Village Voice Pazz & Jop (USA)
1. Graham Parker: Squeezing Out Sparks (Arista)
2. Neil Young: Rust Never Sleeps (Reprise)
3. The Clash: The Clash (Epic)
4. Talking Heads: Fear of Music (Sire)
5. Elvis Costello: Armed Forces (Columbia)
6. Van Morrison: Into the Music (Warner Bros.)
7. The B-52s: The B-52s (Warner Bros.)
8. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Damn the Torpedoes (Backstreet/MCA)
9. Pere Ubu: Dub Housing (Chrysalis)
10. Donna Summer: Bad Girls (Casablanca)
11. The Roches: The Roches (Warner Bros.)
12. Dave Edmunds: Repeat When Necessary (Swan Song)
13. Nick Lowe: Labour of Lust (Columbia)
14. Tom Verlaine: Tom Verlaine (Elektra)
15. Iggy Pop: New Values (Arista)
16. Marianne Faithfull: Broken English (Island)
17. Blondie: Eat to the Beat (Chrysalis)
18. Michael Jackson: Off the Wall (Epic)
19. Rickie Lee Jones: Rickie Lee Jones (Warner Bros.)
20. Buzzcocks: Singles Going Steady (I.R.S.)
21. Fleetwood Mac: Tusk (Warner Bros.)
22. Neil Young with Crazy Horse: Live Rust (Reprise)
23. Ry Cooder: Bop 'Til You Drop (Warner Bros.)
24. David Johansen: In Style (Blue Sky)
25. Lene Lovich: Stateless (Stiff/Epic)
26. Linton Kwesi Johnson: Forces of Victory (Mango)
27. Chic: Risque (Atlantic)
28. Joe Jackson: Look Sharp! (A&M)
29. Art Ensemble of Chicago: Nice Guys (ECM)
30. Roxy Music: Manifesto (Atlantic)
31. David Bowie: Lodger (RCA Victor)
32. The Slits: Cut (Antilles)
33. Philip Glass/Robert Wilson: Einstein on the Beach (Tomato)
34. Bob Marley & the Wailers: Survival (Island)
35. The Police: Regatta de Blanc (A&M)
36. The Shoes: Present Tense (Elektra)
37. The Jam: All Mod Cons (Polydor)
38. Bob Dylan: Slow Train Coming (Columbia)
Stevie Wonder: Stevie Wonder's Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (Tamla)
40. The Kinks: Low Budget (Arista)
OOR (The Netherlands)
1. Ry Cooder - Bop till you drop
2. Linton Kwesi Johnson - Forces of victory
3. Talking heads - Fear of music
4. Joe Jackson - Look sharp
5. Undertones - Undertones
6. Wire - 154
7. Ian Dury - Do it yourself
8. Police - Outlandos d'amour
9. Joy division - Unknown pleasures
10. John Hiatt - Slug line
11. Police - Reggatta de blanc
12. Stiff little fingers - Inflammable material
13. Fleetwood mac - Tusk
Frank Zappa - Joe's garage, act I
15. Elvis Costello - Armed forces
16. Marianne Faithfull - Broken English
17. XTC - Drums and wires
18. Dr. John - City lights
Robert Fripp - Exposure
20. Kevin Coyne & Dagmar Krause - Babble
Neville brothers - The Neville brothers
22. Fischer Z - Word salad
Rasses - Experience
24. Randy Newman - Born again
25. Burning spear - Social living
Graham Parker - Squeezing out sparks
27. Red crayola - Soldier talk
28. James Taylor - Flag
29. Kinks - Low budget
30. Marvin Gaye - Here my dear
George Harrison - George Harrison
Judas priest - Unleashed in the East
John Prine - Pink cadillac
Skids - Into the valley
35. Cheap trick - Dream police
Cowboys international - The original sin
Israel vibration - The same song
Joe Jackson - I'm the man
Nick Lowe - Labour of lust
Robert Palmer - Secrets
This heat - This heat
42. Garland Jeffries - American boy & girl
Mickey Jupp - Long distance romancer
Nils Lofgren - Nils
Moon Martin - Escape from domination
Diana Ross - The boss
UFO - Strangers in the night
NME (UK)
