The Police – Outlandos d’Amour
The debut album by The Police would hint at the mash-up of styles that would eventually become their trademark (reggae and pop, for example), but as a product of 1978, it was most heavily influenced by the burgeoning punk scene. Early singles “Roxanne” and “Can’t Stand Losing You” failed to make a huge impact on the UK charts, but earned the album a full release on A&M records. A tour of the US increased visibility and got the band on the Billboard Hot 100 charts there, which in turn earned them a re-release of their first singles in the UK. This time, they would make an impact and the rest is history.
The B-52s – The B-52s
Coming out of the burgeoning Athens, GA scene, the B-52s self-titled debut album was a breath of fresh air in 1979. The pop airwaves were dominated by disco, the AOR scene was going stale, and the underground revolved around the nascent punk scene. The B-52s ignored all of that and made an album that was danceable, kitschy and completely unlike anything else at the time.
U2 – War
U2’s third album was also their most overtly political one to date, which may have turned off a few critics but didn’t seem to harm the album’s reception by music fans. Containing two all-time U2 classics, “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “New Year’s Day”, War reached #12 in the US and actually knocked Michael Jackson’s Thriller out of the top spot on the album charts in the UK. All the pieces were in place for U2 to not only find major success both in the UK and the US, but eventually to become one of the biggest bands in the world.
R.E.M. – Murmur
Regarded as one of the greatest debut albums of all-time, Murmur was the first of an unbroken string of critically-acclaimed albums from another Athens, GA-based band: R.E.M. Released in 1983 amid the rise of new wave and heavily synthesized sounds, R.E.M.’s jangly folk-rock was completely unlike anything else on the charts at the time. Murmur was the template for what would become “college rock” and eventually “alternative”.
The Replacements – Let It Be
Starting their career in Minneapolis as a straightforward punk band, The Replacements had begun to grow weary of playing loud and fast on every song by 1984. Moving towards more introspective lyrics and a softer sound that was influenced by contemporaries like R.E.M., the band recorded their first post-punk album, Let It Be. The band successfully incorporated this new direction with their ragged, unpolished aesthetic and created one of the all-time great indie/alternative rock albums.
The Smiths – The Smiths
Another example of an amazing debut, The Smiths self-titled album captured the spirit of their live show, without embellishing with overblown production or electronic sounds, both of which were quite popular in 1984 UK music. The album was released to critical acclaim and chart success, establishing Morissey and Johnny Marr as the possibly the best UK songwriting duo since Lennon/McCartney.
The Cure – The Head on the Door
By 1985, The Cure was a well-known band with five albums under their belt, but without a lot of success outside of the UK. The Head on the Door would change that, moving beyond the “doom and gloom” of a lot of the band’s earlier material and instead featuring an eclectic mix of styles and a more upbeat, pop sensibility. This more accessible sound helped them break into the North American and international markets, as well as becoming their most successful album in the UK at that point.
Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation
By the time of this album’s release in 1988, Sonic Youth had successfully navigated a course between being an “avant-garde art band” and a straightforward indie rock band. Despite challenging song structures and odd guitar tunings, their fifth studio album found a large audience and would eventually land the band a major label deal. Like R.E.M and The Pixies (see below), Sonic Youth would be a foundational band in the growing indie rock, “alternative” genre, which was about to explode.
Pixies – Doolittle
The Pixies had already announced that they were a band to be reckoned with on 1988’s Surfer Rosa, but it was Doolittle, released the next year, that cemented their status as one of the best indie bands in the US. Featuring all-time classics “Here Comes Your Man” and “Monkey Gone to Heaven”, the band showed off their range while still delivering on the loud-rock promise of their more ragged debut album. Perhaps more than any other single album, Doolittle laid the groundwork for 90s alternative and grunge rock.
Bikini Kill – Pussy Whipped
With twelve tracks coming in at a lean 24:50, Bikini Kill’s debut studio album would be most people’s first introduction to the riot grrrl scene coming out of Olympia, WA. Released in 1993, the album also anticipated the rise of a new wave of punk, although it was far removed from the catchier “pop punk” that would come out of California around the same time. Lo-fi and messy, the album was the blueprint for women who wanted to rock on their own terms.