501 Essential Albums of the '80s

Break out the parachute pants, jelly shoes, and Aqua Net and indulge in this nostalgic illustrated trip through the 1980s most influential albums across all genres. In 501 Essential Albums of the 80s, Gary Graff leads a cast of fellow music journalists in presenting the music of one of the most pivotal decades in the history of recorded musicthe decade that gave us some of the most monstrous-selling albums ever and introduced more and more listeners to emergent genres like indie rock and hip-hop. With lively descriptions of the releases and nearly 600 images, this hefty volume curates 501 albums spanning genres and subgenrespop, rock, hip-hop, R&B, metal, country, college and indie rock, and moreand features: Year-by-year organization Knowledgeable rundowns of every album featured Album art for each selection Artist imagery Record label, release date, and producer(s) for each Soundtracks and compilation releases The journalists detail the circumstances of the releases, notable singles from each, their influence on contemporary and later artistsin short, why each is considered one of the best of the decade. Madonna or Michael, Prince or the Police, Bruce or Black Flag, Men at Work or Mtley Crewhatever your tastes, you will relish this ultimate retrospective of the decades music.