MeggaMusic : Best Albums of 1981
In alphabetical order, not in order of preference.
- African Head Charge - My Life In A Hole In The Ground (On-U Sound)
- Alice Cooper - Special Forces (Warner Bros.)
- Altered Images - Happy Birthday (Epic)
- Ancient Future - Natural Rhythms (Philo)
- Anti-Pasti - The Last Call (Rondelet)
- Aswad - New Chapter (CBS)
- Aswad - Showcase (Grove / Island)
- A Certain Ratio - To Each... (Factory)
- Bauhaus - Mask (Beggars Banquet)
- Bernard Xolotl - Journey To An Oracle (Fortuna)
- Bernard Xolotl - Return Of The Golden Mean (Fortuna) ▶
- Bernard Xolotl & Daniel Kobialka - Procession (Syntasy / Nada Pulse)
- Bill Nelson - Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam (Mercury)
- Black Uhuru - Black Sounds Of Freedom (Greensleeves)
- Black Uhuru - Red (Island)
- Blondie - The Best Of Blondie (Chrysalis)
- Bob Dylan - Shot of Love (CBS / Columbia)
- Bow Wow Wow - See Jungle! See Jungle!... (RCA)
- Brian Eno & David Byrne - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (EG / Sire) ▶
- Brian Eno & Laraaji - Ambient 3: Day of Radiance (Editions EG)
- Burning Spear - Living Dub Vol. 2 (Burning Spear)
- Cabaret Voltaire - Red Mecca (Rough Trade)
- Camel - Nude (Decca)
- Chris & Cosey - Heartbeat (Rough Trade)
- Chrome - Blood on the Moon (Don't Fall Off The Mountain)
- Clock DVA - Thirst (Fetish)
- Cluster - Curiosum (Sky)
- Colin Newman - Provisionally Entitled The Singing Fish (4AD)
- Crass - Penis Envy (Crass Records)
- Creation Rebel & New Age Steppers - Threat To Creation (Cherry Red)
- Creation Rebel - Psychotic Jonkanoo (On-U Sound)
- Cyrille Verdeaux - Offrandes (Fortuna) ▶
- Cyrille Verdeaux and Bernard Xolotl - Prophecy (Fortuna) ▶
- DAS (Pre: Radio Massacre International) - DAS II & III (DAS)
- David Byrne - The Catherine Wheel / Complete Score (Sire)
- David Rosenboom - Future Travel (New World)
- Deuter - Silence Is The Answer / Buddham Sharnam Gachchami (Kuckuck)
- Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft - Alles Ist Gut (Virgin)
- Deutsche Wertarbeit - Deutsche Wertarbeit (Sky Records, Germany)
- Durutti Column - LC (Factory)
- Echo & The Bunnymen - Heaven Up Here (Korova)
- Einstürzende Neubauten - Kollaps (Zickzack)
- Eyeless In Gaza - Caught In Flux (Cherry Red)
- Fire Engines - Lubricate Your Living Room / Candyskin (Pop Aural)
- Francis Monkman - Dweller On The Threshold (Maya)
- Frank Zappa - Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar (Barking Pumpkin)
- Frank Zappa - You Are What You is (Barking Pumpkin)
- Gang Of Four - Solid Gold (EMI)
- Genesis - Abacab (Charisma)
- Godley & Creme - Ismism (Polydor)
- Grace Jones - Nightclubbing (Island)
- G. S. Sachdev & Zakir Hussain - Two Moods (Chandi)
- Hans-Joachim Roedelius - Lustwandel / Langer Atem (Sky)
- Harold Budd - The Serpent (In Quicksilver) (Cantil)
- Hawkwind - Sonic Attack (RCA)
- Heaven 17 - Penthouse And Pavement (Virgin)
- Human League - Dare! (Virgin)
- Jaco Pastorius - Word Of Mouth (Warner Bros.)
