My Top 40 Albums of 1986: Forty Albums Turning 40

Coming up Labor Day weekend, SiriusXM’s Classic Rewind will be counting down its Top 40 Cassettes Turning 40. You can vote for your favorites at 40 Cassettes Turning 40 and then listen to the countdown Labor Day weekend.

One thing I noticed on the voting list is that not every album is actually from 1986. Five were released in 1985, and one was released in 1988.

Anyway, this got me thinking: What are my Top 40 albums from 1986?

Every album below is one I owned on vinyl or cassette. This isn’t a popularity contest, and I’m sure there are albums here that wouldn’t make anyone else’s list. Maybe a few will even be new to you. My only real rule was that the album had to be released in 1986.

All of these hold a place in my heart and bring back memories. I’ve also put together a Spotify playlist featuring songs from most of the albums. Unfortunately, Spotify doesn’t have everything. You can listen along as you work your way through the countdown.

Once SiriusXM releases its official Top 40, we’ll come back and see how their list compares with mine.

I also have their lists going back to 1981, so eventually I’ll revisit those years and put together my own Top 40 for each of them.

#40 – KBC Band – KBC Band

KBC Band was a short-lived reunion of three former Jefferson Airplane members: Paul Kantner, Marty Balin and Jack Casady. If you’re wondering where the name came from, that’s it: Kantner, Balin, Casady.

My dad was a fan of Jefferson Starship, especially the early years when Marty Balin was in the band. My dad had the Earth album with my favorite Jefferson Starship song, “Count on Me.” So when these guys got back together, I bought it right away.

My favorite songs are “America,” “It’s Not You, It’s Not Me” and “Hold Me.” Unfortunately, Spotify doesn’t currently have the album, so I have to leave it off the playlist. If I could include one, I’d pick “Hold Me.” It has that old Jefferson Starship feel that I really like.

#39 – AC/DC – Who Made Who

This was the soundtrack to Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive. I saw the movie in Wichita with my college buddy Sam. I don’t remember thinking it was a great movie, but I bought the soundtrack.

At the time, Who Made Who was about as close as you could get to an AC/DC greatest-hits album. It had “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Hells Bells,” “For Those About to Rock” and some instrumentals along with three new tracks.

The title track was okay, but honestly, I bought this because it was basically an AC/DC greatest-hits cassette.

#38 – Jason & The Scorchers – Still Standing

Jason & The Scorchers first caught my attention with “White Lies” from Lost & Found, so when I saw Still Standing on cassette, I had to buy it.

They were a hard band to categorize. They mixed country, rock and punk before “Americana” became a convenient label for bands that didn’t fit neatly anywhere. Still Standing didn’t become a big commercial album, but that’s part of why I like having it on this list.

They even covered the Rolling Stones’ “19th Nervous Breakdown” on the album.

My pick is “Golden Ball and Chain.” Just a solid tune that never got its due.

#37 – Hüsker Dü – Candy Apple Grey

This is one of the albums that shows just how different college radio sounded from mainstream radio in 1986.

Hüsker Dü was moving beyond its hardcore-punk beginnings toward a more melodic alternative-rock sound. You can hear some of what alternative rock would become a few years later in this record.

“Sorry Somehow” was a strong possibility for the playlist, but I went with “Don’t Want to Know If You Are Lonely.”

#36 – Honeymoon Suite – The Big Prize

Honeymoon Suite was another Canadian rock band that caught my attention during this period. I first heard them with “New Girl Now” a couple of years earlier.

The Big Prize gave them their biggest U.S. hit. “Feel It Again” reached #34 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it their only U.S. Top 40 hit.

“What Does It Take” also appeared in the John Cusack movie One Crazy Summer.

For the playlist, I’m going with “Feel It Again.”

#35 – GTR – GTR

Another ’80s supergroup. GTR featured former Yes guitarist Steve Howe and former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. Even the band’s name was basically an abbreviation for “guitar.”

