Best Album on My Favourite Albums of......1989!!

Honourable mentions:

Bob Dylan – Oh Mercy
Mudhoney – s/t

man...what a difference between this and '88. feels like the 90's start in earnest here. I voted Beasties but could've tossed it to De La Soul, Stone Roses, or New Order

Happy to see the Frogs and I like a bunch of albums on here, but this is my short list:

Beastie Boys – Pauls Boutique
De La Soul – Three Feet High and Rising
Galaxie 500 – On Fire
Pussy Galore – Dial M for Motherfucker
The Stone Roses – s/t

Previously I would went for "Technique" (which will surely win) but "New York" has grown on me considerably over the years

Hats is gonna walk this…

Good year for metal. Yet we're missing (among others):

Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos
Carcass - Symphonies of Sickness
Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness
Pestilence - Consuming Impulse
Sepultura - Beneath the Remains
Terrorizer - World Downfall
Voivod - Nothingface

tough to choose but i went with the young gods

Like a Prayer

Doolittle is my favourite Pixies album
Disintegration is my favourite Cure album
Playing with Fire is my favourite Spacemen 3 album
Hats is my favourite Blue Nile album.

Sheesh. Also, 1989 gifted us Fushitsusha's insane live debut album. Tough one, this.

this is really hard, lots of great albums

went with first impulse of Paul's Boutique

Tiiiiiinnnnnn ROOF! VOTED!

IVE GOT ME A CAR ITS AS BIG AS A WHALE!

12 year old me in '89 was surprised to find that out The B-52s had been knocking about for ages at that point

went with first impulse of Paul's Boutique

I was about to too, then saw NIN. Listened to that (via cd!) for 1st time in long time recently and it's still great.

for me, it's blue nile vs de la soul, the strangest deathmatch in music history.

My senior year of high school, so many of these albums are formative for me.
Stone Roses vs NIN vs De La Soul

I wore the shit out of my NIN t-shirt that year. Plus finally made the move from to CD's in 1989 because I couldn't get all the NIN remixes on cassingle. So I think I've gotta go with Pretty Hate Machine.

at first i was like STREETCLEANER

then i saw hats

No Peter Gabriel’s Passion?

In that case, I choose Kate and my fav album by her.

I may be the sole Blue Nile appreciator to far prefer Peace At Lats to the rest of their work.

*posts all the lyrics to The Duck And Roger The Horse to the thread, storms out in a huff*

hah yeah that would've gotten my vote too

Omni Sight Seeing by Hauromi Hosono is another one I would've instantly mashed the 'vote' button for

but there are a ton of good choices on this poll anyway

Mike you did a fucking amazing job on these polls. I imagine I'll be coming back to these threads for years

Inner City – Paradise (US: Big Fun)

love that this was included, hope it gets votes

Thanks, DAM! Much appreciated :)

Oh yeah, Beauty by Hosono’s bandmate too!

It was a quality harvest year for sure.

Forgot about the Hosono one while listening to it earlier today lol. Frogbs otm about how 90s this year feels.

Have you heard that Virgo Four album, Brad? I reckon you'd love it. Deep dreamy house

just wait for the 1990 poll

Have you heard that Virgo Four album, Brad? I reckon you'd love it. Deep dreamy house

― . (Michael B), Friday, June 14, 2019 11:09 AM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yes, another one of my favorite albums of all time!

pretty great year but it's blue nile for me

I'd take Technique over any other sound recording in the history of the universe. I'd never argue it's the best album in the world, but it's my favorite.

Rhythm Nation

Ha - I wonder if there are any figures on just how many people bought Tweez in 1989.

Reich

19 or 20 albums on this list that I love.

I'd take Technique over any other sound recording in the history of the universe. I'd never argue it's the best album in the world, but it's my favorite.

Same. But then, On Fire, Doolittle, 3 Feet High and Rising, Paul's Boutique, Cosmic Thing, Disintegration, Raw Like Sushi and the Stone Roses debut are also The Best. I'd add Kitchens of Distinction's Love is Hell. And yes, Inner City, PWEI, Tom Petty... Oh, and 90 by 808 State. My absolute favourite albums of 1987 and 1988 wouldn't even crack the 1989 top 10.

But yes, Technique.

Also Julee Cruise. And Mindbomb by The The. Foundation by Ten City. Done by the Forces of Nature by Jungle Brothers. Not complaining about the selection, just gushing over the riches.

