1980s: Perm and shoulder pad, Walkman and Rubik's cubes, remembered for MTV and iconically cheesy films.
Probably not, on the surface, our best period as a species - but take a look at some of the records released and it is not difficult to see the cultural significance of that ten years.
From a golden age for hip-hop records to alternative rock shaping for the next 30 years, the 25 albums below - though never, ever, an exhaustive list - are as important as they are eccentric.
And what's more, they will all provide a smashing test for their speakers. So bend your amplifier to 11 and spin some of these.
It feels crass to pigeonhole any genre with a definitive album, but 90 will definitely be it for Acid House if need be. Certainly this is an album for which British electronic music owes a huge debt, helping to pave the way for musicians on these islands to reinterpret rather than great American art forms of home and techno.
It's equal parts atmospheric and aggressive, blending beats and infectious melodies that refuse to allow you to remain motionless.
The world of Echo by Arthur Russell
Arthur Russell's World of Echo - the only solo studio album released during his lifetime - is a wonderfully spontaneous collection of songs, where his delicate temperature flirts with cello treated with reel, delay, and distortion.
Russell's experimental, percussive playing is a great workout for your speakers, but you should let it flow with the wave instead of getting out of the boat.
Poet by Bobby Womack
No one is smoother than Bobby Womack, and for our money none of his records were more accomplished than the poet's.
With the opener in action, several sides of AAP sound before the infectious melody of The Secret.
Paid in full by Eric B and Rakim
This, the debut of Eric B. and Rakim and one of the most influential hip-hop albums to date, was recorded in just one week. Eric B. says, "Listen to the song and hear how young they are."
This impulsive writing, mixed with the fact that Rakim was reading from a sheet of paper, as he recorded, has an energetic but measured distribution that corresponds perfectly to the abundance of the record.
Nightly Tango by Fleetwood Mac
Beginning life as a Lindsay Buckingham solo album, and then scheduled to be his last with Fleetwood Mac, Tango in Nitto was anything but a breeze to produce. "That was in my estimation when everyone in the band was at their worst time in person," he says.
"Everyone was leading their lives in such a way that they would not be proud even today." Still, despite a fragmented group - Stevie Knux spent only two difficult weeks with the band during the recording - it turned out to be a spectacular swansong to Fleetwood Mac's classic line-up, and one of the best pop records ever written Is one.
Echoes by Frank Harris and Maria Marquez
As this album, written and recorded in the 1980s, was not actually officially released for more than 30 years, but its impact decade is testament to the beauty of this ethno-wave gem.
Between Venezuela singer Maria Marquez and American multi-instrumentalist Frank Harris, the echoes collaboration feels the warmth of the South American sun on its smooth melodies and sun-kissed synthesizer accompaniment.
Released in September 1989, and so on this list secretly, 13 Songs is effectively a compilation of Fugaji's first two EPs - Fugazi and Margin Walker - which provided a major impact on alternative rock music over the last 30 years is.
Subsequent hardcore arrangements are sometimes severely sparse, often expressing only their brutality, and begging your speakers for a brisk performance.
Nightclubbing by Grace Jones
It is an insult to Grace Jones whenever the word 'icon' is bandaged around to describe her shoulder pads not to be dusted.
A collection of original songs and creatively rearranged covers - the Iggy pop track from which the record takes its name - are nightclubing Witness Jones at his most powerful and most inventive, and enough dub-like bass lines to keep your bass honest.
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