30 albums you won’t believe turn 30 this year

30 albums you won’t believe turn 30 this year - The year was 1988—Stephen Hawking published ‘A Brief History Of Time,’ Prozac was sold as an antidepressant in the US for the first time, ‘The Last Emperor’ won best picture at the Oscars, and the world population was around five billion. Both music and the world have radically changed since then, so check out this gallery to see 30 landmark albums from 30 years ago—and get ready for a wave of nostalgia.

1 / 31 Fotos

Prince, 'Lovesexy' - Prince deemed his 10th album a gospel album, and it was recorded in just seven weeks!

2 / 31 Fotos

Sarah McLachlan, 'Touch' - Her debut album, before fame inevitably wrapped its glittering fingers around her and thrust her into stardom!

3 / 31 Fotos

N.W.A., 'Straight Outta Compton' - If the album is 30-years-old now, that means it was 27 years after the album dropped that the widely acclaimed film was released.

4 / 31 Fotos

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, 'The Abbey Road E.P.' - There was only one new track on this album, which was a cover of Jimi Hendrix's 'Fire,' but the album was new to the targeted UK audience who had yet to be introduced to their music.

5 / 31 Fotos

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, 'Up Your Alley' - Their sixth album had the single 'I Hate Myself for Loving You,' which peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.

6 / 31 Fotos

Tracy Chapman, 'Tracy Chapman' - Chapman's self-titled album showcased her incredible vocal ability and launched her commercial success, peaking at number one on Billboard 200 and going Platinum six times.

7 / 31 Fotos

Pixies, 'Surfer Rosa' - Their first full-length release served to influence generations of musicians to come, including giants like Kurt Cobain, and helped shape the Seattle grunge scene.

8 / 31 Fotos

Metallica, '…And Justice for All' - Their first release after the death of bassist Cliff Burton, this album touched on political and legal injustice while simultaneously marking their beginning as an unstoppable cultural force.

9 / 31 Fotos

Bon Jovi, 'New Jersey' - The album topped the Billboard 200 chart the second week after its release, and it stayed there comfortably for four consecutive weeks. Hits included 'Bad Medicine' and 'I'll Be There for You.'

10 / 31 Fotos

Guns N' Roses, 'G N' R Lies' - Only their second studio album, this record sold over five million copies in the US.

11 / 31 Fotos

Neil Young, 'This Note's for You' - This album was the prolific artist's 16th, and he would go on to produce 24 more studio albums, not including live albums, tribute albums, or compilations.

12 / 31 Fotos

Leonard Cohen, 'I'm Your Man' - This album signaled Cohen's move to a more modern sound, and Tom Waits said it was one of his favorite albums ever!

13 / 31 Fotos

R.E.M., 'Green' - Their sixth studio album explored new musical and political themes, and the band actually timed the release of the album to coincide with the 1988 presidential election.

14 / 31 Fotos

Public Enemy, 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back' - This wildly successful album charted for 49 weeks on Billboard 200 and is often regarded as one of the most influential albums of all time. It was also the only hip-hop album to be recognized in Rolling Stone's top 100 greatest albums of all time.

15 / 31 Fotos

Patti Smith, 'Dream of Life' - Her first release after The Patti Smith Group dissolved, this album contained the single 'People Have the Power' which was later revived by Bruce Springsteen for the Vote for Change concerts theme song.

16 / 31 Fotos

Jane's Addiction, 'Nothing's Shocking' - The alternative rock band was one of the first to achieve both mainstream attention and commercial success, and this album spawned hits like 'Jane Says' and 'Mountain Song.'

17 / 31 Fotos

Sonic Youth, 'Daydream Nation' - Arguably their greatest work, this album received widespread critical acclaim, and even the US Library of Congress chose to preserve it in the National Recording Registry.

18 / 31 Fotos

Living Colour, 'Vivid' - Their debut studio album quickly became one of the most popular albums of 1988. It reached number six on the Billboard 200 chart and even certified double platinum.

19 / 31 Fotos

Talking Heads, 'Naked' - Their eighth and final album was created half in Paris and half in New York, playing to each musician's intuition and improvisation in the studio.

20 / 31 Fotos

Traveling Wilburys, 'Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1' -

The British-American supergroup consisted of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty.

(Photo: Flickr/CC by 2.0)

21 / 31 Fotos

Poison, 'Open Up and Say…Ahh!' - The glam metal band had immense commercial success in the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s, and this album was their peak.

22 / 31 Fotos

Soundgarden, 'Ultramega OK' - Soundgarden was one of the essential founders of grunge in America, paving the way for other bands and combining heavy metal, psychedelic rock, and hardcore punk with ease.

23 / 31 Fotos

Bad Religion, 'Suffer' - A classic SoCal punk album with big words and a bigger energy.

24 / 31 Fotos

Run-D.M.C, 'Tougher Than Leather' - While the hip-hop group's fourth studio album wasn't as warmly received as the third, it still gave us hit singles like 'Run's House' and 'Mary, Mary,' and is widely regarded as an underrated classic.

25 / 31 Fotos

Iggy Pop, 'Instinct' - This hard-rocking ninth studio album contained the single 'Cold Metal.'

26 / 31 Fotos

Anthrax, 'State of Euphoria' - This heavy metal record contained what would become the band's best known songs, including 'Antisocial,' 'Finale,' and 'Be All, End All.'

27 / 31 Fotos

Slayer, 'South of Heaven' - This album was an impossibly strong follow-up to their previous 'Reign in Blood,' and it elevated Slayer to become known as one of the best metal bands of all time.

28 / 31 Fotos

Eric B. & Rakim, 'Follow The Leader' - The hip-hop duo's second album was also their best-charting album, and its lead singles were 'Follow the Leader, 'Microphone Fiend,' 'The R,' and 'Lyrics of Fury.'

29 / 31 Fotos

Tom Waits, 'Big Time' - The live album features performances from two his concerts on his 1987 tour.

30 / 31 Fotos

Slick Rick, 'The Great Adventures of Slick Rick' - His debut album topped Billboard's R&B/Hip Hop chart for five weeks, and even hip-hop artist Nas has publicly declared it one of his favorite albums.

31 / 31 Fotos

30 albums you won’t believe turn 30 this year

From classics to forgotten tracks

15/08/18 | StarsInsider

MUSIC Albums

The year was 1988—Stephen Hawking published ‘A Brief History Of Time,’ Prozac was sold as an antidepressant in the US for the first time, ‘The Last Emperor’ won best picture at the Oscars, and the world population was around five billion. Both music and the world have radically changed since then, so check out this gallery to see 30 landmark albums from 30 years ago—and get ready for a wave of nostalgia.