My Top 50 Albums of 1981
Here's the Spotify playlist with a deep cut from each album:
1. Kix - Kix
2. Rick James - Street Songs
3. Phil Collins - Face Value
4. Luther Vandross - Never Too Much
5. Prince – Controversy
6. Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna
7. Rush - Moving Pictures
8. Daryl Hall & John Oates - Private Eyes
9. The Raincoats – Odyshape
10. Joan Jett - Bad Reputation
11. Rickie Lee Jones – Pirates
12. Squeeze - East Side Story
13. The Pretenders - The Pretenders II
14. Black Flag – Damaged
15. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Hard Promises
16. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Trust
17. Van Halen - Fair Warning
18. Billy Squier - Don't Say No
19. The Go-Go's - Beauty And The Beat
20. X - Wild Gift
21. The Human League – Dare
22. Genesis – Abacab
23. Oingo Boingo - Only A Lad
24. Journey – Escape
25. Siouxsie And The Banshees – Juju
26. The Police - Ghost In The Machine
27. Chaka Khan - What 'Cha Gonna Do For Me
28. Public Image Ltd. – The Flowers of Romance
29. The Slits – Return of the Giant Slits
30. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - I Love Rock 'n Roll
31. Olivia Newton-John – Physical
32. Men At Work – Business As Usual
33. Pat Benatar - Precious Time
34. Black Sabbath - Mob Rules
35. The Ramones - Pleasant Dreams
36. Penguin Café Orchestra – Penguin Café Orchestra
37. Judas Priest – Point Of Entry
38. Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club
39. Sparks – Whomp That Sucker
40. U2 - October
41. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Almost Blue
42. The Replacements - Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash
43. Blue Oyster Cult – Fire Of Unknown Origin
44. The Minutemen - The Punch Line
45. The Time - The Time
46. Electric Light Orchestra – Time
47. The Cure – Faith
48. Chic - Take It Off
49. The Cars - Shake It Up
50. Depeche Mode - Speak & Spell
2. Rick James - Street Songs
3. Phil Collins - Face Value
4. Luther Vandross - Never Too Much
5. Prince – Controversy
6. Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna
7. Rush - Moving Pictures
8. Daryl Hall & John Oates - Private Eyes
9. The Raincoats – Odyshape
10. Joan Jett - Bad Reputation
11. Rickie Lee Jones – Pirates
12. Squeeze - East Side Story
13. The Pretenders - The Pretenders II
14. Black Flag – Damaged
15. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Hard Promises
16. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Trust
17. Van Halen - Fair Warning
18. Billy Squier - Don't Say No
19. The Go-Go's - Beauty And The Beat
20. X - Wild Gift
21. The Human League – Dare
22. Genesis – Abacab
23. Oingo Boingo - Only A Lad
24. Journey – Escape
25. Siouxsie And The Banshees – Juju
26. The Police - Ghost In The Machine
27. Chaka Khan - What 'Cha Gonna Do For Me
28. Public Image Ltd. – The Flowers of Romance
29. The Slits – Return of the Giant Slits
30. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - I Love Rock 'n Roll
31. Olivia Newton-John – Physical
32. Men At Work – Business As Usual
33. Pat Benatar - Precious Time
34. Black Sabbath - Mob Rules
35. The Ramones - Pleasant Dreams
36. Penguin Café Orchestra – Penguin Café Orchestra
37. Judas Priest – Point Of Entry
38. Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club
39. Sparks – Whomp That Sucker
40. U2 - October
41. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Almost Blue
42. The Replacements - Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash
43. Blue Oyster Cult – Fire Of Unknown Origin
44. The Minutemen - The Punch Line
45. The Time - The Time
46. Electric Light Orchestra – Time
47. The Cure – Faith
48. Chic - Take It Off
49. The Cars - Shake It Up
50. Depeche Mode - Speak & Spell
It's become kind of a joke in the music press over the years to run trend pieces about "women in rock" or "the year of the woman," as if it's a story in and of itself that a group that constitutes half the population makes music. However, it does feel like 1981 was a remarkable moment in terms of women really elbowing their way into the spotlight, both in mainstream rock and in the punk/post-punk world, far more than before. Obviously The Go-Go's were the big story, the first all-female band playing their own instruments and writing their own songs going platinum and topping charts, but 1981 also saw debuts from Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett (sort of, her 1980 debut was re-released and renamed for a wider audience), and Tom Tom Club, and key early albums from The Raincoats, Rickie Lee Jones, The Pretenders, X, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Slits, and Pat Benatar. Most of those artists would continue to make great music for years to come, but '81 feels like a special moment when things started to open up and a lot of seeds were planted for future generations.
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