A handful of contemporary movies have whimsically looked back at the '80s. Various bands have borrowed from the time period's musical trends with a tongue-in-cheek attitude. But Weird Al was busy sending up that decade while it was still happening. On Dare to Be Stupid, Yankovic parodies, among other things, smash hits by two reigning divas of yore. "Like A Surgeon" turns Madonna's song into an inexperienced doctor's first-person account of his, uh, practice. Weird Al's version of a certain Cyndi Lauper hit proclaims, "Girls Just Want to Have Lunch." In this loony world, the object of desire in "I Want a New Drug" is transformed into a duck. On "Yoda," Yankovic targets the Kinks' early '70s hit, "Lola." Who else but Weird Al would turn a song about sexual identity and confusion into a tune about George Lucas's "wrinkled and green" creature? —Fred Cisterna

Dark Side of the Moon, originally released in 1973, is one of those albums that is discovered anew by each generation of rock listeners. This complex, often psychedelic music works very well because Pink Floyd doesn't rush anything; the songs are mainly slow to mid-tempo, with attention paid throughout to musical texture and mood. The sound effects on songs like "On the Run,""Time" and especially "Money" (with sampled sounds of clinking coins and cash registers turned into rhythmic accompaniment) are impressive, especially when we remember that 1973 was before the advent of digital recording techniques. This is probably Pink Floyd's best-known work, and it's an excellent place to start if you're new to the band. —Genevieve Williams

Before he wrote half the soundtracks in the world (Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Batman, The Nightmare Before Christmas) Danny Elfman led himself an eccentric little rock band called Oingo Boingo. Actually they weren't so little; in fact, the eight-man band boasted one of rock's finest horn sections in addition to Elfman's devilishly good, often humorous songs. Dead Man's Party is Boingo's finest hour, melding their whacked-out mix of XTC, Frank Zappa, and Tower of Power with a genuine pop sensibility. Elfman is in perfect vocal form here, leading the combo through their biggest hit, "Weird Science" (which put Elfman on the soundtrack path) as well as Boingo chestnuts "Fool's Paradise" and the infectious, macabre title track. —Michael Ruby

Disintegration is a pop album realized on an epic scale. Most of its 12 songs are long mood pieces that develop slowly around the listener. Anchored by complex drum patterns, the layered guitars, soaring bass lines, and rich keyboards blend to create a lush, evocative soundscape that captures the ear immediately; and for all its length, the album is never boring. The lyrical focus is intensely personal throughout, and, with the exception of "Love Song," the mood is overwhelmingly dark and brooding. Here are songs of remembrance that, through their deep candor, transcend the individual level to explore universal longings and fears. Robert Smith, his vocals plaintive or angry or despairing, unfolds a tapestry of loss. Broken bonds, old lies, missed opportunities, belated realizations. Anyone who has experienced the joy and sorrow—especially the sorrow—of love will find his or her deepest sentiments, noble and petty alike, echoed poetically here. —Al Massa