Business as Usual (Men at Work)

Business as Usual
Men at Work (1982)

Top Tracks: “Who Can It Be Now?”, “Be Good Johnny”, “Helpless Automaton”

Again, due to the year of release, this album is probably more special to me than it would be otherwise. I was a freshman in high school and I truly loved the tight sound of this band. Noter that their hit “Down Under” isn’t one of my standout track; I found it kinda gimmicky and cheeseball. But the rest of the album was excellent pop and had a great sound (June 2020).

Candy-O (The Cars)

Candy-O
The Cars (1979)

Top Tracks: “Let’s Go”, “Candy-O”, “Dangerous Type”

What do you do after you make one of the best debut albums in history? You make one of the best sophomore albums in history. I frankly don’t have enough good adjectives to talk about the early output of the Cars. These first two albums helped define an entire era of new wave and power pop, with the brilliant production of Roy Thomas Baker and the songwriting of Ric Ocasek combining for some of the best music of my lifetime (June 2020).

The Cars (The Cars)

The Cars
The Cars (1978)

Top Tracks: “Good Times Roll”, “Just What I Needed”, “Bye Bye Love”

It could be the best debut album of all time. Nearly every song is incredibly strong; there’s not an ounce of filler. The Cars weren’t the first new wave or power pop band by a long shot; they just did both better than just about anyone else ever had, or will. It’s funny; for a band that people associated so much with synthesizers, they sure had a ton of incredibly great guitar lines thanks to the brilliance of Elliot Easton. (May 2020).

Cosmic Thing (The B-52’s)

Cosmic Thing
The B-52’s (1989)

Top Tracks: “Love Shack”, “Roam”, "Channel Z”

Again, because of the time frame, I think of early B-52’s of the late ‘70s (like “Rock Lobster” and “52 Girls”) as being this weird kind of subversive Devo-like band, and the B-52’s of this era as being a major pop machine, because… well, they were. This was their breakthrough from a popularity standpoint, but I’d been listening for years. I’d even venture to say that Whammy! was more of my favorite album by the band (makes me think of dancing around my living room in my freshman year), but in terms of long-term importance, Cosmic Thing takes the spot (June 2020).