You might have recently noticed a surge in anniversary stories about albums that came out in 1987: U2’s The Joshua Tree, Guns N’ Roses Appetite For Destruction, Prince’s Sign o’ the Times, Michael Jackson’s Bad, George Michael’s Faith, and Def Leppard’s Hysteria are some of the blockbusters that came out that year.

What was it about 1987 that allowed for this thriving eco-system, in which superstars and up-and-comers seemed to be peaking at the same time? I called up Brian Hiatt of Rolling Stone to talk about our favorite records of 1987, and determined which albums have proved most influential.

What we found was surprising – for a long time, Fleetwood Mac’s Tango In The Night and Bruce Springsteen’s Tunnel Of Love were derided for their dated “very 80’s” production, but now they sound practically like contemporary indie-pop records. Plus, Steve shares his crackpot theory about how years that end with “7” are historically great.