Despite being a largely ignored and overlooked period of music, the entire post-disco era was a hotbed of activity and releases for the black music charts.

One can argue any year between 1980-1983/4 being the best but which one to you stands out from the pack as the best?

DISCLAIMER: This entire topic is on people's SUBJECTIVE opinion.
[Edited 2/9/20 8:19am]

I have to give my vote to 1982.

-Albums and charting singles from such an array of talent composed by the likes of hitmakers such as The Gap Band, Rick James, Chaka Khan, Kool & The Gang and Shalamar.

-You had (young) rising stars like Debarge, Luther, The S.O.S. Band (along with the burgeoning talents of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis), Patrice Rushen, Zapp & Roger as well as the solo debuts of Jeffrey Osborne and Lionel Richie.

-There were veterans from the continued success of Stevie and George Clinton to the comeback success of Marvin (his final album while alive), Aretha and to a lesser extent, The Temptations.

-1982 also saw the release of a soon to be blockbuster album and the firm foundation for the blockbuster album to follow from Michael (Thriller) and Prince (1999), respectively. On the Prince side of the coin, you also had the debut of Vanity 6 and the sophomore effort of The Time. On the Jackson side, you had Jermaine's final Motown release and little sister Janet's first ever release.

All that's just off the top of my head but if that weren't enough, there were also many white artists scoring hits with black audiences. Tom Tom Club, Michael McDonald and even Queen. But the most prominent example lies in Hall & Oates, who scored a #1 hit on the dark side of the charts (the first of only 3 white acts throughout the entire 1980s to do so).
[Edited 2/9/20 7:00am]

1984.Prince, Chaka, Tina, Deniece, The Pointers all had the biggest hits of their careers.

TrivialPursuit said:

The first few years of the 80s were a big decline for black music in the Top 40 compared to the previous decade and a half. I blame Disco Demolition Night for that.

In that regard, the 80s was much like the 60s where black artists had to (re)earn widespread acceptance on a mainstream level. Unlike the 60s though, the 80s had other factors at play which dictated one's success (the transition from acoustic instruments to synths and music videos/MTV).
[Edited 2/9/20 11:14am]

namepeace said:

I remember soing 1983 and 1984 on the pop side but I probably mixed '82 into one of those topics.

1981 wasn't bad either, but I'll go w/1982!!!!

MotownSubdivision said:

namepeace said:

MoSub: We've had this discussion before about those years in the pop context (1982 v 1983). I took 1982 if I recall correctly.

From the "Black Music" perspective (using the Billboard term at the time), I'd agree with you that 1982 stands out from the others.

I remember soing 1983 and 1984 on the pop side but I probably mixed '82 into one of those topics.

That's right.

1983 or 1984

I'd say 1982 because in that year Prince's 1999 and George Clinton's Computer Games and Bootsy's Body Slam (okay, that wasn't an album) came out. How much more funky than that can you get?
[Edited 2/13/20 14:32pm]