"Sure the titans of the decade are all there...but Graff and his crew go deeper (in some cases, way deeper), with nods of essentialness to releases by artists like Fugazi, Killing Joke, John Hiatt, James Blood Ulmer, the dbs, Branford Marsalis, Cocteau Twins, the Winans and even George Jones." -- Bob Ruggiero * Houston Press * "501 Essential Albums of the 80s, edited by Gary Graff, is more than just a bookits a time machine for music lovers. Along with a crew of seasoned music journalists, Graff takes readers on a trip into one of the most groundbreaking, genre-bending, and flat-out fun decades in music history. This isnt just a bookits your VIP pass to the ultimate 80s sound explosion." -- Tony Medeiros * Sandbox World * "Naturally, with any sort of book like this, everyone will point to albums that should be in there but arent. That said, this is damned extensive. All the appropriate new wave, new romantic, pop, and hair metal albums from that decade are present and correct. But Graff makes sure that gospel, country, jazz, punk, hip-hop, soul, and just about everything else gets a fair shake too. Essential reading for anyone with even a passing interest in that decade." -- Brett Callwood * Music Connection *
