The Best Albums of 1986
Melissa Morgan brought her cover of “Do Me, Baby” to the top of the R&B charts in 1986. During the mid-1980s American pop singer Cyndi Lauper was considered the “Voice of the MTV Generation of ’80s” and so different visual style that made the world for teens. Her first two albums She’s So Unusual (1984) and True Colors (1986) was critically and commercially successful, spawning the hits, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”, “Time After Time”, “She Bop”, “All Through the Night”, “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough”, “True Colors” and “Change of Heart. The year 1986 brought forth several new artists who performed in traditional country styles, such as honky-tonk. This sparked the “new traditionalist” movement, or return to traditional country music. The most successful of these artists included Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Ricky Van Shelton, and Holly Dunn. Also, artists like Kathy Mattea and Keith Whitley, both of whom had been performing for a few years prior, had their first major hits during 1986; Mattea was more folk-styled, while Whitley was pure honky-tonk Here are all of the 1986 albums ranked.
Don’t miss out the music of 1986. Relive the most memorable songs by clicking below.
10. EVOL (Sonic Youth)
“EVOL has its roots in post-punk, leaving me to believe they had not yet fully found their identity. I’ve yet to hear a Sonic Youth album I didn’t love, though, and this is quite fantastic. Noisy as always, but a bit more reserved than some of their other records.”
9. Lifes Rich Pageant (R.E.M.)
“Never understood why this album got virtually no attention during its time, even on college radio. The video for “Fall on Me” found its way onto MTV, but other than that, there was nothing. A pity, because that song was only one of a collection of the greatest music R.E.M. ever recorded. Rare is the time I play this album today, only because I did so nonstop from beginning to end back in the late eighties.”
8. Licensed To Ill (Beastie Boys)
“A timeless classic captures the angst, anger, and energy of youth. Uses great samples, fat basslines, and accessible drumbeats. Too simplistic for some, but it’s bursting with personality. They sound like a bunch of boys having fun, I love it.”
See more: Beastie Boys Albums Ranked
7. Reign In Blood (Slayer)
“Widely regarded as a before and after thrash metal album the speed and technical excellence of the musicianship are quite simply breathtaking. Take particular note of the groundbreaking drum sections and consider this – some of those drum breaks we take for granted now were recorded for the very first time on this release”
6. The Colour Of Spring (Talk Talk)
“The Colour of Spring is much more than a transitional album from It’s My Life to Spirit of Eden. This album indulges the listeners in some lush art-pop arrangements while simultaneously lurching forward to their eventual genesis of an entirely new genre.”
5. Skylarking (XTC)
“Brilliant production from Todd, excellent songs from the band, and they mesh together wonderfully. The best song on this album is “Dear God,” though that’s not technically on the album. “Grass,” “Ballet for a Rainy Day,” and “Earn Enough For Us” are all top tracks as well, and there isn’t a weak spot on the record, though it slows down a bit by the second half. Great work by a good band.”
4. So (Peter Gabriel)
“Criticised retrospectively for moving too far towards the commercial and away from the prog roots that Gabriel had established himself with, this album actually stands up well against the march of time. There’s a touch of a dated sound to one or two tracks, but that may be because they are rooted in the 80s psyche so firmly that it’s difficult to think of them outside of that decade (I’m looking at you Sledgehammer and Don’t Give Up).”
See more: Peter Gabriel Albums Ranked
3. Graceland (Paul Simon)
“A good argument can be made that Paul shouldn’t have made this record. At least not when he did, or in the manner in which he did, but…I’m glad he did because there are virtually no records that I enjoy listening to more than this one.”
2. Master Of Puppets (Metallica)
“Been a metalhead for a couple of years now and this is consistently the most overrated album in the entire metal community. A couple of standout tracks (Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Orion), but there are some major low points. Leper Messiah is very dull and there’s no reason to not stop the record before Damage Inc. Master of Puppets is easily the most mixed bag in Metallica’s discography. I can almost justify giving it 80. Definitely listen to Orion though.”
1. The Queen Is Dead (The Smiths)
“The best Smiths album probably because it’s the least pretentious: Morrissey is verbose as ever, but it’s mostly in service of expressing loneliness (I Know Its Over, There Is A Light) and awareness of how awful of a person he can be (The Queen is Dead, Bigmouth Strikes Again, Frankly Mr. Shankly), keeping his philosophical nonsense to a minimum. The Marr-led instrumentation is fantastic as it always is.”