Village Voice Pazz & Jop (USA)

1. Elvis Costello: Imperial Bedroom (Columbia)
2. Richard & Linda Thompson: Shoot Out the Lights (Hannibal)
3. Bruce Springsteen: Nebraska (Columbia)
4. King Sunny Adé & His African Beats: Juju Music (Mango)
5. Lou Reed: The Blue Mask (RCA Victor)
6. Prince: 1999 (Warner Bros.)
7. The English Beat: Special Beat Service (I.R.S.)
8. Marvin Gaye: Midnight Love (Columbia)
9. Marshall Crenshaw (Warner Bros.)
10. X: Under the Big Black Sun (Elektra)
11. Roxy Music: Avalon (Warner Bros.)
12. Flipper: Album/Generic Flipper (Subterranean)
13. Ornette Coleman: Of Human Feelings (Antilles)
14. Donald Fagen: The Nightfly (Warner Bros.)
15. Michael Jackson: Thriller (Epic)
16. Laurie Anderson: Big Science (Warner Bros.)
17. Joe Jackson: Night & Day (A&M)
18. The Clash: Combat Rock (Epic)
19. ABC: The Lexicon Of Love (Mercury)
20. Gang Of Four: Songs Of the Free (Warner Bros.)
21. Richard Hell and the Voidoids: Destiny Street (Red Star)
22. Rank and File: Sundown (Slash)
23. The dB's: Repercussion (Albion import)
24. The Dream Syndicate: Days of Wine and Roses (Ruby)
25. Fleshtones: Roman Gods (I.R.S.)
26. Kid Creole and the Coconuts: Wise Guy (Sire/ZE)
The Human League: Dare (A&M)
28. Van Morrison: Beautiful Vision (Warner Bros.)
29. George Clinton: Computer Games (Capitol)
30. XTC: English Settlement (Epic)
31. Mission of Burma: Vs. (Ace of Hearts)
32. Warren Zevon: The Envoy (Asylum)
33. Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band: Ice Cream for Crow (Epic)
34. Paul McCartney: Tug of War (Columbia)
35. The Roches: Keep on Doing (Warner Bros.)
36. Aretha Franklin: Jump to It (Arista)
37. Fleetwood Mac: Mirage (Warner Bros.)
38. Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society: Mandance (Antilles)
39. Joni Mitchell: Wild Things Run Fast (Geffen)
40. Ted Hawkins: Watch Your Step (Rounder)
Squeeze: Sweets From a Stranger (A&M)



OOR (The Netherlands)

1. Joe Jackson - Night and day
2. Simple minds - New gold dream
3. Pere Ubu - Song of the bailing man
4. Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
5. Abc - The lexicon of love
6. Dexy's midnight runners - Too-rye-aye
7. Comsat angels - Fiction
8. Marvin Gaye - Midnight love
9. XTC - English settlement
10. Laurie Anderson - Big science
11. Elvis Costello - Imperial bedroom
12. Robert Wyatt - Nothing can stop us
13. Virgin prunes - If I die, I die
14. Joe Cocker - Sheffield steel
15. Palais Schaumburg - Lupa
16. King Sunny Ade - Juju music
17. Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel (4)
18. Donald Fagen - The nightfly
Japan - Tin drum
Liaisons dangereuses - Liaisons dangereuses
Warren Zevon - The envoy
22. Honeymoon killers - Les tueurs de la lune de miel
23. Captain Beefheart - Ice cream for crow
24. Bunny Wailer - Tribute
25. Peter Hammill - Enter K
26. Yellow magic orchestra - Technodelic
27. Clash - Combat rock
Barry Reynolds - I scare myself
29. Palais Schaumburg - Palais Schaumburg
30. Kate Bush - The dreaming
Del-Byzanteens - Lies to live by
32. Cocteau twins - Garlands
33. Siouxsie and the Banshees - A kiss in the dreamhouse
34. Balance - In for the count
Brian Eno - On land (ambient 4)
Split enz - Time and tide
37. Nasmak - 4our clicks
Prince - 1999
Snakefinger - Manual of errors
40. Gary Brooker - Lead me to the water
Cabaret Voltaire - 2 x 45
The gun club - Miami
Vandenberg - Vandenberg
44. Culture club - Kissing to be clever
Fixx - Shuttered room
46. John Cale - Music for a new society
Dave Edmunds - D.E.7
Itals - Brutal out deh
49. Nikki Sudden - Waiting on Egypt
50. Ry Cooder - The border
Fad Gadget - Under the flag



NME (UK)

