Now this is how it started: THE ILX 1980s ALBUM POLL RESULTS!!

someone should do a poll on what didnt make the list but should have

Number 1 on that poll should be The Blue Mask.

Oh fuck, just realized I voted for Follow the Leader when I meant to vote for Paid in Full. I demand a retabulation!

Prince - Dirty Mind
Michael Jackson - Thriller
EPMD - Strictly Business
Kraftwerk - Computer World
Prince - Sign ‘O’ the Times
Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain
Janet Jackson - Control
Stevie Wonder - Hotter Than July
Eric B. & Rakim - Follow the Leader
Bad Brains - I Against I
Inner City - Paradise
Marvin Gaye - In Our Lifetime
N.W.A - Straight Outta Compton
Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill
Prince - 1999
Cameo - Word Up!
Anita Baker - Rapture
Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation 1814
Slick Rick - The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell
ESG - Come Away with ESG
The Egyptian Lover - On the Nile
Grace Jones - Nightclubbing
De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising
AC/DC - Back in Black
Diana Ross - Diana
Kid Creole & the Coconuts - Wise Guy / Tropical Gangsters
Funkadelic - The Electric Spanking of War Babies
Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush the Show

btw

Straight Outta Compton has a four great tracks and then all these other tracks that are just there. It is important record, and its social impact puts on a level that I think only a few things in all of the arts reach, but there are easily 100 albums from 80-89 that make better listens from beginning to end.

But I was a week shy of three-years-old when it came out, so what the fuck do I know? Maybe the old heads still let it play through, but I think I can count one finger the number I've times I've heard the end of something 2 dance 2

This is kinda shitty of me to say this but I don't think you really understand N.W.A unless you fuck with "Something 2 Dance 2".

Here is my ballot. A tad dissapointed that neither the Cramps, or King Sunny Ade or the Dururtti Column placed.

1. Manuel Göttsching - E2-E4
2. The Durutti Column - The Return of the Durutti Column
3. Nuno Canavarro - Plux Quba
4. Glenn Branca - The Ascension
5. The Cramps - Psychedelic Jungle
6. King Sunny Ade and His African Beats - Aura
7. Arvo Pärt - Tabula Rasa (ECM 1984)
8. Kraftwerk - Computer World
9. Sun City Girls - s/t
10. Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
11. The Stone Roses - s/t
12. Schoolly D - Saturday Night! - The Album
13. Sam Cooke - Live at the Harlem Square Club 1963
14. The Durutti Column - LC
15. Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
16. Sonic Youth - EVOL
17. Arthur Russell - World of Echo
18. This Heat - Deceit
19. Virginia Astley - From Gardens Where We Feel Secure
20. Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth
21. New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies
22. ESG - Come Away with ESG
23. The Misfits - Walk Among Us
24. Pixies - Doolittle
25. The Cure - Standing on a Beach / Staring at the Sea: The Singles
26. Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade
27. Linton Kwesi Johnson - Bass Culture
28. Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers - Rockin' and Romance
29. Madonna - Like a Virgin
30. Big Black - Songs About Fucking

Anita Baker - Rapture

I was half expecting this to show up somewhere, at least until we got into the 50-41 range.

oh, N.W.A should be bolded too haha, my brain just assumes they are in any given canon

Paid in Full would be at #54 if not for my error.

What's 100-150, Tuomas?

*101-150

Did anyone else choose not to rank their ballot, or am I alone there?

And 151-200?

Would you like to destroy your ego? Then why not calculate just how much impact you have on this 1 out of 168,116 threads of on this tiny corner of human existence. This tiny virtual corner. Without my vote:

Thriller would’ve tied with Doolittle for #9
Graceland would’ve been five places lower at #26
Appetite for Destruction drops five places to #32
The Stone Roses drops three places to #31
Hatful of Hollow drops two places to #35
Born in the USA drops one to tie at #55
The Joshua Tree drops eleven to #87
Rum, Sodomy and the Lash drops eight to #86
Actually drops off entirely

and the mystery #101 makes it onto the list. Sorry #101 - now I feel I have used my life to do great wrong.

