 12
88.     Jam - The Gift 12
89.     Smiths - Meat Is Murder 12
90.     Depeche Mode - Music For The Masses 11.5
91.     Jesus And Mary Chain - Psychocandy 11
92.     Xtc - Black Sea 11
93.     Bongos - Number With Wings 11
94.     Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette 11
95.     Heaven 17 - The Luxury Gap 11
96.     Altered Images - Happy Birthday 11
97.     Haircut 100 - Pelican West 11
98.     Boomtown Rats - The Fine Art Of Surfacing 11
99.     Japan - Tin Drum 11
100.  Men Without Hats - Rhythm Of Youth 11
101.  Plimsouls - The Plimsouls 11
102.  Sisters Of Mercy - First And Last And Always 11
103.  Squeeze - Argybargy 11
104.  Church - Starfish 10.5
105.  Lloyd Cole & Commitions - Rattlesnakes 10.5
106.  Ultravox - Vienna 10.5
107.  China Crisis - Working With Fire And Steel 10
108.  Inxs - Listen Like Thieves 10
109.  Men At Work - Cargo 10
110.  Clash - Combat Rock 10
111.  Modern English - After The Snow 10
112.  Sparks - Angst In My Pants 10
113.  Vapors - New Clear Days 10
114.  Gary Numan - Pleasure Principle 10
115.  Human League - Hysteria 10
116.  Marshall Crenshaw - Marshall Crenshaw 10
117.  Morrissey - Viva Hate 10
118.  Television - Marquee Moon 10
119.  The-The - Infected 10
120.  Associates - Sulk 10
121.  New Musik - Anywhere 10
122.  Eurythmics - In The Garden 9.5
123.  Cocteau Twins - Treasure 9
124.  Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party 9
125.  Cure - Pornography 9
126.  David Bowie - Let's Dance 9
127.  Devo - Q - Are We Not Men? 9
128.  Pet Shop Boys - Actually 9
129.  Smiths - Strangeways Here We Come 9
130.  Stone Roses - Stone Roses 9
131.  A Flock Of Seagulls - Listen 9
132.  Catholic Girls - Catholic Girls 9
133.  Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll 9
134.  Devo - New Traditionalists 9
135.  Information Society - Information Society 9
136.  Pixies - Doolittle 9
137.  Ramones - Rocket To Russia 9
138.  Church - Heyday 9
139.  M - The Official Secrets Act 9
140.  Prince - 1999 9
141.  Ramones - The Ramones 9
142.  Visage - Visage 9
143.  Yaz - You And Me Both 8.5
144.  Clash - Give 'Em Enough Rope 8.5
145.  Cure - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me 8.5
146.  Associates - Perhaps 8.5
147.  Pogues - Rum Sodomy & The Lash 8.5
148.  Book Of Love - Book Of Love 8.5
149.  Echo & Bunnymen - Echo & The Bunnymen 8.5

[MARV]

Wow. This is gonna make a fine Xmas list to give to my wife [:D][;)]

[SwampThing]

How sad, my top choice didn't even make the top 150 [:(]

[FreeWave]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SwampThing[/i]
<br>How sad, my top choice didn't even make the top 150 [:(]
[/quote]

Awwww... *gives you a hankey* [;)]

[ExRat]

Prince and Madonna make the top 150......interesting.

[FreeWave]

Quotes are from AMG (

50. China Crisis - Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms -15.5
"Like fellow Liverpudlians O.M.D., China Crisis began life as a synthetic duo who performed brilliantly executed pop songs with quirky edges. And like O.M.D., they seamlessly mixed their love of guitar-based pop with (then) modern musical technology (i.e., synthesizers). Unlike O.M.D., China Crisis' legacy languishes somewhere between there and then with no sign of them ever being considered "hip." The charm of this album will win you over if you like smart, yet slightly eccentric, pop songs. It is plainly obvious that, no matter how uncommercial a particular song may be, the boys in China Crisis put their heart and soul into it, creating something uniquely their own, and building upon it. "

49. Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes -16
"One of the most distinctive records of the early alternative movement and an enduring cult classic, Violent Femmes weds the geeky, child-man persona of Jonathan Richman and the tense, jittery, hyperactive feel of new wave in an unlikely context: raw, amateurish acoustic folk-rock. The music also owes something to the Modern Lovers' minimalism, but powered by Brian Ritchie's busy acoustic bass riffing and the urgency and wild abandon of punk rock, the Femmes forged a sound all their own. For the remainder of their career, the group would only approach this level in isolated moments.

48. Omd - Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark -16
"OMD's first full album won as much attention for its brilliant die-cut cover — another example of Peter Saville's cutting-edge way around design — as for its music, and its music is wonderful. For all that, this is a young band, working for just about the last time with original percussionist Winston; there's both a variety and ambition present that never overreaches itself. The influences are perfectly clear throughout, but McCluskey and Humphreys would have been the last people to deny how Kraftwerk, Sparks, and other avatars of post-guitar pop touched them. What's undeniably thrilling, though, is how quickly the two synthesized their own style. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is just like the band that made it — perfectly of its time and easily transcending it. "

47. Soft Cell - Non Stop Erotic Cabaret -16
"In the U.S., Soft Cell, the British duo of singer Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball, was a classic one-hit wonder, that hit being the remake of Gloria Jones' "Tainted Love." In the U.K., the group not only had a longer career, but also influenced a raft of similar performers. The insistent beats taken at steady dance tempos and the chilling electronic sounds conjured by Ball emphasized Almond's fascination with deviance; it almost seemed as though the album had been designed to be played in topless bars. But the music was undeniably influential. "

46. Depeche Mode - Black Celebration -16.5
"Whether the band felt it was simply the time to move on from its most explicit industrial-pop fusion days, or whether increased success and concurrently larger venues pushed the music into different avenues, Depeche Mode's fifth studio album, Black Celebration, saw the group embarking on a path that in many ways defined their sound to the present: emotionally extreme lyrics matched with amped-up tunes, as much anthemic rock as they are compelling dance, along with stark, low-key ballads. The slow, sneaky build of the opening title track, with a strange distorted vocal sample providing a curious opening hook, sets the tone as David Gahan sings of making it through "another black day" while powerful drums and echoing metallic pings carry the song. From there, Black Celebration is solid through and through. "

