These are my twenty most recommended albums of 1980 (in no specific order).

1980 was a great year- a year dominated by great heavy metal bands- especially the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motorhead & Diamond Head.  Punk music morphed into the more eclectic radio-ready New Wave & Post-punk which would help set the tone for the alternative music movement of the late 80’s-early 90’s.

U2 & The Pretenders released their first full length albums- both New Wave/Post-Punk masterpieces. Xdefined L.A. Hardcore with their brilliant debut “Los Angeles”.  Rap music was still bubbling underground while black music was dominated by the Funk by groups like the Gap Band & The Brothers Johnson.  Prince released his first fully great album with “Dirty Mind” which combined Funk with New Wave and would set the course for his many great albums to come later in the decade.  The Talking Heads released perhaps their best album and Joy Division sadly their last before becoming the more Techno group New Order after the very unfortunate suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis.

In my opinion an amazing year and one of the best, if not THE best, music years of the 80’s.

AC/DC/Back in Black

Buy Amazon Back in Black

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band/the River

Buy Buy AmazonThe River

David Bowie/Scary Monsters

Buy Buy Amazon Scary Monsters

Dexys Midnight Runners/Searching for the Young Soul Rebels

Buy Buy Amazon Searching for the Young Soul Rebels

Elvis Costello & the Attractions/Get Happy!!

Buy Buy Amazon Get Happy!!

Iron Maiden/Iron Maiden

Buy  

Joy Division/Closer

Buy    Buy Amazon Closer

Motorhead/Ace of Spades

Buy  Buy Amazon Ace of Spades

Prince/Dirty Mind

Buy   Buy Amazon Dirty Mind

The Talking Heads/Remain in Light

Buy  Buy Amazon Remain in Light

The English Beat/I Just Can’t Stop It

Buy   Buy Amazon I Just Can’t Stop It

The Feelies/Crazy Rhythms

Buy   Buy Amazon Crazy Rhythms

The Jam/Sound Affects

Buy  Buy Amazon Sound Affects

The Police/Zenyatta Mondatta

Buy  Buy Amazon Zenyatta Mondatta [Digipak]

The Pretenders/The Pretenders

Buy   Buy Amazon Pretenders

The Raincoats/The Raincoats

Buy Amazon The Raincoats

The Soft Boys/Underwater Moonlight

Buy Amazon Underwater Moonlight . . . And How It Got There

U2/Boy

Buy   Buy Amazon Boy

Young Marble Giants/Colossal Youth

Buy   Buy Amazon Colossal Youth

X/Los Angeles

Buy  Buy Amazon Los Angeles

Best of 1980  Volume 1 (4/17/02)

1.  X- Los Angeles

Buy

2.  Motorhead- Ace of Spades

Buy

3.  AC/DC- Hells Bells

*Not Available through iTunes

Buy  Back in Black album through Amazon

4.  David Bowie- Ashes to Ashes

Buy

5.  The Police- Don’t Stand So Close to Me

Buy

6.  The Talking Heads- Once in a Lifetime

Buy

7.  Prince- When You Were Mine

Buy

8.  S.O.S. Band- Take Your Time (Do it Right)

Buy *This version is re-recorded from the original

9.  Diana Ross- Upside Down

Buy

10.  Blondie- Rapture

Buy

11.  The Pretenders- Precious

Buy

12.  Devo- Whip It

Buy

13.  Gary Numan- Cars

Buy

14.  The Jam- That’s Entertainment!

Buy

15.  U2- Twilight

Buy

16.  The English Beat- Mirror in the Bathroom

Buy

17.  Liliput- Split

Buy

18.  Mission of Burma- Academy Fight Song

Buy

19.  Joy Division- Love Will Tear Us Apart

Buy

20.  Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band- Hungry Heart

Buy

21.  Elvis Costello & the Attractions- New Amsterdam

Buy

22.  John Lennon- Watching the Wheels

Buy

Best of 1980 Volume 2 (4/19/02)