They only made one studio album, but for a little while they were everywhere on rock radio. “When the Heart Rules the Mind” was the big one. I bought the album on the strength of that one song. When I listen to it today, it reminds me of the year I lived with Sarge and Jag.

It’s funny how many of these ’80s supergroups came together, had a hit or two and disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived.

Playlist pick: “When the Heart Rules the Mind.”

#34 – Kim Mitchell – Shakin’ Like a Human Being

You may remember Kim Mitchell from “Go for Soda.” He was much bigger in Canada than he ever became in the United States.

My high school buddy Brady played this album for me, and I was hooked on “Patio Lanterns.”

That’s really all I need for this one. Sometimes an album makes the list because somebody introduced you to it at exactly the right time, and almost 40 years later the song still takes you back there.

#33 – Elvis Costello – King of America

I’ll admit, King of America is on this list mostly because of one song: “Brilliant Mistake.”

I’ve always liked Elvis Costello, but this isn’t one of those albums where I can name every song or tell you exactly where I was the first time I heard it. I just really like “Brilliant Mistake.”

King of America was different from most of Costello’s earlier albums. He largely stepped away from the Attractions and worked with T Bone Burnett and a group of American musicians, including James Burton and Jerry Scheff, who had both played with the other Elvis. The result was a much rootsier record, with country, folk and blues mixed into Costello’s usual sound.

I remember buying the cassette and thinking after the first listen that I might have made a mistake, probably because it was so different from what I expected. But “Brilliant Mistake” is still in rotation today, and eventually that song alone made buying the album worthwhile. For me, though, it’s much simpler than all that. Sometimes one song is enough to make you remember an album 40 years later.

For King of America, that song is “Brilliant Mistake.”

#32 – Ric Ocasek – This Side of Paradise

This was Cars frontman Ric Ocasek’s second solo album. And if you think parts of it sound like The Cars, there’s a good reason for that. Cars members Greg Hawkes, Benjamin Orr and Elliot Easton all appeared on the album.

I really liked the song “Something to Grab For,” so when I saw he had a new album four years later, I bought it.

The standout was “Emotion in Motion,” Ocasek’s biggest solo hit.

It’s one of those albums that probably wouldn’t make many 1986 lists today, but it was part of what I was listening to, so it belongs on mine.

#31 – Tom Cochrane & Red Rider – Tom Cochrane and Red Rider

Another Canadian rock band.

Most people probably know Tom Cochrane from his later solo hit “Life Is a Highway.” And no, Rascal Flatts didn’t do it first.

Before that, there was Red Rider. Most people remember “Lunatic Fringe,” but if you get the chance, check out “Human Race.”

By this album, Cochrane’s name had moved out front, and “Boy Inside the Man” was the song that stood out to me.

That’s my playlist pick.

#30 – Boston – Third Stage

Eight years after Don’t Look Back, Boston finally released another album.

Eight years.

For me, their momentum had died years earlier. What might have been. I still bought the album when it was released, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed.

“Amanda” became Boston’s first and only #1 single, and Third Stage was a huge commercial success. But I missed the sound and excitement of those first two Boston records.

By this point, I actually thought some of the Boston offshoots, especially Barry Goudreau, Orion the Hunter and later RTZ, sometimes sounded more like the Boston I wanted to hear than Boston did.

That probably says as much about what I wanted from Boston as it does about this album.

Playlist pick: “Amanda.”

#29 – Kansas – Power

Steve Walsh was back, but Kansas looked very different by this point. Steve Morse, formerly of the Dixie Dregs, had joined the band and brought a different guitar sound with him. This was the last new Kansas album I bought, other than picking up a greatest hits collection later.

“All I Wanted” became Kansas’ final Top 40 hit.

To me, this felt like the last hurrah for Kansas as a contemporary radio band. They’re still out there performing today, and regardless of where Power falls in their catalog, Kansas remains a great band with a stellar catalog.

Playlist pick: “All I Wanted.”

#28 – Eric Clapton – August

This album sounds very much like 1986, and not necessarily in a good way. Phil Collins produced much of it, and the production now feels pretty dated to me.