45. Kraftwerk - Computer World -17
"The last great Kraftwerk album, Computer World captured the band right at the moment when its pioneering approach fully broke through in popular music, thanks to the rise of synth pop, hip-hop, and electro. As Arthur Baker sampled "Trans-Europe Express" for "Planet Rock" and disciples like Depeche Mode, OMD, and Gary Numan scored major hits, Computer World demonstrated that the old masters still had some last tricks up their collective sleeves. Others would take the band's advances and run with them, but with Computer World Kraftwerk — over a decade on from their start — demonstrated how they had stayed not merely relevant, but prescient, when nearly all their contemporaries had long since burned out. "

44. Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids -17
"Gentlemen Take Polaroids was unquestionably the album in which Japan truly found its own unique voice and aesthetic approach. The glam influences still hung heavy, particularly from Roxy Music, but now the band found itself starting to affect others in turn. Even the back cover photo says as much — looking cool in glossy, elegant nightwear, the quintet had a clear impact on Duran Duran, to the point where Nick Rhodes obviously was trying to be Sylvian in appearance. Musically, meanwhile, the swooning, hyper elegant Euro-disco sheen of Quiet Life was polished to an even finer edge throughout, the title track and the obvious descendant of "Quiet Life" itself, "Methods of Dance," in particular sheer standouts. Sylvian's sighing, luscious croon is in full effect on both, and the arrangements are astonishing, Karn's fretless purring between Jansen's crisp, inventive, and varied drumming, Barbieri's icy keyboards filling out the corners. What makes Gentlemen Take Polaroids even more of a success is how the group, having reached such a polished peak, kept driving behind it, transforming their exquisite pop into something even more artistic and unique. "

43. Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks -17
"While mostly accurate, dismissing Never Mind the Bollocks as merely a series of loud, ragged, mid-tempo rockers with a harsh, grating vocalist and not much melody would be a terrible error. Already anthemic songs are rendered positively transcendent by Johnny Rotten's rabid, foaming delivery. His bitterly sarcastic attacks on pretentious affectation and the very foundations of British society were all carried out in the most confrontational, impolite manner possible. Most imitators of the Pistols' angry nihilism missed the point: underneath the shock tactics and theatrical negativity were social critiques carefully designed for maximum impact. It's easy to see how the band's roaring energy, overwhelmingly snotty attitude, and Rotten's furious ranting sparked a musical revolution, and those qualities haven't diminished one bit over time. Never Mind the Bollocks is simply one of the greatest, most inspiring rock records."

42. Berlin - Pleasure Victim -17
"Originally released by the fledgling Enigma Records in 1982 and picked up by Geffen in early 1983 when the lascivious novelty single "Sex (I'm A...)" started picking up radio attention, Pleasure Victim is a frankly exploitative little slab of synth pop cynicism, so baldly crass in its positioning of lead singer Terri Nunn as a sex kitten and lyrically obsessed with the seedy side of the Los Angeles demimonde that criticism becomes nearly beside the point. Lyrical obsessions aside, Pleasure Victim actually holds up quite well as a piece of early-'80s synth pop, with two very good tunes ("Tell Me Why" and "Masquerade") and one masterpiece of the genre, the gimmicky and atmospheric "The Metro," the one song where Nunn's limited vocal abilities are put to their best use. "

41. Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward -17
"The peak of the band's industrial-gone-mainstream fusion, and still one of the best electronic music albums yet recorded, Some Great Reward still sounds great, with the band's ever-evolving musical and production skills matching even more ambitious songwriting from Martin Gore. With Reward, David Gahan's singing style found the métier it was going to stick with for the next ten years, and while it's never gone down well with some ears, it still has a compelling edge to it that suits the material well. "

40. Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair -17
"If The Hurting was mental anguish, Songs From the Big Chair marks the progression towards emotional healing, a particularly bold sort of catharsis culled from Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith's shared attraction to primal scream therapy. The album also heralded a dramatic maturation in the band's music, away from the synth-pop brand with which it was (unjustly) seared following the debut, and towards a complex, enveloping pop sophistication. The songwriting of Orzabal, Smith, and keyboardist Ian Stanley took a huge leap forward, drawing on reserves of palpable emotion and lovely, protracted melodies that draw just as much on soul and R&B music as they do on immediate pop hooks. Tears for Fears perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the mid-'80s while impossibly managing to also create a dreamy, timeless pop classic. Songs From the Big Chair is one of the finest statements of the decade. "

39. Chameleons UK - Script Of The Bridge -18
"With two years, numerous radio sessions, and incessant gigging under their belts since their debut single, "In Shreds," the Chameleons came to the studio determined to make a great first album with Script of the Bridge. To say they succeeded would be like saying Shakespeare did pretty well with that one Hamlet play of his. Script remains a high-water mark of what can generally be called post-punk music, an hour's worth of one amazing song after another, practically a greatest-hits record on its own: the John Lennon tribute "Here Today," "Monkeyland," "Pleasure and Pain," "Paper Tigers," "As High as You Can Go," the breathtaking closer, "View From a Hill." Add to that the words of Burgess, one of the few lyricists out there who can tackle Big Issues while retaining a human, personal touch, and it all just adds up perfectly. "

38. Joe Jackson - Look Sharp -18
"A brilliant, accomplished debut, Look Sharp! established Joe Jackson as part of that camp of angry, intelligent young new wavers (i.e., Elvis Costello, Graham Parker) who approached pop music with the sardonic attitude and tense, aggressive energy of punk. Not as indebted to pub rock as Parker and Costello, and much more lyrically straightforward than the latter, Jackson delivers a set of bristling, insanely catchy pop songs that seethe with energy and frustration. Look Sharp! is the sound of a young man searching for substance in a superficial world — and it also happens to rock like hell. "