1.  Van Halen- Everybody Wants Some!!

Buy

2.  The Pretenders- Tattooed Love Boys

Buy

3.  The Cure- Play for Today

Buy

4.  The Jim Carroll Band- People Who Died

Buy

5.  Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band- Out in the Street

Buy

6.  Jackson Browne- That Girl Could Sing

Buy

7.  Tom Waits- Jersey Girl

Buy

8.  Steely Dan- Hey Nineteen

Buy

9.  Prince- Dirty Mind

Buy

10.  The Clash- Police On My Back

Buy

11.  The Dead Kennedys- Holiday in Cambodia

Buy

12.  Mission of Burma- Max Ernst

Buy

13.  X- Your Phone’s Off the Hook, But You’re Not

Buy

14.  The Police- Man in a Suitcase

Buy

15.  Diana Ross- I’m Coming Out

Buy

16.  Donna Summer- On the Radio

Buy

17.  U2- I Will Follow

Buy

18.  Joy Division- Isolation

Buy

19.  Squeeze- Pulling Mussels from the Shell

Buy

20.  Blondie- The Tide is High

Buy

Best of 1980 Volume 3 (9/2/05)

1.  The Soft Boys- I Wanna Destroy You

*Not available through iTunes

Buy Underwater Moonlight . . . And How It Got There album through Amazon

2.  The Jam- Going Underground

Buy

3.  Young Marble Giants- Credit in the Straight World

Buy

4.  Joy Division- Atmosphere

Buy

5.  Peter Gabriel- Games Without Frontiers

Buy

6.  XTC- Generals and Majors

Buy

7.  The Brothers Johnson- Stomp!

Buy

8.  Kurtis Blow- The Breaks

Buy

9.  The Rolling Stones- Emotional Rescue

Buy

10.  Dexys Midnight Runners- Geno

Buy

11.  The English Beat- Best Friend

Buy

12. The Selector- Too Much Pressure

Buy

13.  The Talking Heads- Cross-Eyed and Painless

Buy

14.  Elvis Costello & the Attractions- I Can’t Stand Up for Falling Down

Buy

15.  AC/DC- Have a Drink on Me

*Not available through iTunes

Buy Back in Black album through Amazon

16.  X- Johnny Hit and Run Paulene

Buy

17.  The Pretenders- Brass in Pocket

Buy

18.  U2- A Day Without Me

Buy

19.  Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band- Independence Day

Buy

20.  Bob Marley & the Wailers- Redemption Song

Buy

Best of 1980 Volume 4  (9/8/05)

1.  AC/DC- Back in Black

*Not available through iTunes

Buy Back in Black album through Amazon

2.  Iron Maiden- Prowler

Buy

3.  The Pretenders- Up the Neck

Buy

4.  X- The World’s A Mess it’s in My Kiss

Buy

5.  The Soft Boys- Kingdom of Love

*Not available through iTunes

Buy Underwater Moonlight . . . And How It Got There album through iTunes

6.  U2- Into the Heart

Buy

7.  Echo & the Bunnymen- Do It Clean

Buy

8.  Joy Division- Heart and Soul

Buy

9.  The Talking Heads- Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)

Buy

10.  The Feelies- Fa-Cee-La

Buy

11.  Squeeze- Another Nail in My Heart

Buy

12.  The Gap Band- Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)

Buy

13.  The Whispers- And the Beat Goes On

Buy

14.  Prince- Uptown

Buy

15.  David Bowie- Fashion

Buy

16.  The Clash- Magnificent Seven

Buy

17.  The Jam- Pretty Green

Buy

18.  Dexys Midnight Runners- There, There My Dear

Buy

19.  George Jones- He Stopped Loving Her Today

Buy

Best of 1980 Volume 5 (6/22/07)

1.  Bauhaus- Dark Entries

Buy

2.  The B-52s- Private Idaho

Buy

3.  Iron Maiden- Sanctuary

Buy

4.  The Cure- A Forest

Buy

5.  The Soft Boys- Underwater Moonlight

*Not available through iTunes

Buy Underwater Moonlight . . . And How It Got There album through Amazon

6.  Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band- The River

Buy

7.  Orange Juice- Blue Boy

Buy

8.  The Jam- Monday

Buy

9.  Dexys Midnight Runners- Seven Days Too Long

Buy

10.  Elvis Costello & the Attractions- High Fidelity

Buy

11.  The Treacherous Three- The Body Rock

*Not available through iTunes

Buy Back To The Old School – Turn It Up compilation through Amazon

12.  The Talking Heads- The Great Curve

Buy

13.  The Pretenders- Mystery Achievment

Buy

14.  Siouxsie & the Banshees- Christine

Buy

15.  U2- Out of Control

Buy

16.  Devo- Freedom of Choice

Buy

17.  Split Enz- I Got You

Buy

18.  John Lennon- Woman

Buy

19.  Josef K- Final Request

Buy

20.  David Bowie- It’s No Game (Part 2)

Buy

21.  Young Marble Giants- Final Day

Buy

Best of 1980 Volume 6 (6/23/07)

