Top 20 Albums Of 1988 (Nos. 11-15)

For this week's Ranked!, we compiled our twenty favorite albums released in 1988. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!

Here are numbers 11-15:

15. DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince, He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper

Let me just state this for the record: I love Will Smith. No matter what I hear, good or bad, he will always hold a special place in my heart, and about 90% of the reason for that is The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. (The remaining 10% is split amongst his album Big Willie Style, Independence Day, and MIB.)

All that being said, even though there was a 1987 debut, this is what I believe gave the true start to this duo. If "Parents Just Don't Understand" hadn't hit, life never would have worked out the way it has. This won the first ever Grammy for Best Rap Performance, and if you don't know every single word of at least the "Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air" theme song, get out. Seriously, these are two guys who had a lot of fun and brought the party every time.--J-Hawke

Top 20 Albums Of 1988 (Nos. 16-20)

For this week's Ranked!, we compiled our twenty favorite albums released in 1988. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!

Here are numbers 16-20:

20. Cinderella, Long Cold Winter

Cinderella weren't like the other hair bands. Don't get me wrong: they were as glam as everyone else. But Long Cold Winter had more of a bluesy feel than, say, a Look What The Cat Dragged In or a Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich. But it still rocked, due in large part to Tom Keifer's gravelly vocals. The album boasted tracks like "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" and "Coming Home," both of which should've been featured in Rock Of Ages; near-hit "The Last Mile;" the upbeat "Gypsy Road;" and my favorite song on the album, "Bad Seamstress Blues/Fallin' Apart At The Seams."--Chris

Top 20 Albums Of 1986 (Nos. 1-5)

For this week's Ranked!, we compiled our twenty favorite albums released in 1986. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!

Here are numbers 1-5:

5. Genesis, Invisible Touch

If there was any doubt that Genesis had shed its progressive roots and become purely a hit machine, the proof was Invisible Touch. Phil Collins, playing the role of Phil Collins, took his old bandmates to the top of the charts with some of their best hooks and silliest lyrics. There's certainly some cheesiness to this album (just look up the lyrics to "In Too Deep" for a sample) but it's so sleek, with all its rough edges buffed off in the studio, that it exudes a certain crafted exuberance that makes Patrick Bateman's defense of it in American Psycho seem completely legit. It's very much of its era, but how can you not bounce back and forth to "Invisible Touch" or imagine yourself cruising down an open highway at night to "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight." Especially if Don Johnson in a pastel suit is sitting with you in the passenger seat.--CroutonBoy

Top 20 Albums Of 1986 (Nos. 6-10)

For this week's Ranked!, we compiled our twenty favorite albums released in 1986. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!

Here are numbers 6-10:

10. Various Artists, Top Gun Soundtrack

About a million years ago I used to work for Borders Books. I was the supervisor that came in at 5:00 AM with the inventory team and helped get the new books out onto the sales floor. We had total control of the store's overhead music system. We could open any CD in the store and play it; we could also bring in our own albums to listen to. One of my colleagues was in her 40s and was really into Rammstein. Now, I like Rammstein as much as the next girl, but "Du Hast" at 5:00 AM before you've had breakfast is incredibly painful and it kind of makes you want to torture kittens. I'm pretty sure they play Rammstein at Gitmo.

So we started trying to find good music to get us going, music that wouldn't want us to go all kinds of crazy. One morning someone decided it would be '80s Day and kicked the day off with the Top Gun soundtrack. This was a team full of music snobs, who bickered every morning about so-and-so's crappy taste in music. But this day? This day we all agreed that the Top Gun soundtrack is epic and awesome and a great way to start your day. When the rest of the team rolled in at 9:00 AM, we were all fist pumping and singing and happy campers. That's the power of the Top Gun soundtrack, friends.

Incidentally, I asked a friend of mine, who's a total Top Gun fanatic, for some reasons why this album rules. Here's what he had to say: "It's got his Logginness, Eddie Van Halen, Cheap Trick, the make out song of 1986, and oozes freedom and sexuality. If someone calls me up and the anthem is playing, I know it's time to flight suit up. We could end the war on terror by playing the soundtrack on loop and broadcasting it to our enemies. They can't defeat awesome. When the zeds come, their defeat will be to the sound of this soundtrack. It's probably been the winning soundtrack at the air guitar world championships. Waldo is hiding because he heard the soundtrack and he's a freedom-hating hippie. To get the iconic carrier shot that leads into danger zone, the director wrote a check to cover the cost of fuel to turn it. How many civilians have told the navy what to do with their carriers? One, for Top Gun's soundtrack. "Danger Zone' is practically cannon at every sporting event. And in America, sports are religion. Ergo, "Danger Zone" is our "Ave Maria." So there you have it: Top Gun, best soundtrack ever.--Archphoenix

Top 20 Albums Of 1986 (Nos. 11-15)

For this week's Ranked!, we compiled our twenty favorite albums released in 1986. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!

