10 Greatest Final Rock Albums Of The 1980s

Following the release of 1983's Synchronicity, The Police were a tour de force of music, arguably one of the most popular and commanding bands on the world stage.

So, naturally, they called it quits shortly after.

Synchronicity is home to some absolutely mammoth songs, including King of Pain, Tea in the Sahara, and easily the most popular song about a stalker since One Way or Another, Every Breath You Take. It was expertly performed, expertly crafted, expertly presented, everything you could want from an ground-shaking release.

Its success led the band to play the famous Shea Stadium in New York City, which is where Sting decided that he was done. He thought that the band had reached its pinnacle and could only go downhill, and after the group tried and failed to record a new album, he pulled the plug.

So many bands from this time hung on well past their prime or mounted some cursed comeback many years later, but not The Police. They recorded five excellent albums packed with killer songs and then walked away.

Honestly, more bands should have done this, because some of the more recent stuff from great 80s bands has just been sad.