Best Albums of the Year series: 1988

[Saturated Fats]

1967: The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
1980: AC/DC - Back in Black
1994: Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York
2000: Radiohead - Kid A

1973: Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (24 votes)

2nd Place: Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy (14 votes)
3rd Place (tie): The Who - Quadrophenia (10 votes)
3rd Place (tie): Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (10 votes)
5th Place: Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run (8 votes)

Other received 13 votes

Thank you to everyone who participated for such a fantastic discussion and response to the last thread. 24 votes for a winner is far and away the most for an year thusfar - and, considering the subject, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised by that.

1988 was a sneaky great year for music. So much diversity, with the emergence of hip-hop as a catalytic force, and metal really reaching a high water mark. Looking forward to this one.

The next year we will cover is 2004.

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[todeskultes]

My Bloody Valentine - You Made Me Realise

 

[WetcoastOrca]

1. Travelling Wilburies Volume 1
2. Dire Straits Money for Nothing
3. Tracy Chapman
4. Leonard Cohen I’m Your Man
5. Talk Talk Spirit of Eden

 

[Oxbow Lakes]

Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Leevi and the Leavings - Häntä Koipien Välissä
Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
EPMD - Strictly Business
Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden
The Pogues - If I Should Fall from Grace With God
Dead Moon - In the Graveyard
Geinoh Yamashirogumi - Symphonic Suite AKIRA
Death - Leprosy
Big Daddy Kane - Long Live the Kane

Would EPs count? If they do, Fugazi’s self-titled EP would definitely get a vote.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I haven't looked into it yet, but I like the job on the poll @SonicY !

(I'll post my selections tonight)

 

[Chili]

Dire Straits-Money For Nothing
U2-Rattle and Hum
Traveling Wilburys-Traveling Wilburys Vol 1

Can't remember if I liked Robert Plant's Now and Zen...guess I would if I had liked it a lot.

 

[kihei]

Talk Talk: The Spirit of Eden
Ziggy Marley: Conscious Party
Sonic Youth: Daydream Natioon
The Church: Starfish
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
REM: Green
Cowboy Junkies: The Trinity Sessions
My Bloody Valentine: Isn't Anything
Dire Straits: Money for Nothing
U2; Rattle and Hum

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

Solid choices all around

My top 5:

Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden
My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything
Ultramagnetic MC's - Critical Beatdown
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Dinosaur Jr - Bug

I used to love Nothing's Shocking but too many of the songs are kinda crappy upon relisten. Standing in the Shower Thinking, Idiots Rule specifically. Ocean Size is my favorite.

 

[Stylizer1]

Solid choices all around

My top 5:

Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden
My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything
Ultramagnetic MC's - Critical Beatdown
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Dinosaur Jr - Bug

I used to love Nothing's Shocking but too many of the songs are kinda crappy upon relisten. Standing in the Shower Thinking, Idiots Rule specifically. Ocean Size is my favorite.

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

YES. Kool Keith is the man. If he'd do less of the sex stuff and more of the crazy/space man stuff I'd like him even better.

 

[frisco]

Other than Green:
Midnight Oil-Diesel and Dust (U.S. release was '88)
Rick Springfield-Rock Of Life
The Church-Starfish
Cheap Trick-Lap Of Luxury
Robert Palmer-Heavy Nova

My Best-Carey

 

[Mescaleroman]

Weddings , Parties , Anything. - Roaring Days
Billy Bragg - Workers Playtime
Joy Division - Substance
the Godfathers - Birth , School , Work , Death
the Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues
the Housemartins - Now That's What I Call Quite Good

 

[Stylizer1]

YES. Kool Keith is the man. If he'd do less of the sex stuff and more of the crazy/space man stuff I'd like him even better.

Sex Style was pretty funny.

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

Sex Style was pretty funny.

Yeah, it is. Overall he's so great.

 

[Fantomas]

I'm actually not the biggest Cohen fan, but holllyy shiit, I'm Your Man is good.

 

[Shareefruck]

Not really the biggest fan of this year either. Only voted for Spirit of Eden.

1. Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk - 4.5 (Brilliant)
2. Follow the Leader by Erik B & Rakim - 2.5 (Good)
3. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Down by Public Enemy - 2.5 (Good)
4. Isn't Anything by My Bloody Valentine - 2.0 (Positive)
5. Critical Beatdown by Ultramagnetic MCs - 2.0 (Positive)

 

[Osprey]

Bon Jovi's New Jersey seems like a pretty big omission from the choices. It was the #1 album in the US for a month, reached #1 in 6 other countries, produced 2 #1 hits and 3 more in the top 10 and has sold 7 million copies. I would've voted for it.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Great year for metal, with ST coming in at #2 of my top-10. Possibly a surprising pick (production-wise, it's not always super tight and probably the worst lineup for a group who's had lots of star musicians through the years), but to me one of the most interesting metal albums, clearly the most important (if not the best) by ST.

1. Seigen Ono - Comme des garçons, Vol. 1
2. Suicidal Tendencies - How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today
3. John Zorn, George Lewis, Bill Frisell - News For Lulu
4. Cardiacs - A Little Man and A House and the Whole World Window
5. Diamanda Galas - You Must Be Certain of the Devil
6. Fred Frith - The Technology of Tears
7. Butthole Surfers - Hairway to Steven
8. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
9. Slayer - South of Heaven
10. Green On Red - Here Come the Snakes

HM: Frank Zappa with his trillion releases that year / The Proclaimers /Pixies / Traveling Wilburys / L. Cohen / Tracy Chapman / Mr. Bungle with a demo containing proto-masterpieces.

 

[Cas]

1988 was indeed a great year for metal:

Bathory - Blood Fire Death
Blind Guardian - Battalions of Fear
Candlemass - Ancient Dreams
Death - Leprosy
Flotsam and Jetsam - No Place for Disgrace
Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part II
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
King Diamond - 'Them'
Metallica - ...And Justice for All
Morbid Saint - Spectrum of Death
Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime
Razor - Violent Restitution
Riot - Thundersteel
Running Wild - Port Royal

I'm not really a fan of South of Heaven.

Out of these, the album of the year is Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime. It's a tough choice, though.

1989 was somehow even better.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

There were five great heavy metal albums in 1988:

• Queensryche - "Operation: Mindcrime". This is arguably the most cohesive, fully-realized concept album in metal history. It's more than just a good concept though, track by track, this featured the best songwriting of the band's career.
• Iron Maiden - "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son". Also a concept album, but much looser than Queensryche's. Some fantastic guitar interplay between Murray and Smith. The biggest single, the upbeat "Can I Play with Madness", sounds really out of place.
• Slayer - "South of Heaven". The band apparently realized that they couldn't top "Reign in Blood" and went for slower compositions. It features the Slayer hallmarks (twisted lyrics, frantic solos) at slower speeds, but the first half is much stronger than the second.
• Death - "Leprosy". I'm not a fan of "extreme" metal, so this is about as heavy an album as I'll listen to. Intense and technically complex. I'm usually not in the mood for this, but when I am, it hits home.
• Bathory - "Blood, Fire, Death". Another disclaimer - I'm not a fan of black metal either, but this is a great album. A raw, haunting opus that helped create an entire subgenre (Viking metal).

There were some good hip-hop albums in 1988. The one that I keep returning to is Boogie Down Production's "By All Means Necessary". KRS-ONE was always a great lyricist and vocalist but a poor songwriter. But this was his most focused album, recorded in the wake of his DJ and longtime Scott LaRock's death. ("Straight Outta Compton" was far more influential, and "It Takes A Nation..." was much messier and more creative, but this is the album I enjoy listening to more start to finish).

 

[plank]

1. s/t - Traveling Wilburys
2. s/t - Lucinda Williams
3. Slow Turning - John Hiatt
4. Talk is Cheap - Keith Richards
5. Rattle and Hum - U2
6. Copperhead Road - Steve Earle
7. Prison Bound - Social Distortion
8. Birth, School, Work, Death - Godfathers
9. Only Life - The Feelies
10. The Trinity Sessions - Cowboy Junkies
11. In the Graveyard - Dead Moon

 

[Teemu]

I get the chills every time that that harmonica comes in after "Mining for Gold". Only other albums from the year that have really resonated with me from this year are REM's Green, John Hiatt's Slow Turning, and Pixies' Surfer Rosa

 

[Unholy Diver]

Wilburys
Money For Nothing
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
And Justice for All
Operation Mindcrime
It Takes a Nation of Millions to hold us Back

 

[Babe Ruth]

From the list, I voted for 'And Justice For All'
Write in vote, the first Danzig album (summer 1988).

 

[Eisen]

Manowar - Kings of Metal
Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys II