Many people don't like synth-pop. Maybe they are like someone who says they don't care for Brussels sprouts without ever trying them. It is OK to dislike something, but at least have done some research to back up the point.
The truth is that synth-pop can be many things. Sure, it must be synth-driven, and the era begins in the late 1970s, but the music can be as aggressive or as purely poppy as the musical artist wants it to be. It can be Erasure, but it can also be the Killers.
BBC Music recently created a list of what they believe are the 23 best synth-pop albums...ever? The first thing wrong with the list is the headline: "Synthpop! The 23 greatest synth albums of all time, ranked." That isn't really what the BBC means.
What BBC Music got wrong on their list of best synth-pop albums "ever"
The list is confined to the best synth-pop albums between 1978 and 1984. That isn't exactly "all time." Synth-pop still exists today, and it certainly goes beyond 1984. Plus, the magazine makes an error by including some synth-driven bands' albums that aren't their best, but are included because of the years involved constraints. Other errors were made, though.
Having Duran Duran's self-titled album at No. 10
Let's be clear: While Duran Duran might be among those bands known as the New Romantics, they are not a synth band. Instead, one of the more underrated parts of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is that the pretty boys of Duran Duran wrote their own songs and played their own instruments, and were guitar-driven.
Do they use synths? Sure. Many bands did at the time, but no one is going to call the Gap Band a synth-pop band, of course, and no one should be doing that with Duran Duran either.
Not having A Flock of Seagulls' debut album on the list
Flipping this just a bit, if the BBC is going to include Duran Duran, then why not include A Flock of Seagulls? If either is more synth-pop, though neither fully is, then that is AFOS. Plus, their debut album is better than the band's above, and it is more deserving to be on the best-of list.
The Seagulls' first album included gems such as "I Ran (So Far Away)," "Space Age Love Song," and the underrated "Messages." While the group did not reach the sustained high-level success of Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls' debut album was better.
Not listing Depeche Mode's best album
The most confusing choice on the list is the first record by DM. Not because their debut album was bad, because it wasn't, but rather, the group didn't suddenly turn into guitar gods (except for the last many years in concert), so adding Depeche Mode's best records should have been a must and a good reason to expand the scope of years on the list.
1990's Violator should have been included as it still is synth-driven and proves synth-pop didn't end in 1984. Is there darkness to a lot of the songs? Sure. This is Depeche Mode, after all. But if the list was about great synth-driven albums, leaving Violator off is criminal.