Top 38 Music Albums of 1985
by 
Romanelli 
- Chart updated: 12/07/2025 01:15
- (Created: 04/11/2012 18:38).
- Chart size: 38 albums.
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[First added to this chart: 04/12/2012]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
758
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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1985 – SIRE
Produced By TOMMY ERDELYI
1. Hold My Life
2. I’ll Buy
3. Kiss Me On The Bus
4. Dose Of Thumder
5. Waitress In The Sky
6. Swingin’ Party
7. Bastards Of Young
8. Lay It Down Clown
9. Left Of The Dial
10. Little Mascara
11. Here Comes A Regular
The Replacements were an absolute eighties band…never mind the short lived reunions in 2006 and from 2012-2015. In the ten years between 1981 and 1990, the ‘Mats released seven albums of punk driven rock and roll, and they were one of the coolest bands of the decade. Never overly famous, they made their music on their terms, and forged a legacy that lives to this day. Tim is the band’s fourth album, and it marks (along with its predecessor Let It Be) their peak. This is the last album with the original lineup of Paul Westerberg, Bob & Tommy Stinson and Chris Mars, and after this, it was a slow downhill for them. But Tim (they named it Tim because Westerberg “thought it was a nice name”) is magnificent…it’s brutal, hard, fast and perfect.
There aren’t any hits here (the early Replacements didn’t have hits), but there are some truly great moments. “Bastards Of Young” became legendary after a performance on SNL, and “Kiss Me On The Bus” includes a guitar solo by producer Tommy Ramone. Alex Chilton also adds vocals on “Left Of The Dial”. The closing track, “Here Comes A Regular”, is also pretty terrific. As for the rest, this is The Replacements at their very best, so you can’t go wrong with any of it. Lead guitarist Bob Stinson was kicked out after this album, and things were never quite the same. The last three albums sold more copies, but they didn’t pack the punch of the earlier days. And so, as ended the eighties, so ended The Replacements. But we’ll always have their excellent first four albums. [First added to this chart: 10/30/2023]
Produced By TOMMY ERDELYI
1. Hold My Life
2. I’ll Buy
3. Kiss Me On The Bus
4. Dose Of Thumder
5. Waitress In The Sky
6. Swingin’ Party
7. Bastards Of Young
8. Lay It Down Clown
9. Left Of The Dial
10. Little Mascara
11. Here Comes A Regular
The Replacements were an absolute eighties band…never mind the short lived reunions in 2006 and from 2012-2015. In the ten years between 1981 and 1990, the ‘Mats released seven albums of punk driven rock and roll, and they were one of the coolest bands of the decade. Never overly famous, they made their music on their terms, and forged a legacy that lives to this day. Tim is the band’s fourth album, and it marks (along with its predecessor Let It Be) their peak. This is the last album with the original lineup of Paul Westerberg, Bob & Tommy Stinson and Chris Mars, and after this, it was a slow downhill for them. But Tim (they named it Tim because Westerberg “thought it was a nice name”) is magnificent…it’s brutal, hard, fast and perfect.
There aren’t any hits here (the early Replacements didn’t have hits), but there are some truly great moments. “Bastards Of Young” became legendary after a performance on SNL, and “Kiss Me On The Bus” includes a guitar solo by producer Tommy Ramone. Alex Chilton also adds vocals on “Left Of The Dial”. The closing track, “Here Comes A Regular”, is also pretty terrific. As for the rest, this is The Replacements at their very best, so you can’t go wrong with any of it. Lead guitarist Bob Stinson was kicked out after this album, and things were never quite the same. The last three albums sold more copies, but they didn’t pack the punch of the earlier days. And so, as ended the eighties, so ended The Replacements. But we’ll always have their excellent first four albums. [First added to this chart: 10/30/2023]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,908
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1985 – CAPITOL
Produced By RON NEVISON
1. If Looks Could Kill
2. What About Love
3. Never
4. These Dreams
5. The Wolf
6. All Eyes
7. Nobody Home
8. Nothin’ At All
9. What He Don’t Know
10. Shell Shock
The name of this album could have easily been Changing With The Times. Heart found their audience slipping away from them as hair metal began taking over the rock charts in the mid eighties, so they did the sensible thing: they gave themselves a makeover. The over the top costumes and huge hair were enough to make even the most loyal Dreamboat Annie fan do a double take, and their video focus on Nancy Wilson was pretty shameless, but it was what was inside this album that was the biggest change. Overnight, Heart had begun to work with outside songwriters (half of the songs here were written by others), and they brought in as their new main weapons huge banks of cheesy 80’s keyboards, metal power chords, and a seemingly never ending stream of the one ingredient guaranteed to bring a hard rock band success in the decade…power ballads.