1.  The Jam- Start!

Buy

2.  The Ramones- Do You Remember Rock N’ Roll Radio

Buy

3.  The Fall- Totally Wired

Buy

4.  OMD- Electricity

Buy

5.  Young Marble Giants- Searching for Mr. Right

Buy

6.  U2- 11 O’Clock Tick Tock

Buy

7.  The Pretenders- The Wait

Buy

8.  Joy Division- Twenty Four Hours

Buy

9.  Echo & the Bunnymen- Rescue

Buy

10.  Queen- Another One Bites the Dust

Buy

11.  Madness- Embarrassment

*Not available through iTunes

Buy Absolutely album through Amazon

12.  Devo- Girl U Want

Buy

13.  Blondie- Call me

Buy

14.  Elvis Costello & the Attractions- Love for Tender

Buy

15.  Bob Marley & the Wailers- Pimper’s Paradise

Buy

16.  The Clash- Bankrobber

Buy

17.  Lakeside- Fantastic Voyage

Buy

18.  Dexys Midnight Runners- Tell Me When My Light Turns Green

Buy

19.  Willie Nelson- On the Road Again

Buy

20.  The Police- De Doo Doo Doo, De Da Da Da

Buy

21.  The English Beat- Whine & Grine/Stand Down Margaret

Buy

22.  Billy Joel- It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me

Buy

Best of 1980 Volume 7 (2/27/10)

1.  Rush- The Spirit of Radio

Buy

2. Van Halen- And the Cradle Will Rock…

Buy

3.  Iron Maiden- Running Free

Buy

4.  Motorhead- Jailbait

Buy

5.  AC/DC- You Shook Me All Night Long

*Not available via iTunes       Buy Back in Black Album

6.  Pat Benatar- Hit Me with Your Best Shot

Buy

7.  Pete Townsend- Let My Love Open the Door

Buy

8.  Orange Juice- Simply Thrilled Honey

*Track not available via iTunes.         Buy The Glasgow School Album

9.  Young Marble Giants- Brand-New-Life

Buy

10.  John Lennon & Yoko Ono- (Just Like) Starting Over

Buy

11.  Bob Marley & the Wailers- Could You Be Loved

Buy

12.  The Pretenders- Kid

Buy

13.  The Police- Driven to Tears

Buy

14.  Joy Division- Atrocity Exhibition

Buy

15.  The Fall- New Face in Hell

Buy

16.  The Raincoats- Fairytale in the Supermarket

*Track not available via iTunes             Buy The RaincoatsAlbum

17.  The Specials- Stereotype

Buy

18.  The Feelies- Crazy Rhythms

Buy

19.  Madness- Baggy Trousers

*Track not available via iTunes           Buy Ultimate CollectionAlbum

20.  Paul Simon- Late in the Evening

Buy

Best of 1980 Volume 8 (2/27/10)

1.  The Treacherous Three- The New Rap Language

*Not available via iTunes or Amazon

2.  Zapp- More Bounce to the Ounce

Buy

3.  Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five- Freedom

Buy

4.  Stevie Wonder- Master Blaster (Jammin’)

Buy

5.  Generation X- Dancing with Myself

Buy

6.  The Feelies- Loveless Love

Buy

7.  Squeeze- If I Didn’t Love You

Buy

8.  Dire Straits- Romeo and Juliet

Buy

9.  The Clash- Somebody Got Murdered

Buy

10.  Diamond Head- Am I Evil?

Buy

11.  Joy Division- A Means to an End

Buy

12.  Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band- Fade Away

Buy

13.  Martha & the Muffins- Echo Beach

Buy

14.  ABBA- The Winner Takes It All

Buy

1. Steve Winwood- While You See A Chance
2. Genesis- Turn It On Again
3. AC/DC- Shoot To Thrill
4. Rush- Freewill
5. Gary Numan- We Are Glass
6. David Bowie- Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
7. Grace Jones- Warm Leatherette
8. Prince- Head
9. Loretta Holloway- Love Sensation
10. Loose Joints- Is It All Over My Face (Larry Levan Remix) (Female Vocal Version)
11. Robert Palmer- Johnny And Mary
12. Grateful Dead- Althea
13. Peter Gabriel- I Don’t Remember
14. The Alan Parsons Project- Time
15. Visage- Fade To Grey