The Top Twenty Albums of 1983

1983 is a year that brought the absolute best out of so many powerhouse artists. Now that the sound of the decade had been firmly established, both veterans and new faces came out swinging and helped make this year such a titanic achievement for pop, rock, new wave, and synth-pop all delivering classics galore. This list also couldn't be confined to a simple ten so I've singled out twenty excellent records from this year. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of these landmark albums I've chosen to count down my twenty favorite records that made the year such a magical time.

Let's get started!

#20) Seven and the Ragged Tiger - Duran Duran (37 minutes, New Wave/Dance)

Duran Duran’s third album is their last featuring their original line-up and brand of very danceable new wave pop, but here they push it to the extreme of danceability and groove, creating an album that is as close as these guys ever got to a full on disco-rock record.  Every song here is packed with groove and infectious hooks, with the singles in particular being very successful and kitschy stabs new wave avant-funk that put a heavy emphasis on how excellent DD’s rhythm section can be.  LeBon’s lead performances are full of obscure lyrics but some of his most charismatic vocals and production from Chic’s Nile Rodgers gives their funk some credibility.  While their first two albums were more consistent, this might be Duran Duran’s most ersatz and fun album, ending their golden era of hit making on a delirious note.

Essential Tracks: "Union of the Snake" "The Reflex" "New Moon on Monday"

#19) Let's Dance - David Bowie (39 minutes, New Wave/Pop-Rock)

David Bowie’s biggest hit album and arguably his most pop-friendly work is a rarity in his catalog, an album that can easily be classified as a straight up pop-rock album.  This is still Bowie, so it has its idiosyncrasies and weirder elements, but Bowie is rarely so accessible, creating an A-side that is filled with classy smash hit singles and a B-side full of some more offbeat groovers.  Nile Rodgers’ production makes these songs sound huge and gives them a bit of a disco-rock flavor.  Bowie is always great when his songs have a little funk in their blood and these are some of his last truly dance-heavy hits, as per the title.  This isn’t a defining work for Bowie, but it still stands as one of his most fun albums and a great one to start with if you’re new to the man’s work,

Essential Tracks: "Modern Love" "Let's Dance" "China Girl"

#18) Punch the Clock - Elvis Costello & The Attractions (45 minutes, New Wave/Pop-Soul)

Elvis Costello never made the same album twice, and on this outing, him and The Attractions set out to move away from fiery power-pop and new wave fully into horn-laden funky sophisti-pop that is far from Costello’s comfort zone but shows off his songwriting versatility in a way his more band-driven albums don’t always.  From the soft spoken, swooning ballads to the funky horn-driven bangers Costello shows off his effortless pop skills while still retaining some of his sharpest lyrics, imbuing each song with a razor, socially conscious wit.  This is far from the best Attractions album, as the record’s sound palette sidelines their powerful musicianship, it does feature some top shelf compositions and harks the end of Costello’s finest era of songwriting.  

Essential Tracks: "Shipbuilding" "Every Day I Write the Book" "Pills and Soap"

#17) The Final Cut - Pink Floyd (46 minutes, Progressive Rock)

After “The Wall” Pink Floyd had nowhere to go but down, that record was an ambitious, deliriously creative mess of an album that broke the band into fragments.  Because of that fact, unlike most Floyd records this is far from collaborative, this feels like a Roger Waters solo venture all but in name, taking the post-war anxieties of “The Wall” and distilling them into its own dramatic, hurt album enthralled in the darkness of Waters’ own psyche.  The songs here lack the wildly creative solos and band interplay of their best work, but the utterly dour atmosphere suits these disturbingly bleak songs well letting the chilling lyrics resound.  Waters has never sounded so hopeless, and on an album as potent as this, that’s a good thing.

Essential Tracks: "The Final Cut" "Not Now John" "Two Suns in the Sunset"

#16) Hearts and Bones - Paul Simon (40 minutes, Singer-Songwriter/Pop-Rock)

Paul Simon has always had a huge heart, imbuing his best compositions with warmth and joy, so when that huge heart breaks, you get one of the decade’s most thoughtful and melancholic divorce albums.  Simon’s wit is in abundance here, delivering songs that are sharp and clever all while exploring how his divorce has affected him in a deeply intimate way.  Every song weaves beautifully considered metaphors to create a record that invites you in to sympathize with Simon.  The album is far from dour, with his melodies reamining upbeat and his sense of humor makes it one of the most accidentally joyful break up albums out there, his usual charm shining through. This isn’t your typical Paul Simon record, it lacks the big hooks that draw you in, but it remains some of his best writing and some of his most deeply personal material.

