Close call between PiL and Chic. The AC/DC and Talking Heads albums are both great but with both bands I prefer the records released either side of them.
Been meaning to give that Graham Parker album a listen for ages now.
― Gavin, Leeds, Friday, 1 June 2012 11:53 (eleven years ago) link
I'm probably the only one voting for Overkill.
― van smack, Friday, 1 June 2012 13:19 (eleven years ago) link
This is tough but I have to go with The Clash - London Calling because, well, c'mon now it's fing London Calling!
― wolf kabob (ENBB), Friday, 1 June 2012 13:21 (eleven years ago) link
none of my would-be underdog picks are here, so Off the Wall i guess
― ciderpress, Friday, 1 June 2012 13:22 (eleven years ago) link
London Callong, duh.
― Look at how funky he is! (jer.fairall), Friday, 1 June 2012 15:18 (eleven years ago) link
Had to consider London Calling here, but I do honestly believe Reggatta de Blanc is one of the all-time postpunk greats - everything works on that album. So that's where the one vote is coming from.
― frogbs, Friday, 1 June 2012 15:36 (eleven years ago) link
― van smack, Friday, June 1, 2012 1:19 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I did too!
― how's life, Friday, 1 June 2012 15:39 (eleven years ago) link
The B-52's gets my vote. Off The Wall, Fear of Music, Armed Forces and Risque would be up there too.
― Kitchen Person, Friday, 1 June 2012 15:41 (eleven years ago) link
I'm voting for Damn The Torpedoes because YOU DON'T! HAVE! TO LIVE LIKE A REFUGEE!
(Don't have to live like a refugee-ee.)
― Brony! Broni! Broné! (Phil D.), Friday, 1 June 2012 15:44 (eleven years ago) link
is it just me or is half of off the wall actually really boring (other half is brilliant of course)
― teledyldonix, Friday, 1 June 2012 20:37 (eleven years ago) link
I'm not gonna bother trying to rank these: too many, too good. But Cut is my favorite, just over Metal Box.
― thillrer (loves laboured breathing), Friday, 1 June 2012 21:38 (eleven years ago) link
risque probably
― yorba linda carlisle (donna rouge), Friday, 1 June 2012 21:54 (eleven years ago) link
jesus, best year ever. had to go with 'metal box' despite stiff competition from, like, everything else.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Friday, 1 June 2012 21:57 (eleven years ago) link
specials
― Pacific Trash Vortex (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Friday, 1 June 2012 22:05 (eleven years ago) link
Surprised myself voting for Armed Forces, far and away my favorite album by an artist I don't even consider a huge personal favorite. Post-punk hasn't worn well for me, and I don't like anything else here quite enough to vote for it instead.
― _Rudipherous_, Saturday, 2 June 2012 02:26 (eleven years ago) link
1979 was the year I started college in Athens, so.
― Brad C., Saturday, 2 June 2012 02:51 (eleven years ago) link
so many great albums! voted 154 because of it being one of the greatest things of all time
― Mad God 40/40 (Z S), Saturday, 2 June 2012 03:18 (eleven years ago) link
i pick the year 1979 out of a hat. when i saw what albums would be listed, i knew it would be a very, very tough poll. now that the votes are rolling in, i really wonder what will win. almost all of these albums are A's and are really, really great.
― Bee OK, Saturday, 2 June 2012 03:57 (eleven years ago) link
gotta be neil.
― one dis leads to another (ian), Saturday, 2 June 2012 04:03 (eleven years ago) link
first instinct is London Calling but I really fkn love Highway To Hell
Bon vs Joe FITE
sorry Joe. Bon it is.
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 2 June 2012 04:07 (eleven years ago) link
Ok I've been 4 hours stuck in the airport and my urge to make lists is overcoming. My top 10 of these albums just because. A really good year for music.
1. Gang of Four - Entertainment!2. Chic - Risqué3. Michael Jackson - Off the Wall4. The Cure - Three Imaginary Boys/Boys Don't Cry5. The Slits - Cut5. The Undertones - The Undertones6. The Clash - London Calling7. The Specials - Specials8. Motörhead - Overkill9. Wire - 15410. The Police - Reggatta de Blanc
From the ones that didn't make it I like these ones even better, Tusk would be my actual #1 for the year and possibly for the whole decade.
XTC -Drums and WiresFleetwood Mac - TuskDavid Bowie - Lodgerand Blondie - Eat to the Beat.
― Bee OK,
― Moka, Saturday, 2 June 2012 04:17 (eleven years ago) link
demographics here are weird. would like to know more about the sources aggregated.
