My votes for Slicing Up Eyeballs' Best of the 80s poll: 1989

It's time for the tenth and final Slicing Up Eyeballs Best of the 80's poll. 1989 was my transition year from college radio to working in a record store and interning for a major label and is a year I musically remember fondly.

87 and 88 didn't have as many personal all-time faves as the previous polls, so I wasn't expecting 1989 to have so many tough choices of what to leave off. I had 20 solid candidates (not including the three 1989 faves not on the poll:  Dime Store Dream by Magnolias, Good Evening by Marshall Crenshaw, and Stolen Wishes by Shoes). Some of the previous polls had albums I voted for that I didn’t actually get into until a few years after they were released, but for 1989 I’m pretty sure these are the same albums I would picked back then. In 89 Elvis Costello’s Spike and Lenny Kravitz’s debut would have been represented, but I’ve drifted from those over the years (although half of Spike comprises some of my favorite Elvis songs - but the drop-off is pretty big).

3 of my most played albums ever are here (De La Soul, Beasties, and PWEI), and the Jesus and Mary Chain, Wonder Stuff, and Raygun albums aren’t that far behind. Hoodoo Gurus, Pixies, and Mighty Lemon Drops were the albums I struggled with not including in the final 10.

Here are my ten picks for 1989 in alpha order:

• Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
• De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising
• The Jesus and Mary Chain - Automatic
• Jesus Jones - Liquidizer
• Mega City Four - Tranzophobia
• Naked Raygun - Understand?
• Nirvana - Bleach
• Pop Will Eat Itself - This Is the Day...This Is the Hour...This Is This!
• XTC - Oranges & Lemons
• The Wonder Stuff – Hup

I'm sort of bummed to see the Slicing Up Eyeball Best of the 80's polls come to an end. This has been fun.