Longtime readers will recall the monthly music blog (or listicle) that I wrote from 2008 to 2012. I've been sporadically going back to reevaluate the lists I assembled, and after a decade's hindsight I've been revisiting some of my lists.
Let's start with 1988, which NPR recently argued was one of the strongest ever. *cough* There was a lot of great late '80s college rock that I wasn't aware of until the last couple of years, and my previous list also ignored some key moments in rap. As you'll see here, I also kind of half-assed my '88 and '89 lists by lumping them together. In any case, there was enough to be enamored with to merit 15 key albums as well as 15 great songs.
(NOTE: parentheses note previous ranking)
BEST ALBUMS
1. Daydream Nation, Sonic Youth. (1) What I said ten years ago still stands. Thurston Moore, guitar god?
2. Straight Outta Compton, N.W.A. (NR) The grossest oversight on my previous list. Gangsta and west coast rap took a big leap into mainstream acceptance with Compton, a visceral statement that doesn't care about consequences.
3. It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back, Public Enemy. (7) Maybe I repelled by Flavor Flav's ubiquitous presence on reality shows in the mid-2000s. In any case, his hopeless search for love for vH1 shouldn't deter from his status as one of the all-time great hypemen.
4. Nothing's Shocking, Jane's Addiction. (2)
5. Surfer Rosa, The Pixies (4)
6. Isn't Anything, My Bloody Valentine (5)
7. ...And Justice For All, Metallica (6)
8. Green, R.E.M. (3)
9. Operation: Mindcrime, Queensryche (9)
10. I'm Your Man, Leonard Cohen. (10) I said something in 2009 about "sparse and samey arrangements" that does not hold up. Its just an exquisite collection of songs.
11. Tracy Chapman, Tracy Chapman (NR)
12. If I Shall Fall From Grace With God, The Pogues (NR)
13. Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart, Camper Van Beethoven (8)
14. Starfish, The Church (NR)
15. Today, Galaxie 500 (NR). A gauzy dream of a debut album. You'd be hard-pressed to find a love song that addresses an '80s misfit weirdo like "Tugboat."
BEST SINGLES (in no particular order)
"Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam," The Vaselines
"Touch Me I'm Sick," Mudhoney
"What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)," Information Society
"Chains of Love," Erasure
"Handle With Care," The Traveling Wilburys
"Desire," U2
"Stigmata," Ministry
"Straight Out The Jungle," Jungle Brothers
"Apron Strings," Everything But the Girl
"Anchorage," Michelle Shocked
"(Nothing But) Flowers," Talking Heads
"The Promise," When In Rome
"Only a Memory," The Smithereens
"Suedehead," Morrissey
"Birthday," The Sugarcubes
Sometime in March, I'll post my 1989 list.
(616)
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