Albums You Must Hear Before You Die…Or Not (1983–1984)

Last Updated on December 30, 2025 by Christian Adams

The 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die list gets weird and stingy in 1983–1984. The panel ignored more than a handful of must-hear albums, and it’s hard to say why. I have one theory, but it doesn’t answer every contingency. At any rate, it feels like there are more Suggested Alternatives than usual, and I shoehorned four super important records from 1984 into the list.

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Must-Hear Albums Rating Key:

• Strikethrough indicates what you probably think it does
• Green indicates highly recommended listening
• Underlined indicates questionable but ultimately acceptable record
• Blue bold italic indicates ABSOLUTELY MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE
• Also, anything in Red generally indicates hazardous material

Note: Suggested alternatives are from the same year as the contested entry unless otherwise indicated

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Albums You Must Hear Before You Die…Or Not (1983)

Note: Suggested alternatives are from the same year as the contested entry unless otherwise indicated.

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Culture Club – Colour By Numbers (1983)

Like Slayer’s Reign In Blood (1986), Colour By Numbers is an album you can judge from its cover.

You don’t need to hear Culture Club’s lightweight drag queen pseudo-soul bullshit any longer than the six minutes it will take to suffer through “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” and “Karma Chameleon” while sitting in the waiting room of a doctor’s office. God help you. Or better yet, trust your eyes. Look at that album cover again.

If that’s not enough, trust science. Studies have shown that anything beyond the Culture Club two-song threshold may increase your risk of everything bad in the world happening to you and you alone.

Suggested Alternative:

Billy Idol – Rebel Yell

Billy Idol had his thumb on the heartbeat of the average American teenage male. The chicks dug him, too. Everybody wins. What’s more, Rebel Yell is a decent new wave hybrid of hard rock record with a couple of infectious jams: the title track, and the surprisingly tender-turns-tuff “Eyes Without a Face”.

Rebel Yell marks the spot where “punk” became accessible to the mainstream. Billy Idol made it cool for dudes to rock that certain “punky” look, whereas a couple of years ago, you’d have gotten your ass beat for showing up to school looking like Billy Idol.

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Def Leppard – Pyromania (1983)

Everybody wants to sound like AC/DC, courtesy of producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange.

Pyromania was the hard rock-slash-heavy metal album of 1983, and stands the test of time…kind of, in a way. We’ll get deeper into the question: is this a heavy metal record – it’s not – but its distinction as the best-selling hard rock record of the year means one thing: MTV had a lot to do with Def Leppard’s success.

Their previous album, High n’ Dry (1981), also produced by Mutt Lange, is what I’d be reaching for if someone ever came over and said, “Hey, ya got any Def Leppard?” That has never, not once, ever happened, but I believe I’ve called Pyromania “the best AC/DC record since Back in Black (1980).” Something like that. Above all, it’s really good at what it does, and contains a couple of sweet cowbell riffs.

Pyromania marks the spot where the concept of heavy metal went mainstream, but the music didn’t necessarily follow. Metal splintered in several different directions: progressive, thrash, and hair metal (aka glam metal). Def Leppard signaled the arrival of a potentially toxic type of pop metal, which is a nice way of saying hair metal.

The sophistication of the songwriting and production is off the charts. And it instantly brings me back to 1983, when this album specifically turned me against mainstream hard rock.

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Duran Duran – Rio (1983)

This is mainstream new wave; nothing more than well-crafted pop music with a beat and a saxophone solo here and there to remind you where you are. It’s 1983. What Duran Duran looked like was as important as what they sounded like, which was post-modern pop. Without the videos in heavy rotation on MTV, nobody would have cared, and by nobody, I mean all the chicks, cuz these cats were as big back then as K-pop is now. Duran Duran was the BTS of the early 1980s. The jams are negligible new wave exercises in writing a pop song. Sometimes it works.

[Editor’s note: Rio was released in May 1982.]

Suggested Alternative:

Bad Brains – Rock for Light

Produced by Rick Ocasek (the Cars), Rock for Light is an incomparable fusion of reggae, jazz, punk, and metal. DO NOT sleep on Bad Brains.

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Echo & The Bunnymen – Porcupine (1983)

Some people think this is an influential record. On the other hand, I’ve never heard of anybody stating Echo & the Bunnymen as an influence. I’m sure they exist. I just don’t know them.

