Best of 1980 Creem Readers Poll

[rtbuck]

Seeing as 2010 is coming to an end let's go back 30 years to Creem Magazine's Reader's Poll results:

Top Albums

1. Bruce Springteen- The River
2. AC/DC- Back In Black
3. Rolling Stones- Emotional Rescue
4. Clash- London Calling
5. Pretenders
6. Van Halen- Women & Children First
7. Queen- The Game
8. Pete Townshend- Empty Glass
9. B-52's- Wild Planet
10. Pat Benatar- Crimes Of Passion
11. Cheap Trick- All Shook Up
12. Cars- Panorama
13. Devo- Freedom Of Choice
14. David Bowie- Scary Monsters
15. Elvis Costello- Get Happy!!
16. Police- Zenyatta Mondatta
17. Black Sabbath- Heaven & Hell
18. Kinks- One For The Road
19. Bob Seger- Against The Wind
20. Talking Heads- Remain In Light
21. Rush- Permanent Waves
22. Judas Priest- British Steel
23. Ramones- End Of The Century
24. Heart- Bebe Le Strange
25. Public Image Ltd.- Second Edition

Top Singles

1. Devo- Whip It
2. Queen- Another One Bites The Dust
3. AC/DC- You Shook Me All Night Long
4. Bruce Springsteen- Hungry Heart
5. Rolling Stones- She's So Cold
6. Clash- Train In Vain
7. Vapors- Turning Japanese
8. Rolling Stones- Emotional Rescue
9. David Bowie- Ashes To Ashes
10. B-52's- Private Idaho
11. Blondie- Call Me
12. Pretenders- Brass In Pocket
13. Clash- London Calling
14. Pete Townshend- Rough Boys
15. Van Halen- And The Cradle Will Rock

Best R&B Single

1. Rolling Stones- Emotional Rescue
2. Rolling Stones- She's So Cold
3. Blues Brothers- Gimme Some Lovin'
4. Diana Ross- Upside Down
5. Donna Summer- The Wanderer
6. Stevie Wonder- Master Blaster

Best R&B Album

1. Rolling Stones- Emotional Rescue
2. Blues Brothers- Blues Brothers Soundtrack
3. J. Geils- Love Stinks
4. Talking Heads- Remain In Light
5. More George Thorogood & The Destroyers
6. Graham Parker- The Up Escalator
7. Diana Ross- Diana
8. Stevie Wonder- Hotter Than July
9. Michael Jackson- Off The Wall
10. George Benson- Give Me The Night
11. Elvis Costello- Get Happy!!

Best Reissue

1. The Doors' Greatest Hits
2. Elvis Costello- Taking Liberties
3. Cheap Trick- Found All The Parts
4. Kinks- One For The Road
5. Beatles- Rarities
6. Deep Purple- Deepest Purple
7. Heart- Greatest Hits
8. The Shaggs- Philosophy Of The World
9. Clash- Blackmarket Clash
10. Aerosmith's Greatest Hits

Best Jazz Album

1. Jeff Beck- There And Beck
2. George Benson- Give Me The Night
3. Chicago- XIV
4. Joni Mitchell- Shadows & Light
5. Jean Luc Ponty- Civilized Evil
6. Chuck Mangione- Fun & Games
7. Crusaders- Live Sides
8. Stanley Clarke- Rock, Pebbles & Sand
9. Herb Alpert- Beyond
10. Al DiMeola- Splendido Hotel

LP Cover Of The Year

1. London Calling (Clash)
2. Emotional Rescue (Rolling Stones)
3. Panorama (Cars)
4. All Shook Up (Cheap Trick)
5. Scary Monsters (David Bowie)
6. Remain In Light (Talking Heads)
7. Get Happy!! (Elvis Costello)
8. Women & Children First (Van Halen)
9. Heaven & Hell (Black Sabbath)
10. Empty Glass (Pete Townshend)



Top Group:
1) The Clash
2) Led Zeppelin
3) Rolling Stones

Top Live Group:
1) Bruce Springsteen
2) The Who
3) Van Halen

Best Male Singer:
1) Bruce Springsteen
2) Robert Plant
3) Robin Zander

Best Female Singer:
1) Pat Benatar
2) Chrissie Hynde
3) Deborah Harry

Best R&B Singer:
1) Mick Jagger
2) Graham Parker
3) Donna Summer

Best R&B Group:
1) Rolling Stones
2) Blues Brothers
3) Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes

Best Guitarist:
1) Edward Van Halen
2) Jimmy Page
3) Pete Townshend

Best Keyboard:
1) John Paul Jones
2) Greg Hawkes
3) Kate Pierson

Best Horn Player:
1) Clarence Clemons
2) Chuck Mangione
3) John Entwistle

Best Bassist:
1) John Entwistle
2) John Paul Jones
3) Tom Petersson

Best Drummer:
1) John Bonham
2) Bun E. Carlos
3) Charlie Watts

Most Valuable Player:
1) Jimmy Page
2) Pete Townshend
3) Rick Nielsen

Best Producer:
1) Nick Lowe
2) Roy Thomas Baker
3) Jimmy Page

Worst Group:
1) Kiss
2) Van Halen
3) B-52's

Best Songwriter:
1) Bruce Springsteen
2) Pete Townshend
3) Elvis Costello

Best New Group:
1) Pretenders
2) Def Leppard
3) Gang Of Four

Best Instrumentalist:
1) Ian anderson
2) Eno
3) Magic Dick

Biggest Disappointment:
1) Lennon's death
2) Bonham's death
3) The Election

Drug Of The Year:
1) Marijuana
2) Alcohol
3) Cocaine

Hero(ine) Of The Year:
1) Bruce Springsteen
2) Chrissie Hynde
3) Pete Townshend

Rip Off Of The Year:
1) LP prices
2) Concert prices
3) CREEM

Comeback Of The Year:
1) John Lennon
2) Bruce Springsteen
3) AC/DC

Most Pathetic Of The Year:
1) David Lee Roth
2)Kiss
3) Clash

Fad Of The Year:
1) Punk/New Wave music
2) The Urban Cowboy look
3) Ska

Fashion Plate Of The Year:
1) Rick Nielsen
2) Deborah Harry
3) Chrissie Hynde

Sex Object Of The Year:
1) Pat Benatar
2) Deborah Harry
3) David Lee Roth

Best Rock & Roll Movie:
1) Times Square
2) Roadie
3) Rude Boy

Best Tour Of The Year:
1) Bruce Springsteen
2) Van Halen
3) AC/DC

Couple Of The Year:
1) John Lennon & Yoko Ono
2) Chris Stein & Deborah Harry
3) Stiv Bators & Bebe Buell

Punk Of The Year:
1) Iggy Pop
2) Chrissie Hynde
3) Joe Strummer

Street Phrase Of The Year:
1) Nuke / Bomb Iran
2) F#$% You
3) F!@# Off

 

[That 70s Guy]

Very good year!

 

[LG]

Reading those lists really takes me back, I have London Calling rated as the best album of the year, but I thought it was released in 1979.

Some interesting categories they have as well..

 

[rtbuck]

LG, London Calling was released in '79 but it was released in December

 

[LG]

I thought it was 1979, that is what my copy says.

I also like the Pretenders winning best new band, that whole breakdown of 1980 is pretty accurate to how I felt, with a few exceptions of course.

 

[TheFeldster]

Good on Van Halen for getting the 6th best album AND being the 2nd worst group of the year.

Tell ya what, I wouldn't mind living in a time when Kiss, Van Halen and the B-52's was as bad as it got

 

[rtbuck]

Good on Van Halen for getting the 6th best album AND being the 2nd worst group of the year.

Tell ya what, I wouldn't mind living in a time when Kiss, Van Halen and the B-52's was as bad as it got

I think there was one year '78 or '79 where Kiss won the Best Group & the Worst Group!

 

[LG]

I can't believe they picked "The River" as best album of the year, that was a terrible record, I bought it and then gave it away to one of my friends.

These kind of summaries are fun to read, even if I don't put much stock in them.

 

[Death on Credit]

Overall, I think that that is a pretty good breakdown. I think that Joe Strummer deserved to go into the "Hero of the Year" and "Best Songwriter" lists, though. Also, by that point, the Rolling Stones could hardly be considered an R&B band.

Still nice lists, though

 

[Groovy Man]

Top Albums

3. Rolling Stones- Emotional Rescue
4. Clash- London Calling
6. Van Halen- Women & Children First
8. Pete Townshend- Empty Glass
10. Pat Benatar- Crimes Of Passion
17. Black Sabbath- Heaven & Hell
18. Kinks- One For The Road
19. Bob Seger- Against The Wind
23. Ramones- End Of The Century
24. Heart- Bebe Le Strange
Jeff Beck- There And Beck

It's hard to believe John Lennon's Double Fantasy and Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard of Ozz didn't make the Creem's Readers Poll Top 25 albums of 1980...

Other great albums of 1980, that are not mentioned...

Neil Young - Hawks & Doves
Dire Straits - Making Movies
Warren Zevon - Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School
Steve Winwood - Arc of a Diver
Billy Joel - Glass Houses
Thin Lizzy - Chinatown
Def Leppard - On Through the Night
Saxon - Wheels of Steel
Whitesnake - Live... in the Heart of the City
Pat Travers Band - Crash and Burn
Blackfoot - Tomcattin'
Johnny Van Zant - No More Dirty Deals
Charlie Daniels Band - Full Moon
Marshall Tucker Band - Tenth
Jackson Browne - Hold Out
Eric Clapton - Just One Night (Live)
Johnny Winter - Raisin' Cain
Kerry Livgren - Seeds of Change
Black Sabbath - Live at Last
Jack Bruce & Friends - I've Always Wanted to Do This
Rossington-Collins Band - Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere
Kansas - Audio-Visions
Ted Nugent - Scream Dream
George Thorogood - More George Thorogood and The Destroyers
The Grateful Dead - Go To Heaven