1980: Remain In Light (Talking Heads)
1981: Ghost In The Machine (The Police)
1982: Thriller (Michael Jackson)
1983: Texas Flood (Stevie Ray Vaughan)
1984: Like A Virgin (Madonna)
1985: Brothers In Arms (Dire Straits)
1986: So (Peter Gabriel)
1987: The Joshua Tree (U2)
1988: Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (Traveling Wilburys)
1989: Disintegration (The Cure)
1990: Ragged Glory (Neil Young)
1991: Achtung Baby (U2)
1992: Erotica (Madonna)
1993: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (Sarah McLachlan)
1994: Definitely Maybe (Oasis)
1995: Garbage (Garbage)
1996: Sheryl Crow (Sheryl Crow)
1997: The Colour And The Shape (Foo Fighters)
1998: Before These Crowded Streets (Dave Matthews Band)
1999: Play (Moby)
2000: Breach (The Wallflowers)
2001: Beautifulgarbage (Garbage)
2002: Heathen (David Bowie)
2003: Speakerboxxx / The Love Below (OutKast)
2004: How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (U2)
2005: Souls Alike (Bonnie Raitt)
2006: I’m Not Dead (Pink)
2007: Little Voice (Sara Bareilles)
2008: Stop Drop And Roll!!! (Foxboro Hottubs)

1965 The Beatles – Rubber Soul
1966 The Beatles – Revolver
1967 The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico
1968 Elvis Presley – NBC-TV Special
1969 The Beatles – Abbey Road
1970 The Beatles – Let It Be
1971 Yes – Fragile
1972 Roxy Music – Roxy Music
1973 Bruce Springsteen – The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle
1974 Brian Eno – Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy)
1975 Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run
1976 The Modern Lovers – The Modern Lovers
1977 Steely Dan – Aja
1978 Pere Ubu – The Modern Dance
1979 Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures
1980 XTC – Black Sea
1981 The Teardrop Explodes – Wilder
1982 X – Under the Big Black Sun
1983 Echo and the Bunnymen – Porcupine
1984 Julian Cope – World Shut Your Mouth
1985 The Smiths – Meat is Murder
1986 XTC – Skylarking
1987 Microdisney – Crooked Mile
1988 Morrissey – Viva Hate
1989 The Blue Nile – Hats
1990 Cocteau Twins – Heaven Or Las Vegas
1991 The Jazz Butcher – Condition Blue
1992 XTC – Nonsuch
1993 The Fall – The Infotainment Scan
1994 The Fall – Middle Class Revolt
1995 Ben Folds Five – Ben Folds Five
1996 The Blue Nile – Peace at Last
1997 Ben Folds Five – Whatever and Ever Amen
1998 New Radicals – Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too
1999 The Dismemberment Plan – Emergency & I
2000 Cathal Coughlan – Black River Falls
2001 The Dismemberment Plan – Change
2002 Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights
2003 The Fall – The Real New Fall LP (Formerly Country on the Click)
2004 The Hold Steady – Almost Killed Me
2005 The Hold Steady – Separation Sunday
2006 The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America
2007 Nicole Atkins – Neptune City

1979 Michael Jackson, “Off the Wall”
1980 Steely Dan, “Gaucho”
1981 Kraftwerk, “Computer World”
1982 Donald Fagen, “The Nightfly”
1983 Philip Glass, “Koyaanisqatsi”
1984 Prince, “Purple Rain”
1985 The Cure, “Staring at the Sea: The Singles”*
1986 XTC, “Skylarking”
1987 Fleetwood Mac, “Tango in the Night”
1988 Sonic Youth, “Daydream Nation”
1989 The Pixies, “Doolittle”
1990 The Sundays, “Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic”
1991 Talk Talk, “Laughing Stock”
1992 Pavement, “Slanted and Enchanted”
1993 Digable Planets, “Reachin’: A New Refutation of Time and Space”
1994 Pavement, “Crooked Rain Crooked Rain”
1995 Sonic Youth, “Washing Machine”
1996 Tortoise, “Millions Now Living Will Never Die”
1997 Stereolab, “Dots and Loops”
1998 Tortoise, “TNT”
1999 Sleater-Kinney, “The Hot Rock”
2000 Tara Jane O’Neil, “Peregrine”
2001 Life Without Buildings, “Any Other City”
2002 Interpol, “Turn on the Bright Lights”
2003 OutKast, “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below”
2004 Erlend Oye, “DJ Kicks”
2005 Kelley Polar, “Love Songs of the Hanging Gardens”
2006 Girl Talk, “Night Ripper”
2007 Field Music, “Tones of Town”

