Top Albums of the Last Three Decades

Recently I came across the first album I ever bought. This was way before the mp3 and digital era and it inspired me to make a list of the top five albums over the last 3 decades. It took me a while since their is so much good music to choose from! You might recognize a few albums but I’m sure some of them will be new to you. How does your list look like? Any of the albums is in your top list as well? Let me know in the comment section!

I’ll start off in the eighties with the above mentioned album. Here we go:

The Eighties

Zapp: Zapp II
Released 1982

One of the most underrated funk groups of the 1980s, Zapp revolutionized the computer pop of electro with their trademark vocoder talk boxes and bumping grooves, emulating the earthier side of Prince and Cameo, with a leader in Roger Troutman who was more than efficient at polished production. The family group, with brothers Roger, Lester, Larry, and Tony Troutman, grew up in Hamilton, OH, influenced by hometown heroes the Ohio Players as well as Parliament and other funk groups.

Keith Sweat: Make it Last Forever
Released 1987

Keith Sweat is a Harlem-born R&B singer/songwriter who released his debut album, Make It Last Forever, at the end of 1987. The album sold over three million copies, spawning the hits “I Want Her” (number one R&B, number five pop), “Something Just Ain’t Right” (number three R&B), “Make It Last Forever” (number two R&B), and “Don’t Stop Your Love” (number nine R&B).

EPMD: Strictly Business
Released 1987

On the surface, the sample-reliant productions and monotone rapping styles of Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith had little to recommend them, but the duo’s recordings as EPMD were among the best in hip-hop’s underground during the late ’80s and early ’90s. Over the course of four albums (from the 1988 classic Strictly Business to 1992’s Business Never Personal), they rarely varied from two themes: dissing sucker MCs and recounting sexual exploits. But a closer look reveals that the duo’s rhymes were nothing less than incredible, simply undervalued because of their lack of intonation during delivery. EPMD also had a feel for a good groove, and created numerous hip-hop classics, including “It’s My Thing,” “You Gots to Chill,” “Get the Bozack,” “Strictly Business,” and “Rampage.”

Public Enemy: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Released 1988

Public Enemy rewrote the rules of hip-hop, becoming the most influential and controversial rap group of the late ’80s and, for many, the definitive rap group of all time. Building from Run-D.M.C.’s street-oriented beats and Boogie Down Productions’ proto-gangsta rhyming, Public Enemy pioneered a variation of hardcore rap that was musically and politically revolutionary. With his powerful, authoritative baritone, lead rapper Chuck D rhymed about all kinds of social problems, particularly those plaguing the black community, often condoning revolutionary tactics and social activism. In the process, he directed hip-hop toward an explicitly self-aware, pro-black consciousness that became the culture’s signature throughout the next decade.

Prince: Sign ‘O’ the Times
Released 1987

Few artists have created a body of work as rich and varied as Prince. During the ’80s, he emerged as one of the most singular talents of the rock & roll era, capable of seamlessly tying together pop, funk, folk, and rock. Not only did he release a series of groundbreaking albums; he toured frequently, produced albums and wrote songs for many other artists, and recorded hundreds of songs that still lie unreleased in his vaults. With each album he released, Prince has shown remarkable stylistic growth and musical diversity, constantly experimenting with different sounds, textures, and genres. Occasionally, his music can be maddeningly inconsistent because of this eclecticism, but his experiments frequently succeed; no other contemporary artist can blend so many diverse styles into a cohesive whole.

The Nineties

Smashing Pumpkins: Siamese Dream
Released 1993

Of all the major alternative rock bands of the early ’90s, the Smashing Pumpkins were the group least influenced by traditional underground rock. Lead guitarist/songwriter Billy Corgan fashioned an amalgam of progressive rock, heavy metal, goth rock, psychedelia, and dream pop, creating a layered, powerful sound driven by swirling, distorted guitars. Corgan was wise enough to exploit his angst-ridden lyrics, yet he never shied away from rock star posturing, even if he did cloak it in allegedly ironic gestures. In fact, the Smashing Pumpkins became the model for alternative rock success. Nirvana was too destructive and Pearl Jam shunned success. The Pumpkins, on the other hand, knew how to play the game, signing to a major-subsidized indie for underground credibility and moving to the major in time to make the group a multi-platinum act. And when the group did achieve mass success with 1993’s Siamese Dream, they went a long way to legitimize heavy metal and orchestrated prog rock, helping move alternative rock even closer to ’70s AOR, especially in the eyes of radio programmers and mainstream audiences.

