While the music (and visuals of the music) from the 1980s have both their hardcore proponents and dismissive detractors, there’s one idea that both camps can probably agree upon: It was the most musically diverse decade yet.
Pop, Rock, Rap, Hip-Hop, R&B, Country, College, Indie, Metal, Jazz, World Music—it was all on the charts and all moved units unlike anything seen before, making for plenty of happy record company execs.
Throw in the rise of the compact disc, a 24-hour marketing channel called MTV, home cassette taping/sharing, and all those Sony Walkman (and their ilk) of portable tape recorders, music was seemingly never more prevalent, powerful, and pervasive than during the “Decade of Decadence.’
Longtime music journo Gary Graff has gathered nearly two dozen contributors and distilled the thousands of albums released during those years to what they consider the cream of the crop in the handsomely put together 501 Essential Albums of the ‘80s: The Music Fan’s Definitive Guide (448 pp., $40, Quarto).
Divided chronologically by years, both the bite-sized and longer write-ups showcase the album’s cover, a bit about its recording, reception, and performer history, specific tracks, and perhaps even a quote or two from the artist.
Sure, the titans of the decade are all there: Michael, Prince, Bruce, Cyndi and Madonna. The Police and Duran Duran. Van Halen, Guns ‘n’ Roses and Def Leppard. Run DMC, LL Cool J, and New Edition. R.E.M., U2, and the Cure. Reba, Garth, and Dwight.
But Graff and his crew go deeper (in some cases, way deeper), with nods of essentialness to releases by artists like Fugazi, Killing Joke, John Hiatt, James Blood Ulmer, the db’s, Branford Marsalis, Cocteau Twins, the Winans and even George Jones.
And the diversity is no better represented than on one spread from 1983: On the left page is thrash metal titans Metallica’s first wide release, the punishing Kill ‘Em All. On the right, the easygoing, friendship-filled collaboration between Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, Pancho and Lefty.
Most readers will likely flip through and focus (at least initially) on the artists and albums they already know. But the pleasure of 501 Essential Albums is checking out the entries in those same two categories you’ve never even heard and/or heard of before.
And thanks to today’s video and audio streaming services, listening to those albums is only an app button push away on your phone. No need any more for that imprecise science of rewinding and fast forwarding on that Walkman.