And lots of them. The faster tracks, like “If Looks Could Kill” and “Never”, seemed heavy, but they were really nothing more than dance pop with big chords. The ballads were huge hits. “What About Love” and “These Dreams” brought Heart to what was, surprisingly, their commercial peak. These songs today are empty and dated, saved only, as is the rest of this entire phase of their career, by the exceptional singing of Ann Wilson. Don’t get me wrong…this album is extremely well crafted, well played, and well sung. And for all the metal posturing that was going on in 1985, Heart did it with more grace than most. It’s surprising that they were able to take a successful turn into a young man’s game. But this album, despite how successful it was, is a far cry from the days of “Barracuda” and “Magic Man”. Still, an interesting turn for one of the classic bands of the 70’s. [First added to this chart: 11/08/2017]
Produced By RON NEVISON
1. If Looks Could Kill
2. What About Love
3. Never
4. These Dreams
5. The Wolf
6. All Eyes
7. Nobody Home
8. Nothin’ At All
9. What He Don’t Know
10. Shell Shock
The name of this album could have easily been Changing With The Times. Heart found their audience slipping away from them as hair metal began taking over the rock charts in the mid eighties, so they did the sensible thing: they gave themselves a makeover. The over the top costumes and huge hair were enough to make even the most loyal Dreamboat Annie fan do a double take, and their video focus on Nancy Wilson was pretty shameless, but it was what was inside this album that was the biggest change. Overnight, Heart had begun to work with outside songwriters (half of the songs here were written by others), and they brought in as their new main weapons huge banks of cheesy 80’s keyboards, metal power chords, and a seemingly never ending stream of the one ingredient guaranteed to bring a hard rock band success in the decade…power ballads.
And lots of them. The faster tracks, like “If Looks Could Kill” and “Never”, seemed heavy, but they were really nothing more than dance pop with big chords. The ballads were huge hits. “What About Love” and “These Dreams” brought Heart to what was, surprisingly, their commercial peak. These songs today are empty and dated, saved only, as is the rest of this entire phase of their career, by the exceptional singing of Ann Wilson. Don’t get me wrong…this album is extremely well crafted, well played, and well sung. And for all the metal posturing that was going on in 1985, Heart did it with more grace than most. It’s surprising that they were able to take a successful turn into a young man’s game. But this album, despite how successful it was, is a far cry from the days of “Barracuda” and “Magic Man”. Still, an interesting turn for one of the classic bands of the 70’s. [First added to this chart: 11/08/2017]
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[First added to this chart: 08/30/2013]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11,667
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 04/11/2014]
Buy album
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[First added to this chart: 05/14/2014]
Buy album
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1985-ELEKTRA
VARIOUS PRODUCERS
1. Just What I Needed
2. Since You're Gone
3. You Might Think
4. Good Times Roll
5. Touch And Go
6. Drive
7. Tonight She Comes
8. My Best Friend's Girl
9. Heartbeat City
10. Let's Go
11. I'm Not The One
12. Magic
13. Shake It Up
By 1985, The Cars were finished. They had just one horrible album left in them, and they were done. But they were a great singles band from 1978 through 1984.This does the job as far as the big hits are concerned, but the later release of Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology does a much better job. The songs here are all great, but they are placed in random order rather than chronological, and there could be more worthy tracks that just aren't here. "Tonight She Comes" was previously unreleased,and the rest are from the band's first 5 albums. No liner notes and skimpiness make this only okay.
The Cars were a great band for their period. They wrote great songs, and their recordings were expertly done. They were even successful on MTV, despite the goofiness of Ric Ocasek. The recent reunion with Todd Rundgren, though tempting, is not somewhere I really want to go. The Cars should be remembered for what they did in the 70's and 80's. I can't imagine that songs like "Drive" and "Heartbeat City" sound as good played today as they did with the original band. [First added to this chart: 01/31/2013]
VARIOUS PRODUCERS
1. Just What I Needed
2. Since You're Gone
3. You Might Think
4. Good Times Roll
5. Touch And Go
6. Drive
7. Tonight She Comes
8. My Best Friend's Girl
9. Heartbeat City
10. Let's Go
11. I'm Not The One
12. Magic
13. Shake It Up
By 1985, The Cars were finished. They had just one horrible album left in them, and they were done. But they were a great singles band from 1978 through 1984.This does the job as far as the big hits are concerned, but the later release of Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology does a much better job. The songs here are all great, but they are placed in random order rather than chronological, and there could be more worthy tracks that just aren't here. "Tonight She Comes" was previously unreleased,and the rest are from the band's first 5 albums. No liner notes and skimpiness make this only okay.
