Category: Pop
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Madonna ‘Like A Virgin’ (1984)
You’d be hard pressed to list a pop culture moment as iconic as Madonna’s 1984 performance at the VMA’s that saw her writhing on the ground in a white wedding dress while singing “Like a Virgin.” It was a career-defining performance, one that thrust her headfirst into the world of controversy she’s been known for…
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Patrick Stump ‘Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends’ (2024)
As a parent of two young kids you get exposed to (dare I say completely deluged with) programming geared toward children, from TV shows to music to toys. And while some of it is relatively disposable and grating, there exists some really solid offerings that you can’t help but sing along to– Bluey is filled…
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Prefab Sprout ‘From Langley Park To Memphis’ (1988)
Shiny and glittery, Prefab Sprout’s third album From Langley Park To Memphis is a trip down memory lane into the world of late 80’s sophisti-pop. This entire album is a colorful collection of immaculately produced New Wave pop songs that sparkle at every turn, a catchy and fun ride that makes you want to tuck…
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Bertie Higgins ‘Just Another Day In Paradise’ (1982)
I was legitimately obsessed for Bertie Higgins song “Key Largo” about five years ago, around the time my first child was born. And when I say obsessed I mean obsessed– I played it about three times a day for an entire calendar month and it ended up on my Spotify Wrapped at the end of…
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Spiral Starecase ‘More Today Than Yesterday’ (1969)
The career of Spiral Starecase was a brief one– the band broke up a mere 18 months after their debut album was released, marred by infighting and legal disputes amongst the band members. But before they burned out they released one of the greatest oldies hits of all-time in “More Today Than Yesterday”, a soulful…
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Chappell Roan ‘The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess’ (2023)
Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess reminds me a whole helluva lot of a combination of Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, and Cyndi Lauper, which certainly makes sense considering her aesthetic and musical inspirations. Roan takes a lot from Swift’s melodic traits, blends it together with 80’s synth pop, and adds a…
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Oingo Boingo ‘Dead Man’s Party’ (1985)
Oingo Boingo’s 1985 album Dead Man’s Party is a unique experience from start to finish, capturing the eccentric nature of the band and all of their quirky provocativeness. I’ve been running a ton during 2024 (my New Year resolution is to hit a Vo2 Max over 50) and this album is a slam dunk pick…
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Steve Winwood ‘Arc of a Diver’ (1980)
As a member of some of my favorite classic rock bands from the late 60’s (Blind Faith and Traffic), I’ve always been a massive stan for Steve Winwood. His gloriously high and rich tenor voice, his ability to play multiple instruments, and his emphasis on writing songs that prioritize the groove above all else have…
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HAIM ‘Days Are Gone’ (2013)
HAIM’s brand of pop rock that harkens back to the days of Fleetwood Mac and the Doobie Brothers was somewhat of a revelation in 2013. The trio of sisters, who grew up together in a music-loving family and formed a family band that played at local county fairs alongside their parents, made R&B infused soft…
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The All-American Rejects ‘The All-American Rejects’ (2002)
The year was 2003 and I was a newly minted Middle School graduate entering high school. I was getting heavily into music, compulsively buying records at a fervid clip, and the local radio station Live 105 was putting on their annual summer concert festival BFD (short for Big F***ing Day) during the halcyon summer months.…
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Frank Sinatra ‘In The Wee Small Hours’ (1954)
The legendary voice of Frank Sinatra played frontman to the musical march of many different types of numbers over his illustrious career– the grandiose “Strangers In The Night”, the big band ballsiness of “My Way”, the swingy playfulness of “Fly Me To The Moon”– but as the name would suggest In the Wee Small Hours…
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The Police ‘Synchronicity’ (1983)
By the time The Police released their fifth (and what would turn out to be their final) album Synchronicity in 1983, the band was arguably the most popular and well-regarded band in the entire world. The trio of Sting (vocals/bass), Andy Summers (guitar/keys), and Stewart Copeland (drums) were fresh off recording 1981’s Ghost in the…
