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The Greatest Albums of the 80s - Final Results
Well SoulTrackers, you did a great job again! Following our earlier vote on the 1970s, over the course of the past few weeks we polled you to see what you think are the Greatest Soul albums of the 1980s, and you came through with thousands of votes! Here are the top 75 albums you chose. You can click on the album covers below to listen to or purchase the CDs at Amazon.com. Thanks for your participation. And go to the bottom of this page to see how you can help us begin choosing the best albums of the 80s!
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NUMBER ONE |
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Michael Jackson |
2. Anita Baker |
3. Prince |
4. Luther Vandross |
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5. Prince |
6. Stevie Wonder |
7. Whitney Houston |
8. Sade |
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9. Sade |
10. Luther Vandross |
11. Janet Jackson |
12, Isley Bros. |
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13. Maze |
14. Michael Jackson |
15. Phyllis Hyman |
16. Soul II Soul |
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17. Keith Sweat |
18. Rick James |
19. Quincy Jones |
20. Tina Turner |
What did you think of the the poll?
Let us know by posting your comments below.
Want to see the picks from the other decades? Just CLICK HERE.
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Posted April 6th, 2009 by administratorComments
How could we not make "Songs
DEAN OF FUNK - March 17th, 2009
How could we not make "Songs ITKOL" number 1? That's our work, experiences and culture. Remember the double album with a 45 added? Artwork impeccable. EW&F & Marvin's albums are superb. But Stevie is a national treasure.
DoF*
I like the list thus far.
afro1920 - March 19th, 2009
I like the list thus far. It's also not surprising that true soul/r&b music fans placed the Songstress, Anita Baker, over the King of Pop. Don't get me wrong, I love Michael and respect his talent. Still, this list is about "soul tracks" and he's called the King of Pop for a reason especially when one takes his work from the past 25 years into account.
IN Square Circle by Stevie
WShakesphere - March 19th, 2009
IN Square Circle by Stevie Onder shouldnt be so low in vote, ALOT of folks sleep on that cd even though it was a short 10 track cd, Stevie gave us classic material like:
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Part-Time Lover
Whereabouts
Stranger On The Shore Of Love
Never In Your Sun
Go Home
Overjoyed
It's Wrong (Apartheid)
THESE ARE AVERAGE
earlwiggs - March 22nd, 2009
THESE ARE AVERAGE SONGS.....YALL JUST DON'T KNOW THE OTHER TYPE OF 80's MUSIC YALL MISS COMING UP ON BESIDES THESE REGULAR RADIO TRACKS THAT WERE PLAYED. TRY EXPANDED YOUR MINDS OUTWARD ON DIFFERENT STUFF FOR A CHANGE.
p.s. THE SO CALL NEW RADIO STATION 107.5FM IS STILL PLAYIN THE SAME OLD CRAP THAT 104.1FM PLAYS.......C'MON PEOPLE DIG MORE IN THE CRATES NOT YOUR IPODS FOR GOOD MUSIC..........PEACE....ATL...
Major Ommissions: Blue Magic
GAVIN VON MEYER - April 6th, 2009
Major Ommissions: Blue Magic - Out of The Blue, Manhattans - Forever By Your Side, Ojays - Let Me Touch You, Aretha Franklin Whoo's Zooming Who - Jimmy Lee?, Dion Warwick, Pointer Sisters, Wham Whhhhyyyy???
Earl Very Very True....Lot
siansize - April 6th, 2009
Earl
Very Very True....Lot of the picks became 'benchmarks' for that artists' other subsequent releases making them obscured by that one particular release.
Its nothing new but as usual extremely disappointing!
RonnoMix
The picks in general were
siansize - April 6th, 2009
The picks in general were based on radio airplay and those releases that didnt any were readily ignored!
I put in oodles of artists who didnt get the grade at all!
So Im NOT too surprised to see what the outcome was for the 'top albums' from the 80's.
But good for those who voted-the spirit of 'choice!'
The definition of 'SOUL'
R450D1 - April 7th, 2009
The definition of 'SOUL' turned out to be too accommodating and in the process, some real soul albums gave way to popular ones. Can it get any more soulful than Linda & Cecil? Surely 'Love Wars' & 'Radio M.U.S.C. Man' would have perched right up there alongside Anita Baker ('Songstress' & 'Rapture'), Phyllis Hyman ('Living All Alone'), Luther, O'Jays, Randy, Maze...etc.