That's too much math for me.

TBH, the biggest suprise was the absence of Control in the final tally. Its a great record, denser in tunage/hit singles than any Madonna album, and represents (by proxy) other Jam & Lewis productions. Clearly forward looking R & B is in decline on ILM since the days of Aliyah worship.

Growing list of things I'm legitimately surprised didn't place

Control
Faith
PG(3)
Straight Outta Compton
Tango in the Night
The Lion and the Cobra

I'm surprised these weren't here...

Tim
Pleased To Meet Me
Warehouse
Los Angeles
Back In Black
Mekons Rock n' Roll

Would you like to destroy your ego? Then why not calculate just how much impact you have on this 1 out of 168,116 threads of on this tiny corner of human existence. This tiny virtual corner.

Here's my ballot:

1. Paul Simon - Graceland
2. Eric B. & Rakim - Paid in Full
3. Prince - Dirty Mind
4. Prince - Sign O' the Times
5. Prince & the Revolution - Purple Rain
6. The Replacements - Let It Be
7. Guns n' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
8. Talking Heads - Remain in Light
9. Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
10. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique

11. Pixies - Doolittle
12. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising
13. Van Halen - 1984
14. Metallica - Master of Puppets
15. Run-DMC - Raising Hell
16. Michael Jackson - Thriller
17. Madonna
18. AC/DC - Back in Black
19. Violent Femmes
20. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

21. Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1
22. Eric B. & Rakim - Follow the Leader
23. Def Leppard - Hysteria
24. R.E.M. - Murmur
25. Nirvana - Bleach
26. U2 - War
27. ESG - Come Away With ESG
28. Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Get Happy!!
29. Slick Rick - The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
30. Malcolm McLaren - Duck Rock

And here's how things would have looked if I hadn't voted. It's seismic in some places, inconsequential in others. The biggest thing is that we would have gone down to 4/100 rap albums.

?. Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell [1986] (72 points, 10 votes)
*100. ???????
*99. Robyn Hitchcock - I Often Dream of Trains [1984] (75 points, 5 votes)
*97. (tie) Scraping Foetus off the Wheel - Hole [1984] (76 points, 5 votes)
*97. (tie) Spacemen 3 - The Perfect Prescription [1987] (76 points, 5 votes)
*96. Big Black - Atomizer [1986] (77 points, 8 votes)
*95. Associates - Sulk [1982] (79 points, 6 votes)
*94. Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking [1988] (79 points, 7 votes)
*93. Def Leppard - Pyromania [1983] (80 points, 6 votes, 1 first place vote)
*92. Thomas Dolby - The Golden Age of Wireless [1982] (80 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote)
*91. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Dazzle Ships [1983] (80 points, 9 votes)
*90. Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full [1987] (81 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote)
*89. Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets II [1984] (81 points, 9 votes)
*88. Prince and the Revolution - Parade [1986] (83 points, 10 votes)
*87. Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel of Love [1987] (86 points, 7 votes)
*86. Pet Shop Boys - Actually [1987] (86 points, 8 votes)
*85. Pet Shop Boys - Please [1986] (87 points, 8 votes)
*83. (tie) Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine [1989] (87 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote)
*83. (tie) Talking Heads - Speaking in Tongues [1983] (87 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote)
*82. David Bowie - Scary Monsters [1980] (89 points, 6 votes, 1 first place vote)
*81. Scraping Foetus off the Wheel - Nail [1985] (91 points, 5 votes, 1 first place vote)
*80. The Beat (aka The English Beat) - I Just Can't Stop It [1980] (91 points, 13 votes)
*79. Various - The Indestructible Beat of Soweto [1985] (93 points, 6 votes, 1 first place vote)
*78. The The - Soul Mining [1983] (93 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote)
*77. The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy & the Lash [1985] (93 points, 16 votes)
*76. Meat Puppets - Up on the Sun [1985] (94 points, 8 votes)
*75. U2 - The Joshua Tree [1987] (95 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote)
*74. Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual [1983] (95 points, 9 votes)
*73.Tom Waits - Rain Dogs [1985] (95 points, 11 votes)
*72. Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes [1983] (95 points, 12 votes)
*71. Galaxie 500 - On Fire [1989] (96 points, 10 votes)
*70. X - Wild Gift [1981] (97 points, 9 votes)
*69. The Chills - Kaleidoscope World [1986] (98 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote)
*68. Roxy Music - Avalon [1982] (99 points, 10 votes)
*67. Laurie Anderson - Big Science [1982] (99 points, 11 votes)
*66. Scritti Politti - Cupid & Psyche 85 [1985] (100 points, 7 votes)
*65. New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies [1983] (100 points, 16 votes)
*64. Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen [1985] (104 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote)
*63. Donald Fagen - The Nightfly [1982] (105 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote)
*62. Cocteau Twins - Treasure [1984] (106 points, 12 votes)
*61. Grace Jones - Nightclubbing [1981] (106 points, 12 votes, 1 first place vote)
*60. Arthur Russell - World of Echo [1986] (108 points, 11 votes, 1 first place vote)
59. Mekons - Fear and Whiskey [1985] (111 points, 8 votes, 2 first place votes)
58. The Cure - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me [1987] (112 points, 7 votes, 2 first place votes)
57. Arvo Pärt - Tabula Rasa [1984] (112 points, 9 votes, 1 first place vote)
56. R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant [1986] (112 points, 12 votes)
55. Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me [1987] (115 points, 13 votes)
54. Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A. [1984] (118 points, 14 votes)
53. Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska [1982] (120 points, 14 votes)
52. Brian Eno / David Byrne - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts [1981] (120 points, 17 votes)
51. Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man [1988] (121 points, 11 votes)
50. The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms [1980] (123 points, 13 votes)
49. The Go-Betweens - 16 Lovers Lane [1988] (125 points, 9 votes, 1 first place vote)
48. XTC - Skylarking [1986] (127 points, 16 votes)
47. Steely Dan - Gaucho [1980] (128 points, 9 votes)
46. R.E.M. - Reckoning [1984] (131 points, 14 votes)
45. Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band - Doc at the Radar Station [1980] (133 points, 11 votes)
44. The Fall - This Nation's Saving Grace [1985] (136 points, 13 votes)
43. Sonic Youth - EVOL [1986] (143 points, 12 votes, 1 first place vote)
42. Hüsker Dü - New Day Rising [1985] (146 points, 14 votes)
41. The Cure - Pornography [1982] (148 points, 9 votes)
40. Dexy’s Midnight Runners - Searching for the Young Soul Rebels [1980] (148 points, 11 votes, 1 first place vote)
39. Manuel Göttsching - E2-E4 [1984] (154 points, 12 votes, 2 first place votes)
38. New Order - Substance [1987] (156 points, 16 votes)
37. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising [1989] (156 points, 22 votes)
36. The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour [1982] (166 points, 14 votes, 1 first place vote)
35. ABC - The Lexicon of Love [1982] (173 points, 11 votes, 1 first place vote)
34. The Smiths - Hatful of Hollow [1984] (173 points, 16 votes)
33. The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs [1987] (174 points, 20 votes)
*32. Prince - Dirty Mind [1980] (185 points, 13 votes, 1 first place vote)
*31. Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction [1987] (190 points, 17 votes)
*30. Prince - 1999 [1982] (191 points, 17 votes, 1 first place vote)
*29. Paul Simon - Graceland [1986] (197 points, 16 votes)
*28. Sonic Youth - Sister [1987] (199 points, 21 votes, 1 first place vote)
*27. Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade [1984] (200 points, 13 votes)
*26. Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth [1980] (200 points, 17 votes, 1 first place vote)
*25. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses [1989] (201 points, 15 votes, 2 first place votes)
*24. The Clash - Sandinista! [1980] (211 points, 11 votes, 3 first place votes)
*23. The Cure - Disintegration [1989] (218 points, 19 votes, 1 first place vote)
*22. The Human League - Dare [1981] (219 points, 17 votes, 2 first place votes)
*21. My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything [1988] (229 points, 19 votes, 2 first place votes)
*20. The Replacements - Let It Be [1984] (241 points, 17 votes, 1 first place vote)
*19. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy [1985] (243 points, 23 votes, 1 first place vote)
18. Joy Division - Closer [1980] (255 points, 24 votes)
17. Kate Bush - The Dreaming [1982] (269 points, 13 votes, 3 first place votes)
16. New Order - Technique [1989] (273 points, 15 votes, 2 first place votes)
15. Pixies - Surfer Rosa [1988] (273 points, 21 votes, 1 first place vote)
14. Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden [1988] (274 points, 18 votes, 2 first place votes)
13. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique [1989] (280 points, 24 votes, 1 first place vote)
12. Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime [1984] (300 points, 15 votes, 3 first place votes)
11. The Smiths - The Queen is Dead [1986] (307 points, 26 votes, 1 first place vote)
10. Pixies – Doolittle [1989] (315 points, 30 votes)
9. Michael Jackson - Thriller [1982] (325 points, 34 votes)
8. Kraftwerk - Computer World [1981] (338 points, 29 votes)
*7. R.E.M. - Murmur [1983] (354 points, 29 votes, 2 first place votes)
*6. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation [1988] (356 points, 28 votes, 3 first place votes)
5. Prince - Sign “O” the Times [1987] (361 points, 27 votes, 2 first place votes)
4. Kate Bush - Hounds of Love [1985] (422 points, 35 votes, 2 first place votes)
3. Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain [1984] (423 points, 34 votes, 2 first place votes)
2. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back [1988] (472 points, 38 votes, 2 first place votes)
1. Talking Heads - Remain in Light [1980] (557 points, 36 votes, 4 first place votes)

