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(#6) Argybargy
- Squeeze
Squeeze are best known for their hit "Tempted," but their 1980 new wave classic Argybargy remains painfully overlooked. The album was arguably ahead of its time in terms of '80s new wave, but it also sounds like nothing that came before or after it.
Argybargy also featured one of singer Glenn Tilbrook's famous earworm guitar solos on the fan favorite "Another Nail in My Heart."
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(#8) If I Should Fall From Grace With God
- The Pogues
Though it's hailed as The Pogues' greatest work by those in the know, If I Should Fall From Grace With God is just one album in a catalog that was bafflingly overlooked by mainstream music listeners.
As arguably their most commercially viable album, Fall From Grace should have put The Pogues on the mainstream map. The album was even produced by superproducer Steve Lillywhite (U2, Morrissey) and is sonically their cleanest and most energetic release. One review said the album found the Irish folk-punk kings sounding "tighter and more precise than ever."
It's an album that laid the groundwork for bands like the Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly and should have gotten much more attention than it did.
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(#1) Roxy Music - 'Avalon' (1982)
The romantic and inventive Avalon was a genuine mainstream hit for Roxy Music, whose career prior to 1982 was closely linked to the glam rock and art rock movement spearheaded by David Bowie. When the British band emerged with Avalon, they displayed a mature, soundscape-heavy collection of uncharted musical territory.
One review called the album "a cohesive triumph, new wave's Mona Lisa, a decadent yet intimate soundscape that advanced the art of album production."
Avalon was critically praised at the time, but is often overlooked for just how ahead of its time it was in terms of production. The album arrived at a time when '80s production was still finding its way, and Avalon set the stage for what synth-pop became later in the decade.
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(#7) The Dreaming
- Kate Bush
Kate Bush's fourth album was a major undertaking for the singer, and plenty of pressure was on for her to deliver. The Dreaming is arguably the beginning of Bush's most creative and adventurous period of work. While it was her first entirely self-produced album, it was not nearly as successful as her previous album.
Many reviewers initially saw The Dreaming as Bush's attempt to be "less commercial," pointing to the more experimental production techniques used to complement the songs.
In hindsight, the album is an underrated collection that displayed the evolution of artistry in full force and set the stage for her groundbreaking 1985 album, Hounds of Love.
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(#9) 3 Feet High and Rising
- De La Soul
De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising was a completely new direction for hip-hop at the time. In fact, De La Soul themselves were outsiders in the genre, as other rappers were harder-edged and they were more like hippies. 3 Feet was full of bright, poppy, often humorous lyrics and experimental backing tracks that played a major role in the fusing of jazz and hip-hop throughout the early '90s.
De La Soul member Posdnuos later said of the album:
It was playful, childlike, and fun. We'd rap about "Mr. Fish swimming in a bathroom sink." We'd dip into psychedelia or jazz. We'd slow down Eddie Murphy's voice and add a car screeching or us yodeling. At no point did we think what we were doing would end up being so revolutionary.
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(#5) Bleach
- Nirvana
Arguably the most overlooked album in Nirvana's unfortunately small catalog, Bleach was released in 1989 prior to their massive mainstream success. They recorded the entire album in producer Jack Endino's basement for only $600 and it did not sell well, despite being well-received by critics.
Part of the album's charm is that the production is less slick than their 1991 breakthrough, Nevermind, though songs like "About a Girl" became beloved parts of the band's legacy. Released by Sub Pop Records, the album undeniably showed where a band like Nirvana would go in just a few short years.
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The birth of the synthesizer at the end of the 0s expanded the imagination of music production and directly provided the soil for the birth of new waves and disco. Later, other electronic songs such as synthpop and new wave became popular. Although famous music artists and band names usually dominate when it comes to rock music of the 1980s, some classic rock, avant-garde rock, and even hard rock bands did not achieve the expected success at that time.
Some of the best songs and albums of the 1980s did not always get the recognition they deserve. Here the random tool lists 12 underrated albums from the 1980s, including The Seeds of Love by Tears for Fears, Lifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M., Bleach by Nirvana, and more gems.
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