The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

Menu

Navigation

You are here: Home / Forum / 1980 to 1999 The Afterword Favourite Albums – Hurrah!!

1980 to 1999 The Afterword Favourite Albums – Hurrah!!

by 369 Comments

Dai’s Rules still apply:

1) Post 10 albums ONLY
2) Place them in order 1 to 10. Number 1 will be allocated 10 points down to 1 pt in 10th place.
3) If you post more than 10 only the first 10 will be counted.
4) If you don’t post a preference in the 10 then each will be allocated 5 pts
5) Post exactly like this :
Number – Album – Artist
e.g. 1 – Dare – The Human League
Use proper names not The Fabs or HJHM etc
If you don’t your choice may not be counted.

0

Comments

  1. Logically the next poll has been agreed to be your Fave Albums of the period 1980 to 1999.

    Blue Boy may get us all looking at the less predictable period 2000 to 2020 at a later date.

    Fire Away!!

  2. 1 – The Crossing – Big Country
    2 – Misplaced Childhood – Marillion
    3 – 30 Something – Carter USM
    4 – Searching For The Young Soul Rebels – Dexys Midnight Runners
    5 – The Rise and Fall – Madness
    6 – Flood – They Might Be Giants
    7 – Give Out But Don’t Give Up – Primal Scream
    8 – Definitely Maybe – Oasis
    9 – Stanley Road – Paul Weller
    10 – Live After Death – Iron Maiden

    The Top 3 were in the my All-Time Top 10 – after 2 weeks, I couldn’t really (a) leave them out, or (b) change the order.
    The next 2 were oh so nearly in my All-Time 10.

  3. 1 – Black Love – Afghan Whigs
    2 – Blue Lines – Massive Attack
    3 – Thunder And Consolation – New Model Army
    4 – Wrecking Ball – Emmylou Harris
    5 – Enter The Wu Tang (36 Chambers) – Wu Tang Clan
    6 – Deserters Songs – Mercury Rev
    7 – Floodland – The Sisters Of Mercy
    8 – Reign In Blood – Slayer
    9 – Onwards And Upwards – Culture Shock
    10 – Illmatic – Nas

    only had to change two albums from my list in the original thread….21st century will be all new titles though!

  5. Interesting exercise – I don’t think of the 80s and 90s as decades like I do 60s & 70s, it’s just the years of kids. But I’m happy with this list.

    1 – Pontiac – Lyle Lovett
    2 – Travelling Wilburys Vol.1 – Travelling Wilburys
    3 – Riding with the King – John Hiatt
    4 – Rain Dogs – Tom Waits
    5 – Graceland – Paul Simon
    6 – Lucinda Williams – Lucinda Williams
    7 – I’m Your Man – Leonard Cohen
    8 – 69 Love Songs – Magnetic Fields
    9 – Beck – Mutations
    10 – Little Creatures – Talking Heads

  6. 1. – Dead Bees On A Cake – David Sylvian
    2. – One Trick Pony – Paul Simon
    3. – The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
    4. – Blue Lines – Massive Attack
    5. – Screamadelica – Primal Scream
    6. – Steve McQueen – Prefab Sprout
    7. – High Land, Hard Rain – Aztec Camera
    8. – Eden – Everything But The Girl
    9. – Pirates – Rickie Lee Jones
    10. – The Final Cut – Pink Floyd

    Once again my main criteria is how regularly I still listen to them. Any of the following could have been included at number 11:
    Avalon; Beautiful Vision; Bella Donna; Boat To Bolivia; Catholic Boy; Heartattack and Vine; Hipsway; Neither Washington, Nor Moscow; Penthouse & Pavement and The Luxury Gap; Peter Gabriel 3 & 4; Shades; Tattoo You; The Game’s Up; The Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking; Tin Drum

  7. Great initiative! I am looking forward to browsing through the votes and may even vote. It is refreshing to not be able to resort to all my old LP faves from the 60s and 70s

    • Serious question from an old man – how the hell does anyone remember if an album was released in 1979 or 2000? I remember buying John Wesley Harding in 1967 and Norman Fuckin Rockwell in 2020. The rest is a bit of a blur.

      • I added the year of release column into the iTunes display. It’s not 100%, gets confused by re-release years and so on, and probably misses loads, but it’s how I drew up a short list to whittle down.

        • Wait a minute, you’re saying that you haven’t put the correct date in the info for every album in your iTunes library? I… the… what… I… don’t… I… how… not… I…
          …

          … …

          ?

          Are you sure you’re in the right place?

          • I know. I demonstrate a shockingly lax attitude to tags and let iTunes do what it will, however eccentric. To be honest I count myself lucky to be allowed in here when I still use iTunes at all.

        • Are you suggesting that I have the time, the patience and, most importantly, the ability to look at Discogs in order to discover whether or not Billy Boo-Boo And The Boo-Boos seminal first album is eligible for this poll?
          ps what is iTunes?

  8. 1 – Sound Affects – The Jam
    2 – Lexicon Of Love – ABC
    3 – The Visitors – Abba
    4 – In My Tribe – 10,000 Maniacs
    5 – Dazzle Ships – OMD
    6 – Warehouse: Songs & Stories – Husker Du
    7 – Heaven Up Here – Echo & The Bunnymen
    8 – Nightclubbing – Grace Jones
    9 – Imperial Bedroom – Elvis Costello
    10 – Dare – Human League

  9. 1 – Remain in Light – Talking Heads
    2 – Spirit of Eden – Talk Talk
    3 – Hats – Blue Nile
    4 – The Nightfly – Donald Fagen
    5 – Graceland – Paul Simon
    6 – Mezzanine – Massive Attack
    7 – Swordfishtrombone – Tom Waits
    8 – Gaucho – Steely Dan
    9 – Heaven Up Here – Echo and the Bunnymen
    10 – Reckoning – REM

  10. When I was trying to my overall top 10, I put together a longlist of 160, 49 of which were in the 1980 – 1999 period. 5 from the 80s actually made my top 10, so I didn’t have a lot of room to play with this time. I suppose that I had better keep the top 5 as they were in the previous top 10.

    1 – 3 – Peter Gabriel
    2 – Remain in Light – Talking Heads
    3 – imperial Bedroom – Elvis Costello & the Attractions
    4 – A Secret Wish – Propaganda
    5 – Swordfishtrombones- Tom Waits
    6 – Being There – Wilco
    7 – Different Class – Pulp
    8 – The Joshua Tree – U2
    9 – Time Out Of Mind – Bob Dylan
    10 – OK Computer – Radiohead

    And the ones that I couldn’t quite fit in were Green (REM), New York (Lou Reed), Nebraska (Bruce Springsteen), Apple Venus Vol 1 (XTC) and Jordan The Comeback (Prefab Sprout)

  11. 1 – Automatic For the People – R.E.M.
    2 – The Dreaming – Kate Bush
    3 – The Holy Bible – Manic Street Preachers
    4 – OK Computer – Radiohead
    5 – Born in the USA – Bruce Springsteen
    6 – Kilimanjaro – The Teardrop Explodes
    7 – Summerteeth – Wilco
    8 – Ragged Glory – Neil Young and Crazy Horse
    9 – New Gold Dream – Simple Minds
    10 – Cloud Nine – George Harrison

  12. 1 – Rain Dogs – Tom Waits
    2 – Mock Tudor – Richard Thompson
    3 – King of America – Elvis Costello
    4 – The Impossible Bird – Nick Lowe
    5 – Absolute Jit! – The Bhundu Boys
    6 – Lone Justice – Lone Justice
    7 – I’m Your Man – Leonard Cohen
    8 – The Trinty Sessions – Cowboy Junkies
    9 – The Hounds of Love – Kate bush
    10 – Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) – David Bowie

    • I have wondered about this – a few on Dai’s 80s list weren’t from the 80s (or 90s).

      I am happy to add in an entry of the top 10 from the 80s and 90s from the overall album vote.

      Do we have agreement?

      • Don’t understand this. This is a new vote, right? Starting from zero. I posted an 80s list just for the fun of it, don’t think anything should be included from previous one when it comes to this vote.

        • Actually, yes, you are right Dai, the best thing would be to leave the previous poll’s out of this but people can compare with the overall chart once this 80s and 90s chart is complete.

          For Info: the deadline has been set as mid-day (1pm BST) on Midsummers day the 20th June 2020.

  14. So looking good with 80 different albums from 9 pollsters. No album has more than 2 votes, as yet.
    If anyone disputes the original year of release not being in the period 1980 to 1999, please raise it here.

  15. Rockin’ and Romance – Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
    High Land Hard Rain – Aztec Camera
    New Gold Dream (81, 82, 83, 84) – Simple Minds
    Remain in Light – Talking Heads
    Rattlesnakes – Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
    A Pagan Place – The Waterboys
    The Tender Pervert – Momus
    Soul Mining – The The
    Discipline – King Crimson
    Hope and Despair – Edwyn Collins

    Very Scottish selection for an Irishman.

  16. No surprises here:

    1 – Violator – Depeche Mode
    2 – Remain in Light – Talking Heads
    3 – Dazzle Ships – OMD
    4 – New Gold Dream – Simple Minds
    5 – Telekon – Gary Numan
    6 – Back in the DHSS – Half Man Half Biscuit
    7 – Provision – Scritti Politti
    8 – Introspective – Pet Shop Boys
    9 – Difficult Shapes…- China Crisis
    10 – The Fat of the Land – Prodigy

  17. Here is my vote, most played/favourites
    1 – Grace And Danger – John MARTYN
    2 – Work Of Heart – Roy HARPER
    3 – 3 – Peter Gabriel
    4 – Steve McQueen/Two Wheels Good – PREFAB SPROUT
    5 – Protection – MASSIVE ATTACK
    6 – Never For Ever – Kate BUSH
    7 – Attack Of The Blue Lanterns – MANSUN
    8 – NUYORICAN SOUL – Nuyorican Soul
    9 – There And Back – Jeff BECK
    10 – The Completion Backwards Principle – The TUBES

  18. Ten is not enough…I had to bump Massive Attack off my list so I could give XTC the two spots they deserve. Ouch!

    1 – Black Sea – XTC
    2 – Remain In Light – Talking Heads
    3 – Purple Rain – Prince
    4 – Being There – Wilco
    5 – English Settlement – XTC
    6 – Nightclubbing – Grace Jones
    7 – Saint Julian – Julian Cope
    8 – The Dreaming – Kate Bush
    9 – Texas Fever – Orange Juice
    10 – Sandinista! – The Clash

    I found this list more painful to make than the previous one, strangely.

  19. 1 – Automatic For The People – R.E.M.
    2 – Aquemini – Outkast
    3 – TNT – Tortoise
    4 – Endtroducing… – DJ Shadow
    5 – Definitely Maybe – Oasis
    6 – I Should Coco – Supergrass
    7 – Oh Mercy – Bob Dylan
    8 – Illmatic – Nas
    9 – Warehouse: Songs and Stories – Husker Du
    10 – This Is Hardcore – Pulp

  20. 1 – Swordfishtrombones – Tom Waits
    2 – Homogenic – Björk
    3 – Doolittle – Pixies
    4 – Nightclubbing – Grace Jones
    5 – Parade – Prince And The Revolution
    6 – Blue Lines – Massive Attack
    7 – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back – Public Enemy
    8 – Second Toughest In The Infants – Underworld
    9 – Control – Janet Jackson
    10 – Ágaetis Byrjun – Sigur Rós

    I found it easier to stick to ten this time but I’d still like more.

  21. 1 – Bright Red – Laurie Anderson
    2 – Rising Above Bedlam – Jah Wobble’s Invaders of the Heart
    3 – Playing With Fire – Spacemen 3
    4 – Screamadelica – Primal Scream
    5 – Sleeps With Angels – Neil Young and Crazy Horse
    6 – First and Last and Always – The Sisters of Mercy
    7 – Common One – Van Morrison
    8 – In The Flat Field – Bauhaus
    9 – Back To Basics – Billy Bragg
    10 – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

  22. Empires and Dance -Simple Minds

    Never forever- Kate Bush

    Tin Drum-Japan

    Zoo look- Jean Michelle Jarre

    Aural Sculpture- The Stranglers

    Blind- The Sundays

    Goodbye Jumbo- World Party

    Blemish- David Sylvian

    The Next Day- David Bowie

    Clearing-Softspot

    Next to impossible of course but there it is.

  23. Here goes….

    1 – Hounds of Love – Kate Bush
    2 – Love Over Gold – Dire Straits
    3 – Skylarking – XTC
    4 – Jordan: The Comeback – Prefab Sprout
    5 – Hats – Blue Nile
    6 – Duke – Genesis
    7 – Automatic For The People – REM
    8 – OK Computer – Radiohead
    9 – Kite – Kirsty MacColl
    10 – Welcome Home – ‘Til Tuesday

    That was harder than I expected – had to leave out Spirit Of Eden, Seeds Of Love, Bang!, Rattlesnakes and many others that could have made the Top 10

  24. 1.Hex – Bark Psychosis
    2.Lexicon of Love – ABC
    3.Colour of Spring – Talk Talk
    4.Food, Sex & Paranoia – Furniture
    5.The Queen is Dead – The Smiths
    6.Hounds of Love – Kate Bush
    7.The House of Love* – The House of Love
    8.Soul Mining – The The
    9.Steve McQueen – Prefab Sprout
    10.High Land Hard Rain – Aztec Camera

    *that’s the first album (on Creation and opens with Christine)

  25. Here goes:

    1 – This Is The Sea – The Waterboys
    2 – Skylarking – XTC
    3 – Time Out Of Mind – Bob Dylan
    4 – The Dreaming – Kate Bush
    5 – Spirit Of Eden – Talk Talk
    6 – Goodbye Jumbo – World Party
    7 – Nebraska- Bruce Springsteen
    8 – Ragged Glory – Neil Young
    9 – The Lonesome Jubilee – John Mellencamp
    10 – Copperhead Road – Steve Earle & The Dukes

    Going off that list the 80’s weren’t as shyte as the 90’s.

  26. 1 – The Dreaming – Kate Bush
    2 – Fried – Julian Cope
    3 – Apple Venus Volume 1 – XTC
    4 – In it for the Money – Supergrass
    5 – Hounds of Love – Kate Bush
    6 – The Queen is Dead – The Smiths
    7 – Chips from the Chocolate Fireball – The Dukes of Stratosphear
    8 – Talking Timbuktu – Ali Farka Toure & Ry Cooder
    9 – Penguin Eggs – Nic Jones
    10 – Secrets of the Beehive – David Sylvian

    The Top 4 were in my Top 5 of all time anyway.

  27. 1. GET HAPPY Elvis Costello
    2. GAUCHO Steely Dan
    3. THE NIGHTFLY Donald Fagen
    4. APPLE VENUS XTC
    5. SWORDFISHTROMBONES Tom Waits
    6. BLACKSTAR David Bowie
    7. REMAIN IN LIGHT Talking Heads
    8. WOODFACE Crowded House
    9. FINN Finn Brothers
    10.DIAMONDS AND PEARLS Prince

  28. 1 – Parade – Prince & the Revolution
    2 – Moon Safari – Air
    3 – Different Class – Pulp
    4 – Hounds of Love – Kate Bush
    5 – Mishima – Philip Glass
    6 – Computer World – Kraftwerk
    7 – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret – Soft Cell
    8 – If I Should Fall From Grace With God – The Pogues
    9 -It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back – Public Enemy
    10 – Dog Man Star – Suede

  29. 1 – Endtroducing – DJ Shadow
    2 – Hats – The Blue Nile
    3 – Hounds of Love – Kate Bush
    4 – OK Computer – Radiohead
    5 – Love Over Gold – Dire Straits
    6 – Moon Safari – Air
    7 – Ladies and Gentlemen, We are Floating in Space- Spiritualized
    8 – Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld – The Orb
    9 – Odelay- Beck
    10 – Graceland – Paul Simon

  30. This is a great idea by the way. It’s so easy to gravitate towards the “classic” 70s albums, so cutting that off really makes you think a bit harder, especially for someone like me who is more at home in the 70s.

  31. UPDATE:
    It may surprise some that there were more than 3 Kate Bush albums in the 1980s alone.

    Can everyone yet to vote use the format in the OP please.

    Any votes for Blackstar are a ‘spoilt ballot paper’, only 9 choices counted, this is a shame when many AWs have had to leave out a favourite: e.g. House Of Love, Protection and Seeds Of Love…

  32. My first post since the days of the actual Word mag website. Where does the time go etc etc…?

    This is stupidly hard as due to age this is definitely my most loved and listened to period. Literally dozens of other contenders. No room for Cocteaus, OMD, Orange Juice, Bunnymen, Bowie, Dylan, Stone Roses, La’s, Pogues, Wilco, Jayhawks, Calexico, Auteurs, Tom Petty, Nick Lowe, Billy Bragg, World Party, Blue Nile, Spacemen 3 and on and on…

    1 – Songs from Northern Britain – Teenage Fanclub
    2 – Me and a Monkey on the Moon – Felt
    3 – Spirit of Eden – Talk Talk
    4 – The Colour of Spring – Talk Talk
    5 – The House of Love – The House of Love
    6 – Peggy Suicide – Julian Cope
    7 – Technique – New Order
    8 – Rattlesnakes – Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
    9 – I’m Your Man – Leonard Coen
    10 – Darklands – Jesus and Mary Chain

  33. 1 – Lexicon of Love – ABC
    2 – Tunnel Of Love – Bruce Springsteen
    3 – Dare – The Human League
    4 – Purple Rain – Prince
    5 – Hounds Of Love – Kate Bush
    6 – So – Peter Gabriel
    7 – Robbie Robertson – Robbie Robertson
    8 – Infected- The The
    9 – Hats – The Blue Nile
    10 – Zooropa – U2

  34. 1. Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) – Bowie
    2. Rattlesnakes – Lloyd Cole and The Commotions
    3. Ariel – Kate Bush
    4. Strange Communion – Thea Gilmore
    5. Woodface – Crowded House
    6. Vienna – Ultravox
    7. Grand Prix – Teenage Fanclub
    8. Steve McQueen – Prefab Sprout
    9. Fashion Nugget – Cake
    10. Idlewild – Everything But The Girl

  35. 1 – Jordan: The Comeback – Prefab Sprout
    2 – Overcome By Happiness – Pernice Brothers
    3 – The White Room – The KLF
    4 – Illmatic – NaS
    5 – Moon Safari – Air
    6 – Life’s Rich Pageant – R.E.M.
    7 – The Ups And Downs – Stephen Duffy
    8 – Please – Pet Shop Boys
    9 – Blue Lines – Massive Attack
    10 – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back – Public Enemy

    I have left so many of my favourite albums out of that top 10 that it’s driving me crazy writing it down. The minimalist approach just doesn’t suit me!

  36. We have 4 strong contenders but there is plenty of time to go till midsummer (20 June).

    There are probably going to be more unique suggestions than we had for the overall chart that Dai organised.

  37. 1 – Scary monsters (and super creeps) – David Bowie
    2 – The Nightfly – Donald Fagen
    3 – Swordfishtrombones – Tom Waits
    4 – The Final Cut – Pink Floyd
    5 – Grace and Danger – John Martyn
    6 – The Dreaming – Kate Bush
    7 – Outside – David Bowie
    8 – Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot – Sparklehorse
    9 – Girlfriend – Matthew Sweet
    10 – A black box – Peter Hammill

    Bubbling under: The Bends – Radiohead; Tin Drum – Japan; Discipline – King Crimson, etc, etc,…..still room for two Bowie albums in the top ten, even allowing for the quality goods that I’m omitting….

  38. 1)) Paul Simon Graceland
    2) Prince sign O’ the Times
    3) 10,000 Maniacs – In My tribe
    4) Elvis Costello – King of America
    5) Steve Earle – Guitar Town
    6) Primal Scream – Screamadelica
    7) Sinead O’Connor – I do not want what I havent got
    8) Van Morrison Hymns to the silence
    9) Randy Newman – Land of Dreams
    10) Julian Cope – Peggy Suicide

    • 1) Graceland – Paul Simon
      2) Sign O’the times – Prince
      3) In my tribe – 10,000 Maniacs
      4) King of America – Elvis Costello
      5) Guitar Town – Steve Earle
      6) Screamadelica – Primal Scream
      7) I do not want what I havent got – Sinead O’Connor
      8) Hymns to the silence – Van Morrison
      9) Land of dreams – Randy Newman
      10) Peggy Suicide – Julian Cope

  40. 1 – Mambo Show – The Ensemble Of Latin Music Legends
    2 – Psychedelic Jungle – The Cramps
    3 – Psychocandy – Jesus and Mary Chain
    4 – Nightclubbing – Grace Jones
    5 – Drop The Bomb – Trouble Funk
    6 – Rain Dogs – Tom Waits
    7 – 3 Feet High and Rising – De La Soul
    8 – Sensimilia – Black Uhuru
    9 – Immigres – Youssou N’Dour
    10 – Doggy Style –Snoop Doggy Dog

  41. 1 – A Walk Across the Rooftops – The Blue Nile
    2 – Grace and Danger – John Martyn
    3 – Life’s Rich Pageant – R.E.M.
    4 – Being There – Wilco
    5 – Skylarking – XTC
    6 – Raindogs – Tom Waits
    7 – The Dreaming – Kate Bush
    8 – Steve McQueen – Prefab Sprout
    9 – The Bends – Radiohead
    10 – Grand Prix – Teenage Fanclub

  42. 1 – Scary monsters – David Bowie

    2 – Born in the USA – Bruce Springsteen

    3 – Dare – Human league

    4 – Leftism – Leftfield

    5 – Dummy – Portishead

    6 – forever blue – Chris Izaak

    7 – Avalon – Roxy music

    7 – Odelay – Beck

    8 – Punch the clock – Elvis Costelloe

    9 – Combat rock – The Clash

    10 – Tango in the night – Fleetwood Mac

  43. 1 – A Secret Wish – Propaganda
    2 – Heaven and Hell – Black Sabbath
    3 – The Blurred Crusade – The Church
    4 – Signals – Rush
    5 – Infected – The The
    6 – Life’s Hard and then you Die – Its Immaterial
    7 – The Colour of Spring – Talk Talk
    8 – Mainstream – Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
    9 – Samurai – Grand Prix
    10 – 16 Lovers Lane – The Go-betweens

  44. 1 – The Nightfly – Donald Fagen
    2 – This Is The Sea – The Waterboys
    3 – Get Happy – Elvis Costello
    4 – High Land Hard Rain – Aztec Camera
    5 – Reckoning – R.E.M.
    6 – The River – Bruce Springsteen
    7 – Hand Of Kindness – Richard Thompson
    8 – Eliminator – ZZ Top
    9 – Graceland – Paul Simon
    10 – Purple Rain – Prince

    So difficult to choose. I’ve picked things I actually played a lot at the time (and still enjoy now!) rather than swap in some of the cooler albums that were tempting me from the shelves.

    Ended up with all 80s. Since then, although I listen to a much wider range of great music, I rarely play anything often enough to make it genuine ‘top album’ material like these. If I do a list for the 2000s poll, there might be a lot of coin tossing to decide 🙂

  46. 1 Imperial Bedroom – Elvis Costello & The Attractions
    2 Sound Affects – The Jam
    3 Get Happy – Elvis Costello & The Attractions
    4 I Just Can’t Stop It – The Beat
    5 New York – Lou Reed
    6 Grand Prix – Teenage Fanclub
    7 Reckoning – R.E.M.
    8 Dookie – Green Day
    9 The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
    10 The La’s – The La’s

  47. 1 – The Boatman’s Call – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
    2 – New York – Lou Reed
    3 – Automatic For The People – R.E.M.
    4 – Freedom – Neil Young
    5 – Amused To Death – Roger Waters
    6 – Floodland – The Sisters Of Mercy
    7 – Empires And Dance – Simple Minds
    8 – Movement – New Order
    9 – Back On Top – Van Morrison
    10 – Deserter’s Songs – Mercury Rev

  48. 1 – Automatic For The People – R.E.M.
    2 – The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
    3 – OK Computer – Radiohead
    4 – 3 – Peter Gabriel
    5 – Murmur – R.E.M.
    6 – Discipline – King Crimson
    7 – Blue Lines – Massive Attack
    8 – A Secret Wish – Propaganda
    9 – Love Over Gold – Dire Straits
    10 – Wish – The Cure

  49. 1 – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill – Lauryn Hill
    2 – Grace – Jeff Buckley
    3 – Sign O’ The Times – Prince
    4 – Ready To Die – The Notorious B.I.G.
    5 – Nebraska – Bruce Springsteen
    6 – Jordan: The Comeback – Prefab Sprout
    7 – Imperial Bedroom – Elvis Costello & The Attractions
    8 – Different Class – Pulp
    9 – Automatic For The People – R.E.M.
    10 – What Up, Dog? – Was (Not Was)

  50. Makes you realise what a great era it was. I really struggled here.

    1 – The Nightfly – Donald Fagen
    2 – Guitar town – Steve Earle
    3 – Almost Blue – Elvis Costello
    4 – Swordfishtrombones – Tom Waits
    6 – Night and Day – Joe Jackson
    7 – Surfing with the Alien – Joe Satriani
    8 – Idlewild – Everything But The Girl
    9 – Better days – Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes
    10 – The Meaning of Life – Gretchen Peters

  51. 1 – Cupid & Psyche 85 – Scritti Politti
    2 – English Settlement – XTC
    3 – Lost In Space – Aimee Mann
    4 – Discipline – King Crimson
    5 – Steady On – Shawn Colvin
    6 – Uprising – Bob Marley & The Wailers
    7 – Bring The Family – John Hiatt
    8 – Nightclubbing – Grace Jones
    9 – Pirates – Rickie Lee Jones
    10 – 24 Years of Hunger – Eg & Alice

  52. 1 – Passion – Peter Gabriel
    2 – Hounds of Love – Kate Bush
    3 – Swordfishtrombones – Tom Waits
    4 – Achtung Baby – U2
    5 – The Crossing – Big Country
    6 – Dummy – Portishead
    7 – Bandwagonesque – Teenage Fanclub
    8 – The Spirit Of Eden – Talk Talk
    9 – My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts – Brian Eno & David Byrne
    10 – Rei Momo – David Byrne

  54. OK, again without looking at any of the lists or comments above, here is my list.

    I have excluded anything that I listed in the “full” Top 10 list (therefore, no “Tattoo You” this time) but all these albums appeared on my “full” Top 10 long list.

