| Naked Eyes | |
| Promises, Promises | 1983 |
| The Neats | This American band sounded a lot like The Smiths. |
| Sad | 1983 |
| New Order | The remaining members of Joy Division formed New Order, a band with the same nihilistic tone, but fusing some of that with synthesizer dance music. "Blue Monday" (UK #9, 1983) represents that description well. "Blue Monday" is actually based on the default rhythm of a drum machine. |
| Blue Monday | 1983 |
| Fine Time | 1988 |
| Hurt | 1982 |
| In a Lonely Place | 1981 |
| Mesh | 1982 |
| Perfect Kiss | 1985 |
| Regret | 1993 |
| True Faith | 1987 |
| World | 1993 |
| Stevie Nicks | Because of her dominance of Fleetwood Mac in the 1970s, a lot of people probably confuse Nicks' solo work with the band. The "Belladona" album was her most popular. |
| Edge of Seventeen | 1981 |
| Stand Back | 1983 |
| Stop Dragging My Heart Around | 1981 |
| Nine Inch Nails | As I stated earlier, much of Nine Inch Nails' work can be traced to Ministry. Trent Reznor's disturbing video imagery made him very popular on MTV. |
| Closer | 1994 |
| Down In It | 1990 |
| Head Like A Hole | 1990 |
| Perfect Drug | 1997 |
| Nirvana | Nirvana probably thought of themselves as a novelty act at first. They said they wanted to be like The Pixies. They ended up on the wrong end of a lawsuit by Killing Joke for ripping off the song "Eighties" for "Come As You Are". "Smells Like Teen Spirit" put their music, as well as the music of many other Seattle bands, into the mainstream consciousness. I'm still not sure how it happened. |
| Breed | 1991 |
| Drain You | 1991 |
| Heart-Shaped Box | 1993 |
| Lake Of Fire | 1994 |
| Polly | 1991 |
| Rape Me | 1993 |
| Smells Like Teen Spirit | 1991 |
| The Man Who Sold The World | 1994 |
| Ted Nugent | No one can question Nugent's guitar technique, but his off-stage life definitely overshadowed his music. |
| Cat Scratch Fever | 1977 |
| Great White Buffalo | 1975 |
| Stranglehold | 1975 |
| Gary Numan | First with his band Tubeway Army, Gary Numan released some of new wave's seminal tracks. Surprisingly, Numan hit the U.S. Top 40 with "Cars" (U.S. #9, 1980/UK #1, 1979). |
| Are Friends Electric? | 1979 |
| Cars | 1979 |
| You Are In My Vision | 1979 |
| Oasis | Oasis was one of the most talked-about bands of the 1990s, particular because of their public arrogance, and self-described rivalry with Blur. |
| Bring It On Down | 1994 |
| Supersonic | 1994 |
| Wonderwall | 1995 |
| The Offspring | The Offspring have been around a lot longer than people realize. But they didn't find success until 1994, when "Come Out And Play" became an international hit. |
| Come Out And Play | 1994 |
| I Choose | 1997 |
| Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) | 1999 |
| Oingo Boingo | Oingo Boingo will probably be known for making it into every comedic movie released in the mid-1980s. It seemed that way. Oingo Boingo developed some inventive rhythms not seen in any of their contemporaries. Danny Elfman would go on to a highly successful career arranging music for TV (The Simpsons) and film. |
| Dead Man's Party | 1985 |
| Just Another Day | 1985 |
| No One Lives Forever | 1985 |
| Nothing Bad Ever Happens | 1983 |
| Weird Science | 1985 |
| OMD | I'm sure they preferred their full name, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Their only recognizable hit, "If You Leave" (U.S. #4, 1986), doesn't sound much like their other stuff. |
| Telegraph | 1983 |
| Tesla Girls | 1984 |
| Ozzy Osbourne | Ozzy certainly knows how to cultivate an image. Less-gifted parents, preachers and politicans nationwide have tried to equate Ozzy with some sort of American cultural decay. In terms of music, Ozzy performs wildly in concert. He's also surrounded himself with terrific guitarists, like the late Randy Rhoads. |
| Bark At the Moon | 1983 |
| Flying High Again | 1981 |
| I Don't Know | 1980 |
| Mama, I'm Coming Home | 1990 |
| Mr. Crowley | 1981 |
| No More Tears | 1990 |
| Over the Mountain | 1981 |
| Perry Mason | 1996 |
| Shot In the Dark | 1986 |
| Suicide Solution | 1981 |
| The Outfield | |
| Since You've Been Gone | 1987 |
| Voices Of Babylon | 1989 |
| Outhouse | This was not a national band, pretty much familiar to Kansas City and surrounding markets. |
| Familiar | 1997 |
| Welcome | 1997 |
| Pantera | This heavy metal band transformed from high-pitched screeching metal to low, roaring, thrash-metal. |
| Cemetery Gates | 1994 |
| Cowboys From Hell | 1992 |
| Pearl Jam | Of all the Seattle bands that hit it big in the early 1990s, Pearl Jam probably identified most with the album rock of the 1970s. They even went as far as to collaborate with Neil Young. Pearl Jam released the hugely popular album "Ten" at pretty much the same time as Nirvana's "Nevermind", but their returns came only after Nirvana became hugely popular. |
| Animal | 1993 |
| Black | 1991 |
| Go | 1993 |
| Jeremy | 1991 |
| Spin the Black Circle | 1994 |
| Tremorchrist | 1994 |
| Pet Shop Boys | The British duo had a real knack for dance-pop, whether disco or techno. "West End Girls" (US #1, 1986/UK #1, 1985) is one of the best pop songs of the 1980s. |
| Can You Forgive Her | 1993 |
| Domino Dancing | 1988 |
| It's A Sin | 1987 |
| Love Comes Quickly | 1986 |
| Opportunities | 1986 |
| West End Girls | 1985 |
| Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | Although they didn't sound much like the punk and new wave bands of the time, Tom Petty is often grouped with them. His albums drew upon the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Byrds, and other 1960s bands. Petty wisely created some seminal MTV videos ("You Got Lucky", "Don't Come Around Here No More") to help what probably would've been the end of his career in the mid-1980s. |
| American Girl | 1976 |
| Breakdown | 1976 |
| I Need To Know | 1978 |
| Refugee | 1980 |
| Running Down A Dream | 1989 |
| Strangered In the Night | 1976 |
| Phish | This is the Vermont-based band that fans follow around the nation like they were the Grateful Dead. Phish actually resembles the Dead in many ways, though with fewer drug references. |
| Down With Disease | 1994 |
| Wilson Pickett | |
| Mustang Sally | 1966 |
| Pink Floyd | Pink Floyd has to be one of the most inventive bands of the rock era, experimenting successfully with complex lyrics just as much as atmospheric sound. Many of their songs are extremely long, and thus, never saw radio airplay. Syd Barrett, a heavy drug user, eventually gave way to David Gilmour, but the transition didn't affect the band one bit until Roger Waters left in 1983. Since then, Waters and the rest of the band have been at odds over the use of the "Pink Floyd" name. I don't know where to begin on recommendations, so just start with "Dark Side of the Moon", which spent around 13 years on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart. |
| Another Brick In the Wall (1-3) | 1979 |
| Arnold Layne | 1967 |
| Be Careful With That Axe, Eugene | 1967 |
| Brain Damage/Eclipse | 1973 |
| Comfortably Numb | 1979 |
| Dogs | 1977 |
| Echoes | 1971 |
| Great Gig In the Sky | 1973 |
| Goodbye Blue Sky | 1979 |
| Hey You | 1979 |
| High Hopes | 1994 |
| Interstellar Overdrive | 1967 |
| Keep Talking | 1994 |
| Momentary Lapse of Reason | 1987 |
| Money | 1973 |
| One Of These Days | 1971 |
| Pigs (3 Different Ones) | 1977 |
| Run Like Hell | 1979 |
| Seamus | 1971 |
| Sheep | 1977 |
| Shine On You Crazy Diamond | 1975 |
| Speak To Me/Breathe/On the Run | 1973 |
| Time | 1973 |
| Welcome To the Machine | 1975 |
| Wish You Were Here | 1975 |
| Young Lust | 1979 |
| The Pixies | If there was a total darling for college radio, it was the Pixies. I still don't know why the appealed so easily to college students, but I like it! The Pixies' sound changed quite a bit, from the abrasize "Surfer Rosa" album, to the pop tune "Here Comes Your Man" and the environmental song "Monkey Gone to Heaven." |
| Here Comes Your Man | 1989 |
| Monkey Gone To Heaven | 1989 |
| Where Is My Mind | 1988 |
| The Police | Much like Tom Petty, the Police were grouped into the new wave genre because it didn't fit the super-group rock of the late 1970s, or the artsy rock of the early to mid-1970s. Their music started out with a definite reggae lean, gradually moving to synthesizers. They scored several U.S. hits, and elevated to the status of the biggest bands in the world by their breakup in 1984. |
| Bring On the Night | 1979 |
| Canary In A Coalmine | 1980 |
| Darkness | 1981 |
| Don't Stand So Close | 1980 |
| Driven To Tears | 1980 |
| Every Breath You Take | 1983 |
| Hungry For You | 1981 |
| Invisible Sun | 1981 |
| King Of Pain | 1983 |
| Message In A Bottle | 1979 |
| Murder By Numbers | 1983 |
| One World (Not Three) | 1981 |
| Regatta de Blanc | 1979 |
| Roxanne | 1978 |
| So Lonely | 1978 |
| Spirits In the Material World | 1981 |
| Synchronicity II | 1983 |
| The Bed's Too Big Without You | 1979 |
| Too Much Information | 1981 |
| Walking In Your Footsteps | 1983 |
| Walking On the Moon | 1979 |
| When the World Is Running Down | 1980 |
| Wrapped Around Your Finger | 1983 |
| Positive Noise | What is it about Scottish bands getting funky? Positive Noise took a little cue from Average White Band, and recorded ahead of APB. If you know this band, you're a real music junkie. |
| Feel the Fear | 1982 |
| Prefab Sprout | Prefab Sprout had mild success in England, and nothing more than a cult following in the U.S., but if you like airy, Roxy Music-style arrangements, or if you're a current fan of Belle and Sebastian, you'll like Prefab Sprout. |
| Goodbye Lucille #1 | 1985 |
| The Pretenders | The deaths of two band members certainly squashed the creativity of the Pretenders. No one can argue the distinctive vocals of Chrissie Hynde, though. I probably cause numerous traffic accidents jamming to "Mystery Achievement." |
| Human | 1999 |
| Message Of Love | 1981 |
| My City Was Gone | 1982 |
| Mystery Achievement | 1980 |
| Private Life | 1980 |
| Show Me | 1983 |
| The Wait | 1979 |
| Primus | |
| Wynona's Big Brown Beaver | 1995 |
| Prince | Prince is the ultimate D.I.Y. artist. He writes, he records, he produces, and he plays nearly all the instruments. Occasionally, he gets a little full of himself (as you can see in the Jukebox From Hell). But Prince can lay claim to some of the most notable songs of the 1980s. |
| Let's Go Crazy | 1984 |
| 1999 | 1983 |
| Sexuality | 1981 |
| When Doves Cry | 1984 |
| The Proclaimers | This Scottish band (and supporters of Scottish independence) released "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" in 1988, but it didn't become popular until its use in a movie in 1994. |
| I'm On My Way | 1988 |
| The Prodigy | |
| Firestarter | 1996 |
