Radio 2 Best Albums of the 1980's list (October 9, 2020)

Another one of those ridiculous lists, this time voted by BBC Radio 2 listeners.

The Queen Is Dead is #7.


Imho, Joshua Tree isn't even the best U2 album of the 80s...

I kind of enjoy lists like this! What jumps out at me here is that most of these albums stayed in the Top 10 for weeks and weeks and weeks, while the Stone Roses (0 weeks) and the Smiths (2 weeks) didn't. And yet, 30-plus years later, they're being remembered the great British public.
 
Why is it ridiculous? Because you say so?
I suspect that GirlAfraid considers the list, and others like it, totally ridiculous because, by definition, any 'Best' list is both arbitrary and subjective. How can a song by U2 be compared to a song by ABC? Who judges what makes the songs better or the 'best'. If this list was compiled next month I suspect it would be different. If you asked a different 100 people it would be different outcome. I agree that they are good fun and provoke argument, but ultimately they are ludicrous. The recent Rolling Stone list of the 'Best' 500 albums ever is totally pointless - how can you judge the merit and worth of hip-hop compared to grunge compared to rock compared to reggae et al.? How can a rap song be compared to an acoustic ballad? It is like trying to compare a poem with a scene from a ballet and say which is best. Nonsense.
 
I suspect that GirlAfraid considers the list, and others like it, totally ridiculous because, by definition, any 'Best' list is both arbitrary and subjective. How can a song by U2 be compared to a song by ABC? Who judges what makes the songs better or the 'best'. If this list was compiled next month I suspect it would be different. If you asked a different 100 people it would be different outcome. I agree that they are good fun and provoke argument, but ultimately they are ludicrous. The recent Rolling Stone list of the 'Best' 500 albums ever is totally pointless - how can you judge the merit and worth of hip-hop compared to grunge compared to rock compared to reggae et al.? How can a rap song be compared to an acoustic ballad? It is like trying to compare a poem with a scene from a ballet and say which is best. Nonsense.

Yeah, pretty much.

But you see, he didn't really want to know why I thought those lists are ridiculous, so I couldn't be arsed to type out a whole explanation.
 
Yeah, pretty much.

But you see, he didn't really want to know why I thought those lists are ridiculous, so I couldn't be arsed to type out a whole explanation.
Oh I realise that - I just wanted to highlight that Peter is a thick twat. Keep posting - you are one of the few on here worth reading.
 
Radio 2's best albums of the 80s
ArtistTitle
1) U2The Joshua Tree
2) Dire StraitsBrothers In Arms
3) The Stone RosesThe Stone Roses
4) Michael JacksonThriller
5) Guns N' RosesAppetite For Destruction
6) The Human LeagueDare
7) The SmithsThe Queen Is Dead
8) Paul SimonGraceland
9) ABCLexicon Of Love
10) PrincePurple Rain
 
it usually turns out who was the most popular acts at the time.
they said brothers in arms by dire straits outlsold michael jacksons thriller.
thriller-66 million.
brothers in arms-30 million.
typical bbc.
 
Appalling list! No Closer, no Disintegration, no Climate of Hunter, no Nebraska, no Head Over Heels, no Miami/Mother Juno/Fire of Love. To put f***ing U2 and Dire Straits at the top of a list covering a rich, colorful and multifaceted decade as the eighties is just plain wrong. And ABC?! For the love of god!
 
Appalling list! No Closer, no Disintegration, no Climate of Hunter, no Nebraska, no Head Over Heels, no Miami/Mother Juno/Fire of Love. To put f***ing U2 and Dire Straits at the top of a list covering a rich, colorful and multifaceted decade as the eighties is just plain wrong. And ABC?! For the love of god!

Maybe a thousand people bought those Gun Club albums. Less than a thousand probably bought Climate of Hunter.
 
Imho, Joshua Tree isn't even the best U2 album of the 80s

Totally agree, their first four albums are all classics but Joshou Tree was the start of the rot. I actually bought it on vinyl on day of release then gave it away a few days later. They went from a brilliant Irish rock band to commercial puppets.
 
I kind of enjoy lists like this! What jumps out at me here is that most of these albums stayed in the Top 10 for weeks and weeks and weeks, while the Stone Roses (0 weeks) and the Smiths (2 weeks) didn't. And yet, 30-plus years later, they're being remembered the great British public.
Yes. If Morrissey, Marr, Brown and Squire could’ve been offered the possibility of this outcome, in 1983, they’d have gleefully taken it—I feel sure.
 
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Maybe a thousand people bought those Gun Club albums. Less than a thousand probably bought Climate of Hunter.
In the UK. Yes, I know, I know. And you can’t ignore sales figures because sales figures equal mainstream relevance, but still. It’s still annoying to someone who feels so passionate about music as I do.
 
Imho, Joshua Tree isn't even the best U2 album of the 80s

Totally agree, their first four albums are all classics but Joshou Tree was the start of the rot. I actually bought it on vinyl on day of release then gave it away a few days later. They went from a brilliant Irish rock band to commercial puppets.

Well, that's maybe a bit harsh, I think.

But agree on the first four all being better than Joshua Tree.
 
I suspect that GirlAfraid considers the list, and others like it, totally ridiculous because, by definition, any 'Best' list is both arbitrary and subjective. How can a song by U2 be compared to a song by ABC? Who judges what makes the songs better or the 'best'. If this list was compiled next month I suspect it would be different. If you asked a different 100 people it would be different outcome. I agree that they are good fun and provoke argument, but ultimately they are ludicrous. The recent Rolling Stone list of the 'Best' 500 albums ever is totally pointless - how can you judge the merit and worth of hip-hop compared to grunge compared to rock compared to reggae et al.? How can a rap song be compared to an acoustic ballad? It is like trying to compare a poem with a scene from a ballet and say which is best. Nonsense.
Indeed. But I think that’s all accepted rather than ignored. These lists are all measures of the media, rather than the bands, and I think they are engaged as such by most people.

Nevertheless, it’s a fairly credible list—though I can’t explain why the patchy Lexicon of Love is favoured over Roxy Music’s seamlessly brilliant Avalon (given they arguably represent a similar style and audience): Who has Ferry f***ed off now? And whose arse has Fry been kissing? These are the salient questions if you really want to interpret these page fillers.
 
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Indeed. But I think that’s all accepted rather than ignored. These lists are all measures of the media, rather than the bands, and I think they are engaged as such by most people.

Nevertheless, it’s a fairly credible list—though I can’t explain why the patchy Lexicon of Love is favoured over Roxy Music’s seamlessly brilliant Avalon (given they arguably represent a similar style and audience): Who has Ferry f***ed off now? And whose arse has Fry been kissing? These are the salient questions if you really want to interpret these page fillers.
This list, & those similar in nature, warrant no analyses at all, & deserve nothing more than a passing glance and a large pffft!
 
This list, & those similar in nature, warrant no analyses at all, & deserve nothing more than a passing glance and a large pffft!
I personally have no interest, but as pop eats itself these interventions will influence what people are listening to—and paying for—at this very moment.

And recent lists do highlight that, if publications want to remain credible, ignoring Morrissey and Ian Brown is off the table. Their place in the pantheon is secure.
 
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