Whew! Man, have the past six or so days been crazy! My step-father had hip replacement surgery, so with Mom being incapacitated with her condition, that left me to be his “coach.” And, what they mean by “coach” is that I am in charge of his diet, meds and exercises, meaning insurance no longer covers the eldery’s rehabilitation under the guise of “research says…” So, why is it that I am so cynical when it comes to healthcare? Well, I worked in hospital labs during my first eight years after college. Plus, I was once told by an arrogant insurance man back in the mid-Eighties that insurance companies would and should be taking over healthcare because costs were becoming too high. Since I had a healthcare economics class just in the months leading up to this conversation, I felt ready to tell the man that I hoped he would NEVER have an insurance company refuse to cover treatments. Ironically, within a decade, that is exactly what happened to this man’s family, forcing them to do several fundraisers in order to pay for treatments for his grandchild. But, us Americans just totally believe that the volatile stock market is the best way to control costs, though the reality is those very costs have exponentially skyrockets since the Eighties when this very belief was implemented. It’s simple math, but what do I know.
Well, I do know music, especially music from arguably the greatest decade, the 1980s. Over the course of the next two weeks, I will be presenting my 40 favorite albums for each year from 1980 through 1989. Today, allow me the honor to present my Top 40 albums for the great year 1980.
1980 just happened to be a pretty strong year for quality albums. It was such a good year that good albums by the likes of Van Halen, Split Enz, Pat Benatar, Cheap Trick, Jackson Browne, The Cure, The English Beat, John Cougar and Bob Seger. Yet, the albums on this list are of the highest quality, so let’s get this party started. On with the countdown!
- Talking Heads – Remain in Light
- Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel (III: Melting)
- AC/DC – Back in Black
- David Bowie – Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
- The Police – Zenyatta Mondatta
- Bruce Springsteen – The River
- Daryl Hall & John Oates – Voices
- Prince – Dirty Mind
- Daryl Hall – Sacred Songs
- Queen – The Game
- The Jam – Sound Affects
- The J. Geils Band – Love Stinks
- The Romantics – The Romantics
- Pretenders – Pretenders
- Elvis Costello & the Attractions – Get Happy!!!
- Dexys Midnight Runners – Searching for the Young Soul Rebels
- Various Artists – Times Square OST
- Judas Priest – British Steel
- Rush – Permanent Waves
- The Clash – Sandinista!
- The Vapors – New Clear Day
- Donnie Iris – Back on the Streets
- Ramones – End of the Century
- The Jacksons – Triumph
- Dire Straits – Making Movies
- The Cars – Panorama
- John Lennon & Yoko Ono – Double Fantasy
- Billy Joel – Glass Houses
- The B-52’s – Wild Planet
- Blondie – Autoamerican
- Ozzy Osbourne – Blizzard of Ozz
- Stevie Wonder – Hotter Than July
- Dead Kennedys – Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
- The Alan Parsons Project – The Turn of a Friendly Card
- Devo – Freedom of Choice
- Joy Division – Closer
- Kurtis Blow – Kurtis Blow
- REO Speedwagon – Hi Infidelity
- Paul Simon – One Trick Pony
- Squeeze – Argybargy
And, there you have it! My Top 40 albums of 1980. Let the discussion begin!
If My Records Could Talk 
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