Branching off of my last topic, which jam-packed year do you think is better?

Here are some stats:

• 1987 is the only year in history where Michael Jackson (Bad), Whitney Houston (Whitney), Prince (Sign 'o the Times), George Michael (Faith), Madonna (Who's That Girl soundtrack) and Bruce Springsteen (Tunnel of Love) have all released solo material
• 1984 is runner-up in this regard with albums from Bruce (Born in the U.S.A.), Prince (Purple Rain), Madonna (Like a Virgin), Michael/The Jacksons (Victory) and George/Wham! (Make It Big) all being released

Here's a list of some of the albums released during both years (not including the aforementioned):

1984

• Red Sails in the Sunset- Midnight Oil
• Reckless- Bryan Adams
• Heartbeat City- The Cars
• Reckoning- R.E.M.
• Grace Under Pressure- Rush
• Bananarama- Bananarama
• 1984 (For the Love of Big Brother) soundtrack- The Eurythmics
• The Woman in Red soundtrack- Stevie Wonder
• The Unforgettable Fire- U2
• The Red Hot Chili Peppers- The Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Love at First Sting- The Scorpions
• Private Dancer- Tina Turner
• Jermaine Jackson (Arista)- Jermaine Jackson
• 1984- Van Halen
• "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D- "Weird Al" Yankovic
• Run-D.M.C.- Run-D.M.C.
• Chicago 17- Chicago
• New Edition- New Edition
• I Feel for You- Chaka Khan
• Big Bam Boom- Hall & Oates
• Talk Show- The Go-Gos

1987

• Diesel and Dust- Midnight Oil
• Into the Fire- Bryan Adams
• Door to Door- The Cars
• Document- R.E.M.
• Hold Your Fire- Rush
• Wow!- Bananarama
• Savage- The Eurythmics
• Characters- Stevie Wonder
• The Joshua Tree- U2
• The Uplift Mofo Party Plan- The Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Hysteria- Def Leppard
• Rock the House- DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
• Yo! Bum Rush the Show- Public Enemy
• Introducing the Hardline According to...- Terence Trent D'Arby
• Permanent Vacation- Aerosmith
• Wendy and Lisa- Wendy & Lisa
• The Right Night & Barry White- Barry White
• How Ya Like Me Now- Kool Moe Dee
• Poetic Champions Compose- Van Morrison
• Music for the Masses- Depeche Mode
• Songs About Fucking- Big Black
• Heaven on Earth- Belinda Carlisle

You've picked some right shite for your examples there but '84 was way superior.

RicoN said:

I think 1987 was the better (IMO) for music...

The radio stations were still heavily playing songs from from the previous year...so that throws alot more into the mix...more 80's top players!

Janet Jackson had Let's Wait Awhile, Control & The Pleasure Principal (Plus songs from Control)

Madonna was still riding high from True Blue with Open Your Heart & La Isla Bonita

Tina Turner from Break Every Rule

Belinda Carlisle had her biggest album with Heaven On Earth

Lionel Richie had songs from Dancing on the Ceiling

Gloria Estefan front and center with Let It Loose

U2 of coarse The Joshua Tree

Heart had Bad Animals

Bruce Springsteen came back with Tunnel Of Love

Dirty Dancing Soundtrack was huge....

La Bamba was also big

Fleetwood Mac with Tango In The Night

Bon Jovi had one of the biggest hits of year with Livin On A Prayer

Five Star still had hits from the UK big seller Silk & Steel

The first Very Special Christmas was released

some great Dance/Pop acts joined the fold....

Expose, Jody Watley (from Shalamar), Taylor Dayne, Pebbles

The Debbie Gibson / Tiffany face off

as there were many great songs & albums of 1984 as well I myself just prefer 1987

MotownSubdivision said:

RicoN said:

You've picked some right shite for your examples there but '84 was way superior.

Your opinion.

(You've asked for our opinions)

RicoN said:

Comser said:

I think 1987 was the better (IMO) for music...

The radio stations were still heavily playing songs from from the previous year...so that throws alot more into the mix...more 80's top players!

Janet Jackson had Let's Wait Awhile, Control & The Pleasure Principal (Plus songs from Control)

Madonna was still riding high from True Blue with Open Your Heart & La Isla Bonita

Tina Turner from Break Every Rule

Belinda Carlisle had her biggest album with Heaven On Earth

Lionel Richie had songs from Dancing on the Ceiling

Gloria Estefan front and center with Let It Loose

U2 of coarse The Joshua Tree

Heart had Bad Animals

Bruce Springsteen came back with Tunnel Of Love

Dirty Dancing Soundtrack was huge....

