They were the days of time-traveling DeLoreans and "state of the art" eight-bit video games—but no one can forget the music that was the soundtrack to 1985.
A bevy of musical talent recorded "We Are the World," Bob Geldof organized the dual-venue, international concert event Live Aid, and Bruce Springsteen was ... well, everywhere.
The guitar road got a little bumpy: The original Van Halen broke up, Stevie Ray Vaughan's drug habit started taking its toll and the P.M.R.C. cracked its whip against musicians' freedom of expression. But there were highlights, too. Yngwie Malmsteen was still dazzling audiences with his over-the-top neo-classical shred work. Rock in Rio brought some of the world's hardest rockers together for one of the world's biggest concerts. And after being unceremoniously ousted from Metallica years before, Dave Mustaine fired back with the debut album from his own thrash metal outfit, Megadeth.
If there's one thing 1985 wasn't lacking, it was variety. Speaking of which, take a look at the list of guitar albums below and vote for your favorite. The top 10 albums will be posted next week in a photo gallery.
Editor's Note: Feel free to let us know if you think we missed anything—and we'll fix it. Just post a comment below or tell us on Facebook. Thanks!
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