Whenever You Need Somebody
Artist: Rick Astley
Community Score: 7.13

In the '80s and '90s, England's dance-music team Stock, Aitken & Waterman was often accused of being too slick for its own good, and favoring style over substance. But the producers/songwriters (also known for their work with Dead or Alive and Samantha Fox) should definitely be proud of their work on fellow Briton Rick Astley's often captivating... Read More

Cher - GEFFEN
Artist: Cher
Community Score: 5.07

In 1987-1988, after firmly establishing herself as one of filmdom's most sought-after actresses, the multifaceted Cher staged a highly successful musical comeback with her rock & roll-leaning album Cher. The album scored a Top Ten hit with her version of the Michael Bolton power ballad "I Found Someone" (previously a minor hit for Laura... Read More

Repeat Offender
Artist: Richard Marx
Community Score: 8.00

Richard Marx's second album is almost as strong as his first, even if it shows that his songwriting has a tendency to slip into sappy, saccharine clichés. Nevertheless, it contains some major hit singles -- "Satisfied," "Right Here Waiting," "Angelia," "Children of the Night," and "Too Late to Say Goodbye." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music... Read More

Jude Cole
Artist: Jude Cole

Taking bits of Hall & Oates' blue-eyed soul, the rocking rhythms a la Bryan Adams and add super tunes refined with slick '80s L.A. production, and you can pretty much sum up how Jude Cole sounds. Cole hit the Top 40 with "Like Lover's Do," and with other cuts such as "Everyone's in Love" and the sad ballad, "Crying Mary," you can easily... Read More

A New Flame
Artist: Simply Red
Community Score: 9.00

Although Hucknall tries to resurrect soul in his own original songs, he's most successful at evoking the past, notably on Simply Red's second number one, a remake of the Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes classic "If You Don't Know Me by Now." ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide Read More

Alannah Myles
Artist: Alannah Myles
Community Score: 8.30
The Living Years
Artist: Mike + the Mechanics
Community Score: 8.00

With The Living Years, Mike + the Mechanics firmly established themselves in the adult contemporary genre after the mid-'80s pop of their debut. Slickly produced with rich vocals from Paul Carrack and Paul Young, The Living Years moves smoothly between anthemic ballads such as the title track and more up-beat numbers such as "Seeing Is... Read More

Richard Marx
Artist: Richard Marx
Community Score: 9.60

Richard Marx's self-titled debut album was a finely crafted record of mainstream pop/rock. Marx understood how the melodies of up-tempo rockers like "Don't Mean Nothin'" are driven by thick power chords, and how arrangements are as important as melody in ballads like "Hold On to the Nights." Filled with carefully constructed radio-ready tracks,... Read More

Greatest Hits - EMI/CAPITOL
Artist: Sheena Easton

EMI's Greatest Hits compilation includes nine of Sheena Easton's first Top 40 singles, leaving out the inessential "You Could Have Been With Me" from 1981. The set goes up to 1985, including the number nine hit "Sugar Walls," the sexiest of Easton's tunes, which was, in fact, written by Prince under the name Alexander Nevermind. From her debut... Read More

Tell It to My Heart - ARISTA
Artist: Taylor Dayne
Community Score: 5.00

Taylor Dayne made a huge splash with the roaring dance/R&B title cut. Her big sound, flamboyant manner, and carefully calculated explosive delivery put her in the forefront at the time among female singers mixing soul and classic disco influences (Lisa Stansfield would soon emerge at the head of the class). The rest of the album is pleasant but... Read More

Heaven on Earth
Artist: Belinda Carlisle
Community Score: 6.64

When Belinda Carlisle pursued a solo career, she took more than her share of criticism from rock critics -- who complained that slick pop/rock collections like Belinda and Heaven on Earth lacked the bite of her work with the Go-Go's. But while nothing here packs quite the punch that "How Much More," "We Got the Beat," and "Turn to You" did, such... Read More

Soul Provider
Artist: Michael Bolton
Community Score: 7.50

Michael Bolton is no fool, and when he broke through to platinum sales with The Hunger, nobody had to tell him to record a follow-up devoted to more of the same. Bolton produced most of the record himself, and he teamed with the cream of the era's romantic rock ballad writers, people like Diane Warren (who gets five co-credits here) and Desmond... Read More

Greatest Hits
Artist: Tiffany
Community Score: 10.00