| Propaganda | This German band had a brief run on the dance charts, then quickly disappeared. |
| Murder Of Love | 1985 |
| P Machinery | 1985 |
| The Psychedelic Furs | This band really didn't see much American recognition until one of their first songs, "Pretty In Pink", was used several years later in the movie of the same name. |
| Love My Way | 1982 |
| The Ghost In You | 1984 |
| Public Image Ltd. | This is the group John Lydon formed after the breakup of the Sex Pistols. "Death Disco" is a rather haunting dance track. "Seattle" represents a much more mainstream rock sound (and reportedly, written about the arrogance of Pearl Jam predecessors, "Mother Love Bone"). |
| Albatross | 1979 |
| Death Disco | 1979 |
| Disappointed | 1989 |
| Seattle | 1987 |
| Queen | Everyone knows Queen, from Freddie Mercury's strong voice, to the layers and layers of guitars, to the operatic jokes. "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions", thought to be about overcoming homosexual discrimination, have been constants at every single sports arena and championship match. Their sound transformed from thundering heavy metal, to post-disco disco (see the "Hot Space" album). Freddie Mercury died in 1991. |
| Bohemian Rhapsody | 1975 |
| Stone Cold Crazy | 1974 |
| Queensryche | In my opinion, Queensryche released the best hard rock album of the 1980s, in "Operation Mindcrime". Many of the themes in the album (as well as 1990's "Empire") have great relevance today. Queensryche heavily drew on Pink Floyd, by tying an entire album together, but they also drew from Kiss, with their theatrical stage productions. |
| Anarchy X/Revolution Calling | 1988 |
| Anybody Listening | 1990 |
| Bridge | 1994 |
| Della Brown | 1990 |
| Empire | 1990 |
| Eyes Of A Stranger | 1988 |
| I Don't Believe In Love/Waiting For 22 | 1988 |
| Jet City Woman | 1990 |
| Just Another Rainy Night | 1990 |
| Operation Mindcrime | 1988 |
| Queen Of the Reich | 1983 |
| Screaming In Digital | 1986 |
| Silent Lucidity | 1990 |
| Speak | 1988 |
| Spreading the Disease | 1988 |
| The Lady Wore Black | 1983 |
| The Mission | 1988 |
| The Needle Lies | 1988 |
| The Thin Line | 1990 |
| Radiohead | Easily, one of Britain's most influential groups, Radiohead bridged some of the sweeping melodies of David Bowie and Pink Floyd, and merged it with pained lyrics of alienation, machination, and sorrow. 1997's "OK Computer" is considered one of the seminal albums of the decade. |
| Karma Police | 1997 |
| Paranoid Android | 1997 |
| Gerry Raferty | |
| Baker Street | 1978 |
| Rainbow | Never mind the name, or Ronnie James Dio's homely look, Rainbow was one of the top European metal groups of the 1970s. |
| Man On the Silver Mountain | 1975 |
| Stargazer | |
| The Rainmakers | Few people will remember The Rainmakers. This Kansas City band had a brief national following; "Let My People Go-Go" even hit the Top 40 in England (#18, 1987). I would describe Bob Walkenhorst's vocal style as unique, to say the least. |
| Downstream | 1986 |
| Let My People Go-Go | 1986 |
| Snake Dance | 1987 |
| The Ramones | The Ramones often blistered through each song in less than two minutes. As with most punk songs, much of it mirrored the style of early rock and roll records. |
| I Wanna Be Sedated | 1978 |
| Randyandy | If you're a huge fan of Was (Not Was), and I mean huge, then perhaps you've heard of Randyandy. Or perhaps you have a huge capacity for meaningless memory, like myself. Randyandy's "Motor Song" funks on the level of George Clinton, so if you can find a copy, consider yourself lucky. |
| The Motor Song (Stick In Your Dipstick) | 1983 |
| Ratt | Of the 1980s hard rock bands, Ratt had more sense of melody and hook than many of their peers. |
| Lay It Down | 1985 |
| Round And Round | 1984 |
| Real Life | "Send Me An Angel" was released twice, and hit the Top 40 twice in the U.S. (#29, 1983 and #26, 1989) |
| Send Me An Angel | 1983 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers | The Chili Peppers were probably ahead of their time, in mixing hard rock, funk and rap in the mid-1980s. Their vulgar and sometimes direct songs were also a little too much for some. They finally started to make waves in 1989, with one of the best remakes I had ever heard, recording Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground". |
| Breaking the Girl | 1991 |
| Higher Ground | 1989 |
| Knock Me Down | 1989 |
| Under The Bridge | 1991 |
| Warped | 1995 |
| Red Rider | Red Rider probably never made many waves outside of Canada. But their lead singer, Tom Cochran, did score a solo hit 11 years after "Lunatic Fringe", with "Life Is A Highway". |
| Lunatic Fringe | 1981 |
| Reflex | |
| Politics Of Dancing | 1983 |
| R.E.M. | Another group I hold to a high standard, R.E.M. has generally defied pop convention with their simplistic hooks and often indecipherable lyrics. In the 1980s, R.E.M. released records almost every year. It was amazing how the band sounded like The Byrds or Simon and Garfunkel, yet sounded modern at the same time. |
| All The Way To Reno | 2002 |
| Bang and Blame | 1995 |
| Can't Get There From Here | 1985 |
| Don't Go Back To Rockville | 1984 |
| Driver 8 | 1985 |
| Fall On Me | 1986 |
| Feeling Gravity's Pull | 1985 |
| Finest Worksong | 1987 |
| Gardening At Night | 1982 |
| Get Up | 1989 |
| It's The End Of the World As We Know It | 1987 |
| Local Oddfellows 151 | 1987 |