    1 – Fisherman’s Blues – The Waterboys
    2 – The Trinity Session – Cowboy Junkies
    3 – Lyle Lovett – Lyle Lovett
    4 – Get Happy – Elvis Costello
    5 – Summerteeth – Wilco
    6 – Steve McQueen – Prefab Sprout
    7 – Girl At Her Volcano – Rickie Lee Jones
    8 – You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever – Orange Juice
    9 – The Wishing Chair – 10000 Maniacs
    10 – Together Alone – Crowded House

  55. A couple of comments first.
    Tim Buckley’s “Dream Letter – Live in London” (not released until 1990) would definitely have been in my Top 10, but I was unsure of whether a live album recorded in 1968 would’ve been within the rules of this poll, so I left it out.
    Similarly, I was going to put Keith Jarrett’s “Live at the Blue Note: Complete” in my 10, but I wasn’t sure whether a 6CD live jazz box set was quite in the spirit of this survey either.
    So I’m left with these 10.
    I’m a little disappointed that they’re such a mainstream, orthodox bunch of albums. But there we are. If I could’ve submitted 30 records, there would’ve been a lot more interesting choices. Hah!

    1 – Imperial Bedroom – Elvis Costello & the Attractions
    2 – Djam Leelii – Baaba Maal & Mansour Seck
    3 – 69 Love Songs – Magnetic Fields
    4 – Penguin Eggs – Nic Jones
    5 – Rain Dogs – Tom Waits
    6 – Sandinista! – The Clash
    7 – Automatic For the People – R.E.M.
    8 – XO – Elliott Smith
    9 – Apple Venus Vol.1 – XTC
    10 – Once in a Blue Moon – Lal Waterson and Oliver Knight

  56. 1 – Freedom & Rain – June Tabor & the Oysterband
    2 – Some Fantastic Place – Squeeze
    3 – Volume Two, Release – Afro-Celt Sound System
    4 – King of America – Elvis Costello
    5 – Lucinda Williams – Lucinda Williams
    6 – Songs From the Argyll Cycle, Volume 1 – Jackie Leven
    7 – Setting the Woods on Fire – The Walkabouts
    8 – Anarchy – Chumbawamba
    9 – Searching For the Young Soul Rebels – Dexy’s Midnight Runners
    10 – West Textures – Robert Earl Keen

    Bubbling under:
    Cupid & Psyche 85 – Scritti Politti
    Room to Roam – The Waterboys
    Levelling the Land – The Levellers
    Arkansas Traveller – Michelle Shocked
    Pale Sun, Cresent Moon – Cowboy Junkies
    Swamp Ophelia – The Indigo Girls
    The Mirror Pool – Lisa Gerrard
    Tigerlily – Natalie Merchant
    Curtains – Tindersticks
    The Charity of Night – Bruce Cockburn
    El Corazon – Steve Earle
    Clandestino – Manu Chao
    Mezzanine – Massive Attack
    Holding Back the Years – Jimmy Scott
    The River – Bruce Springsteen
    Love & Dancing – League Unlimited Orchestra
    Irish Heartbeat – Van Morrison & the Chieftains
    Rumour & Sigh – Richard Thompson
    The Lonesome Jubilee – John Mellencamp
    Slow Turning – John Hiatt

    • Amazingly, I hadn’t actually heard Steve Earle’s “El Corazón” album until about 2 weeks ago.
      Great record: the sound of an artist in his absolute prime!

  57. We have had over 40 Afterworders send in their choices – let’s try and match the 100+ that Dai received for the overall best album poll. It is still pretty open (even for the top 5 to change).

  58. Here we are

    1 – Mornington Crescent – My Life Story
    2 – Chill Out – KLF
    3 – Sound of Water – Saint Etienne
    4 – Stop Making Sense – Talking Heads
    5 – Raindogs – Tom Waits
    6 – If You’re Feeling Sinister – Belle and Sebastian
    7 – Lexicon of Love – ABC
    8 – Gentlemen – Afghan Whigs
    9 – Work, Lovelife, Miscellaneous – David Devant and his Spirit Wife
    10 – This is Hardcore – Pulp

  59. 1 – Hounds of Love – Kate Bush
    2 – Sign O The Times – Prince
    3 – Automatic for the People – REM
    4 – Script of the Bridge – The Chameleons
    5 – Low Life – New Order
    6 – Blue Lines – Massive Attack
    7 – Grand Prix – Teenage Fanclub
    8 – Heaven Up Here – Echo and the Bunnymen
    9 – Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
    10 – In MY Tribe – 10000 Maniacs
    Not a huge amount of change as 1-5 were in my all time list, and 6-8 just missed out last time. Bubbling under Smashing Pumpkins, both Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie just missing out. Will be much more interested personally in the C21 list and what happens there…

  60. 1- Get Happy !! – Elvis Costello
    2- The Nightfly – Donald Fagen
    3- Steve McQueen – Prefab Sprout
    4- Car Wheels on a Gravel Road – Lucinda Williams
    5- Graceland – Paul Simon
    6- No Guru, No Method, No Teacher – Van Morrison
    7- Hounds Of Love – Kate Bush
    8- King Of America- The Costello Show
    9- So – Peter Gabriel
    10- The Bends – Radiohead

  62. 1- Nobody’s Perfect – The Distractions
    2- Wasp Star – XTC
    3- Some Fantastic Place – Squeeze
    4- Skylarking – XTC
    5- Kite – Kirsty MacColl
    6- Twelve Stops and Home – The Feeling
    7- Woodface – Crowded House
    8-OK Computer – Radiohead
    9-Trust – Elvis Costello
    10- Andromeda Heights – Prefab Sprout

    …and about 400 bubbling under. Much harder than the “all-time” list.

  63. 1 – Graceland – Paul Simon
    2 – McCartney II – Paul McCartney
    3 – Zooropa – U2
    4 – Brutal Youth – Elvis Costello
    5 – Oranges & Lemons – XTC
    6 – Together Alone – Crowded House
    7 – John Henry – They Might Be Giants
    8 – Time – ELO
    9 – Tango In The Night – Fleetwood Mac
    10 – Don’t Stand Me Down – Dexys Midnight Runners

    Not really sure I agree with my own ordering of 1-10, but these are definitely up there in some order. It’s an interesting question, trying to get the balance between what’s “the best” versus “what I actually keep going back to”. There are loads of Britpop era albums I like a lot, but I don’t go back to them a lot, for some reason.

  64. 1 Hats – The Blue Nile
    2 Sign O the times – Prince
    3 Loveless – My Bloody Valentine
    4 Automatic for the People – REM
    5 The Queen is Dead – The Smiths
    6 Brotherhood – New Order
    7 Joshua Tree – U2
    8 Life’s a riot…- Billy Bragg
    9 The Bends – Radiohead
    10 Tunnel of love – Bruce Springsteen

  65. 1 – Gentlemen Take Polaroids – Japan
    2 – Hounds of Love – Kate Bush
    3 – A Walk Across The Rooftops – The Blue Nile
    4 – Steve McQueen – Prefab Sprout
    5 – Spirit Of Eden – Talk Talk
    6 – Car Wheels On A Gravel Road – Lucinda Williams
    7 – Lifes Rich Pageant – REM
    8 – Remain In Light – Talking Heads
    9 – Deserters Songs – Mercury Rev
    10 – Gaucho – Steely Dan

  66. 1-Screamadelica-Primal Scream
    2-The Stone Roses-The Stone Roses
    3-Dummy-Portishead
    4-Ill Communication-Beastie Boys
    5-Blue Lines-Massive Attack
    6-Moon Safari-Air
    7-Odelay-Beck
    8-Technique-New Order
    9-Nevermind-Nirvana
    10-Maxinequaye-Tricky

  67. 1-Dexys Midnight Runners – Don’t Stand Me Down
    2-Talk Talk – Spirit of Eden
    3-ABC – Beauty Stab
    4-Simple Minds – Sparkle In The Rain
    5-Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel Of Love
    6-The Smiths – Strangeways Here We Come
    7-Electronic – Electronic
    8- The Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues
    9-R.E.M. – Green
    10-Wilco – Summerteeth

  68. 1 – Reckoning – R.E.M.
    2 – On the Way to the Peak of Normal – Holger Czukay
    3 – Dare – The Human League
    4 – Car Wheels On A Gravel Road – Lucinda Williams
    5 – Utopia Parkway – Fountains of Wayne
    6 – Mercury – American Music Club
    7 – Remain in Light – Talking Heads
    8 – Heaven up Here – Echo and the Bunnymen
    9 – Gentlemen Take Polaroids – Japan
    10 – Hex Enduction Hour – The Fall

    As someone above said, this was *much* harder than the all-time list. I still can’t believe I couldn’t find room for English Settlement or Swordfishtrombones, or Sulk, or New Gold Dream etc.

