The Toy Box: The Dirty Dozen

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The Dirty Dozen - My Top Twelve Albums Of 1989

Well, here we are. My top twelve of 1989. It's been a journey getting to this point, and along the way, I've picked up numerous contenders for the seventeen spaces available on my wall to frame albums. So far, the list consists of:

Prince - 1999 (1982)
Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)
Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual (1983)
Ghostbuster (1984)
The Cars - Heartbeat City (1984)
Jacksons - Victory (1984)
"Weird Al" Yankovic - In 3-D (1984)
Prince And The Revolution - Purple Rain (1984)
Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party (1985)
USA For Africa - We Are The World (1985)
Prince And The Revolution - Around The World In A Day (1985)
Falco - Falco 3 (1985)
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Dare To Be Stupid (1985)
Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet (1986)
Europe - The Final Countdown (1986)
Top Gun (1986)
Michael Jackson - Bad (1988)
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction (1987)
Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation (1987)
Def Leppard - Hysteria (1987)
Prince - Sign 'O' The Times (1987)
Roxette - Look Sharp (1988)
Bon Jovi - New Jersey (1988)

Today, we'll get the final nominations, and from there, make a decision.

It all starts with the last couple honorable mentions for the decade, which are Skid Row's self titled debut, and "Weird Al" Yankovic's studio album / soundtrack, UHF. The latter definitely has a cool cover, and I'm still considering getting all of Al's 80's albums for the wall. But, I haven't really committed in full to that yet.

Queen's The Miracle gets flack for not packing the punch of prior releases from the band. For me though, it contains a ton of my favorites. Plus, it's Queen...So, you know, bias opinions are going to come into play.

I have a love / hate relationship with Mötley Crüe. Frankly, I skip their songs every time they come on because of personal reasons about the band members. This in turn makes it difficult for me to sit through their music these days. On the other hand, I acknowledge they're iconic to the era, and when you strip away personal feelings, I do think they have a lot of good music, most of which comes from their 1989 released Dr. Feelgood.

The Bee Gees were struggling to catch a break in the 80's. For some reason, people just didn't want them to exist, musically. Regardless, One is a solid album, showcasing that the brothers still had it in them to deliver fantastic pop hits, and amazing vocals.

I learned about Billy Joel with his music videos from An Innocent Man. However, it was Storm Front that got me to start paying attention. This album is masterfully crafted, and features my all time favorite from him, The Downeaster Alexa.

Also among my favorites are Something Happened On The Way To Heaven, and I Wish It Would Rain Down from Phil Collins. Legacy artists were closing out the 80's on top of their game, and Collin's was no exception when he released ...But Seriously.

Okay, I get it. Milli Vanilli were just an act, lip syncing to music from someone else. Put that aside, and ask yourself one question. Was the music good? If you said yes, then who cares who sang it? Without the act we would have never gotten Blame It On The Rain, Baby Don't Forget My Number, the title track, Girl You Know It's True, and more! At the end of the day, I'll take that.

A mature Madonna emerged in 1989 with Like A Prayer, an album originally cut with patchouli oil in the actual vinyl to add to the church-type feel" and a sensual experience for the listener. Plus, what young boy on the cusp of puberty didn't enjoy watching the Express Yourself music video on MTV?

I believed Alice Cooper was a new artist, born of the hair metal craze which was taking the world by storm. I would have never guessed that his 1989 Trash was his eleventh studio outing as a solo artist, not including the additional seven he had as a band by the same name. Trash introduced me to a whole new world of music, and quickly became one of my favorites that I would listen to from start to finish.

The original Ghostbusters is an icon unto itself, but still, I like the second movie. I also favor its soundtrack to the originals. Ghostbusters II, the album, features awesome songs from start to finish. If I had one regret about it, that would be choosing not to pay the $20 I found a brand new sealed copy for on vinyl a couple years ago. Vinyl wasn't my thing back then...I suppose it's still not. I mean, I am, after all, just looking for wall art. I'll stick with my CD for listening purposes.

Another soundtrack, Prince's Batman. Say what you will about this one, I dig it...a lot! I dare say that if it weren't for this album, I probably wouldn't have bothered with anything further in his discography.

When Janet Jackson released Control, I personally didn't care much. However, when she hit 1989 with Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814, I took notice. Who didn't? How could you not? This album single handedly kept the 80's on the Billboard Hot 100 in the 90's with continuous hits reaching number one.