1. Midnight love - Marvin Gaye
2. Imperial bedroom - Elvis Costello
3. The Lexicon of love - ABC
4. Combat rock - The clash
5. Too rye aye - Dexys midnight runners
6. Upstairs at Eric’s - Yazoo
7. The nightfly - Donald Fagen
8. Juju music - King Sunny Ade
9. Friends - Shalamar
10. Night nurse - Gregory Isaacs
11. A kiss in the dreamhouse - Siouxie & the banshees
12. Tropical gangsters - Kid Creole & the coconuts
13. Beautiful vision - Van Morrison
14. The message - Grandmaster flash
15. Honesty - Curtis Mayfield
16. Nothing can stop us now - Robert Wyatt
17. The poet - Bobby Womack
18. Sulk - The Associates
19. Avalon - Roxy music
20. Kissing to be clever - Culture club
21. Hex education hour - The fall
22. Of human feelings - Ornette Coleman
23. Big science - Laurie Anderson
24. The rise and fall - Madness
25. The gift - The jam
26. Moving targets - Gil Scott-Heron
27. Thermo-nuclear sweat - Defunkt
28. In the heat of the night - Imagination
29. Junkyard - The birthday party
30. The great pretender - Lester Bowie
31. New Chapter of dub - Aswad
32. Donna Summer - Donna Summer
33. Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen
34. Words from the front - Tom Verlaine
35. Not satisfied - Aswad
36. New gold dream - Simple Minds
37. Living my life - Grace Jones
38. Strange celestial road - Sun Ra
39. Mi cyan believe it - Michael Smith
40. I love rock and roll - Joan Jett
41. Urban Bushman - Art ensemble of Chicago
42. Wynton Marsalis - Wynton Marsalis
43. Miami - Gun club
44. Marshall Crenshaw - Marshall Crenshaw
45. 2 X 45 - Cabaret Voltaire
46. Agwaya - Orchestra Makassy
47. Computer games - George Clinton
48. Sunrise in different dimensions - Sun Ra
49. Dr John plays Mac Rebennack - Dr John
50. Fourth drawer down - The Associates



Sounds (UK)

1. Combat Rock - The Clash
2. Too-Rye-Ay - Dexys Midnight Runners
3. New gold dream - Simple Minds
4. Songs to remember - Scritti Politti
5. Upstairs at Eric’s - Yazoo
6. Imperial Bedroom - Elvis Costello
7. Rock in a hard place - Aerosmith
8. Complete Madness - Madness
9. The wild ones - Cockney rejects
10. Lexicon of love - ABC
11. IV - Peter Gabriel
12. Juju Music - King sunny Ade
13. Tropical Gangsters - Kid Creole and the Coconuts
14. Scarred for life - Rose Tattoo
15. Miami - Gun club
16. Highway song - Blackfoot
17. Hello, I must be going - Phil Collins
18. Call of the west - Wall of voodoo
19. Love over gold - Dire straits
20. Big science - Laurie Anderson



Rolling Stone (USA)

Nebraska: Bruce Springsteen & Shoot out the lights: R. & L. Thompson

Runners-up:
Imperial bedroom: Elvis Costello
1999: Prince
The blue Mask: Lou Reed
Marshall Crenshaw: Marshall Crenshaw



Hot Press (Ireland)

1. Elivs Costello - Imperial Bedroom
2. Kevin Rowland & Dexy's Midnight Runners - Too-Rye-Aye
3. Van Morrision - Beautiful Vision
4. The Beat - Special Beat Service
5. Kid Creole & The Coconuts - Tropical Gangsters



Rockerilla (Italy)

1. Laurie Anderson-Big science
2. Gun Club-Miami
3. Clash-Combat rock
3. Simple Minds-New gold dream
3. Virgin Prunes-If i die i die
3. Various-Gathered
7. Associates-Sulk
7. Cure-Pornography
7. Scritti Politti-Songs to remember
10. Abc-The lexicon of love
10. Blancmange-Happy families
10. Peter Gabriel-IV
10. Psychedelic Furs-Forever now
10. Rank & File-Sundown
10. Rip Rig & Panic-I am cold
10. Roxy Music-Avalon
10. Siouxsie & the Banshees-A kiss in the dream house
10. Wall Of Voodoo-Call of the west
19. Angry Samoans-Back from Samoa
19. Kevin Coyne-Politicz
19. Judy Nylon-Pal Judy
19. Bruce Springsteen-Nebraska



Kerrang (UK)

1.Scorpions - Blackout
2.Van Halen - Diver Down
3.Robert Plant - Pictures At Eleven
4.Rush - Signals
5.Kiss - Creatures Of The Night
6.Tom Petty - Long After Dark
7.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast
8.Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance
9.Rainbow - Straight Between The Eyes
10.Rose Tattoo - Scarred For Life
10.Gillan - Magic

Schlager (Sweden)

1. The Clash – Combat Rock
2. The Psychedelic Furs – Forever Now
3. Lolita Pop – Falska bilder
4. Siouxsie & The Banshees – A Kiss in the Dreamhouse
5. Ebba Grön – Ebba Grön
6. Talking Heads – The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads
7. Kai Martin & Stick! – Röd plåt
8. The Associates – Sulk
Elvis Costello – Imperial Bedroom
10. Simple Minds – New Gold Dream (81, 82, 83, 84)
The Jam – The Gift