Best Album of the '80s - And the winner is ... on page 14

With the recent abundance of music threads/arguments and the awesome success of the super-terrific Field of 64 game here at SJ, that a tournament bracket be made to determine, by your votes, what was the best album of the 1980s.

Here are the rules: I created a tournament bracket seeding and matching up the top 64 albums. You then vote on each matchup and we continue until a winner is crowned. A change from first bracket I did is that I ask you to vote via PM rather than just posting your votes on the thread.

Everyone is invited to participate, especially the folks who are responsible for the fine debates in music threads. I'll post the bracket once I remember where on my computer I saved it , but here are the No. 1 seeds:

 

Re: Best Album of the '80s - A Tournament

Appetite for Destruction
Hysteria

Both were released just a couple weeks apart in 1987, which I didn't realize.

 

Re: Best Album of the '80s - A Tournament

If Appetite isn't a No. 1 seed, you shouldn't even bother...

 

Re: Best Album of the '80s - A Tournament

Back in Black

 

Re: Best Album of the '80s - A Tournament

Here's the list he's referring to: http://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_albums80s.html

As I pointed out in the TV tournament thread, it would be no fun if we tried to jigger the seeding to reflect SportsJournalists.com taste. That would just lead to either, a) controversy or b) no upsets. This is a way for no one board member's opinion to dominate the conversation while allowing for plenty of updates. I think it's a well-constructed list.

 

Re: Best Album of the '80s - A Tournament

A few sleepers:

Talking Heads - Remain in Light
Doolittle or Surfer Rosa - The Pixies
Get Happy - Elvis Costello
Straight Outta Compton - NWA
So - Peter Gabriel

 

Re: Best Album of the '80s - A Tournament

That's fair...

 

Re: Best Album of the '80s - A Tournament

Take Purple Rain and Public Enemy out as 1 seeds, and replace them with Hysteria and Appetite for Destruction.

 

Re: Best Album of the '80s - A Tournament

I don't care much for the Pixies, but I thought it was strange that Doolittle came in at No. 21 while Surfa Rosa is No. 81 and NIT-bound. I thought Surfa Rosa was considered their top album.

The biggest sleeper might be Ride the Lightning, a No. 14 seed with a big SportsJournalists.com fan base. Nebraska, a No. 16 seed, also qualifies.

 

Re: Best Album of the '80s - A Tournament

I already see an eligibility problem. London Calling was Rolling Stone's #1 album of the decade when the list was released in '89. According to RS, the album was released stateside in January 1980. But that other linked list doesn't even have the album, apparently going with the UK release date of December 14, 1979.

Gonna need a ruling from the Committee as to whether The Clash can play.

 

Re: Best Album of the '80s - A Tournament

It's pretty clear that it can't because it's not on the list. It was originally released in 1979. It's not eligible. It's Southern Cal last football season.

 

Re: Best Album of the '80s - A Tournament

Just to be clear, are we filling out brackets the whole way through or going round by round?