Important "Progressive" Albums from the 1980s

In no particular order, here is a list of albums that, in my opinion, contributed to the progress of music in the 1980s.

Brian Eno:  (with Harold Budd): Ambient 2: Plateuax of Mirror, (with Laraaji): Ambient 3: Day of Radiance, (with Harold Budd): Ambient 4: On Land, (with Jon Hassell): Fourth World, Vol. One: Possible Musics, (with David Byrne): My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks, More Music for Films, Thursday Afternoon

Kate Bush:  Never Forever, The Dreaming and Hounds of Love

King Crimson:  Discipline, Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair

Pat Metheny (Group): As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, American Garage, Offramp, First Circle, Still Life (Talking), Letter from Home

Peter Gabriel:  "3" and "Security"

Bruce Cockburn:  Humans, Inner City Front, The Trouble with Normal, Stealing Fire, Big Circumstance 

Roxy Music:  Flesh and Blood and Avalon

Rush:  Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals

Talking Heads:  Remain in Light and Speaking in Tongues

Univers Zero:  Ceux du dehors, UZed and Heatwave

David Sylvian:  Brilliant Trees, Gone to Earth, Secrets of the Beehive

The Fixx:  Reach the Beach

Bacamarte: Depois do fim

Tears for Fears:  The Hurting

Yes 90120

Cocteau Twins/4 A.D. Treasure, Tiny Dynamine/Echoes on a Shallow Bay, Victorialand, and Blue Bell Knoll

The Cure:  Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me and Disintegration

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Illustrated Music Encyclopedia and Neo-Geo plus soundtracks for Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence and The Last Emperor

Ozric Tentacles:  5 cassette-only releases (all compiled on the 1992 release, Vitamin Enhanced box set) and Pungent Effulgent, (Erpland was released in 1990)

Jesus and Mary Chain:  Psychocandy

It's Immaterial: Life's Hard and Then You Die

Love and Money:  Strange Kind of Love 

Steve Tibbetts:  Yr 

Solaris: Marbéli Krónikák (Martian Chronicles)

Asia Minor:  Between Flesh and Divine

Eskaton: 4 Visions

Talk Talk: The Colour of Spring and Spirit of Eden

Eloy:  Planets and Time to Turn

Zammla Mannas Mamas:  Familjesprickor (Family Cracks)

Shub-Niggurath:  Les mortes vont vite

SBB:  Memento z banalnym tryptykiem

Dün:  Eros

Pazzo Fanfano di Musica:  Pazzo Fanfano di Musica

Yezda Urfa:  Sacred Baboon

Dead Can Dance:  The Serpent's Egg

Kenso:  II

IQ: Tales from the Lush Attic and The Wake

Marillion: Script for a Jester's Tear, Misplaced Childhood, Fugazi, and Clutching at Straws

Jean-Luc Ponty: Individual Choice

Voivod: Killing Technology, Dimensional Hatross, and Nothingface

Present: Triskaidekaphobie and Le poison quie rend fou

Queensryche: Rage for order and Operation: Mindcrime

Art Zoyd: Le mariage du ciel et de l'enfer and Berlin

Cardiacs: The Seaside, A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window, and On Land and in the Sea

XTC: Black Sea, English Settlement, The Big Express, Mummer, Skylarking, and Oranges and Lemons 

U2: Boy, War, The Unforgettable Fire and Joshua Tree

Simple Minds: New Gold Dream

Prince: Purple Rain soundtrack

The Police: Ghost in the Machine












Blade Runner soundtrack (composed by Vangelis)

The Mark Isham soundtracks and Windham Hill work









Trevor Horn's work with The Buggles, Art of Noise, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Yes, Pet Shop Boys, Propaganda, ABC, Grace Jones, Simple Minds, Paul McCartney and Seal