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CRITICAL WAX

1980-1989 Critical Wax Recommended Albums

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TALK TALK - The Colour Of Spring (1986)

CWax Rating
94.7%

Essential tracks: I Don't Believe In You, Life's What You Make It, April 5th, Living In Another World, Give It Up
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THE SMITHS - Meat Is Murder (1984)

CWax Rating 94.6%

Essential tracks: The Headmaster Ritual, Rusholme Ruffians, I Want The One I Can't Have, What She Said, That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore, Nowhere Fast, Well I Wonder, Barbarism Begins At Home
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THE STONE ROSES - The Stone Roses (1989)

CWax Rating 94.2%

Essential tracks: I Wanna Be Adored, She Bangs The Drums, Waterfall, (Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister, Made Of Stone, This Is The One, I Am The Resurrection
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NEW ORDER - Technique (1989)

CWax Rating
94.1%

Essential tracks: Fine Time, All The Way, Round & Round, Run, Mr Disco, Vanishing Point, Dream Attack
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TEARS FOR FEARS - Songs From The Big Chair (1985)

CWax Rating
93.7%

Essential tracks: Shout, Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Mothers Talk, Head Over Heels
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DURAN DURAN - Rio (1982)

CWax Rating
93.6%

Essential tracks: Rio, Hungry Like The Wolf, Hold Back The Rain, Save A Prayer, The Chauffeur
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NEW ORDER - Low-Life (1985)

CWax Rating
93.0%

Essential tracks: Love Vigilantes, The Perfect Kiss, Sunrise, Sub-culture
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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - Born In The USA (1984)

CWax Rating
92.8%

Essential tracks: Born In The USA, Cover Me, Downbound Train, I'm On Fire, No Surrender, Bobby Jean, Glory Days, Dancing In The Dark
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DAVID BOWIE - Scary Monsters (1980)

CWax Rating
92.7%

Essential tracks: Up The Hill Backwards, Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps), Ashes To Ashes, Teenage Wildlife, Because You're Young, It's No Game (Pt 2)
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FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS - The Raw & The Cooked (1989)

CWax Rating 92.7%

Essential tracks: She Drives Me Crazy, Good Thing, I'm Not The Man I Used To Be, I'm Not Satisfied, Don't Look Back, Ever Fallen In Love
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BIG COUNTRY - The Crossing (1983)

CWax Rating
92.3%

Essential tracks: In A Big Country, Chance, Harvest Home, Fields Of Fire, Porrohman
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TALK TALK - It's My Life (1984)

CWax Rating
92.1%

Essential tracks: Dum Dum Girl, Such A Shame, It's My Life, Tomorrow's Started
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THE BEAT - I Just Can't Stop It (1980)

CWax Rating 91.8%

Essential tracks: Mirror In The Bathroom, Hands Off She's Mine, Two Swords, Can't Get Used To Losing You, Best Friend
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NEW ORDER - Brotherhood (1986)

CWax Rating 91.8%

Essential tracks: Bizarre Love Triangle, All Day Long, State Of The Nation
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NEW ORDER - Power, Corruption & Lies (1983)

CWax Rating 91.6%

Essential tracks: Age Of Consent, Your Silent Face
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AC/DC - Back In Black (1980)

CWax Rating
91.6%

Essential tracks: Hells Bells, Shoot To Thrill, Back In Black, You Shook Me All Night Long
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THE SMITHS - Hatful Of Hollow (1984)

CWax Rating
91.4%

Essential tracks: William It Was Really Nothing, What Difference Does It Make, These Things Take Time, This Charming Man, How Soon Is Now, Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, Reel Around The Fountain, Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
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THE PRETENDERS - Pretenders (1980)

CWax Rating
91.4%

Essential tracks: Precious, Stop Your Sobbing, Kid, Private Life, Brass In Pocket, Mystery Achievement
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THE SMITHS - The Queen Is Dead (1986)

CWax Rating 90.9%

Essential tracks: The Queen Is Dead, Cemetery Gates, Bigmouth Strikes Again, The Boy With The Thorn In His Side, There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
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U2 - War (1983)

CWax Rating
90.7%

Essential tracks: Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Year's Day, Two Hearts Beat As One, Surrender
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ULTRAVOX - Vienna (1980)

CWax Rating
90.6%

Essential tracks: Astradyne, Passing Strangers, Sleepwalk, Vienna, All Stood Still
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TEARS FOR FEARS - The Hurting (1983)

CWax Rating
90.4%

Essential tracks: Mad World, Pale Shelter, Suffer The Children, Change
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ABC - The Lexicon Of Love (1982)

CWax Rating
90.4%

Essential tracks: Show Me, Poison Arrow, Tears Are Not Enough, Look Of Love (Pt 1), All Of My Heart
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OMD - Architecture & Morality (1981)

CWax Rating 90.4%

Essential tracks: She's Leaving, Souvenir, Joan Of Arc, Maid Of Orleans
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JOY DIVISION - Closer (1980)

