Michael R. Smith's Pop 100
1966-2006
by Jason Warburg
Never let it be said that Daily Vault staff writers aren't ambitious. While many of us present our capsulized Top 10 of the year every December, until Michael R. Smith came along, we'd never had anyone attempt a Top 100 featuring full reviews of all 100 albums.
Michael's choices reflect his strong affection for pop music released between 1966 and 2006, though he did of course toss in a few surprises. The reviews ran every Sunday beginning October 29, 2006 and concluded with his #1 pick on September 28, 2008. More information about Michael is available at the reviewers' bio page here. Enjoy!
The Countdown
#100 -- Queen / A Night At The Opera
#99 -- Kylie Minogue / Impossible Princess
#98 -- The Pointer Sisters / Break Out
#97 -- Bananarama / True Confessions
#96 -- Wham! / Make It Big
#95 -- Electric Light Orchestra / Discovery
#94 -- Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark / Organisation
#93 -- Erasure / Wild!
#92 -- Pet Shop Boys / Introspective
#91 -- Michael Jackson / Off The Wall
#90 -- Duran Duran / Rio
#89 -- Depeche Mode / Speak And Spell
#88 -- U2 / The Unforgettable Fire
#87 -- Fleetwood Mac / Tusk
#86 -- ABBA / The Album
#85 -- Original Soundtrack / Two Of A Kind
#84 -- Sting / The Dream Of The Blue Turtles
#83 -- Bananarama / Bananarama
#82 -- Janet Jackson / Rhythm Nation 1814
#81 -- Janet Jackson / Control
#80 -- George Michael / Faith
#79 -- Tears For Fears / The Hurting
#78 -- Collective Soul / Collective Soul
#77 -- The Cars / Heartbeat City
#76 -- The Cars / Candy-O
#75 -- Sinead O'Connor / I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
#74 -- Sinead O'Connor / The Lion And The Cobra
#73 -- Electric Light Orchestra / Out Of The Blue
#72 -- Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark / Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
#71 -- Daryl Hall & John Oates / Private Eyes
#70 -- Erasure / The Innocents
#69 -- Erasure / Chorus
#68 -- Pet Shop Boys / Very
#67 -- Pat Benatar / Get Nervous
#66 -- Duran Duran / Seven And The Ragged Tiger
#65 -- Depeche Mode / Some Great Reward
#64 -- The Go-Gos / Talk Show
#63 -- Fleetwood Mac / Mirage
#62 -- ABBA / The Visitors
#61 -- ABBA / Super Trouper
#60 -- U2 / Rattle And Hum
#59 -- Eurythmics / Touch
#58 -- Shakespear's Sister / Hormonally Yours
#57 -- Shakespear's Sister / #3
#56 -- Prince / Around The World In A Day
#55 -- Prince / Sign 'O' The Times
#54 -- Donna Summer / I Remember Yesterday
#53 -- Donna Summer / Bad Girls
#52 -- The Bee Gees / Main Course
#51 -- The Bee Gees /Spirits Have Flown
#50 -- The Beatles / Abbey Road
#49 -- Kaiser Chiefs / Employment
#48 -- Blondie / The Curse Of Blondie
#47 -- Pat Benatar / In The Heat Of The Night
#46 -- Olivia Newton-John / Physical
#45 -- Daryl Hall & John Oates / Voices
#44 -- Eurythmics / Savage
#43 -- Eurythmics / Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
#42 -- U2 / Achtung Baby
#41 -- U2 / The Joshua Tree
#40 -- Madonna / I'm Breathless
#39 -- Madonna / Confessions From A Dance Floor
#38 -- Peter Gabriel / Peter Gabriel (a.k.a. Melt)
#37 -- Peter Gabriel / Security
#36 -- Phil Collins / No Jacket Required
#35 -- ABBA / Waterloo
#34 -- The Police / Synchronicity
#33 -- Prince And The Revolution / Purple Rain
#32 -- Sinead O'Connor / Universal Mother
#31 -- U2 / Zooropa
#30 -- Madonna / Erotica
#29 -- Madonna / Music
#28 -- The Beatles / Revolver
#27 -- The Bee Gees / Idea
#26 -- The Monkees / Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.
#25 -- Green Day / American Idiot
#24 -- Steve Miller Band / Book Of Dreams
#23 -- Heart / Little Queen
#22 -- Olivia Newton-John / Totally Hot
#21 -- Paul McCartney & Wings / Band On The Run
#20 -- Madonna / Bedtime Stories
#19 -- Madonna / Ray Of Light
#18 -- The Killers / Hot Fuss
#17 -- Tears For Fears / Songs From The Big Chair
#16 -- Peter Gabriel / So
#15 -- The Human League / Dare
#14 -- Fleetwood Mac / Say You Will
#13 -- Fleetwood Mac / Rumours
#12 -- Madonna / True Blue
#11 -- Madonna / Madonna
#10 -- Blondie / Autoamerican
#9 -- Blondie / Parallel Lines
#8 -- The Go-Go's / Beauty And The Beat
#7 -- The Mamas And The Papas / If You Believe Your Eyes And Ears
#6 -- Jermaine Jackson / Jermaine Jackson
#5 -- Michael Jackson / Thriller
#4 -- Madonna / Like A Virgin
#3 -- Madonna / Like A Prayer
#2 -- Original Soundtrack / Xanadu
#1 -- Simon & Garfunkel / Bridge Over Troubled Water
-fin-