Greatest 80's Rock Albums

I graduated high school in 1985. We didn't have iPods back then but we had our Sony Walkman's and boombox's to listen to our music. With MTV in it's infancy and when they actually played music video's around the clock. The format was changing too. No not to MP3's but from vinyl to cassette to the birth of the compact disc later in the decade. Though I enjoyed many different musical genre's rock was my main choice. The list I complied here were my favorite albums(remember when people listened to whole albums?) of the decade. It was tough to narrow down. They aren't necessarily the most critically acclaimed nor perhaps the bestselling. This is more of a personal list so I'm sure there are those that disagree or feel I left something out. They are the type of albums that you(or myself I should say) could pop in and listen the whole way through and enjoy as it a whole entity. I'm going to go in chronological order as best I can. Here I go....

• Back in Black by AC/DC (1980) - If you were an adolescent male in the early 1980's and didn't own this album you were pretty much a loser. This set the tone for the early part of the decade at least as far as rock music was concerned. I played my cassette so much it wore off the lettering.
  
• Moving Pictures by Rush (1981) - You could hardly turn on a rock radio station and not hear a song by Rush at least once a day. Highlights from this one are "Tom Sawyer","Limelight" and "Red Barchetta". To me this was there high point as they seem to get artsy fartsy after this one.
  
• Pyromania by Def Leppard (1983) - This was another that I wore out the cassette to by playing so much. It was also another that pretty much everyone had. It also hit around the time MTV came about and they also had cool video's to go with it.
  
• Synchronicity by The Police (1983) - The Police have the honor of the first rock concert I ever went to. I still remember my ears ringing and throat hoarse from yelling so much. I had a great time . "Every breathe you take" was played way too much of course but it was a solid album none the less. Too bad it was to be there last(studio album).
  
• Eliminator by ZZ Top (1983) - They had the coolest video's on MTV. Fast cars with beautiful long legged women what more could you ask for. I finally got to see them live a few years later which was a great show.
  
• 1984 - Van Halen (1984) - Little did we know that this would be David Lee Roth's finale with Van Halen. They were never the same since. That being said this was a kick ass album with Eddie Van Halen scorching on the guitar. It was different from previous VH albums that now featured Eddie on synthesizers("1984","Jump" and "I'll wait") . They made rock music fun.
  
• White City - Pete Townshend (1985) - This was one of those albums I didn't appreciate until many years later. I love "Give blood" and Face the face" which build slowly then have an infectious sound.
  
• The Joshua Tree - U2 (1987) - This was album that I believe that made U2 a household name. One of my favorite albums of all time. It's hard to pick a favorite song as they are all good.
  
• Hysteria - Def Leppard (1987) - Yes I know another Def Leppard album. I listened to this one probably even more than Pyromania. I did get to see them live this tour too. I appreciated them a lot continuing on after the loss of drummer Rick Allen's arm in an auto accident. I still blast this one in my car, yes I still have the cassette to this one.
  
• Appetite for Destruction - Guns n' Roses (1987) - These guys swore, drank,smoked and had groupies hanging off them with no shame. They were unpolished compared to other hair metal bands of the time and they didn't give a crap. This album still kicks butt today and is solid the whole way through.
  
• Dr. Feelgood - Motley Crue (1989) - This was Motley Crue at there best. "Don't go away mad" is the ultimate breakup song in my opinion. "Kickstart my heart" is best played while driving.
  
• The end of the innocence - Don Henley(1989) - "The heart of the matter" is still a personal favorite about love lost. A very reflective and personal album that in my opinion is one of his best. It hit me at a very rough period of my life and it still stands as one of my favorites.
  
• Journeyman - Eric Clapton (1989) - I saw Eric in concert touring for this album and felt the hype of Eric Clapton is underrated. It's a cool and mature rock album before he mellowed a bit. I still love this one.
  

Now I'm sure I've left out some obvious ones but like I said this was a personal list. The 1980's were a time of personal changes and world changes. I started off an sometimes awkward pre-teen, kissed my first girl, graduated high school, drank like fish, did two years in the army,moved away from home,moved back home, broke up with girlfriend, and went to college. You get the idea. The albums above were the soundtrack to my life at the time. It cheered me up, consoled me when I was depressed, and got me going when I just wanted to let loose a bit with some air guitar.