37. Pretenders - Pretenders -19
"Few rock & roll records rock as hard or with as much originality as the Pretenders' eponymous debut album. A sleek, stylish fusion of Stonesy rock & roll, new wave pop, and pure punk aggression, Pretenders is teeming with sharp hooks and a viciously cool attitude. Although Chrissie Hynde establishes herself as a forceful and distinctively feminine songwriter, the record isn't a singer/songwriter's tour de force — it's a rock & roll album, powered by a unique and aggressive band. It's a deep, rewarding record, whose primary virtue is its sheer energy. Pretenders moves faster and harder than most rock records, delivering an endless series of melodies, hooks, and infectious rhythms in its 12 songs. Few albums, let alone debuts, are ever this astonishingly addictive. "

36. Aztec Camera - High Land Hard Rain -19
"Some performers never make a bigger splash than with their first record, a situation which the Ramones and De La Soul know all too well. If that's the case, though, said musicians had better make sure that debut is a doozy. Aztec Camera, or more specifically, Roddy Frame, falls squarely into this scenario, because while he has doggedly plugged away ever since with a series of what are, at times, not bad releases, High Land, Hard Rain remains the lovely touchstone of Frame's career. Very much the contemporaries of such well-scrubbed Scottish guitar-pop confectionaries as Orange Juice, but with the best gumption and star quality of them all, Aztec Camera led off the album with "Oblivious," a minimasterpiece of acoustic guitar hooks, lightly funky rhythms, and swooning backing vocals. If nothing tops that on High Land, Hard Rain, most of the remaining songs come very close, while they also carefully avoid coming across like a series of general soundalikes. Whether listeners want to investigate further from here is up to them, but High Land, Hard Rain itself is a flat-out must-have."

35. Prefab Sprout - Two Wheels Good (Steve McQueen) -19
"Smart, sophisticated and timelessly stylish, Two Wheels Good (titled Steve McQueen throughout the rest of the world) is a minor classic, a shimmering jazz-pop masterpiece sparked by Paddy McAloon's witty and inventive songwriting. McAloon is a wickedly cavalier composer, his songs exploring human weaknesses like regret ("Bonny"), lust ("Appetite") and infidelity ("Horsin' Around") with cynical insight and sarcastic flair; he's also remarkably adaptable, easily switching gears from the faux-country of "Faron" to the stately pop grace of "Moving the River." What keeps Two Wheels Good afloat is Thomas Dolby's lush production, which makes even the loftiest and most biting moments as easily palatable as the airiest adult-contemporary confection. "


34. Cure - Disintegration -19
"Expanding the latent arena rock sensibilities that peppered Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me by slowing them down and stretching them to the breaking point, the Cure reached the peak of their popularity with the crawling, darkly seductive Disintegration. It's a hypnotic, mesmerizing record, comprised almost entirely of epics like the soaring, icy "Pictures of You." The handful of pop songs, like the concise and utterly charming "Love Song," don't alleviate the doom-laden atmosphere. The Cure's gloomy soundscapes have rarely sounded so alluring, however, and the songs — from the pulsating, ominous "Fascination Street" to the eerie, string-laced "Lullaby" — have rarely been so well-constructed and memorable. It's fitting that Disintegration was their commercial breakthrough, since, in many ways, the album is the culmination of all the musical directions the Cure were pursuing over the course of the '80s. "

33. Kate Bush - Hounds Of Love -19
"Kate Bush's strongest album to date marked her breakthrough into the American charts, and yielded a set of dazzling videos. The material ranges from the sensual ("Hounds of Love," "Running up That Hill" — the latter one of the most sensual recordings ever made) to the mystical ("Hello Earth," "The Morning Fog"). This was also the first album produced by Bush entirely at her own home studio, and the results are spellbinding, the layered instruments recalling the Beatles at their most ornate, but also displaying an exquisite timbrel range, bringing out the richness of the individual instruments. "

32. Cure - Boys Don’t Cry -19
"Falling somewhere between official release and compilation, Boys Don't Cry was released in February 1980 in hopes to get the band exposure outside of the U.K.. It captures the first phase of the band well, showcasing the angular new wave that had garnered them acclaim in England. What separates this from the debut full-length (and thus qualifying it as an 'official' release) is that unlike Three Imaginary Boys, the first three singles ("Killing an Arab," "Boys Don't Cry," and "Jumping Someone Else's Train") are included, and tracks like "So What" (the one with lyrics read off a sugar packet) are dropped in favor of the excellent "World War" and "Plastic Passion."

31. Cure - The Head On The Door -20
"The Cure refocused and ultimately hit their stride with Head on the Door, producing an album which not only more effectively depicted gloom, but also showed enough pop smarts to make it memorable (and even danceable). The band scored a hit with the infectious, New Order-ish "In Between Days" (which even managed to beat New Order at their own game) and the highly memorable "Close to Me," but the album's outstanding trait is its diversity — they managed to combine a wide variety of influences, not only that of contemporary dancefloor peers, but also by incorporating rhythms from the Far East and South America to fine effect. The Cure made more accomplished albums later on and had bigger hits, but none combined artistic ambition with really catchy songs as well as Head on the Door."

[SwampThing]

MORE, MORE GIMME MORE!!!! [:p]

[FreeWave]

30. Cars - Candy-O 21
"Since the Cars had created a perfect album with their 1978 self-titled debut, it would be nearly impossible to top it. Instead of laboring long and hard over a follow-up like many '70s bands did after a huge commercial success, the band cranked out their sophomore effort, Candy-O, almost exactly one year later from the first LP. And while the album was not as stellar as its predecessor was, it did contain several classics, resulting in another smash album that solidified the band's standing as one of the most promising new bands of the late '70s. Their second strong release in a row, Candy-O proved that the Cars were not one-hit wonders, like so many other bands from the same era. "

29. Police - Synchronicity 21
"Although the Police's fifth release, 1983's Synchronicity, would be their most commercially successful and lead to a sold-out tour of enormodomes (including New York's Shea Stadium), it would turn out to be the trio's final album and tour. Few other albums from 1983 merged tasteful pop, sophistication, and expert songwriting as well as Synchronicity did, resulting in yet another all-time classic. "

28. Missing Persons - Spring Session M 21
"In 1982, Missing Persons established themselves on the new wave pop scene by loading up their hair with shocking pink dye and enough hairspray to tear a hole in the ozone layer big enough to poke a small parking garage through, programming a few synthesizers to play hyper dance-pop, scrambling their band name into Spring Session M, and scrawling those words across the jacket of their first full length record. The band scored hit single from the album, "Walking in L.A.," which is the catchiest effort on the record. The two other singles "Destination Unknown" and "Words," are also both excellent."

