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