Many of these songs, these bands, much of this music continues vital and current. The great music of earlier eras: Ellington, Armstrong, Parker, Coltrane, and Hendrix remains great, greater than PiL, Einsturzende Neubauten, the Birthday Party, Glenn Branca, and the rest. Those earlier, greater musicians are somehow tired to their times, while great music of 1981 plays on: unrestrained by shackles of period. Likewise, a prison of genre cannot hold these freedom loving noise makers. Those who must know "what kind of music is this?" will not want to enter these musical hallways. Those who are not satisfied with the answer: "it is the kind of music you hear" will want to go elsewhere for ball and chain.

BEST LPs of 1981

1. Einsturzende Neubauten: Kollapse (Zickzack, Germany)
2. PiL: Flowers of Romance (Warner Brothers)
3. Can: Delay 1968 (Spoon, Germany)
4. Glenn Branca: The Ascension (99)
5. The Birthday Party: Prayers On Fire (4AD)
6. DNA: A Taste of DNA (American Clave')
7. This Heat: Deceit (Rough Trade)
8. The Fall: Slates (Rough Trade 10”)
10. X: Wild Gifts (Slash)
11. David Byrne & Brian Eno: My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (Sire)
12. Rova Saxophone Quartet: As Was (Metalanguage)
13. Graham Lewis & B.C. Gilbert: Dome 3 (Dome)
14. Mission of Burma: Signals, Calls & Marches (Ace of Hearts)
15. Dark Day: Exterminating Angel (Lust/Unlust)
16. Half Japanese: Loud (Armageddon)
17. Mars: John Gavanti (Hyrax)
18. Crass: Penis Envy (Crass)
19. Colin Newman: Provisional Entitled the Singing Fish (4AD)
20. Jody Harris & Robert Quine: Escape (Lust/Unlust)
21. James Blood Ulmer: Are You Glad to Be In America (Artists House)
22. The Cure: Faith (Fiction, UK)
23. Magazine: Magic Murder and the Weather (IRS)
24. The Gun Club: Fire of Love (Ruby)
25. Black Flag: Damaged (Unicorn/SST)
26. Bill Dixon: In Italy Volume Two (Soul Note)
27. A Certain Ratio: To Each (Factory)
28. The Flesh Eaters: A Minute to Prey, A Second to Die (Ruby)
29. Tom Verlaine: Dreamtime (Warner Brothers)
30. Robyn Hitchcock: Black Snakes Diamond Role (Armageddon, UK)
31. Borbetomagus: Work On What Has Been Spoiled (Agaric)
32. Saccharine Trust: Pagan Icons (SST 12”)
33. Au Pairs: Playing with a different sex (Human)
34. The New Order: Movement (Factory)
35. Fad Gadget: Incontinent (Mute)
36. 8 Eyed Spy: 8 Eyed Spy (Fetish)
37. Jandek: Six and Six (Corwood)
38. Crispy Ambulance: The Plateau Phase (Factory)
39. Wire: Document and Eyewitness (Rough Trade, UK)
40. Method Actors: Little Figures (Armageddon, UK)
41. The Slits: Return of the Giant Slits (CBS)
42. Funkadelics: Electric Spanking Of War Babies (Warner Brothers)
43. Dorothea Raukes: Deutsche Wertarbeit (Sky)
44. Derek Bailey & Christine Jeffreys: Views From Six Windows (Metalanguage)
45. The Big Boys: Where's My Towel/Industry Standard (Wasted Talent)
46. Durutti Column: LC (Factory, UK)
47. Ikenga Super Stars of Africa: Ikenga Super Stars of Africa (Sonodisc, France)
48. Method Actors: Rhythms of You (Armageddon, UK)
49. A Certain Ratio: Sextet (Factory, UK)
50. Z’ev: Salts of Heavy Metal (Lust/Unlust 12” EP)
51. Pere Ubu: 390 Degrees of Simulated Stereo (Rough Trade, UK)
52. Whitehouse: Dedicated to Peter Kurten Sadist and Mass Slayer (Come, UK)
53. Husker Du: Land Speed Record (New Alliance)
54. Television Personalities: Mummy Your Not Watching Me (Whaam)
55. Red Krayola with Art & Language: Kangaroo (Rough Trade, Germany)
56. The Gun Club: Fire of Love (Ruby)
57. Gang of Four: Solid Gold (Warner Brothers)
58. Caberet Voltaire: Red Mecca (Rough Trade)
59. Eyeless In Gaza: Caught in the Flux (Cherry Red)
60. Prince: Controversy (Warner Brothers)
61. Section 25: Always Now (Factory)
62. The Fall: A Part of America, Therein (Cottage)
63. The Minutemen: The Punch Line (SST)
64. Bow Wow Wow: Your Cassette Pet (RCA cassette) 2nd version
65. Raincoats: Odyshape (Rough Trade, UK)
66. The Replacements: Sorry Ma, I Forgot to Take Out the Trash (Twin Tone)
67. King Crimson: Discipline (Warner Brothers)
68. 8 Eyed Spy: 8 Eyed Spy Live (ROIR cassette)
69. The Cramps: Psychedelic Jungle (IRS)
70. Liquid Liquid: Liquid Liquid (99 12” EP)
71. Nico: Drama of Exile (Aura)
72. Psychedelic Furs: Talk Talk Talk (CBS)
73. The Dictators: Live: Fuck ‘Em If They Can’t Take A Joke (ROIR cassette)
74. Moe Tucker: Playin’ Possum (Trash)
75. Elvis Costello: Trust (CBS)
76. Jandek: Later On (Corwood)