No doubt I have neglected to include a few of the best...I didn't do any research. These were only the ones I could think of at the time I wrote 'em down. Furthermore, I realize that these lists are by necessity incomplete, since there's no way anyone could have listened to all the albums that came out in any decade. They can only be lists of favorites, and so these are the best ones that I heard from 1980-1989.
And now, in no particular order, here ya go...
```Psychedelic Furs..."Forever Now"
```U2... "The Unforgettable Fire"
```U2..."The Joshua Tree"
```R.E.M...."Chronic Town"
```R.E.M...."Murmur"
```R.E.M...."Reckoning"
```R.E.M...."Fables of the Reconstruction"
```R.E.M...."Lifes Rich Pageant"
```Dire Straits..."Brothers in Arms"
```Bruce Springsteen..."Nebraska"
```Bruce Springsteen..."Tunnel of Love"
```Joy Division..."Closer"
```New Order..."Power, Corruption and Lies"
```New Order..."Low Life"
```New Order..."Substance"
```Husker Du..."New Day Rising"
```Husker Du..."Zen Arcade"
```Husker Du..."Warehouse: Songs and Stories"
```The Connells..."Boylan Heights"
```Snatches of Pink..."Dead Men"
```Snatches of Pink..."Send in the Clowns"
```Let's Active..."Cypress"
```Dumptruck..."For the Country"
```Wire..."A Bell is a Cup (Until it is Struck)"
```Ministry..."The Land of Rape and Honey"
```Skinny Puppy..."Cleanse, Fold & Manipulate"
```Sonic Youth..."Daydream Nation"
```Peter Gabriel..."So"
```Peter Gabriel..."Us"
```Fleetwood Mac..."Mirage"
```The Residents..."The Residents' Commercial Album"
```Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds..."Tender Prey"
```Cocteau Twins..."Treasure"
```Cocteau Twins..."The Pink Opaque"
```Cocteau Twins..."Blue Bell Knoll"
```The Smiths..."The Smiths"
```The Smiths..."Meat is Murder"
```The Smiths...The Queen is Dead"
```The Smiths..."Louder than Bombs"
```Rolling Stones..."Tattoo You"
```Grateful Dead..."Reckoning"
```Grateful Dead..."Dead Set"
```Brian Eno & David Byrne..."My Life in the Bush of Ghosts"
```Talking Heads..."Remain in Light"
```The Pretenders..."The Pretenders"
```The Pretenders..."Predenders II"
```The Clash..."Sandinista"
```Elvis Costello..."Get Happy!"
```Genesis..."Duke"
```Genesis..."Abacab"
```Michael Hedges..."Aerial Boundaries"
```William Ackerman..."Passage"
```William Ackerman..."Past Light"
```Bruce Hornsby..."The Way it Is"
```Bruce Hornsby..."Scenes from the Southside"
```King Crimson..."Discipline"
```King Crimson..."Beat"
```King Crimson..."Three of a Perfect Pair"
```John Lennon..."Double Fantasy"
```Meat Puppets..."Meat Puppets"
```Meat Puppets..."Meat Puppets II"
```Mike Oldfield..."QE2"
```Mike Oldfield..."Five Miles Out"
```Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers..."Hard Promises"
```Tom Petty..."Full Moon Fever"
```Public Image Ltd...."Second Edition"
```Public Image Ltd...."The Flowers of Romance"
```Public Image Ltd...."Album"
```Pink Floyd..."The Final Cut"
```X..."Los Angeles"
```X..."Wild Gift"
```X..."Under the Big Black Sun"
```This Mortal Coil..."Filigree and Shadow"
```Howard Devoto..."Jerky Versions of the Dream"
```Renaldo & the Loaf..."Songs for Swinging Larvae"
```Dead Kennedys..."Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables"
```The Sugarcubes..."Life's Too Good"
```The Sugarcubes..."Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week"
```Rush..."Permanent Waves"
```Rush..."Moving Pictures"
```Rush..."Signals"
```Guadalcanal Diary..."Jamboree"