These lists are always
Najee - April 9th, 2009
These lists are always subjective, but I would say there are some odd listings and omissions.
IMO, Bobby Brown's "Don't Be Cruel" and Midnight Star's "No Parking on the Dancefloor" are way too low. These albums easily should be in the top 20 and would rank in my top 10; each one dominated the airwaves for more than a year with their numerous hits and/or album tracks. I also would put Al B. Sure!'s "In Effect Mode" in the top 50.
Instead of naming Jeffrey Osborne's self-titled debut, he would have been better represented by "Stay with Me Tonight." I differ with the Earth, Wind & Fire entry "Faces;" the album "Raise!" is more representative of their early '80s standing. I can see Cameo's "Word Up!" being listed, but a fair argument can be made that "Alligator Woman" was the band's first complete, and best, album. I personally would not have listed Teddy Pendergrass' "Joy," but 1980's "T.P."
Another album that is missing is Slave's "Stone Jam," one of the first completely consistent albums of the decade. I don't see Jody Watley's self-titled debut, Club Noveau's "Life, Love and Pain" and The Jacksons' "Triumph." Another grave omission IMO is Freddie Jackson's "Just Like the First Time," an album that was the No. 1 album on the Billboard R&B Albums charts for 27 weeks.
Also of consideration is the emergence of rap music, and I feel those albums should be represented because some of the audience bought their albums. Maybe I'll have to create my own list, but like I said it's all subjective.
I didn't get here in time to
Najee - April 9th, 2009
I didn't get here in time to vote, but this would have been my top 75. I feel live albums and compilations with at least one new studio track should be included, but that's my opinion:
1.) Michael Jackson "Thriller"
2.) Prince "1999"
3.) Anita Baker "Rapture"
4.) Janet Jackson "Control"
5.) Luther Vandross "The Night I Fell in Love"
6.) Bobby Brown "Don't Be Cruel"
7.) Rick James "Street Songs"
8.) Keith Sweat "Make It Last Forever"
9.) Midnight Star "No Parking on the Dancefloor"
10.) Luther Vandross "Never Too Much"
11.) "GUY"
12.) Freddie Jackson "Rock Me Tonight"
13.) Prince & The Revolution "Purple Rain"
14.) Freddie Jackson "Just Like the First Time"
15.) Bobby Womack "The Poet"
16.) Sade "Diamond Life"
17.) Janet Jackson "Rhythm Nation 1814"
18.) Prince "Dirty Mind"
19.) Stevie Wonder "Hotter than July"
20.) The Jacksons "Triumph"
21.) Slave "Stone Jam"
22.) Maze feat. Frankie Beverly "Live in New Orleans"
23.) Prince "Sign 'O' the Times"
24.) Tina Turner "Private Dancer"
25.) Cameo "Alligator Woman"
26.) Club Noveau "Life, Love & Pain"
27.) The Time "What Time Is It?"
28.) "Whitney Houston"
29.) Jeffrey Osborne "Stay with Me Tonight"
30.) Quincy Jones "The Dude"
31.) New Edition "Heartbreak"
32.) Babyface "Tender Lover"
33.) Soul II Soul "Keep On Movin'"
34.) The Isley Brothers "Between the Sheets"
35.) Stevie Wonder "Original Musiquarium"
36.) Cameo "Word Up!"
37.) "Ready For The World"
38.) Al B. Sure! "In Effect Mode"
39.) Marvin Gaye "Midnight Love"
40.) Roger "The Many Facets of Roger"
Here is the rest of my
Najee - April 9th, 2009
Here is the rest of my list:
41.) "Jody Watley"
42.) Maze feat. Frankie Beverly "We Are One"
43.) Sade "Stronger than Pride"
44.) Teddy Pendergrass "T.P."
45.) Luther Vandross "Forever, For Always, For Love"
46.) George Benson "Give Me the Night"
47.) DeBarge "In a Special Way"
48.) Kool & The Gang "Emergency"
49.) Phyllis Hyman "Living All Alone"
50.) Ashford & Simpson "Street Opera"
51.) The Pointer Sisters "Break Out"
52.) The Isley Brothers "Go All the Way"
53.) Rene & Angela "A Street Called Desire"
54.) "GAP Band III"
55.) Earth, Wind & Fire "Raise!"