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Taylor Swift ‘THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT’ (2024)
Despite being in the midst of the record-breaking Eras World Tour, an incredibly public courtship with NFL star Travis Kelce, and the release an astounding 8 albums in the past four years (which includes four of her “re-recorded albums”, a concept we previously covered with her 2021 edition of Red) Taylor Swift managed to find…
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Boz Scaggs ‘Silk Degrees’ (1976)
Silk Degrees remains one of my personal soft rock powerhouse albums, one of those old go-to’s when you’re looking for an emotional pick me up. It has all the elements that comprise a timeless album– immaculately crafted pop hooks, dynamics you can only get with a live band studio recording, sultry saxophone solos, gallant grooves…
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Haircut One Hundred ‘Pelican West’ (1982)
Besides bragging rights only I truly care about, one benefit of listening to an album a day for 14 straight months is the exposure you get to music that some of your favorite artists clearly took inspiration from. Which brings us to Haircut One Hundred, a British New Wave act from the early 80’s that…
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LFO ‘LFO’ (1999)
Boy bands were an American institution during the late 90’s. You had the originals who started it all with New Kids on The Block, powerhouses like Boys II Men, Backstreet Boys, and *NSYNC, B-listers like 98 Degrees and Five, and then various offshoots who were clearly following the trend and looking to make a quick…
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The Byrds ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ (1965)
The Byrds brand of electric rock paved the way for a generation of American folk musicians to enter the rock and roll genre with a soft landing in the 1960’s. Composed of folk cover songs (four of them penned by the legendary Bob Dylan) and a bevy of originals from guitarist/vocalist Gene Clark, Mr. Tambourine…
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Tiny Tim ‘God Bless Tiny Tim’ (1968)
Tiny Tim was primarily known as a novelty act during his lengthy musical career but actually possessed a significant knowledge of vintage American pop and vaudeville songs that helped define his prodigious artistic output. His most well-known album God Bless Tiny Tim featured his hit song “Tip Toe Thru’ The Tulips with Me” and earned…
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Paula Cole ‘This Fire’ (1996)
This Fire was self-produced and self-written by Paula Cole following her stint as a backing vocalist for Peter Gabriel in the early 90’s. This matters because the album breaks a lot of traditional molds we’re accustomed to in modern pop music (will get into that in a minute) and I’ve found it quite impressive Cole…
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Carpenters ‘Christmas Portrait’ (1978)
When I was a kid my mom would play Christmas music starting Halloween night after we were done trick or treating (yes, this is a true story). Her love for the holidays was infectious, filling our home with the smells of fresh-baked cookies, aromas of mulled wine slowly boiled over the stovetop, the sights of…
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Frank Sinatra ‘A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra’ (1957)
Christmas has changed a lot in America since 1957’s A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra was released. The holiday has certainly become a much more consumeristic affair, filled with month-long advertisements and shopping sprees, and by and large the holiday has effectively become a secular celebration. There’s no hiding the fact that religion’s popularity is…
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Hanson ‘Snowed In’ (1997)
If you grew up in the 90’s there’s an absolute guarantee that you know exactly who Hanson is. Their smash single “MMMBop” off their debut album Middle of Nowhere was an absolute cultural revelation at the time, dominating the commercial airwaves and sending the three brothers on to worldwide fame. Part of that was due…
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Toto ‘Toto IV’ (1982)
Toto is one of those yacht rock bands from the 70’s that seemingly tried everything under the sun sonically. They rolled up their favorite components of genres ranging from funk, pop, rock, soul, prog-rock, jazz, and the blues, stitched them together with expert musicianship, and slapped a sweet sheen of production prowess on top that…
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Ambrosia ‘One Eighty’ (1980)
When you have an album that features a grand total of four vocalists carrying lead vocal duties throughout the entire album you know you’re in for a soft rock treat. Ambrosia’s 1980 effort One Eighty celebrates those soft rock bonafides in a tight and concise package, deftly incorporating elements of yacht rock and anthemic 80’s…
