Great thread idea Tore! Here's mine...
1986-1990
This is a great half decade that doesn't get nearly enough credit. It was the time when so-called "alternative" was still referred to as college rock and so much better than the grunge that would soon replace it and explode onto the charts. It was the era of the great final gasp of goth before the term was hijacked by aggro bands like Marilyn Manson. Hip-hop was coming into it's own, with people adding levels of musical and lyrical complexity as well as levels of popularity that hadn't been seen in the genre up to that point. Thrash was at its peak with a bunch of classic albums by the big three released at this time. Meanwhile, it's musical cousin hardcore was going strong throughout the northeastern US, with great grassroots scenes in cities like Boston, New York and D.C. And across the Atlantic in Manchester dance music and culture were being completely redefined. Last but not least—and most importantly to me—in Chicago, Wax Trax! Records was at it's peak, turning out dozens of fantastic albums by EBM and Electro-Industrial bands from both the city of Chicago itself and from abroad. Some highlights from each year:
1986
Love & Rockets—"Express"
Metallica—"Master of Puppets"
Ministry—"Twitch"
R.E.M.—"Life's Rich Pageant"
Siouxsie & the Banshees—"Tinderbox"
Skinny Puppy—"Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse"
Slayer—"Reign in Blood"
Run DMC—"Raising Hell"
1987
Eric B. & Rakim—"Paid in Full"
Big Black—"Songs About Fucking"
Boogie Down Productions—"Criminal Minded"
The Cure—"Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me"
Love & Rockets—"Earth, Sun, Moon"
Pixies—"Come on Pilgrim"
Red Hot Chili Peppers—"The Uplift Mofo Party Plan"
R.E.M.—"Document"
Sisters of Mercy—"Floodland"
Skinny Puppy—"Cleanse Fold and Manipulate"
1988
Alien Sex Fiend—"Another Planet"
Leonard Cohen—"I'm Your Man"
Front 242—"Front By Front"
Gorilla Biscuits—"Gorilla Biscuits"
Jane's Addiction—"Nothing's Shocking"
Ministry—"The Land of Rape and Honey"
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult—"I See Good Spirits and I See Bad Spirits"
N.W.A.—"Straight Outta Compton"
Pixies—"Surfer Rosa"
Public Enemy—"It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back"
Siouxsie & the Banshees—"Peepshow"
Skinny Puppy—"VIVIsectVI"
1989
Alien Sex Fiend—"Too Much Acid?"
Big Daddy Kane—"It's a Big Daddy Thing"
The Cure—"Disintegration"
Love & Rockets—"Love & Rockets"
Bob Mould—"Workbook"
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones—"Devil's Night Out"
Ministry—"The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste"
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult—"Kooler Than Jesus"
Nine Inch Nails—"Pretty Hate Machine"
Pixies—"Doolittle"
Red Hot Chili Peppers—"Mother's Milk"
Skinny Puppy—"Rabies"
1990
Alien Sex Fiend—"Curse"
Anthrax—"Persistence of Time"
Depeche Mode—"Violator"
Happy Mondays—"Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches"
Jane's Addiction—"Ritual de lo Habitual"
Bob Mould—"Black Sheets of Rain"
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult—"Confessions of a Knife"
Pixies—"Bossanova"
Public Enemy—"Fear of a Black Planet"
Sisters of Mercy—"Vision Thing"
Skinny Puppy—"Too Dark Park"
Slayer—"Seasons in the Abyss"
A Tribe Called Quest—"People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm"
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