La Bamba was also big

Fleetwood Mac with Tango In The Night

Bon Jovi had one of the biggest hits of year with Livin On A Prayer

Five Star still had hits from the UK big seller Silk & Steel

The first Very Special Christmas was released

some great Dance/Pop acts joined the fold....

Expose, Jody Watley (from Shalamar), Taylor Dayne, Pebbles

The Debbie Gibson / Tiffany face off

as there were many great songs & albums of 1984 as well I myself just prefer 1987

That is basically a list of all the stuff that turned me off and forced me into Prince's arms looking for something different and good.

MotownSubdivision said:

RicoN said:

(You've asked for our opinions)

Yeah, on which year you prefer. List the albums you like if you don't like the ones provided.

OK I Will tonight

Off the cuff?

Quantitatively, 1984 seems like the better year in pop music. When I saw "quantitatively" I mean in terms of sales, not releases.

Qualitatively, I prefer 1987. Several 80's superstars were in their commercial and creative prime, several up and coming artists reached or were building towards superstardom, and perhaps most importantly for the future of music, hip-hop was continuing to move through a creative golden period.

As for hip-hop, consider that LL was hitting platinum as a solo MC with Bad, and MCs like Kool Moe Dee were hitting their commercial stride. At the same time, PE dropped Yo!, Eric B. and Rakim dropped Paid In Full and Eazy-E dropped a Ruthless Records' 12" called "Boyz In The Hood." Also carrying over from '86 were hit acts like Run-DMC and the Beasties, and up and comers like Boogie Down Productions and Ice-T.

namepeace said:

Off the cuff?

Quantitatively, 1984 seems like the better year in pop music. When I saw "quantitatively" I mean in terms of sales, not releases.

Qualitatively, I prefer 1987. Several 80's superstars were in their commercial and creative prime, several up and coming artists reached or were building towards superstardom, and perhaps most importantly for the future of music, hip-hop was continuing to move through a creative golden period.

As for hip-hop, consider that LL was hitting platinum as a solo MC with Bad, and MCs like Kool Moe Dee were hitting their commercial stride. At the same time, PE dropped Yo!, Eric B. and Rakim dropped Paid In Full and Eazy-E dropped a Ruthless Records' 12" called "Boyz In The Hood." Also carrying over from '86 were hit acts like Run-DMC and the Beasties, and up and comers like Boogie Down Productions and Ice-T.

I prefer 1984 but I can ride with this notion.

I think 1984 had a bigger variety of albums as well as better pop albums but 1987 was a beastly year in itself for the reasons you stated. I always thought it was a great year at face value but it wasn't till recently that I found out just how great it was.

And though this began in 1986, I see 1987 as the year that set the stage for the 1990s in earnest. More individual non-pop genres (R&B, hip hop rock, country, etc.) were beginning to rise up in prominence alongside the general pop music similar to what happened in the transition from the 60s to the 70s where R&B, soul, disco and rock were the "pop music".

RicoN said:

MotownSubdivision said:

RicoN said: Yeah, on which year you prefer. List the albums you like if you don't like the ones provided.

OK I Will tonight

I look forward to it.

I am going to say 87 for the albums and 84 for the songs. You did miss one of my favourites for 1984 and that was "Into the Gap" by the Thompson Twins. I just love that album, near perfect electronica.

.

Going by Prince and George Michael alone, there is no contest. The Wham! stuff and Purple Rain are great but Sign and Faith are game changers. Plus Michael gave us nothing but a bit part of Victory in 1984 and yet gave us bad in 1987.

.

Both years are great though and I think 1982, 1986 and 1988 are up there too.

MotownSubdivision said:

Branching off of my last topic, which jam-packed year do you think is better?

Can you define how you're using the word "better"?

lots of moments to remember from both years.....

I would say 84 was the culmination of a period of music's history while 87 marked the beignning of a period of music's history

in 1984, the music propelled the making of the video.

by 1987, the video propelled the making of the music.

Dasein said:

84

MotownSubdivision said:

Branching off of my last topic, which jam-packed year do you think is better?

