The Best Albums of 1985
The 1985 concert Live Aid held at Wembley Stadium would see some of the biggest British artists of the era perform, with Queen widely regarded as stealing the show. 1985 saw the worldwide breakthrough success of “Conga” by Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine. Here are all of the 1985 albums ranked.
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10. Steve McQueen (Prefab Sprout)
“An excellent mid-eighties pop/soft rock album that offered an alternative to a lot of the pure synth-led bands/artists of the era. Prefab Sprout were excellent musicians but also offered a unique harmony between the male and females vocals of Paddy McAloon and Wendy Smith. ‘When Love Breaks Down’ and ‘Appetite’ are particular favorites of mine.”
9. Low-Life (New Order)
“Great album, New Order continues their brilliancy here with tracks such as Love Vigilantes, The Perfect Kiss, Sunrise, Elegia, and Sooner Than You Think. One of their best albums and my personal favorite New Order album”
8. Tim (The Replacements)
“Great albums should sound unique, have great memorable songs, and if they are truly special, take the listener on a journey to another place and time. Westerberg and the boys do that on Tim, by making you not just hear the songs but really feel them. You’re reminiscing about people you’ve never met and places you’ve never been.”
See more: Tears for Fears Albums Ranked
7. Songs From The Big Chair (Tears For Fears)
“This is a superb album which leans more towards prog than pop in my opinion. ‘Shout’ is an excellent upbeat opener but the second track may come as a surprise with the sax and synth texture intro which lays the foundation for a superb vocal not dissimilar to the vocal delivery of Silent Running’s Peter Gamble.”
6. The Head On The Door (The Cure)
“The Cure can go two ways: either very gothic or extremely pop sounding. The Head on the Door is the latter and it’s the best Cure pop album. I once read somewhere that every song in this record could easily be a single and I strongly agree. Every time I listen to this my love for it only deepens. “Inbetween Days” is one of my favorite album openers ever, “Push” is a song I love listening to on an afternoon, “Close to Me” always makes me want to dance, and “A Night Like This”
5. Psychocandy (The Jesus And Mary Chain)
“The album is built upon the clashing of the noise-driven feedback that serves as the Foil or dichotomy to the beautiful soft-spoken 60’s inspired pop vocals. The beauty of this record is the dissonance and not the consonance. Noise and screaming feedback make you uncomfortable and uneasy, then however the vocals bring a sense of comfort by being something you’ve heard a thousand times before, a simple singable pop melody. The record is highly connected with its successors, but it has the strength to stand on its own.”
4. Meat Is Murder (The Smiths)
“Arguably this The Smiths’ best album in a matter of instrumental madness, the bass, the guitar, and sometimes even the drums breaks the norm from an alternative mid-80s sound, leaving us with some intense sounding stuff. But I much prefer the more laid-back kind of Smiths, but this is still a great album”
See more: Dire Straits Albums Ranked
3. Brothers In Arms (Dire Straits)
“Brothers In Arms is one of those albums that has better production than songwriting. The first three songs and the title track are great, but the rest are pretty lifeless and one-note. Still, those songs are what make the album worth listening to.”
2. Rain Dogs (Tom Waits)
“In 1985, Tom Waits released “Rain Dogs”. The album is unclassifiable: it is both jazzy and rock. This album offers us 19 short titles assembled strangely. I’m a big fan of Tom Waits: his music is weird but really interesting. His voice is extremely special and creates a reel universe around his music. This album is a real musical experience to live at least once in this life. The guitarist Keith Richards is present on some songs of the album. “Rain Dogs” is one of my favorite albums of the 80s, it is really excellent and creative.”
1. Hounds Of Love (Kate Bush)
“The first side is damn near perfect, and the second side is great and incredibly ambitious. I am still having a hard time enjoying some of it thoroughly. I find myself listening to the first 5 or 6 songs to death than stopping there. But I have realized Kate Bush is one of those artists that deserve and require multiple listens to fully appreciate their work and get over some the weirdness.”