Suggested Alternative:

Tears For Fears – The Hurting

Why would 1001 Albums leave The Hurting off the list while jamming us with another LP from a band that was simply not that influential? Name one band that mentions Echo & the Bunnymen as an influence. You can’t.

The Hurting is by far the best new wave album released in 1983, and reached number one on the UK Albums Charts.

Drum machines and MIDI sequencers meant bands didn’t need a drummer in the studio, and if you were a songwriter, drummers tended to be the bane of your existence. Plus, MIDI allowed for a baffling amount of complexity within song structure and instrumentation.

I hate programmed music, but The Hurting is one of maybe a dozen “drum machine” records that I can love without prejudice. Furthermore, Roland Orzabal is terribly underrated as a songwriter and guitar player.

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Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (1983)

Once upon a time, years ago, I recorded a home demo version of “Here Comes the Rain Again”. But man, I was high. This record reminds me of being a sophomore in high school, which probably says more about me than Sweet Dreams, but wouldn’t you expect something better than that? You should.

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Hanoi Rocks – Back To Mystery City (1983)

It’s just a theory from the introduction of the series, but something is missing from the 1983 section of 1001 Albums: heavy metal (or hard rock). They give us Def Leppard and…Hanoi Rocks? That doesn’t seem right to me because an avalanche of heavy metal albums—some very important records—were released in 1983. Perhaps this snub by omission reflects an aesthetic value of the 1001 Albums panel. They don’t think metal from the period is must-hear material.

And I’m not saying they’re wrong.

To be fair, let’s review an abridged list of the top 10 metal and hard rock albums released in 1983.

Metallica – Kill ’em All Dio – Holy Diver Loudness – The Law of Devil’s Land Iron Maiden – Piece of Mind Mötley Crüe – Shout at the Devil Diamond Head – Canterbury Mercyful Fate – Melissa Quiet Riot – Metal Health Ozzy Osbourne – Bark at the Moon Slayer – Show No Mercy

Surely, there’s a must-hear album among them. Kill ’em All and Melissa are jumping off the screen.

Anyway, Hanoi Rocks was an interesting glam metal band from Finland that was poised to break North America with their next album, Two Steps from the Move (1984). The tour was derailed in December 1984 when drummer Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley was killed in a car wreck with Vince Neil behind the wheel. And that was the end of Hanoi Rocks.

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Malcolm McLaren – Duck Rock (1983)

Malcolm McLaren gets credit for “launching” the careers of the Sex Pistols, Bow Wow Wow, and Adam and the Ants, but he’s not a musician. He’s an impresario. Duck Rock is an embarrassing world music and hip hop novelty record. Disposable at best. Hazardous at worst.

Suggested Alternative:

Shonen Knife – Burning Farm

I’m kicking myself for snoozing on Shonen Knife and Cibo Matto for all these years. I adore Burning Farm, and if you were to check my browser history, you would find that I have listened to this record more than any other in the last 12 months. Whenever I find myself between artists and albums, and I need something to refresh my ears, I click over to Burning Farm. It never fails to reset my listening parameters and, at the same time, put me in a good mood.

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Meat Puppets – Meat Puppets II (1983)

We’ve met the future of indie rock, and it’s a beguiling blend of cowpunk, bluegrass, psychedelia, and folk.

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Minor Threat – Out Of Step (1983)

Straight-edge hardcore punk from Washington, D.C. that paved the way for emo. On a positive note, they also led to Fugazi.

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Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Architecture And Morality (1983)

Critics loved this archaic slab of electropop, but most reasonable people ran the other way.

Suggested Alternative:

The Glove – Blue Sunshine

If you really want to hear some freaky fucking new wave music, Blue Sunshine will deliver the goods. If you want to hear some pissy, inconsequential techno, then you reach for OMD. Besides, pretty much anything with Robert Smith in 1983 is going to be listenable.

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Paul Simon – Hearts and Bones (1983)

Another surprising but welcome relief from the 1001 Albums list is the lack of Paul Simon records, except for his first eponymous solo album (1972). This means Dimery & Co. agree that you don’t need to hear There Goes Rhymin’ Simon (1973), Still Crazy After All These Years (1975), or One-Trick Pony (1980). They’ll give us Graceland (1986), but we’ll cross that bridge…

Simon’s solo work tasted the rainbow of critical praise, it’s still not must-hear stuff. Paul Simon is a fantastic songwriter and a monster on finger-picked acoustic guitar. But his post-Simon & Garfunkel work is soft, shitty, soft rock.