| Losing My Religion | 1991 |
| Man On the Moon | 1992 |
| Near Wild Heaven | 1991 |
| Orange Crush | 1989 |
| Perfect Circle | 1983 |
| Pretty Persuasion | 1984 |
| Radio Free Europe | 1981 |
| South Central Rain | 1984 |
| Superman | 1986 |
| Talk About the Passion | 1983 |
| Texarkana | 1991 |
| The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight | 1992 |
| Try Not To Breathe | 1992 |
| The Replacements | The Replacements never really achieved the success they deserved, mostly heard on college radio stations. They transformed from rowdy garage rock band to heartbreaking songwriters. |
| Bastards Of Young | 1985 |
| I'll Be You | 1989 |
| I Will Dare | 1984 |
| Kiss Me On the Bus | 1985 |
| Take Me Down To the Hospital | 1983 |
| The Ledge | 1987 |
| Republica | |
| Ready To Go | 1995 |
| The Rolling Stones | The Stones wanted to stake a claim among the great blues bands of the 20th century. Instead they became one of the most popular rock and roll bands in history. Mick Jagger spawned endless imitations of his sly stage presence. |
| Bitch | 1971 |
| Brown Sugar | 1971 |
| Can't You Hear Me Knocking | 1971 |
| Gimme Shelter | 1969 |
| Monkey Man | 1969 |
| Mother's Little Helper | 1966 |
| Paint It Black | 1966 |
| Satisfaction | 1965 |
| Street Fighting Man | 1968 |
| Sympathy For the Devil | 1969 |
| Wild Horses | 1971 |
| Romeo Void | Many of the songs Romeo Void recorded in the late 1970s and early 1980s were re-recorded for release on a major label in 1984. |
| A Girl In Trouble | 1981 |
| Never Say Never | 1981 |
| Roxy Music | Roxy Music epitomized the avant garde sector of the 1970s, with over-the-top costume, Bowie-esque glam rock, and artsy pop that inspired many of the new wave bands of the late 1970s. By the early 1980s, Roxy Music used Bryan Ferry's smooth voice to its advantage, creating a more soulful style. |
| Avalon | 1982 |
| Dance Away | 1979 |
| Love Is the Drug | 1975 |
| More Than This | 1982 |
| Oh Yeah | 1980 |
| Out Of the Blue | 1973 |
| Rush | Rush set themselves apart from the hard rock bands of the 1970s with their virtuoso skills, and lyrics steeped in fantasy, morality and science fiction ("2112" as a prime example). Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson are generally considered to play some of the most complex percussion and guitar melodies respectively. As far as I know, Rush only hit the U.S. Top 40 once, with "New World Man" (#21, 1982) |
| A Farewell To Kings | 1977 |
| Distant Early Warning | 1984 |
| Fly By Night | 1975 |
| Force Ten | 1987 |
| Ghost Of A Chance | 1991 |
| Lakeside Park | 1975 |
| Passage To Bangkok | |
| Red Barchetta | 1981 |
| Red Sector A | 1984 |
| Show Don't Tell | 1989 |
| Subdivisions | 1982 |
| 2112 (Overture/Temples of Syrinx) | 1976 |
| What You're Doing | 1977 |
| Working Man | 1973 |
| Xanadu | 1977 |
| YYZ | 1981 |
| Santana | Santana receives the credit for pushing Latino music into the rock and roll era. |
| Black Magic Woman | 1970 |
| Evil Ways | 1969 |
| Jingo | 1969 |
| No One To Depend On | 1971 |
| Oye Como Va | 1970 |
| Soul Sacrifice | 1969 |
| School Of Fish | |
| Three Strange Days | 1991 |
| Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies | This southern rock band released the infectious "Magnolia" twice, though they didn't find success either time. |
| Magnolia | 1996 |
| Shakin' The Blues | 1994 |
| Seal | Seal started out with a series of club songs, but soon merged soul and pop to create a distinctive sound. "Crazy" is still one of my favorite pop songs. |
| Crazy | 1991 |
| Killer | 1991 |
| Prayer For the Dying | 1994 |
| The Sex Pistols | They didn't originate punk, but they were certainly the most visible icons. The Sex Pistols got away with their success, despite very little musical talent (great production work helped control their sound). It was their anti-establishment lyrics and uncontrollable performances that drew fans. |
| Anarchy In the U.K. | 1976 |
| God Save the Queen | 1976 |
| Pretty Vacant | 1976 |
| Pete Shelley | Shelley formerly sang with the Buzzcocks, and "Homosapien" would've been one of their songs, had the band not imploded. |
| Homosapien | 1981 |
| Kenny Wayne Shepherd | Shepherd brought the Stevie Ray Vaughan style of rock back to the mainstream in the late 1990s. |
| Deja Voodoo | 1996 |
| Was | 1999 |
| Shinehead | This is a novelty remake of the Sting song "Englishman In New York". |
| Jamaican In New York | 1993 |
| Paul Simon | |
| Graceland | 1986 |
| Simple Minds | They'll forever be known for the hit "Don't You (Forget About Me)", but Simple Minds created a nice catalog of songs mirroring the style of U2 and Roxy Music. The end of "Once Upon A Time" is especially nice. |
| Don't You (Forget About Me) | 1985 |
| Once Upon A Time | 1985 |
| Siouxie and the Banshees | This band had the distinction of containing one member of the Sex Pistols, before that band even existed. Siouxsie and the Banshees had a long career of gothic, moody punk, expanding into new wave, and culminating with some surprising hits, like "Peek-a-Boo", which was the #1 song on the very first Billboard Modern Rock chart in 1988 (it only peaked at #53 on the Hot 100). |
| Christine | 1980 |
| Cities In Dust | 1985 |
| Fear Of the Unknown | 1991 |
| Kiss Them For Me | 1991 |
| Mirage | 1978 |
| Spellbound | 1981 |
