Five superb 1980s debut albums that need to get more respect

A great debut album doesn't always make or break an artist. Some go on to sell in multiple millions, others much less so. They can be the best-selling album an artist will ever have or just a stepping stone to even bigger sellers later on. Of course, many also fall by the wayside too.

That means there are lots of very memorable debut albums out there, and the 1980s take a fair share of those. Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses or Madonna’s self-titled release are classic top-selling examples.  Those don’t get forgotten or overlooked, and the songs from them are still played often. 

But yet there are other debut albums which, for various reasons, we don’t get to hear much nowadays. They are full of really good tracks but don’t get played much now. Some of them have sold well, others less so, that is not always a factor in why we don’t hear them much today. 

Five superb 1980s albums that need to be heard more

Let me explain what I mean with five examples below, all from the 1980s. All great albums in their own right. You may recognize some of the five. A couple or more might be new to you. But there are different reasons behind why they don’t get the airtime or plays they deserve or haven't been heard by enough people. 

Nirvana – Bleach

Everyone knows Nirvana, don’t they? Lots of people will have a copy of Nevermind or their MTV Unplugged In New York album in their collection or on playlists. But what about their 1989 debut album Bleach? I reckon only Nirvana fans will probably recall its name if asked. 

The band had released a single, “Love Buzz,” a year earlier. That only had a very limited release of around 1,200 copies but went down well with critics. The band took a high from that and went ahead to record an album, Bleach. It costs them around $600 to do that, so let’s not expect top-of-the-range quality or production. But it was enough to get their raw, slightly sloppy grunge style down on record.

Bleach wasn't a huge hit initially; by the time Nevermind was released in 1991, it had sold only around 40,000 copies. But that second album’s success pushed Bleach a bit more into the public eye. To the extent that it did become a platinum ranked release. Now that’s pretty decent, but by comparison to Nevermind at 30 million copies and MTV Unplugged In New York at 12 million, it’s quite overshadowed. 

Despite those lower sales, Bleach is still a hot album. It’s got the real authentic Nirvana sound running right through it. Great songs with their version of grunge and punk to the max. If you've only kept to the bug hits in their catalog, as many have done, go check it out now.

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