― spextor vs bextor (contenderizer), Saturday, 2 June 2012 04:34 (eleven years ago) link
Statin the obvious since I think almost everyone in here agrees that Pink Floyd rules but I hate the Wall, at least music-wise. The movie and concept for the live experience are on another level.
Also maybe i like acdc better than the police.
― Moka, Saturday, 2 June 2012 04:37 (eleven years ago) link
can't believe 20 Jazz Funk Great didn't make the list
― van smack, Saturday, 2 June 2012 04:41 (eleven years ago) link
UNKNOWN PLEASURES. If it had been twenty years ago, it would've been ARMED FORCES.
/miserablist
― Matt M., Saturday, 2 June 2012 04:43 (eleven years ago) link
xp It's probably somewhere in the top 50. Same w/ Half Machine Lip Moves. One of my favourite albums of all time, The Fall's Dragnet, is missing too...
― thillrer (loves laboured breathing), Saturday, 2 June 2012 04:46 (eleven years ago) link
I think almost everyone in here agrees that Pink Floyd rules
How ILM has changed!
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Saturday, 2 June 2012 04:47 (eleven years ago) link
Not that album. Some great guitar work, but I can't listen to THE WALL anymore.
― Matt M., Saturday, 2 June 2012 04:51 (eleven years ago) link
RYM's '79 toplist, surprisingly similar:
1) Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures2) The Clash - London Calling3) Pink Floyd - The Wall4) Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps5) Talking Heads - Fear of Music6) Gang of Four - Entertainment!7) Neil Young - Live Rust8) Judas Priest - Unleashed in the East: Live in Japan9) Ramones - It's Alive10) Wire - 15411) UFO - Strangers in the Night12) Motörhead - Overkill13) AC/DC - Highway to Hell14) Public Image Ltd. - Metal Box15) Muddy Waters - Muddy "Mississippi" Waters Live16) Elvis Costello - Armed Forces17) The Specials - Specials18) The Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette19) Stiff Little Fingers - Inflammable Material20) Olivier Messiaen - Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Luben Yordanoff et al)21) The B-52's - The B-52's22) Thin Lizzy - Black Rose: A Rock Legend23) Michael Jackson - Off the Wall24) The Jam - Setting Sons25) XTC - Drums and Wires
― spextor vs bextor (contenderizer), Saturday, 2 June 2012 04:53 (eleven years ago) link
Whaaaat? ILM list has no tusk!? The wall in the top 3!? I demand a recount.
― Moka, Saturday, 2 June 2012 04:58 (eleven years ago) link
here are some of my favorite albums from 79
Heldon - Stand ByThrobbing Gristle - 20 Jazz Funk GreatsGunter Schickert - UberfalligEarthstar - French SkylineMotorhead - OverkillGang of Four - Entertainment!Wire - 154PiL - Metal BoxThis Heat - This HeatFleetwood Mac - TuskSteve Hillage - Rainbow Dome Musick
― van smack, Saturday, 2 June 2012 05:03 (eleven years ago) link
xp to contenderizer - Yeah, very strange that they should be so identical. There are a lot of really popular albums all the way up through the 200s and 300s if you look at the full RYM 1979 list.
205. Earth Wind and Fire - I Am209. Van Halen II231. Simple Minds - Real to Real Cacaphony243. Abba - Voulez-Vous263. E.L.O. - Discovery325. Get the Knack346. The Romantics - s/t356. Led Zeppelin - In Through the Out Door374. Adam and the Ants - Dirk Wears White Sox375. Prince - s/t
Etc., etc.
― timellison, Saturday, 2 June 2012 05:13 (eleven years ago) link
205. Earth Wind and Fire - I Am
Would've voted.
― Björk lied (Eric H.), Saturday, 2 June 2012 05:15 (eleven years ago) link
It's just odd, when we're talking about 400 albums, that things that seem a little niche to me like Stiff Little Fingers or Motorhead are top twenty-five on both.
― timellison, Saturday, 2 June 2012 05:20 (eleven years ago) link
dang, was gonna post something just like that list, tim. anyway, i agree. the nature of the commonality is odd: anglophilic, heavily privileging punk and post-punk over whatever else was going on at the time. this makes sense, as those were the freshest sounds of the moment, but there was a lot of other stuff going on. also from '79:
Donna Summer - Bad GirlsRickie Lee Jones - Rickie Lee JonesBee Gees - Spirits Having FlownSister Sledge - We Are FamilyJourney - EvolutionSugarhill Gang - Sugarhill GangArt Ensemble of Chicago - Nice GuysOrnette Coleman - Soapsuds SoapsudsBlack Uhuru - ShowcaseDevo - Duty Now for the Future
― spextor vs bextor (contenderizer), Saturday, 2 June 2012 06:12 (eleven years ago) link
I guess if Acclaimed Music uses RYM numbers in their calculations, that would make sense.
