GUNS N' ROSES, AC/DC, METALLICA Classics Among Top 10 Albums Of The Eighties

April 1, 2011

The Pulse Of Radio reports that U2's "The Joshua Tree" has been voted the best album of the Eighties by the readers of Rolling Stone magazine, according to a new poll released by the publication. The record, U2's fifth studio set, edged out contenders like GUNS N' ROSES' "Appetite For Destruction" and BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN's "Born In The U.S.A.", while the other finalists in the Top 10 included sets from AC/DC, THE CLASH, METALLICA, THE CURE, MICHAEL JACKSON, PRINCE and THE SMITHS.

The editors said it was a close race. They also noted that THE CLASH's "London Calling" barely made the list because it was released in the U.S. in January 1980, although it came out in the U.K. in December 1979.

Regarding "The Joshua Tree", the editors said, "It turned them into one of the biggest bands in the world . . . by the end of it they were playing stadiums."

On the Number Two album, "Appetite For Destruction", they wrote: "Their songs were gritty and menacing and they portrayed their city as a violent urban jungle populated by pornographers and drug-addicted thugs."

Former GUNS N' ROSES lead guitarist Slash told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that part of the album's success was due to the fact that it filled a void in rock music at the time. "We were the only band that was doing what it was that we were doing, with the attitude that we had," he said. "People were starved for it, because, I mean, other than us, there was SIMPLE MINDS and MÖTLEY CRÜE. I mean, you know, (chuckles) Cyndi Lauper, you know? I mean, that's what was going on then. So people were dying for, like, a real, blood-sweat-and-tears rock-and-roll band."

AC/DC's "Back In Black" was called "one of the greatest hard rock albums of all time," while METALLICA's "Master Of Puppets" "transformed them from a cult thrash metal band to the most popular group in the history of the genre."

Rolling Stone's Top 10 albums of the Eighties:

01. U2 - The Joshua Tree
02. GUNS N' ROSES - Appetite For Destruction
03. MICHAEL JACKSON - Thriller
04. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - Born In The U.S.A.
05. PRINCE - Purple Rain
06. AC/DC - Back In Black
07. THE SMITHS - The Queen Is Dead
08. THE CLASH - London Calling
09. THE CURE - Disintegration
10. METALLICA - Master Of Puppets

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