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A Flock of Seagulls ‘A Flock of Seagulls’ (1982)
When you think of 1980’s New Wave music the song “I Ran (So Far Away)” is pretty much required to pop into your head. A Flock of Seagulls, the British rocker’s debut album, was a defining moment for New Wave as a whole and is chock full of all the things that make the genre…
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Harry Styles ‘Harry’s House’ (2022)
Members of boy-bands going on to illustrious solo careers is somewhat of a rare bird. You have some standout examples like Michael Jackson (Jackson 5), Justin Timberlake (*N Sync), and George Michael (Wham!) who went on to be megastars that made people forget they were ever anything but a solo artist, but in general it’s…
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Roxy Music ‘Avalon’ (1982)
Roxy Music had long moved past its early 70’s art rock phase with Brian Eno by the time the early 80’s rolled around, but the band’s deep and rich history of avant garde synth pop is still present underneath all the wonderfully manicured pop sheen found littered throughout Avalon. From the sultry saxaphones to the…
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Brian Eno ‘Another Green World’ (1975)
Another Green World by Brian Eno is an eclectic collection of avant-garde pop vignettes. Calling them songs doesn’t really do the whole thing justice— these are emotions in audio form, a collection of feelings that were somehow transposed into music through the filter of Brian Eno’s astounding production capabilities. It’s often hard to listen to…
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Fine Young Cannibals ‘The Raw & The Cooked’ (1989)
Fine Young Cannibals 1989 release The Raw & The Cooked is a soul album in the way you’d envision an 80’s New Wave soul album to be. In other words, it’s an eclectic mix of sounds and styles that incorporates breakbeat, New Wave, dance, and rock elements filtered through the gravitational pull of Motown soul…
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Christopher Cross ‘Christopher Cross’ (1979)
Yacht rock holds an incredibly special place in my heart. The smooth production style, the gorgeous three-part vocal harmonies, the sultry smooth rhythm sections, the saxaphones and synths– it’s all just so wonderfully easy to listen to. This is a sub-genre of music I’ve loved forever, became relatively obsessed with when I got Sirius XM…
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Dan + Shay ‘Dan + Shay’ (2018)
Dan + Shay is the pinnacle of modern country pop. Lush vocal arrangements transposed over expertly manicured production, with nary a note out of place. It’s effective as hell at being excellent background music that’s easy to listen to and just frankly beautiful in the most inoffensive way. It’s perfect coffee house ambiance music. “Tequila”…
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BTS ‘Love Yourself 轉 Tear’ (2018)
BTS is the largest boy band in the entire world, one of South Korea’s largest exports, have spoken at the United Nations General Assembly three times, and was the first non-English speaking act to sell out concerts at the fabled Wembley Stadium in London and Rose Bowl in California. In other words, they’re absolutely massive…
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Katy Perry ‘Teenage Dream’ (2010)
No one does massive effervescent pop quite like Katy Perry, and no album perfectly encapsulates the shiny bubblegum aesthetic of her prolific career better than 2010’s Teenage Dream. Is it vain, juvenile, and all a bit mindless? Absolutely. But it’s also an absolute pop masterpiece, filled with smash hits that are simply impossible to get…
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Dua Lipa ‘Future Nostalgia’ (2020)
Dua Lipa’s brand of peanut butter smooth disco pop is simply a delight to listen to. It’s incredibly well produced, her voice is magnificent, and the songwriting hooks are crafted with care by the bevy of songwriters who were brought in to help bring the album to life. Future Nostalgia was actually inspired in large…
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Sinéad O’Connor ‘Lion and the Cobra’ (1987)
Yesterday’s tragic passing of Sinéad O’Connor at the age of 58 has rocked the music world. O’Connor’s advocacy for mental health, human rights, and victims of child abuse has made her a protest rock icon over the years, traits that ultimately transcended her artistic endeavors. Her own longtime personal struggles with trauma certainly influenced this…
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Cyndi Lauper ‘She’s So Unusual’ (1983)
Cyndi Lauper is an icon in nearly every sense of the world. Her wild hairstyles, feverishly flamboyant in all their neon glory, is a distinct calling card she’s continued to this day ever since introducing punk fashion into the pop mainstream. Her work as an advocate for the LGBTQ community during a time when it…
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