Here are some stats:

• 1987 is the only year in history where Michael Jackson (Bad), Whitney Houston (Whitney), Prince (Sign 'o the Times), George Michael (Faith), Madonna (Who's That Girl soundtrack) and Bruce Springsteen (Tunnel of Love) have all released solo material
• 1984 is runner-up in this regard with albums from Bruce (Born in the U.S.A.), Prince (Purple Rain), Madonna (Like a Virgin), Michael/The Jacksons (Victory) and George/Wham! (Make It Big) all being released

Here's a list of some of the albums released during both years (not including the aforementioned):

1984

• Red Sails in the Sunset- Midnight Oil
• Reckless- Bryan Adams
• Heartbeat City- The Cars
• Reckoning- R.E.M.
• Grace Under Pressure- Rush
• Bananarama- Bananarama
• 1984 (For the Love of Big Brother) soundtrack- The Eurythmics
• The Woman in Red soundtrack- Stevie Wonder
• The Unforgettable Fire- U2
• The Red Hot Chili Peppers- The Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Love at First Sting- The Scorpions
• Private Dancer- Tina Turner
• Jermaine Jackson (Arista)- Jermaine Jackson
• 1984- Van Halen
• "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D- "Weird Al" Yankovic
• Run-D.M.C.- Run-D.M.C.
• Chicago 17- Chicago
• New Edition- New Edition
• I Feel for You- Chaka Khan
• Big Bam Boom- Hall & Oates
• Talk Show- The Go-Gos

1987

• Diesel and Dust- Midnight Oil
• Into the Fire- Bryan Adams
• Door to Door- The Cars
• Document- R.E.M.
• Hold Your Fire- Rush
• Wow!- Bananarama
• Savage- The Eurythmics
• Characters- Stevie Wonder
• The Joshua Tree- U2
• The Uplift Mofo Party Plan- The Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Hysteria- Def Leppard
• Rock the House- DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
• Yo! Bum Rush the Show- Public Enemy
• Introducing the Hardline According to...- Terence Trent D'Arby
• Permanent Vacation- Aerosmith
• Wendy and Lisa- Wendy & Lisa
• The Right Night & Barry White- Barry White
• How Ya Like Me Now- Kool Moe Dee
• Poetic Champions Compose- Van Morrison
• Music for the Masses- Depeche Mode
• Songs About Fucking- Big Black
• Heaven on Earth- Belinda Carlisle

I have 15 albums from your 1984 list and 7 albums from your 1987 list so I will definately have to go with 1984.

[Edited 4/8/17 20:07pm]

wow, this is hard. i don't normally engage such threads but for fun, i'll chime in.

seminal years for music in both cases but when i saw the

U2, TTD, PE, and Stevie albums, i'll go with 87 for the win (the George Michael solo too, didn't Jody Watley's solo album come out in 87 too). 84 for most impactful YEAR in music, but for volume of quality of in one year, 87 for me

MotownSubdivision said:

Dasein said:

Can you define how you're using the word "better"?

It's all subjective. Say which year you think is better. Nothing to it.

How do you show that one album is better than another?

I prefer 1987 over 1984; but that doesn't make 1987 a better year over 1984 inherently.

Dasein said:

NorthC said:

Based on nothing else than personal taste and experience, it's 1987 for me because that's when I really started to listen to music. Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent d'Arby was the first LP I ever bought. I also enjoyed Bad and Faith. And even though I lost interest in the two Michaels, those albums made an impression on me. Just like Midnight Oil's Diesel and Dust. Even at 16 years old, I realized that artists who made political comments were becoming rare. These guys actually had something to say. And U2's The Joshua Tree was also huge. I didn't get to hear Sign O the Times until the next year, but Prince also was everywhere. Parade/Sign/Lovesexy was when Prince really was on top of the game in Europe, maybe even more than Purple Rain. After all, he didn't tour over here with that album, but from 1986 onwards, he blew us away! [Edited 4/10/17 13:30pm] [Edited 4/10/17 13:31pm]

Ah, now, see, this is a wise post which is aware of the impossibility of quantifying/qualifying "better"
outside of recognizing what is your preference via personal taste.

So, 1984 vs 1987: which year do you prefer is really what Motown is asking us. And I agree, 1987
is preferrable to 1984 because of SOTT; The Joshua Tree; Strangeways, Here we Come; Kiss Me,
Kiss Me.

Don't forget 1983 - not for the albums but for the singles of that very strong year.

1987 was better in that way that it was more diverse, but 1984 was a beast as well. In those few years the musical landscape perhaps shifted the most it did since then in such a short period.
Overall, for me, I think I'd rather be it 1987 over again...