| Sisters Of Mercy | "More" falls under the category "catchy tune". Short on lyrics, you couldn't help but dance to this gothic-tinged number. Singer Andrew Eldritch has one of the deepest voices I've heard in rock music. |
| More | 1990 |
| This Corrosion | 1987 |
| Skid Row | |
| Youth Gone Wild | 1989 |
| Smashing Pumpkins | Chicago's Smashing Pumpkins didn't draw as much influence from 1970s rock or 1980s underground music as their peers. It didn't matter. Billy Corgan had a distinctive melancholy voice that seemed to suit any genre the band tried. |
| Ava Adore | 1998 |
| Cherub Rock | 1993 |
| Disarm | 1993 |
| Siva | 1991 |
| The End Is The Beginning Is The End | 1997 |
| Zero | 1995 |
| Patti Smith | |
| Because The Night | 1978 |
| The Smithereens | The Smithereens took power pop to a much heavier sound. |
| Blood And Roses | 1986 |
| The Smiths | The Smiths were somewhat of an anti-new wave band, marking the end of synthesizer-driven pop with their moody guitar sound, while keeping the elegant, romantic crooning vocal style. Morrissey's unusual, yet smooth style set him apart from other bands of the era. The Smiths often sang about the most uncomfortable topics they could find, like child molestation ("The Headmaster Ritual") and homosexuality ("Hand In Glove"). "How Soon Is Now" remains one of the distinctive songs of the 1980s. |
| Ask | 1986 |
| Bigmouth Strikes Again | 1986 |
| Girlfriend In A Coma | 1987 |
| Headmaster Ritual | 1985 |
| Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now | 1984 |
| How Soon Is Now | 1984 |
| Panic | 1986 |
| There Is A Light That Never Goes Out | 1987 |
| Soul Asylum | |
| Black Gold | 1992 |
| Somebody To Shove | 1992 |
| Soundgarden | Of the major "alternative" rock acts of the 1990s, Soundgarden rocked the hardest. Chris Cornell's powerful vocals (said to have shaken the speakers in the recording studio) matched well with the Black Sabbath-style riffs. |
| Black Hole Sun | 1994 |
| Face Pollution | 1991 |
| Fell On Black Days | 1994 |
| Jesus Christ Pose | 1991 |
| Like Suicide | 1994 |
| Mailman | 1994 |
| Mind Riot | 1991 |
| Outshined | 1991 |
| Rhinosaur | 1996 |
| Room's A Thousand Years Wide | 1991 |
| Rusty Cage | 1991 |
| The Specials | The Specials were one of the major acts of the ska revival of the late 1970s. After their breakup, the principal members reformed as Fun Boy Three. |
| Gangsters | 1979 |
| Ghost Town | 1981 |
| The Spinners | |
| I'll Be Around | 1972 |
| Split Enz | The first successful New Zealand band in the United States, Split Enz has a real knack for pop hooks and melodies reminiscient of early Beatles work. After the breakup, part of the band formed Crowded House. |
| Hard Act To Follow | 1981 |
| I Got You | 1980 |
| One Step Ahead | 1981 |
| Sponge | |
| Plowed | 1994 |
| Wax Ecstatic | 1996 |
| Buffalo Springfield | |
| For What It's Worth | 1968 |
| Bruce Springsteen | Springsteen landed on the cover of Time magazine in 1975 for a reason. His music ushered in a revival of sorts of 1950s rock and roll. Springsteen's legendary concerts lasted through all hours of the night, with Springsteen usually on the brink of exhaustive collapse. His lyrics often deal with the disillusion, faded glory, and lost dreams of working class Americans. If Springsteen names a song after your town, your town has probably seen better days. |
| Born To Run | 1975 |
| Dancing In the Dark | 1984 |
| I'm On Fire | 1984 |
| One Step Up | 1987 |
| Rosalita | 1975 |
| Tenth Avenue Freezeout | |
| Tunnel Of Love | 1987 |
| Squeeze | It's not hard to decipher the British invasion influence of Squeeze. What is hard to understand, is how they didn't have a Top 40 hit in the U.S. until 1987 ("Hourglass", #15) |
| Annie, Get Your Gun | 1982 |
| Another Nail In My Heart | 1980 |
| Black Coffee In Bed | 1982 |
| Cool For Cats | 1979 |
| Hourglass | 1987 |
| Tempted | 1981 |
| Stabbing Westward | |
| Shame | 1996 |
| Steely Dan | Named after a steam-powered part of the male anatomy in a William Burroughs novel, Steely Dan brought that sort of sleek vulgarity to rock, wrapping it up in a jazzy style with just enough edge to make them an AOR favorite. The descriptive lyrics create some of the most realistic images I can think of, in any song. Despite their musical abilities, Steely Dan rarely performed in concert, and actually relied very heavily on studio musicians by their 1982 breakup. |
| Cousin Dupree | 2000 |
| Deacon Blues | 1977 |
| Do It Again | 1972 |
| Don't Take Me Alive | 1976 |
| FM | 1978 |
| Josie | 1977 |
| Kid Charlemagne | 1976 |
| My Old School | 1973 |
| Time Out Of Mind | 1980 |
| Stereo MCs | The Stereo MCs were one of the first British hip-hop groups to achieve any sort of success. |
| Connected | 1992 |
| Elevate My Mind | 1990 |
| Step It Up | 1992 |
| Sting | After the breakup of the Police, Sting wasted no time maintaining his success. 1985's "Dream of the Blue Turtles", a mostly jazz pop record, immediately spawned two top ten hits in the U.S. (along with one of the best non-hits you'll ever hear, "We Work the Black Seam"). Sting recorded his followup, "Nothing Like the Sun", in both English and Spanish. |
| Be Still My Beating Heart | 1987 |
| Desert Rose | 2000 |
| Fortress Around Your Heart | 1985 |
| If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free | 1985 |
| Soul Cages | 1990 |
| We Work the Black Seam | 1985 |
