Pick One Favorite Album From Each Decade

Something we started on another board I am a member of, seems like it could be an interesting topic of discussion as we have a lot more members than that board.

I'll start.... if anyone wants to go back to the 1940's go ahead but I don't know too much before 1960.

1950's: I'll preface by saying I'm not really too familiar with this era, it was really a tumultuous time in American history and it was reflected in the sounds of our music as it began with post war stuff but went out with rock n roll. It's impossible for me to list what I think is the greatest album of this decade as I'm just not familiar enough with the music to do so. Instead I will just list my favorite album from that time period. I think with the rising "threat" of Communism for the first time in our history we had that young angst and heroes like James Dean.

Frank Sinatra - Come Fly With Me (1958) , It's got the iconic Come Fly With Me but also features other well known hits like South of the Border, I love Paris and Chicago (which is probably my favorite Sinatra song)

I also thought about an odd one but a very very good album.

Elvis's Christmas Album (1957) , just my opinion but it's the definitive Christmas Album. Sure you have Bing Crosby but Elvis just made it cool.

1960's: So many great albums and so many have been mentioned but I've always thought the sounds, the style, and the voice of Jim Morrison made him the icon of the 60's. The involvement of innuendos and just bluntness gave the Doors something that was missing prior to their arrival. Their self titled release in 1967 blew me away the first time I listened to it (many years after it's release) has my 2 favorite Doors songs Back Door Man and Alabama Song. Throw in Twentieth Century Fox, Soul Kitchen , Break on Through and Light My Fire and it's hard to argue as this not being the best album of the decade.

1970's: Bob Marley, Exodus, (1977) There isn't one album that has defined my taste in music more than this one. Quite simply put reggae is my favorite genre of music and if I had never listened to this it's very possible it wouldn't be. Marley has an incredible catalogue of music but to me this is the defining collection of his songs. Too many classic songs to list. They could have just released this as Legend because in my opinion this is his best work. Now it does lack my favorite Marley song (Caution) but this is one I can listen to over and over and over and never get tired of it.

1980's: This was my generation of music and so many albums that really made an impact on me. Like the 60's hard to pinpoint just one album as you had so many great groups like Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Van Halen, Talking Heads, Genesis and solo artists like Michael Jackson, Prince, David Bowie and Whitney Houston, releasing multiple albums with just amazing music. They gave way to hard rock bands like Guns and Roses, Motley Crue and Motorhead and then we also have the emergence of hip hop/rap.

I really can't pick one album but I really do like Tears for Fears - Songs from the Big Chair (1985)

Honorable mention to Midnight Oil - Diesel and Dust (1987) as well as The Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (1989)

1990's I'm not as down on this as a lot of others, there was great music but you really needed to cut through a lot of the crap to find it. This was also the beginning of the end of MTV and it was pre internet for the most part so the good music didn't get to you as easily and the access to it wasn't what it is today.

Tool - Undertow (1993), again one of those albums that just blew me away the first time I heard it. I knew the entire album word for word after about a week because I listened to it so much. In my opinion it's their best album and while they continue to refine their sound and work on side projects this to me is their go to album.

It's probably cheating but Red Hot Chili Peppers - What Hits (1992) is my favorite release of theirs, love their funky stuff which was mostly from the 80's but also has a few newer hits on it as well.

2000's Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights (2002) , the debut release from these guys. To me they sound a lot like Joy Division and Paul Banks sounds a lot like Ian Curtis. They done a lot of other good stuff but I think this is the best album they've released. Silent Alarm by Bloc Party (2005) was a close second for me. The Killers - Hot Fuss (2004) also was in contention

2010's, not what I ever would have expected but I think I'm going with Calvin Harris - 18 Months (2012) although I really like Jungle's self titled album which was released in 2014.

 

Chvrches is really good, saw them in Manila in 2014 and they sounded fantastic. Doesn't hurt that the lead singer is a bit rebellious and pretty hot

 

Floyd had 3 albums in the 70's that would easily be on the list....