    • … but you still found room to give Mark E. Smith and his granny on bongos their first votes on this chart. Hurrah!
      I love “The Classical”, “Fortress/Deer Park”, “Hip Priest” and “Who Makes the Nazis”, but 10 minutes of “And This Day” has always been … a bit much for me.

  69. 1- Imperial Bedroom – Elvis Costello
    2- Get Happy – Elvis Costello
    3- Graceland – Paul Simon
    4- Bring the Family – John Hiatt
    5- Girlfriend – Matthew Sweet
    6- It’s a Shame About Ray – The Lemonheads
    7- Rum, Sodomy & The Lash – The Pogues
    8- The Impossible Bird – Nick Lowe
    9- Where You Been – Dinosaur Jr
    10- Ragged Glory – Neil Young

  70. 1 – Be Bop Moptop – Danny Wilson
    2 – Spilt Milk – Jellyfish
    3 – Out of the Cradle – Lindsey Buckingham
    4 – The Dream of the Blue Turtle – Sting
    5 – Song – It’s Immaterial
    6 – Dreamland – Aztec Camera
    7 – Jordan: The Comeback – Prefab Sprout
    8 – Behaviour – Pet Shop Boys
    9 – Hawaii – The High Llamas
    10 – The Christians – The Christians

    This was my main time for buying & listening to music – walking into work, with a cassette on my Walkman – and I could have quite happily given 10 eighties & 10 nineties choices.
    I opted for a “you can only take ten with you” approach & chose It’s Immaterial to avoid having to decide which Blue Nile should be included.

    • Interesting that you have Bebop Moptop at number one. Meet Danny Wilson was close to making my list. Very underrated band. There’s a great clip on youtube of them singing my favourite song from Bebop Moptop, I Can’t Wait, live, where Kit’s voice almost goes at the end. I never saw a full Danny Wilson show, but I managed to see Gary Clark twice in Manchester, once with Boo Hewerdene and once with a band, including Ged Grimes on bass. Towards the end of that show they wheeled Kit out for a couple of numbers, so I sort of saw the band. I wish they’d have done the whole set as Danny Wilson.

        • I hadn’t, but I have now, so thanks for that. A real rarity at the end too. An ex had it away with the special edition of Sweet Danny Wilson when we split up, so I haven’t heard that track for about 25 years. I think it’s the only track of theirs I don’t have in one form or other.

  72. I listened to “The Christians” this afternoon, to check that it should be on the list.
    “Song” was a cheapie that I bought about a year after release & is a real gem.
    Former member of It’s Immaterial (& Yachts) was Henry Priestman – main songwriter of The Christians!

  73. 1 – Jordan The Comeback – Prefab Sprout
    2 – My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts – Brian Eno & David Byrne
    3 – 69 Love Songs – The Magnetic Fields
    4 – Tilt – Scott Walker
    5 – Dazzle Ships – OMD
    6 – A Walk Across The Rooftops – The Blue Nile
    7 – Hex Enduction Hour – The Fall
    8 – Jonathan Goes Country – Jonathan Richman
    9 – Skylarking – XTC
    10 – Fried – Julian Cope

    • Re: “Jonathan Goes Country”. Yeah – that’s a nice call.

      “She’s got a brown suntan starting just above her collar
      Her lower arms they’re brown, but the rest is kinda pale
      She’d buy betadine if she only had a dollar
      And she’d live out in the pasture if she only had a tail.”

      That’s classic Richman.

  74. 1 – Apple Venus – XTC
    2 – East Side Story – Squeeze
    3 – Wasp Star – XTC
    4 – The Delivery Man – Elvis Costello
    5 – Swordfishtrombones – Tom Waits
    6 – Egyptology – World Party
    7 – Abbatoir Blues – Nick Cave
    8 – The Impossible Bird – Nick Lowe
    9 – Ole Tarantula – Robyn Hitchcock
    10 – Ron Sexsmith – Ron Sexsmith

  75. 1 – Stones In The Road – Mary Chapin Carpenter
    2 – Wrecking Ball – Emmylou Harris
    3 – Freedom – Neil Young
    4 – The Wheel – Rosanne Cash
    5 – The Charity Of Night – Bruce Cockburn
    6 – Imperial Bedroom – Elvis Costello & the Attractions
    7 – August and Everything After – Counting Crows
    8 – Remain In Light – Talking Heads
    9 – Perfectly Good Guitar – John Hiatt
    10 – Kilimanjaro – The Teardop Explodes

    I’m predicting that Bruce Cockburn has received his only nomination in this list.

  76. 1 – Tunnel of Love – Bruce Springsteen
    2 – The Nighfly – Donald Fagen
    3 – I’m Your Man – Leonard Cohen
    4 – Un “Sung” Stories – Phil Alvin
    5 – Spirit of Eden – Talk Talk
    6 – New York – Lou Reed
    7 – The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
    8 – If I Should Fall From Grace with God – The Pogues
    9 – Sign o’ the Times – Prince
    10 – Ragged Glory – Neil Young

  77. I’ll probably think something completely different the second after I hit enter, but at this moment…

    1 – Scary Monsters – David Bowie
    2 – Rumor And Sigh – Richard Thompson
    3 – Apple Venus Volume 1 – XTC
    4 – Some Fantastic Place – Squeeze
    5 – Electric Cafe – Kraftwerk
    6 – Nebraska – Bruce Springsteen
    7 – Blood & Chocolate – Elvis Costello & The Attractions
    8 – Jordan: The Comeback – Prefab Sprout
    9 – Ragged Glory – Neil Young & Crazy Horse
    10 – Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins – Sparks

  78. Much tougher than the all time favourites. Have imposed own rule of only 1 album per artist otherwise there would have been 3 Talk Talks and 3 Pat Metheny –

    1 – As Falls Wichita So Falls Wichita Falls – Pat Metheny
    2 – Spirit of Eden – Talk Talk
    3 – Hats – The Blue Nile
    4 – The NightFly – Donald Fagen
    5 – Deserters Songs – Mercury Rev
    6 – Steve McQueen – Prefab Sprout
    7 – Meet Danny Wilson – Danny Wilson
    8 – The Sound of Lies – The Jayhawks
    9 – Moon Safari – Air
    10 – Harvest Moon – Neil Young

  79. Please disregard my original list. I fielded an ineligible player, so I’ve had to bring on a sub at the last minute. Apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused (the ineligible player has since been sold to a Turkish second division team).

    1 – Apple Venus – XTC
    2 – East Side Story – Squeeze
    3 – Wasp Star – XTC
    4 – The Delivery Man – Elvis Costello
    5 – Swordfishtrombones – Tom Waits
    6 – Egyptology – World Party
    7 – The Impossible Bird – Nick Lowe
    8 – Ole Tarantula – Robyn Hitchcock
    9 – Ron Sexsmith – Ron Sexsmith
    10 – Heaven – Jai

  80. 1 – The Clock Comes down the Stairs – Microdisney
    2 – The Nightfly – Donald Fagen
    3 – Eden – Everything But the Girl
    4 – Concert – The Cure
    5 – Sign O’ the Times – Prince
    6 – Treasure – Cocteau Twins
    7 – Graceland – Paul Simon
    8 – Walking Wounded – Everything But the Girl
    9 – Unplugged – Nirvana
    10 – Reckoning – R.E.M.

    More 80s than 90s by a long way.

  81. 1 – Scary Monsters – David Bowie
    2 – OK Computer – Radiohead
    3 – Gaucho – Steely Dan
    4 – Nightclubbing – Grace Jones
    5 – New Gold Dream – Simple Minds
    6 – Ragged Glory – Neil Young
    7 – Remain In Light – Talking Heads
    8 – Substance – New Order
    9 – Heaven Or Las Vegas – Cocteau Twins
    10 – Sign ‘O’ The Times – Prince

    The 90s records are currently nailed to the shelves, with a few expectations. They will probably be rediscovered someday, as is the way of things.

  82. This is a toughy. Some old pals are going to have to be left out.

    1 – Skylarking – XTC
    2 – Last Days Of Pompeii –Nova Mob
    3 – Sign O The Times – Prince
    4 – Six – Mansun
    5 – In It For The Money – Supergrass
    6 – Back In The DHSS – Half Man Half Biscuit
    7 – Songs From Northern Britain – Teenage Fanclub
    8 – Bum Rush The Show – Public Enemy
    9 – Talking With The Taxman About Poetry – Billy Bragg
    10 – Automatic For The People – REM

    Could probably have done a top 50 tbh.

  83. The top ten albums are changing almost daily.

    There are still 3 weeks in which you can vote.
    Closure is a mid-day on 20th June (mid-summers day).
    Pubs should be opening before then!

  84. I just need to share my pain…I can’t believe I forgot Basher’s entire 1980-99 oeuvre, which includes Party of One, Dig My Mood and Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit, 3 of my favourite albums. As you were.

  85. 1 – King of America – Elvis Costello
    2 – Swordfishtrombones – Tom Waits
    3 – Nebraska – Bruce Springsteen
    4 – Time out of Mind – Bob Dylan
    5 – Grace – Jeff Buckley
    6 – Rum, Sodomy & the Lash – The Pogues
    7 – The Trinity Session – Cowboy Junkies
    8 – Automatic for the People- R.E.M.
    9 – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road – Lucinda Williams
    10 – The Queen is Dead -The Smiths

  86. 1 – It takes a nation of millions – Public Enemy
    2 – Blue Lines – Massive attack
    3 – Rid of me – PJ Harvey
    4 – Postcard CV – Senseless Things
    5 – Radiator – Super Furry Animals
    6 – I often dream of trains – Robyn Hitchcock
    7 – Lazer Guided Melodies – Spiritualized
    8 – Perfect Prescription – Spacemen 3
    9 – Stone Roses – Stone Roses
    10 – Come on die young – Mogwai

    This list was a hell of a lot harder to put together, for some reason. Gutted that I couldn’t fit Husker Du, Five Thirty or Tricky on to the list. Interestingly (or not) the Robyn Hitchcock album is the one I’ve got into most recently as a result of a recommendation from this website. Perhaps the next top 10 we do could be ‘afterword recommendations?’

  87. Based on about five minutes of thought to avoid vanishing down a rabbit-hole…

    1 – House Tornado – Throwing Muses
    2 – Will Anything Happen – The Shop Assistants
    3 – Songs About Fucking – Big Black
    4 – The Covenant, The Sword and the Arm of the Lord – Cabaret Voltaire
    5 – Surfer Rosa – Pixies
    6 – Her Handwriting – Trembling Blue Stars
    7 – Psychocandy – The Jesus and Mary Chain
    8 – Document – REM
    9 – Leave The Straight Life Behind – Bob
    10 – Disintegration – The Cure

  88. 1-Hounds of Love-Kate Bush
    2-Fisherman’s Blues -The Waterboys
    3-Solo in Soho-Phil Lynott
    4-In My Tribe-10,000Maniacs
    5-Diamond Life -Sade
    6-Your Funeral My Trial-Nick Cave
    7-Vauxhall and I -Morrissey
    8-Beautiful Vision -Van Morrison
    9-Blue Lines – Massive Attack
    10-Still got the Blues -Gary Moore

  90. Bit late, but here you go:
    1 Gracelands Paul Simon
    2. Stone roses -Stone Roses
    3. A walk across the rooftops – The Blue Nile
    4. Music has the Right to Children – The Board of Canada
    5. Steve McQueen – Prefab Sprout
    6. World Shut your Mouth – Julian Cope
    7. Behaviour – The Pet Shop Boys
    8. Rattlesnakes -Lloyd Cole and The Commotions
    9. Emperor Tomato Ketchup – Stereolab
    10. Moon Safari – Air

  91. 1. Different class – pulp
    2. Grand Prix – Teenage fanclub
    3. speaking in tongues – talking heads
    4. swordfishtrombones – tom waits
    5. mezzanine – massive attack
    6. emperor tomato ketchup -stereolab
    7. if you are feeling sinister – belle and sebastian
    8. Apple Venus Vol 1 – XTC
    9. its great when you’re straight yeah – Black grape
    10. Out of Time -REM

  92. 1 – Gaucho – Steely Dan
    2 – The Nightfly – Donald Fagen
    3 – Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics – Brian Eno + Jon Hassell
    4 – Discipline – King Crimson
    5 – Coup De Tete – Kip Hanrahan
    6 – Time Out Of Mind – Bob Dylan
    7 – Garbage – Garbage
    8 – Spirit of Eden – Talk Talk
    9 – Dummy – Portishead
    10 – Open – Cowboy Junkies

  93. 1-Hounds of Love-Kate Bush
    2-King of America-Elvis Costello
    3-Everything’s Different Now-Til Tuesday
    4-Apple Venus Pt 1-XTC
    5-Around the world in a day-Prince
    6-East Side Story-Squeeze
    7-Making Movies-Dire Straits
    8-Different Class- Pulp
    9-Special Beat Service- The Beat
    10-Graceland – Paul Simon

  95. Here we go then….
    1. Get Happy!! – Elvis Costello & The Atractions
    2. Stone Roses – Stone Roses
    3. August & Everything After – Counting Crows
    4. Wild Wood – Paul Weller
    5. Rain Dogs – Tom Waits
    6. Document – R.E.M.
    7. Parade – Prince
    8. Different Class – Pulp
    9. Dummy – Portishead
    10. Nebraska – Bruce Springsteen

  96. I wasn’t going to participate but then someone put John Zorn in their list and the idea became more interesting. Out of my initial list of 113 albums, I arrived at this list of 10:

    1. My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts – Brian Eno/David Byrne
    2. The Nightfly – Donald Fagen
    3. Apollo: Atmospheres – Brian Eno/Daniel Lanois/Roger Eno
    4. Friends – Shalamar
    5. E2-E4 – Manuel Göttsching
    6. Nightclubbing – Grace Jones
    7. Chill Out – The KLF
    8. Chips From The Chocolate Fireball – The Dukes Of Stratosfear
    9. Songs From My Funeral – Snakefarm
    10. Jazz In Film – Terence Blanchard

    Nearly but not quite:
    The Legendary Marvin Pontiac
    Matapedia – Kate & Anna McGarrigle
    The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld
    Nós – Virginia Rodrigues
    Moments From This Theatre – Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham
    Introducing Rubén González
    Dummy – Portishead
    Different Class – Pulp
    Bending New Corners – Erik Truffaz
    Archaeology – The Rutles

  97. Chips From The Chocolate Fireball is actually a compilation of their two albums, or album and mini-album, to be more precise. Of the two, I prefer the mini-album, 25 O’Clock.

      • Well, I just had CFTCF myself and didn’t bother with the remastered individual CDs, but I gave it away and bought the CD/Blu Ray set that came out last year, as it has the 5:1 mixes and tons of bonus tracks. These XTC CD/Blu Ray releases are fab.

        • No equipment to play 5:1 mixes or Blu Ray and no inclination to buy any.
          The bonus tracks might be of interest but might equally possibly be disappointing. I’m far less of a completist these days, having found quite a lot of bonus material from artists to be play-once-and-forget stuff.

  98. Here’s mine. Most of my old favourites from the 70s were still producing great work so to be honest this doesn’t feel like a very 80s/90s list. Did toy with ditching Van, Bob, Bruce etc, and putting in people like Weller, Costello, Eurythmics, Bjork, Crowded House, EBTG. But what the hell, these are all great albums so I’ll stick with them.

    1 – Common One – Van Morrison
    2 – Time out of mind – Bob Dylan
    3 – Wrecking Ball – Emmylou Harris
    4 – Blue Lines – Massive Attack
    5 – I do not want what I haven’t got – Sinead O’Connor
    6 – Tunnel of Love – Bruce Springsteen
    7 – Graceland – Paul Simon
    8 – Achtung Baby – U2
    9 – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road – Lucinda Williams
    10 – Shoot Out the Lights – Richard and Linda Thompson

  100. Confession. I don’t mind a bit of U2. Not enough to put them in my top ten but still. Poor old Bono does get a lot of stick doesn’t he?

    Other news. I should have put 16 Lovers Lane by the Go-betweens in my top ten.

  101. Stick entirely brought on by himself via his preposterous and sanctimonius posturing. He needs to choose his political and corporate fat cat friends with a little more wisdom and discretion, rather than through the mirror of his own reflected glory.

  103. 1 – King of America’s – Elvis Costello
    2 – I’m Your Man – Leonard Cohen
    3 – New Adventures In Hi-Fi – R.E.M.
    4 – Hearts and Bones – Paul Simon
    5 – Exile on Coldharbour Lane – Alabama 3
    6 – Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot – Sparklehorse
    7 – Grand Prix – Teenage Fanclub
    8 – Sky Motel – Kristin Hersh
    9 – Worker’s Playtime – Billy Bragg
    10 – Being There – Wilco

    Christ, that was hard!

