Top 200 Albums of All Time: Run DMC

Raising Hell: Run DMC (1986)
Run DMC broke into the mainstream and demonstrated Hip Hop’s viability with Raising Hell. The album featured the collaboration with Aerosmith on the “Walk This Way” cover. “Walk This Way” became the first rap song to make it into the Top 5 setting the stage for the genre’s future success. It also paved the way for Nu Metal, which emerged in the early 90s and became a force in the early 00s before fading. Without the success of “Walk This Way” and Raising Hell, Hip Hop might not have broken into the mainstream.

Key Tracks:
It’s Tricky
Walk this Way
You Be Illin’

The 10 Greatest Albums of the 80s

Not in any particular order...

Thriller- Michael Jackson (1982): It's now fashionable to claim Off the Wall was better, but those folks are on crack. This was a monster that opened doors for black artists and changed pop music. Today's hip hop, pop, and rap are all influenced by Thriller. No Thriller, no Hip Hop and today's pop is different.

Purple Rain- Prince (1984): For a time, people asked "Michael Jackson or Prince?"

The Joshua Tree- U2 (1987): U2 went in a totally different direction than everyone else in the mainstream with Joshua Tree. It was a rejection of plastic modern society and is probably more relevant today than in 1987.

Raising Hell- Run DMC (1986): Rap comes to the suburbs. Blondie introduced it to white America, Grandmaster Flash brought the streets to MTV, but Run DMC brought Hip Hop to the forefront and legitimized it. Although MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice made it mainstream, Run DMC became the first to explode onto the scene.

Appetite for Destruction- GnR (1987): Like U2, Guns n Roses took popular music in a radical direction in 1987. Unlike U2's examination of America and modern materialism, GnR took a darker approach and examined the underworld in a way no had since Exile on Mainstreet.

Back in Black- AC/DC (1980): AC/DC somehow survived the death of Bon Scott and turned that loss into one of the greatest tribute albums ever.

Born in the USA- Bruce (1984): Just about every song on this album became a hit. Bruce became a phenomenon and the embodiment of America. No one bothered to listen to the lyrics of the title track...

Murmur- REM (1983): While pop music was heading in multiple directions during the eighties including hair metal, new wave, hip hop, and some groups which defied categorization (Huey Lewis was played on rock stations that would follow Heart of Rock n Roll with Led Zeppelin), R.E.M. ushered in the alternative movement. Murmur represented an attempt to get back to basics and bring fresh rock n roll back to an audience.

London Calling- The Clash (1980): The west appeared on the verge of utter collapse in the late seventies. High unemployment, stagnant economies, and disheartened populations wanted to go to the disco. London Calling reflects the postwar apocalypse that hit during the seventies. Despite the coming ice age and sun zooming in, the album ends on an uplifting note with "Train in Vain."

Synchronicity- The Police (1983): Synchronicity made the Police the biggest band in the world. The album and its songs was omnipresent from summer of 1983 and into 1984. "Every Breath You Take" is one of the songs that defined the eighties.

2009 Rock n Roll Hall of Fame

Here are the 2009 Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Inductees...

Interestingly, it's the fifth year in a row where the Hall inducts five acts. This weird fact combined with all the rumors about ballot fixing makes one wonder if some acts have actually been elected, but passed over for whatever reason...


Jeff Beck - One of Rock’s greatest guitarists. He ranked #14 in Rolling Stone’s list of Greatest Guitarists. He played in the Yardbirds and later formed the Jeff Beck Group. His style incorporated blues, rock, metal, and even jazz. He played on Jon Bon Jovi’s solo hit “Blaze of Glory” in 1990. Beck should have been inducted years ago.

Little Anthony & the Imperials - This group goes back to the 1950s and is just now being inducted. Their biggest hit was “Tears on my Pillow” in 1958. They were a doo-wop group, but incorporated R&B and Soul as the times changed. Recently, they appeared on Letterman pushing their latest album.

Metallica - This one is a no-brainer. Metallica was a reaction to the LA Hair Metal scene. They pioneered thrash and speed metal and began to experience mainstream success by the late 80s. In 1991, they became superstars with their “Black” album. They continued to experience success throughout the 90s as a mainstream rock act. In the early 2000s, they released “St. Anger.” It sucked. On top of this, their movie, ‘Some Kind of Monster” made them look like a group of teenage school girls. They also waged a war on Napster which further eroded their popularity. In 2008, they returned to their roots with Death Magnetic and appear to be back on top.

Run-D.M.C. - Having a rap act in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame is like having a football star in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but here we are. Run DMC is the most important rap act of all time. Rolling Stone placed them at #48 on the list of most important acts of all time. They built on the work of acts like Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa and were stars by the mid-80s. They began the rap-rock thing with their cover of “Walk This Way” in 1986. This propelled them to superstardom.

Bobby Womack - Womack began as Sam Cooke’s guitarist. He wrote The Rolling Stones’ hit “It’s All Over Now.” Womack’s an R&B artist, but he has also done funk, soul, and blues. His music has appeared in Jackie Brown, Meet The Parents, American Gangster, and has been covered recently by Kelly Rowland.