Eight Albums Turning 40 In 2026

1986 Was A Pivotal Year For New Music

It’s safe to say that my core musical tastes were still forming in 1986.

My insatiable teen appetite for new songs and artists had me exploring every corner of the expansive rock universe. I never totally lost that innocent hunger for pop thrills, but my tastes definitely narrowed throughout my 20s and 30s (and I consequently became more of judge-y jerk about music for a while there).

But in 1986, my mixed tapes were just as likely to include They Might Be Giants’ “Don’t Let’s Start” as The Primates’ “I Ain’t Like You” (or even Poison’s “Talk Dirty To Me”)—intertwined with all of the new pop (Bangles, Prince), punk (Descendents, Ramones), and college/alt rock (PIL, fIREHOSE, Tom Waits) I greedily devoured.

These days I like to think that I’m closer to the music lover I was way back in the mid-’80s.

Sure, I spill a lot of ink about power pop and adjacent genres, but get in the car with me when I’m running errands or commuting to work and you’ll find that I’m always on the hunt for diamond’s in the rough from various musical genres.

In the end, I’m still a sucker for pop hooks—whether buried under distorted guitars, delivered as a stadium anthem, jangled on a 12-string, or laid bare on an acoustic.

Any song that gives me goosebumps, for whatever reason, will get repeat listens.

I think a lot of that goes back to my voracious appetite for new music during those formative high school years.

Many of the albums below were a revelation for me back then, while others clicked for me later in life. That’s a beautiful thing about music, it will be there waiting when (and if) you’re ready for it.

Maybe some of these albums do that for you too.

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What’s Your Favorite Album From 1986?

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1. REM—Lifes Rich Pageant

Released by IRS Records in July, 1986

“Suffused with a love of nature and a desire for man-kind’s survival, the LP paints a swirling, impressionistic portrait of a country at the moral crossroads, at once imperiled by its own self-destructive impulses and poised for a hopeful new beginning.”—Rolling Stone

“Lifes Rich Pageant is R.E.M.'s first transition album, one that builds on the innovations of their early releases while hinting at the territory they would cover on Document and Green.”—Pitchfork

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2. Concrete Blonde—Concrete Blonde

Released by IRS Records in August, 1986

“Concrete Blonde shows a band with dark, if not actually gothic, lyrical and musical directions. If anything, they’re closer to punk. Napolitano was composing odes to her city of residence, most of them seething, showing a woman on the verge of packing her shit and getting the hell out.”—Pop Matters

“At the time of release, it was rockers like ‘Still in Hollywood’ and ‘True’ that captured attention and radio play. But there’s an enduring emotional resonance to the balance of the album that keeps it compelling.”—Spectrum Culture

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3. Soul Asylum—While You Were Out

Released by Twin/Tone in November, 1986

“For sheer energy, Soul Asylum rarely sounded as sharp and fully engaged as they did on While You Were Out.”—AllMusic

“Live, these guys impress with their tunes, energy, and performance. Here, you get a well-crafted pop LP. I know the Hüsker Dü comparison is uncool, but it’s so obvious, along with a Replacements touch, that I gotta do it. Power pop.”—Maximum Rockandroll

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4. The Smithereens—Especially For You

Released by Enigma in July, 1986

“A wonderful record, an un-fancy set of memorable songs—‘Alone at Midnight,’ ‘Strangers When We Meet,’ ‘Time and Time Again’—that reflect both DiNizio’s sour view of romance and the quartet’s sincere fandom for a number of great bands of the ’60s—the Beatles, Searchers, Who and Kinks.”—Trouser Press

“Especially for You is delightful not only because of this New York quartet's ingenious grasp of song construction, but also for its wry perspective on revivalism.”—Rolling Stone

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5. The Pandoras—Stop Pretending

Released by Rhino in February, 1986

“Stop Pretending effectively plays tough with stereotypes about ‘60s bands and girl bands, putting Pierce and her cohorts on top.”—Los Angeles Times

“While maintaining the ‘60s fixation and playing up the brash-hussy stance, Stop Pretending features stronger playing and a harder-rocking edge (there’s no reason why ‘In and Out of My Life (In a Day)’ shouldn’t have been a hit), suggesting that the Pandoras aren’t as hopelessly mired in historical fetishism as one might assume.”—Trouser Press

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6. Tommy Keene—Songs From The Film

Released by Geffen in February, 1986

“Keene's talent shines through in memorable songwriting and biting guitar solos. ‘In Our Lives’ and ‘Goldtown’ are classic Tommy Keene melodic power rockers, while ‘The Story Ends’ stands among his best Beatlesque ballads.”—AllMusic

“As a musical artifact, Songs might be the long sought after missing link between Big Star and Paul Westerberg's solo work, or even a harbinger of times to come when '80s alternative and pop music would collide head on.”—Pitchfork

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7. Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians—Element Of Light

Released by Relativity in October, 1986

“Whether he happens to be praising prawns or chronicling a disintegrating mental state, Robyn Hitchcock is, first of all, an astonishingly gifted songwriter.”—New York Times

“Element of Light, Hitchcock's second studio album with the Egyptians, remains one of his finest moments and offers a convincing argument for his talents as a pop craftsman.”—AllMusic

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8. Hüsker Dü—Candy Apple Grey

Released by Warner Bros. in March, 1986

“This is the album that combines the supersonic soar of Flip Your Wig with the full-grown vision of New Day Rising.”—The Village Voice

“Candy Apple Grey has certainly thrown Hüsker Dü devotees for a loop with its striking studio clarity and zigzag pacing—from sonic meltdowns like ‘Crystal’ to Hart's sing-along aggro pop (‘Sorry Somehow,’ ‘Dead Set on Destruction’) and Mould's stark acoustic musings (‘Too Far Down’ and ‘Hardly Getting Over It’)...”—Rolling Stone

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