Oh yes, Foundation! Let me play that one right now!

Disintegration over Freedom over Technique over New York over Hats.

I'm not the biggest Cure fan but that album really is astonishing.

also, wouldn't have voted for it if it was on the list, but shout out to Tears For Fears' The Seeds Of Love

A strong set, but heavy on the commercial stuff. Voted 3 Ft. High, tho.

This was a surprisingly difficult one to vote for. I had to wrestle with a good five or six options before I opted for the album I voted for. I'll reveal it once the results are in.

i'm a predictable bore, so disintegration.

but ya: this was hard. tomorrow i'd probably vote technique or hats or cosmic thing. what a great year.

is this the first year of CD bloat? I adore Oranges & Lemons but it's lesser tracks weigh it down 30 years later.
Workbook, Doolitle, Paul's Boutique, On Fire, Technique all in the running for me.

i'm a predictable bore, so disintegration.

but ya: this was hard. tomorrow i'd probably vote technique or hats or cosmic thing. what a great year.

― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin),

You've mentioned the four albums that were the big contenders for me. I went with Hats.

Can't say I worship any of these albums tbh. I've listened to Doolittle the most, so I might go with that (but I prefer Surfer Rosa).

I could have written that sentence myself.

The Poppies are on patrol...

It's weird how Paul's Boutique seemed like a lesser, too late cousin of 3 Feet High and Rising when it came out, but gradually eclipsed it, as did De La Soul is Dead. Summer of 1989, 3 Feet was the most charming thing I'd ever heard in my life.

From New York to Los Angeles
One of the fastest trains

On Fire
Playing with Fire
L'Eau Rouge
Streetcleaner
Haus der Lüge
Disintegration

Are all classics.

nothing is better than Paul's Boutique

that is what I'm voting for

I've heard parts of the massive box set "Cecil Taylor in Berlin '88" released in 1989 and it is incredible I think, never owned a physical copy

technique vs hats is impossible

The Cecil set in box form sold out quickly, and is ludicrously expensive today if you can find it. However, all the discs on it were issued individually. There's nary a dud among them, with the possible exception of the trio with Evan Parker and Tristan Honsinger. And one of the discs -- the 2CD orchestra work Alms/Tiergarten (Spree) -- was called "the best thing Cecil's ever done" by Bill Dixon (who should know).

I haven't heard Alms/Tiergarten (Spree), I will look for it

i've been too busy to keep following these threads but has nobody really mentioned "no one can do it better" by the d.o.c.???

Oh yeah that album kicks ass. Also love The Cactus Album by 3rd Bass

I haven't heard that in 30 years, remember liking it

Sorry but gonna have to sit this one out...I think this is the worst year of the 80’s...

See, I can't figure this out because I really, really struggled to find more than one album I wanted to vote for in the 1988 list, but really had to think hard about what I wanted to vote for in THIS list. There were easily six albums in contention for my vote here and it took me a really long time to figure out which one I wanted to opt for.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Disintegration

When I was young, would've been 'Disentigration' hands-down. But since I first heard it in my 20s, 'Hats' supplanted it as the album that defines '89 for me. Though '3 Ft High...' held sway for a while, too.

Inner City – Paradise (US: Big Fun)

love that this was included, hope it gets votes

btw, I have these threads to thank for checking out a lot of old favourites (and even finding a few new ones), much
more than I normally would, and I’m enjoying it. So thank you, compilers and contributors.

in 89 I definitely would have picked “A Mind is a Terrible Thing...”, just a hair over Pretty Hate Machine, The Real Thing, Paul’s Boutique, and Doolittle.

Doolittle has aged the best and I still listen to it all the time, so I picked that one. I can’t wait to listen to all of these and 90% of the suggestions by posters on this thread. To me, I’m sure partially it’s the age I was at the time, but ‘88-‘92 were some magical years for music.

Mekons Rock n Roll is my fave from that year. Of the ones listed, I’ll vote for Freedom, the start of a nice run for Neil Young.

How/When exactly did Hats get this status of Totally Perfect Canonical Rock Classic That Stands the Test of Time? I don’t recall seeing it on these best-of lists until very recently.

Boredoms for me. I didn’t hear it until ‘93 but it still sounded like the future.

Mr Snrub, when the tastemakers started to get into their thirties?