CWax Rating 89.9%

Essential tracks: Isolation, Passover, A Means To An End
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THE THE - Infected (1986)

CWax Rating
89.9%

Essential tracks: Infected, Heartland, Slow Train To Dawn
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ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN - Ocean Rain (1984)

CWax Rating
89.8%

Essential tracks: Silver, Crystal Days, The Killing Moon, Seven Seas, Ocean Rain
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EURYTHMICS - Be Yourself Tonight (1985)

CWax Rating
89.8%

Essential tracks: Would I Lie To You?, There Must Be An Angel, It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)
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THE THE - Soul Mining (1983)

CWax Rating 89.3%

Essential tracks: This Is The Day, Uncertain Smile, Giant
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THE SMITHS - Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)

CWax Rating 88.7%

Essential tracks: I Started Something I Couldn't Finish, Girlfriend In A Coma, Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before, Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me, Paint A Vulgar Picture
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FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS - Fine Young Cannibals (1988)

CWax Rating 87.8%

Essential tracks: Johnny Come Home, Funny How Love Is, Suspicious Minds
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PIXIES - Doolittle (1989)

CWax Rating
87.7%

Essential tracks: Debaser, Here Comes The Man, Monkey Gone To Heaven, No13 Baby
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U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987)

CWax Rating
87.2%

Essential tracks: Where The Streets Have No Name, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, With Or Without You, In God's Country, One Tree Hill
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DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS - Searching For The Young Soul Rebels (1980)

CWax Rating 86.9%

Essential tracks: Geno, There There My Dear
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PAUL SIMON - Graceland (1986)

CWax Rating
86.0%

Essential tracks: The Boy In The Bubble, Graceland, Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes, You Can Call Me Al
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REM - Murmur (1983)

CWax Rating 85.6%

Essential tracks: Radio Free Europe, Talk About The Passion, Shaking Through
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THE HUMAN LEAGUE - Dare (1981)

CWax Rating 85.2%

Essential tracks: The Things That Dreams Are Made Of, Open Your Heart, Sound Of The Crowd, Seconds, Love Action (I Believe In Love), Don't You Want Me
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REM - Green (1988)

CWax Rating 85.0%

Essential tracks: Stand, Orange Crush
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a-ha - Hunting High And Low (1985)

CWax Rating 84.7%

Essential tracks: Take On Me, Hunting High And Low, The Sun Always Shines On TV
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REM - Document (1987)

CWax Rating 84.5%

Essential tracks: It's The End Of The World As We Know It, The One I Love
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THE POLICE - Synchronicity (1983)

CWax Rating
84.0%

Essential tracks: Synchronicity II, Every Breath You Take, King Of Pain, Wrapped Around Your Finger
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THE CURE - Disintegration (1989)

CWax Rating
83.6%

Essential tracks: Pictures Of You, Love Song, Lullaby, Fascination Street
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ROXY MUSIC - Avalon (1982)

CWax Rating
82.8%

Essential tracks: More Than This, Avalon, Take A Chance With Me
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DIRE STRAITS - Brothers In Arms (1985)

CWax Rating
82.1%

Essential tracks: Money For Nothing, Brothers In Arms
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U2 - The Unforgettable Fire (1984)

CWax Rating
81.6%

Essential tracks: Pride (In The Name Of Love), The Unforgettable Fire, Bad
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FLEETWOOD MAC - Tango In The Night (1987)

CWax Rating
81.0%

Essential tracks: Big Love, Seven Wonders, Everywhere, Little Lies

CRITICAL WAX TOP 3 PER YEAR

1980

1 DAVID BOWIE - Scary Monsters (and Supercreeps)
2 ULTRAVOX - Vienna
3 THE BEAT - I Just Can't Stop It

1981

1 ORCHESTRAL MANOUEVRES IN THE DARK - Architecture & Morality
2 THE HUMAN LEAGUE - Dare
3 DEPECHE MODE - Speak & Spell

1982

1 DURAN DURAN - Rio
2 ABC - The Lexicon of Love
3 ROXY MUSIC - Avalon

1983

1 THE THE - Soul Mining
2 TEARS FOR FEARS - The Hurting
3 BIG COUNTRY - The Crossing

1984

1 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - Born in the USA
2 TALK TALK - It's My Life
3 THE SMITHS - Hatful of Hollow

1985

1 THE SMITHS - Meat is Murder
2 TEARS FOR FEARS - Songs From the Big Chair
3 NEW ORDER - Low-Life

1986

1 TALK TALK - The Colour of Spring
2 THE SMITHS - The Queen is Dead
3 NEW ORDER - Brotherhood

1987

1 THE SMITHS - Strangeways, Here We Come
2 U2 - The Joshua Tree
3 REM - Document

1988

1 FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS - Fine Young Cannibals
2 REM - Green
3 THE HOUSE OF LOVE - The House of Love

1989

1 NEW ORDER - Technique
2 THE STONE ROSES - The Stone Roses
3 FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS - The Raw & the Cooked
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