HILBURN’S BEST LP’S OF ’85

Robert Hilburn’s personal ranking of the best albums released in the U.S. during 1985. The first 50 albums are ranked in order with the rest of the list grouped, qualitatively, in sets of 10 and listed alphabetically.

1. “Sun City,” Artists United Against Apartheid

2. “Centerfield,” John Fogerty

3. “Lone Justice,” Lone Justice

4. “Tim,” the Replacements

5. “Fables of the Reconstruction,” R.E.M

6. “Hard Line,” the Blasters

7. “The Wishing Chair,” 10,000 Maniacs

8. “The Dream of the Blue Turtles,” Sting

9. “Who’s Zoomin’ Who,” Aretha Franklin

10. “Hounds of Love,” Kate Bush

11. “Up on the Sun,” Meat Puppets

12. “Rain Dogs,” Tom Waits

13. “Flip Your Wig,” Husker Du 14. “Be Yourself Tonight,” Eu rythmics

15. “Go-Go Crankin’,” Various artists

16. “Empire Burlesque,” Bob Dylan

17. “Around the World in a Day,” Prince & the Revolution

18. “Southern Accents,” Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

19. “King of Rock,” Run-D.M.C

20. “Aimless Love,” John Prine

21. “Building the Perfect Beast,” Don Henley

22. “Poor Little Critter in the Road,” Knitters

23. “Alamo Bay,” sound track

24. “Head on the Door,” the Cure

25. “Across a Crowded Room,” Richard Thompson

26. “In Square Circle,” Stevie Wonder

27. “Ain’t Love Grand,” X

28. “Silvertone,” Chris Isaak

29. “Saturday Night Live,” Trouble Funk

30. “Little Creatures,” Talking Heads

31. “This Is the Sea,” Waterboys

32. “Meat Is Murder,” Smiths

33. “Town + Country,” Rave-Ups

34. “Paris, Texas,” sound track

35. “The Pink Opaque,” Cocteau Twins

36. “Warming Up to the Ice Age,” John Hiatt

37. “Various Positions,” Leonard Cohen

38. “It’ll End in Tears,” This Mortal Coil

39. “Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill,” various artists

40. “No Borders Here,” Jane Siberry

41. “Cal,” sound track

42. “Ballad of Sally Rose,” Emmy lou Harris

43. “What a Life!” Divinyls

44. “Suzanne Vega,” Suzanne Vega

45. “Lost Weekend,” Danny and Dusty

46. “State of Our Union,” Long Ryders

47. “Brothers in Arms,” Dire Straits

48. “He Is the Light,” Al Green

49. “Full Force,” Full Force

50. “Scarecrow,” John Cougar Mellencamp

51 to 60. “Another World,” Roches

“The Axeman’s Jazz,” Beasts of Bourbon

“One Clear Moment,” Linda Thompson

“Our Nation’s Saving Grace,” the Fall

“Live at the Grand Opera House, Belfast,” Van Morrison

“Low-Life,” New Order

“Radio M.U.S.C,” Womack and Womack

“Rhythm and Romance,” Rosanne Cash

“Two Wheels Good,” Prefab Sprout

“Visions of Excess,” Golden Palomi nos

61 to 70. “Alf,” Alison Moyet

“A Walk Across the Rooftops,” Blue Nile

“The Broadway Album,” Barbra Streisand

“Cruzados,” Cruzados

“Diamond Life,” Sade

“Downtown,” Marshall Crenshaw

“Haber Mensch,” Einsturzende Neubauten

“Old Ways,” Neil Young

“The Night I Fell in Love,” Luther Vandross

“Translate Slowly,” Zeitgeist

71 to 80. “Afterburner,” ZZ Top

“A Sense of Wonder,” Van Morri son

MISSING ONE ALBUM “Bad Moon Rising,” Sonic Youth

“Me and Paul,” Willie Nelson

“New Day Rising,” Husker Du

“Once Upon a Time,” Simple Minds

“Real Nighttime,” Game Theory

“Vocalese,” Manhattan Transfer

“Whitney Houston,” Whitney Hous ton

81 to 90. “Contact,” Pointer Sisters

“Highwayman,” Nelson, Jennings, Cash, Kristofferson

“Language Barrier,” Sly & Robbie

“Lisa-Lisa & Cult Jam With Full Force,” Lisa-Lisa & Cult Jam With Full Force

“Lowpoint,” Kane Gang

“Only for You,” Mary Jane Girls

“Rockin’ in the Rhythm,” the Judds

“Small Miracles,” Drongos

“So Many Rivers,” Bobby Womack

“Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man,” Guadalcanal Diary

91 to 100. “America,” Kurtis Blow

“Big Audio Dynamite,” Big Audio Dynamite

“Boston, Mass.,” Del Feugos

“Dog Eat Dog,” Joni Mitchell

“Gas Food Lodging,” Green on Red

“The Heat,” Nona Hendryx

“Katrina & the Waves,” Katrina & the Waves

“No Jacket Required,” Phil Collins

“Promise,” Sade

“To Live and Die in L.A.,” sound track