The Cars were a great band for their period. They wrote great songs, and their recordings were expertly done. They were even successful on MTV, despite the goofiness of Ric Ocasek. The recent reunion with Todd Rundgren, though tempting, is not somewhere I really want to go. The Cars should be remembered for what they did in the 70's and 80's. I can't imagine that songs like "Drive" and "Heartbeat City" sound as good played today as they did with the original band. [First added to this chart: 01/31/2013]
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[First added to this chart: 09/02/2013]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
984
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1985-COLUMBIA
VARIOUS PRODUCERS
1. The Streamlined Cannon Ball
2. Lonesome Old River Blues
3. You’re The Only Star (In My Blue Heaven)
4. Wabash Cannon Ball
5. Drifting Too Far From The Shore
6. Steel Guitar Blues
7. Ida Red
8. I’ll Be Alone
9. Low And Lonely
10. When I Lay My Burden Down
11. Wonder Is All I Do
12. Weary Lonesome Blues
13. New Greenback Dollar
14. Freight Train Blues
15. The Heart That Was Broken For Me
16. The Southbound Train
Take a listen to this, then take a listen to 5 minutes of modern country, and you’ll ask yourself one question: what the hell happened? Roy Acuff, who died in 1992, was The King Of Country. His career was highly successful from the 1930’s to the 1950’s, with his popularity dwindling as the 60’s were born. These tracks were all recorded between 1936 and 1951, and every one of them is impeccable. Six off the tracks were first time releases, making the collection even better. Songs like “Wabash Cannon Ball”, “Freight Train Blues”, and “When I Lay My Burden Down” should be a part of everyone’s collection, never to be forgotten.
Acuff may not be well known outside of country circles now, but he was once one of the biggest names in the genre. In 1962, he became the first living member to be inducted in the Country Music Hall Of Fame, and he was a mainstay at the Opry until he died in the 90’s. This collection compiles his time with Columbia Records, which ended in 1952. Acuff was one of the very best ever in country music, and this collection gets everything about the man right. [First added to this chart: 09/16/2012]
VARIOUS PRODUCERS
1. The Streamlined Cannon Ball
2. Lonesome Old River Blues
3. You’re The Only Star (In My Blue Heaven)
4. Wabash Cannon Ball
5. Drifting Too Far From The Shore
6. Steel Guitar Blues
7. Ida Red
8. I’ll Be Alone
9. Low And Lonely
10. When I Lay My Burden Down
11. Wonder Is All I Do
12. Weary Lonesome Blues
13. New Greenback Dollar
14. Freight Train Blues
15. The Heart That Was Broken For Me
16. The Southbound Train
Take a listen to this, then take a listen to 5 minutes of modern country, and you’ll ask yourself one question: what the hell happened? Roy Acuff, who died in 1992, was The King Of Country. His career was highly successful from the 1930’s to the 1950’s, with his popularity dwindling as the 60’s were born. These tracks were all recorded between 1936 and 1951, and every one of them is impeccable. Six off the tracks were first time releases, making the collection even better. Songs like “Wabash Cannon Ball”, “Freight Train Blues”, and “When I Lay My Burden Down” should be a part of everyone’s collection, never to be forgotten.
Acuff may not be well known outside of country circles now, but he was once one of the biggest names in the genre. In 1962, he became the first living member to be inducted in the Country Music Hall Of Fame, and he was a mainstay at the Opry until he died in the 90’s. This collection compiles his time with Columbia Records, which ended in 1952. Acuff was one of the very best ever in country music, and this collection gets everything about the man right. [First added to this chart: 09/16/2012]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 09/01/2012]
Total albums: 15. Page 1 of 2
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Top 38 Music Albums of 1985 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Little Richard | 1 | 3% | |
| Pete Townshend | 1 | 3% | |
| The Cult | 1 | 3% | |
| Robert Palmer | 1 | 3% | |
| LL Cool J | 1 | 3% | |
| The Replacements | 1 | 3% | |
| Aretha Franklin | 1 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 38 Music Albums of 1985 chart changes
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Showing all 2 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 04/01/2021 14:49 | DJENNY | 4,365 | 100/100 |
| ! | 11/02/2012 00:20 | strawberryfields | 273 | 95/100 |
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From Romanelli 01/09/2014 22:04 | #100313
Romanelli 01/09/2014 22:04 | #100313
I dig The Replacements a lot, but I admit that I haven't gotten around to adding much of them to my collection. They're one of those bands that just keep getting pushed back. I've always had Let It Be as a favorite, though. This may get me moving to add more of them!
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From 
Mercury 01/09/2014 21:34 | #100311
Mercury 01/09/2014 21:34 | #100311
This is cool. I came here because I was curious to see Pete Townsend's album as your #1 of '85 yet lower than 250 overall. I personally have Tim, Hounds of Love and Rain Dogs all in my overall top 40.
What are your thoughts on The Replacements?
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| Best Artists of the 1980s | |
|---|---|
| 1. The Smiths | |
| 2. Prince | |
| 3. Pixies | |
| 4. The Cure | |
| 5. Talking Heads | |
| 6. U2 | |
| 7. Metallica | |
| 8. Kate Bush | |
| 9. R.E.M. | |
| 10. The Stone Roses | |
| 11. Sonic Youth | |
| 12. Michael Jackson | |
| 13. Bruce Springsteen | |
| 14. Iron Maiden | |
| 15. Prince And The Revolution | |
| 16. Tom Waits | |
| 17. Joy Division | |
| 18. New Order | |
| 19. Talk Talk | |
| 20. Rush |
