1989 was full of action. My younger son was born, Pete Rose was forced to resign as player/manager of my beloved Cincinnati Reds due to gambling allegations, the Cold War was slowly coming to an end and some peaceniks in China attempted to protest the government in Tiananmen Square only to be squelched a couple of weeks later. Personally, I had dipped my toes into an education class at Miami University and loved it. I was on my way to become a teacher a scant five years later.
And the music world was still riding the wave that began with the 1987 tsunami of classic albums. 1989 was a fairly solid year. Prince made a commercial comeback of sorts riding on the coattails of the Batman blockbuster phenomenon with his kind of dopey “soundtrack” album of the same name. In the Prince catalog, Batman is nowhere near his best LP, but it may not be his worst either. To this Prince fanatic, I just simply ignore the album these days.
On a positive note, the alternative rock of the Eighties, either known at the time as college rock (since the music was first played on college radio stations) or modern rock (as the commercial radio stations named this type of music), was peaking both commercially and influentially. Some stellar albums were released in 1989 by the likes of The Cure, Pixies, Love & Rockets, The Cult and The Stone Roses. However, most of this music was relegated to MTV’s alternative music program 120 Minutes and not played much in regular rotation.
Also peaking creatively and commercially was the pop/dance and pop/rock mixes of the day. Pop/dance was led by Taylor Dayne, Janet Jackson, Madonna and others, while pop/rock slice was in the hands of Enuff Z’Nuff, The Bangles and all kinds of hair metal bands. Plus, the teenybopper sect were buying albums and singles by the bulk from the likes of New Kids on the Block, Debbie Gibson and Tiffany.
All in all, 1989 was a pretty solid year for music. My Top 10 is a very solid group of albums, with some just outside that group which might have been Top 10 albums in other years, like the one to follow 1990.
Well, let’s do this! Time for the countdown!
50. Skid Row – Skid Row
49. The Rolling Stones – Steel Wheels
48. John Cougar Mellencamp – Big Daddy
47. Aerosmith – Pump
46. 2 Live Crew – As Nasty as They Wanna Be
45. Prince – Batman
44. Don Henley – The End of Innocence
43. Queen Latifah – All Hail the Queen
42. Enuff Z’Nuff – Enuff Z’Nuff
41. John Lee Hooker – The Healer
40. Bonnie Raitt – Nick of Time
39. Lisa Stansfield – Affection
38. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Mother’s Milk
37. Lou Reed – New York
36. The Cult – Sonic Temple
35. Chris Isaak – Heart Shaped World
34. Roy Orbison – Mystery Girl
33. Soul II Soul – Club Classics Vol. One (Keep on Movin’)
32. Stevie Ray Vaughan – In Step
31. Mötley Crüe – Dr. Feelgood
30. New Order – Technique
29. Neil Young – Freedom
28. Tears for Fears – Seeds of Love
27. Kate Bush – The Sensual World
26. The Smithereens – 11
25. Soundgarden – Louder Than Love
24. Lenny Kravitz – Let Love Rule
23. Elvis Costello – Spike
22. Love and Rockets – Love and Rockets
21. Nirvana – Bleach
20. XTC – Oranges and Lemons
19. Simply Red – A New Flame
18. Paul McCartney – Flowers in the Dirt
17. Nine Inch Nails – Pretty Hate Machine
16. Neneh Cherry – Raw like Sushi
15. Fine Young Cannibals – The Raw & the Cooked
14. The Bangles – Everything
13. Faith No More – The Real Thing
12. Taylor Dayne – Can’t Fight Fate
11. The Replacements – Don’t Tell a Soul
10. De La Soul – 3 Feet High and Rising
9. Tom Petty – Full Moon Fever
8. Madonna – Like a Prayer
7. The Cure – Disintegration
6. The B-52’s – Cosmic Thing
5. The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
4. Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique
3. Janet Jackson – Rhythm Nation 1814
2. Bob Mould – Workbook
1. Pixies – Doolittle
If My Records Could Talk 