27. Joy Division - Closer 21.5
"If Unknown Pleasures was Joy Division at their most obsessively, carefully focused, ten songs yet of a piece, Closer was the sprawl, the chaotic explosion that went every direction at once. Who knows what the next path would have been had Curtis not chosen his end? But steer away from the rereading of his every lyric after that date, treat Closer as what everyone else thought it was at first — simply the next album — and Joy Division's power just seems to have grown. Joy Division was at the height of their powers on Closer, equaling and arguably bettering the astonishing Unknown Pleasures, that's how accomplished the four members were. Rock, however defined, rarely seems and sounds so important, so vital, and so impossible to resist or ignore as here. "

26. Split Enz - True Colours 22
"Split Enz found their place in new wave with True Colours, shedding the eccentricities and excesses of their past in favor of bright, highly memorable, Beatlesque pop. The album also marked Neil Finn's emergence as a great songcraftsman — his infectious "I Got You" helped to push the album and the band to international success. Both the single and the album stand as high points of the new wave era."

25. Smiths - The Smiths 22
"Arriving in an era dominated by synth pop and gloomy post-punk, the Smiths' eponymous debut was the bracing beginning of a new era. On the surface, the Smiths' sound wasn't radically different from traditional British guitar pop — Johnny Marr's ringing, layered guitars were catchy and melodic — but it was actually an astonishing subversion of the form, turning the structure inside out. Very few of the songs followed conventional verse-chorus structure, yet they were quite melodic within their own right. Marr's inventive songwriting was made all the more original and innovative by Morrissey's crooning and lyrics. Writing about unconventional topics, from homosexuality ("Hand in Glove") to child molestation and murder, Morrissey had a distinctively ironic, witty, and literate viewpoint whose strangeness was accentuated by his off-kilter voice, which would move from a croon to a yelp in a matter of seconds. While the production of The Smiths is a little pristine, the songs are vital and alive, developing a new, unique voice within pop music. Though the Smiths continued to improve over the course of their career, their debut remains startling and exciting. "

24. Propaganda - A Secret Wish 22.5
"With guests including David Sylvian, Heaven 17's Glenn Gregory, and Steve Howe, A Secret Wish is synth-rock with an eye toward orchestrated pop as well as a bit of sampler experimentation in the grand ZTT tradition of Art of Noise. "

23. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures 25
"The ten songs inside, quite simply, are stone-cold landmarks, the whole album a monument to passion, energy, and cathartic despair. The quantum leap from the earliest thrashy singles to Unknown Pleasures can be heard through every note, with Martin Hannett's deservedly famous production — emphasizing space in the most revelatory way since the dawn of dub — as much a hallmark as the music itself. Songs fade in behind furtive noises of motion and activity, glass breaks with the force and clarity of doom, minimal keyboard lines add to an air of looming disaster — something, somehow, seems to wait or lurk beyond the edge of hearing. All visceral, all emotional, all theatrical, all perfect. "


22. U2 - Boy 26
"From the outset, U2 went for the big message — every song on their debut album Boy sounds huge, with oceans of processed guitars cascading around Bono's impassioned wail. It was an inspired combination of large, stadium-rock beats and post-punk textures. Without the Edge's echoed, ringing guitar, U2 would have sounded like a traditional hard rock band, since the rhythm section and Bono treat each song as an anthem. Of course, that's the charm of Boy: all of its emotions are on the surface, delivered with optimistic, youthful self-belief, yet the unusual, distinctive guitar textures give it an unexpected tension that makes it an exhilarating debut. The band's musical and lyrical vision keep Boy compelling until the finish. "

21. David Bowie - Scary Monsters 26
"David Bowie returned to relatively conventional rock & roll with Scary Monsters, an album that effectively acts as an encapsulation of all his '70s experiments. Reworking glam rock themes with avant-garde synth flourishes, and reversing the process as well, Bowie creates dense but accessible music throughout Scary Monsters. Though it doesn't have the vision of his other classic records, it wasn't designed to break new ground — it was created as the culmination of Bowie's experimental genre-shifting of the '70s. As a result, Scary Monsters is Bowie's last great album. While the music isn't far removed from the post-punk of the early '80s, it does sound fresh, hip, and contemporary."

20. Alphaville - Forever Young 26
Alphaville's 1984 debut, Forever Young, deserves to be viewed as a classic synth pop album. There's no doubting that Germans are behind the crystalline Teutonic textures and massive beats that permeate the album, but vocalist Marian Gold's impressive ability to handle a Bryan Ferry croon and many impassioned high passages meant the album would have worldwide appeal. Indeed both "Big in Japan" and the touching, sad change-of-pace "Forever Young" raced up the charts in multiple continents. Borrowing inspiration from Roxy Music's detached theatricality and Kraftwerk's beats and rhythms, Gold and company hit upon a magic formula that produced here an album's worth of impossibly catchy tunes that could almost serve as pure definitions for the synth pop genre. Forever Young is a technically perfect and emotionally compelling slice of 1980s electronic pop/rock music. It's also a wonderfully fun ride from start to finish.

19. Gang Of Four - Entertainment 26
Entertainment! is one of those records where germs of influence can be traced through many genres and countless bands, both favorably and unfavorably. From groups whose awareness of genealogy spreads wide enough to openly acknowledge Gang of Four's influence (Fugazi, Rage Against the Machine), to those not in touch with their ancestry enough to realize it (rap-metal, some indie rock) — all have appropriated elements of their forefathers' trailblazing contribution. Its vaguely funky rhythmic twitch, its pungent, pointillistic guitar stoccados, and its spoken/shouted vocals have all been picked up by many. Lyrically, the album was apart from many of the day, and it still is. Subversive records of any ilk don't get any stronger, influential, or exciting than this. "