The standout is “It’s in the Way That You Use It,” which was written by Clapton and Robbie Robertson and originally appeared in Martin Scorsese’s The Color of Money.

Clapton was only a few years away from Journeyman, an album I think has held up much better.

#27 – The Rolling Stones – Dirty Work

Dirty Work isn’t the Stones’ best work. Mick and Keith were barely getting along, and the tension surrounding the band was probably more interesting than some of the music.

Still, the album went platinum, and “Harlem Shuffle” became a hit.

I actually like Keith’s “Too Rude,” but for the playlist I went with “Harlem Shuffle.”

Even a lesser Stones album is still a Stones album.

#26 – The Moody Blues – The Other Side of Life

This one is easy.

I have fond memories of “Your Wildest Dreams.” Whenever I hear it, I’m back in my freshman year of college.

That’s what this whole list is really about. Forty years later, a song comes on and suddenly you’re 18 again.

Playlist pick: “Your Wildest Dreams.”

#25 – Eddie Money – Can’t Hold Back

Eddie Money. Ronnie Spector. MTV.

“Take Me Home Tonight.”

Nothing else to say.

Well, maybe one thing: this was a genuine comeback for Money, and “I Wanna Go Back” was another great single from the album. But “Take Me Home Tonight” is the one.

#24 – Queen – A Kind of Magic

For whatever reason, Queen’s popularity had dropped considerably in the United States by this point. The strange thing is that the opposite was happening in much of the rest of the world. A Kind of Magic went straight to #1 in the UK, while the title track only reached #42 in the U.S.

Much of the album is tied to the movie Highlander, which gives songs like “Who Wants to Live Forever” a different weight when you hear them now.

I still bought the album, of course. It just didn’t feel the same at the time.

Looking back, some of these songs mean more to me now than they did then.

Playlist pick: “A Kind of Magic.”

#23 – The Fabulous Thunderbirds – Tuff Enuff

After years of playing Texas blues and roadhouse rock, the Fabulous Thunderbirds finally broke through nationally.

Jimmie Vaughan, Stevie Ray’s older brother, was on guitar, and the title track gave the band its signature hit.

“Wrap It Up” was a nice cover, but I’m going somewhere else for my playlist.

“Look at That, Look at That.”

Every time I hear it, I see my old college roommate Sarge.

That’s enough reason for me.

#22 – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – Like a Rock

Seger doing what Seger did best: straightforward American rock about getting older, looking backward and trying to figure out where life has taken you.

The king of the mid-tempo song.

“Like a Rock” eventually became almost inseparable from those Chevrolet commercials, but I still hear it as a Bob Seger song first.

I had plenty of chances to see Seger over the years and somehow never did. I finally “won” tickets from a DJ friend and saw him in 2011. I took my teenage son with me, and he became a fan.

Seger put on a great show.

Playlist pick: “Like a Rock.”

#21 – The Pretenders – Get Close

The Pretenders had gone through an incredible amount of turmoil by the time Get Close came out, and the band around Chrissie Hynde had changed considerably.

The album had a more polished ’80s sound than the early Pretenders records, but Hynde’s voice and attitude were still unmistakable.

“Don’t Get Me Wrong” became one of their most recognizable songs, and it’s my pick for the playlist.

Top 20

#20 – Talking Heads – True Stories

This was an unusual project tied to David Byrne’s movie of the same name. The movie versions of the songs were largely sung by the actors, while the Talking Heads album featured Byrne singing them. I’ll be honest, I sold this back to a used record store shortly after buying it. It wasn’t for me at the time. It’s grown on me over the years. “Wild Wild Life” became one of their biggest mainstream hits.

That’s my playlist pick.

#19 – Bruce Hornsby and the Range – The Way It Is

What a debut.

Hornsby’s piano-based sound didn’t really resemble much else on Top 40 radio in 1986, but somehow it worked. The title track went all the way to #1.