*cheating a bit since this technically wasn’t released until early 1986, but it’s a comp that covers 1979-85, and I really couldn’t find any other candidates

Strongest Years: 2003, 1997, 1993, 1987
Weakest Years: 2001, 1998, 1995, 1985

Toughest Omissions: Let It Be, Songs About Fucking, Blue Lines, Rid Of Me, Le Tigre, Relationship of Command, White Blood Cells, Source Tags and Codes, Decoration Day, Madvillainy

Albums that make me wanna be older: Blonde on Blonde, Velvet Underground and Nico, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, Blue, Radio City, Songs in the Key of Life, Entertainment, London Calling, B-52s, Dirty Mind

1974 – David Bowie – Diamond Dogs
1975 – Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run
1976 – The Ramones – S/T
1977 – Sex Pistols – Never Mind The Bollocks
1978 – Elvis Costello and the Attractions – This Year’s Model
1979 – The Clash – London Calling
1980 – X – Los Angeles
1981 – The Go-Gos – Beauty and the Beat
1982 – Michael Jackson – Thriller
1983 – U2 – War
1984 – Prince – Purple Rain
1985 – Jesus and Mary Chain – Psychocandy
1986 – Depeche Mode – Black Celebration
1987 – Depeche Mode – Music For The Masses
1988 – Pixies – Surfer Rosa
1989 – Pixies – Doolittle
1990 – Depeche Mode – Violator
1991 – Nirvana – Nevermind
1992 – Dr. Dre – The Chronic
1993 – James – Laid
1994 – Weezer – Weezer (The Blue Album)
1995 – Radiohead – The Bends
1996 – Weezer – Pinkerton
1997 – Foo Fighters – The Colour And The Shape
1998 – Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
1999 – Foo Fighters – There Is Nothing Left To Lose
2000 – The Strokes – Is This It?
2001 – The Shins – Oh, Inverted World
2002 – Libertines – Up The Bracket
2003 – The New Pornographers – Electric Version
2004 – Arcade Fire – Funeral
2005 – Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
2006 – Silversun Pickups – Carnavas
2007 – Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
2008 – Santogold – S/T

1982 – thriller, michael jackson
1983 – shout at the devil, motley crue
1984 – the smiths, the smiths
1985 – brother in arms, dire straits
1986 – master of puppets, metallica
1987 – Diesel or dust, midnight oil
1988 – green, rem
1989 – the real thing, faith no more
1990 – ritual de lo habitual, jane’s addiction
1991 – sailing the seas of cheese, primus
1992 – psalm 69, ministry
1993 – undertow, tool
1994 – dulcinea, toad the wet sprocket
1995 – destroy erase improve, meshuggah
1996 – aenima, tool
1997 – ok computer, radiohead
1998 – hello Rockview, Less than Jake
1999 – metropolis pt. 2: scenes from a memory, dream theater
2000 – stories from the city, stories from the sea, pj harvey
2001 – lateralus, tool
2002 – el cielo, dredg
2003 – war all the time, thursday
2004 – miss machine, dillinger escape plan
2005 – good apollo, i’m burning star iv, volume one: from fear through the eyes of madness, coheed and cambria
2006 – the avalanche, sufjan stevens
2007 – colors, between the buried and me
2008 – obZen, meshuggah

81- the au pairs, playing with a different sex
82- x, under the big black sun
83- the eurythmics, touch
84- the bangles, all over the place
85- suzanne vega, suzanne vega
86- madonna, true blue
87- bruce springsteen, tunnel of love
88- my bloody valentine, isn’t anything
89- the vaselines, the way of the vaselines
90- sinead o’connor, i do not want what i haven’t got
91- richard thompson, rumor and sigh
92- en vogue, funky divas
93- belly, star
94- portishead, dummy
95- elastica, elastica
96- everything but the girl, walking wounded
97- sleater-kiiney, dig me out
98- pulp, this is hardcore
99- the magnetic fields, 69 love songs
00- cat power, the covers record
01- ladytron, 604
02- missy elliott, under construction
03- the all-girl summer fun band, 2
04- the blood brothers, crimes
05- antony and the johnsons, i am a bird now
06- the knife, silent shout
07- mia, kala
08- the kills, midnight boom

And I’m a little sad to see so little Stevie Wonder up here, as well, I was born after he started going downhill, but everything pre-1976 seems to me like it should get a shoutout.

Jess, love you for putting Talking Heads’ Remain In Light on your list….