18. New Order - Low-Life 28
"New Order's evolution from post-punk survivors to state of the art electronic unit became complete with the superb Low-life, the first of their albums to receive a proper American release. Tracks like "Sub-Culture" and "The Perfect Kiss" represent dance-pop at its very finest — propulsive, smart, and edgy, they combine lush synth patterns and programmed beats with a level of emotional investment seemingly at odds with its environs, creating a tension which keeps the music fresh and involving where other club hits from the era now seem dated and vacuous. In spite of their new technological mastery, the group remains as eccentric and unpredictable as ever — "Elegia" is a delicate instrumental piece, while the opening "Love Vigilantes" is quite nearly a folk song, complete with a squawking harmonica intro, and is utterly unlike anything else in the New Order catalog; still, it succeeds brilliantly, the work of a band at the very top of its game. "

17. Thomas Dolby - The Golden Age Of Wireless 29
"Talk to anyone who was the right age in the early '80s for both pop radio and the dawn of MTV and "She Blinded Me With Science" will inevitably come up. The most famous song from the album, it's a defiantly quirky, strange number that mixes its pop hooks with unusual keyboard melodies pitched very low and a recurrent spoken-word interjection ("Science!") from guest vocalist/video star Magnus Pike. To Dolby's credit, the rest of the album isn't simply that song over and over again, making Golden Age of Wireless an intriguing and often very entertaining curio from the glory days of synth-pop. Part of the album's overall appeal is the range of participating musicians, no doubt thanks in part to Dolby's own considerable range of musical work elsewhere. If anything, Golden Age of Wireless is the friendlier, peppier flip side of fellow Bowie obsessive Gary Numan's work, where the melancholy is gentle instead of harrowing. Dolby's melodies are sprightly without being annoyingly perky, his singing warm, and his overall performance a pleasant gem. Especially fine numbers include the amusing romp "Europa and the Pirate Twins" and the nostalgia-touched, just-mysterious-enough "One of Our Submarines."

16. Smiths - The Queen Is Dead 31
"The Queen Is Dead is the Smiths' great leap forward, taking the band to new musical and lyrical heights. Opening with the storming title track, The Queen Is Dead is a harder-rocking record than anything the Smiths had attempted before, but that's only on a relative scale — although the backbeat is more pronounced, the group certainly doesn't rock in a conventional sense. The rich musical bed provides Morrissey with the support for his finest set of lyrics. Shattering the myth that he is a self-pitying sap, Morrissey delivers a devastating set of clever, witty satires of British social mores, intellectualism, class, and even himself. He also crafts some of his finest, most affecting songs, particularly in the wistful "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side" and the epic "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out," two masterpieces that provide the foundation for a remarkable album. "

15. Duran Duran - Duran Duran 32.5
"Duran Duran's eponymous debut artfully coalesced the sonic and stylistic elements of the burgeoning new romantic movement they were soon to spearhead: pumping synths, glossy production, and seemingly impossible haircuts. Ultra-smart singles like "Girls on Film" and "Planet Earth" became instant smash hits both in the U.K. and America, and other fine pop gems such as "Anyone Out There" and "Careless Memories" rounded out the album's stellar first side. Side two was a far more experimental and revealing affair, with primary songwriter Nick Rhodes leading the band through atmospheric mood-pieces like "Night Boat," "Sound of Thunder," and the instrumental "Tel Aviv," all of which are particularly reminiscent of mid-era Roxy Music (clearly one of Duran's biggest influences). The band's groundbreaking music videos would do the rest, securing them a unique standing as forerunners of the first MTV generation and cementing their status as one of the decade's most successful pop music icons."

14. Echo & Bunnymen - Ocean Rain 35
"Channeling the lessons of the experimental Porcupine into more conventional and simple structural parameters, Ocean Rain emerges as Echo & the Bunnymen's most beautiful and memorable effort. Ornamenting Ian McCulloch's most consistently strong collection of songs to date with subdued guitar textures, sweeping string arrangements, and hauntingly evocative production, the album is dramatic and majestic; "The Killing Moon," Ocean Rain's emotional centerpiece, remains the group's unrivalled pinnacle. "

13. Big Country - The Crossing 35
"With producer Steve Lillywhite at the helm, Scotland's Big Country managed to deliver earnest, socially conscious arena anthems in a similar vein to U2 and the Alarm. The twist was their trademark bagpipe sound, achieved through the use of E-Bow. The unique sound of "In a Big Country" garnered the band considerable attention and a Top 20 single in the U.S. The Crossing, however, is an album whose richness goes beyond the single. The more subdued "Chance" is more sparse and its personal lyrics are every bit as heartfelt as the more populist-inclined anthems like the wonderful "The Storm" or the thundering "Fields of Fire." The lyrics are straightforward and, despite the grand themes of many of the tracks, manage to steer clear of being overly pretentious. "

12. Abc - The Lexicon Of Love 35.5
"ABC's debut album combined the talents of the Sheffield, U.K.-based band, particularly lead singer Martin Fry, a fashion plate of a frontman with a Bryan Ferry fixation, and the inventive production style of former Buggles member Trevor Horn and his team of musicians, several of whom would go on to form the Art of Noise. Horn created dense tracks that merged synthesizer sounds, prominent beats, and swaths of strings and horns, their orchestrations courtesy of Anne Dudley, who would follow her work with the Art of Noise by becoming a prominent film composer, and who here underscored Fry's stylized romantic lyrics and dramatic, if affected, singing. The production style was dense and noisy, but frequently beautiful, and the group's emotional songs gave it a depth and coherence later Horn works. ABC, which began fragmenting almost immediately, never equaled its gold-selling first LP commercially or artistically, despite some worthy later songs. "

11. A Flock Of Seagulls - A Flock Of Seagulls 35.5
"The Liverpool quintet A Flock of Seagulls first gained attention in the dance clubs with "Telecommunication," included on this debut release. The band benefited from heavy play on MTV and quickly became known for their outrageous fashion and lead singer Mike Score's waterfall-like haircut. However, their self-titled debut is an enjoyable romp that was set apart from other synth-heavy acts of the time by Paul Reynolds' unique guitar style. The kinetic "I Ran (So Far Away)" became a video staple and a Top Ten radio hit. "A Space Age Love Song," with its synthesizer washes and echo-laden guitar, also managed to score at radio. The rest of the album consists of hyperactive melodies, synthesizer noodlings, and electronic drumming. Its all great fun and a wonderful collection of new wave ear candy. "