And it wasn’t just that song. “Mandolin Rain” and “Every Little Kiss” gave the album real depth.

But I’m still going with “The Way It Is.”

#18 – David Lee Roth – Eat ‘Em and Smile

The first real showdown after Roth left Van Halen.

Dave assembled an incredible band: Steve Vai on guitar, Billy Sheehan on bass and Gregg Bissonette on drums. On paper, that’s ridiculous.

And they made exactly the kind of record you’d expect from Diamond Dave: loud, flashy, funny and completely over the top.

“Goin’ Crazy!” was my favorite.

Eddie and Dave were magic together. Apart, they were different. And that’s okay.

#17 – .38 Special – Strength in Numbers

By 1986, .38 Special had perfected its blend of Southern rock and radio-friendly AOR.

They weren’t reinventing themselves here. They knew what they did well and kept doing it.

I had a hard time choosing between “Like No Other Night” and “Somebody Like You.”

I went with “Somebody Like You.”

#16 – Crowded House – Crowded House

I was a big Split Enz fan, so when Neil Finn resurfaced with Crowded House, I bought this one right away.

And what a debut.

“Don’t Dream It’s Over” became much bigger than simply a 1986 hit. It’s one of those songs that seems to have become more beloved with time. “Something So Strong” was another great single.

For me, though, part of the appeal was simply hearing Neil Finn again.

Playlist pick: “Don’t Dream It’s Over.”

#15 – Peter Gabriel – So

This is the album that turned Peter Gabriel from a respected art-rock guy into a genuine pop star.

“Sledgehammer” went to #1, and its stop-motion video became one of the defining videos of the MTV era. Then there was “In Your Eyes,” which got another life a few years later thanks to Say Anything…

For the Top 15, I’m picking two songs from each album, so I’m going with “Sledgehammer” and “In Your Eyes.”

To be honest, though, this album was played so much that I eventually got sick of it. Sometimes an album can almost be too successful.

#14 – Steve Winwood – Back in the High Life

Winwood had already been part of the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith before launching his solo career, but Back in the High Life took that solo career to another level.

“Higher Love” was the huge hit, but I’m going with “Back in the High Life Again” and “The Finer Things.”

Those are the two that have stayed with me.

#13 – Genesis – Invisible Touch

This was Genesis at its commercial peak.

The title track became their only U.S. #1, and the album just kept producing hits: “Land of Confusion,” “In Too Deep,” “Throwing It All Away” and “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight.”

I’m choosing “Invisible Touch” and “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight.”

But I’m using the single edit of the latter. I like Genesis, but 8:50 is too long for that song.

#12 – Journey – Raised on Radio

This was essentially the end of Journey’s classic ’80s run before the band went on an extended hiatus.

And I had mixed feelings about it.

Steve Perry had taken much greater control of the album, and I wasn’t thrilled with the move even further toward pop. I also wasn’t happy about Ross Valory and Steve Smith being dismissed during the making of the album. Smith did play on a few tracks, but Valory was replaced by Randy Jackson and much of the drumming was handled by session players.

That left Neal Schon as the only original member. And all these years later, he still is.

There are still some really good songs here.

My picks are “Be Good to Yourself” and “Suzanne.”

#11 – Billy Joel – The Bridge

Coming off the enormous success of An Innocent Man, Billy Joel made an album that sounded much more like the mid-’80s.

It also ended an era. The Bridge was his final studio album produced by Phil Ramone, who had been with Joel through an incredible run of records.

I saw this tour at Kemper Arena. When I bought the tickets, I was dating a girl. We broke up before the concert, so my college buddy Clay went with me.

“A Matter of Trust” is one I’ve always really liked.

And then there’s “Baby Grand,” his duet with Ray Charles. Beautiful song.

Those are my two.

Top 10

#10 – David + David – Boomtown

One album and done.

David Baerwald and David Ricketts made a dark record about Los Angeles and the underside of the American dream. It doesn’t sound much like the sunny California that usually shows up in songs.