― timellison, Saturday, 2 June 2012 06:21 (eleven years ago) link
They don't.
― The Reverend, Saturday, 2 June 2012 06:40 (eleven years ago) link
lol no.
― wolf kabob (ENBB), Saturday, 2 June 2012 13:19 (eleven years ago) link
Wow, what a good year. Really puts recent years to shame, imo. I'm afraid I have to pass over some really great and classic albums that I love for either Metal Box or B-52's, which are two of my all-time favorites. God only knows which one will actually win out, though.
― Quiet Desperation, LLC (Deric W. Haircare), Saturday, 2 June 2012 14:00 (eleven years ago) link
RYM voters can be peculiar. The soundtrack for Empire Strikes Back is listed as the 8th best album of 1980, lol.
― musicfanatic, Saturday, 2 June 2012 14:01 (eleven years ago) link
And it's not like there was a dearth of musical choices here...
― musicfanatic, Saturday, 2 June 2012 14:03 (eleven years ago) link
Impossible choice. I've tried to pick one at least five times and just get hung up in "but...but..." Even if Tusk was on the list, I'd click it and then regret not clicking at least five others.
― Trey Imaginary Songz (WmC), Saturday, 2 June 2012 14:11 (eleven years ago) link
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Saturday, 2 June 2012 04:47 (9 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Yes, more American. Agree that "The Wall" is shit.
― Charles Kennedy Jumped Up, He Called 'Oh No'. (Tom D.), Saturday, 2 June 2012 14:25 (eleven years ago) link
I'm American. The Wall is (half) shit.
― musicfanatic, Saturday, 2 June 2012 14:30 (eleven years ago) link
The Wall has some decent disco-metal
― thillrer (loves laboured breathing), Saturday, 2 June 2012 14:34 (eleven years ago) link
I love love love Pink Floyd. Not so crazy about the band that wore the skin of Pink Floyd's corpse after Syd Barrett left.
― Quiet Desperation, LLC (Deric W. Haircare), Saturday, 2 June 2012 14:34 (eleven years ago) link
(But yeah, at the very least, 50% of it is like the worst prog ever)
xp yeah, um they had a good run up til at least Meddle
― thillrer (loves laboured breathing), Saturday, 2 June 2012 14:36 (eleven years ago) link
I haven't listened to The Wall in ages. If anything, I remember it as an AOR move more than anything else.
I don't understand "My My, Hey Hey"/"Hey Hey, My My". They'd make sense if he were singing about Sid Vicious. However, Johnny Rotten had clearly not 'burnt out'. In fact, he released a high-profile album in the same year, as shown on this list. If Neil was actually referring to PiL as burnout, however, then those are classic and I should probably vote for Rust Never Sleeps.
I'm wondering if I should actually vote for AC/DC. Hillage would easily take my vote if it were on the list.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Saturday, 2 June 2012 18:15 (eleven years ago) link
Oh, I guess 'Johnny Rotten' had died and been replaced by John Lydon? That makes a certain kind of sense, nm.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Saturday, 2 June 2012 18:18 (eleven years ago) link
the wall definitely has moments, but it's at least half turgid, ugly monstrosity. the first pink floyd album i can't honestly say i like (though i'm on the fence about animals, too). hell of a lot better than the final cut, though.
― spextor vs bextor (contenderizer), Saturday, 2 June 2012 18:31 (eleven years ago) link
Kind of surprised by this - don't even know any B52s outside of about three singles.
― You can do it Sun Myung Moon (NickB), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:37 (eleven years ago) link
Which three?
― freebroheem (loves laboured breathing), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:09 (eleven years ago) link
there's a huge gulf of public recognition between their three biggest hits and whatever their 4th biggest hit is, so it shouldn't be that hard to guess
― shipl.de.al (some dude), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:13 (eleven years ago) link
Lol right on
― freebroheem (loves laboured breathing), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:17 (eleven years ago) link
btw it makes me so happy that the album on this list that John Lennon was most excited about at the time was The B-52s
― shipl.de.al (some dude), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:19 (eleven years ago) link
Had no idea the B52's were that loved on ILM. They've never vibed that well with me. Is this album a good starting point?