Essential Tracks: "Train in the Distance" "Hearts and Bones" "Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War"

#15) The Wild Heart - Stevie Nicks (45 minutes, Pop-Rock/Singer-Songwriter)

Stevie Nicks’ sophomore record builds on the strengths of her dazzling debut, blending the rootsy rock and warm country of her Fleetwood Mac days with a sparkly pop sheen replete with atmospheric synthesizers that mark a new era in her pop stardom.  Nicks blends pop-rock with her more folky concerns to create a chart-busting album that radiates from her unique soul.  While her debut album took cues from artists she admired like Tom Petty and Don Henley through overt collaboration, Nicks strikes out on her own here delivering countless brilliant vocal performances where she shines alone, unlike her previous material which relied on her chemistry in a group. While not every song here is an absolute success, the highlights are some of her career best singles, built for both intimate fireside singalongs and concert arenas.  A lovely album from a truly one of a kind artist.

Essential Tracks: "Stand Back" "If Anyone Falls" "Nightbird"

#14) Too Low for Zero - Elton John (44 minutes, Pop-Rock)

Elton John’s comeback album feels like a return to his glory days, making a delightfully hook-laden pop-rock album filled with his charming performances and his newly reunited band playing like they never lost a step.  The reunion of Elton and his writing partner Bernie Taupin clearly brought him back to new heights as the compositions are bouncy and elegant with both his ballads radiating soulful performances and spry rockers that make him sound ten years younger.  This album feels like a predestined smash due to how wickedly catchy every song is, but it never feels overly calculated, as the record radiates the energy of a group of friends having the time of their lives back in the studio. Elton never totally lost the plot, but this is the best he sounded in years.  A hitmaker reenergized and back on top in a rocking victory lap.

Essential Tracks: "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" "I'm Still Standing" "Kiss the Bride"

#13) Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics (42 minutes, Synth-Pop/New Wave)

The second Eurythmics album pivots away from the post-punk inspired pop of their enigmatic debut and delivers a chilly synth-wave record that radiates an icy atmosphere over which Annie Lennox delivers her stunning, soulful vocal performances. Between Lennox's supreme vocal talent and Dave Stewart's innovative, ambitiously widescreen soundscapes, the band delivers a new sound that suits them perfectly, standing out from the pack in the way they inject humanity into a very mechanical genre. This is very much an alternative album due to the sprawling, atmospheric nature of most of the tracks, which are quite avant-garde but some of the best moments are when the duo craft sharp, sticky pop hooks that blend radio-ready anthemic qualities with their chillier vibes. The group would continue to experiment and grow from here, but this asserted them as new talents to watch out for on impact.

Essential Tracks: "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" "Love Is a Stranger" "This City Never Sleeps"

#12) Power, Corruption & Lies - New Order (42 minutes, Synth-Pop/Post-Punk)

New Order's sophomore album finds the group who were desperately trying to assert themselves in a new musical direction after the tragic passing of their former frontman Ian Curtis and the abrupt dissolution of Joy Division pivoting from the gloomy atmospheric post-punk they helped define to a brighter, more radio friendly sort of electronic synth-pop that sparkled with instrumental excellence and a renewed sense of experimentation. New Order's debut was a band lost, but here they not only find their sound but they begin to perfect it, mixing the lengthy sprawl of post-punk tracks with the dance-floor ready beats of synth-pop making a very melancholic club record. The songs are still loose and feel more akin to jams, but that works well for the material on display here. The band would get better at writing individual songs, but as far as albums go, they rarely bettered this one.

Essential Tracks: "Age of Consent" "Your Silent Face" "Ultraviolence"

#11) Genesis - Genesis (46 minutes, Pop-Rock/Art-Rock)

Genesis were a band of two competing identities, the ambitious, high drama of Peter Gabriel's progressive rock band and the pop-friendly dominance of Phil Collins' pop-rock trio, but I truly believe that the group did some of their best work when they leaned into their inherent duality and blended the two, to create some truly weird and unique but accessible rock. This album bridges the gap well, as we see Collins and his pop sensibilities in full force, creating one of the band's most catchy albums, each song grabbing you on impact, but almost every song here has an offbeat energy to it whether it be Collins' vocal menace, long virtuosic instrumental solos or plain goofy lyrics. For a mainstream hit album this breaks a lot of rules but that's why it's so damn good. Genesis would soon go full on pop-rockers but this being their last hurrah of weirdness remains one of their strongest efforts as a group.

Essential Tracks: "Mama" "That's All" "Home by the Sea"

#10) Touch - Eurythmics (45 minutes, Synth-Pop/New Wave)

The Eurythmics' second album of 1983 capitalizes on the best songs from their groundbreaking sophomore effort, fully blending their more experimental bent with some sparkling, immediately impactful pop hooks to create a well balanced album of new wave wonderment that can appeal to just about anybody. Lennox's vocals in particular have reached a new level, imbuing each track with deep soul and absolute passion while Stewart has allowed the sound palette to grow, with some icy pop remaining while also branching out into more genre-bending directions including glimpses of funk, reggae, club-ready electro-dance and even full on rock. The Eurythmics would spend the rest of their career playing with genre, so this is arguably the group at the peak of their defining sound, making it by far their career best project. Two artists meshing in complete harmony.

