5. Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses
All of the top five albums were actually released before 1989 but only one — Appetite For Destruction — was released in 1987. It's commonly called one of the greatest rock albums of all time and it's almost certain that the group — no matter what lineup it takes — will never produce anything remotely as good again. The fun comes in hearing all the usual clichés trotted out — sex, liquor, drugs, rock & roll — juxtaposed against singer Axl Rose's vulnerable voice, as he eloquently sings about his fear of living in Los Angeles.
TIME's Take: "The album, whose leitmotivs were violent sex, drug abuse, alcoholism and insanity, featured lyrics like "Tied up, tied down, up against the wall/ Be my rubbermade baby/ An' we can do it all." The record sold 14 million copies."