56.) Grover Washington Jr. "Winelight"
57.) Quincy Jones "Back on the Block"
58.) Slave "Showtime"
59.) Sade "Promise"
60.) "GAP Band IV"
61.) Alexander O'Neal "Hearsay"
62.) Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam "Spanish Fly"
63.) "Jesse Johnson's Revue"
64.) George Michael "Faith"
65.) DeBarge "All This Love"
66.) The Brothers Johnson "Light Up the Night"
67.) "Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby"
68.) Klymaxx "Meeting in the Ladies Room"
69.) Diana Ross "Diana"
70.) "Zapp"
71.) Maze featuring Frankie Beverly "Can't Stop the Love"
72.) Stevie Wonder "In Square Circle"
73.) "Karyn White"
74.) Chaka Khan "I Feel for You"
75.) Atlantic Starr "As the Band Turns"
I pretty much agree with
Chosen1 - April 17th, 2009
I pretty much agree with your top 20, exceptions are:
Isley Bros (their past hits are definitely the most covered and memorable); Phyllis Hyman, love her, but this was also not her best..."Somewhere in the My Liftime." And, Quincey's "The Dude" should have been ranked before "BOTB." Diana Ross - her best album ever...should have been higher ranked (as Stevie, Natalie Cole. Missed Ashford & Simpson also..
Where is Dirty Mind? Sign o'
inthesticks - April 24th, 2009
Where is Dirty Mind? Sign o' the Times? Hmmm? I also agree with the above poster that In Square Circle is a fine record and deserves a spot on the list. Shalamar's "The Look" is a fine record and deserving of new respect.
I love this list! You guys
Yolanda - April 30th, 2009
I love this list! You guys absolutely got it right. Some of the greatest music of all time are on this list. Anita Baker's "Rapture"...a work of art! Luther Vandross was at his best in the '80's..."this man is a doctor"!!
Yohan
Bobby Womack, real soul. Its
Mitchell - May 18th, 2009
Bobby Womack, real soul.
Its all a matter of taste but I think the top 10 includes six albums that better qualify as pop than soul. As someone who listened to quite a lot of 80s soul, I agree that Luther and Anita dominate, but so too does Bobby Womack. I would place Poet 2 and So Many Rivers near the top. Glenn Jones is on the list - great! However, it was his first album, Finesse, which blew me away. So too is Stephanie Mills, but I think her best was If I Were Your Woman, with its great producers, including Nick Martinelli. Speaking of producers, Anita's producer Michael J Powell was my favorite of the period. His band, Chapter 8, particularly This Love's for Real, and Perri's The Flight, were musts for anyone wanting real soul at the time. The Jones Girls are there, which reminds me of the Gamble and Huff/Philadelphia International produced Shirley Jones LP, Always in the Mood. So to is Rene and Angela, but you should listen to Angela Winbush's The Real Thing. What a musical genius and stunning woman. Also, if you can get it, listen to Will Downing's self-titled first album, and the same for the trio, By All Means. And if your definition of soul extends south, try William Bell's Passion. My personal favorite for the 80s remains, however, Intimate Storm by Shirley Brown, recorded in Memphis with great veterans, which has got a re-release but with an inferior cover. The Teddy, Aretha, and Freddy Jackson, should all be closer to the Top 10 than they are - and I can't find Melisa Morgan's Do Me Baby up there.
Music of the 80's was the
ViolaXZ - November 19th, 2009
Music of the 80's was the best. I'm serious. My favorite albums are:
True Blue - Madonna
Like A Prayer - Madonna
Reckless - Bryan Adams
Pump - Aerosmith
Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston
Back In Black - AC/DC
Rio - Duran Duran
Diamond Life - Sade
Blackout - Scorpions
Into A Secret Land – Sandra
Genesis - Genesis
Like A Virgin - Madonna
Slippery When Wet - Bon Jovi
Hunting High And Low - A-Ha
Stay On These Roads - A-Ha
Runaway Horses - Belinda Carlisle
Heaven On Earth - Belinda Carlisle
Forever Your Girl - Paula Abdul
Break Every Rule - Tina Turner
Foreign Affair - Tina Turner
Faith - George Michael
Heart Shaped World - Chris Isaak
Joshua Tree - U2
Heart of Stone - Cher
Ride the Lightning - Metallica
She's So Unusual - Cyndi Lauper
Revenge - Eurythmics
Rhythm Nation - Janet Jackson
Boonoonoonoos - Boney M
Loa Angeles - X
Appetite for Destruction - Guns N' Roses
The Trinity Session - Cowboy Junkies
and some others...
