While the world has self-quarantined to stave off the dreaded coronavirus, I figured now is as good a time as any to immerse myself in the more innocent world of the early 1980s.

Yes, it’s the latest installment of my ‘Decades’ series, where I feature the albums from a certain year across four decades (70s to 00s). Last time out I explored 1973, which brings us to 1983. I was 11 years old and hadn’t started up much of a music collection myself, but so many of the artists I’ll write about were very familiar even then.

In fact, 1983 has proved to have such an embarrassment of riches that I am going to dedicate a full five weeks to it. I’ll first count down my favorite 15 ’83 albums, and then showcase 10 unfamiliar (to me) albums that achieved critical and/or commercial success.

My #15 album of 1983 is Elton John’s Too Low For Zero. I gave this record a full listen during my recent deep dive into John’s catalog and found it quite good.

The album was a hit for John after a series of disappointing releases. Not coincidentally, it was his first album in seven years written entirely with Bernie Taupin. The movie Rocketman dramatizes their falling out and the role this album played in John’s comeback.

Too Low For Zero features a number of great songs, including the title track and the hits ‘I’m Still Standing’ and ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues.’ Other worthy cuts include ‘Cold As Christmas (in the Middle of the Year),’ ‘Crystal’ and ‘One More Arrow.’