Oh fuck, just realized I voted for Follow the Leader when I meant to vote for Paid in Full. I demand a retabulation!

Would've popped it up to #51

#54, actually. It was my #11 vote, so only would have gotten 8 points out of it.

agree w/revs assessment of the importance of something 2 dance 2

#54, actually. It was my #11 vote, so only would have gotten 8 points out of it.

Hm. Up there it looks like #10.

Here's the changes to stuff I voted for that placed. Biggest damage to Sandinista! and I Often Dream Of Trains, my 40 and 30 pointers.

The Clash - Sandinista! from #25 to #36
Robyn Hitchcock - I Often Dream Of Trains from #100 to oblivion
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique stays at #13
De La Soul - 3 Feet High And Rising from #37 to #40
The Replacements - Let It Be stays at #19
The Smiths - Hatful Of Hollow from #34 to #35
The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy & the Lash from #78 to #84
The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms from #50 to #54
Donald Fagen - The Nightfly from #65 to #68
Def Leppard - Pyromania from #94 to oblivion
Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking from #95 to #100

Btw, Reverend, that's probably my favorite ballot by far, and it looks like it got the least amount listed.

i think im gonna go ahead and listen to every album in this list #1-100

Someone remarked on this before, but the difference between #100 and #55 was equal to one #1 vote. The difference between #100 and #65 was one #2 vote. So, while missing one key fact (the number of points at #101), we can still guess that anyone who voted as #1 anything in the lower 40 or so (or #2 for anything in the lower 30 or so) probably singlehandedly caused it to place.

I had Mekons - Rock n Roll as my number two, so it can't have picked up many other votes

Nice job not submitting a ballot, me.

The #1 (RiL) could have lost two #1 votes and still been #1.