That said, Hearts and Bones has an interesting backstory. The album was written and recorded following the S&G Concert in Central Park in 1981, and the world tour of 1982–83. Some of the songs to be included on Hearts and Bones were previewed on tour, and Garfunkel worked on some of the songs with Simon in the studio. The finished product was intended to be a S&G album. Ultimately, Garfunkel left the project, and none of his contributions were included in the final mix.

Hearts and Bones was supposed to be my personal dream record: the S&G studio album that never happened.

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R.E.M. – Murmur (1983)

As mentioned in 1979-1980, I didn’t dig this record the first few times I heard it, mainly because I never liked the opening track “Radio Free Europe” until maybe two or three years ago when I sat down and dissected the song. Hearing and seeing them play it live was a different story.

R.E.M. was one of the most believable live rock bands I’ve ever seen. Their lack of pretense was refreshing and unquestioned. I came around to Murmur. As many critics have said, it’s timeless. You wouldn’t know it was recorded in 1982-83 unless you read the liner notes.

Echoes of the Byrds, Big Star, and the Velvet Underground in a blender.

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The Police – Synchronicity (1983)

This, not Ghost in the Machine (1981), is their darkest album if you ask me.

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The The – Soul Mining (1983)

Why do you need to hear The The? I dunno. Maybe you’re not sure what post-punk, new wave, or synthpop is supposed to sound like. Soul Mining contains a track that more or less sums up the disposable state of alternative music, “This Is the Day”.

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Tom Waits – Swordfishtrombones (1983)

If I were a deckhand on a clipper ship captained by Tom Waits in the late 19th century, I’m pretty sure the last thing I’d want to hear is a bunch of sea shanties. Most of all, I’d get real tired of Tom Waits’ voice, which is good-to-awesome for one or two jams in a row, and then I need to hear somebody who can sing. Spoken word is great, but I don’t want a short story on Track 2. Hasn’t anybody heard of Jim Carroll? Tom Waits has.

Besides, you’ve already heard two Tom Waits records and you’re gonna hear one more. Chill out.

Suggested Alternative:

Talking Heads – Speaking in Tongues

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U2 – War (1983)

Finally, a band that brings an infectious broth of self-important, preachy, post-punk, new wave, and over-the-top rock histrionics to the mainstream. War redesigned the rock n’ roll landscape. Everybody get down on your knees and worship the cult of U2.

I haven’t heard this album in at least 30 years, and I’m cool with that.

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ZZ Top – Eliminator (1983)

ZZ Top went from heroes to zeroes within the first four bars of the drum intro to “Gimme All Your Lovin’”. It always bothered me why these guys would resort to using drum machines and sequencers when they had a perfectly rock-solid drummer in Frank Beard? Sure, they used synths on El Loco (1981), but this…this is just…

And then…the Internet. Now I can tell you why. They wanted to make the most radio and consumer-friendly album possible, which is why every track runs between 120–125 beats per minute (BPM). Meanwhile, they made a series of cartoonish videos for MTV, and the story is over. Goodbye, ZZ Top, thanks for “La Grange”.

Suggested Alternative:

The Psychedelic Furs – Forever Now (1982)

Forever Now is my favorite Furs record and one of the best new wave albums ever made. Produced by Todd Rundgren, featuring background vocals from Flo & Eddie (The Turtles, Frank Zappa), Forever Now is the rare top-to-bottom listening experience. There isn’t a stinker on either side of this disc. Every song is a keeper, including one of, if not their biggest hit(s): “Love My Way”, which I can still hear today and think, “Man, that’s really good.”

If Flo & Eddie are guest-starring on your album, the chances of it being a decent album just tipped in your favor. In addition to Zappa and the Turtles, they appeared on records for an impressive roster of artists including John Lennon, T.Rex, Roger McGuinn, Hoyt Axton, Ray Manzarek, Stephen Stills, Keith Moon, David Cassidy, Alice Cooper, Blondie, Bruce Springsteen, The Knack, The Psychedelic Furs, Sammy Hagar, Burton Cummings, Paul Kantner, Duran Duran, and the Ramones.

