1986
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[Albums 970 – 972 / 1001]
Of the ‘1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die,’ 21 are from the year 1986.
I’ve reviewed all but three of them already (Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force – Planet Rock: The Album, Bad Brains – I Against I and The Smiths – The Queen is Dead are the last remaining non-reviewed albums).
Which 1986 albums are the most essential to hear again?
Ranked by their essential-ness, here’s how I’d prioritize revisiting these 21 albums, enjoy!
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21. Sonic Youth – EVOL. Their first of five on the list.
20. Slayer – Reign in Blood. Being able to correctly identify a student playing Criminally Insane remains a highlight of my teaching career thus far.
19. Throwing Muses – Throwing Muses. Not to be confused with Throwing Muses by Throwing Muses (their 2003 album)!
18. Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force – Planet Rock: The Album. A bit of old school hip hop sounds good, better yet when it includes the original version of Renegades of Funk.
17. Bad Brains – I Against I. Widely influential, everywhere from Jeff Buckley to Sepultura to Degrassi: The Next Generation!
16. Elvis Costello and The Attractions – Blood & Chocolate. His 5th of 6 on the list.
15. Megadeth – Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying?. Their 1st of 2.
14. Run DMC – Raising Hell. Their 2nd of 2.
13. Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill. A fun listen, both for the music & its inherent graphability!
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12. Steve Earle – Guitar Town. Sounds like my kind of municipality.
11. Metallica – Master of Puppets. Likely my favourite Metallica album.
10. The The – Infected.
9. Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring.
If only Duran Duran had earned a list spot in ’86, it could have been a triple-double!
8. Nanci Griffith – The Last of the True Believers. But unlikely my last time listening to Nanci.
7. Anita Baker – Rapture. Having the LP helps the odds.
6. Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet. Was my album review #500.5/1001, the exact halfway mark of the project!
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5. XTC – Skylarking. Their first of two appearances.
4. Billy Bragg – Talking with the Taxman About Poetry. Greetings to the New Brunette, a practically perfect opener.
3. Paul Simon – Graceland. His third of three solo albums on the list.
2. Peter Gabriel – So. Also his third of three solo albums on the list.
1. The Smiths – The Queen is Dead. Frankly (Mr. Shankly), it really couldn’t have been anything else!
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Verbalize the Positive
Cheers to anyone participating in Movember this year!
1001albumsin10years 
I like how:
#3 is PS – G and
#2 is PG – S
and both are former frontmen of groups that released their first album in the 1960s, exploring African sounds.
I quite like those parallels as well!
The rock showed up on here. This a much better year for stuff I care about. I’ve never listened to the Smiths as I wasn’t depressed or felt I would be if I did hear them.
I believe Ozzy was once quoted as saying, “I’d do anything for a laugh, except listen to the smiths” – and he makes a fair point, not always the most cheerful lyrics!
Ha!! I like that joke!!
It’s your site and all, but you put the Smiths as #1 when you had Slayer and Beastie Boys and Metallica and Bad Brains and… to choose from? Fair play to you, and all, but I demand a recount! lol
I have a feeling the Beasties 89 & 94 albums will be higher rankings!
Better be, those are monsters!
Ah, ‘Slippery When Wet,’ a classic!
That it is!
Some heavy stuff here for sure mixed with Simon and Peter! Nice mix tape this would have made back in 86!
It’s probably one of the more eclectic years, Beasties / Slayer / Simon, something for everyone!
Plenty of variety there, Geoff. “So” and “Skylarking” for me.
I just had So back on the turntable last week, Red Rain, what an opener!
It’s a ripper isn’t it?!
’tis!