Best Music Albums - Year By Year: 1986

1. Def Leppard: Hysteria

A production masterpiece at the time and packed with rock hits. The album stayed in the charts forever and still sounds great today.

2. Duran Duran: Notorious

The most funky Duran Duran album and a departure towards a more mature musical approach.

About Duran Duran

3. Genesis: Invisible Touch

The album that made Genesis a hit. Phil Collins plays a large role in the songs on this album.

4. Pet Shop Boys: Please

The debut album with "West End Girls" as the engine for success. However, the album has enough qualities in its other songs.

About Pet Shop Boys

5. Depeche Mode: Black Celebration

Depeche Mode in a darker and more political mood - something that really suits them. Gone are the naive days of their first couple of albums.

About Depeche Mode

6. Peter Gabriel: So

The real breakthrough for Peter Gabriel with hits like "Sledgehammer", "Don't Give Up" and "Big Time". Once a critics darling but now also embraced by the public.

7. Cutting Crew: Broadcast

Pop/rock of a more traditional kind, but with a certain something that stands out. The hits were "I Just Died In Your Arms" and "I've Been In Love Before".

8. The The: Infected

With this album, The The really became a band to pay attention to. However, at this stage there was still a relatively narrow audience for Matt Johnson's personal diary.

About The The

9. The Smiths: The Queen Is Dead

Probably the peak of The Smiths' career. After this, things started to go wrong and pretty soon the ship was going down. This remains a classic Smiths album though.

About The Smiths

10. Huey Lewis & The News: Fore!

The signs were there on the previous album "Sports": that Huey Lewis and the boys had something special to share with the world. This is a happy album with much musical skill.

Albums that also made an impact:
Steve Winwood: Back In The High Life

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