U2's 'The Joshua Tree' Named Best Album of the '80s

U2‘s influential album The Joshua Tree has been named the best album of the 1980s, according to a poll held by BBC Radio 2’s Sounds of the 80s for National Album Day.

The 1987 record outclassed a seminal catalog of ’80s releases including Michael Jackson‘s Thriller, which placed at No. 4, Guns N’ Roses‘ Appetite For Destruction at No. 5, The Smiths‘ The Queen Is Dead at No. 7 and Prince‘s Purple Rain at No. 10. According to BBC, 19 of the top 20 albums ranked were from male artists; only Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love entered at No. 11, and the likes of Madonna and Janet Jackson landed below the top 20.

The Joshua Tree gave the band a GRAMMY for Album of the Year and heavily focused on the sociopolitical environment of America and the contrasting ideas of “the American dream,” which bassist Adam Clayton explained were the glamour and “the bleakness and greed” of the Reagan era. “And it feels like we’re right back there in a way,” The Edge said in response to BBC’s ranking, adding, “Politics are still so polarised.”

“We’ve had the privilege of playing The Joshua Tree live all over the world in the last few years and it’s almost like the album has come full circle,” the guitarist continued. “We’re just thrilled that people are still connecting with these songs, night after night, year after year.”

Take a look at the complete top 10 ranking below.

1.) U2 – The Joshua Tree
2.) Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms
3.) The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
4.) Michael Jackson – Thriller
5.) Guns N’ Roses – Appetite For Destruction
6.) The Human League – Dare
7.) The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead
8.) Paul Simon -  Graceland
9.) ABC - Lexicon Of Love
10.) Prince – Purple Rain 

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