“Welcome to the Boomtown” was the hit, but over time “Swallowed by the Cracks” became my favorite.

Great writing.

Those are my two playlist choices.

#9 – The Smithereens – Especially for You

This album was on the jukebox of our favorite bar and it brings back a flood of memories for me. We had a lot of good times at that bar and heard a lot of good music. Some of those memories should stay in my head. I will just say that college was a great time.

The Smithereens mixed ’60s pop influences with crunchy guitars and the college-rock sound that was becoming such a big part of what I listened to. Don Dixon, who had worked with R.E.M., produced the album. “Blood and Roses” reached #14 on Billboard’s Album Rock chart, while “Behind the Wall of Sleep” reached #23.

My choices are easy:

“Blood and Roses” and “Behind the Wall of Sleep.”

#8 – Jimmy Buffett – Floridays

This was my first Buffett album.

My freshman-year college roommate and the guy across the hall were both Buffett fans. I got hooked listening to Songs You Know by Heart. I remembered “Margaritaville” from when I was younger, but I’d never gone any further into his catalog.

That changed quickly.

Over the next couple of years I bought pretty much his entire catalog, and after that I never missed a new album.

I saw Buffett on the Floridays tour, and it was fantastic. After that, I never missed a Kansas City show. To me, there was nothing quite like a Buffett concert.

I don’t really like describing Floridays as Buffett moving away from “novelty” songs, because I don’t think that’s fair to what he did. Buffett played whatever felt right to him: country, rock, folk, calypso, Caribbean music, ballads and whatever else found its way into the mix.

Buffett himself once called it “Caribbean get drunk rock ‘n’ roll.” Others eventually called it Gulf and Western or Trop Rock.

I think Buffett was in a class by himself. There will never be another.

Floridays is also a more reflective album than people who only know “Margaritaville” might expect. The title track, “When the Coast Is Clear” and several other songs deal with time passing, places changing and trying to appreciate where you are right now. Interestingly, “I Love the Now” was co-written with Carrie Fisher.

My playlist picks are “Floridays” and “I Love the Now.”

But “When the Coast Is Clear” could easily have made it too.

#7 – BoDeans – Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams

I didn’t actually hear this album when it first came out.

My first BoDeans album was Outside Looking In in 1987. We listened to that album a lot. Then one of my roommates spotted Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams at the record store, and we went backward.

We fell in love with this one too.

Their debut mixed roots rock, pop and heartland rock, with T Bone Burnett producing. It’s the kind of album that sounded right at home with what I was listening to in college.

Great band.

I eventually saw them at Summerfest in Milwaukee.

We almost died.

But that’s a story for another time.

My picks are “Fadeaway” and “Still the Night.”

#6 – The Rainmakers – The Rainmakers

A Kansas City band had to be near the top of this list, but they’re not here just because they’re local.

I think the first thing that caught my ear was Bob Walkenhorst’s voice. You knew immediately who you were listening to. Then there were the lyrics.

Over the years I’ve seen The Rainmakers many times, and they still get together occasionally. They have a lot of great songs, and this debut is an excellent album.

My choices are the classic “Let My People Go-Go” and “Rockin’ at the T-Dance.”

“Rockin’ at the T-Dance” is much darker than the title sounds. The song references several disasters, including the July 17, 1981 Hyatt Regency walkway collapse in Kansas City. It’s really a song about responsibility and accountability. One line has always stuck with me: “why’d they let the monkey go and blame the monkey wrench.”

That’s Bob Walkenhorst. He could put something like that into a rock song.

#5 – Huey Lewis and the News – Fore!

Sue me. I’ve always liked Huey Lewis.

After Sports, it would have been easy for Huey Lewis and the News to disappear under the weight of expectations. Instead, Fore! was another album loaded with hits.

I’ve seen them at least three times, including opening for Jimmy Buffett. I saw them at Kemper Arena on this tour. One of the few things I remember is George Brett coming on stage and pretending to play saxophone.

My two choices aren’t necessarily the obvious ones: “Jacob’s Ladder” and “I Know What I Like.”