[FreeWave]

Top 10 Time

10. Blondie - Parallel Lines 39
Blondie turned to British pop producer Mike Chapman for their third album, on which they abandoned any pretensions to new wave legitimacy and emerged as a pure pop band. But it wasn't just Chapman that made Parallel Lines Blondie's best album; it was the band's own songwriting, including Deborah Harry, Chris Stein, and James Destri's "Picture This," and Harry and Stein's "Heart of Glass," and Harry and new bass player Nigel Harrison's "One Way or Another," plus two contributions from nonbandmember Jack Lee, "Will Anything Happen?" and "Hanging on the Telephone." That was enough to give Blondie a number one on both sides of the Atlantic with "Heart of Glass" and three more U.K. hits, but what impresses is the album's depth and consistency — album tracks like "Fade Away and Radiate" and "Just Go Away" are as impressive as the songs pulled for singles. The result is state-of-the-art pop/rock circa 1978, with Harry's tough-girl glamour setting the pattern that would be exploited over the next decade by a host of successors led by Madonna.

9. U2 - War 40
"Opening with the ominous, fiery protest of "Sunday Bloody Sunday," War immediately announces itself as U2's most focused and hardest-rocking album to date. Blowing away the fuzzy, sonic indulgences of October with propulsive, martial rhythms and shards of guitar, War bristles with anger, despair, and above all, passion. Previously, Bono's attempts at messages came across as grandstanding, but his vision becomes remarkably clear on this record, as his anthems ("New Year's Day," "40," "Seconds") are balanced by effective, surprisingly emotional love songs ("Two Hearts Beat as One"), which are just as desperate and pleading as his protests. He performs the difficult task of making the universal sound personal, and the band helps him out by bringing the songs crashing home with muscular, forceful performances that reveal their varied, expressive textures upon repeated listens. U2 always aimed at greatness, but War was the first time they achieved it. "

8. Roxy Music - Avalon 40.5
"Certainly, the lush, elegant soundscapes of Avalon are far removed from the edgy avant-pop of their early records, yet it represents another landmark in their career. With its stylish, romantic washes of synthesizers and Bryan Ferry's elegant, seductive croon, Avalon simultaneously functioned as sophisticated make-out music for yuppies and as the maturation of synth pop. Ferry was never this romantic or seductive, either with Roxy or as a solo artist, and Avalon shimmers with elegance in both its music and its lyrics. "More Than This," "Take a Chance With Me," "While My Heart Is Still Beating," and the title track are immaculately crafted and subtle songs, where the shifting synthesizers and murmured vocals gradually reveal the melodies. It's a rich, textured album and a graceful way to end the band's career. "

7. Human League - Dare! 43
"Dare! captures a moment in time perfectly — the moment post-punk's robotic fascination with synthesizers met a clinical Bowiesque infatuation with fashion and modern art, including pop culture, plus a healthy love of songcraft. The Human League had shown much of this on their early singles, such as "Lebanon," but on Dare! they simply gelled, as their style was supported by music and songs with emotional substance. That doesn't mean that the album isn't arty, since it certainly is, but that's part of its power — the self-conscious detachment enhances the postmodern sense of emotional isolation, obsession with form over content, and love of modernity for its own sake. That's why Dare! struck a chord with listeners who didn't like synth pop or the new romantics in 1981, and why it still sounds startlingly original decades after its original release — the technology may have dated, synths and drum machines may have become more advanced, but few have manipulated technology in such an emotionally effective way. Of course, that all wouldn't matter if the songs themselves didn't work smashingly, whether it's a mood piece as eerie as "Seconds," an antianthem like "The Things That Dreams Are Made Of," the danceclub glow of "Love Action (I Believe in Love)," or the utter genius of "Don't You Want Me," a devastating chronicle of a frayed romance wrapped in the greatest pop hooks and production of its year. The latter was a huge hit, so much so that it overshadowed the album in the minds of most listeners, yet, for all of its shining brilliance, it wasn't a pop supernova — it's simply the brightest star on this record, one of the defining records of its time. "

6. Tears For Fears - The Hurting 43.5
"The Hurting would have been a daring debut for a pop-oriented band in any era, but it was an unexpected success in England in 1983, mostly by virtue of its makers' ability to package an unpleasant subject — the psychologically wretched family histories of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith — in an attractive and sellable musical format. Not that there weren't a few predecessors, most obviously John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band album (which was also, not coincidentally, inspired by the work of primal scream pioneer Arthur Janov); but Lennon had the advantage of being an ex-Beatle when that meant the equivalent to having a box next to God's in the great arena of life, where Tears for Fears were just starting out. More than two decades later, "Pale Shelter," "Ideas as Opiates," "Memories Fade," "Suffer the Children," "Watch Me Bleed," "Change," and "Start of the Breakdown" are powerful pieces of music, beautifully executed in an almost minimalist style. "Memories Fade" offers emotional resonances reminiscent of "Working Class Hero," while "Pale Shelter" functions on a wholly different level, an exquisite sonic painting sweeping the listener up in layers of pulsing synthesizers, acoustic guitar arpeggios, and sheets of electronic sound. The work is sometimes uncomfortably personal for this listener, but musically compelling enough to bring him back across the decades."

5. Yaz - Upstairs At Eric's 44
" Vince Clarke can claim involvement in two stunning debuts in only two years: Depeche Mode's Speak and Spell and Yaz's Upstairs at Eric's. While Speak and Spell is, by far, the more consistent record, Upstairs at Eric's is wholly more satisfying, beating the Depeche record on substance and ambition, and is light years ahead in emotion. "Don't Go" and "Situation" are absolutely killer with Clarke's bubbling synth and singer Alison Moyet's bluesy and powerful delivery. They're both rightful dance floor staples, and have since undergone numerous remixes, both official and bootleg. "Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)" is just as good a thumper, adding a wonderful mumbled bridge that shows how much Clarke enjoyed messing with pop music. The softer "Only You" would have sounded silly and robotic if it had appeared on Speak and Spell, but Moyet's vocals makes it bittersweet and engaging. The clumsier experimental tracks make most people head for the hits collection, but to do so would be to miss the album's great twist. The loony tape loop of "I Before E Except After C," the skeletal "Winter Kills," and a disruptive phone call in the middle of the naïve "Bad Connection" offer up more complex and intimate moments. Like its curious cover, Upstairs at Eric's presents a fractured, well-lit, and paranoid urban landscape. "