  104. 1 – You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever – Orange juice
    2 – High Land Hard Rain – Aztec Camera
    3 – Soul Mining – The The
    4 – Lost & Found – Jason & The Scorchers
    5 – Rattlesnakes – Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
    6 – Scary Monsters & Super Creeps – David Bowie
    7 – Grand Prix – Teenage Fan Club
    8 – Boat to Bolivia – Martin Stephenson & The Daintees
    9 – American Recordings – Johnny Cash
    10- The Convincer – Nick Lowe

  105. 1 – Grace – Jeff Buckley
    2 – Boom Town – David and David
    3 – Soro – Salif Keita
    4 – The Colour of Spring – Talk Talk
    5 – Maria McKee – Maria McKee
    6 – Fumbling Towards Ecstasy – Sarah McLachlan
    7 – New Gold Dream – Simple Minds
    8 – Steve McQueen – Prefab Sprout
    9 – The Bends – Radiohead
    10 – Fisherman’s Blues – The Waterboys

  106. My list can be re-used from the lockdown one, except for a Beatles entry, so I’ve replaced that;
    1 – The Queen Is Dead – The Smiths
    2 – Behaviour – Pet Shop Boys
    3 – Violator – Depeche Mode
    4 – Electronic – Electronic
    5 – Technique – New Order
    6 – Lifeblood – Manic Street Preachers
    7 – Vauxhall & I – Morrissey
    8 – Introspective – Pet Shop Boys
    9 – Disintegration – The Cure
    10 – Dare! – The Human League

  107. I found this far easier to put together than the massive top 100 a few years ago. Easier because I think in the early ’80’s I had fairly well established the kind of groove I liked and whittled my tastes down accordingly.

    1 – Gaucho – Steely Dan
    2 – The Nightfly – Donald Fagen
    3 – The Apprentice – John Martyn
    4 – The Colour of Spring – Talk Talk
    5 – Road Tested – Bonnie Raitt
    6 – Uprising – Bob Marley
    7 – Yellow Moon – Neville Brothers
    8 – Van Morrison – Days Like This
    9 – Bang – World Party
    10 – Rattlesnakes – Lloyd Cole and The Commotions

  108. I was surprised to notice that Brooooce’s Tunnel Of Love and Time Out Of Mind are on an equal footing and that his Nebraska shares a position with Wrecking Ball (and no, that’s not the Miley Cyrus hit).

    • I went for Tunnel Of Love But it was a close call against The Ghost of Tom Joad which I think is a criminally underrated record and has two of my all time favourite Springsteen songs, Across the Border and The Line.

  109. OH TO BE SO PERVERSE
    1. – From Here to Eternity – Nick Cave
    2. – The First Born Is Dead – Nick Cave
    3. – Kicking Against The Pricks – Nick Cave
    4. – Your Funeral ..My Trial – Nick Cave
    5. – Tender Prey – Nick Cave
    6. – The Good Son – Nick Cave
    7. – Henry’s Dream – Nick Cave
    8. – Let Love In – Nick Cave
    9. – Murder Ballads – Nick Cave
    10. – Murder In The Graveyard – Screaming Lord Sutch

    TO LISTEN SUCH GOLDEN GLORIOUS GORY VERSES

  110. Taken my time choosing the ten. Bought loads of vinyl & cassettes during this period but they’ve all gone now and very little has been replaced on cd or digitally. I’ve limited myself to one album per artist otherwise David Lindley’s “El Rayo X” would definitely have made the cut.

    1 – Win This Record – David Lindley & El Rayo X
    2 – Rattlesnakes – Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
    3 – The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
    4 – Borderline – Ry Cooder
    5 – Balinese Dancer – Chuck Prophet
    6 – Big Science – Laurie Anderson
    7 – Emergency Third Rail Power Trip – The Rain Parade
    8 – Bring The Family – John Hiatt
    9 – The Trinity Session – Cowboy Junkies
    10 – Searching For The Young Soul Rebels – Dexy’s Midnight Runners

  111. Will Yazoo and Howard Jones continue to gather support?
    Could Nik Kershaw’s late surge surpass that of Nick Cave?
    Is Uprising the only well liked reggae album of the 80s?
    Did Broooce Springsteen release to many good but not great albums in the 80s and 90s?
    Am I spending too much time compiling all your votes?

    All will be revealed in 2 weeks!

  112. As list-compiler-in-chief it’s probably impossible not to overthink this whole thing, but I too wondered about Uprising.

    Uprising was the last great release by Bob Marley and it successfully married superb songs with a strong pop sensibility. It’s very playable whilst still carrying a strong message and was a worldwide hit. Is it the best? Probably not, as the recent reggae post suggested.

    Gregory Issacs with Night Nurse and Black Uhuru generally should be strong contenders here, but they, like other reggae artists of the period, just didn’t have Marley’s mass appeal.

    • I have both Sinsemilla and Red from Black Uhuru’s releases and while I enjoyed them both at the time, I can’t say that either entered my thinking for this list.

  113. Such a tricky business, this – I mean, how to directly compare the 2 hours plus of Suede’s Sci Fi Lullabies with the 33 minutes of Aphex Twin’s Richard D James album (is it right to punish 90s CD era releases for having some fat, which, when trimmed leaves more lean material than some early eighties LPs? If disc one of SFL could stand alone, it would be in my top 5).
    And isn’t Sci Fi Lullabies a compilation anyway? – well, none of its songs appear on any of their albums proper. But then, New Order’s Substance has already received a few votes and, while I know none of these versions of its songs are on their other albums, being a repository of hits, it really feels like a compilation to me.
    But the bigger problem is the old football fan-favourite question. Some records, like Costello’s King Of America are like Steve Bruce – trustworthy and reliable, offering a solid performance every time, while others, such as The Pixies’ Surfer Rosa are more like the mercurial John Barnes – capable of catching fire on one occasion, but on another day, when you’re not so much in the right mood, their spell just doesn’t work so well.
    Then there’s the small matter of the record whose brilliance you can’t even explain to yourself, but which you find you always want to play – the chief example of which, on my list, is Shinehead’s Unity.
    Anyway, here’s 10:

    1 – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back – Public Enemy
    2 – You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever – Orange Juice
    3 – The Holy Bible – Manic Street Preachers
    4 – Searching For The Young Soul Rebels – Dexys Midnight Runners
    5 – Countrymen – Twinkle Brothers
    6 – High Land, Hard Rain – Aztec Camera
    7 – Giant Steps – The Boo Radleys
    8 – Unity – Shinehead
    9 – George Best – The Wedding Present
    10 – The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill – Ms. Lauryn Hill

    (…and, cos this is hard, the next ten)
    Let Love In – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
    Behaviour – Pet Shop Boys
    In Sides – Orbital
    Either/Or – Elliott Smith
    Neither Washington Nor Moscow.. – Redskins
    Road Music – Grand Drive
    The Eight Legged Groove Machine – The Wonder Stuff
    Technique – New Order
    Black On Both Sides – Mos Def
    Workers Playtime – Billy Bragg

  115. 1. Moon Safari – Air
    2. Absolutely – Madness
    3. Experience – The Prodigy
    4. Wide Angle – Hybrid
    5. The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
    6. The Rise & Fall – Madness
    7. Different Class – Pulp
    8. OK Computer – Radiohead
    9. Music For The Jilted Generation – The Prodigy
    10. Mezzanine – Massive Attack

  116. 1 – Once in a Blue Moon – Lal Waterson and Oliver Knight
    2 – Old Rottenhat – Robert Wyatt
    3 – Swagger – The Blue Aeroplanes
    4 – Penguin Eggs – Nic Jones
    5 – Soul Mining – The The
    6 – Promenade – The Divine Comedy
    7 – The Fawn – The Sea and Cake
    8 – Hounds of Love – Kate Bush
    9 – Dubnobasswithmyheadman – Underworld
    10 – The Charm of the Highway Strip – The Magnetic Fields

    If I could have had twenty:

    Tiger Bay – Saint Etienne
    The Natural Bridge – Silver Jews
    Laughing Stock – Talk Talk
    Dots and Loops – Stereolab
    If You’re Feeling Sinister – Belle and Sebastian
    Shhh – Chumbawamba
    Smog – Red Apple Falls
    Witch – Leslie Winer
    Camoufleur – Gastr del Sol
    Floodland – The Sisters Of Mercy

  117. 1. 69 LOVE SONGS – THE MAGNETIC FIELDS
    2. STEVE MCQUEEN – PREFAB SPROUT
    3. GRAND PRIX – TEENAGE FANCLUB
    4. PROMENADE – THE DIVINE COMEDY
    5. TECHNIQUE – NEW ORDER
    6. GIANT STEPS – THE BOO RADLEYS
    7. THE STONE ROSES – THE STONE ROSES
    8. THE QUEEN IS DEAD – THE SMITHS
    9. IF YOU’RE FEELING SINISTER – BELLE & SEBASTIAN
    10.LIFES RICH PAGEANT – REM

    To put into a context that no-one asked for, this is my era. I was born in ’75, and really got into music around 1990. Slowly, the 1980s started to reveal themselves in a way that I think the 70s have for a lot of you on here so I’ve had to make some agonising choices and leave out some absolute favourites from that period – hello Madness, Orange Juice, Go-Betweens, Dexys among others. I was also very much a kid of the oft-maligned Britpop as well, so Suede, Pulp and Blur were all very close to making the cut. And the Pet Shop Boys – an 80s band who made their best album in the 90s (Very) have been robbed. Great fun trying to whittle it down.