Clearly this thread needs some charts & graphs.

no reign in blood makes me cry a bit

Here's my ballot:

1. The Go-Betweens - 16 Lovers Lane
2. Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual
3. Prince - Dirty Mind
4. Talking Heads - Remain in Light
5. The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs
6. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Uprising
7. Bruce Springsteen - The River
8. Sam Cooke - Live at the Harlem Square Club 1963
9. Michael Jackson – Thriller
10. The Pretenders - s/t
11. Prince – 1999
12. The Replacements - Tim
13. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy
14. Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska
15. New Order – Technique
16. Tom Tom Club - s/t
17. The Go-Betweens – Tallulah
18. Prince - Sign ‘O’ the Times
19. The Pretenders - Learning to Crawl
20. The Replacements - Let It Be
21. Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain
22. The Go-Betweens - Before Hollywood
23. The Mekons - The Mekons Rock 'n' Roll
24. Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush the Show
25. New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies
26. The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me
27. R.E.M. – Murmur
28. Talking Heads - Speaking in Tongues
29. Pixies – Doolittle
30. Prince and the Revolution – Parade

Interestingly, all my top five placed, but only one of the next five placed. 17/30 overall. In some ways, the biggest disappointment and biggest surprise is the failure of The Pretenders to place. I thought the first record was almost universally liked. I'm happy to say that I'm personally responsible for She's So Unusual not only placing, but placing one spot ahead of The Joshua Tree . Woo-hoo!

Thanks a lot Tuomas (though it's all wrong - Britishes vs Americanists maybe?)

3. Nuno Canavarro - Plux Quba

Moka, I have no idea what this is, but it does sound sorta intersting. Wanna spill the beans?

1) Arvo Pärt - Tabula Rasa (ECM 1984)
2) Steely Dan - Gaucho
3) U2 - The Joshua Tree
4) Dead Can Dance - The Serpent's Egg
5) Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
6) R.E.M. - Reckoning
7) The Pogues - If I Should Fall from Grace with God
8) Motörhead - Ace of Spades
9) Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
10) New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies
11) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Dazzle Ships
12) Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
13) Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - From Her to Eternity
14) Brian Eno / David Byrne - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
15) Paul Simon – Graceland
16) U2 - The Unforgettable Fire
17) Pixies - Surfer Rosa
18) The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms
19) The Au Pairs - Playing with a Different Sex
20) Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man
21) Def Leppard - Hysteria
22) Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen
23) Galaxie 500 - On Fire
24) Camper Van Beethoven - Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart
25) Hüsker Dü - New Day Rising
26) Ultramagnetic MC's - Critical Beatdown
27) Gun Club - Fire of Love
28) X - Los Angeles
29) Kraftwerk - Computer World
30) The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy

1) Cardiacs - A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window
2) Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden
3) Duran Duran - Rio
4) The Cure - Pornography
5) Magazine - The Correct Use of Soap
6) XTC - Black Sea
7) The Chameleons - Strange Times
8) XTC - English Settlement
9) The Fall - Perverted By Language
10) Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)
11) The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour
12) The The - Soul Mining
13) Laurie Anderson - Big Science
14) Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
15) The Cure - Faith
16) Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel - Nail
17) Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel - Hole
18) The Chameleons - Script Of The Bridge
19) XTC - Skylarking
20) Talk Talk - The Colour Of Spring

sorry for having rubbish taste :(

Tuomas - if you could do that vote count by band/artist (i.e. total for all albums) that someone suggested, that would be triffic. Swell, even.

biggest omissions of stuff i'd heard already: the fall - this nation's saving grace, the cure - disintegration

artist most likely to break into my list now: prince, OMD

un-nominated albums that i'd have voted the shit out of: the the - infected, julian cope - fried, the fall - bend sinister, and my #1 choice cardiacs - on land and in the sea

My corny indie ballot. Order seems a bit odd and there are a few omissions (some after deliberate agonising, some because apparently I didn't even see them when doing my ballot in a last-minute rush), but nothing here I'd particularly cut off, so:

