These albums made me very happy in the Eighties and even happy today. Some of the decade's amazing work was off my radar, including Nick Cave and the Bad Seed, the Replacements, Public Enemy, and Lyle Lovett. So I don't include those because I really don't know them well.
- The Dreaming (Kate Bush)
- Murmur (R.E.M.)
- Shoot Out the Lights (Richard and Linda Thompson)
- Imperial Bedroom (Elvis Costello)
- London Calling (The Clash)
- 1999 or Purple Rain (Prince)
- Los Angeles (X)
- Pirates (Rickie Lee Jones)
- The Joshua Tree (U2)
- The River (Bruce Springsteen)
- Speaking in Tongues (Talking Heads)
- Hard Promises (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
- Off the Wall (Michael Jackson)
- The Visitor (Mick Fleetwood)
- Law and Order (Lindsey Buckingham)
- So (Peter Gabriel)
- Dream of the Blue Turtles (Sting)
- Midnight Love (Marvin Gaye)
- The Crossing (Big Country)
- All the Rage (General Public)