Like Brian Eno in 1977, the year largely belonged to Rick Rubin, who helped produce two certifiable rap landmarks with License to Ill and Raising Hell, and somehow finding a time to form his own record label and produce Slayer’s Reign in Blood. I’d like to think Rubin and his diverse interests helped represent all the best of ‘86. It was also a great year that featured the best solo albums from artists that had been around since the 60s.
I wavered a bit as to which year to do my list for, but I settled on ‘86 for a few reasons. The first was that I didn’t want to do 1987, as good of a year as it was, because that would mean I’d have to do 1997, 2007, etc. When looking at my top 100 album list made a few years ago I saw 5 of these albums appeared on that list. This means 1986 had more albums than 1977 and 1967 combined on my top 100 albums list, at least as of the last ranking. Could this mean that 1986 was a better year than both of those iconic years combined? Emphatically no, but it did speak to how top heavy this year was.
Unlike previous lists I cast a wider net in doing research for this, actually streaming a few albums I don’t own to get a better perspective. Admittedly none of those streamed albums made this list but it did help to flesh out the picture of just what music was like in that year. This is also the first year I’m highlighting that I was alive for, even if my appreciation for music was a little primitive at age 3. There are some songs and albums here that I do have some nostalgic feelings for, videos I remember seeing as a child, and songs I just remember hearing before they were “oldies” or “classics”. This first person experience will probably have a greater impact on my next top tens, whichever years I choose, but shows it’s first signs of influence here. Anyways here’s a list of ten albums very few of you will agree with outside of the first five or so.
10. Lyle Lovett - Lyle Lovett
Since the overwhelming majority of music fans look at country as some weird redneck subculture that has it’s own set of criteria, lists, rankings, and clearly inbred fans, far too many have ignored some of the treasures contained therein. 1986 was easily the best year for country music in the decade and a trio of debut albums released that year help illustrate that point. A lot has been written about Steve Earle’s Guitar Town and I’ll elaborate on another debut later, but Lyle Lovett’s album was probably the most off beat. Although his debut certainly fits into the large blanket of country music it bears little resemblance to any of the auto-tuned party music you’ve probably had to suffer through. Lovett was a bit of an eccentric who took his cues as much from Hank Williams as Benny Goodman. His debut mixes some of his more straight forward singer-songwriter moments with a mix of blues, folk, jazz, and even a little old fashioned rock. All of these influences Lovett would expand on in later albums, but the blueprint began here. One of the best debut albums in all of country.
9. Queen - A Kind of Magic
I may be showing my personal preference a little bit by including Queen’s album from 1986, but the truth is this is fantastic stuff. After their triumph of The Game, Queen embarked on murky territory with the Flash Gordon soundtrack, the uneven Hot Space, and the decent but lackluster The Works. Following their Live Aid triumph, a rejuvenated Queen reconvened after exploring various solo projects. They were also tapped to contribute songs to the new film Highlander, but unlike the Flash Gordon venture, they opted not to “score” the film. Those songs, most notably “Princes of the Universe” and “Who Wants to Live Forever” are among their 80s highlights. Roger Taylor, gave up his attempts to be a lead vocalist and contributes the hit title track. The entire band collaborated on “One Vision” which although released as a stand-alone single the year before opens the album and points towards the more collaborative direction the band would use for their final two studio albums. The resulting tour for this album would turn out to be their last, inspiring it’s own Live Magic album.
8. Randy Travis - Storms of Life
Randy Travis might be considered something of an alcoholic recluse nowadays, but when his debut came out in 1986 he was the best thing to happen to country music in what seemed like decades. Like the best artists of country music’s past, he was as much of a story teller as a songwriter and each track here paints a vivid picture. Truth be told, Travis only wrote two of the songs on this album, but his singing helped usher in the new traditionalist movement in country, thoroughly making these songs his own. Travis updated the old sounds with modern production and for better or worse helped usher in the wave of multi-platinum slick country produced in the 90s. In 1986 though the music just felt more honest, more relatable, and far less pandering to the masses. Like Lovett, Travis would follow this up with an equally brilliant album in 1987, but it can’t quite replicate the immediacy of Storms of Life.
7. Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time
In the 80s, Iron Maiden could scarcely do any wrong. The one perhaps logical complaint they suffered was that by 1986 it was largely Maiden by numbers. They had a winning formula and rode that to sold out arenas and platinum sales. There were some attempts to break out on this album, notably by Bruce Dickinson, but his songs were rejected by Steve Harris for not being “Maiden enough”. Some of these rejected ideas wound up as B-sides and some would go into his solo album debut a few years later. Adrian Smith seems to have temporarily supplanted Steve Harris as the bands best writer here, particularly with the single “Wasted Years”. Unlike Judas Priest who disastrously tried to incorporate synths into their sound on that same year’s Turbo, Maiden chose to use the keyboards more for texture and atmosphere, still relying on guitar, bass, and drums. This is the first Maiden album I ever heard and for that reason it holds a littleextra significance. I don’t think Maiden ever embraced their guitar harmonies more fully. Smith and Murray are perfectly in synch here and they help to elevate often embarrassing choruses and lyrics with their stellar interplay. This is simply another classic from a band in their prime.
