The A Lists: 1985 (57)

• Franco & Rochereau: Omona Wapi (Shanachie)
• Double Dee & Steinski: The Payoff Mix/Lesson Two/Lesson 3 (Tommy Boy)
• Mekons: Fear & Whiskey (Sin import)
• The Pogues: Rum Sodomy & the Lash (Stiff import)
• Aretha Franklin: Who's Zoomin' Who? (Arista)
• Hüsker Dü: New Day Rising (SST)
• Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill (A&M)
• The Velvet Underground: VU (Verve)
• The Blasters: Hard Line (Slash)
• Willie Nelson & Hank Snow: Brand on My Heart (Columbia)
• Talking Heads: Little Creatures (Sire)
• Minutemen: 3-Way Tie for Last (SST)
• Linton Kwesi Johnson: In Concert With the Dub Band (Shanachie)
• The Replacements: Tim (Sire)
• Go Go Crankin' (4th & B'way)
• Dele Abiodun: It's Time for Juju Music (Super Adawa import)
• Joe Higgs: Triumph (Alligator)
• Scritti Politti: Cupid & Psyche 85 (Warner Bros.)
• Dele Abiodun: Adawa Super Sound (Shanachie)
• Dramarama: Cinema Verité (New Rose import)
• Professor Longhair: Rock 'n' Roll Gumbo (Dancing Cat)
• Yabby You: Fleeing from the City (Shanachie)
• The Dead Milkmen: Big Lizard in My Backyard (Fever)
• Rosanne Cash: Rhythm and Romance (Columbia)
• Hüsker Dü: Flip Your Wig (SST)
• George Clinton: Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends (Capitol)
• The Descendents: Bonus Fat (SST)
• The Go-Betweens: Metal and Shells (PVC)
• Robert Cray Band: False Accusations (Hightone)
• Billy Joel: Greatest Hits: Volumes 1 & II (Columbia)
• Marti Jones: Unsophisticated Time (A&M)
• Katrina and the Waves: Katrina and the Waves (Capitol)
• The Cars: Greatest Hits (Elektra)
• UB40: Little Baggariddim (A&M)
• Elvis Costello and the Attractions: The Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions (Columbia)
• George Strait: Greatest Hits (MCA)
• Camper Van Beethoven: Telephone Free Landslide Victory (Independent Project)
• Steve Arrington: Dancin' in the Key of Life (Atlantic)
• Kid Creole and the Coconuts: In Praise of Older Women and Other Crimes (Sire)
• Marshall Crenshaw: Downtown (Warner Bros.)
• Phranc: Folksinger (Rhino)
• Willie Nelson: Me and Paul (Columbia)
• Fela Anikulapo Kuti: Army Arrangement (Celluloid)
• John Anderson: Tokyo, Oklahoma (Warner Bros.)
• Mofungo: Frederick Douglass (Coyote/Twin/Tone)
• Nile Rodgers: B-Movie Matinee (Warner Bros.)
• Alex Chilton: Feudalist Tarts (Big Time)
• The Rattlers: Rattled (PVC)
• Phezulu Eqhudeni (Carthage)
• Artists United Against Apartheid: Sun City (Manhattan)
• George Strait: Something Special (MCA)
• Ruben Blades y Seis del Solar: Escenas (Elektra)
• David Byrne: Music for the Knee Plays (ECM)
• Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus: Rally Round (Shanachie)
• The Silos: About Her Steps (Record Collect)
• The Rave-Ups: Town & Country (Fun Stuff)
• Ladysmith Black Mambazo: Ulwandle Oluncgwele (Shanachie)

Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s, 1990

The A Lists: 1984

The A Lists: 1986