4. Duran Duran - Rio 44
"From its Nagel cover to the haircuts and overall design - and first and foremost the music -Rio is as representative of the eighties as it gets, at its best. The original Duran Duran's high point, and just as likely the band's as a whole, its fusion of style and substance ensures that even two decades after its release it remains as listenable and danceable as ever. The quintet integrates its sound near-perfectly throughout, the John and Roger Taylor rhythm section providing both driving propulsion and subtle pacing. For the latter, consider the lush semi-tropical sway of "Save a Prayer" or the closing paranoid creep of "The Chauffeur," a descendant of Roxy Music's equally affecting dark groover "The Bogus Man." Andy Taylor's muscular riffs provide fine rock crunch throughout, Rhodes' synth wash adds perfect sheen, and Le Bon tops it off with sometimes overly cryptic lyrics that still always sound just fine in context courtesy of his strong delivery. Rio's two biggest smashes burst open the door in America for the New Romantic/synth rock crossover. "Hungry Like the Wolf" blended a tight, guitar-heavy groove with electronic production and a series of instant hooks, while the title track was even more anthemic, with a great sax break from guest Andy Hamilton adding to the soaring atmosphere. Lesser known cuts like "Lonely In Your Nightmare" and "Last Chance on the Stairway" still have pop thrills a-plenty, while "Hold Back the Rain" is the sleeper hit on Rio, an invigorating blast of feedback, keyboards and beat that doesn't let up. From start to finish, a great album that has outlasted its era. "

3. Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) 46
"One of Scotland's finest imports, Simple Minds deliver a strong synth-reared release on New Gold Dream. This album harks the darker side of the band's musicianship, and such material alludes to their forthcoming pop-stadium sound which hurled them into rock mainstream during the latter part of the '80s. They were still honing their artistic rowdiness, and Kerr's pursuing vocals were still hiding. But Simple Minds' skill of tapping into internal emotion is profound on songs such as "Someone, Somewhere in Summertime" and the album's title track. But the dance-oriented tracks like "Promised You a Miracle" and "Glittering Prize" are lushly layered in deep electronic beats — it was only a matter of time for Simple Minds to expound upon such musical creativity which made them a household favorite through the 1980s. "

2. The Cars - The Cars 49.5
"The Cars' 1978 self-titled debut, issued on the Elektra label, is a genuine rock masterpiece. The band jokingly referred to the album as their "true greatest-hits album," but it's no exaggeration — all nine tracks are new wave/rock classics, still in rotation on rock radio. Whereas most bands of the late '70s embraced either punk/new wave or hard rock, the Cars were one of the first bands to do the unthinkable — merge the two styles together. Add to it bandleader/songwriter Ric Ocasek's supreme pop sensibilities, and you had an album that appealed to new wavers, rockers, and Top 40 fans. One of the most popular new wave songs ever, "Just What I Needed," is an obvious highlight, as are such familiar hits as "Good Times Roll," "My Best Friend's Girl," and "You're All I've Got Tonight." But like most consummate rock albums, the lesser-known compositions are just as exhilarating — "Don't Cha Stop," "Bye Bye Love," "All Mixed Up," and "Moving In Stereo," the latter featured as an instrumental during a steamy scene in the popular movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. With flawless performances, songwriting, and production (courtesy of Queen alumni Roy Thomas Baker), the Cars' debut remains one of rock's all-time classics. "



1. Clash - London Calling 50
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
"Give 'Em Enough Rope, for all of its many attributes, was essentially a holding pattern for the Clash, but the double-album London Calling is a remarkable leap forward, incorporating the punk aesthetic into rock & roll mythology and roots music. Before, the Clash had experimented with reggae, but that was no preparation for the dizzying array of styles on London Calling. There's punk and reggae, but there's also rockabilly, ska, New Orleans R&B, pop, lounge jazz, and hard rock; and while the record isn't tied together by a specific theme, its eclecticism and anthemic punk function as a rallying call. While many of the songs — particularly "London Calling," "Spanish Bombs," and "The Guns of Brixton" — are explicitly political, by acknowledging no boundaries the music itself is political and revolutionary. But it is also invigorating, rocking harder and with more purpose than most albums, let alone double albums. Over the course of the record, Joe Strummer and Mick Jones (and Paul Simonon, who wrote "The Guns of Brixton") explore their familiar themes of working-class rebellion and antiestablishment rants, but they also tie them in to old rock & roll traditions and myths, whether it's rockabilly greasers or "Stagger Lee," as well as mavericks like doomed actor Montgomery Clift. The result is a stunning statement of purpose and one of the greatest rock & roll albums ever recorded."


Hope ya'll liked it. Some were surprises but it was a close race. [:D]

[Frau_Blucher]

Thanks Freewave! The big surprise is Big Country at 13...weird.

[FreeWave]

Top 150 Alphabetically (with votes)

