Top 20 Albums Of 1981 (Nos. 16-20)

For this week's Ranked!, we decided to compile our favorite albums from 1981. Did your favorite make the cut? Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!

Here are numbers 16-20:

20. Prince, Controversy

I had to listen to this album at a friend's house in secret because it was so shockingly dirty. And I loved it. This weirdly sexy guy with a freaky high voice was singing things like "Do Me Baby." Sexy, funky, and raw, this album was an eye opener for a young sheltered suburban girl.--Archphoenix

Top 30 Van Halen Songs (Nos. 26-30)

For this week's Ranked!, we decided to rank our favorite Van Halen tunes. After nearly coming to blows debating Sammy Hagar vs. Diamond Dave, we came up with our thirty favorite Van Halen songs. Is your favorite our #1? Find out below!

Here are numbers 26-30:

30. "Could This Be Magic?"

Top 20 Movies Of 1980 (Nos. 16-20)

For this week's Ranked!, we compiled the twenty greatest movies from 1980. Tell us what you think when you get down to #1. And let us know if you would've ordered them differently.

Here are numbers 16-20:

20. Ordinary People

For years I equated Mary Tyler Moore with city girl goodness. Every time I walked through a metropolitan area, I was gripped with the urge to toss my whimsical hat into the air while a smooth-voiced '70s guy sang "you're gonna make it after all." Well, that dream was crushed under the heavy boot of her cold and bitter portrayal of Beth Jarrett, a mother trying to negotiate the horrifying aftermath of a favored son's accidental death in Ordinary People. To be fair, the character is highly unlikable: a woman half-trying to help and understand the suicide attempt of the surviving son Conrad (played by Timothy Hutton) and not at all committed to holding her fraying family together like her far more likable husband Calvin (an awesome Donald Sutherland). This was the first character-driven drama that I remember being good enough to hold my still gnat-like attention span. Some surprising moments punctuated my viewing and I came away with an uncertain feelings. Were there families like this? Did people act like they didn't care about their kids? For a sheltered child who'd grown up in the embrace of a warm but crazy family this, movie was an eye opener to the real world where things didn't always turn out okay. Incidentally I'm still on the lookout for a therapist as good as Judd Hirsch's Dr. Tyrone Berger.--Dufmanno

Top 25 Albums Of 1980 (Nos. 21-25)

For this week's Ranked!, we compiled the twenty-five greatest albums from 1980. Tell us what you think of our list when you get down to #1. And let us know if you would've ordered them differently.

Here are Numbers 21-25:

25. INXS, INXS

Truth be told, I came to like this album long after its release in 1980. There was some grumbling after the huge successes of Shabooh Shoobah, Listen Like Thieves, Kick, and X that their first record had just been exploration for feeling out what their sound might be, but I tend to disagree. I think it was raw but powerful in its own right with songs like "Just Keep Walking" and lots of foreshadowing of what makes INXS as foot tapping good as they are. I never bought another INXS release after Hutchence's untimely death but when I go back and listen to this early effort, it makes me smile with the knowledge that he had so much to give to a band that clearly made their own rules and rose to the top.--Dufmanno

Top 25 Albums Of 1987 (Nos. 21-25)

A few weeks back, a Brat bravely postulated that 1987 was the greatest year in the history of music. After the laughter died down, we took a closer look at the albums released twenty-five years ago and you know what?

He may very be correct.

See if he's correct. We compiled the twenty-five greatest albums from twenty-five years ago, 1987. Tell us what you think when you get down to #1. And let us know if you would've ordered them differently.

Here are Numbers 21-25:

25. 10,000 Maniacs, In My Tribe

I was too busy chasing the David Lee Roth/Poison tour to notice In My Tribe when it came out. My freshman roommate in college introduced me to it as an alternative to his endless supply of Grateful Dead bootlegs. But though I initially resisted its lack of electrical bombast, I found myself years later coming back to it time and again. Nathalie Merchant has a transcendent voice, not so much in her range or clarity, but in the way it evokes an emotion both celestial and earthly. If In My Tribe didn't create the Bohemian folk-pop strain of college music, it certainly solidified and popularized it, and to this day remains the high water mark of every Birkenstock wearer's record collection.--CroutonBoy

Top 20 Bon Jovi Songs (Nos. 16-20)

Jon Bon Jovi turned 50 (F-I-F-T-Y!) on March 2nd. To help him celebrate, we decided to rank our favorite songs from his solo career and with Bon Jovi.

Here are numbers 16-20:

20. "Lay Your Hands On Me"

Top 24 Secondary Simpsons Characters

Since the show just reached its 500th episode, we felt it was time for us to take a look at The Simpsons here at Culture Brats. So for this week's Ranked!, we decided to rank our two dozen favorite Simpsons secondary characters (in other words -- characters you don't see in the image on the right).

Enjoy!

24. Principal Seymour Skinner
23. Barney Gumble
22. Dr. Nick Riviera
21. Disco Stu
20. Patty And Selma
19. Itchy & Scratchy
18. Nelson
17. Duffman
16. Lionel Hutz
15. Edna Krabappel
14. Milhouse
13. Otto
12. Chief Clancy Wiggum
11. Moe Szyslak
10. Troy McLure
9. Apu
8. Groundskeeper Willie
7. Waylon Smithers
6. Comic Book Guy

Top 20 Pixies Songs (Nos. 16-20)

For this week's Ranked!, we decided to rank our favorite Pixies songs. Here are Nos. 16-20:

20. "Velouria"

Top 25 Songs About Sports (Nos. 21-25)

Here we are at the most agonizing period in sports: that two-week chasm between the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl. Like the Pro Bowl's going to keep you company? Please.

So we decided to rank our 25 favorite songs about sports. Did yours make the cut?

Here are numbers 21-25:

25. Chicago Bears, "The Super Bowl Shuffle"

Top 21 Kevin Bacon Roles

For our first Ranked! of 2012, we decided to take a look at the film career of Kevin Bacon. Here are our twenty-one favorite Kevin Bacon roles:

21. The River Wild, Wade

20. JFK, Willie O'Keefe

19. He Said, She Said, Dan Hanson

18. Hollow Man, Sebastian Caine

17. Super, Jacques

16. Murder In The First, Henri Young

15. X-Men First Class, Sebastian Shaw

14. The Woodsman, Walter

13. The Big Picture, Nick Chapman

12. Diner, Timothy Fenwick Jr.

11. Animal House, Chip Diller

10. Sleepers, Sean Nokes

9. Stir Of Echoes, Tom Witzky

8. Mystic River, Sean Devine

7. Flatliners, David Labraccio

6. Apollo 13, Jack Swigert