1. Units - Digital Stimulation (lol ;_;)
2. Kraftwerk - Computer World
3. Swell Maps - In "Jane from Occupied Europe"
4. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Dazzle Ships
5. Linton Kwesi Johnson - Bass Culture
6. Pixies - Surfer Rosa
7. The Smiths - The World Won't Listen
8. Cardiacs - A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window
9. Manuel Göttsching - E2-E4
10. ESG - Come Away with ESG
11. Voivod - Dimension Hatröss
12. The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour
13. Keith Hudson - Playing It Cool & Playing It Right
14. Laurie Spiegel - The Expanding Universe
15. This Heat - Deceit
16. Throwing Muses - House Tornado
17. Various - Techno! The New Dance Sound of Detroit
18. XTC - English Settlement
19. Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade
20. Voivod - Nothingface
21. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
22. Brian Eno / David Byrne - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
23. Devo - Freedom of Choice
24. Pylon - Gyrate
25. Laurie Anderson - Big Science
26. John Foxx - Metamatic
27. American Music Club - California
28. Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Mambo Nassau
29. Galaxie 500 - Today
30. Linton Kwesi Johnson - Making History

9 placed (bold), 3 bands with other records placed (italics), 4 umlauts (that's the real measure of a ballot, right?).

Yeah I would have thrown Fried an 11-20 spot.

fried may well have broken the top 100, why the fuck didn't i bother nominating

LJ did your parents influence any of your 80s selections?

Tuomas, if you could put the .csv on Google docs so we can make our own charts, graphs, and data slices, that would probably save you a lot of requests.

talk talk, duran duran, the cure, xtc, the the, laurie anderson, tom waits: all staples of my younger listening, courtesy of my dad regularly playing them in the car (less so the the, but my dad owned the albums and i listened to them in my own time upon reading of the band)

maybe i was brainwashed, maybe those are the sorts of songs i'm fated to like :(

13/30

1. American Music Club- California
2. Replacements- Let It Be
3. Bruce Springsteen- Nebraska
4. Public Enemy- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
5. Leonard Cohen- I'm Your Man
6. Minutemen- Double Nickels on the Dime
7. Sonic Youth- Sister
8. Replacements- Pleased to Meet Me
9. Tom Waits- Swordfishtrombones
10. Beastie Boys- Paul's Boutique
11. Randy Travis- Storms of Life
12. Dinosaur Jr.- Bug
13. Steve Earle- Guitar Town
14. Lou Reed- The Blue Mask
15. Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Imperial Bedroom
16. Merle Haggard- Big City
17. John Cale- Music For a New Society
18. Husker Du- New Day Rising
19. Bruce Springsteen- The River
20. They Might Be Giants- Lincoln
21. Neil Young- Freedom
22. Sonic Youth- Daydream Nation
23. Lucinda Williams- s/t
24. Eric B. & Rakim- Follow the Leader
25. R.E.M.- Reckoning
26. Def Leppard- Pyromania
27. Daniel Johnston - Hi, How Are You?
28. Mission of Burma - Mission of Burma (Rykodisc compilation)
29. The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs
30. Kate Bush- Hounds of Love

so scanning through that list of albums, my only complaint is no Depeche Mode or Siouxsie & the Banshees; other than that this list almost perfectly encapsulates my 80s experience

Tuomas I mustn't forget to say a BIG thanks. This poll was actually a ton of fun.

My ballot:

1. Kate Bush - The Dreaming
2. Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids
3. Coil - Horse Rotorvator
4. XTC - The Big Express
5. The Chameleons - Strange Times
6. Peter Gabriel - 3
7. Pet Shop Boys - Please
8. Sonic Youth - EVOL
9. King Crimson - Discipline
10. Janet Jackson - Control
11. This Heat - Deceit
12. Tears for Fears - The Hurting
13. Siouxsie and the Banshees - Juju
14. Prince - Dirty Mind
15. The Police - Synchronicity
16. Depeche Mode - Black Celebration
17. The Pretenders - Learning to Crawl
18. Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain
19. My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything
20. Devo - Oh, No! It's Devo
21. The English Beat - I Just Can't Stop It
22. Grace Jones - Nightclubbing
23. Prince - 1999
24. XTC - Black Sea
25. Fela Kuti - Original Sufferhead
26. The Smiths - The World Won't Listen
27. Slapp Happy - Acnalbasac Noom
28. Sade - Stronger Than Pride
29.The Human League - Dare!
30. Michael Jackson - Thriller

Kinda surprised the Police didn't place.

oh yeah, PROPS TO TUOMAS!