― Moka, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:56 (eleven years ago) link
yes
― EZ Snappin, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:57 (eleven years ago) link
i haven't really heard much of them, but at SOM records last week they were playing some amazing record, and I asked what it was and it turned out to be their debut!
― Mad God 40/40 (Z S), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 18:04 (eleven years ago) link
Moka, check this out; a longtime holy grail for me, it recently popped up on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gobO7spdAfg
It's difficult for me to put into words how much I love them; five slackers from smalltown GA at the dawn of the new wave, pretty much inventing their own form of music.
― Soccer mom, hopeless and lost, in utter despair (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 18:09 (eleven years ago) link
That show is so good.
― EZ Snappin, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 18:12 (eleven years ago) link
Love Shack, Roam and Rock Lobster obv, but was googling their singles just now to see if I knew any others and their second biggest single in the UK turns out to be something I mercifully have zero recollection of - Meet The Flintstones, which got to #3.
― You can do it Sun Myung Moon (NickB), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 18:19 (eleven years ago) link
Nick, you should listen to the 1978 show above too, then!
― Soccer mom, hopeless and lost, in utter despair (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 18:24 (eleven years ago) link
They were young and on fire. Guitars on this are just cracking.
― Soccer mom, hopeless and lost, in utter despair (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 18:25 (eleven years ago) link
I loved "Rock Lobster" and "Private Idaho" when I first heard them but "52 Girls" is really the song that made me go "okay this band HAS IT"
― WHEY AHR MAH DREGUNS? (DJP), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 18:27 (eleven years ago) link
Dan, I will fire that thing up just as soon as I get a chance - thanks!
― You can do it Sun Myung Moon (NickB), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 18:29 (eleven years ago) link
Dan Peterson that is
oh shit I forgot about "6060-842"
― WHEY AHR MAH DREGUNS? (DJP), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 18:30 (eleven years ago) link
Your number's been disconnectedYour number's been disconnectedYour number's been disconnectedYour number's been disconnected
― EZ Snappin, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 18:32 (eleven years ago) link
Wow, "52 Girls"... I guess I need this record.
― jim, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 18:38 (eleven years ago) link
Another track which may convert the unconverted: the longer alternate mix of "Cake' from Mesopotamia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu1cgHWI6iM
― Soccer mom, hopeless and lost, in utter despair (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 18:39 (eleven years ago) link
Love how virtually overnight ILM has come to regard itself as an enclave of massive B-52's worship
― freebroheem (loves laboured breathing), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 21:36 (eleven years ago) link
Ten years ago, before my time here, the worshippers were outnumbering the naysayers by a pretty wide margin.
B-52s: Classic or Dud.
― Soccer mom, hopeless and lost, in utter despair (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 22:14 (eleven years ago) link
See, "Rock Lobster" on SNL was epic but "Love Shack" was a piece o' crap as far as I'm concerned.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 23:53 (eleven years ago) link
The phoenix-like rebirth of The B's after Ricky's death, and the massive mainstream success of the Cosmic Thing album, is heartwarming and wonderful to me. And I still love Love Shack.― Such A Hilbily (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 10 June 2009 20:20 (2 years ago) Permalink
― Such A Hilbily (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 10 June 2009 20:20 (2 years ago) Permalink
True for me two years ago, true today.
― Soccer mom, hopeless and lost, in utter despair (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 7 June 2012 00:42 (eleven years ago) link
Three years ago!
― Soccer mom, hopeless and lost, in utter despair (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 7 June 2012 00:43 (eleven years ago) link
Cosmic Thing is still one of my favourite 80s albums. Bouncing has a lot of gems as well.
― freebroheem (loves laboured breathing), Thursday, 7 June 2012 03:10 (eleven years ago) link
Cosmic Thing is fine (I loved it when I was in jr. high), but I love introducing people who are only really familiar with that later period to the early stuff. I rep hard for the first three albums + Mesopotamia (which is a close second to their debut in my esteem and one of the best EPs ever).
― Quiet Desperation, LLC (Deric W. Haircare), Thursday, 7 June 2012 04:08 (eleven years ago) link
Actually I'm willing to bet Mesopotamia is right up my alley.
― freebroheem (loves laboured breathing), Thursday, 7 June 2012 04:41 (eleven years ago) link
Didn't see this until just now. I'd probably have voted for Off the Wall, but The B-52s is a close second.
― Never translate Dutch (jaymc), Thursday, 7 June 2012 04:50 (eleven years ago) link
i have been a massive enclave of B-52's worship since fall quarter 1980
― spextor vs bextor (contenderizer), Thursday, 7 June 2012 06:48 (eleven years ago) link