I Love the Eighties: My Top 100 Albums of 1989

Well, it has finally happened in a school distinct here in Indiana. A school shooting has happened. It is the school system from which my father graduated, is a major conference rival of the schools were I last taught and coached and is only a twenty-minute drive from here. Every time these school shootings happen, I get more and more pissed off at myself, my leaders, my elders and my generation for forcing our children, THE FUTURE and LEGACY of our country to continually suffer from the scars of this gun-obsessed culture. As a teacher, I weep. As a parent, I cry. As an American, “my hands are clenched in fits of rage” (my apologies to Don McLean, it just fits). I come from a family of responsible gun owners, but I have chosen not to own one, even though I know how to properly handle them, thanks to the tough teachings of my maternal uncle, God rest his soul. Yet, something must be done to correct this societal ill. The school’s mascot is a Miller, and I still have friends who teach and coach there. Beginning today, I urge everyone to be #MillerStrong in support of a hurting community. Okay, deep breath Keller! That’s enough of this crap! Let’s move on with what this blog is truly about – Rock Music. Specifically, the music of 1989.

1989 was an exciting year. First, it was the last year of the Eighties, which had always been exciting to me to face another decade coming to its end. Second, I began working on the classwork necessary to get my teaching license. Since this was during the days before people were being encouraged to obtain a Master’s Degree and Teacher’s License, I was working with Ball State, my alma mater, as to which classes to take at Miami of Ohio before I moved back to Indiana in order to transfer back to good ol’ Ball U. And, finally, as well as most excitedly, we had our younger son at the end of the school year. He was born while I was taking an education night class, so I was wearing a hospital-issued beeper (remember those?) so my wife could contact me if she went into labor while I was in class. Fortunately, #2, just as his brother did, waited until midnight on a Saturday morning to send his mother into labor. This time, she was technically admitted to the hospital for a whole seven minutes before giving birth to this mountain of a baby. I say this because there has been nothing petite about #2, except for his confidence, which we worked hard to improve. Needless to say, the young man is successful, holding onto a Master’s Degree and about to marry the love of his life whom he has dated since the end of their high school freshman year.

Many nutty things happened in 1989. Since we were living near Cincinnati, the news was all about Pete Rose’s gambling shenanigans, in addition to the protests over in China that were put to rest after military action. And, finally, my Batman was made into a movie, which jump-started the current superhero movie being released every six weeks, or less. And, yet, I am addicted to them, although they are no longer all must-see events in a theater. But, they remain must-owns in my Blu-Ray collection. Yes, I am a loser, but you probably surmised that.

Anyway, rap and alternative music ruled my listening pleasures. The Beastie Boys grew up, put their frat boy, beer-swilling, party-going personas, grew up and created perhaps the greatest rap album of all-time, though at the time, it caught everyone by surprise and was a commercial disappointment. But, the whole project was so far ahead of the time, with layers and layers of samples, making it difficult to discern where the sample ended and the new music began, thus opening a whole new production technique to the genre that we still find Kanye trying to catch up with. Also, a new rap group, De La Soul, burst on the scene, showing us that samples from Hall & Oates and Steely Dan could be turned into funky hip hop tunes.

On the alternative side, The Cure and Love & Rockets, two goth punk bands from the UK, toned down the noise and scored Top Ten singles. I really thought one of my favorite alternative bands, The Replacements, would follow R.E.M. into commercial success with their 1989 album Don’t Tell a Soul, but I was wrong…again! Finally, an innovative band of college kids from Boston, Pixies, released their seminal Doolittle album which would never lead the band to commercial success but would influence an unknown Seattle band’s sound that would eventually rule the world for a short time in the Nineties, as Nirvana would openly copy their sound from the Pixies. And, speaking of Nirvana, their great debut album, Bleach, was released on a public who only wanted the latest Poison-copycat band’s music.

Oh, sure, we still had teenybopper music; tired, partied-out hair metal tunes and some last gasps from some classic rock giants (Paul McCartney, Lou Reed, Alice Cooper and Billy Joel), but the year truly did belong to the burgeoning rap and alternative scenes. And, MTV was once again playing a role in these genre’s success with their seminal programs Yo! MTV Raps and 120 Minutes.

Well, let’s take a look at the music that I like, which is probably different from you, which is why opinions on music, politics and the like are so much fun. Everyone brings a different perspective. You just gotta respect each other.

1. Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique
2. Pixies – Doolittle
3. Bob Mould – Workbook
4. The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
5. Fine Young Cannibals – The Raw & the Cooked
6. Janet Jackson – Rhythm Nation 1814
7. Madonna – Like a Prayer
8. Tom Petty – Full Moon Fever
9. The B-52’s – Cosmic Thing
10. De La Soul – 3 Feet High and Rising
11. The Replacements – Don’t Tell a Soul
12. The Cure – Disintegration
13. Tears for Fears – The Seeds of Love
14. Simply Red – A New Flame
15. Don Henley – The End of the Innocence
16. Bonnie Raitt – Nick of Time
17. Faith No More – The Real Thing
18. Neneh Cherry – Raw like Sushi
19. Nirvana – Bleach
20. Elvis Costello – Spike
21. Paul McCartney – Flowers in the Dirt
22. Nine Inch Nails – Pretty Hate Machine
23. New Order – Technique
24. Neil Young – Freedom
25. XTC – Oranges and Lemons
26. King’s X – Gretchen Goes to Nebraska
27. EPMD – Unfinished Business
28. Boogie Down Productions – Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop
29. Mötley Crüe – Feelgood
30. Kate Bush – The Sensual World
31. Lenny Kravitz – Let Love Rule
32. The The – Mind Bomb
33. The Cult – Sonic Temple
34. The Smithereens – 11
35. Love & Rockets – Love & Rockets
36. Tone-Lōc – Lōc-ed After Dark
37. Bangles – Everything
38. The Rolling Stones – Steel Wheels
39. Roy Orbison – Mystery Girl
40. Prince – Batman
41. 10,000 Maniacs – Blind Man’s Zoo
42. Jody Watley – Larger Than Life
43. Bob Dylan – Oh Mercy
44. UB40 – Labour of Love II
45. Aerosmith – Pump
46. Enuff Z’Nuff – Enuff Z’Nuff
47. 2 Live Crew – As Nasty as They Wanna Be
48. The Jesus & Mary Chain – Automatic
49. Skid Row – Skid Row
50. The Tragically Hip – Up to Here
51. The Someloves – Something or Other
52. Soundgarden – Louder Than Love
53. Lisa Stansfield – Affection
54. Queen – The Miracle
55. Alannah Myles – Alannah Myles
56. Depeche Mode – 101
57. Eurythmics – We Two Are One
58. Stevie Ray Vaughan – In Step
59. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Mother’s Milk
60. Billy Joel – Storm Front
61. John Cougar Mellencamp – Big Daddy
62. Ice-T – The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech…Just Watch What You Say
63. 3^rd Bass – The Cactus Album
64. Terence Trent D’Arby – Neither Fish nor Flesh
65. Phish – Junta
66. Camper Van Beethoven – Key Lime Pie
67. Peter Murphy – Deep
68. Chris Isaak – Heart-Shaped World
69. Quincy Jones – Back on the Block
70. Tracy Chapman – Crossroads
71. David Byrne – Rei Momo
72. The Jungle Brothers – Done by the Forces of Nature
73. Biz Markie – The Biz Never Sleeps
74. Queen Latifah – All Hail the Queen
75. Soul II Soul – Club Classics Vol. One (aka ‘Keep on Movin’’)
76. John Lee Hooker – The Healer
77. Trip Shakespeare – Are You Shakespearienced?
78. Melissa Etheridge – Brave and Crazy
79. Lou Reed – New York
80. Taylor Dayne – Can’t Fight Fate
81. Technotronic – Pump Up the Jam: The Album
82. Van Morrison – Avalon Sunset
83. Lyle Lovett – Lyle Lovett and His Large Band
84. Ministry – The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste
85. Mudhoney – Mudhoney
86. Big Daddy Kane – It’s a Big Daddy Thing
87. Heavy D & the Boyz – Big Tyme
88. The Neville Brothers – Yellow Moon
89. Indigo Girls – Indigo Girls
90. Babyface – Tender Lover
91. Chris Rhea – The Road to Hell
92. The DOC – No One Can Do It Better
93. Urban Dance Squad – Mental Floss for the Globe
94. Young MC – Stone Cold Rhymin’
95. Cher – Heart of Stone
96. LL Cool J – Walking with a Panther
97. Alice Cooper – Trash
98. MC Lyte – Eyes on This
99. Debbie Gibson – Electric Youth
100. Milli Vanilli – Girl You Know It’s True

So, that’s the last year of the Eighties. Shortly, I will give you my wrap up of the Eighties, then I promise to go back to reviewing albums. This is a holiday weekend in the States, as we celebrated Memorial Day, a day to think about the loved ones who served in the military and lost their lives, as well a day to remember all of our lost loved ones. Peace to you all.

Author: ifmyalbumscouldtalk

I am just a long-time music fan who used to be a high school science teacher and a varsity coach of several high school athletic teams. Before that, I worked as a medical technologist at three hospitals in their labs, mainly as a microbiologist. I am retired/disabled (Failed Back Surgery Syndrome), and this is my attempt to remain a human. Additionally, I am a serious vinyl aficionado, with a CD addiction and a love of reading about rock history. Finally, I am a fan of Prince, Cheap Trick, Tom Petty, R.E.M., Hall & Oates, Springsteen, Paul Weller & his bands and Power Pop music. View all posts by ifmyalbumscouldtalk