NME Top 10 Albums 1985

[clive gash]

Which records?

[Brother Spoon]

All that Clash, Joy Division, Sex pistols, Patti Smith, Pere Ubu, Dexy's, Kraftwerk, Suicide, Buzzcocks, Siouxsie, Gang of 4, Talking heads, Iggy Pop, Magazine, Undertones nonsense.
I may play one or two of those once every five years or so, maybe the Patti Smith or the Pere ubu. But that's it.

And the Madness, Prefab sprout, Lloyd Cole nonsense.

How many Costello records are there in that list?!

I like some of the records in the list though.

[clive gash]

You're not wrong about the Costello, that was a sore point at the time. Lloyd Cole too.

The rest? Now I might broadly agree with your picks, then I wouldn't have.

[Brother Spoon]

Oh, I get that. In my time all top 100s were legally bound to include Jeff Buckley.

[pcqgod]

I like 11 through 14 better than any of those. 'Unknown Pleasures' is my favorite from the top 10.

[naughty boy]

Half of Unknown Pleasures is unlistenable cowpat.

[Darkness_Fish]

Unknown Pleasures is literally head and shoulders above the other 9. If it had shoulders, or a head.

[soundchaser]

I would have expected to see Steve McQueen and Rattlesnakes ranked much higher: they were great 1980s pop albums.

I must dig them out...it's been a while.

I bought Get Happy recently, and was quite disappointed with it: not a patch on the first three.

[fange]

Unknown Pleasures is literally head and shoulders above the other 9. If it had shoulders, or a head.

I totally disagree with you, and i like UP a lot.
This is a 2 horse race for me - i reckon 7 out of 10 days i'd say it's H61R, and the other 3 i'd say it's The Clash. After that it's daylight.

[Goat Boy]

Does anybody over 25 who isn't socially maladjusted rate Unknown Pleasures that highly?

C'mon.

[fange]

Only people with very ... specific tastes, and D_F has very specific taste.

[Deebank]

God the eighties were completley shit , weren't they.What an embarrassing list. Was everyone who voted a complete cunt or what?

It's clear that editorial dictat had it that not under any circumstances can anything with the slightest whiff of heaviness be allowed!
No Hendrix, Sabs, Zeppelin.

Heavy rock/metal was fit only for ridicule in NME at this time as I recall... Now it's chock full of half-arsed wuss-rock bands.

Steven Wells among a select crew of others as well as bands like Napalm death, Extreme Noise Terror, Electro Hippies and Bolt thrower would redress that balance in years to come fortunately and then towards the end of the decade they'd all discover how they actually liked Zep more than The Redskins all along1

[Darkness_Fish]

Only people with very ... specific tastes, and D_F has very specific taste.

I would respond, but I think the socially maladjusted crowd are beckoning me over for a chat.

[The Prof]

Surprised to see Low as the highest placed Bowie album.

[fange]

I would respond, but I think the socially maladjusted crowd are beckoning me over for a chat.

Tell them to lighten up and enjoy the party!

[naughty boy]

I would have expected to see Steve McQueen and Rattlesnakes ranked much higher: they were great 1980s pop albums.

I must dig them out...it's been a while.

I bought Get Happy recently, and was quite disappointed with it: not a patch on the first three.

The first TWO are good, and Armed Forces is just mediocrity after mediocrity.

[soundchaser]

The first TWO are good, and Armed Forces is just mediocrity after mediocrity.

Oh no, I don't agree with this, I really think Armed Forces, is one of the best albums of the era. I love the songs, the crisp, distinctive sound of the band, and Nick Lowe's production? Listening now, and no, nothing wrong with this.I remember my punk loving brother-in-law had the single of Accidents Will Happen. One evening he came home a bit pissed, and went upstairs to play the song. Twenty or so consecutive plays later, I went to have a word with him, and found him passed out on his bed. When I put the album on just now, my wife said, "Oh, not that bloody song again!" But it's a very good album: I'll stand by that.

[Osgood]

I have all of them. All range from very good to great, bar UP which is a turgid piece of crap. Went for Highway61.

[clive gash]

I am surprised that Unknown Pleasures ranks so much higher than Closer, it'd be the other way round now.

[Osgood]

God the eighties were completley shit , weren't they.What an embarrassing list. Was everyone who voted a complete cunt or what?

It's clear that editorial dictat had it that not under any circumstances can anything with the slightest whiff of heaviness be allowed!
No Hendrix, Sabs, Zeppelin.

Heavy rock/metal was fit only for ridicule in NME at this time as I recall...

I remember a later list (1988 I think) which was even worse, with The Smiths, JD and Jesus and Mary Chain at the top.