I veer between the two, but this week I will go with 1984. I like 1987 in that most of my favourite bands/artists knew their identity and their sound, but 1984 is interesting because they were still finding them. With the new music technology a lot of bands for example were resolving where they fit in the soundscape, while new genres were taking shape and gave bands on the threshold an opening. Of course the resolution of all these things didn't always work favourably - Jethro Tull, Grace Slick and Surgical Penis Klinik will attest to that in 1984.

Purple Rain - Seminal, Oscar-winning, I was shocked to learn it was beaten by Uncle Lionel

Ride the Lightning - Thankfully wrestled corny opera metal to the ground

Remission - Fun initial release by the Puppy, solid gothtronica and vampire disco, beginning of a purple patch

Grace Under Pressure - Classic prog rock band put synths front and center and play with rhythm, the stained shirts and longhairs were seething

The Smiths/Hatful of Hollow - Entered the ring with a major one-two punch

The Unforgettable Fire - Finding that big sound, the ghosts of Slane Castle echo through

Treasure - Cocteau Twins take a step toward their zenith, masterpiece

Some Great Reward - While the yuppies were still boogying to "I Just Can't Get Enough", DM were subtly moving into dark territory

Jesus Egg That Wept - Sexeh

Diamond Life - Double sexeh, smooth as a pole dancer 15 minutes before work

The Splendour of Fear - Lawrence explores dream pop through a post-punk lens

Red Sails in the Sunset - Love the drumming especially

Dreamtime - Fairly maligned album by The Cult, but I find good value with their gothy sound, especially their pre Rock-with-Rick days

Hyaena - A great transition between two classics

Dead Can Dance - A very interesting debut, more rhythmic than their more well-known work, a good artifact of how a band can test the waters

Songs of Love and Lust - Some great electro-mentation by Chris and Cosey

No Comment - Love the dirty raw 80s EBM sound, think they were really starting to come into their own with this one

Gag - Fad Gadget are becoming increasingly obscure to the wetheads, but this is a stone cold classic in learned circles, inklings of EBM

X-Periment - I do love a big chunk of cheese, though to be fair these guys were the masters of monster grooves (i.e. "I Can't Take Losing You")

Just the Way You Like It - ^ as above, corny as a candy cane but it's fun to hear Jam and Lewis play around and start to get something big together

Like a Virgin - Nile Rodgers knows how to make some classic grooves

The Flame - fun memories, she's like a less hit-conscious Annie Lennox

Forever Young - oh sue me

"Purple Rain" and Born in the USA" in the same year? 1984 wins in my view, no question. Those could have been the only two albums released by anyone in that year and it still would have won.

IMO those are two of the ten best albums ever recorded.

RodeoSchro said:

"Purple Rain" and Born in the USA" in the same year? 1984 wins in my view, no question. Those could have been the only two albums released by anyone in that year and it still would have won.

IMO those are two of the ten best albums ever recorded.

Going off this, one thing that makes 1984 so special is the unmatchable amount of star power that the year possessed.

Look at this roster: Michael and his family, Prince and his entourage, Madonna, Bruce, Lionel, Tina, Huey Lewis & The News, Duran Duran, Cyndi, Van Halen, Stevie, Culture Club, Hall & Oates, Wham!, Queen, New Edition, Run-D.M.C., Phil Collins/Genesis, Thompson Twins, The Cars, Herbie Hancock, U2, ZZ Top, The Temptations, Diana Ross, Donna Summer, I'd be happy to go on. All these names had presence in 1984 and while I wasn't around then this selection of artists is even more impressive in retrospect.

1987 was loaded as well. It had all the top names of the 80s drop an album that year and each album sounded radically different from whatever they had worked on in 1984. There was plenty of variety and genres were becoming more "segregated" on the pop charts. However, while there is much to choose from in '87, I think its selection falls short of the variety offered by 1984. There were many firsts that occurred in 1984 like Prince simultaneously having the #1 album, single and movie at some point during the summer, the first CD manufacturing plant being opened, the first MTV Video Music Awards and the formation of the PMRC which birthed album warning labels, "Do They Know It's Christmas" and other things. Very monumental year in the music world, 1984.

[Edited 4/11/17 17:48pm]

I think 1984 still had a level of rawness that was lost by 1987

it affected the music 4 me

Thanks 4 starting this, I'm going to do a run through at reply again

I wanna say '84 just cause of The Time's "Ice Cream Castle" & "Purple Rain", but I also wanna say '87 cause of Prince's "Sign O' The Times", Madhouse "8" and Jill Jones' self-titled Album