Underworld: Dubnobasswithmyheadman
Released 1993

Underworld became one of the most crucial electronic acts of the 1990s via an intriguing synthesis of old and new. The trio’s two-man frontline, vocalist Karl Hyde and guitarist Rick Smith, had been recording together since the early-’80s new wave explosion; after two unsuccessful albums released as Underworld during the late ’80s, the pair finally hit it big when they recruited Darren Emerson, a young DJ hipped to the sound of techno and trance. Traditional pop song forms were jettisoned in favor of Hyde’s heavily treated vocals, barely there whispering, and surreal wordplay, stretched out over the urban breakbeat trance ripped out by Emerson and co. while Smith’s cascade of guitar-shard effects provided a bluesy foil to the stark music. All in all, the decision to go pop was hardly a concession to the mainstream. The first Underworld album by the trio, Dubnobasswithmyheadman, appeared in late 1993 to a flurry of critical acclaim; the trio then gained U.S. distribution for the album with TVT. Second Toughest in the Infants, the group’s sophomore LP, updated their sound slightly and received more praise than the debut. Unlike the first, the LP also sold well, thanks in part to the non-album single “Born Slippy,” featured on the soundtrack to the seminal film Trainspotting.

Outkast: ATLiens
Released 1996

OutKast’s blend of gritty Southern soul, fluid raps, and the rolling G-funk of their Organized Noize production crew epitomized the Atlanta wing of hip-hop’s rising force, the Dirty South, during the late ’90s. Along with Goodie Mob, OutKast took Southern hip-hop in bold, innovative new directions: less reliance on aggression, more positivity and melody, thicker arrangements, and intricate lyrics. After Dré and Big Boi hit number one on the rap charts with their first single, “Player’s Ball,” the duo embarked on a run of platinum albums spiked with several hit singles, enjoying numerous critical accolades in addition to their commercial success.

Dave Holland Quartet
Released 1998

Dave Holland is of a generation of bassists who, in the ’60s and ’70s, built upon the innovations of slightly older players like Scott LaFaro, Gary Peacock, and Barre Phillips, carrying the instrument to yet another new level of creativity. Along with contemporaries like Eddie Gómez, Miroslav Vitous, and Barry Guy, Holland helped refine and extend the melodic possibilities of the cumbersome double bass. In Holland’s case, those refinements never lost touch with the core verities of straight-ahead jazz; Holland’s sense of swing is unexcelled. Additionally, Holland is possibly the most accomplished pure jazz composer among bassists, after Charles Mingus. Holland’s small groups in the ’80s and ’90s, while working firmly within the jazz idiom, presented a fresh alternative to the fusty re-creations of the neo-boppers.

Oasis: (What’s the story) Morning Glory?
Released 1995

Oasis shot from obscurity to stardom in 1994, becoming one of Britain’s most popular and critically acclaimed bands of the decade; along with Blur and Suede, they are responsible for returning British guitar pop to the top of the charts. Led by guitarist/songwriter Noel Gallagher, the Manchester quintet adopts the rough, thuggish image of the Stones and the Who, crosses it with “Beatlesque” melodies and hooks, distinctly British lyrical themes and song structures like the Jam and the Kinks, and ties it all together with a massive, loud guitar roar, as well as a defiant sneer that draws equally from the Sex Pistols’ rebelliousness and the Stone Roses’ cocksure arrogance. Gallagher’s songs frequently rework previous hits from T. Rex (”Cigarettes and Alcohol” borrows the riff from “Bang a Gong”) to Wham! George Michael (”Fade Away” takes the melody from “Freedom”), yet the group always puts the hooks in different settings, updating past hits for a new era.

2000-present

Coldplay: Parachutes
Released 2000

After surfacing in 2000 with the breakthrough single “Yellow,” Coldplay quickly became one of the biggest bands of the new millennium, honing a mix of introspective Britpop and anthemic rock that landed the British quartet a near-permanent residence on record charts worldwide. The group’s emergence was perfectly timed; Radiohead had just released the overly cerebral Kid A, while Oasis had ditched two founding members and embraced psychedelic experimentation on Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. U.K. audiences were hungry for a fresh-faced rock band with big aspirations and an even bigger sound, and Coldplay was more than happy to take the reigns. Parachutes went multi-platinum in several countries and earned the band their first Grammy, but Coldplay continued to grow into the 2000s, topping their debut album’s success with higher record sales and an increased public profile.

Miss Kitten and the Hacker: First Album
Released 2001

Miss Kittin’s (real name: Caroline Herve) interest in music was spurred by her parents’ record collections, which covered everything from disco to funk to classical to jazz. The Grenoble, France, native found herself attracted to the rave scene of the early ’90s, and within three years of becoming involved, she started performing her own DJ sets. A major break came for the producer/DJ when she received bookings for the Dragon Ball events in Southern France. In 1996, she moved to Geneva, Switzerland, and joined the Mental Groove Records posse. A trio of early productions on various-artists compilations were scattered throughout 1996 and 1997. By 1998, she fell in with the International Deejay Gigolos camp, debuting on that label with the Champagne! EP. With the Hacker, Miss Kittin released First Album in 2000, which combined clubby production work with new wave pop sensibilities. She and Hacker’s haughty, somewhat hokey single “Frank Sinatra” caught fire with the burgeoning electroclash crowd, and her deadpan vocals similarly livened up Felix da Housecat’s 2002 single “Silver Screen Shower Scene”, as well as Golden Boy’s Or LP that same year. With her rep cemented, Kittin dropped the techno-themed On the Road, designed to show off her impressive DJ skills to those enamored only of her vocals.

J Dilla: Donuts
Released 2006

Frequently and rightly placed in the same context as DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and Kanye West, Jay Dee built and sustained a high standing as a producer’s producer while maintaining a low profile. When Pharrell Williams appeared on BET’s 106 & Park in 2004, he excitedly declared that Jay Dee was his favorite producer and told an audibly stumped crowd that it had probably never heard of the man. At the time, Jay Dee had been active for well over a decade and had netted enough beats — including the Pharcyde’s “Runnin’,” De La Soul’s “Stakes Is High,” Common’s “The Light,” and several others with production teams the Ummah and the Soulquarians — to be considered an all-time great. Alternately known as J Dilla, or just Dilla, he never produced a mainstream smash and, in many cases, his presence has to be confirmed with a liner notes scan. (And even then, that might not help; he occasionally went uncredited.) He never marked his territory like Just Blaze (”Just Blaze!”) or Jazze Pha (”This is a Jazze Phizzle produc-shizzle!”), and he never hogged the mike like P. Diddy. He let his music, and its followers, do the talking. Rather than provide immediate (or fleeting) thrills, he was hooked on working the subconscious as much as the neck muscles. He was so focused on his work that it took a severe toll on his health.

DJ Shadow: Endtroducing… (Deluxe edition)
Released 2005

DJ Shadow’s Josh Davis is widely credited as a key figure in developing the experimental instrumental hip-hop style associated with the London-based Mo’ Wax label. His early singles for the label, including “In/Flux” and “Lost and Found (S.F.L.),” were all-over-the-map mini-masterpieces combining elements of funk, rock, hip-hop, ambient, jazz, soul, and used-bin incidentalia. Although he’d already done a scattering of original and production work (during 1991-1992 for Hollywood Records) by the time Mo’ Wax’s James Lavelle contacted him about releasing “In/Flux” on the fledgling imprint, it wasn’t until his association with Mo’ Wax that his sound began to mature and cohere. Mo’ Wax released a longer work in 1995 — the 40-minute single in four movements “What Does Your Soul Look Like,” which topped the British indie charts — and Davis went on to co-write, remix, and produce tracks for labelmates DJ Krush and Dr. Octagon plus the Mo’ trip-hop supergroup UNKLE.

Radiohead: In Rainbows
Released 2007

Radiohead was one of the few alternative bands of the early ’90s to draw heavily from the grandiose arena rock that characterized U2’s early albums. But the band internalized that epic sweep, turning it inside out to tell tortured, twisted tales of angst and alienation. Vocalist Thom Yorke’s pained lyrics were brought to life by the group’s three-guitar attack, which relied on texture — borrowing as much from My Bloody Valentine and Pink Floyd as R.E.M. and Pixies — instead of virtuosity. It took Radiohead awhile to formulate their signature sound. Their 1993 debut, Pablo Honey, only suggested their potential, and one of its songs, “Creep,” became an unexpected international hit, its angst-ridden lyrics making it an alternative rock anthem. Many observers pigeonholed Radiohead as a one-hit wonder, but the group’s second album, The Bends, was released to terrific reviews in the band’s native Britain in early 1995, helping build a more stable fan base. Having demonstrated unexpected staying power, as well as increasing ambition, Radiohead next released OK Computer, a progressive, electronic-tinged masterpiece that became one of the most acclaimed albums of the ’90s.

I hope you enjoyed the list! Again, I could have made it into a top 100. There are too many albums to choose from nowadays but in my case the above list will stand for a while!

For those who are curious what I’m currently listening to: visit my Last.Fm page