Which brings me to number one, Aerosmith's Pump. Who would have thought Aerosmith would make such a massive comeback, and become one of the greatest selling artists of all time for a second time? Perfect from start to finish, and featuring some great music videos to boot, Pump definitely helped send off the 80's on a high note.

With that, we have our final contenders for a spot on the wall. Aerosmith's Pump, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814, Prince's Batman, and Alice Cooper's Trash. Yes, we're skipping on Ghostbusters II.

Now it's time to take my list, and go decide which albums will make the cut.

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The Dirty Dozen - My Top Twelve Albums Of 1988

Two years to go in noting my top twelve albums from each year. As noted last time, I had to start whittling down my list. With only seventeen spaces on the wall for record frames, only the best of the best would do.

So far, the contenders comprised of:

Much like I have every time so far, there were honorable mentions...Well, one this time around. That would be the soundtrack to Bright Light, Big City. It features some great tracks from Prince, Bryan Ferry, New Orders, and M|A|R|R|S. Unfortunately, that only accounts for four of the ten tracks, leaving this one being far from perfect.

Kicking off the top twelve is the super group The Traveling Wilburys. Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, George Harrison, and Bob Dylan? I mean, come on. That has to make for an amazing album, right? Well...Not exactly, which is why it's all the way in the twelfth position. Truthfully, I only like one song off of it.

Ozzy Osborne was big for me in the 90's, and there was nothing more that I liked than to crank up the volume, and let Miracle Man blare through the speakers. No Rest For The Wicked isn't my go to album from Ozzy, but it still has some of my favorite tracks.

...And Justice For All was an album my brother used to play frequently, but not one I really grew an appreciation for until owning my own copy. These days, however, Metallica is too far over played for me to really enjoy. Still, this was a big part of my life for many years, and I would be remiss to ignore that fact.

My brother also introduced me to DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince while he played through He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper, and their prior released, Rock The House frequently. Admittedly, the comical side of Will Smith is what amused us kids, while introducing us to the world of rap.

I wouldn't learn about Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé's Barcelona until after the singer's death in 1991, but since then it's become a favorite for me. Well, a few select tracks from it anyway. Though I do enjoy listening to it, I think it mainly gets accolades from me for being an album by Mercury.

Much like their 1985 debut, which I had under the wrong year (1986), Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw & The Cooked actually came out in 1989, but I mistakenly put it in 1988. Also, like their 85 release, at this point, I can't be bothered to fix that error. I suppose if this one weren't here, then Bright Lights, Big City would have made the top twelve because there'd be no honorable mentions.

"Weird Al" was kind of taking a downward dive at this point in his career. Sure, Fat was funny, as were a few other of the tracks on Even Worse. However, for the most part, it just didn't pack the punch that prior albums did. Still, I do enjoy it every now and then. Like I said when writing about Dare To Be Stupid, something to consider would be to put all of Al's 80's albums on the wall...Oh, if only space allowed for me to go overboard.

As much as I like to scoff at Paul Abdul these days, the fact of the matter is that she ruled 1988. You couldn't turn on the radio without hearing one of her songs, or MTV without seeing one of her videos. Plus, she was just fun to watch for a young boy going through the early stages of manhood.

Taylor Dayne, much like Paula Abdul, came out of nowhere in 1988, and proceeded to dominate radios and MTV. Tell It To My Heart, Prove Your Love, and Don't Rush Me are among my favorites from her Tell It To My Heart debut album.

Say what you will about Bobby Brown's personal life, but his solo outing of the album Don't Be Cruel is a solid set of tunes. If it weren't for that boring cover, I might even consider it for the wall.

Who didn't listen to Bon Jovi's New Jersey in 1988? Was it better than Slippery When Wet? Debatable, but for me, nah. Still, what it certainly comprised of was a solid follow-up, and a slew of hits which have become synonymous with the era.

One of these days I'll get around to checking out the rare and seemingly forgotten debut from Roxette. For now, their sophomore, and subsequent breakthrough album, Look Sharp, will always be my go to from the duo. It's practically perfect from start to finish.

That last sentence actually sums up 1988 perfectly for me. Good albums, but none that are perfect from start to finish. I would, however, consider adding Roxette and Bon Jovi to the wall. Not only for the great songs, but the unique visuals on the covers.

