Scott posted Pitchfork's top 100 albums of the 80s. Some commentary:

Murmur. definitely Murmur. 'shaking through' is one of my top 3 REM songs.

Smiths-wise i prefer Strangeways... unbelievable, front to back.

Joy Division/New Order - yes.

sure wouldn't pick Disintegration for the Cure.

Cowboy Junkies: good.

Leonard Cohen has written some amazing songs, though I've only heard covers.

'In a perfect world, the Red Hot Chili Peppers disbanded upon hearing [Nothing's Shocking].'

the Police were great, but Synchronicity is too polished for my taste.

It'd be fun to do the top groups of the 80s and list their top songs - work with their whole body of work during that decade. That's probably more of what I'm doing here, anyway.