10 Best Alt-Rock Albums Of The 80's

With the band all done up in Goth makeup and Robert Smith's wispy vocal delivery, it was probably easy for listeners to write off the Cure as just a passing trend that would be forgotten by year's end. What those folks were missing out on was the music, whose sonic scope and soul-shredding lyrics left fans in stunned awe.

The Cure had initially started out as a standard post-punk outfit, but Smith knew that the band had the capacity to be more than just obscure punk diatribes. By the time the band reached Disintegration, their sound had reached a sonic peak, with songs drenched in keyboards and layers of sonic ambience. While the album may seem like a cheesy 80's affair on first listen, the subtle eccentricities of the record give it much more character.

The darkness that comes from the band's presentation comes in the song "Lullaby," where Smith is being taken captive by a giant spider. On the other end of the spectrum, songs like "Fascination Street" and "Lovesong" capture the perfect balance of teen angst and emotional turmoil.

There had been a joke on South Park years ago about how Disintegration is the band album ever created, but that might not seem too far off the mark after you let this record sink into your psyche.