Essential Tracks: "Here Comes the Rain Again" "Who's That Girl" "Paint a Rumor"

#9) Can't Slow Down - Lionel Richie (40 minutes, Pop/R&B)

Lionel Richie's sophomore solo album is arguably the platonic ideal of a pop record, it's one of those rare records that feels as if nearly every song could be spun off into the charts as a smash single, and it's almost true with this set. Richie delivers on every side of his talent, turning in refreshingly soulful ballads, upbeat dance songs imbued with electronic funk and even African rhythms, while even taking very successful stabs at earnest country and low-key rock all catering to his gorgeous, silky voice. The entire album is a joy, with Richie delivering iconic performance after performance on these superbly written pop tracks. He barely falters, showing that he could be as good if not better alone than he was in The Commodores, and while this album trades in the funk and R&B that he made his name with, it barely matters when the music in display is so delightfully catchy and familiar. Richie would never again hit these heights, this is him functioning at peak pop stardom and boy does it suit him well.

Essential Tracks: "All Night Long (All Night)" "Penny Lover" "Hello" "Running with the Night"

#8) Madonna - Madonna (40 minutes, Dance-Pop)

On her electric debut record Madonna radiates the charm, skill and effortless confidence of a seasoned pop star and that's what makes her bursting onto the scene such a marvelous record. She's already a pro, delivering countless dance-floor ready club tracks and pop barn-burners on this high energy record that it's almost ludacris. The grooves on her are undeniably even forty years on, and her performances on each track are infectious, showing off her utterly captivating performance still which was intact from the jump. The eighties produced some killer dance music, but this set is truly hard to top. Rarely are debuts ever quite so confidently unique, but that was never an issue for Madonna. She was the queen of pop from the beginning, she knew it before we all did and this debut shows that in spades.

Essential Tracks: "Lucky Star" "Borderline" "Burning Up" "Holiday"

#7) The Hurting - Tears for Fears (41 minutes, Synth-Pop/New Wave)

Tears for Fears' debut album is a masterful fusion of deeply wounded melancholic post-punk ala Joy Division with sharp, memorable pop melodies to create an album that is accessible as it is emotionally resonant. The group blends remarkably catchy synth-pop melodies with harrowing lyrical concerns about suicidal tendencies, childhood trauma and overall depression and the contrast between those two elements makes this a fascinating, disconcerting listen every time. The twin tenors of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith provide haunting vocal performances drenched in harmony and high drama while the production feels extremely timebound yet simultaneously not dated. The album is so utterly captivating in its expressive capacities that sometimes it can be a difficult listen, but is that raw emotion on display that makes it so potent. This is a remarkably brave album, let alone debut. Tears for Fears would continue to evolve into a duo of top class pop writers, but on this album they bared their souls in a way few other artists would even dare to attempt.

Essential Tracks: "Pale Shelter" "Mad World" "Change" "The Hurting"

#6) War - U2 (42 minutes, Post-Punk/Alternative Rock)

U2's third album, the last in their early hard-rocking post-punk trilogy before they went for a more anthemic, stadium ready atmospheric sound on their future work, is possibly the band's most immediate and jarring work. Bono has always given this band a social conscious, crusading for various issues, but this is the only album in U2's catalog that can truly be deemed a protest album, delivering devastating political critiques over razor sharp guitar work from The Edge and militant rhythms. U2 is rarely a band one could deem edgy or metallic, but this album is rough and abrasive, providing anthems for the downtrodden across the world. Bono's howling voice delivers pleas for peace, anti-nuclear anthems and calls for revolution against bloodthirsty governments over U2's most dynamic instrumental work. The band would completely change their sound after this, and while that resulted in more great work, this is easily their most vital record.

Essential Tracks: "New Year's Day" "Sunday Blood Sunday" "Two Hearts Beat as One" "Seconds"

#5) An Innocent Man - Billy Joel (40 minutes, Pop/R&B)

Billy Joel was a child of the 50s and 60s and this album makes that startling evident. The music that Joel grew up with during the birth of the rock era remains some of the most influential of all time, and here the Piano Man pays tribute to the sounds that made him. Most would do this in the form of a covers album, but while these compositions sound ripped directly from the hit parade of that era, they are all originals, putting his own wonderfully melodic spin on these sounds. From early rock shuffles to Motown inspired pop, smooth doo-wop and funky soul romps Joel is a connoisseur of great sounds and he reinterprets them beautifully, turning in some of his career best songwriting, revitalized by paying tribute to his idols. Joel's voice reaches new heights, with his falsetto in particular being a real show-stopper. This album is a labor of love for Joel and that passion comes through, creating one of his most joyful albums that is always delightful to revisit.