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Albums You Must Hear Before You Die…Or Not (1984)

Note: Suggested alternatives are from the same year as the contested entry unless otherwise indicated.

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Before we even get started on 1984, there are four major, critical rock albums that you Must Hear Before You Die that didn’t make the book. Any discussion of music in 1984 has to include these four records.

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Hüsker Dü – Zen Arcade (1984)

What do you get when you cross the Monkees with hardcore punk and Motörhead? Hüsker Dü.

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R.E.M. – Reckoning (1984)

Reckoning is the second of what will turn out to be a total of six fantastic records from a group that will eventually be America’s best rock band before 1988-89-ish. For my money, Reckoning is a much more enjoyable record than Murmur, and even though it didn’t top the charts or get played anywhere but on college radio and a few alternative stations, it was probably the most listened-to record at home.

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The Smiths – The Smiths (1984)

Once again, I’m shocked that The Smiths doesn’t rate as a must-hear album but Lloyd fucking Cole does? Frankie Goes to Hollywood!?!?! There really shouldn’t be a need for me to argue this one. Anybody in their right mind knows the Smiths are at the pinnacle of mid-80s alternative music, and this album is as good, if not better, than Murmur, or any other record of the genre.

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U2 – The Unforgettable Fire (1984)

Coming off the breakthrough success of War, the band could have made More War, or tried something new, go forward, expand their horizons, E-T-C. They chose the latter, working with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, and what you’re hearing is probably the best record U2 ever made.

At the same time, The Unforgettable Fire is the record that pushed them over the edge of commercial success. At this point, they were the biggest band on the planet, and this was the most anticipated record of the year. And because it defied expectations, a lot of people panned The Unforgettable Fire; they didn’t get it. “Too experimental. Unfocused.”

People can be wrong sometimes.

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Albums You Must Hear Before You Die…Or Not: (1984) Resumed

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Blue Nile – A Walk Across the Rooftops (1984)

Haha, Blue Nile. Too little, too late, fuckers. Your brand of post-Bowie spacey lounge jazz-wave didn’t cut it in the marketplace, and it won’t stand the test of time, either. You want to know why? Your bass player was a funky slapper, and your singer had too much of an ego to double-track his vocals.

Suggested Alternative:

Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense

I almost included Stop Making Sense as the fifth big record of 1984 that has to be part of any topical discussion. In the end, I decided against it on the strength of the concert film this album was based on, making it somewhat more of a total audio/visual experience than strictly musical, which is what 1001 Albums is all about. We’ve got to stay true to our roots. That said, it’s a great semi-live album (with only two repeat tracks from Speaking in Tongues: “Girlfriend Is Better” and “Burning Down the House”.)

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Bruce Springsteen – Born In The USA (1984)

Ironically, it’s the most anti-American sentiment in Springsteen’s catalog. My Canadian friend said it best:

“I spent many, many years worshipping at the Altar of The Boss, Bruce Springsteen. Along came Born in the U.S.A. (1984). And, specifically, ‘Dancing in the Dark.’

In Canada, the song was premiered on MTV with the video on a Friday night. Watching that abomination unfold before my eyes, it was like walking into the skankiest, grottiest, most depraved snakepit of a strip club, and seeing your little sister up on the stage.

The worst part was that the Boss’ [P.R.] people mobilized such a pervasive campaign to convince the world that the new record was ‘The Best Work He’s Ever Done.’ A guy like me felt like it was my fault. The revulsion and horror I felt was the result of something lacking in my perception or appreciation.”

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Cyndi Lauper – She’s So Unusual (1984)

Forget about Cyndi Lauper and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”. Everybody else has.

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Cocteau Twins – Treasure (1984)

Cocteau Twins are the Siouxsie Lite Presidential Package. You know that fucking massive hit song “Zombie” by the Cranberries? It’s on here! It’s called “Every Song on the Album.” This band made interesting records that I have no interest in ever hearing again. Your mileage may vary.

Suggested Alternative:

Big Country – Steeltown

Produced by Steve Lillywhite, who produced a staggering number of great records. He’s on par with Roy Thomas Baker and Mutt Lange. Steeltown may be the most underrated guitar record of the era, and the songwriting is pretty damn good, too.

