Top 20 Albums Of 1989 (Nos. 1-5)

For this week's Ranked!, we completed our look back at the '80s with our our twenty favorite albums released in 1989. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!

Here are numbers 1-5:

5. Motley Crue, Dr. Feelgood

This album is just a fantastic album from start to finish. It was also the real end of the greatness of the Crue - Vince Neill left the band (or got fired, depending on who you talk to) after the album and the rise of grunge kind of killed metal. It's a shame because this is certainly the best album that Motley Crue ever put out. And now I have the title track firmly lodged in my head. Anyone else?--Archphoenix

Top 20 Albums Of 1989 (Nos. 6-10)

For this week's Ranked!, we completed our look back at the '80s with our our twenty favorite albums released in 1989. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!

Here are numbers 6-10:

10. Tom Petty, Full Moon Fever

Full Moon Fever has a special place in my heart. It was the first music I ever bought on CD, and I listened to it repeatedly just to enjoy the (probably imagined) clarity of this new and exciting medium. The CD even had a clever interlude where Petty, with what sounds like a lively farm in the background, offers a moment of silence for the people who have to stand up and flip their LPs and cassettes over. Of course that isn't what gets you on a list of the best of 1989... it's the music, and it's Tom Petty's finest album by far. Clearly energized by their year with the Traveling Wilburys, Petty and producer Jeff Lynne pulled together a batch of songs looser and more relaxed than anything Petty had done with the Heartbreakers to date. "I Won't Back Down" is simple but effective, vignettes like "The Apartment Song" and "Yer So Bad" conjure amusingly human stories that would make Dylan proud, and the propulsive "Runnin' Down a Dream" was so much fun that I actually had a 'routine' that I would act out with a buddy whenever it came on the radio. (It was college... you do what you can to stand out). The highlight for me is "Free Fallin'," which can make a legitimate case for being the best song of the last 25 years, with evocative lyrics and a chorus that both giveth and--with a well-timed pause--taketh away. I still have that original CD, it's jewel case warn and chipped, and you know what? It does sound a hell of a lot better than my cassettes.--CroutonBoy

Top 20 Albums Of 1989 (Nos. 11-15)

For this week's Ranked!, we completed our look back at the '80s with our our twenty favorite albums released in 1989. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!

Here are numbers 11-15:

15. Skid Row, Skid Row

Let's face it--bands like Skid Row simply aren't bands that are destined to leave an indelible mark on the musical world. Although there was a short window (about 1988-1992) during which bands like this didn't look utterly ridiculous on stage, looking back now it's hard to believe that anyone ever took them even remotely seriously.

That said, I used to hang out at strip clubs and at a mega-venue in Baltimore called Hammerjacks back in the late '80s and early '90s, and hair bands were high on the playlist at that time. Even then, Skid Row was somewhere in the middle of the pack at best as far as I was concerned, but I did love to rock out to several of the songs on the Skid Row album--especially "18 And Life," "Youth Gone Wild," and "I Remember You" (the last being the obligatory power ballad of the bunch). Skid Row was one of the first CDs I ever bought, along with albums by Poison, Mötley Crüe, and Guns N' Roses, all of whom are going to be better remembered than Skid Row.

I was surprised to see that Skid Row has released five albums, the most recent of which came out in 2006. Maybe their new stuff is good... I don't know. For me, Skid Row was the beginning and the end of my interest in the band. They were a product of their time--and, at the time, I thought they were pretty decent.--Dave

Top 20 Albums Of 1989 (Nos. 16-20)

For this week's Ranked!, we completed our look back at the '80s with our our twenty favorite albums released in 1989. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments!

Here are numbers 16-20:

20. Camper Van Beethoven, Key Lime Pie

This was Camper's last album before they broke up (until they reformed a decade later). But Camper fans were not sad for long: David Lowery formed (the superior, IMHO) Cracker two years later. Key Lime Pie's best tracks: "When I Win the Lottery," "Jack Ruby," and the band's biggest hit, a cover of Status Quo's "Pictures Of Matchstick Men."--Chris