I Love 1988: Al B. Sure! & Queensrÿche

Don and Dude keep the “I Love the 80s” journey rolling into 1988’s R&B bedrooms and metal bunkers, where new jack swing coalesces in cramped apartments and concept metal turns Reagan-era paranoia into a full-blown rock opera. One of us slides into a silky debut that helped sketch the blueprint for sensitive-smooth-guy R&B, while the other drops into a tightly plotted metal epic about addiction, brainwashing, and failed revolution that still hits uncomfortably close to home.

The Albums

Al B. Sure! – In Effect Mode (1988)

Al B. Sure! turns a bare-bones home setup and a newly discovered falsetto into a compact set of late-night R&B grooves. “Nite and Day,” “Off on Your Own (Girl),” and “If I’m Not Your Lover” sketch a sensitive, romantic persona over sleek drum machines and smooth keys.

Queensrÿche – Operation: Mindcrime (1988)

Queensrÿche fuse metal and political thriller storytelling in a concept album about Nikki, a drug-addicted drifter turned assassin by the manipulative Dr. X. From “Revolution Calling” through “Suite Sister Mary” to “Eyes of a Stranger,” the record plays like one continuous, cinematic descent into radicalization and regret.

Diggin’ Albums

The Sheepdogs – Keep Out of the Storm (2026)

Warm guitars, stacked harmonies, and unfussy grooves for fans of classic 70s-style rock.

Living Colour – Vivid (1988)

A sharp blend of heavy riffs, funk rhythms, and pointed social commentary anchored by “Cult of Personality.”

Pink Breath of Heaven – Color Makes a Sound (2026)

Dreamy guitars and airy vocals drift through hazy, color-soaked indie shoegaze landscapes.

Social Distortion – Born to Kill (2026)

Straight-ahead rock songs with punk grit and rootsy twang, all carried by Mike Ness’ weathered storytelling.

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“Look… me and the McDonald’s people got this little misunderstanding. See, they’re McDonald’s… I’m McDowell’s. They got the Golden Arches, mine is the Golden Arcs. They got the Big Mac, I got the Big Mick. We both got two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions, but their buns have sesame seeds. My buns have no seeds.” – Cleo McDowell, played by John Amos in 1988’s Coming to America.