My Top 50 Albums of 1984
Here's the Spotify playlist:
1. The Minutemen -
Double Nickels On The Dime
2. The Replacements - Let It Be
3. Prince - Purple Rain
4. Van Halen - 1984
5. The Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets II
6. REM - Reckoning
7. Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A.
8. The Pretenders - Learning To Crawl
9. Madonna - Like A Virgin
10. Metallica - Ride The Lightening
11. Sade - Diamond Life
12. The dB’s – Like This
13. The Young Fresh Fellows – The Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest
14. U2 - The Unforgettable Fire
15. The Cure - The Top
16. Run-DMC – Run-DMC
17. Whodini – Escape
18. John Prine - Aimless Love
19. The Bangles - All Over The Place
20. Queen - The Works
21. Bryan Adams – Reckless
22. Tina Turner - Private Dancer
23. Chaka Khan - I Feel For You
24. Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith
25. Sheila E. – The Glamorous Life
26. Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward
27. Talk Talk - It's My Life
28. The Smiths - The Smiths
29. INXS - The Swing
30. XTC - The Big Express
31. Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
32. Wham! - Make It Big
33. The Time - Ice Cream Castle
34. Husker Du - Zen Arcade
35. Violent Femmes - Hallowed Ground
36. The Cars - Heartbeat City
37. Rush - Grace Under Pressure
38. "Weird Al" Yankovic - "Weird Al" Yankovic In 3-D
39. The Go-Go's - Talk Show
40. New Edition - New Edition
41. Sonic Youth - Sonic Death
42. Daryl Hall & John Oates - Big Bam Boom
43. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
44. Pat Benatar – Tropico
45. Janet Jackson - Dream Street
46. The Minutemen - The Politics Of Time
47. Black Flag - My War
48. Difford & Tilbrook - Difford & Tilbrook
49. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Red Hot Chili Peppers
50. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Goodbye Cruel World
2. The Replacements - Let It Be
3. Prince - Purple Rain
4. Van Halen - 1984
5. The Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets II
6. REM - Reckoning
7. Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A.
8. The Pretenders - Learning To Crawl
9. Madonna - Like A Virgin
10. Metallica - Ride The Lightening
11. Sade - Diamond Life
12. The dB’s – Like This
13. The Young Fresh Fellows – The Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest
14. U2 - The Unforgettable Fire
15. The Cure - The Top
16. Run-DMC – Run-DMC
17. Whodini – Escape
18. John Prine - Aimless Love
19. The Bangles - All Over The Place
20. Queen - The Works
21. Bryan Adams – Reckless
22. Tina Turner - Private Dancer
23. Chaka Khan - I Feel For You
24. Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith
25. Sheila E. – The Glamorous Life
26. Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward
27. Talk Talk - It's My Life
28. The Smiths - The Smiths
29. INXS - The Swing
30. XTC - The Big Express
31. Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
32. Wham! - Make It Big
33. The Time - Ice Cream Castle
34. Husker Du - Zen Arcade
35. Violent Femmes - Hallowed Ground
36. The Cars - Heartbeat City
37. Rush - Grace Under Pressure
38. "Weird Al" Yankovic - "Weird Al" Yankovic In 3-D
39. The Go-Go's - Talk Show
40. New Edition - New Edition
41. Sonic Youth - Sonic Death
42. Daryl Hall & John Oates - Big Bam Boom
43. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
44. Pat Benatar – Tropico
45. Janet Jackson - Dream Street
46. The Minutemen - The Politics Of Time
47. Black Flag - My War
48. Difford & Tilbrook - Difford & Tilbrook
49. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Red Hot Chili Peppers
50. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Goodbye Cruel World
1984's lasting legacy may be as the year that Minneapolis officially became one of the most exciting places in the world for music fans, thanks to the #2, #3, #33, and #34 albums. But it's just a really cool year in so many respects, so many different strains of alternative rock and metal and pop and R&B reaching maturity around the same time, along with some of the first significant hip hop albums.
Previously: