The Best Albums of 1982
Jackson’s Thriller (1982) is the best-selling album of all time, selling 25 million copies during the decade. In 1982, Melle Mel and Duke Bootee recorded “The Message” (officially credited to Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five), a song that foreshadowed the socially conscious statements of Run-DMC’s “It’s Like That” and Public Enemy’s “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos”. n autumn 1982, “I Ran (So Far Away)” by A Flock of Seagulls entered the Billboard Top Ten, arguably the first successful song that owed almost everything to video. They would be followed by bands like Duran Duran whose glossy videos would come to symbolize the power of MTV. Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” gently poked fun at MTV which had helped make them international rock stars. Here are all of the 1982 albums ranked.
Relive the music of one of the most notable years of rock and roll. Click below and listen to the songs of the year 1982!
10. Love Over Gold (Dire Straits)
“An ambitious album that you wouldn’t expect to get from a band like Dire Straits. Although they don’t stick the landing all the time Knopfler and Co made a good album and definitely an underrated one. Shouldn’t be glossed over! Telegraph Road and Private Investigations belong to their best material.”
9. The Nightfly (Donald Fagen)
“The sneakiest masterpiece in pop music. Fagen took a huge risk in clashing with the monopoly of analog recording when he created what would become the very reference album in terms of production and execution.”
8. Rio (Duran Duran)
“Game-changing eighties synth-pop/rock album, possibly underrated by nonmusicians, particularly in relation to what Nick Rodes accomplished with the keyboard aspects. Four absolutely cracking eighties tracks in ‘Rio’, ‘Hungry Like the Wolf’, ‘Save a Prayer’ and ‘New Religion’.”
See more: Duran Duran Albums Ranked
7. Avalon (Roxy Music)
“One of the most positive Records ever, No weak tracks here åt all. Perhaps one of the best records ever after all Radiohead’s amazing albums. From the superb opener to the amazing title track through to ‘Tara’ this is first class.”
6. 1999 (Prince)
“This album is pretty damn good. Every song is solid and great in its own right. Obviously, 1999 and Little Red Corvette take the cake, but that does not diminish my admiration for tracks like Lady Cab Driver, D.M.S.R., and Let’s Pretend We’re Married. I think I prefer 1999 to Purple Rain, just because there’s more to listen to on this one, and more of any Prince (at least the 80s stuff) is pretty amazing in my book.”
5. Pornography (The Cure)
“The album feels like I’m being walked through a dark room where I have to trust the person guiding me, yet I don’t even know how the person looks. My only option is to trust something I don’t truly know. I loved that. Wonderful ending.”
4. The Dreaming (Kate Bush)
“Kate Bush is an amazing songwriter, but I think this is her arrangement peak. The instrumentation on every track is so interesting and cerebral. And her voice also sounds really great here. The Dreaming is a bit less pop than the rest of her projects, but it’s also one of her best.”
See more: Bruce Springsteen Albums Ranked
3. Nebraska (Bruce Springsteen)
“I don’t often pay attention to lyrics on an album, but here I had to because Springsteen often paints very deep and beautiful lyrics. Nebraska is such a different album from his previous works – it’s more intimate, more personal, darker, and atmospheric. I prefer his other classics like Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Tunnel of Love, and Born in the USA to this album, but this is essential listening for any fan of the Boss and of rock music.”
2. The Number Of The Beast (Iron Maiden)
“Metal gold. A staple in any hard rock/metal collection. Title track & ‘Hallowed be Thy Name’ being two of the all-time best-ever metal tracks. A major step forward enlisting Bruce on vocals. The first of the golden Maiden era.”
1. Thriller (Michael Jackson)
“Probably the best pop album ever recorded. The 2 best songs are Beat It and Billie Jean. I’ve noticed that some people had the nerve to criticize the album by claiming it has filler. There is NO FILLER on Thriller. Every song is good. A true Masterpiece.”