Hard rock might have become a dominant cultural force by 1986, but it only accounts for a sliver of our following list of No. 1 albums of 1986 ranked worst to best.
As the decade entered its second half, an eclectic blend of pop, rock, and R&B vied for the top spot on the Billboard 200. It was a year of stylistic reinventions and long-awaited returns; it was also a year of blockbuster soundtracks that perfectly crystallized the decade’s excesses.
Case in point: The first No. 1 album of 1986 was the Miami Vice soundtrack — one of two soundtrack LPs that topped the charts that year alongside Top Gun. Miami Vice‘s chart reign was followed by Barbra Streisand’s The Broadway Album and Sade’s Promise; it wasn’t until March 1986 that an actual rock album hit No. 1, and even then, it was the lite-rock stylings of Mr. Mister’s 1985 album, Welcome to the Real World.
READ MORE: No. 1 Albums of 1976 Ranked Worst to Best
Rock would rear its head later in the year, as Van Halen’s 5150 would race to the top, bookended by Whitney Houston’s indomitable self-titled debut. Huey Lewis and the News and Bon Jovi would each enjoy a week at No. 1 with Fore! and Slippery When Wet, respectively. The former was a final shot at glory; the latter was the beginning of a world-dominating run that would span decades.
These relative newcomers would cede the 1986 holiday season to a pair of legacy acts, as Boston’s Third Stage and Bruce Springsteen’s Live/1975-85 collectively ruled the Billboard 200 for the last two months of the year.
See how we’ve evaluated all of these records and more in our list of the No. 1 albums of 1986 ranked worst to best:
Every No. 1 Album From 1986 Ranked Worst to Best
Despite rock’s cultural dominance, this list skews heavily pop, with some soundtracks and compilations to boot.
Gallery Credit: Bryan Rolli