| Stone Roses | The Stone Roses were another one of those bands providing a bridge between British new wave, and the pop of the mid-1990s. |
| Driving South | 1994 |
| Fool's Gold | 1990 |
| I Wanna Be Adored | 1989 |
| Love Spreads | 1994 |
| One Love | 1991 |
| Waterfall | 1990 |
| Stone Temple Pilots | Critics accused this band of starting the generation of "grunge rip-offs", but Stone Temple Pilots had some interesting songs, particularly the oddly-structured "Big Bang Baby". |
| Big Bang Baby | 1996 |
| Big Empty | 1993 |
| Naked Sunday | 1992 |
| Sex Type Thing | 1992 |
| Sour Girl | 2000 |
| The Stranglers | The Stranglers weren't really a punk band. Bu they bridged the gap between outright punkers and pop bands modifying the punk sound. In the 1980s, The Stranglers changed their sound dramatically, going for more of an Adult Contemporary feel. |
| Bring On the Nubiles | 1978 |
| Golden Brown | 1982 |
| The Suburbs | A largely unknown band outside of Minneapolis, The Suburbs fell into that power pop genre. |
| Love Is the Law | 1983 |
| The Sugarcubes | This was Bjork's band, before she achieved solo success. "Motorcrash" is a terrific place to start. |
| Birthday | 1988 |
| Hit | 1992 |
| Motorcrash | 1988 |
| The Sundays | This British band sounded a lot like the Smiths, with a female vocalist. "Here's Where the Story Ends" is an exceptionally depressing song with a terrific hook. |
| Here's Where the Story Ends | 1990 |
| My Finest Hour | 1990 |
| Wild Horses | 1992 |
| Sunscreem | |
| Pressure | 1993 |
| Supergrass | One of the great, upbeat, British groups of the late 1990s, Supergrass seemed to draw from every groundbreaking British artist (Rolling Stones, The Jam, Radiohead). |
| Alright | 1995 |
| Caught By the Fuzz | 1995 |
| Moving | 1999 |
| Pumping On Your Stereo | 1999 |
| What Went Wrong | 1999 |
| Supertramp | |
| Goodbye Stranger | 1979 |
| School | 1974 |
| Swan's Way | If you know this band, then you're a music junkie. "The Anchor" sounds like it could've been used in a 007 movie. |
| The Anchor | 1984 |
| T-Rex | T-Rex was one of the great glam/trash bands of the 1970s. |
| 20th Century Boy | 1972 |
| Talk Talk | With a mournful-sounding lead vocalist, Talk Talk made a transformation from new wave to ambient jazz-pop in five years. |
| Life Is What You Make It | 1986 |
| Talk Talk | 1982 |
| Talking Heads | The Talking Heads explored just about every type of music, from minimalist new wave ("Don't Worry About the Government") to funk ("Cities"), to gospel ("Road to Nowhere"), and world rhythms ("Nothing But Flowers"). "Nothing But Flowers" is a song I wish I had written. I'm very jealous of the lyrics. In concert, David Byrne ignores the stuttered vocals of the early days, effortlessly making every song much more powerful (compare the studio and concert versions of "Life During Wartime"). You must see the "Stop Making Sense" film. And of course, what would an art band be without lyrics covering the important things in life, like buildings and food? |
| Air | 1979 |
| Burning Down the House | 1983 |
| Cities | 1979 |
| Crosseyed and Painless | 1980 |
| Don't Worry About the Government | 1977 |
| Girlfriend Is Better | 1983 |
| I, Zimbra | 1979 |
| Life During Wartime | 1979 |
| Making Flippy Floppy | 1983 |
| Nothing But Flowers | 1988 |
| Psycho Killer | 1977 |
| Pulled Up | 1977 |
| Road To Nowhere | 1985 |
| Stay Up Late | 1985 |
| Swamp | 1983 |
| Take Me To the River | 1978 |
| Television Man | 1985 |
| The Lady Don't Mind | 1985 |
| This Must Be the Place | 1983 |
| Uh Oh, Love Comes To Town | 1977 |
| Wild Wild Life | 1986 |
| Tears For Fears | From the start, Tears For Fears generated a lot more sophistication than their peers. Rich vocals combined with lyrics derived from psychology textbooks made them superstars in the mid-1980s. A good test of a great song involves peeling back the layers of music, and just singing it, with minimal accompaniment. That happened with "Mad World", which turned into an exceptionally haunting remake by Gary Jules, for the movie "Donnie Darko". |
| Change | 1983 |
| Dog's A Best Friend's Dog | 1993 |
| Everybody Wants To Rule the World | 1985 |
| Head Over Heels/Broken | 1985 |
| Laid So Low | 1992 |
| Mad World | 1983 |
| Mother's Talk | 1985 |
| Pale Shelter | 1983 |
| Sowing the Seeds of Love | 1989 |
| Working Hour | 1985 |
| Temple of the Dog | A combination of Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder. |
| Hunger Strike | 1992 |
| 10,000 Maniacs | 10,000 Maniacs felt like the northern version of R.E.M., with much of the same jangle pop style, and an eccentric singer (Natalie Merchant). |
| Like the Weather | 1987 |
| Trouble Me | 1989 |
| Tenderloin | Local Kansas City band |
| Pawn Shop | 1997 |
| Tesla | Tesla might've been one of the more creative hard rock bands of the 1980s, with a penchant for radio and engineering terminology, along with a love for "hippie classics" ("Signs"). |
| Modern Day Cowboy | 1986 |
| The The | It's hard to slot The The into any category. Their new wave beginning transformed into dark dance pop ("Infected"), then slick Smiths-style rock ("Beaten Generation"), and even a tribute to Hank Williams in the mid-1990s. Singer Matt Johnson also had an eye for talent, allowing both Sinead O'Connor and Neneh Cherry to provide secondary vocals before anyone knew who they were. |
| Beat(en) Generation | 1989 |
| Infected | 1986 |
| Kingdom of Rain | 1989 |
