Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1985…

#2 – Brothers in Arms – Dire Straits

More than a decade ago, I counted down my favorite albums of the 1980s. On that list, Tom Petty’s Southern Accents appeared at #17 with Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms just below it at #18.

Now they’ve swapped places, which is as good an indication as any of the arbitrary nature of these rankings.

Brothers in Arms features just nine songs but runs for nearly an hour. Every one of its cuts makes an impact, whether it’s the charmingly upbeat ‘Walk of Life’ or the mournful title track. Hit single ‘Money for Nothing’ boasts one of rock’s most indelible guitar licks and helped cement MTV’s status in pop culture.

Those songs, plus laid-back opener ‘So Far Away,’ are the best-known, but the deep cuts are just as impressive. ‘Your Latest Trick,’ Why Worry,’ ‘Ride Across the River,’ ‘The Man’s Too Strong,’ ‘One World’ — every track mines some new sonic territory and resonates in some new way.

I’m not a big guitar guy, but I will always make time to listen to Mark Knopfler’s signature sound. His brilliant axe work is all over this album, evoking every emotion on the spectrum.

Dire Straits’ run covered 18 years and just six studio albums. Brothers in Arms is the best of them, and one of the great albums of all time.

[Note: Happy Thanksgiving!]