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Echo & The Bunnymen – Ocean Rain (1984)

See Porcupine (1983).

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Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Welcome To The Pleasuredome (1984)

Fuck Frankie Goes to Hollywood and everything they stand for. First, the band is named after Frank Sinatra, the anti-Christ. Next, disco has been dead for at least five years, but these people either didn’t get the message or they figured now was as good a time as any for a disco revival. You couldn’t pay me to sit through Welcome to the Pleasuredome, but I am now accepting bids.

Suggested Alternative:

Violent Femmes – Hallowed Ground (1984)

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Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – Rattlesnakes (1984)

Lloyd Cole is the Aussie version of John Cougar, who made far better records.

Suggested Alternative:

John Cougar Mellencamp – Uh-Huh

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Minutemen – Double Nickels On The Dime (1984)

I don’t know of a band to which the term “independent” or “indie” ever applied with more veracity than the Minutemen.

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Prince & The Revolution – Purple Rain (1984)

I don’t have anything to say about Purple Rain except you must purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka, and that ain’t Lake Minnetonka.

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Run-DMC – Run-DMC (1984)

Run-DMC brought rap to the mainstream rock and pop market, i.e., white people. They made hip-hop just white enough while maintaining its integrity. But they didn’t do it with this record.

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Sade – Diamond Life (1984)

If you’re asking me personally if you need to hear Shar-day’s Diamond Life, I’m gonna say no fucking way, man. Squash this easy listening nonsense.

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The Replacements – Let It Be (1984)

Let It Be contains three of my all-time favorite songs from the period, “I Will Dare”, “Androgynous”, and “Sixteen Blue”. Their version of Kiss’ “Black Diamond” is probably the Number One Rock n’ Roll Cover Version That Crushes the Original Like a Grape. If that wasn’t enough, it contains my favorite broken-hearted-boy lyric of the era: “How do you say goodnight to an answering machine?” Let’s hear it for Paul Westerburg, ladies and gentlemen!

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The Style Council – Café Bleu (1984)

The piano version of “My Ever-Changing Moods” is on here, and it’s a must-hear track.

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Tina Turner – Private Dancer (1984)

I’ve got nothing but love for Tina Turner, and I’m glad she finally got away from Ike and found success on her own. But this is pussy adult contemporary soft rock bullshit.

Suggested Alternative:

Siouxsie and the Banshees – Hyæna

When John McGeoch left Siouxsie and the Banshees, they asked Robert Smith to take over on guitar. Hyæna is one of two Siouxsie recordings with Smith in the band, which are as close to must-hear albums as anything else.

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Van Halen – 1984 (1984)

Let’s say this about Van Halen albums: they never lingered. Their longest LP since the debut happens to be 1984, which clocks in at 33:17, about 10 minutes shorter than the average album of the day, and only 2 minutes short of Van Halen I’s running time. To be fair, they pack a lot of fucking jams into a half hour of music. Very little VH time is wasted.

Drummer Alex Van Halen doesn’t get the credit he deserves for being a “guitar drummer,” and I’ve put the phrase in quotations because I’ve never heard it before. Alex VH plays drums to whatever his brother is playing. He’s not setting the tone or the tempo. He’s listening to what EVH is doing, and everything is based on that. Most drummers in rock should be listening to the bass player, I mean, that’s the rhythm section, right? Those two should be in sync. Not so with VH. I’m guessing that AVH didn’t even have Michael Anthony in his monitor mix.

Anyway, other than the only number one single of the DLR era (“Jump”), 1984 is hard rock ambrosia, and made last year’s top-selling LP, Def Leppard’s Pyromania, obsolete.

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Youssou N’Dour – Immigres (1984)

Sure, go ahead. N’Dour took a bit of stick for using synthesizers on Immigres, a Senegalese desert blues world music album, but most people don’t care about details.

Suggested Alternative:

Wham! – Make It Big

Not because it’s good. No, Make It Big is a far more accurate representation of pop music in 1984 than any of the above records. This is the shit you heard everywhere you went; it was inescapable. You couldn’t turn on MTV without these two cats prancing and mincing across the screen like it was one long chewing gum commercial. So I reckon if I had to sit through this entire album more times than I can count, you should, too. Feel my pain, kids. Feel it.

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Did we get your blood boiling on any of these must-hear albums? Let us know in the comments!