RSSThe 1989 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll
Albums
| 1. | De La Soul: 3 Feet High and Rising (Tommy Boy) | 1050 | (89) |
| 2. | Neil Young: Freedom (Reprise) | 790 | (68) |
| 3. | Lou Reed: New York (Sire) | 754 | (65) |
| 4. | The Neville Brothers: Yellow Moon (A&M) | 621 | (57) |
| 5. | Neneh Cherry: Raw Like Sushi (Virgin) | 594 | (57) |
| 6. | N.W.A.: Straight Outta Compton (Ruthless) | 594 | (44) |
| 7. | Elvis Costello: Spike (Warner Bros.) | 521 | (47) |
| 8. | The Mekons: The Mekons Rock 'n Roll (A&M) | 501 | (45) |
| 9. | Soul II Soul: Keep On Movin' (Virgin) | 460 | (39) |
| 10. | Pixies: Doolittle (4AD/Elektra) | 416 | (38) |
| 11. | Tom Petty: Full Moon Fever (MCA) | 381 | (35) |
| 12. | Beastie Boys: Paul's Boutique (Capitol) | 347 | (32) |
| 13. | Fine Young Cannibals: The Raw and The Cooked (I.R.S.) | 332 | (36) |
| 14. | Bob Mould: Workbook (Virgin) | 311 | (26) |
| 15. | Bob Dylan: Oh Mercy (Columbia) | 295 | (31) |
| 16. | The Replacements: Don't Tell a Soul (Sire) | 290 | (24) |
| 17. | Pere Ubu: Cloudland (Fontana) | 283 | (24) |
| 18. | Madonna: Like A Prayer (Sire) | 235 | (22) |
| 19. | Bonnie Raitt: Nick of Time (Capitol) | 225 | (24) |
| 20. | Boogie Down Productions: Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip-Hop (Jive) | 203 | (19) |
| 21. | XTC: Oranges and Lemons (Geffen) | 203 | (18) |
| 22. | Jungle Brothers: Done By the Forces of Nature (Warner Bros.) | 201 | (21) |
| 23. | Queen Latifah: All Hail the Queen (Tommy Boy) | 173 | (18) |
| 24. | Roy Orbison: Mystery Girl (Virgin) | 152 | (15) |
| 25. | Terence Trent D'Arby: Neither Fish Nor Flesh (Columbia) | 142 | (15) |
| 26. | Kate Bush: The Sensual World (Columbia) | 141 | (15) |
| 27. | Caetano Veloso: Estrangeiro (Elektra/Musician) | 139 | (12) |
| 28. | Lyle Lovett: Lyle Lovett and His Large Band (MCA) | 138 | (10) |
| 29. | Rolling Stones: Steel Wheels (Rolling Stones) | 137 | (16) |
| 30. | Janet Jackson: Rhythm Nation 1814 (A&M) | 137 | (15) |
| 31. | Galaxie 500: On Fire (Rough Trade) | 136 | (16) |
| 32. | Batman (Warner Bros.) | 124 | (14) |
| 33. | The Jesus and Mary Chain: Automatic (Warner Bros.) | 123 | (14) |
| 34. | Aerosmith: Pump (Geffen) | 122 | (14) |
| 35. | Don Henley: The End of Innocence (Geffen) | 121 | (10) |
| 36. | Daniel Lanois: Acadie (Opal/Warner Bros.) | 120 | (13) |
| 37. | Tracy Chapman: Crossroads (Elektra) | 118 | (11) |
| 38. | Quincy Jones: Back on the Block (Qwest) | 113 | (10) |
| 39. | The Cure: Disintegration (Elektra) | 107 | (12) |
| 40. | NRBQ: Wild Weekend (Virgin) | 107 | (10) |
This poll compiles ballots from 255 critics, who divided 100 points among 10 1989 LPs. Points determined placement, with total mentions (indicated in parentheses) used for tie-breaking. Maximum per album: 30. Minimum: 5.
Singles
| 1. | Public Enemy: "Fight the Power" (Motown) | 75 | |
| 2. | Neneh Cherry: "Buffalo Stance" (Virgin) | 74 | |
| 3. | Soul II Soul: "Keep on Movin'" (Virgin) | 51 | |
| 4. | Fine Young Cannibals: "She Drives Me Crazy" (I.R.S.) | 48 | |
| 5. | Tone-Loc: "Wild Thing" (Delicious Vinyl) | 41 | * |
| 6. | Young M.C.: "Bust a Move" (Delicious Vinyl) | 38 | |
| 7. | Madonna: "Like a Prayer" (Sire) | 37 | |
| 8. | The B-52s: "Love Shack" (Warner Bros.) | 36 | |
| 9. | Tom Petty: "Free Fallin'" (MCA) | 30 | |
| 10. | Rolling Stones: "Mixed Emotions" (Rolling Stones) | 28 | |
| 11. | Aerosmith: "Janie's Got a Gun" (Geffen) | 27 | |
| Neil Young: "Rockin' in the Free World" (Reprise) | 27 | ||
| 13. | XTC: "The Mayor of Simpleton" (Geffen) | 26 | |
| 14. | Prince: "Batdance" (Warner Bros.) | 23 | |
| Tone-Loc: "Funky Cold Medina" (Delicious Vinyl) | 25 | ||
| 16. | Elvis Costello: "Veronica" (Warner Bros.) | 23 | |
| 17. | Soul II Soul: "Back To Life" (Virgin) | 22 | |
| 18. | Digital Underground: "Doowutchyalike" (Tommy Boy) | 20 | |
| The Replacements: "I'll Be You" (Sire) | 20 | ||
| 20. | De La Soul: "Me Myself and I" (Tommy Boy) | 18 | |
| Living Colour: "Cult of Personality" (Epic) | 18 | * | |
| The Stop the Violence Movement: "Self-Destruction" (Jive) | 18 | * | |
| 23. | Paula Abdul: "Straight Up" (Virgin) | 15 | |
| 24. | Inner City: "Good Life" (Virgin) | 14 | * |
| Pixies: "Monkey Gone To Heaven" (4AD/Elektra) | 14 |
*Includes 1988 votes: Tone-Loc 11, Living Colour 10, Stop the Violence Movement 1, Inner City 2.
Reissues
| 1. | Muddy Waters: The Chess Box (Chess) | 65 |
| 2. | David Bowie: Sound & Vision (Rykodisc) | 31 |
| 3. | Willie Dixon: The Chess Box (Chess) | 26 |
| 4. | The Allman Brothers: Dreams (Polydor CD) | 17 |
| 5. | Buzzcocks: Product (Restless Retro cassette/CD) | 16 |
| Hillbilly Music--Thank God! Volume 1 (Bug) | 16 | |
| 7. | The Band: To Kingdom Come (Capitol CD) | 14 |
| 8. | Flamin' Groovies: Greatest Grooves (Sire CD) | 13 |
| 9. | Funkadelic: Maggot Breain (Westbound import) | 12 |
| Rolling Stones: Singles Collection: The London Years (Abkco CD) | 12 |
*Includes 1988 votes: 16
EPs
| 1. | Lucinda Williams: Passionate Kisses (Rough Trade) | 17 |
| 2. | Fugazi: Margin Walker (Dischord) | 16 |
| 3. | Dinosaur Jr: Just Like Heaven (SST) | 11 |
| 4. | Lush: Scar (4AD) | 10 |
| 5. | John Wesley Harding: God Made Me Do It--The Christmas EP (Sire/Reprise) | 9 |
Village Voice, Feb. 27, 1990
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1988 | Essay | Dean's List | 1990 |  |