- James Asher - Abstracts (Studio G)
- Japan - Tin Drum (Virgin) ▶
- Jean Michel Jarre - Magnetic Fields (Disques Dreyfus)
- Johan Timman - Trip Into The Body (Fleet)
- John Carpenter - Escape From New York (OST) (Varèse Sarabande)
- John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola & Paco De Lucía - Friday Night In San Francisco (Columbia) ▶
- Jon & Vangelis - The Friends Of Mr. Cairo (Polydor)
- Jon Hassell - Fourth World Volume Two: Dream Theory In Malaya (Editions EG)
- Josef K - The Only Fun In Town / Sorry For Laughing (Postcard Records)
- Journey - Escape (Columbia / CBS)
- Joy Division - Still (Factory)
- Judie Tzuke - I Am The Phoenix (The Rocket Record Company)
- Killing Joke - What's This For...! (Malicious Damage / EG)
- Kim Carnes - Mistaken Identity (EMI)
- Kim Wilde - Kim Wilde (Water On Glass) (RAK)
- King Crimson - Discipline (EG / Polydor)
- King Tubby, Prince Jammy & Scientist - First, Second And Third Generation Of Dub (KG Imperial)
- King Tubby - King At The Control (Vista Sounds)
- Kitaro - Ki (Canyon / Polydor)
- Klaus Schulze - Trancefer (DJM / Innovative Communication)
- Klaus Wiese - Baraka (Aquamarin Verlag)
- Kraftwerk - Computer World (EMI)
- Landscape - From The Tea-Rooms Of Mars ... To The Hell-Holes Of Uranus (RCA)
- Level 42 - Level 42 (Polydor)
- Mark Shreeve - Thoughts Of War (Uniton) ▶
- Men At Work - Business As Usual (CBS / Columbia)
- Michael Garrison - Prisms (Windspell) ▶
- Michael Hedges - Breakfast In The Field (Windham Hill) ▶
- Michael Stearns - Planetary Unfolding (Continuum Montage)
- Miles Davis - Directions (CBS / Columbia)
- Modern English - Mesh & Lace (4AD)
- Mœbius & Plank - Rastakraut Pasta // Material (Sky)
- Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Re•ac•tor (Reprise)
- New Age Steppers - Action Battlefield (Statik)
- New Order - Movement (Factory)
- Norman Barratt Band - Voice in the Night (from "Playing in the City") (Refuge) ▶
- Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Architecture & Morality (Dindisc)
- Ozzy Osbourne - Diary Of A Madman (Jet)
- Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays - As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls (ECM) ▶
- Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Penguin Cafe Orchestra (Editions EG) ▶ | ▶
- Peter Hammill - Sitting Targets (Virgin / Passport)
- Phil Collins - Face Value (Atlantic / Virgin) ▶
- Popol Vuh - Tantric Songs (Celestial Harmonies) ▶
- Pretenders - Pretenders II (Real / Sire)
- Richard Horowitz - Eros In Arabia (Ethnotech / Freedom To Spend) ▶
- Rip Rig + Panic - God (Virgin) ▶
- Roedelius - Wenn Der Südwind Weht (Sky Records) ▶
- Rush - Exit...Stage Left (Mercury)
- Rush - Moving Pictures (Mercury) ▶
- Ryuichi Sakamoto - Left Handed Dream (Alfa / Epic)
- Santana - Zebop! (Tales Of Kilimanjaro) (CBS / Columbia) ▶
- Scientist - Dub Landing (Starlight)
- Scientist - In Dub (Jah Guidance)
- Scientist - Scientist Meets the Space Invaders (Greensleeves)
- Scientist - Scientist Meets The Roots Radics (Greensleeves / Selena)
- Scientist - Scientist Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires (Greensleeves) ▶
- Shankar - Who's To Know (ECM)
- Simple Minds - Sons And Fascination / Sister Feelings Call (Virgin)
- Siouxsie & The Banshees - Juju (Polydor)
- Siouxsie & The Banshees - Once Upon A Time: The Singles (Polydor) ▶
- Spandau Ballet - Journeys To Glory (Reformation / Chrysalis)
- Stephan Micus - Koan (ECM)
- Stephan Micus - Wings Over Water (ECM)
- Steve Jolliffe - Earth (Bruton Music)
- Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna (Modern) ▶
- Tangerine Dream - Exit (Virgin) ▶
- Tangerine Dream - Pergamon / Quichotte (Amiga, Germany) ▶
- Tangerine Dream - Thief: Soundtrack (Virgin) ▶
- Tangerine Dream - Transfer Blue Night (bootleg)
- Television Personalities - ...And Don't The Kids Just Love It (Fire / Rough Trade)
- Theatre Of Hate - Original Sin / Legion // He Who Dares Wins / Rebel Without A Brain (Burning Rome)
- The Birthday Party - Prayers On Fire (Missing Link / 4AD)
- The Creatures - Wild Things EP (Polydor)
- The Cure - Faith (Fiction)
- The Fall - Slates (Rough Trade)
- The Flying Lizards - Fourth Wall (Virgin)
- The Legendary Pink Dots - Chemical Playschool 1 & 2 (Mirrordot)
- The Mighty Wah! - The Handy Wah! Whole (Eternal / Castle Music)
- The Passions - Thirty Thousand Feet Over China (Polydor)
- The Police - Ghost in the Machine (A&M)
- The Psychedelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk (CBS / Columbia)
- The Raincoats - Odyshape (Rough Trade)
- The Residents - Mark Of The Mole (Ralph)
- The Sound - From The Lions Mouth (Korova)
- The Stranglers - La Folie (Liberty)
- This Heat - Deceit (Rough Trade)
- Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club (Sire)
- Trouble Funk - Straight Up Funk Go Go Style (TF Records)
- Twinkle Brothers - Me No You, You No Me (Twinkle Records)
- U2 - October (Island)
- UB40 - Present Arms // Present Arms In Dub (DEP International)
- Various - C81 (NME / Rough Trade)
- Vice Squad - No Cause For Concern (Riot City)
- Wipers - Youth of America (Park Avenue)
- Yellow Magic Orchestra - BGM (Alfa)
- Yellow Magic Orchestra - Technodelic (Alfa)
- Zeus B. Held - Attack Time (Aladin, Germany)
- Zounds - The Curse Of Zounds (Rough Trade)
Approximate Genres
Eclectic, Psychedelic Rock, Psychedelia, Space Rock, Prog Rock, Art Rock, Folk-Rock, New-Wave, Post-Punk, Industrial, Goth, Indie/Alternative, Synthpop; Electronica, Chillout, Krautrock, Berlin-School, World Music, Tribal, Dub, Roots-Reggae, Fusion, Funk, Future/Nu-Jazz, Worldbeat, New-Age, Neofolk, Avantgarde, Neoclassical, Ambient, Head Music, Crossover, Ambi-Cultural-Tribal-Trance™.
© The Egg | MeggaMusic, c.1982 - 2025