Top 40 Artists! by TheSmiths82-87 
- Chart updated: 11/18/2019 09:15
- (Created: 02/03/2016 11:27).
- Chart size: 40 albums.
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My favourite band by far! I only got into the Smiths in 1989, sadly, the group had disbanded two years prior, but at least I have had Morrissey's solo career to enjoy over the years. But whereas the Smiths recorded around 150 tracks in just 5 years and almost all of them are near faultless, Morrissey has since taken a lot longer to record the same amount of quality and over more albums.
All four studio albums - The Smiths, Meat Is Murder, The Queen Is Dead and Strangeways Here We Come have a case for being their finest hour, but so does Hatful Of Hollow which is a collection of early b-sides and radio sessions, with some of the tracks from the debut album sounding less murky.
The murkiness of the debut is not necessarily a bad thing, it makes it all sound very indie and lo-fi but the quality of the songwriting shines through regardless. It does contain Reel Around The Fountain, Still Ill and The Hand That Rocks The Cradle so it has to be considered to be one of the bands best albums.
Meat Is Murder's opening side is as good as anything they did, and side two somehow includes Well I Wonder...The songwriting is more direct than the debut, the guitar is not as jangly and the lyrics are not as vague but it is right up there for brilliance.
The Queen Is Dead is the one considered to be their masterpiece, I have to confess this is my favourite even though it is such an obvious choice. But how could this album ever be dismissed when it contains such tracks as There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, Frankly Mr Shankly, I Know It's Over, Cemetry Gates and the title track. Genius!
Strangeways has always been my least favourite, it does contain a couple of fillers, but Smiths fillers are still pretty good and as good as anything else around at that time. So for me, Death At One's Elbow and Unhappy Birthday do somewhat hold the album back from becoming their career defining masterpiece. At some point, both Morrissey and Marr have said this is their favourite Smiths album. [First added to this chart: 02/03/2016]
All four studio albums - The Smiths, Meat Is Murder, The Queen Is Dead and Strangeways Here We Come have a case for being their finest hour, but so does Hatful Of Hollow which is a collection of early b-sides and radio sessions, with some of the tracks from the debut album sounding less murky.
The murkiness of the debut is not necessarily a bad thing, it makes it all sound very indie and lo-fi but the quality of the songwriting shines through regardless. It does contain Reel Around The Fountain, Still Ill and The Hand That Rocks The Cradle so it has to be considered to be one of the bands best albums.
Meat Is Murder's opening side is as good as anything they did, and side two somehow includes Well I Wonder...The songwriting is more direct than the debut, the guitar is not as jangly and the lyrics are not as vague but it is right up there for brilliance.
The Queen Is Dead is the one considered to be their masterpiece, I have to confess this is my favourite even though it is such an obvious choice. But how could this album ever be dismissed when it contains such tracks as There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, Frankly Mr Shankly, I Know It's Over, Cemetry Gates and the title track. Genius!
Strangeways has always been my least favourite, it does contain a couple of fillers, but Smiths fillers are still pretty good and as good as anything else around at that time. So for me, Death At One's Elbow and Unhappy Birthday do somewhat hold the album back from becoming their career defining masterpiece. At some point, both Morrissey and Marr have said this is their favourite Smiths album. [First added to this chart: 02/03/2016]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
39,166
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
264
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[First added to this chart: 02/03/2016]
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,458
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,025
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 12/20/2016]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,910
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Tom Waits is now rightly considered to be a great songwriter, he has an enormous back catalogue that is overflowing with quality.
The first two albums sound almost MOR compared to his later output, but the songwriting showcased his craft right from the beginning.
It was only on Small Change that he truly found his voice, and what a voice! I must admit that when I first heard it, I was a little put off, it was only after I had spent 20 years exploring all kinds of music that I ended up back at Tom Waits and everything seemed to fit perfectly.
Again in the 80's when all his peers were making some frightful errors of judgement, when even Neil Young was wearing a pink suit, Dylan had lost his way, Lou Reed wasn't pulling up any trees and Bowie was less interesting than before, Tom Waits made a trilogy of albums - Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs and Frank's Wild Years which were all quite fascinating, Rain Dogs in particular was an unbelievable collection of songs about drunks and dead beats amongst other things. The first 5 tracks in particular could be a greatest hits collection.
Again in the 90's Waits recorded Bone Machine and Mule Variations, both are brilliant, it could be argued Bone Machine is his best ever. In the 00's we had Alice, Blood Money and Real Gone, all had the odd track which was right up there with his best ever work. Bad As Me was his latest studio album and that too had its moments, so who knows what he can produce next, let's hope it arrives soon. [First added to this chart: 02/03/2016]
The first two albums sound almost MOR compared to his later output, but the songwriting showcased his craft right from the beginning.
It was only on Small Change that he truly found his voice, and what a voice! I must admit that when I first heard it, I was a little put off, it was only after I had spent 20 years exploring all kinds of music that I ended up back at Tom Waits and everything seemed to fit perfectly.
Again in the 80's when all his peers were making some frightful errors of judgement, when even Neil Young was wearing a pink suit, Dylan had lost his way, Lou Reed wasn't pulling up any trees and Bowie was less interesting than before, Tom Waits made a trilogy of albums - Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs and Frank's Wild Years which were all quite fascinating, Rain Dogs in particular was an unbelievable collection of songs about drunks and dead beats amongst other things. The first 5 tracks in particular could be a greatest hits collection.
Again in the 90's Waits recorded Bone Machine and Mule Variations, both are brilliant, it could be argued Bone Machine is his best ever. In the 00's we had Alice, Blood Money and Real Gone, all had the odd track which was right up there with his best ever work. Bad As Me was his latest studio album and that too had its moments, so who knows what he can produce next, let's hope it arrives soon. [First added to this chart: 02/03/2016]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,111
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 11/25/2016]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
37,451
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 02/03/2016]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
25,891
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
622
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 11/18/2019]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,015
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 9. Page 1 of 1
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Top 40 Artists! composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 9 | 23% | |
| 1970s | 16 | 40% | |
| 1980s | 9 | 23% | |
| 1990s | 5 | 13% | |
| 2000s | 1 | 3% | |
| 2010s | 0 | 0% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| The Clash | 1 | 3% | |
| The Stone Roses | 1 | 3% | |
| Elvis Presley | 1 | 3% | |
| Leonard Cohen | 1 | 3% | |
| Johnny Cash | 1 | 3% | |
| Syd Barrett | 1 | 3% | |
| The Velvet Underground & Nico | 1 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 40 Artists! chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 12 from 19th to 7th If You're Feeling Sinister by Belle And Sebastian |
| Up 11 from 30th to 19th Doolittle by Pixies |
| Up 8 from 24th to 16th The Joshua Tree by U2 |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 8 from 15th to 23rd Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young & Crazy Horse |
| Down 8 from 25th to 33rd Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) by Led Zeppelin |
| Down 7 from 17th to 24th Blue by Joni Mitchell |
| Leavers |
|---|
 The All Time Greatest Hits Of Roy Orbisonby Roy Orbison |
| In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel |
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