Here are numbers 11-15:

15. The Bangles, Different Light

In the '80s, I was a singles kind of guy--not as in "bar" but as in "45s" (if any of you youngsters out there are still familiar with those). As such, I never actually owned Different Light, just two of the singles from the record: "Manic Monday" and "Walk Like An Egyptian." When it comes to girl groups of the '80s, I'll always be more of a Go-Go's fan than a Bangles fan--loved those two songs, though--and still do today. But if I owned a Bangles album, this would be my favorite one.--Dave

Top 20 Albums Of 1986 (Nos. 16-20)

For this week's Ranked!, we compiled our twenty favorite albums released in 1986. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!

Here are numbers 16-20:

20. Depeche Mode, Black Celebration

It's 1986 and I'm 15. Which is reason enough for how I listened to this album over and over again. I had been introduced to Depeche Mode with Some Great Reward and I went right out and bought their follow up, Black Celebration. Super moody and full of concepts (like sexuality and (shocker) death) that felt new and subversive to a 15-year-old who couldn't yet drive, Black Celebration was one of the first full-length vinyl albums I owned. And I hearted it hard sitting in my room heavy with the scent of lit candles and melodrama. To be honest, I still like "Question Of Lust," "Stripped," and "Question of Time," all classic Depeche Mode. There is angst, there are synthesizers flying. In retrospect, I can't say it was the best Depeche Mode album over their career. I think both Some Great Reward and Music For The Masses were stronger, but I'm still fond of it and the time it represents. --The Weirdgirl

Top 20 Albums Of 1985 (Nos. 1-5)

For this week's Ranked!, we compiled our twenty favorite albums released in 1985. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!

Here are numbers 1-5:

5. R.E.M., Fables Of The Reconstruction

It's hard to figure out how a town as small as Athens, Georgia gave birth to so many wonderful musicians, quality albums, and classic stories. Granted, very few rose to the lofty heights attained by the illustrious R.E.M., but if I'd only known one thousandth of what I know now, I would have stuck around the area to watch it all unfold in person instead of packing my bags. In 1985, however, I was still a plucky, metal-mouthed high school sophomore with great musical taste and a brand new Walkman. I'd purchased all of R.E.M.'s releases up to that point and was prepared to be wowed by my new Fables Of The Reconstruction cassette as I slipped it gingerly into the waiting tape deck. Much to my horror, I found the entire second side played in reverse and was completely unlistenable. Not sure if it was some sort of artistic joke that I wasn't getting or just a manufacturing defect, I sprang up and demanded to be brought back to the mall record store where I'd made my purchase. After making mince meat of my sales associate, I returned home with a proper album and the listening commenced. We'd spend endless hours arguing if the official title of the album was Reconstruction Of The Fables or Fables Of The Reconstruction (A and B sides made it a hotly debated topic) and while it contained the insanely popular hits "Driver 8" and "Can't Get There From Here," there were endless favorites like "Green Grow The Rushes" and "Auctioneer" that we memorized and sang with wild abandon.

This was the album that made you want to take a drive straight down into the heart of Athens and see what inspired such sultry southern jangly goodness. Thankfully, some of us did just that.--Dufmanno

Top 20 Albums Of 1985 (Nos. 6-10)

For this week's Ranked!, we compiled our twenty favorite albums released in 1985. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!

Here are numbers 6-10:

10. Various Artists, The Breakfast Club Soundtrack

Easily the pinnacle of the Brat Pack movie craze, The Breakfast Club was one of many movies in the '80s whose soundtracks are like a time capsule of the pop music world at the time of their release. Although the track listing on this soundtrack isn't chock-full of singles like Footloose or Dirty Dancing, there's probably not a single song that evokes a movie more vividly than Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)." Just looking at the track list, you might not recognize the other songs by title--but if you give it a listen, you'll recognize most of them. Definitely a must-have soundtrack for your '80s movie music collection.--Dave

Top 20 Albums Of 1985 (Nos. 11-15)

For this week's Ranked!, we compiled our twenty favorite albums released in 1985. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!

Here are numbers 11-15:

15. Camper Van Beethoven, Telephone Free Landslide Victory

I have been a major admirer of David Lowery for quite some time now. I have seen him play live countless times. With Camper Van Beethoven. With Cracker. Acoustic. You name it.

This is Camper Van Beethoven's debut disc and contains such classics as "The Day That Lassie Went To The Moon," "Ambiguity Song," and "Take The Skinheads Bowling."--Chris

Top 20 Albums Of 1985 (Nos. 16-20)

For this week's Ranked!, we compiled our twenty favorite albums released in 1985. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!

Here are numbers 16-20:

20. John Cougar Mellencamp, Scarecrow

Scarecrow is the album that cemented Mellencamp as the Voice of Middle America. Every song feels like it's written for the kids in Footloose or Dazed & Confused, with a strident, rebellious voice that wears its love for small towns, fast cars, and kissing under the bleachers like a superhero's cape. It's also Mellencamp's strongest batch of songs overall, with highlights like "Lonely Ol' Night" and "Small Town" punctuated by minor but equally brilliant tunes like "Rumbleseat" and "Justic & Independence '85." You could easily see these songs playing at a political rally, a state fair, or out of the tinny speakers in a '69 Buick Skylark. Tremendous fun.--CroutonBoy