10 Perfect 1980s Rock Albums With No Bad Songs

At the start of the '80s, rock didn't have a whole lot to be proud of anymore. Even though it had dominated the '70s and became one of the biggest forces in music, this was the era defined by pop music and would bring music to the masses after MTV became a thing. That didn't mean that rock wasn't able to hold its own though.

After the stench of the '70s started to wear off, the music coming down the pipeline was a lot nastier than most probably remember. Along with the takes on pop rock coming out of MTV, this is also where we saw the explosion of everything from new wave to heartland rock to hair metal to thrash happening all at once. Oh yeah, and then there was also the old dogs of music who hadn't stopped kicking ass since the '70s to worry about as well.

Of all the phenomenal artists in the genre though, only a few were able to muster up some of the greatest albums of all time, which would go on to both influence the next wave of rock and rollers as well as reshape the rock landscape for the next few years. If the sound of the '80s was supposed to be larger than life, what's wrong with rock following suit as well?

As colorful and vibrant as the '80s may look in retrospect, it was pretty tense back then if you were growing up stateside. Since the USA was still in a rough spot with Cold War fear hanging over everyone's head, there was a lot of people banding together for something a little more patriotic. Even when said patriotism wasn't as cheery as you may have thought.

For all of the praise that's been showered on Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA, the entire album is a sad look at those citizens who seem to be on the fringes of society. From the opening blast of the title track, these are the loners who never were able to find their place once they grew up, either finding themselves in exile after being treated like dirt after the Vietnam War or never reaching their dreams at all.

Whereas Born to Run may have signaled a sign of hope for Springsteen just a few years before, this is the kind of record you listen to once you have a few more miles on your soul and you're not sure where to run to next. Like the Boss says in the title track, these are the folks with nowhere to run and nowhere to go. It's not going to be easy, but you have to keep moving if you want to stay alive.