A Flock Of Seagulls:A Flock Of Seagulls 35.5
A Flock Of Seagulls:Listen 9
Abc:The Lexicon Of Love 35.5
A-Ha:Hunting High And Low 12
Alphaville:Forever Young 26
Altered Images:Happy Birthday 11
Associates:Perhaps 8.5
Associates:Sulk 10
Aztec Camera:High Land Hard Rain 19
B-52's:The B-52's 15
Berlin:Love Life 14
Berlin:Pleasure Victim 17
Big Country:The Crossing 35
Billy Idol:Rebel Yell 14
Blondie:Parallel Lines 39
Bongos:Number With Wings 11
Book Of Love:Book Of Love 8
Boomtown Rats:The Fine Art Of Surfacing 11
Buggles:The Age Of Plastic 14
Cars:Candy-O 21
Cars:Heartbeat City 13
Cars:The Cars 49.5
Catholic Girls:Catholic Girls 9
Chameleons:Script Of The Bridge 18
Chameleons:Strange Times 14
China Crisis:Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms 15.5
China Crisis:Working With Fire And Steel 10
Church:Heyday 9
Church:Starfish 10.5
Clash:Combat Rock 10
Clash:Give 'Em Enough Rope 8.5
Clash:London Calling 50
Clash:Sandanista 12
Cocteau Twins:Blue Bell Knoll 9
Cocteau Twins:Treasure 9
Cure:Boys Don’t Cry 19
Cure:Disintegration 19
Cure:Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me 8.5
Cure:Pornography 9
Cure:The Head On The Door 20
Damned:Machine Gun Etiquette 11
David Bowie:Let's Dance 9
David Bowie:Scary Monsters 26
Depeche Mode:A Broken Frame 13
Depeche Mode:Black Celebration 16.5
Depeche Mode:Music For The Masses 11.5
Depeche Mode:Some Great Reward 17
Devo:Freedom Of Choice 13
Devo:New Traditionalists 9
Devo:Q:Are We Not Men? 9
Duran Duran:Duran Duran 32.5
Duran Duran:Rio 44
Echo & Bunnymen:Echo & The Bunnymen 8
Echo & Bunnymen:Ocean Rain 35
Echo & Bunnymen:Porcupine 14
English Beat:I Just Can't Stop It 15
English Beat:Special Beat Service 12
Eurythmics:In The Garden 9.5
Fixx:Shuttered Room 15
Gang Of Four:Entertainment 26
Gary Numan/Tubeway Army:Replicas 14
Gary Numan:Pleasure Principle 10
Haircut 100:Pelican West 11
Heaven 17:The Luxury Gap 11
Howard Jones:Human's Lib 14
Human League:Dare 43
Human League:Hysteria 10
Information Society:Information Society 9
Inxs:Listen Like Thieves 10
Inxs:The Swing 13
Jam:The Gift 12
Japan:Gentlemen Take Polaroids 17
Japan:Tin Drum 11
Jesus And Mary Chain:Psychocandy 11
Joe Jackson:Look Sharp 18
Joy Division:Closer 21.5
Joy Division:Unknown Pleasures 25
Kate Bush:Hounds Of Love 19
Kraftwerk:Computer World 17
Lloyd Cole & Commitions:Rattlesnakes 10.5
M:The Official Secrets Act 9
Madness:One Step Beyond 13
Madonna:Madonna 14
Marshall Crenshaw:Marshall Crenshaw 10
Men At Work:Cargo 10
Men Without Hats:Rhythm Of Youth 11
Midnight Oil:Diesel And Dust 14
Ministry:With Sympathy 15
Missing Persons:Spring Session M 21
Modern English:After The Snow 10
Morrissey:Viva Hate 10
Naked Eyes:Naked Eyes 15
New Musik:Anywhere 10
New Order:Low-Life 28
New Order:Power Corruption & Lies 13
Oingo Boingo:Dead Man's Party 9
Omd:Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark 16
Pet Shop Boys:Actually 9
Pet Shop Boys:Please 14
Pixies:Doolittle 9
Plimsouls:The Plimsouls 11
Pogues:Rum Sodomy & The Lash 8.5
Police:Outlandos D'lamour 15
Police:Synchronicity 21
Police:Zenyatta Mondatta 15
Prefab Sprout:Two Wheels Good (Steve McQueen) 19
Pretenders:Pretenders 19
Prince:1999 9
Propaganda:A Secret Wish 22.5
Psychedelic Furs:Mirror Moves 14
Ramones:Rocket To Russia 9
Ramones:The Ramones 9
Real Life:Heartland 14
Re-Flex:The Politics Of Dancing 13
Rem:Murmur 14
Roxy Music:Avalon 40.5
Scritti Politti:Cupid & Psyche 85 13
Sex Pistols:Never Mind The Bollocks 17
Simple Minds:New Gold Dream 46
Siouxsie & Banshees:Hyaena 15
Sisters Of Mercy:First And Last And Always 11
Smiths:Meat Is Murder 12
Smiths:Strangeways Here We Come 9
Smiths:The Queen Is Dead 31
Smiths:The Smiths 22
Soft Cell:Non Stop Erotic Cabaret 16
Spandau Ballet:True 13
Sparks:Angst In My Pants 10
Split Enz:True Colours 22
Squeeze:Argybargy 11
Stone Roses:Stone Roses 9
Tears For Fears:Songs From The Big Chair 17
Tears For Fears:The Hurting 43.5
Television:Marquee Moon 10
The-The:Infected 10
The-The:Soul Mining 12
Thomas Dolby:The Golden Age Of Wireless 29
U2:Boy 26
U2:The Joshua Tree 15
U2:The Unforgettable Fire 13.5
U2:War 40
Ultravox:Vienna 10.5
Vapors:New Clear Days 10
Violent Femmes:Violent Femmes 16
Visage:Visage 9
Xtc:Black Sea 11
Xtc:Drums And Wires 13
Yaz:Upstairs At Eric's 44
Yaz:You And Me Both 8.5

[FreeWave]

Top 25 Artists (and total votes across all albums)

U2 102.5
Clash 91.5
Cars 86.5
Cure 84.5
Duran Duran 82.5
Smiths 75
Simple Minds 70
Depeche Mode 69
Echo & Bunnymen 67.5
Police 62
Human League 61
New Order 60.5
Tears For Fears 60.5
Yaz 52.5
Blondie 52
A Flock Of Seagulls 46.5
Joy Division 46.5
Siouxsie & Banshees 46
Chameleons 45
David Bowie 41.5
Omd 41.5
Roxy Music 41.5
Devo 40
Big Country 39
Split Enz 39

[NuWaveRx]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Blir[/i]
<br>Thanks Freewave! The big surprise is Big Country at 13...weird.
[/quote]

First up Freewave, thank you for all the hard work and care you obviously put into this. I agree with other posters--here's the Xmas list I'll be giving to friends and family. I guess I'm not too out of step with y'all--most of my top 50 made it into the top 150.

Blir, curious about your suprise about Big Country. Although they're not at the iconic level of The Smiths, The Clash, or U2, The Crossing is simply one of the best albums I've ever heard. Nearly everyone I turn on to Big Country with this album love it. I guess more people than I thought think similarly.

Also, thanks for the answers to your photo quiz. My vow to you that if you repeat this experiment I won't screw it up!