Next week will wrap up my top twelve from each year, and from there it's go time. Decisions need to be made, albums purchased, and frames hung up.

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The Dirty Dozen - My Top Twelve Albums Of 1987

After writing up my list for 1986 inclusions, I thought it would suit me best to start whittling things down. As such, I had to take a really hard look at the contenders so far. From them, I've cut out several, and come up with the following which still have a shot at the wall:

Now, the thing to keep in mind here is that there are seventeen slots available on the wall. Well, obviously, I could make more room if I really wanted to, but for this purpose, it's all about the seventeen side by side. The problem here is that there are sixteen noted above, and three more years to get through.

That starts here with 1987, and the honorable mentions that didn't make the top twelve.

The guys behind Bad News hit my radar a long time ago, back in the days of watching The Young Ones on MTV. Their mock video for Bohemian Rhapsody was one that Weird Al played when broadcasting one of his infamous Al TV blocks on MTV, 1992's to be exact, and from there, I was hooked.

Home Again, Elevator Main, Pain, Not My Slave, and all those other songs that I loved from Oingo Boingo...That most people don't know unless they're a fan. Well, all of those are on their 1987 released Boi-ngo. Good stuff!

Buster Poindexter's self titled debut was a shocking surprise for me. I was expecting a quirky album filled with songs akin to Hot Hot Hot. However, what I got instead was a fantastic rhythm and blues release with a ton of hidden gems.

Who's That Girl's soundtrack has some great Madonna tunes that you're not going to find anywhere else. But, I would be remiss to not mention Michael Davidson's Turn It Up.

I never would have expected my fourteen year old self to like a film like La Bamba. I think the only reason I even watched it was because it had, "The guy from Young Guns". Regardless, I really got into it, and as a result was introduced to a whole new world of music.

I don't think I'd want a Rick Astley album for my wall, but I also won't deny his impact on the 80's. I mean, it's so iconic that it's taken on a life of its own with Rick Rolling.

Black was a hidden gem of the era. I got hip to the artist with his tune, Wonderful Life, and from there dove deep into his work. Highly underrated.

The Lost Boys soundtrack is just pure iconic to the 80's, and it kicks off my official 12 for the year. INXS, Lou Gramm, Echo And The Bunny Men, and Roger Daltry are the big names from the album. But who doesn't love Gerald McMahon's Cry Little Sister? Classic!

Debuting in 1987, Debbie Gibson became the dream come true that every teenager aspiring to be a singer looked to. She showed them all that if you had the talent, and followed your dreams, it was possible. Not only did she exhibit the Electric Youth vibe, but backed up her talent by writing her own songs. Out Of The Blue, Shake Your Love, and Only In My Dreams, all of them were written by her, along with all the others on the album.

Richard Marx was a late comer to the 80's as well. His self titled debut hit hard with hits; Hold On To The Night, Should Have Known Better, Don't Mean Nothing, and Endless Summer Nights. Marx became one of the crooners and heartthrobs of the era.

Despite being around for the majority of the 80's, INXS didn't break through until 1987's Kick. Though I've heard rumor that their popularity was forced by MTV, who mandated its VJ's to promote the band hard. As for me, I actually didn't care for them much until just a few years ago when I started to dive into their full discography. Kick, has since become one of my favorites.

Working with the likes of John Bon Jovi, Richie Sambroa, Michael Bolton, and Desmond Child, Cher crafted a masterful comeback in 1987. The self title album featured some of her best material to date; I Found Someone, We All Sleep Alone, Bang Bang, and Main Man, just to name a few.

Probably the best thing to happen to Whitney Houston was to separate herself from Jermaine Jackson, who produced her debut, and even sang duets with her. No disrespect to the Jackson Five member, but his music was always dated, and that's exactly what happened to Houston's self titled album when he got involved with it. For her second release, Whitney (the album) hit hard with Billboard chart toppers I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Love Will Save The Day, So Emotional, Didn't We Almost Have It All, and Where Do Broken Hearts Go.

Expose's debut really kicked down the doors for the female trio in 1987. Exposure featured the massive hits, Come Go With Me, Let Me Be The One, Seasons Change, and Point Of No Return.

