Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet (1986)
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Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet

Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet There are albums that beg for depth, and there are albums that rev the engine, toss the keys in your lap, and dare you to floor it. Slippery When Wet does the latter—loud, shiny, and soaked in hair spray and ego. It’s pop-metal as neon gospel, built on anthems…

R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant (1986)
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R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant

Lifes Rich Pageant is where R.E.M. got louder, clearer, and harder to ignore. They didn’t abandon their southern gothic roots—they electrified them. It’s a transition album, but not a hesitant one. It moves like a band that knows exactly what it’s risking—and does it anyway.

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead (1986)
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The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead

The Smiths’ The Queen Is Dead is bitter, brilliant, and barbed. Morrissey mourns and mocks in equal measure, while Marr’s guitars glisten with ache. It’s tragedy you can dance to—romantic, sardonic, and quietly ferocious.

Peter Gabriel – So (1986)
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Peter Gabriel – So

Peter Gabriel’s So redefined rock with bold production and emotional depth. From the groove-heavy “Sledgehammer” to the haunting “Don’t Give Up,” it fused ambition with accessibility, proving rock could be innovative, powerful, and deeply human.

Van Halen – 5150 - Album
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Van Halen – 5150

5150 wasn’t just a new Van Halen album—it was a rebirth. Hagar’s soaring vocals, slicker production, and Eddie’s electrifying solos pushed them higher than ever. A gamble? Maybe. But this wasn’t just a party—it was the sound of a band leveling up.

John Cougar Mellencamp - Scarecrow (1985)

John Cougar Mellencamp – Scarecrow

Scarecrow digs into America’s dirt with calloused hands and a sharp tongue. Mellencamp trades fantasy for fight, pairing catchy hooks with working-class truths. It’s defiant, worn-in, and quietly powerful—an anthem for those still standing.

R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)
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R.E.M. – Fables of the Reconstruction

Fables of the Reconstruction feels like a slow walk through abandoned towns and haunted woods. It’s flawed, yes. Sometimes the shadows overtake the melodies. But it’s also one of their most rewarding records—quietly brave and strange in all the right ways.

Talking Heads - Little Creatures (1985)
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Talking Heads – Little Creatures

The charm is in how Little Creatures sounds friendly while quietly skewering suburbia, religion, consumerism, and love with surgical smiles. It’s Byrne as the carnival barker for the American dream, selling you tickets to a funhouse where the mirrors don’t lie, they just laugh.

Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms (1985)
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Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms

Brothers in Arms is a moment frozen in time. Dire Straits’ lush, cinematic sound, Knopfler’s masterful guitar work, and pristine production make it both polished and deeply human. A stadium-sized epic with the soul of a storyteller.