A couple of days ago, I tried to put up one of those collages on Instagram about my favorite albums from 40 years ago, that being 1985. I had to keep taking it down, however, to amend and augment it. I eventually realized that it was a fool’s errand.
The sheer volume of, to my mind, absolutely crucial records from the single year of 1985 is simply staggering. Now, granted, it’s been said that the music you experience during certain formative periods of your youth go on to inform your tastes moving forward, but I’d suggest that these albums are spectacular by any conceivable standard and despite whatever age your ears might be.
I started off 1985 as a senior in high school. The following summer, I split my time between washing dishes at Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa out in Westhampton Beach on Long Island and working as a runner for a graphic designer in Manhattan. I finished off 1985 as a freshman in college. That's me in my freshman-year dorm room. Steady on, ladies.
Off the top of my head, these were the records that scored those experiences, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few titles.
Click on it to enlarge.
Here's a taste of same. Note that the brilliant Oil & Gold by Shriekback and the Enigma Variations compilation are nowhere to be found on shitty Spotify, but "Shadowdrive" by the Jet Black Berries is included to represent the latter. Stick with records and discs, kids.
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