    Interesting to see how the voting is going too. Some bands realistically only have one shot at getting on this list – The Stone Roses being a prime example – but others are seeing a serious split in their vote. Quite a few different albums by REM and Elvis being chosen for a start.

  119. 1 – Skylarking – XTC
    2 – Spilt Milk – Jellyfish
    3 – Sign ‘O’ The Times – Prince
    4 – Murmur – REM
    5 – I’m With Stupid – Aimee Mann
    6 – Can You Still Feel – Jason Falkner
    7 – Grand Prix – Teenage Fanclub
    8 – Sheryl Crow – Sheryl Crow
    9 – Utopia Parkway – Fountains of Wayne
    10 – The Trinity Session – Cowboy Junkies

    These are maybe not the most chin-stroking choices, but the ones I play again and again.

  121. My entry is so late because of the agony it has caused me. I’ve restricted it to 1 per artist which helped me narrow it down. The order could change daily (as could the selections).
    1 – Imperial Bedroom – Elvis Costello and the Attractions
    2 – Goodbye Jumbo – World Party
    3 – Rattlesnakes – Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
    4 – Poetic Champions Compose – Van Morrison
    5 – Pontiac – Lyle Lovett
    6 – Ingenue – K D Lang
    7 – El Corazon – Steve Earle
    8 – Architecture and Morality – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
    9 – Avalon – Roxy Music
    10 – New Gold Dream 81/82/83/84 – Simple Minds

    I realise that this is embarrassingly white and mostly male which does not reflect my overall tastes but it is an honest list. Next 2 decades will have more females I think.
    All 80s releases which wasn’t intentional, must be an age thing (I was 17-27 in the 80s).
    Some notes on my choices:
    1 – Could have been Get Happy.
    2 – I’m happy with this.
    3 – Ditto.
    4 – Could have been No Method, No Guru, No Teacher but Poetic Champions was what got me into Van.
    5 – Could have been any of his 1st three albums.
    6 – My favourite voice. Could have chosen Shadowland.
    7 – Could have been I Feel Alright.
    8 – I see many have chosen Dazzle Ships but Architecture is the one for me.
    9 – Could have been Boys and Girls by Bryan Ferry. Close call.
    10 – I’m happy with this.

    I’m sure I have forgotten some classics and will kick myself after I post this, but I can’t procrastinate any longer.

  122. Ok. Today it’s…
    1 – Wrecking Ball – Emmylou Harris.
    2 – Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space – Spiritualised.
    3 – Moon Safari – Air.
    4 – Dummy – Portishead.
    5 – In Sides – Orbital.
    6 – Blue Lines – Massive Attack.
    7 – Leftism – Leftfield.
    8 – Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot – Sparkle horse.
    9 – Nixon – Lambchop.
    10 – XO – Elliot Smith.

  124. 1 – Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman
    2 – Graceland – Paul Simon
    3 – Kite – Kirsty MacColl
    4 – Surfacing – Sarah McLachlan
    5 – Titanic Days – Kirsty MacColl
    6 – Songs From The Big Chair – Tears For Fears
    7 – Diva – Annie Lennox
    8 – Super Trouper – ABBA
    9 – Automatic For The People – R.E.M.
    10 – Play – The Nields

    It’s a fairly mainstream list, but it’s the ones that I play most from start to end. Super Trouper earns its place as the first LP I owned and was a Christmas present from my parents.

  125. Just a nudge to the procrastinators among us:

    The deadline is 13:00 BST (12:00 GMT) on this Saturday (20 June).

    @pencilsqueezer Still no votes for anything Romanian or caprino and not much Jazz either! I have however noticed votes for Nick Cave’s funereal songs

  127. 1–Closer–Joy Division
    2–Murmur–REM
    3–King Of America–Elvis Costello
    4–Dubnobasswithmyheadman–Underworld
    5–Frosting On The Beater–The Posies
    6–No Guru, No Method, No Teacher–Van Morrison
    7–New York–Lou Reed
    8–Warehouse: Songs and Stories–Husker Du
    9–Fire Of Love–The Gun Club
    10–Whiskey For The Holy Ghost–Mark Lanegan

  128. 1 – Night Lilies – Jackie Leven

    2 – Tunnel of Love – Bruce Springsteen

    3 – Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot – Sparklehorse

    4 – Bob Mould – Bob Mould

    5 – Closer – Joy Division

    6 – Brotherhood – New Order

    7 – Searching For The Young Soul Rebels – Dexys Midnight Runners

    8 – Hallowed Ground – Violent Femmes

    9 – Rum Sodomy and The Lash – The Pouges

    10 – Red Sails In The Sunset – Midnight Oil

    Stuck to the only one album by an artist otherwise could have filled the list with Jackie Leven album’s, it also meant that the Doll by Doll albums didn’t get a look in because they were JL’s old band, and Copper Blue missed out by a gnats whisker to Bob’s solo.

    Those bubbling under ….
    Swordfishtrombones – Ton Waits
    The Past Didn’t Go Anywhere – Utah Phillips and Anni De Franco
    Mirror Man – David Thomas and The Pale Orchestra
    Electo-shock Blues – Eels
    3 Years 5 Months and 2 Days in the life of – Arrested Development
    Chappaquiddick Bridge – Poison Girls
    Post – Bjork
    Leftisim – Leftfield
    Holy Bible – Manic Street Preachers
    Pyschocandy – Jesus and Mary chain

  129. 1 – Just Ain’t Good Enough – Johnnie Taylor
    2 – Abandoned Garden– Michael Franks
    3 – Here’s to Life – Shirley Horn
    4 – The Audience With – Betty Carter
    5 – Love Remains – Bobby Watson
    6 – We Live Here – Pat Metheny
    7 – Lone Star State of Mind– Nanci Griffith
    8 – Anniversary – Stan Getz
    9 – Black Woman – Judy Mowatt
    10 – By The Time It Gets Dark – Mary Black

  131. A Gentle Reminder –

    Mid-day, tomorrow, the 20th June is the deadline for this poll on albums 1980-1999.

    For clarity and our international Afterword community, this will be 13:00 (BST), 12:00 (GMT), 14:00 (in Sweden) 22:00 (AUS), 08:00 (EDT)

    Glad mittenårsdag – Feliz dia de medio año – Gelukkige mid-jaar dag – Great Winter solstice (Southerners).

    Summer Solstice https://www.facebook.com/events/581183132524229/

    • “Glad mittenårsdag” may be my new favourite Google Translate expression – I’ll use that one next year! 😀
      (And Glad Midsommar to you as well… 🙂 )

  132. I’ve pondered this for some time. A top ten of my favourite Manchester City footballers would be easy, but music is such a mood dependent thing, it’s a task that seems at odds with the medium. With that waffly preamble out of the way, here’s ten that have resonated down the years.

    1 – Power, Corruption & Lies – New Order
    2 – Circuses and Bread – The Durutti Column
    3 – Everything is Wrong – Moby
    4 – Wrong Way Up – Brian Eno & John Cale
    5 – Architecture & Morality – OMD
    6 – Playing With Fire – Spacemen 3
    7 – Happiness – The Beloved
    8 – No. 10 Upping Street – Big Audio Dynamite
    9 – Don’t Try This At Home – Billy Bragg
    10 – Gone To Earth – David Sylvian

  133. 1 – Before Hollywood – Go-Betweens
    2 – Night Lilies – Jackie Leven
    3 – Born Sandy Devotional – The Triffids
    4 – Doll By Doll – Doll By Doll
    5 – The Boatman’s Call – Nick Cave
    6 – Bone Machine – Tom Waits
    7 – I’m Your Man – Leonard Cohen
    8 – Wrong Way Up – Brian Eno & John Cale
    9 – Ragged Glory – Neil Young
    10 – Graceland – Paul Simon

  135. Hopefully sneaking in before the deadline, here goes.

    1 – The Southern Harmony & Musical Companion – The Black Crowes
    2 – Spilt Milk – Jellyfish
    3 – Living With The Law – Chris Whitley
    4 – Scarecrow – John ‘Cougar’ Mellencamp
    5 – Strange Kind Of Love – Love and Money
    6 – Goodbye Jumbo – World Party
    7 – Wildflowers – Tom Petty
    8 – Utopia Parkway – Fountains of Wayne
    9 – Eureka – The Bible
    10 – Fishermans Blues – The Waterboys

    Top 1 is relatively set.
    Top 5 are always there or there about, top 10 is as at this moment. I’d love to say that I just dashed this list off in a few mins but in reality it’s been agonized over. As always it’s the ones you left out, sorry Mr Springsteen, Simon, The Feeling etc……

Leave a Reply