Best downtempo songs of the 1980s
Cheap drum machines and the first affordable samplers changed who was allowed to make a record. Hip-hop moved from a party you had to be at to a 12-inch you could buy, and MTV made how a song looked part of the argument.
Songs from the downtempo albums of the 1980s, ordered by their own ratings rather than the record's.
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Deep Freeze (Tree's Thing), Part IIMtume · Theater of the Mind - 13Deep Freeze (rap-A-Song), Part IMtume · Theater of the Mind
- 14Body & Soul (take Me)Mtume · Theater of the Mind
- 15I Don't Believe You Heard MeMtume · Theater of the Mind
- 16Pop GenerationMtume · Theater of the Mind
- 17Theme for Theater of the MindMtume · Theater of the Mind
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Padlock (Larry Levan short vocal remix)Gwen Guthrie · Padlock - 19Peanut Butter (12" version)Gwen Guthrie · Padlock
- 20Getting Hot (12" version)Gwen Guthrie · Padlock
- 21Seventh Heaven (album mix)Gwen Guthrie · Padlock
- 22Hopscotch (Larry Levan instrumental remix)Gwen Guthrie · Padlock
- 23Getting Hot PreludeGwen Guthrie · Padlock
- 24Peanut Butter PreludeGwen Guthrie · Padlock
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One great song, one bad album
Tracks carry their own ratings here, so a record you would never play front to back can still have a song worth defending.
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