6. Slayer - Reign in Blood
Every metal head on the planet owns this album, has heard it about a 100 times, and recognizes that although it might not be Slayer’s best, it is certainly their most iconic and important. After a couple of under produced and primitive albums for Metal Blade the band signed with Rick Rubin’s new American record label where they finally matched their music to production values. The result is a heavy album with some meat to it. The drums are booming, and Dave Lombardo quickly earns his title as thrash metal’s best. Jeff Hanneman’s lyrics are brutal, and Tom Arraya seems determined to sing at the tempo of the music which only adds to the chaotic energy of the album. The whole thing is so short and fast that it doesn’t feel like there’s a wasted moment on here. The only songs over 3 and half minutes are “Angel of Death” and “Raining Blood” which you may recognize as quite possibly the two best metal songs ever written. The late Jeff Hanneman did the bulk of the writing here and it’s pure metal perfection. It’s easy to look past this album for heavier, faster, more brutal, etc. but no thrash band ever put it together quite this perfectly before and probably since.
5. Peter Gabriel - So
And now for something completely different, Peter Gabriel’s So was rare moment when art and commerce came beautifully together. Since his days in Genesis, Peter Gabriel was always venturing into new and exotic territory. The marvel about So is that Gabriel’s musical experiments seem to have perfectly intersected with the pop culture of the day. The album sounds weird, exotic, and ambitious yet extremely commercial. Long time collaborator Tony Levin delivers some of the best, and most bizarre bass lines you’re likely to hear. Gabriel’s reputation for being an innovative video artist really took hold here, and the video for “Sledgehammer” helped make this the monstrously successful album it was. There are still some quieter experimental moments on here, but the singles help keep the album afloat. It is top heavy to be sure, but in that case seems to represent 1986 better than any other album on this list.
4. Paul Simon - Graceland
A perfect compliment to Peter Gabriel’s world music meets pop, Paul Simon’s Graceland was THE album in 1986. It resurrected Simon’s career after his brilliant Hearts and Bones album flopped dramatically. It also introduced most of the Western world to South African music, and it’s still influencing bands to this day. Simon was much more receptive to his collaborators here, and changed his songwriting style to suit his new recording partners. The highlight is still “You Can Call Me Al” which is not only one of the catchiest songs of the 80s but perfectly blends everything great about this album, complete with a reversed bass line and pennywhistle solo. The title track seems like it could have been right at home on Hearts and Bones, and “All Around the World” is more zydeco than mbaqanga. Graceland like So broke new musical ground while also sounding very familiar and inviting.
3. Run DMC - Raising Hell
It took a little over 3 minutes for Run DMC to blow every single rapper who came before them out of the water. “Peter Piper” is still one of the all time greatest rap songs and the incredible interchanging flow that Reverend Run and Darryl Mac have is so perfectly in synch. Rick Rubin was certainly on a roll here and he proceeded to put his mark on this album, particularly on the title track and their famous re-working of “Walk This Way”. The beats are louder, the hooks catchier, and the whole thing flows so seamlessly together. Run DMC were operating on another level here and as great as parts of their first two albums were, this one really elevated the duo to iconic status. They were able to incorporate some of the best of hard rock elements while steering far clear of guitars of any kind for songs like “My Addidas”, “You Be ‘Illin” or “Is It Live?” The latter of which ingeniously makes a song out of a throwaway interlude from LL Cool J. There’s even a little human beat boxing on here for good measure. This broke from the party rap traditions of the past and pointed to the edgier yet commercially viable form the music would take in subsequent years. This is still the best rap album of the 80s.
2. Metallica - Master of Puppets
Slayer might have provided the definitive thrash album in 1986, but Metallica arguably delivered THE definitive metal album. For most outsiders taking only a small cursory glance at metal music would recognize Master of Puppets as the high water mark. Now for all those people who listen to metal on an almost exclusive basis, that matter is forever up for debate. This was Metallica’s last album with Cliff Burton and his influence is noticeable, particularly his bass solo in “Orion”. Dave Mustaine who had his own mini-triumph with Peace Sells that same year claimed to have written the riff for “Leper Messiah” which unofficially marked the end of his influence on early Metallica. The fact that Mustaine and Megadeth were so far behind Metallica at this time is noticeable, as were the other thrash metal bands of the time who were still suffering through under produced independent EPs and debuts. Metallica didn’t just write songs about Satan and murder, they stretched their lyrical aspirations to condemn war, macho posturing, substance abuse, mental illness, and of course false prophets. Their song writing as well continued to evolve, giving rise to longer songs with more complex arrangements, which would peak on …And Justice For All. This album also wins the unofficial title of album I’ve listened to the most from 1986, but not quite the best.
1. The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
The catalyst for my own top 500 album list came from a special issue by NME. They offered their own top 500 and sitting at #1 was this Smiths album. I’d gotten so used to seeing either Revolver or Sgt. Pepper’s top these sorts of lists that I was honestly surprised someone was claiming the best album of all time came out of the 80s. Debate always seems to rage about the second best album from The Smiths. For my money it’s their self titled debut, others would put Strangeways, some would cheat and consider Hatful of Hollow or Louder than Bombs actual albums. Then there are the wrong people who seem to think Meat is Murder is their second best, but it’s nearly impossible to argue anything other than The Queen is Dead is their absolute best. It starts out heavy and rocking, allowing a rare chance for the rhythm section to shine. However they quickly run the gamut from catchy melodic pop “Frankly Mr. Shankly” to a tour-de-force weeping ballad “I Know It’s Over”. Halfway through the album Marr and Morrissey seem to have summed up everything brilliant about their short but influential run. “There is a Light That Never Goes Out” is another in the long running for potential best Smiths songs and “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others” brilliantly closes out what is an absolute masterpiece. This is two songwriters at their peak and a band perfectly in synch, even if they would soon self destruct.
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