‘Thriller’ still thrilling after all these years

Yes, Michael Jackson turns 50 this Friday, and it’s been more than 25 years since he released his finest album.

The years that surround Jackson’s 1982 magnum opus, “Thriller,” marked major shifts in pop music, from the underground to the top of the charts. The mellow California-centric rock of the mid- to late ’70s gave way to the new wave that bubbled up from punk, which, though a massive influence, proved too harsh for mainstream consumption.

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BRANT SANDERLIN / bsanderlin@ajc.com

By any measure, Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ is arguably one of the most successful albums of all time. It earned him six Grammys in 1984.

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AP

Prince enjoyed the height of his commercial success in the mid-1980s, riding high on the popularity of ‘Purple Rain’.

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AJC ARCHIVE

Few performers dominated the music scene the way Paul Simon did in the mid-1980s, thanks in large part to his collaborations with the African vocal troupe Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

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Another force rising from the underground was rap. It would be the final years of the ’80s before rap gave us genre-defining statements such as Public Enemy’s “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” De La Soul’s “3 Feet High and Rising” and N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton,” but it was making its way onto the charts by 1980. That’s the year Sugarhill Gang climbed just inside the Top 40 with “Rapper’s Delight.”

Much of the music clogging the pop charts in the five years on either side of the still thrilling “Thriller” was fleeting in its appeal, but many albums of the era have stood the test of time, remaining influential and enjoyable to this day. Here are some of our favorites. (Keep in mind that these are all albums that made some impact on the mainstream pop charts. Dig a little deeper into the underground, and you’ll find many more gems that still shine.)

1. Prince — “Purple Rain” (1984) The man had an incredible run of brilliant music during the ’80s and this was his commercial pinnacle. It’s a monster artistic achievement, too, but so are “Sign O’ the Times” and “1999.”

2. Talking Heads — “Remain in Light” (1980) Who knew a bunch of artsy white kids from New England could be this funky? This innovative, album sounded like nothing else at the time and it’s still a stunner.

3. Paul Simon — “Graceland” (1986) Take one of our greatest songwriters, add some South African musical textures (especially the gorgeous voices of Ladysmith Black Mambazo) and you get an album that earned a well-deserved Grammy for album of the year.

4. The Police — “Synchronicity” (1983) It seemed overplayed back in 1984, but time has been kind to this thoughtful and tuneful album.

5. Blondie — “Parallel Lines” (1978) Perfect, polished pop from start to finish, with Deborah Harry at her sultry-sweet best.

Others worthy of consideration

Van Halen — “Van Halen” (1978)

Duran Duran — “Rio” (1982) (yes, really, go give it a listen)

Kate Bush — “Hounds of Love” (1985)

U2 — “The Joshua Tree” (1987)

Run-DMC — “Raising Hell” (1986)