| Slow Train to Dawn | 1986 |
| Uncertain Smile | 1982 |
| They Might Be Giants | The king of intellectual bands, They Might Be Giants had a whimsical sense of humor, and a real knack for melody. As far as I know, this is the only band to have recorded songs about the Replacements, and the 11th President of the United States. |
| Ana Ng | 1989 |
| Don't Let's Start | 1987 |
| Istanbul (Not Constantinople) | 1990 |
| They'll Need A Crane | 1989 |
| Thompson Twins | Despite the name, the Thompson Twins were actually a trio, with several backing musicians. |
| Doctor Doctor | 1984 |
| Lay Your Hands On Me | 1985 |
| 311 | |
| All Mixed Up | 1996 |
| Amber | 2002 |
| 'Til Tuesday | "Voices Carry" was the genesis of Aimee Mann's critically-acclaimed solo career. |
| Voices Carry | 1985 |
| Toad the Wet Sprocket | Toad the Wet Sprocket brought a laid-back rock and roll sound to an era when abrasive grunge dominated radio. |
| Fall Down | 1994 |
| Hold Her Down | 1991 |
| Something's Always Wrong | 1994 |
| Tom Tom Club | Rap, hip-hop and dance dominated this side project of Talking Heads members Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz. |
| Genius of Love | 1981 |
| Sunshine and Ecstasy | 1992 |
| Tool | In terms of technical skill, Tool was one of the best bands of the 1990s. They combined elements of Black Sabbath with Jane's Addiction, adding some of the most disturbing lyrics you'll hear in a mainstream band. |
| Ænima
| 1996 |
| Disgustipated | 1993 |
| Eulogy | 1996 |
| 46&2 | 1996 |
| H | 1996 |
| Intolerance | 1993 |
| Prison Sex | 1993 |
| Sober | 1993 |
| Traffic | Traffic helped define the long-form, progressive jazz and blues rock of the late 1960s and early 1970s. |
| Dear Mr. Fantasy | 1969 |
| Freedom Rider | 1971 |
| Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys | 1971 |
| Rock and Roll Stew | 1971 |
| Traveling Wilburys | George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne. |
| Handle With Care | 1988 |
| Travis | Travis is one of the more consistently melancholy Brit-pop bands. |
| Driftwood | 1999 |
| Last Train | 2001 |
| Side | 2001 |
| Why Does It Always Rain On Me | 1999 |
| Trip Shakespeare | Trip Shakespeare was the predecessor of Semisonic, a power pop vehicle for Dan and Matt Wilson. |
| Bachelorette | 1991 |
| U2 | It only took a few years for U2 to become one of the biggest bands in the world, a claim they can still make today. U2 started off as an abrasive post-punk band, often using religious imagery in their lyrics, culminating with the powerful, politically-charged album "War". Their style has changed a lot; by 1984 U2 used more of a synth-pop sound ("Unforgettable Fire"), and by 1987, elements of blues("I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"). A transformation in the 1990s to dance-rock didn't sit well with most fans, but U2 doesn't seem to have any desire to stop, continually churning out music, and performing around the world. |
| A Sort of Homecoming | 1984 |
| Angel of Harlem | 1988 |
| Bullet the Blue Sky | 1987 |
| Drowning Man | 1983 |
| Even Better Than the Real Thing | 1991 |
| Gloria | 1981 |
| I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For | 1987 |
| I Threw A Brick Through A Window | 1981 |
| I Will Follow | 1980 |
| In God's Country | 1987 |
| Last Night On Earth | 1997 |
| Like A Song | 1983 |
| New Year's Day | 1983 |
| Pride (In the Name of Love) | 1984 |
| Red Light | 1983 |
| Seconds | 1983 |
| Sunday Bloody Sunday | 1983 |
| Surrender | 1983 |
| Trip Through Your Wires | 1987 |
| Until the End Of the World | 1991 |
| When Loves Comes To Town | 1988 |
| Where the Streets Have No Name | 1987 |
| With Or Without You | 1987 |
| Van Halen | Much like the punk bands, Van Halen based their music off 1950s and early 1960s rock and roll. There was a twist, though. Some guy named Eddie Van Halen redefined lead guitar for the 1980s. In concert, he would sometimes play with his back to the audience in order to conceal his technique. David Lee Roth, of course, was a very appropriate front man for the era. Roth used humor to easily make up for any shortcomings on talent. Naturally, he was an MTV star. Roth left Van Halen in 1985, and Sammy Hagar joined. That effectively ruined Van Halen, as many of their songs suddenly steered towards the soccer mom crowd. Hagar left in 1997, and Gary Sharone (of Extreme) joined. |
| And the Cradle Will Rock
| 1980 |
| Eruption/You Really Got Me | 1978 |
| Hot For Teacher | 1984 |
| I'll Wait | 1984 |
| Mean Street | 1981 |
| Panama | 1984 |
| Running With the Devil | 1978 |
| The Vandals | |
| Urban Struggle
| 1982 |
| VAST | VAST stands for Visual Audio Sensory Theater. Despite their clever use of a Romanian choir, this band never seemed to catch on. |
| Niles Edge
| 1998 |
| Pretty When You Cry | 1998 |
| Touched | 1998 |
| Stevie Ray Vaughan | Sadly, his cocaine addiction stunted his career, and his death stopped his career's revival. Vaughan played a mean guitar, based on southern blues. |
| Couldn't Stand the Weather
| 1984 |
| Crossfire | 1989 |
| Tightrope | 1989 |
| Velvet Underground | Lou Reed's band became one of the forerunners of distorted guitars and deconstruction. |
| Rock And Roll
| 1970 |
| Violent Femmes | The Violent Femmes had a pretty basic setup - acoustic guitar, bass, drums, the occasional xylophone, and a vocalist who could express both pain and arrogance with his lyrics. "Gone Daddy Gone" and "Add It Up" are considered required listening for college students. |