Essential Tracks: "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" "The Longest Time" "An Innocent Man" "Tell Her About It" "Uptown Girl"

#4) She's So Unusual - Cyndi Lauper (38 minutes, Pop/New Wave)

Cyndi Lauper's debut album is everything you could want from a pop album and more. Lauper's wildly creative energy and beautiful, textured voice give each of these songs massive personality, making an impression on impact as one of the most unique pop stars the charts ever welcomed. The variety on display here is admirable, playing her new wave roots close to her chest and melding some more innovative touches into both the upbeat pop-rock anthems and the sweet, cozy ballads that show off her gorgeous voice. The track list reads like a greatest hits album, with so many songs become classics of the era and even the songs you don't know have massive hit potential. Her attitude bleeds through the material, becoming one of the most delightful pop records of the era. Lauper would never come close to these heights again in the album form, but this record is an absolute essential of 80s pop nonetheless.

Essential Tracks: "Time After Time" "All Through the Night" "She Bop" "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" "When You Were Mine"

#3) Speaking in Tongues - Talking Heads (46 minutes, Art-Rock/Funk)

The Talkings Heads were a band that never stopped pushing the boundaries of what new wave and alternative music could be, so after diving into world music rhythms on their last record band leader David Byrne wanted to explore the universe of funk and under the tutelage of P-Funk All-Star Bernie Worrell, the band delivered one of the funkiest records from anyone regardless of chosen genre. The grooves on each track here are ridiculously tight, with the band's rhythm section turning in a legendary performance while Byrne delivers iconic, idiosyncratic vocal performances that are some of his most joyfully wacky. From slow burning swampy funk to bouncy disco rhythms the band is utterly locked in delivering their strongest set of performances. The group was hitting a peak in terms of chemistry and composition and this record celebrates what the group could do at their best. This may not be the group's most influential or important recording but it is the one I return to most. Who says a rock band can't play funk? Not Byrne and company, they do it better than most funk bands.

Essential Tracks: "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" "Girlfriend Is Better" "Burning Down the House" "Slippery People" "Making Flippy Floppy"

#2) Murmur - R.E.M. (44 minutes, Jangle-Rock/Indie Rock)

R.E.M. are a band that is nearly impossible to categorize, and that fact is evident on their debut album which radiates a groundbreaking, mysterious energy as the quartet deliver a set of high quality jangle-rock with a swampy, murky quality that embodies their Georgia upbringing. What makes this band such a brilliant display of musicianship is that from the first track it is easy to see how well this band plays together, with Mike Mills bouncy bass lines, Bill Berry's dynamic drumming and Peter Buck's jangly, warm guitar work creative a sonic environment you just want to get lost in, while Michael Stipe's lead vocals, while lyrically unintellgible show off how purely emotive his voice is regardless of what he says. The interplay on display here is remarkable, as every song feels distinctly unique despite their similar sound palette. The group would evolve and become more pop friendly, but this primordial version of R.E.M. delivered some of their most enigmatic and engaging work. An album that feels like getting lost, but it's so good you don't really want to find your way out.

Essential Tracks: "Radio Free Europe" "Perfect Circle" "Pilgrimmage" "Talk About the Passion" "Moral Kiosk"

#1) Synchronicity - The Police (44 minutes, New Wave/Pop-Rock)

It's rare for a band to call it quits on the heels of their best album, but that's just what new wave legends The Police did, ending their career with this absolutely brilliant piece of work which blends rich, textured atmospherics with crunchy arena-conquering rock and sticky, memorable pop hooks to craft an album cachy enough for the mainstream while still wowing the alternative crowd. Sting's songwriting has fully pivoted from the high energy ska-tinged punk of their earlier efforts into a subtle, moody brand of balladry that hints at his jazzier solo endeavors but with the force of this punchy outfit behind him. The songs here are uniformly clever, strongly written and nuanced with some of the group's most in sync playing, crafting an album that is a detailed sonic wonderland to perfectly accompany Sting's enigmatic lyrics. The Police were always a unique group, but on this, their final denouement, the group evolved into something more than a great new wave band, they became pop tastemakers and then showed us they were too cool for it and left it all behind. A no holds barred masterpiece.

Essential Tracks: "Wrapped Around Your Finger" "Every Breath You Take" "Murder by Numbers" "King of Pain" "Synchronicity II"

Thanks for going on this musical journey through 1983 with me to celebrate 40 years of these amazing albums! Look out for the Top Twenty Albums of 1993 very soon!

Happy 40th Anniversary to some truly brilliant albums!