1984 (Van Halen)

1984
Van Halen (1984)

Top Tracks: “Jump”, “Hot for Teacher”, “Panama”

I distinctly remember the day in January 1984 when this album was released. I’d been a VH fan for a long time, going back to my discovery of their first album in middle school, and this was obviously the commercial peak of the original lineup. MTV was huge at the time, and a band like Van Halen was made for the visual format. “Jump” was a massive hit, and I recall having that annoying music elitist sensation of having all these people jump on the bandwagon of a band to whom I’d been listening for years and years. All of those first six VH albums had some meaning to me (as did the following album 5150, first one with Sammy Hagar), though not all of them made this list (May 2020).

90125 (Yes)

90125
Yes (1983)

Top Tracks: “Owner of a Lonely Heart”, “Changes”, Hold On”

Much like a number of other bands, I had already been into the music of Yes and was lucky enough to live in a time where they were still releasing very relevant new music as I grew into being my own person. This was a new and yet still very innovative sound for the band, reflecting as much about the production of Trevor Horn as it did with the more straightforward rock compositions of Trevor Rabin. But I bought 90125 on vinyl and played the shit out of it when I was s sophomore in high school. It was a big hit not only for my MTV generation but older fans of the band. It all worked (May 2020).

Abacab (Genesis)

Abacab
Genesis (1981)

Top Tracks: “Abacab”, “No Reply at All”, “Dodo/Lurker”

Since this album came out when I was still in middle school, it was my first real exposure to Genesis. It was awhile later that I went back in time to familiarize myself with (and enjoy) the older Gabriel-era stuff. I absolutely loved the title track when it became a big hit; I was just starting to really get into synthesizers and keyboards, and this Tony Banks riff of fifths also made me reach for the volume dial (May 2020).

Boston (Boston)

Boston
Boston (1976)

Top Tracks: “More Than a Feeling”, “Foreplay/Long Time”, “Hitch a Ride”

It’s often considered the greatest debut album of all time, and it’s up there on my list (probably well behind The Cars and Pretenders, but still amazing). You have to give credit to both Tom Scholz for innovating incredible sounds and writing super catchy hard rock songs, and to Brad Help being possibly the only guy on Earth who could have sung them as such (May 2020).

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).

Damn the Torpedoes (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)

Damn the Torpedoes
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1979)

Top Tracks: “Here Comes My Girl”, “Refugee”, “ Don’t Do Me Like That”

A totally solid rock album. I thought “Here Comes My Girl” had a terrific progression from the first time I heard it in middle school, and associated the tune at the time with the myriad young ladies who I was suddenly interested in romantically. Definitely an influential album on me as a rock songwriter (June 2020).