Celebrating the 1980s: The 10 best vinyl deals available on Amazon this week
Welcome to Far Out’s weekly vinyl corner feature, where we look to bring you a tempting selection of records from some of our favourite artists, bargain vinyl deals to look out for, and unmissable limited-edition releases. This week we’re focusing on the sounds of the 1980s, the decade that saw pop musicians trashing their guitars in favour of scintillating synthesisers and obstinate rockers taking a plunge into the post-punk era.
Last year, the vinyl comeback enjoyed another milestone year as record sales surpassed that of CDs for the first time in three decades. The return to plastic has steadily climbed since the invasion of streaming services in the late 2000s. While the weightless, highly accessible and practical format is great for discovering and consuming swathes of new music while you’re out and about, there’s nothing like coming home to a bit of vinyl.
Fellow collectors will agree if there’s an artist or album you love, there’s always a good reason to have the turntable at the ready and a 12” slot reserved on the shelf for inevitable expansion. The sound quality of vinyl brings something more hearty and vibrant with its analogue warmth and crisp definition that there really isn’t a substitute for.
So if, like me, you have a soft spot for these groovy discs of plastic, allow me to walk you through ten hot picks for this week. We have a selection of post-punk classics from The Cure and Bauhaus, as well as a couple of synth-pop essentials from The Human League and OMD.
The following selections have been handpicked by Far Out Magazine, and as a result, we may earn from qualifying purchases.
The 10 best vinyl deals available on Amazon this week:
David Bowie – Let’s Dance
David Bowie morphed through a series of musical and stylistic changes over his five decades of entertaining us. After the rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane and the Thin White Duke, the Starman treated the 1980s to some commercial pop bangers. Let’s Dance marked the high point of this spell.
The danceable classic sees Bowie strapping on the boxing gloves in the artwork to show he meant business. This attack on the charts was an unmitigated success with hit singles like ‘Modern Love’, ‘Let’s Dance’, ‘China Girl’ and ‘Cat People (Putting Out Fire)’.
Available for purchase here for £29.99.
The Cure – Disintegration
The Cure established a popular gothic post-punk sound in the late 1970s and early ’80s and hit an early peak with 1982’s slice of abject misery, Pornography. Over the course of the ’80s, the Crawley-founded band managed to combine their trademark gloom with commercial appeal while maintaining artistic integrity.
In 1989, they reached a career-high with Disintegration. The album saw the band break through to widespread global acclaim, filling out global stadium tours through the ’90s and beyond. Disintegration is home to essentials like ‘Lullaby’, ‘Pictures of You’, ‘Lovesong’ and ‘Fascination Street’.
Available for purchase here for £18.58.
Bauhaus – In the Flat Field [limited colour edition]
After gracing the world with their unbeatable debut 12” single, ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’ in 1979, gothic post-punk pioneers Bauhaus got to work on their debut LP. In the Flat Field did not disappoint, fully establishing the band’s obscure, gloomy mix of dub, glam rock, psychedelia, and funk.
In the Flat Field, released in November 1980, showed Peter Murphy and co at the height of their powers with unmissable classics such as ‘Double Dare’, ‘A God in an Alcove’, ‘In the Flat Field’, and ‘Stigmata Martyr’.
Available for purchase here for £21.83.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Architecture & Morality
In 1981, Liverpool’s most notable synth-pop group, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, released their third studio album. High on the success of their 1980 smash hit ‘Enola Gay’, core creatives Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys set about recording a religion-inspired album that expanded their artistic scope while maintaining commercial appeal.
Architecture & Morality was a huge success both critically and commercially upon its release in 1981, compounded by its blockbusting singles: ‘Souvenir’, ‘Joan of Arc’ and ‘Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)’.
Available for purchase here from £11.69.
Pixies – Doolittle
Pixies, the band before Nirvana, released their highly influential second studio album, Doolittle, in 1989. The group re-imagined alternative rock with their catchy guitar riffs, unique vocal styles and immersive lyrics. After their seminal debut, Surfer Rosa, which featured the fan favourite ‘Where Is My Mind?’, the band somehow managed to tighten up their formula for Doolittle.
The album is full to the rafters with hits, including ‘Here Comes Your Man’, ‘Debaser’, ‘Hey’, ‘Gouge Away’ and ‘Monkey Gone to Heaven’. This proto-grunge essential is currently available at a reduced price of £21.99.
Available for purchase here for £21.99.
Talk Talk – The Party’s Over
After helping lay the groundwork for 1980s pop music early on in the decade, Mark Hollis’ Talk Talk set sail on an extraordinary career spanning five groundbreaking albums. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the band’s debut album, The Party’s Over.
The record is home to early hits, including ‘Talk Talk’, ‘Today’, ‘The Party’s Over’ and ‘It’s so Serious’. The album was produced to perfection by Colin Thurston, the former engineer for David Bowie and Duran Duran. This 40th-anniversary edition premiered back in July 2022.
Available for purchase here for £18.49.
Bob Dylan – Infidels
While Bob Dylan would struggle to reach the dizzying heights of his most prolific and seminal phase of the mid-1960s, he remained relevant over the subsequent decades with a scattering of truly remarkable albums. In the 1970s, the highlight was all about Blood on the Tracks and in the 1980s, Infidels.
The 1983 release saw Bob Dylan hit the studio with Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, with whom he tackled production duties. Infidels brings Dylan’s insightful poetry to appealing subjects like religion, environmental issues, love and loss. Highlights include ‘Jokerman’, ‘Don’t Fall Apart on Me Tonight’ and ‘Sweetheart Like You’.
Available for purchase here for £24.99.
New Order – Power Corruption & Lies
After Ian Curtis’ death and Joy Division’s end, the remaining members reunited as New Order. After dabbling with synthesisers for their very enjoyable yet unbalanced Joy Division hangover album, Movement, in 1981, they returned with a seminal classic and quite possibly their masterpiece in 1983’s Power Corruption & Lies.
The album boasts some of New Order’s most memorable early hits, including ‘Age of Consent’, ‘Leave Me Alone’, ‘The Village’, ‘Your Silent Face’ and ‘Ultraviolence’. This new reissue available on Amazon is cut on high-quality 180g vinyl.
Available for purchase here for £27.99.
David Byrne & Brian Eno – My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
Brian Eno joined Talking Heads for three of their most artistically satisfying albums over the late 1970s finishing with the masterpiece, Remain In Light, in 1980. While working together, Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and Eno formed a close working relationship, bonding through their appreciation of Afrobeat music pioneered by Fela Kuti.
While working with Talking Heads, Eno joined Byrne for an esoteric side project that furthered the experimental sounds of Remain In Light without such a commercial leaning. Released in 1981, My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts, was a seminal powerhouse thanks to extraordinary tracks like ‘Regiment’, ‘America Is Waiting’ and ‘Mea Culpa’.
Available for purchase here for £43.34.
The Human League – Dare
The Human League put Sheffield on the new wave map in the late 1970s. With the release of their third studio album, Dare, in 1981, they brought synth-pop to the global arena for the first time. The first two albums had focussed on a more avant-garde electronic sound, but Dare came with a commercial approach, and it worked out.
In a conversation with Far Out earlier this year, Heaven 17 frontman Glenn Gregory quoted David Bowie as saying, “They’re fucking brilliant, they are the future of fucking music,” backstage at a Human League show in London.
Available for purchase here for £25.57.
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