Sign 'O' The Times is considered Prince's opus, and while I enjoy a lot off of it, it's far from what I'd call perfect. That saddens me to say that because I still hold the album in high regards. The good stuff is hands down amazing, but the bad stuff is really forgettable. I'd love to condense this down from it's two LP format to one really solid gem.

I want to say Def Leppard's Hysteria is a perfect album, but the sad reality of it is that it's not. At least not to me. Why? Because I couldn't even tell you how the last song, Love And Affection goes, and I barely remember anything outside of the chorus of Excitable. I mean, I'm not gonna lie. The rest of the album, delicious in every sense of the word.

Though my brother introduced me to Aerosmith through his many listening sessions of all of their albums pretty much daily, it was Permanent Vacation that found a special place in my heart in the early 2000's. It was an album I played pretty much daily myself as I drove down the road.

Guns N' Roses' Appetite For Destruction was part of the reoccurring soundtrack of my life in high school. This was followed by their Use Your Illusion I and II albums, which also went into steady rotation. In fact, if I was considering 90's albums, those two would definitely be on the list of contenders for the wall.

Number one is a no brainer for the year. Michael Jackson's Bad is an amazing album. Far superior to Thriller, as far as I'm concerned. This one's got it all; pop, funk, rock, and ballads. Sheer perfection from start to finish.

There are a lot of albums here that I'd like for the wall, and these include Michael Jackson's Bad, Guns N' Roses' Appetite For Destruction (specifically the original cover), Aerosmith's Permanent Vacation, Def Leppard's Hysteria, and Prince's Sign 'O' The Times. Unfortunately, this kicks us up to twenty one titles, so right off the bat, four are going to have to go. However, I'm not going to make that decision just yet.

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The Dirty Dozen - My Top Twelve Albums Of 1986

I can already tell that whittling down the wall albums is going to be a challenge. Mainly because the pile of contenders is growing, but the space on the wall is staying the same. Let's run through the list of where we're at so far for those being considered.

Queen - The Game (1980)
Rush - Permanent Waves (1980)
The Smurfs - The Smurfs All-Star Show (1981)
Prince - 1999 (1982)
Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)
Oingo Boingo - Only A Lad (1983)
Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual (1983)
Ghostbuster (1984)
The Cars - Heartbeat City (1984)
Jacksons - Victory (1984)
"Weird Al" Yankovic - In 3-D (1984)
Prince And The Revolution - Purple Rain (1984)
Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party (1985)
USA For Africa - We Are The World (1985)
Prince And The Revolution - Around The World In A Day (1985)
Falco - Falco 3 (1985)
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Dare To Be Stupid (1985)

As we dive into 1986, things once again start out with the honorable mentions. There's a slew of them, and some of them hurt to not make the top twelve.

Queen's A Kind Of Magic, and Ozzy Osbourne's The Ultimate Sin are two albums I can listen to from start to finish, and they have some amazing covers...Gah...In writing this, I would love to have the space for these on the wall.

Then you have the soundtrack for Transformers The Movie. Great soundtrack, and nostalgic in ever sense of the word. This one might end up being a pickup to go with my cartoon albums.

I give a nod to Metallica for their importance to me from high school. Master Of Puppets was an album I listened to a lot back in those day, but it's one I can't sit through anymore. Overplayed, moved on, the "black" album, whatever it is, I just don't like Metallica as much as I used to.

The Fixx was a band I knew from the 80's for One Thing Leads To Another, and got into in a big way recently when coming across their 1986 song, Can't Finish. I put its respective album, Walkabout, on this list not only for introducing me to a larger catalog of great music, but because it features some great tunes, and a pretty fun cover.

I think I wanted Peter Gabriel's So on this list because of the iconic videos he created in the 80's, and this album contains a tone of great songs which were featured in said videos. I mean, come on...Sledgehammer? Who doesn't recall that video's groundbreaking effects back in 86?

The self titled Fine Young Cannibals debut is underrated. It often gets overshadowed by its successor, The Raw And The Cooked. P.S., this also came out in 1985, and at this point, I can't be bothered to go back and fix it.

Cutting Crew's Broadcast was a nice gem to unearth. Yes, it contains the hits (I Just) Died In Your Arms, I've Been In Love Before. However, there's so much more here.

