Have some thoughts on the best record of 1989? You’re in luck!
Photo: Becky Alexander
Good morning!
For the weekend, I thought I’d share something fun
Do you like music? Do you miss March Madness or things like this?
Maybe you like making your case for specific records and/or years?
Then you’re in luck! Kent Beeson is running another bracket- this time for the best record of 1989. Nominations are open for a few more days, so get your picks in!
Some rules to avoid chaos:
- To use the form, you’ll have to sign in to Google, like with the voting. If you won’t/can’t, let me know at kentmbeeson@hey.com and like the Beatles we’ll work it out.
- Until the nomination period ends, you can go back and edit it at any time. So feel free to load up your faves now, listen to some new stuff (like what we got below) and then update it if you find something that really floats your boat.
- Try to hit return after entering each album into the form — it makes for a nice clean list to export later. Thanks!
- Are you concerned about what qualifies? Don’t be. Just nominate it. Nominate anything, I don’t care. Nominate Taylor Swift’s 1989 if you want. If it doesn’t end up making the cut on nomination votes, it didn’t matter anyway. It’ll all come out in the wash.
- Nomination period is two weeks — April 7 2025 to April 21 2025.
Want to see what’s already in the mix? Click here to see all 744 submissions (as of this writing). On a side note, 1989 was a seminal year for me music-wise, and I will likely be writing about more of these in some form over the coming weeks/months.
Once you’re done nominating, check out Kent’s newsletter, and if you’re on Bluesky, give him a follow—this is also a great way to see what everyone is picking once the bracket opens up.
For what it’s worth, here are a few of my picks:
Top 5 (okay, 6) S-Tier type stuff.
If you’ve been here long, none of these will surprise you.
- New Order-Technique
- Wire-It’s Beginning to and Back Again
- The Cure- Disintegration
- Pere Ubu-Cloudland
- The Replacements-Don’t Tell A Soul
- Throwing Muses- Hunkpapa
Just a bit outside: Stuff that’s awesome, but the S-tier’s a small table.
Will I totally agonize over some of these after sending this your way? You better believe it.
- Pixies- Doolittle
- NIN-Pretty Hate Machine
- Beastie Boys- Paul’s Boutique
- B52s- Cosmic thing
- Fugazi-13 Songs
- Camper Van Beethoven- Key Lime Pie
- Bad Religion-No Control
- Einstürzende Neubauten- HAUS DER LÜGE
- Goo Goo Dolls- Jed
- De La Soul- 3 Feet High and Rising
- Kate Bush- The Sensual World
- Nirvana- Bleach
- The Call-Let the Day Begin
- The D.O.C.- No One Can Do It Better
- The Jesus & Mary Chain- Automatic
Maybe not top-tier for me, but still deserve to make the cut:
- Madonna- Like a Prayer
- 10,000 Maniacs- Blind Man’s Zoo
- Beat Happening-Black Candy
- Big Audio Dynamite- Megatop Phoenix
- Bonnie Raitt- Nick of Time
- Gorilla Biscuits- Start Today
- EPMD- Unfinished Business
- Faith No More-The Real Thing
- Galaxie 500- On Fire
- Janet Jackson- Rhythm Nation 1814
- Jesus Jones-Liquidizer
- Jonathan Richman- S/T
- Maria McKee- S/T
- Ministry- The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste
- Ofra Haza- Desert Wind
- Queen Latifah- All Hail the Queen
- Red Hot Chili Peppers- Mother’s Milk\
- Tears for Fears- The Seeds of Love
- The Stone Roses- S/T
- Tom Petty-Full Moon Fever
- Yo La Tengo-President Yo La Tengo
Records from the “It Takes All Kinds” department.
- Dan Reed Network-Slam- This is an incredibly niche pick, and shoutout to the (I assume) PDX native who put it on the list.
- Barbara Mandrell- Precious Memories
- Dangerous Toys- S/T
- Ozric Tentacles- Pungent Effulgent
- Starship-Love Among the Cannibals
- Debbie Gibson-Electric Youth
- Michael Bolton-Soul Provider
- Ace Frehley- Trouble Walkin’
If you have some strong thoughts on any of these (or any on the full list), please weigh in! Don’t forget to vote early and often for Technique!
Thanks for being here,
KA—
Kevin Sent 
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