#4 – Robert Cray Band – Strong Persuader

This was the record that took Robert Cray and contemporary blues into the mainstream.

“Smoking Gun” got played on rock radio and even crossed over to the Hot 100. Suddenly people who weren’t necessarily blues fans knew who Robert Cray was.

For me, though, the blues connection went back further.

The first album I ever bought was The Blues Brothers’ Briefcase Full of Blues, and that started my interest in the music. Then at KU I took Intro to Jazz from Dick Wright.

It was one of the best classes I ever took, and Dick was one of the best teachers I ever had. That class deepened my interest in both blues and jazz.

So when an album like Strong Persuader came along and brought blues into the mainstream, I was ready for it.

My picks are “Smoking Gun” and “Right Next Door (Because of Me).”

#3 – R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant

This one sounds like college to me. My high school buddy Brady introduced me to R.E.M., but my college roommate Rob gave me the master course. “Superman” became his theme song because of his nickname, but I’m not going into that. This was the first R.E.M. album I bought. Soon I had the whole catalog.

R.E.M. was already the standard-bearer for college rock, but Lifes Rich Pageant started pushing them toward a much larger audience. It reached #21 on the Billboard album chart, their highest position to that point, while “Fall on Me” reached #5 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

For me, though, it comes back to the songs.

“Fall on Me” and “Superman.”

Turn either one on and I’m back in college.

#2 – Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet

This is the album that turned Bon Jovi into superstars.

“You Give Love a Bad Name.” “Livin’ on a Prayer.” “Wanted Dead or Alive.”

You couldn’t escape this album in 1986 and 1987. MTV, radio, parties, bars. It was everywhere.

And 40 years later, those songs are still everywhere.

I had the first two Bon Jovi albums and bought this one right away. One of the things I liked about my college years was the diversity of the music I listened to. R.E.M., The Smithereens and The Rainmakers were right there alongside bands like Bon Jovi and Van Halen. If I liked it, I listened to it.

I didn’t see them in concert until the Lost Highway tour. They were much older by then, but still put on a hell of a show.

For the playlist I’m going with the two biggest:

“Livin’ on a Prayer” and “You Give Love a Bad Name.”

Which brings me to #1.

#1 – Van Halen – 5150

Van Halen had something to prove.

David Lee Roth was gone. Sammy Hagar was in. And everybody wanted to know whether Van Halen could still be Van Halen without Diamond Dave.

The answer was 5150.

It became Van Halen’s first #1 album and started an entirely different chapter for the band.

I’ve never been a Dave-versus-Sammy guy. I like both versions of Van Halen. They were different bands, and I don’t see why I have to choose one and hate the other.

One thing that does drive me crazy, though, is when people blame Sammy for Van Halen becoming more melodic. I think that gives Sammy way too much credit for a musical direction that was really coming from Eddie.

Eddie wrote most of the music, while Sammy wrote the lyrics and his vocal melodies. Eddie had already been moving toward keyboards and more melodic songwriting before Sammy joined the band. Remember, “Jump” was a David Lee Roth-era Van Halen song.

Sammy didn’t walk into 5150 Studios and tell Eddie Van Halen what kind of music to write. Eddie finally had more freedom to follow ideas he’d already been pursuing.

And the results are all over 5150: “Why Can’t This Be Love,” “Dreams,” “Love Walks In,” “Summer Nights,” “Best of Both Worlds” and the title track.

Not knowing what to expect, I held off buying the album until I heard it. I remember a local radio station playing the new album in its entirety the day it was released. I was taking my college buddy Clay back to his frat when they started playing it. “Hello, baby!” Clay was a huge Van Halen fan, so we just drove around campus listening to the album. I bought it the next day.

Clay passed away almost 20 years ago. I can’t listen to this album without thinking about him and the good times we had in college.

For my playlist, I’m skipping some of the obvious hits.

I’m choosing “Best of Both Worlds” and “5150.”

Forty years later, it’s still my favorite album of 1986.