The hits from Billy Ocean's Love Zone are so iconic to the 80's. You hear them, and they transport you back instantaneously to the early months of '86, and a hot off its December '85 released Jewel Of The Nile film. It was one of the first music videos I ever saw where the cast appeared as part of it, and not just in clips.

It's a guilty pleasure. Neigh, not guilty. I have no shame about loving The Karate Kid II. Great movie, great soundtrack. Great fun.

Last on the honorable mentions is the soundtrack to Little Shop Of Horrors. My sister had Grease. "They" tried to give us Xanadu. But, for me, my musical is Little Shop. Rick Moranis and Steve Martin are kings of comedy, and not too shabby at singing either.

With that, we jump into the top twelve, and it all starts off with Jermaine Stewart's Frantic Romantic. We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off is always a go to for me from the 80's. If it's on, I'm listening to it. No question. Though there are some hidden gems in the album, really, it's his hit that keeps me coming back. I really need to check out his other 80's albums.

If the radio was on in the 80's chances were high you were going to hear Walk Like An Egyptian, Manic Monday, or If She Knew What She Wants, all featured on Bangles Different Light. This album is an essential for any 80's fan.

Looking at number ten, and seeing Lionel Richie's Dancing On The Ceiling should be a tell to you that 1986 was a massive year for music of the era. I mean, if Lionel Richie is number ten, what could possibly be better? Well...

Madonna's True Blue starts out with the awesome synth intro to Papa Don't Preach, and you know right away something good's about to happen. The hits just keep coming with La Isla Bonita, and Open Your Heart.

Prince And The Revolution's Parade gets a bum wrap. People often write it off as the soundtrack to the poor film, Under The Cherry Moon. First off, that film is funny. If you're watching it expecting a serious film, the joke is on you, and Prince is laughing. He intentionally plays it over the top, going for the gags. As for the music, it takes everything you know about the singer, and shoots off in a whole new direction. There are so many great tracks on this one.

If you would have told my thirteen year old self that Paul Simon was a folk singer from the sixties, I would have looked at you like you had two heads. No. He's the guy who did that funny music video with Chevy Chase from the Vacation movies, I would have said. Regardless of my naivety, one thing is for sure that his Graceland album is one solid piece of musical genius. The inclusion of Ladysmith Black Mambazo on backing vocals was a gutsy move in '86, but one that proved to be the icing on the cake. They add a layer to each track that takes good songs, and elevates them to amazing.

It's little Michael Jackson's littler sister, Janet, and she's in Control! She tore up the MTV airways with Nasty, The Pleasure Principal, and of course, the title track, carving out her own existence in pop culture.

Much like my naiveté with Paul Simon, I would have told you Genesis came to fruition in 1986. Further, as a child, I wouldn't be able to distinguish songs between Phil Collin's solo career, and the band's music. I was pretty dumb. Case in point, while all the adults in the room were enthralled by the deep lyrical message of Land Of Confusion, I was raptured by the puppets in the music video.

Mock it if you must, but I love me some The Final Countdown by Europe. The album is solid from back to front, and one which I definitely want to get for the wall. Not only that, but dig that far out cover!

Bon Jovi took 1986 by storm with Slippery When Wet. I dare say it was them who made hair metal mainstream. Sure, these days Livin' On A Prayer, You Give Love A Bad Name, and Wanted Dead Or Alive are all overplayed, but there's a reason for that. They're classics!

Available only in Israel, Kidd Video's The TV Show Hits, features every single song from the faux band. Say what you will, I think they're great. Easily able to stand on the top ten list of any pop charts. Now if only we could get the actual cartoon released on DVD.

Coming in at number one is probably my second favorite soundtrack of all time, Top Gun. Second because nothing will ever dethrone Prince And The Revolution's Purple Rain. Top Gun is a perfect album from start to finish, featuring the likes of Kenny Loggins, Cheap Trick, Miami Sound Machine, Berlin, and so many more.

I have to really edit myself because frankly, it would be easy to grab a lot of these for contenders on the wall, even the honorable mentions. But, space is limited, and concessions have to be made. Not everything will get a spot, even if it comes down to ones I really want. No room is no room.

Adding to the list of contenders are Top Gun, Kidd Video, Bon Jovi, and Europe. Yeesh...This might become a thing where every few months I have to rotate albums out, and mix things up. We still have three years to go through!

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