| Add It Up
| 1982 |
| Gone Daddy Gone | 1982 |
| Kiss Off | 1982 |
| Joe Walsh | |
| Rocky Mountain Way
| 1973 |
| Was Not Was | The project of two record producers has had an interesting history. Was Not Was released a new version of "Out Come the Freaks" with each successive album. The novelty track "Dad, I'm in Jail" is amusing. And what is "Walk the Dinosaur" about anyway? I have my theory. |
| Out Come the Freaks | 1981 |
| Spy In the House of Love | 1988 |
| White Stripes | For a minimalist duo, the White Stripes can generate a real tough sound. |
| Fell In Love With A Girl | 2001 |
| White Zombie | This is strictly a studio band. They can produce a good sound, but they can't replicate it in concert. |
| More Human Than Human
| 1995 |
| Thunderkiss '65 | 1993 |
| Whitesnake | You might laugh, but these guys put out a good power pop sound. For whatever reason, "Fool For Your Lovin'" (originally 1980) and "Here I Go Again" (originally 1982) didn't catch on well the first time, so both were re-recorded, polished up, and re-released in the late 1980s. |
| Fool For Your Lovin' | 1980 |
| Slow And Easy | 1984 |
| Still Of the Night | 1987 |
| The Who | The Who tried it all. They tried to blow your eardrums out. They tried the rock opera. They even worked in synthesizers. In the end is a career with a wide range of sounds. |
| Baba O'Riley
| 1971 |
| Behind Blue Eyes | 1971 |
| Emminence Front | 1982 |
| 5:15 | |
| I Can See For Miles | 1967 |
| My Generation | 1966 |
| Pinball Wizard | 1969 |
| Substitute | 1966 |
| Who Are You | 1977 |
| Won't Get Fooled Again | 1971 |
| Robbie Williams | |
| Millennium
| 1999 |
| Steve Winwood | Winwood started his career young, singing as a teenager for the Spencer Davis Group. He became part of many other supergroups, like Traffic, then set out on his own. They call it "blue-eyed soul", but hey, Winwood sounds a lot like Ray Charles on the "Arc of A Diver" album. "Back in the High Life" was an appropriate title, because it propelled Winwood to the top of the charts in 1986. |
| Arc Of A Diver
| 1981 |
| Night Train | 1981 |
| One and Only Man | 1990 |
| Split Decision | 1986 |
| Still In the Game | 1982 |
| While You See A Chance | 1981 |
| Stevie Wonder | What can one say about Stevie Wonder? He started recording before his teen years, and helped define the long form of soul, funk and r&b as a 20-year-old. Unfortunately, the 1970s saw his creative peak. |
| Higher Ground
| 1973 |
| I Wish | 1976 |
| Living For the City | 1973 |
| Master Blaster | 1980 |
| Superstition | 1973 |
| That Girl | 1982 |
| Too High | 1973 |
| World Party | Karl Wallinger's voice perfectly suited his combination of despair and rock. "Ship of Fools" (US #24, 1987) became one of my favorite songs of the period. |
| Here Comes the Future | 2000 |
| Is It Like Today | 1993 |
| Private Revolution | 1987 |
| Ship Of Fools | 1987 |
| Way Down Now | 1990 |
| X | Most people think X is pretty boring, and I tend to agree. However, "The Hungry Wolf" is an excellent, driving, rock track (what was it about 1982 and songs about hungry wolves, anyway?) |
| The Hungry Wolf
| 1982 |
| See How We Are | 1987 |
| White Girl | 1982 |
| XTC | XTC is certainly one of the quirkiest pop bands of the era. Sadly, chart success eluded them in the United States. |
| Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead
| 1992 |
| Dear God | 1986 |
| Generals and Majors | 1980 |
| Life Begins At the Hop | 1979 |
| King For A Day | 1989 |
| Making Plans For Nigel | 1979 |
| Mayor of Simpleton | 1989 |
| Senses Working Overtime | 1982 |
| The Yardbirds | |
| Heart Full of Soul
| 1965 |
| Yes | Yes put together some of the lengthiest, and some of more complex songs of the 1970s. Like many progressive rock bands of the time, their sound changed and simplified in the 1980s, leading to more commercial success with "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" (US #1/UK #28, 1983). |
| Close to the Edge
| 1972 |
| Owner Of A Lonely Heart | 1983 |
| Roundabout | 1972 |
| Neil Young | Neil Young is certainly one of the strongest writers in the rock and roll era. Despite his folksy appearance, Young has explored a lot of musical territory, from country ("Harvest Moon"), to hard arena-style rock ("Rockin' In the Free World"), to synthesizer pop ("Computer Age") to just plain yelling ("Union Man"). |
| Cinammon Girl
| 1969 |
| Harvest Moon | 1972 |
| My My, Hey Hey | 1979 |
| No More | 1989 |
| Old Man | 1972 |
| Rockin' In the Free World | 1989 |
| Southern Man | 1974 |
| This Note's For You | 1988 |
| Zebra | |
| Tell Me What You Want | 1983 |
| ZZ Top | The little ol' trio from Texas owe a lot of their success to the blues, from which many of their 1970s works were inspired. They also advanced their career astronomically by harvesting the power of music videos, whether they were sexy ("Gimme All Your Lovin'") or bizarre ("TV Dinners"). |
| Heard It On the X | 1975 |
| Gimme All Your Lovin' | 1982 |
| Fool For Your Stockings | 1978 |
| Got Me Under Pressure | |
| La Grange | 1973 |
| My Head's In Mississippi | |
| Sharp-Dressed Man | 1983 |
| Sleeping Bag | 1985 |
| Tush | 1975 |
| TV Dinners | 1983 |
| Waiting For the Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago | 1973 |
