368. Ian Hunter, Short Back n’ Sides (1981) Chrysalis Records execs were sure Ian Hunter was on the verge of a major commercial breakthrough. The former Mott the Hoople frontman had been knocking out solo albums with regularity since the … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #368 to #366

371. The Chameleons U.K., Strange Times (1986) Manchester band the Chameleons were poised for quick success. After earning the enthusiastic support of influential British DJ John Peel, the band was signed to Epic Records, and their 1982 debut single, “In … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #371 to #369

374. Yaz, Upstairs at Eric’s (1982) Following the breakup of her group the Screamin’ Ab Dabs, Alison Moyet was a singer without a band. She followed a practice common to musical strays at the time by placing an ad in … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #374 to #372

377. The Pogues, If I Should Fall from Grace with God (1988) The Pogues had a mess on their hands. Somewhat surprisingly, given their reputation — or, to be clear, the reputation of their lead singer — the mess wasn’t … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #377 to #375

380. XTC, Mummer (1983) Not long after the release of Mummer, the sixth album by his group XTC, Andy Partridge mused on the band’s place in the pop-music infrastructure. “I like people to kind of discover XTC,” explained Partridge. “An … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #380 to #378

383. The Style Council, Internationalists (1985) The Style Council scored a major hit with their sophomore studio album, Our Favourite Shop. The LP debuted atop the U.K. album chart, and three of its singles made it into the Top 40. … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #383 to #381

386. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Junk Culture (1984) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark were told they had overreached. The band’s fourth studio album, Dazzle Ships, was an attempt to stretch their creativity, creating challenging soundscapes that tried to bend … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #386 to #384

389. New Order, Substance (1987) The moment for the titans of college radio to break on through to the mainstream was at hand, or so it seemed. During the spring of 1987, U2 elbowed their way past the likes of … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #389 to #387

392. R.E.M., Chronic Town (1982) As the nineteen-eighties dawned, R.E.M. couldn’t get a foothold like their fellow acts in Athens, Georgia. Driven in part by the breakout success the B-52’s enjoyed with their 1979 self-titled debut, there was keen interest … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #392 to #390

395. Madness, Madness (1983) The ska band Madness delivered a series of Top 10 at home in the U.K., but that similar success eluded them on the other side of the Atlantic. After both their debut, One Step Beyond…, and … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #395 to #393