I had never heard of Hats until a couple years ago, on this site, and have never seen anything about it anywhere else. never heard a note either.

same

young people like sophistipop.

seen it mentioned in a few places recently (quietus, pitchfork, etc.), but i imagine it's because of relentless championing from people on boards like this one

I remember reading a "classic albums revisited" piece about 'Hats' in Uncut magazine in the early 00's

I initially preferred 'A Walk Across the Rooftops'(and heard it first, probably just as a post-punk/new-wave album in my early 20s obsession in the early 2000s) and 'Hats' didn't as immediately click. But when it did a few years later, it just perfectly embodied a sound and a feeling I really love and am constantly seeking more of and making mixes from the searching.

Maybe it's a regional thing. It feels like Hats has been adored in certain circles for a full three decades. Even when it was released I got the impression there was a substantial audience waiting for the long-awaited follow-up to the debut. (I had no firm opinion on the matter. I was a child and it all sounded terribly adult. LOL)

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

aw, didn't vote but could have thrown tom petty something in retrospect. 'i won't back down' and 'don't do me like that' were important songs from my childhood

some seem to forget that i did this seven years back, so to compare to that poll:

Acclaimed Music Top 25 Albums from 1989 poll

Pixies - Doolittle 18
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique 9
De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising 8
New Order - Technique 8
The Cure - Disintegration 5
Galaxie 500 - On Fire 5
The Blue Nile - Hats 4
Aerosmith - Pump 3
Spacemen 3 - Playing with Fire 3
Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever 3
Madonna - Like a Prayer 3
Soul II Soul - Club Classics Vol. One/Keep On Movin' 2
Nirvana - Bleach 2
The Neville Brothers - Yellow Moon 2
Bob Dylan - Oh Mercy 1
Jungle Brothers - Done by the Forces of Nature 1
The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses 1
Neil Young - Freedom 1
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine 1
Fugazi - 13 Songs (Fugazi EP + Margin Walker EP) 1
Bonnie Raitt - Nick of Time 0
Faith No More - The Real Thing 0
Mano Negra - Puta's Fever 0
808 State - 90 0
Lou Reed - New York 0

xp "Don't Do Me Like That" is from 1979

eh whatever, we had a double cassette with another album on it

looking it up, full moon fever was a solid album! i remember most of it fondly

Wow, I'm one of just TWO people to vote for Bleach! I'm... stunned.

i knew hats wouldn't win

Godflesh – Streetcleaner 0

noooooooooooooooooooooooooo

if all of these have been 50 choices I wonder which year had the least "zero" votes?

It's Friday afternoon so I had the time and inclination to collect some data. 80s only:

YEAR - NUMBER OF ZERO VOTES - NUMBER OF VOTES FOR #1 - TOTAL NUMBER OF VOTES
1980 - 13 - 28 - 137
1981 - 15 -12 - 115
1982 - 13 - 13 - 129
1983 - 13 - 26 - 125
1984 - 14 - 16 - 121
1985 - 16 - 18 - 131
1986 - 9 -15 - 144
1987 - 9 -20 - 127
1988 - 16 - 20 - 127
1989 - 17 -17 - 128

the 1990 poll will start next week. Mike and I have our 50 (subject to late changes)

I feel very confident in predicting that my favourite record of 1990 will not be among the 50 this time, but I'll happily vote for one of my other three faves.

For data lovers: years ranked by the % of zero vote albums:

1. 1989 (34%)
2. 1985, 1988
4. 1981
5. 1984
6. 1980, 1982, 1983
9. 1986, 1987 (18%)

years ranked by the % of votes that went to the winner:
1. 1983 (22%)
2. 1980
3. 1987
4. 1988
5. 1985
6. 1989
7. 1984
8. 1981
9. 1986
10. 1982 (10%)

There is no correlation, either positive or negative between the two measures (p=.95)

what is your fave 1990 record?

this one i reckon

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d3/Please_Hammer_Don%27t_Hurt_%27Em.jpg/220px-Please_Hammer_Don%27t_Hurt_%27Em.jpg

going to futilely militate for the legendary pink dots

Might actually just start the poll today but end it the middle of the week after if its ok with mike

thats fine by me

you got a list of the just bubbling under albums that missed out? I forgot to take a note.

add LJ's suggestion to it

i dont. im at work lol

oh well you can post it later

Best Album on OUR Favourite Albums of......1990!! by pfunkboy & Michael B

My fave was Freedy Johnston’s The Trouble Tree. Quite OK to have missed it out. Sinéad on the other hand...

shakey come on man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jggxmc9yMwA