1. Fear of music - Talking heads
2. Metal box - Public Image ltd.
3. Unknown Pleasures - Joy Division
4. Setting sons - The Jam
5. Entertainment - Gang of four
6. Armed Forces - Elvis Costello
7. Do it yourself - Ian Dury
8. London Calling - The Clash
9. Squeezing out the sparks - Graham Parker
10. The Specials - The Specials
11. Forces of victory - Lintin Kwesi Johnson
12. The B52's - The B52's
13. Bop till you drop - Ry Cooder
14. The Raincoats - The Raincoats
15. Tom Verlaine - Tom Verlaine
16. I am - Earth, Wind & Fire
17. The Undertones - The Undertones
18. 154 - Wire
19. Repeat when necessary - Dave Edmunds
20. Drums & Wires - XTC
21. New panic time - Pere Ubu
22. Cut - The Slits
23. Risque - Chic
24. Regatta de blank - Police
25. Humanity - The Royle Rasses
26. Same song - Israel Vibration
27. Katzenmusic - Michael Rother
28. Rust never sleeps - Neil Young
29. Brudder des schattens, sohne des.. - Popol Vuh
30. Dragnet - The Fall
31. Even serpents shine - The only ones
32. Eskimo - The Residents
33. Slow train coming - Bob Dylan
34. Blue valentine - Tom Waits
35. This heat - This heat
36. A train to Marineville - Swell maps
37. I’m the man - Joe Jackson
38. Soldier Talk - The red crayola
39. Reproduction - The Human League
40. Lodger - David Bowie
Sounds (UK)
1. The Specials The Specials
2. Fear Of Music Talking Heads
3. Cut The Slits
4. Setting Sons The Jam
5. Squeezing Out Sparks Graham Parker
6. Bop Till You Drop Ry Cooder
7. Days In Europa The Skids
8. Rust Never Sleeps Neil Young
9. The Undertones The Undertones
10. Dragnet The Fall
Rolling Stone (USA)
Album of the year:
Rust Never Sleeps - Neil Young
Hot Press (Ireland)
1. Ry Cooder - Bop Till You Drop
2. Talking Heads - Fear Of Music
3. Graham Parker - Squeezing Out Sparks
4. The Undertones - The Undertones
5. Elvis Costello - Armed Forces
Melody Maker (UK)
1. Fear of music - Talking Heads
2. Bop till you drop - Ry Cooder
3. Entertainment - Gang of four
4. Forces of victory - Linton Kwesi Johnson
5. Rust never sleeps - Neil Young
6. The Undertones - The Undertones
7. Off the wall - Michael Jackson
8. I am - Earth, wind & fire
9. Metal Box - PIL
10. London calling - The Clash
11. The original sin - Cowboys international
12. Squeezing out sparks - Graham Parker
13. We are family - Sister sledge
14. Armed forces - Elvis Costello
15. Tom Verlaine - Tom Verlaine
16. 154 - Wire
17. Drums and wires - XTC
18. Exposure - Robert Fripp
19. Rock on - Raydio
20. Bad girls - Donna Summer
Rockerilla (Italy)
1. Cure-Three imaginary boys
2. Clash-London calling
3. Jam-Setting sons
4. Joy Division-Unknown pleasures
5. Only Ones-Even serpents shine
6. Police-Reggatta de blanc
7. Stiff Little Fingers-Inflammable material
8. Neil Young & Crazy Horse-Rust never sleeps
9. Slits-Cut
10. Wire-154
11. Siouxsie & the Banshees-Join hands
12. Gang Of Four-Entertainment
13. Raincoats-Raincoats
14. Pop Group-Y
15. Elvis Costello-Armed forces
16. Stranglers-The raven
17. Dire Straits-Communiquè
18. Tom Verlaine-Tom Verlaine
19. Bob Dylan-Slow train coming
20. Joe Jackson-I'm the man
Trouser Press (USA)
*Cheap Trick - Dream Police
*Elvis Costello - Armed Forces
*Dave Edmunds - Repeat When Necessary
*John Hiatt - Slug Line
*Joe Jackson - I'm the Man
*The Jam - All Mod Cons
*Iggy Pop - New Values
*Records - Shades in Bed
*Sex Pistols - The Great Rock and Roll Swindle
*Wire - 154